Standing with God When It Hurts

STANDING WITH GOD WHEN IT HURTS

SECOND CHRONICLES 20

16 JANUARY 2011

2ND STREET COMMUNITY CHURCH

GREGG LAMM | lead pastor-teacher

Jesus Christ is the reason we’re here this morning – to seek Him, to find Him, to press into Him, to listen to Him, to worship Him, to serve Him, to learn how to more faithfully walk with Him, to discover how to more consistently model our lives, our words, our thoughts, our actions, and our priorities after Him. Jesus Christ is the reason we’re here together this morning. Without Him there’s no salvation. Without Him there’s no hope. Without Him there’s no PAST. Without Him there’s no PRESENT. And without Him there’s no FUTURE.

This past week I came across a video on that really hit this point home for me in a great way. It was filmed at a church in December 2010, and it features an 11-year old boy with a message I needed to hear like I’ve never needed to hear something in my 52 years of life. I don’t know this young man’s name, but I invite you to listen to his explanation of how and where we see Jesus Christ from GENESIS all the way through MALACHI … in each Old Testament book … and from MATTHEW all the way through REVELATION … in each New Testament book.

Jesus Christ is in every book of the Bible, whether He’s mentioned by name or not. Because the Bible is the story of God’s great love affair with the people He’s created … with you and with me … and it’s the story of His plan for the life, the death, and the resurrection of Jesus Christ … all of which had to happen so that you and I could be brought home to God. You watch, you listen, you wait, you’ll see.

JESUS IN EVERY BOOK OF THE BIBLE.MPG (4:08)

Jesus Christ is the One we need. Jesus Christ is the One we can’t do without. I know we were scheduled to go into the MARK 1:1-20 this morning after our introduction to MARK two weeks ago now. But it’s been a challenging week in a host of ways, which I’ll tell you more about that in a bit.

But because of what’s been going on this week, for the fourth time in the past 4 ½ years, I decided near the end of the week that I needed to shift gears and focus on a different part of God’s Word than what I’d originally planned to fucs on. Partly for me … partly for you … and all for the sake of reality that in the midst of the chaos and uncertainty that can so often make up our lives, and we have to listen to Jesus Christ, and we’ve got to hang onto Jesus Christ with all we’ve got, and we have to cling to the God who has our name on His lips, and we have to steer the ship of our lives in whatever direction He leads us to steer.

And so this morning I’m not going to teach out of MARK 1, but out of a chapter in The Old Testament that I’ve quoted to you several times recently, but that I haven’t ever taught you out of … until now. So please take out your Bibles and turn with me to SECOND CHRONICLES 20.

SECOND CHRONICLES 20:1-3 (NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE)

1 Now it came about after this that the sons of Moab and the sons of Ammon, together with some of the Meunites, came to make war against Jehoshaphat.

2 Then some came and reported to Jehoshaphat, saying, “A great multitude is coming against you from beyond the sea, out of Aram and behold, they are in Hazazon-tamar (that is Engedi).”

3 Jehoshaphat was afraid and turned his attention to seek the Lord, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah.

With as many people as are gathered here this morning … and then again in the next service, I can’t know all the stuff that’s going on in everyone’s lives. I can’t know about all the armies that are marching against you, I can’t know all the situations in your lives, in your homes, at your jobs, with your health, in your marriages, with your kids, and in your life as students … but I know someone who does. His name is Jesus.

If you feel the enemy surrounding you this morning, if you feel afraid, or if you feel problems building up against you, I want to challenge you to do what King Jehoshaphat did. In the midst of Jehoshaphat’s fear, he dturned his attention to seek the Lord, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah. FASTING is simply letting go of the physical arena of our lives, so that we can more intentionally focus in on the spiritual arena of our lives.

As we continue on our journey through MARK, picking up next week in MARK 1 and moving through the book verse-by-verse, we’ll talk more about FASTING. But for right now, let me say that FASTING is almost always linked to PRAYER and with the READING, STUDYING, and LIVING OUT OF GOD’S WORD … because when we enter into a time, or a season of FASTING in our lives, it almost always involves us PRAYING for God’s will for our lives to be revealed or confirmed.

As maturing disciples of Jesus Christ, you and I should be learning to PRAY and FAST about every major decision in our lives – because FASTING is a way to conquer and silence the physical, and at the same time open the door to the supernatural plans and purposes of God in our lives. When we deny our body for a season, we feed our spirit and grow closer to the Lord – this is how God has made us. And I see our FIRST FAITH LESSON here this morning …

FAITH LESSON …

I want to learn more about FASTING … and in the days and weeks ahead of us, I’ll be asking you to join me – because I know that I’m not the only one who needs to move closer to God, and invite Him to reveal His supernatural plans and purposes to me. Will you join me?

Okay, let’s head back into SECOND CHRONICLES 20 …

SECOND CHRONICLES 20:4-12 (NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE)

4 So Judah gathered together to seek help from the Lord; they even came from all the cities of Judah to seek the Lord.

5 Then Jehoshaphat stood in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem, in the house of the Lord before the new court,

6 and he said, “O Lord, the God of our fathers, are You not God in the heavens? And are You not ruler over all the kingdoms of the nations? Power and might are in Your hand so that no one can stand against You.

7 “Did You not, O our God, drive out the inhabitants of this land before Your people Israel and give it to the descendants of Abraham Your friend forever?

8 “They have lived in it, and have built You a sanctuary there for Your name, saying,

9 ‘Should evil come upon us, the sword, or judgment, or pestilence, or famine, we will stand before this house and before You (for Your name is in this house) and cry to You in our distress, and You will hear and deliver us.’

10 “Now behold, the sons of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir, whom You did not let Israel invade when they came out of the land of Egypt (they turned aside from them and did not destroy them),

11 see how they are rewarding us by coming to drive us out from Your possession which You have given us as an inheritance.

12 “O our God, will You not judge them? For we are powerless before this great multitude who are coming against us; nor do we know what to do, but our eyes are on You.”

Do you see what’s going on? There’s no way out. The people of Judah are completely surrounded by their enemies, the Moabites and the Ammonites. And in the midst of a situation THAT SEEMED IMPOSSIBLE, after calling his people to PRAYER and to FASTING, King Jehoshaphat said in v. 12 … “We are powerless before this multitude coming against us; we don’t know what to do, but our eyes are on You.”

Let me ask you … “Where are your eyes?” Listen to me … when our eyes are on people, we’ll always get disappointed. When our eyes are focused on the circumstances of our lives … on the good things that are going on in our lives, OR on the difficult things going on in our lives … like the Apostle Peter when his eyes shifted off of Jesus and onto the waves out in the Sea of Galilee, we’re going down. But when you and I make the choice, like King Jehoshaphat to “keep our eyes are on the Lord”, we’ll be standing on the rock, firmly planted on Jesus Christ and on His plans and purposes for our lives, and He’ll see never turn His back on us, He’ll never give up on us, and He’ll never forsake us.

If you’re having financial problems, spread your bills out before God and say, “God, help me. Let me know where I’ve gone wrong and give me Your wisdom. I’m at the end of myself, and I’m admitting that You’re Who I need, and all I need. I surrender to You.”

If your marriage is floundering, get down on your face with your husband or wife, and humbly and sincerely confess, “God, have mercy on us. We’re admitting it – we’re hurting, we’ve lost our way, we’ve gotten off course, and we need Your help.”

If you’re on a downward spiral physically, either because of choices you’ve made, or because we live in a world that’s broken by sin and the death-laced consequences of sin, then this morning, I invite you to come to God and say, “God, You’re my only hope. I’ve run out of options. I’m done running. I’m going to trust You and the doctors and other health professionals you’ve put in my life. I’m going to put my life in Your hands, and do what You and they tell me to do. Thank You for being my Healer, my Provider, and my Hope.”

If your kids are giving you grief, breaking your hearts, and turning away from you and your family, or from God, humble yourself before God the Father, stand in the gap for your kids and say, “God, I’m bringing my son, my daughter, my kids to You and to Your purposes for their lives. Because, You’re their and my only hope.”

And in these responses to keep our eyes on God in the midst of the difficult circumstances of our lives, I see a SECOND FAITH LESSON …

FAITH LESSON …

Whatever battle you’re facing, press into Jesus Christ and into God’s Word through prayer and fasting … get counsel from other Believers in whose lives you see the character of Jesus Christ … or talk with me or someone else you trust about getting in touch with a counselor.

Whatever you do, make up your mind that no matter what happens, you’ll seek the Lord, and keep your eyes on Him.

SECOND CHRONICLES 20:13-17 (NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE)

13 All Judah was standing before the Lord, with their infants, their wives and their children.

14 Then in the midst of the assembly the Spirit of the Lord came upon Jahaziel the son of Zechariah, the son of Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah, the Levite of the sons of Asaph;

15 and he said, “Listen, all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem and King Jehoshaphat: Thus says the Lord to you, ‘Do not fear or be dismayed because of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours but God’s.

16 ‘Tomorrow go down against them. Behold, they will come up by the ascent of Ziz, and you will find them at the end of the valley in front of the wilderness of Jeruel.

17 ‘You need not fight in this battle; station yourselves, stand and see the salvation of the Lord on your behalf, O Judah and Jerusalem.’ Do not fear or be dismayed; tomorrow go out to face them, for the Lord is with you.”

“Do not fear or be dismayed because of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours but God’s”, God said to everyone gathered there through the words of a man named Jahaziel. v. 17 … “Stand still and I will fight for you.” Gang, God says the same thing to you and to me concerning the obstacles each one of us faces. Whatever our problem, challenge, obstacle, or impossible circumstance is, we can’t solve it in our own wisdom, or overcome it in our own energy. And so to every one of us here this morning, God says, “stand still and I will fight for you.” And yet the reality is that having the trust to stand still and to let God be our advocate, our protector, and our provider, can be one of the hardest things in the world for us to do.

SECOND CHRONICLES 20:18 (NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE)

18 Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground, and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell down before the Lord, worshiping the Lord.

When the people heard that the God Who created them, loved them, knew them … the God Who would never leave them or forsake them, would stand up and fight for them, they immediately worshiped Him. Let me ask you three serious questions …

Is that what you would have done?
Is that what you did the last time God tried to assure you that He was on your side and wasn’t ditching you in the middle of your dark hour?
Are you a fair-weather worshiper – trusting God when life’s going good, but then trying to find your own answers and your own way when life isn’t turning out the way you HOPED, or THOUGHT, or even PRAYED it would?

I’m not the kind of shepherd who beats his sheep. That’s not my MO. But after being a pastor and a teacher for about 30 years now, let me tell you what I’ve so often seen … in my life and in the lives of my fellow sheep …

It’s so easy for us to believe the PROMISES OF OTHER PEOPLE, and at the same time doubt the PROMISES OF GOD. For instance, when we know we’re getting a tax refund … “The Government has made me a promise!” … that we often have it spent before it arrives. And yet when we read a verse like this, which is a direct promise from God …

PHILIPPIANS 4:19a (J.B. PHILLIPS NEW TESTAMENT)

19a My God will supply all that you need from His glorious resources in Christ Jesus.

… and we don’t believe that GOD’S PROMISES APPLY TO US. In other words, we have more confidence in the government or in other people, than we do in God. And I see a THIRD FAITH LESSON this morning …

FAITH LESSON …

As followers of Christ, we need to be like King Jehoshaphat, a man whose walk God commended (SECOND CHRONICLES 17:3-4). Growing and reproducing Christians learn to claim the promises of God’s Word and say, “Victory is on the way, and God will come through. I know it in my knower.”

SECOND CHRONICLES 20:19-20 (NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE)

19 The Levites, from the sons of the Kohathites and of the sons of the Korahites, stood up to praise the Lord God of Israel, with a very loud voice.

20 They rose early in the morning and went out to the wilderness of Tekoa; and when they went out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, “Listen to me, O Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem, put your trust in the Lord your God and you will be established. Put your trust in His prophets and succeed.”

v. 20 … “put your trust in the Lord your God and you will be established.” And friends, the opposite is also just as true … because when we choose to not put our trust in the Lord, but instead, when we choose to trust in ourselves or in others, or in money, or in our jobs, we won’t be established. Because like God’s Word says in HEBREWS 11:6, “without faith it is impossible to please God.”

Still not sure I’m being honest with you, or that God’s Word isn’t truthful in this regard? Okay, then do yourself a favor and study the stories of the great people found throughout the Bible, and the stories of the giants of faith throughout history and here’s what you’ll find that all these folks have in common …

They saw what other people said was invisible and impossible, and in faith, they stood with God until they saw the invisible become visible, and the impossible become possible. They made the choice to walk hand-in-hand with God, taking each step by faith and not by sight.

So many people only see the obvious, and they miss the miraculous because they’re looking for the spectacular. But it’s the follower of Jesus Christ, the man the woman, the old person, the young person, the boy, or the girl, who sees beyond that, the one who looks into life with eyes of faith, who experiences most fully the blessings and the anointings of God on their life.

“Are you the person who sees the invisible and says “It’s never going to work. It’s never going to happen. It’s doomed to fail”? Or are the person who sees the invisible and claims the promise of God?” I see a FOURTH FAITH LESSON here …

FAITH LESSON …

Every person who’s left a lasting mark on the history of the church of Jesus Christ has been, like King Jehoshaphat, a man or woman of faith. Even when surrounded by enemies … when it seems like there’s no way out … when it appears like it’s an impossible situation … like King Jehoshaphat said, we must say, “I will trust in the Lord my God.” Oh friends, let’s follow his lead. It’s not too late.