When you’re facing insurmountable obstacles and all appears to be lost, there is only one direction to turn: toward God.
[Music]
with a message from God’s Word here’s
Charles Stanley some time ago I found
myself facing a situation that caused me
to feel very helpless I didn’t know what
to do I didn’t know which way to turn I
knew I didn’t have a solution whatsoever
their helplessness means that you have
passed the point of personal
manipulation that there’s not anything
you can do helplessness means that you
are now at the mercy of God as somebody
says well I don’t like that feeling of
helplessness well I don’t think anybody
likes it but on the other hand there is
something about being at the point of no
return something about feeling helpless
and knowing that you do have the mercy
of God upon which to rely I think all of
us probably have felt those times in our
life
maybe helpless about your finances are
helpless about your family or whatever
it might be but you feel absolutely
helpless and you didn’t know what to do
next what do you do next well I think
I’ve been there enough times in my life
to have learned exactly what to do and
that is to open God’s Word and to find
the passage of Scripture with those
principles that will help me through
that particular situation so what I’d
like to do in this passage today I want
to talk about this simple theme when we
feel helpless and I want you to turn to
a passage in which you will find the
principles of how you not to respond
when we have that helpless Phinney when
we don’t know what to do next we don’t
know which way to turn it seems that we
don’t have a solution we don’t know
where to go I want you to turn if you
will to second chronicles chapter 20 now
give you a little bit of background
while you’re turning there we’ll just
read the first of four verses of his
chapter but we’ll take the whole chapter
at least most of it what has happened is
Jehoshaphat who is the king of the
nation of Israel is a good king in fact
the Bible says about him in the
nineteenth chapter that he set his heart
to seek the Lord God the Bible says that
the Lord had used him to bring the
people back to the Lord the god of their
fathers and so he’s a good king and
suddenly he gets this message and the
message is that there are three armies
three nations three tribes that have
come together and their goal their
purpose is to attack him and his people
and to destroy them and to take what
belongs to them and this passage of
Scripture is Jehoshaphat’s response to
what he says is a very helpless a very
powerless situation which he did not
know what to do next so I want us to
read these first four verses together to
give us a little background now it came
about after this that the sons of Moab
and the sons of Amon together with some
of them unites came to make war against
Jehoshaphat then some came and reported
that Jehoshaphat saying a great
multitude is coming against you from
beyond the sea out of a ram and behold
they are in Hess’s on Tamar that is in
Getti Jehoshaphat was afraid and turned
his attention to seek the Lord and
proclaimed a fast threat all Judah so
Judah gathered together to seek help
from the Lord they even came from all
the cities of Judah to seek the Lord now
somebody says well no wait a minute
does not the Bible say fear not fear not
fear not did not David say that
throughout the Psalms and did not Jesus
say that that’s true does that mean that
no Christian is ever expected to be
afraid of any condition that is not what
it means
God knows that there will be
circumstances sometimes instantaneous
unseeable circumstances and unforced
seeable things that you and I will not
be able to foresee and predict that will
happen in our lives and so therefore it
may be that at the moment we first hear
them we are gripped with fear because
our first sudden response is I don’t
know what to do I don’t know which way
to turn any time we feel helpless what
we have done is we are experiencing what
it means to feel out of
control the feeling of being out of
control is always a fearful position to
be in but those of us who’ve trusted
Jesus Christ as our Savior and we know
the Almighty God of the universe
personally as a result of our
relationship to Jesus we know what to do
when gripped with fear and the dead fear
should only last a few moments and what
I want you to see in this first the
principle here is simply this that
Jehoshaphat was fearful for those
moments but he made the wisest decision
he could have ever have made and this is
the first thing that you and I should do
whenever we feel helpless and that is to
turn our eyes to seek the Lord
the first principle above all the rest
turn our eyes to seek the Lord because
the first word that should come out of
our mouths when we feel helpless is
father because what that does is this it
is a sudden recognition of Almighty God
it is a sudden recognition that we have
help it is a sudden recognition that we
have someone to turn to it is an
instantaneous igniter of my faith when I
know that I can turn to him look to him
and respond to him I know in my heart I
have someone that I can turn to that I
may feel helpless at the moment but I am
NOT hopeless as long as there was a God
and this is exactly what he did the
scripture says he was afraid he turned
his attention to seek the Lord and he
proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah
now one thing was here with this very
evident that he was a wise man is this
he did not only turn to God himself he
sent out the word and he was asking all
of the people of Judah to fast and pray
and so the scripture says Judah gathered
together to seek help from the Lord they
even came from all the cities of Judah
to seek the Lord let me ask you this do
you have someone anyone and whom you
have confidence any friend in your life
to whom you can go when you have those
helpless feelings when you don’t know
what to do next you don’t know what a
turn
and you know that listen you have passed
the point a personal manipulation you
can’t make it work is there somebody you
can pray with somebody you can call upon
if you’re one of those persons who has
no one in all of life that you can pray
with that you know in your heart when
you say to them here’s what I’m feeling
here’s what’s happening in my life I
don’t know what to do I don’t know where
to turn
I feel absolutely helpless if you don’t
have someone to whom you can go with
whom you can pray then you have missed
one of life’s greatest most powerful
assets in life and that is a praying
friend you have no greater assets
there’s something about knowing that
somebody is calling your name before God
and here was Jehoshaphat the king who
was saying Oh Lord and we’re gonna see
in just a few moments he said we’re
powerless we don’t know what to do he
said I don’t know what to do and so what
did he do he did the smartest wisest
thing he could do he gathered people
around him who would pray for him and
pray for the nation and who had prayed
that God would give him wisdom to know
what to do and how to go about it there
is something about in a moment of fear
simply crying out to God Oh father
because what you have done you have
tapped the eternal omnipotence of the
Living God who made us the promise when
he said he said he will enable he will
help he will become involved in the life
of the person who waits upon him that is
instead of running to someone else first
first of all father it ignites faith it
stirs something within us and it gives
us instantaneous hope we have hope that
our God will see us through this so when
you hit those times that you don’t know
what to do how to turn next and there is
no way to turn it seems the first thing
we do is we turn our hearts towards
seeking the Lord in prayer asking for
his direction and if you are one of
those blessed people who has one of all
folks one of all people to whom you can
go and say to them or call them this is
what I’m facing would you please
pray for me ask God to show me what to
do how to do it and where how to go
about it God will hear your plea to him
the second thing I want you to notice in
this passage is this that the second
thing Jehoshaphat did is one of the
wisest things you and I can do and that
is to recall God’s past deliverances in
our life that is because all of us who
are believers we have a heritage we’ve
trusted the Lord Jesus Christ over the
years we’ve watched God work in our life
and those of us who keep a diary we have
recorded what he has done and I say to
you over and over and over again you
ought to keep a diary you ought to write
it down and many of you have started
keeping Diaries you’ve begun to write it
down and what happens is when you don’t
you will forget Satan will see to it
that you forget it because listen you
may recall in distant times past how God
has worked to some degree and all you
remember is a minuscule part of it when
you take the time to write it down
here’s what you do you’ll express your
feelings at that moment you’ll express
how you feel you’ll express your fears
your express your hope you’ll express
your faith you’ll put down in whether
it’s pencil a pen on paper you will
describe your feelings that nobody else
can describe for you and if you don’t
you will forget it now somebody says
well I don’t know why that’s so
important do you know what this book is
somebody says well that’s the Word of
God well that’s true the infallible
inerrant Word of God it is the
revelation of God but listen it the
revelation of God is also the account
that is the written down account of how
God thought down through these years and
what he did down through these years how
he acted how he worked how he involved
himself in the life of individuals as
well as in the life of a nation this is
the written account of the actions and
and the attitude of Almighty God down
through history and so how do you and I
get blessed we opened this book and what
do we read we read what God says about
how he thinks and how he has thought and
we see what he did in the life of the
nation of Israel and in the life of the
men like Abraham
Isaac and Jacob and David and Daniel and
Paul and Peter and all the rest of them
we have an account of how he worked so
what happens we read how he worked in
their lives and we get blessed so when
you and I keep a diary we can go back
and read our own diary of how God has
worked in our own life in the past and
what does that do when we come to
present day and future day events that
cause us to feel helpless we likewise
again are encouraged by what we read and
a lot of people say well I just don’t
have time to do that you mean to tell me
you don’t have time to write down what
God has done in your life you don’t have
time to record the blessings of God and
the truth is here’s what that’ll do to
you it’ll make you become more more
sensitive to God’s actions in your life
daily little things that he does not
just the big thing it’s not just
answered prayer but you will begin to
see and begin to observe things that you
never saw before and as I say to people
not because I love and enjoy photography
but I know this is true you go on a trip
and you don’t take a camera you’ll see a
lot of things you go on a trip and you
take a camera with you you will see more
than the person who does not because
what that gives you the privilege of
doing is this it gives you the privilege
of looking at the world in which you’re
looking at that moment and you will
bracket out most of the world and you
will begin to see things more intimate
and you begin to see them from a
different perspective and things that
lose their perspective to you against
the background of a great vast landscape
or whatever it might be when you narrow
it down to a small square in your camera
you begin to see things that you’ve
never seen before when you and I begin
to record and decide we’re going to
record the events in our life here’s
what happens those things that get
washed out in a general view of your
daily life
all of a sudden you see this from a
different perspective and then you see
that’s the hand of God well look what
God did look how he answered that look
how God spoke look how he provided this
in my life and what happens is
your life takes on a whole different
spiritual level because you beginning to
see things you have never seen before of
the hand and presence and purpose and
plan and work of God in your life so
what happens we find here we find simply
this that he’s beginning to look look
what he says he’s beginning to recall
verse 5 then Jehoshaphat stood in the
Assembly of Judah and Jerusalem the
house of the Lord God the new Court and
he said O Lord the God of our fathers
are you not God in the heavens are you
not ruler over all the kingdoms of the
nation’s power and might are in your
hands so that no one can stand against
you did you not o our God drive out
speaking of the past drive out the
inhabitants of this land before your
people Israel and give it to the
descendants of Abraham your friend
forever they have lived in it and have
built you a sanctuary there for your
name and so what he’s doing he is
remembering how God has worked in the
life of the people of God before and now
he stands as king in this very difficult
situation in which he says he feels
powerless and not knowing what to do and
what is he doing he is first of all
turning his eyes before the Lord crying
out to God secondly what he’s doing is
reminding God recalling the events that
God had performed in the past and on
what you noticed this prayer which we’ll
come back to in a moment but this prayer
is so God’s Senate listen to this Oh
Lord that God of our fathers are you not
God in the heavens are you not ruler
over all the kingdoms of the nation’s
power and might or in your hand so that
no one can stand against you did you not
o our God drive them out and so
oftentimes our focus begins to be on
what the obstacle is what is it that’s
causing us to feel helpless and when our
focus is on that it increases listen in
size diminishes our faith and our fear
increases but it immediately turned his
heart and his mind to the Lord and he
immediately began to recall how God had
worked in the life of the nation of
Israel in the past and as a result of
that something began to happen in his
heart
his faith began to increase the moment
he began to cry out to God and to remind
the Lord of his faithfulness in the past
so number one what do we do when we hit
one of these helpless situations we
don’t know what to do next we turn our
eyes to seek the Lord in prayer and
secondly we begin to recall Lord when I
was in a circumstance equal to this or
like this in the past God here’s what
you did you’re a faithful God a loving
God a true God you don’t give up you
said I will be with you I will uphold
you with my righteous right hand you
said I’ll never forsake you I’ll never
never no never forsake you God here’s
where I am I need your help when you and
I can refer back to recall his hand in
the past something begins to happen in a
life that our helpless situation does
not leave us hopeless what is the third
principle here look at this if you will
the third thing I want you to notice is
this that he affirmed his faith in the
Living God it is not enough to pray and
say Lord here’s my need here’s my
situation here’s my circumstance there’s
something about affirming that faith
that is confessing that faith we can
confess and affirm God his my
circumstance here’s my situation his
helpless and hopeless I feel and Lord I
don’t know which way to turn and we can
go on and on and on in our prayers
about how bad things are how hopeless it
looks like to us and how helpless we
feel and God why don’t you do this we
can go on and on and on there’s
something about affirming our faith and
I want you to notice here how he does
this look if you will in verse 9 he said
let’s go back to verse 8 he said
speaking of the nation the past they’ve
lived in it they’ve built you a
sanctuary therefore your name saying and
this is what they prayed 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 we will
cry to you in our distress and you will
hear and deliver us now think about this
for a moment what is fear but an emotion
an emotion that can so grip us that it
can absolutely
paralyzed us from acting fear is
destructive fear causes all kinds of
problems in our life so we can either be
afraid and fear is simply an emotion you
say well I just can’t overcome it yes
you can if you’re a believer you don’t
know Christ as your Savior you know God
is your father you’re right
and may be times when you came but every
single believer has within him and her
the power to overcome fear we have the
power to move from fear to faith we can
step up out of the slime pits of fear
onto the listen godlet level of faith
how do we do that it’s an act of our
mind it’s a choice we make it is a
decision that we make and so he says our
forefathers when they felt the same kind
of circumstance when they felt helpless
and didn’t know what to do is what they
said whether we are facing a sword and
war judgment pestilence of family we
will stand before this house the house
of God he says we will cry to you in our
distress and you will hear and deliver
us there but it’s an affirmation of
faith based on what based on their
understanding of who God is based on
their understanding and their recalling
of the events in the past of how god it
worked so when somebody says well I’m
just gripped with fear I don’t know what
to do I understand that you don’t have
to stay in that position
we’ve all been there for either a few
seconds or a few moments or maybe a few
days or a few weeks and some people a
lot longer than that living in fear
living under this awesome horrible cloud
of fear what’s going to happen next oh I
don’t know what to do next I don’t know
what kind of decision to make
you don’t have to stay there it is a
decision you make what is the decision
we make is the decision we make we will
stand before the Living God we will cry
out to the Living God and our God will
deliver us he will give us a sense of
direction he will show us what to do we
may feel helpless but we are not
hopeless no child of God has ever been
hopeless when it comes to the reality of
things you may feel fearful
you may feel absolutely helpless to
change your circumstances but if God is
your God you have no reason to be
hopeless no reason to be hopeless
whatsoever and so What did he say he
said they stood before the house of the
Lord
he said they cried out to God and they
cried out and they said you will deliver
us that is an affirmation of faith I’m
trusting my god now the problem is this
oftentimes when we start praying the
more we pray the longer we pray we build
up this awesome case against ourselves
to God I feel so helpless
I feel so hopeless I don’t know what to
do nobody cares things are bad nobody
seems to understand Lord I just
sometimes I just want to feel like I
want to give up I just want to give up
and quit and go bury myself somewhere
and just forget life walk out of life
all of that is negative affirmations
whatever happened to the sovereign
omnipotent God who loves you
unconditionally don’t even say those
kind of things they don’t fit who you
are you’re a child of an omnipotent God
what did he pray he said Oh Lord the God
of our fathers are you not the God in
the heavens are you not the ruler over
all the kingdoms of the nation’s power
and might are in your hands so that no
one can stand against you listen no
obstacle no obstruction no enemy no
matter what can overpower the child of
the Living God walking in faith does
that mean that you’ll not be persecuted
no does that mean that some people will
not lose their lives because their faith
no it simply means this that even in
death they still conquer if that is the
will of God in times of persecution you
still conquer because absent from the
body present with the Lord listen we are
to affirm our faith because God is a
helper and he has sent the Holy Spirit
to live in the life of every single
believer if you’ve trusted Jesus Christ
as your Savior listen you have
omnipotence you have omniscience living
on the inside of you and the person of
the Holy Spirit who is God’s divine
helper sent to help you in every
circumstance and every situation and he
is
all wise he knows exactly what you to do
next no matter what well I want to
notice another principle here and that
is it’s not enough to cry out to God but
we must be willing to confess our
helpless feeling if we don’t confess
that it’s because we’re gonna figure out
some how to manipulate our circumstances
there are situations and circumstances
in which people get in that they are
helpless but they denied well I’ll
figure it out somehow I’ll manage
somehow and sometimes when you start
talking those people about the Lord they
get so turned off because the reason
they’re turned off is because of their
pride no one wants to admit I don’t know
what to do next
I’m absolutely helpless as to what to do
except a committed child of God who is
at least learning the ways of God
there’s nothing wrong with say I don’t
know what to do next
there’s nothing wrong with saying at
this moment and this situation my life I
feel so helpless
there’s nothing wrong with that it’s
what you do following that and so if you
deny your feeling of helplessness you
deny that you in desperate need what you
will do you will try to manipulate and
work out your circumstances to suit you
and more than likely you gonna do the
wrong thing you see listen to this
there’s nothing wrong with feeling
helpless in fact I guarantee you at some
point a point so many times in your life
God is going to arrange to bring you to
the place of helplessness in fact that’s
how a lot of people get saved when they
have exhausted everything they know how
to do to manage their life and it ends
up in an absolute total disaster how
many people have said God just brought
me to the end of myself which means
listen he shut me up to my own failures
and he’s the only one I had to turn to
and I trusted him as my saving God has
transformed my life so feeling helpless
is not all that bad if we respond in the
right fashion sometimes people deny the
fact that they feeling helpless and and
so I think that’s the amount of pride
all Hamlet I’ll make out just don’t
worry about it and I have said to a few
people not many people in life well I
just want to know I’m gonna be praying
for you well that’s okay thank you very
much
but I’m [ __ ] all work out I’m not sure
at all work out there’s some things
listen to me friend there’s some things
you are not going to be able to work out
there’s some circumstances and
situations you can’t handle so what do
you do you go get a drink or you take
some drug or you do something else in
other words get off your mind for a
while but doesn’t go away
you’ll never be able to live in
contentment and joy and peace and
happiness and the grace of God until you
learn to be able to say God I need you I
desperately need you Father I don’t know
what to do I don’t know what a turn I
need you now the cry or what it means to
cry to God what does it mean cry to God
it simply means this it is a spontaneous
response to an urgent need that I have
Oh father Oh father a spontaneous listen
I don’t have to pre-plan it it’s just a
spontaneous response to an urgent need
got here’s what’s happening and I
received a call this week from someone
the distant state and when they finished
telling me what they were facing and the
uncertainty of it I get on my knees
before God and I wept and wept and wept
and wept and the reason I did was
because I couldn’t fix them I couldn’t
change the situation I couldn’t help
them but I could cry out to God and call
their name and plead for God to do
something in their half so that
physically they would be well we cry out
to God because there’s a sense of
urgency a spontaneous since of urgency
if you came to me and said let me tell
you what I’m facing in life
spontaneously I would want to cry out to
God in your behalf because the things I
know I can’t fix in somebody else’s life
and I can’t change in their life as much
as I would like to but I can cry to God
and ask God to do it and so this whole
idea of crying out to him and admitting
the fact that this situation is hopeless
and helpless and and what we’re doing is
this we are recognizing when you say God
I feel helpless
what you’re saying is in my circumstance
god you must do it if you don’t do it
god it’s not gonna get done and there’s
nothing wrong with saying God you must
do it what I’m saying is God I have
exhausted all possibilities
I’m absolutely helpless God you must do
it does God love to hear that he loves
see you that you know why he loves to
hear that because what that means is
finally he’s got you where you want she
wants you you can’t do a thing about
your circumstance we don’t like it it’s
painful we’d like to change it and
sometimes he’s not gonna let us change
it he’s gonna squeeze us to the point
that there is absolutely nothing left of
our possibility of manipulating and
changing things and then we have to lift
our hearts in humility for him and say
dear God please change my circumstance
you see here’s what’s happening when you
and I are crying out to God we are
recognizing who he is
that is is Jehoshaphat said he’s the God
he’s the sovereign of this universe he’s
rumbling listen ruler over all kingdoms
but he’s the ruler over every single
person he allows people to wreck and
ruin their lives when they choose to he
reaches down to redeem the most wicked
and vile sinful human being when they’re
willing to respond to his love that’s
the kind of God he is and what happens
is when we come to a place of saying god
I’m hopeless I’m helpless I don’t know
what to do which way to turn that’s the
wisest thing you can do is to tell him
god I don’t know which way to turn
you’re acknowledging that he is the one
person who can help you you’re
acknowledging that you can’t do anything
for yourself you’re acknowledging that
he’s the God he says he is that’s why
you come into him
well the another principle of when you
check on that’s this and that is that
God will encourage us he always
encourages us in the times of our
helplessness listen to this passage the
scripture says I want you to notice
where Jehoshaphat is in this passage we
read that he said in the past here’s
what they said Lord we will stand we
will cry and you will deliver us and so
then he begins to talk about Amon Moab
and Mount Seir and the fact that they
are coming against them then he says in
verse 12 look at this verse 12
oh well God will you not judge them but
we are powerless before this great
multitude who are coming against this
nor do we know what to do but our eyes
are on you now most of the time when
you’re praying or talking and you put a
butt at the end of something as bad news
and when people say I love you but I
know God answers prayer but I know he
works those people’s lives but I know he
can change circumstances but and usually
but means but you can’t do it for me you
won’t do it for me and but usually is
they is the prelude to an expression of
my doubt but a whole god what about my
situation but look at this but he says o
our God will you not judge them but we
are powerless before this great
multitude who are coming against this
know we do we know what to do but our
eyes are upon you and I cannot say
enough and you hear me say this often
and listen the reason I say it is not
because I forgot what I said last week
it’s because you forgot what I said last
week and I’ve said over and over and
over again and that is our focus is the
key when something happens father
my focus is upon him we go through
difficulties and hardship our focus is
upon him but everything looks like it’s
falling apart
our focus is upon him if it drops off of
him only any of a situation in life and
any other person then all of a sudden we
have disconnected from oppenents and
omniscience and unconditional love –
weakness and maybe a friendship and
maybe some bit of love but nobody can
love us like God no one can help us like
God nobody can change our circumstances
like he can and so when you think about
the whole idea of encouragement here he
is crying out and that’s his condition
his condition he says we’re powerless we
don’t know what to do but our eyes are
upon you
I am affirming who you are I’m trusting
you to be the god you say you are I’m
looking to you even though I feel
powerless and hopeless and helpless at
this moment god I’m sure you’re gonna
show us what to do
well it’s interesting what happens here
because in the midst of that look if you
will beginning in verse 14 then in the
midst of the Assembly of the Spirit of
the Lord came upon jahaziel the son of
Zechariah the son of benaiah the sound
jealous unn of mattaniah that Levite of
the sons of ASA and he said that is this
man said listen all Judah and the
inhabitants of Jerusalem and King
Jehoshaphat thus says the Lord he says
I’ve got a word from God to you do not
fear or be dismayed because of this
great multitude for the battle is not
yours but gods now how much more
encouraging because Jehoshaphat had been
when this man stood listen the Spirit of
the Lord came upon him the spirit of the
Lord came upon him and he spoke the
message of God to Jehoshaphat and his
message was a message of encouragement
he said look fear not and don’t be
discouraged because of this great
multitude the battle is not yours but
the battle is gods listen what else he
said he said in verse 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 he says tomorrow go out to face
them for the Lord is with you when you
and I hit those tough times and we don’t
know what to do and that’s exactly what
he said he said Lord we don’t know what
to do he says there’s the great
multitudes coming upon us and he says we
don’t know what to do but our eyes are
upon you listen carefully when you and I
get in those circumstances those
situations whatever may be the cause
that’s the time when we need to open our
eyes to look for the evidence of the
presence of God in the circumstance in
our life secondly listen we need to open
our ears to listen to what God may be
trying to say to us God is always
speaking
difficult circumstances he wants us to
keep our eyes open to see what he wants
us to see is he working out something
here he wants us to keep our ears alert
to the voice of God sometimes his voice
may come through someone else as through
this particular prophet or it may come
through his word or it may come through
a change of circumstance we think
certainly this is the work of God in my
life
so that whenever we face one of those
situations that’s the time to be very
sensitive what we’re listening to and
who we’re listening to there is
sensitive to what we see going on around
us because God is an encouraging by
heart listen to what he says and my
favorite word of encouragement is in
Isaiah 41 when he says do not fear I am
with you do not anxiously look about you
I am your God
I will help you I will strengthen you I
will uphold you with my righteous right
hand all those who are insensitive about
you he says will be as nothing he says
cast all your cares upon him and he’ll
care for you he says you can come boldly
to the throne of grace to find Grace and
help in time of need he is a God of
encouragement so that no matter what we
are going through he is there I am with
you he says I will never leave you nor
forsake you and that rid of me that
really says no never forsake you he’s a
God of righteousness and holiness but
he’s a God of compassion and love and
oneness and empathy with us and he
desires to take our hand and walk us
through those valleys of helplessness so
that he can walk us through it in with
his unconditional love so that when we
come out on the other side we praise Him
and adore him and worship Him and
realize we were at the end of our rope
and not only at the end of our rope but
the rope was was unwinding and it was
about to snap at any moment and God
rescued us that’s the kind of God he is
but you know what the problem is that’s
not the kind of God the world sees
secondly that’s not the kind of God that
most Christians know they kind of got
most Christians know as well you’ve got
yourself in that message
get out that’s the kind of God most
people know he’s a gun of loving
compassion it doesn’t make any
difference what’s caused you to feel
helpless as a believer he’s there to
enable you strengthen you encourage you
and he wants you to focus on him this
almighty sovereign god of the universe
who loves you individually and
personally and surely listen to this he
was encouraged this battle is not yours
but gods you don’t have to fight in this
battle he says I want to do three things
station yourself stand and see the
salvation of the Lord now my favorite
verse are one of my most favorite verses
in which you know by now is Isaiah 64
verse 4 he says that God will act in
behalf of the one who waits for him
sometimes God wants us to face those
helpless moments and situations and not
do a thing at least for a season of time
coming to another point in a moment not
for season if not maybe a short period
time maybe before a few minutes he says
he acts in behalf of for the good of
because He loves us in behalf of the one
who waits for him God I don’t know what
to do I’m trusting you I’m gonna wait
for your direction you know watch this
he doesn’t act necessarily on behalf of
those who are going about doing their
own thing he acts in behalf of those who
wait for him that is those who wait for
sense of clearly divinely given
direction God this is where I mean God
says this is what I want you to do he is
an encourage of our heart and you see
the problem often times is that you will
go to someone else say what do you think
I ought to do and they’ll say well you
know what it just looks bad it’s really
bad I don’t know what in the world
you’re gonna do I got you just kind of
work his thing out yourself you know
what God has never said to us it really
looks bad he has never said things are
really beyond all possibility he’s never
said I don’t know what to do I can’t
help you this sovereign awesome father
of ours is listen all pouty understand
what that means that every single
measure of energy and exists
is the result of the awesome power of
God just like the Sun all the heat and
all the light nor the rays of it
Almighty God is the source of the energy
and the strength and the power of our
life he doesn’t want us to be
discouraged he’s a loving encouraging
father ready to give us strength and
help in time of need
well the sixth thing I want you to
notice here that so evident this passage
is this is that when we get in those
circumstances listen mister carefully
most of the time 99.9% if not a hundred
percent of the time God is going to
require us to act in some fashion it’s
not a matter just crying out to God but
he is going to command us to obey Him in
some act now let’s think about what
these people were first of all they felt
absolutely helpless but now they’re
becoming encouraged and as a result of
their encouragement trusting God
something happens here because I want
you notice how I encourage Jehoshaphat
became because in verse 12 he says we
were powerless before this great
multitudes coming upon us but verse 20
says they arose early in the morning
when after the wilderness of Toccoa when
they went out Jehoshaphat stood and said
listen to me o Judah and inhabitants of
Jerusalem put your faith in the Lord
your God and you will be established in
this land put your trust in his prophets
and succeed something happened to his
faith God encouraged him in the most in
the most trying de stressful time of his
life and what is he saying to them he’s
saying put your faith in God trust him
he will establish this in this land and
he says listen give thanks to the Lord
for his loving kindness is everlasting
may as well I want you to see God used
this prophet to encourage listen not on
the nation but the king and now we see
the king coming out and say trust the
Living God before he was saying O God we
don’t know what to trust the Living God
let me ask you what kind of person do
you want to follow somebody who’s
following God somebody who’s confident
God somebody who’s trusting
God somebody who knows God somebody whom
you know knows where they’re going and
how to get there as they follow the
Living God all of a sudden the whole
nation of Judah all the people suddenly
became encouraged they suddenly became
confident in the Living God how do I
know that because of what God required
of them now he required them something
that would appear absolutely ridiculous
and listen a sure plan of total defeat
he said here’s what we gonna do God had
spoken to him in the night he said we’re
gonna get all of our army together we’ve
already heard the message we won’t have
to fight we getting the army together
but we’re gonna put the choir and the
orchestra in front and we’re gonna march
toward exactly what he told us tomorrow
go down against them behold they will
come up by the ascent of ziz and you’ll
find them at the end of the valley and
from the wilderness of Jarrell it’s a
year ago he’s the battle is the Lord’s
I’m sure every man put on his sword and
his dagger knowing that it was going to
be hand-to-hand combat and it was going
to be bloody and a lot of them are going
to lose their life they certainly did
not understand we’re just going at that
and sing and praise the Lord and watch
what happens so God says here’s what I
want you to do let’s suppose that it
said there is no way we’re gonna send
our choir and our orchestra out in front
and be slaughtered before we even draw
the sword there’s no way we’re gonna do
that listen carefully this you watch
this and see if this doesn’t happen in
your life oftentimes in those moments of
helplessness God is going to require you
to do something that many times will not
seem reasonable to all of your friends
don’t even ask them because they won’t
understand oftentimes God will require
us something what’s he required he’s
required and Allisyn an act of obedience
the most important thing about that act
of obedience is the fact that we’re
trusting God he wants us to act out our
faith you can tell anybody well I do I
believe in God I trust God amen
everything
fantastic I’m believing that living got
out trust them for everything and all
hell breaks loose in your life can you
still say the same thing you don’t know
whether you can or not until everything
breaks loose and then you respond so
what did he do he sent them out and as a
result what happens God always does what
he promises to do
God always intervenes in the life of his
children when they trust them I doesn’t
making them as what the circumstance is
when we feel helpless God is delighted
he is most delighted to work in our life
and for our benefit so the Bible says
they all got together and they went out
verse 21 when he had consulted with the
people he appointed those who sang to
the Lord and those who praised him in
the holy attire as they went out before
the army and said give thanks to the
Lord for his loving kindness is
everlasting and here they are going the
battle and what are they doing they just
praising God and giving thanks who are
they giving thanks for but what they
believe God is going to do in their life
not what reason tells them not what
history is told them not what rationale
that tells them but we’re going to trust
God we’ve heard the message of God from
the prophet of God who says this is not
our battle we can stand this and we can
take our stand and we can watch God to
his awesome work in our life and to me
personally I don’t like difficult and
hardship and painting and more than
anybody else I don’t like to be in those
hopeless or helpless situations and more
than anyone else but I will have to
confess this I love to watch God do his
work when I know that there’s not one
thing under God’s heaven I can do about
it
there is the most thrilling joy with the
pain it’s like this this joy and pain
come together and the pain of how you
hurt but the joy of watching God work in
your life and manipulate not so much
manipulate with God but move and change
the circumstances right in front of your
eyes there is something gloriously
exciting about being helpless and stand
and listen taking your position of faith
and watching God work in your life and
until you get to the place in your own
spiritual maturity well you can say Lord
I just want to thank you for these
difficult times because of what I
learned because what I see I get my most
accurate glimpse of you Lord when I see
you doing what you promised
acting in my behalf when it’s totally
desolate desperate and seemingly I’m
hopeless and helpless there is something
about that that I don’t know that I can
explain it adequately except to say
there is this awesome sense of joy and
excitement along with the hurt and the
pain when you know that Almighty God has
suddenly involved himself and you know
one thing to certain he will work it out
perfectly no matter what but sometimes
he requires us to act there’s something
we have to do and for them it was an
awesome act of faith they went to battle
and their responsibility was to sing in
the praise the Lord now what happened
God sent him is this belts not yours now
don’t you think about something Ramon a
lot of times when you and I get in
difficult situations we think and we
moan and groan and sometimes we don’t
even stop to ask the question God is
this something that you allowed and
arranged in my life in order to say
something to me and to speak to my heart
and to get my attention is there
something good you want to do I think
there are often times there are battles
in our life that we don’t initiate it
isn’t something that we’ve necessarily
done wrong and caused it to happen
sometimes it is but sometimes their
battles that are not our battles and
sometimes it may be that somebody
opposes you and you think this is the
battle I mean sometimes it’s not your
battle is God’s battle because the
person who opposed you are criticized
you’re ridiculed you’re persecuted you
are fired you or whatever it might be
it’s a battle between them and God they
have attacked the servant or a child of
the Living God
that battle is his to protect you and to
care for you in the watch over you and
to provide for you and sometimes we want
to fight our battles and we want to
respond the criticism we want to fight
back when somebody says things or
accuses of things you know what the
Bible says the battle is gods it’s not
ours what do we do we take our stand
invade we stand before the Living God
trusting him and we see God work in the
most awesome ways well one less Prince
of LOD mentioned that sim for this and
that is that we can expect God to
miraculously intervene in our
circumstances we can expect we can
anticipate that now that’s exactly
what’s going on here they anticipated
what God was going to do because they
said put your trust in the Lord
Jehoshaphat said you will be established
put your trust in his prophets and you
will succeed now there is a deck the
right he says this is just I am
confident this is what’s gonna happen we
will succeed in this battle because it’s
not our battle it’s God’s he’s the
sovereign of the universe we’re trusting
him here’s what he’s told us to do he’s
told us the arm ourselves but the choir
in the orchestra of the singers out
front and March told the enemy now
listen what happens verse 22 when they
begin singing and praising the Lord
praising the Lord set ambushes against
the sons of Amon Moab and Mount Seir
who’d come against Judas so they were
routed here’s what God did he’s so
confused them look what he did to him
the sons of Amon and Moab rose up
against the inhabitants of Mount Seir
that was part of the army destroying
them completely and when they had
finished with the in heavens of sear
they helped to destroy Allah they turned
on each other probably gotten some
argument about who’s going to have what
when we destroy all these these people
in this room what happens when they came
to look out at their own the wilderness
they looked toward the multitude and
behold they were corpses lying on the
ground and no one had escaped hallelujah
Amen what does God do he’s just being
himself now that’s a big deal to us but
in God’s eyes he just
himself you know what he was doing
acting in behalf of those who waited for
him watch this waited for him
you see Jehoshaphat didn’t call his soul
to his generals to the war room he
called the whole nation to the prayer
room and what happened they waited to
respond until they got a message from
God what did God do I sell 64 for he
acted in behalf of those who waited for
him and what are we fine we find now
verse 25 when Jehoshaphat and his people
came to take their spoil they found much
among them things which they took for
themselves and more listened more than
they could carry and they were three
days taking the spoil because there was
so much of it what did God do watch this
remember this now you listen say Amen
remember this when you and I’ll wait
upon the Lord and we do it his way and
we respond to our helpless hopeless
situation in the way that honors and
pleases him you’ll always come out with
more than you expect
and more than you could ever possibly
deserve it’s always that way he always
has the best but those who wait for him
he always gets involved for those who
wait for him he is willing to do
whatever is necessary when you and I
willing to wait till we get a clear
message from God and when we get his
message he’s gonna make it just right
now there’s one big key to this whole
thing now I want you to look at this
passage they move on back of course the
Jerusalem carrying all these goods and
they can even do it one day and they
praise the Lord and and so forth then I
want you to notice something something
about Jehoshaphat because here is the
ultimate key Jehoshaphat he verse 32 he
walked in the way of his father ASA and
did not depart from it doing right in
the sight of God he won’t these
principles that work in your life
they’ll work in your life not sometimes
but every single time
that you and I come to him in one of
those circumstances when we’re walking
right with him and I can tell you that
on my face before God not long ago I was
asking God for a miracle for the simple
reason I was absolutely totally helpless
there was not one single solitary thing
I could do I went right down these
principles every single one of them and
I can tell you that much I’ll have to
admit it much to my amazement in a very
very very short period of time God
worked the most miraculous thing in my
life you know what I did I just took him
at his word and I just followed the
principles I just gave you will they
work I can tell you two reasons I know
their work first of all because they’re
in the Word of God and secondly because
they’ve been tried and tested over and
over and over again in my own life and
in lives of multitudes and multitudes of
saints in the past and there’s a very
present day and God is simply saying to
you whatever the circumstance in your
life in which you feel helpless here’s
the guide book here the principles this
is life’s compass unfailing unchanging
unalterable eternal compass of truth and
God will walk you through what you’re
facing and you’ll walk through it and
what you realize is this that for the
child of God the best is always what God
gives his obedient children and father
how grateful we are that you can take a
simple incident as in the life of
Jehoshaphat thousands of years later we
can apply these simple principles in our
lives and they work every single time I
pray the Holy Spirit will sink this
message drive it home drive it deep
ignite faith change attitudes transform
lives save people turn their hearts to
the one true God to you Jehovah Yahweh
Elohim a denial
the one true God and to your son the
Lord Jesus Christ who’s shed blood at
Calvary has paid man’s sin debt in full
and makes it possible for the lowest
worst most evil being on the face of
this earth to experience forgiveness
experience your love experience your
redemption your reconciliation your
justification your sanctification
your awesome forgiveness for every sin
and to experience a wonderful intimate
relationship with you this is my prayer
in Jesus name Amen