Welcome to the cross power church podcast.
You're listening to a service from our church in Campbell, TX.
We pray this message strengthens your faith and points you to the
cross. Now let's join the service.
It's. Good to be in the House of the
Lord tonight. Going to be in Second Chronicles
chapter 20. Very familiar passages of
scripture in here preached out of it lots of times, different
times and different things. But it something I need tonight
because anybody ever been going through something?
And I was going through something one time and a boy
asked me. He said what do you do when you
don't know what to do? We were working.
I said it's a good sermon. What?
I was a young preacher at that time, but I've preached this
message several times in different directions.
But I asked you tonight, what do you do when you don't know what
to do? Pray.
Sometimes we have to take action.
It's it it's different meanings at different times of our life.
You know, I was as y'all know, we've been going through a trial
and I didn't share everything Sunday morning.
We need your prayers. Candy's cancer come back as
triple negative and I don't understand that stuff.
It's the worst kind. But when it's called early, it's
the it's it's very good success rate of treating it.
So they're choosing to do chemo and, and four rounds of it.
And, and, and I had another friend that that took some
Ivormac. He has esophageal cancer.
A good friend of mine, he's been taking six CCS of Ivormac after
the chemo and was doing very good and taking the other stuff,
the Finbenzanol and was doing very good.
And I just share this along, you know, in case you know anybody,
but but he made it. He's he's a year and then he had
some pain in his neck, went back and they found some metastatic
systolic or whatever. Now.
So you know, we, we can't say that the that that it works.
You know that that the Ivormec helps.
I don't know if it does, it's not curing it.
I can say that first ten people noticing it, but bottom line, we
got to trust God. Amen.
And it's like I told my wife, we've all got something.
We want to know that we're cancer free.
We want to know that we're sin free.
We want to know all that. But this side of heaven, there's
some things we're not going to know.
You know, somebody can be walking and, and after listening
to the doctors, I really thought they had a better grip on it
than they do. You know what I mean?
I yeah, you've been going through it and you there is no
and you know, sister Linda's son and Bob's son and that, you
know, they, they don't know. I mean, they really don't.
They have theories, they have things.
They're trying. Praise God, but God knows, Amen.
And our times are in his hands. They're appointed by that You'll
just pray we stay strong through it.
That, you know, if we, if the chemo route works, praise God,
it works, Amen. But I know God's working and I
know he's never failed this yet. So that's what I can say.
But we do need prayers. But I know many of you need
prayers in here and tonight too. But I'm going to share some
things going to continue along these lines.
Sunday. The people's not here.
I'll try to recap. I may not, they should be here.
Amen. But but I'm going to cover this.
And you know, every preacher I've noticed over the years,
they get titles, they get series.
But you know, I've never, I've heard lots of preachers in my
time. You have too.
And this message has been preached a lot of different
ways. The four PS, the five PS, you
can go on and on, but I want you to write some of this stuff down
tonight. It will help you.
But there are essentials in our life that we must have to be
healthy spiritually, physically, financially.
And you know, in our minds, we think that if we can prosper in
those three areas, that everything in our life that we
would, that we would be happy because humans are in pursuit of
what happiness. But in this world, Jesus said
that we will have troubles, we will have trials, we will have
tribulations, we will have jobs that we don't want to go to many
times. But I've found if you could get
these four things, these 4 essentials, if you can get a
purpose, say that with me, a purpose in your spiritual life
or the, your, your earthly fleshly life.
If you can get purpose, a man, we're seeing that with James
Reed right now. He's been a hospital for five
months, you know, and you tend to lay there in the hospital,
you lose purpose, you lose focus.
And that's what Tony's been stressing to him.
And when I talk to him and there is a purpose and God has a plan,
a man. But if we could get these four
things and #1 is purpose in our life, if a Christian could know
that they had a purpose, they had something to strive for
other than just their self. So many Christians are still
looking at what self and they can't get self under control.
So it's hard to go to not just Christians, preachers, you know,
we tend to separate Christians and oh, they're not just a
Christian, they're a preacher, right?
But a lot of preachers can't get stuff under control.
But if we get a purpose, it becomes clear, hey man, if I get
a purpose of So I got to come over here and preach on Wizzy.
I've already preached those. But but there's a purpose,
right? We always have to have a purpose
#2 we have to have a plan. We have to have a plan to
achieve our purpose, right? But when we have a purpose and
we have a plan and it's based upon the Word of God and only
God that cannot fail, it gives us the other two things that we
long for, protection and provision.
If you could have a purpose in life, if you could have a plan
in life, if you could know you're protected in life and you
could know that someone or something was going to provide
for you, sounds like it'd be pretty good life, right?
But yeah, there's people that have those things, still aren't
happy. They have guards at their house.
They live behind a guarded gate. They have more money they could
ever spend, but yet they're still looking for a purpose,
right? We can't leave one of them out.
So I want to read to you about a king.
He had a purpose in Second Chronicles chapter 20, and he
reigned. He was the 4th king to reign
over Judah. Remember, Israel was divided
into two kingdoms, the northern and the southern Kingdom, and he
reigned over Judah. It was King Jehoshaphat and
there was he was a king that did promote godly principles.
He did do some things for God. He did, he did try to keep some
things going that David had handed down to him.
He was the son of ASA or ASA and Jehoshaphat.
He feared the Lord, but it was going into particular battle
this day in verse 20 and someone come to him.
You ever been having a good day and everything be going good and
and someone comes to you. I call him news toter.
Sometimes it's not good news. It's just it's some bad news.
You know, we we used to have a say in my other ministry.
We'd say they're a news toter. Don't be don't be repeating what
they say because they're told news.
It could be fake news, it could be real news.
Anybody ever got those things for those pay ministry.
You'll learn those things. But I had another one.
The lady, that Lady told me one time it hurt her ministry, she
said, She said, we just say they got pretty white teeth.
Nobody knows what we're talking about except my circle as they
just they got pretty white teeth.
What's what's coming through the teeth, right?
But you know what I'm saying, a news told or someone that that's
bringing you something always got something to tell.
And it's not usually about the Kingdom.
It's not usually godly news. And and you know, it's easy to
chime in. Sometimes we just want to hear
it. Sometimes we seem we got to hear
it. But you're better to refrain
from it, right? But Jehoshaphat, it says they
came to him in verse 2. It says in in Second Chronicles
chapter 20 verse 2, it says then some came and told Jehoshaphat,
a great multitude is coming against you from beyond the sea,
from Syria, and they are in has moment tomorrow which is in
Indiga. However, you say that in verse
3, it says Jehoshaphat feared. The first thing he did here was
he feared, but immediately when he feared, he set himself to
seek the Lord and he proclaimed a fast throughout all Judea.
So the first thing he did here when he feared he gave up
something, he said I'm going to give up something, I'm going to
fast before the Lord and I'm going to get a hold of God,
right? That's what the fast is about is
getting a hold of God and it's a job.
He feared the Lord and he proclaimed a fast throughout all
Judea. Verse 4 So you together,
together to ask help from the Lord, and from all the cities of
Judah they came to seek the Lord.
Then Jehoshaphat stood in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem
in the House of the Lord before the new court.
And he said, Oh Lord our God, our fathers, are you not God in
heaven? He feared, he fasted, but he
realized I've got a purpose because I've got a God that's
working behind me. And he recognizes that right
here. The second thing he did, he
declared a fast. And then he says here that he,
he recognizes who God is. Sometimes when we're in the
midst of a trial and we hear bad news and it seems like all the
things are coming against us from the North SE or West, we
tend to forget who God is. And he says here, Oh Lord God,
our fathers are. And do you not, are you not God
in heaven? And do you not rule over the
kingdoms of the nations? And in your hand is there not
power and might I love this question here.
Sometime we need to ask God that.
And and he's he's just reminding himself really here of who God
is and what God can do that no one is able to withstand you
isn't that powerful. No one can withstand your God.
Not a not a sickness, not no principality or anything in this
age or the age to come can withstand God when we have a
purpose in life and our purpose is to serve him.
Are you not our God who drove out the inhabitants?
He automatically goes back to and declares the things that God
had already done for him. You know, I pity for people
today that don't that don't have a purpose.
And you know, many Christians, I have to go way back and in my
life and many of you do too, to where we didn't have a purpose
where we didn't have a plan. You know, people, people they
come to church a lot of times and their biggest plan and
purpose itself. How many remember, Yeah, I was
always letting myself down. I was always but always doing
things. And but when I put my purpose
and my plans on the things of God, the things that I had begin
to change, right? But it cannot happen when you
don't position yourself in that place and in the correct place
where where God wants me to be with.
We have to have this strategic purpose in this plan.
But he said, are you not God who drove out in verse 7,
inhabitants of this land before your people Israel, and gave it
to the descendants of Abraham, your friend forever?
Remember that. I'm going to come back to that
in a minute. Your friend say that with me,
your friend forever. And they do what?
Why? Was it because he was in the
covenant, right with Abraham? So he was his friend forever.
And they dwell in it and have built you a sanctuary in it with
your name, saying, If disaster comes upon a sword, judgment,
pestilence or famine, we will stand before this temple and in
your presence for your name in this temple, and cry out to you
and our affliction. And you will hear and you will
save. So here in the 1st 10 verses
we've already seen that he declared a fast he he'd give up
some things he recognizes God's sovereignty that he's that he
can do anything his omnipotent presence.
He cries out and it was we read on.
It says in verse 10. It says here, here are the
people of Ayman and Mohab and Mount Siri, whom you would not
let Israel invade when they came out of the land of Egypt, but
they turn from them and did not destroy them.
Here they're rewarding by coming to throw us out of your
possession, which you have given us to inherit.
He says, oh our God, will you not judge them?
For we have no power against this great multitude.
Never felt like that. You're going through a trial.
You feel like you have no power. You have no control.
You know, the first thing we try to do when we're going through a
trial or going through something hard is we try to gain control
of it. And we think if we can gain
control of it, that we somehow bring some self comfort.
But see, there's things that will come your way that you have
no control over. Amen.
Family, friends, things that happened to us in this life,
diseases. But it says we have no power
against this great multitude that is coming against us.
I I thought so hard about that this afternoon when I was
reading that, because, you know, the, the Bible says that in the,
as it was in the days of Noah, so will it be in the coming of
the Son of Man. And also, you know, we, we're,
we're doing a lot of things now as a nation.
We're bombing other countries. We're doing all of these things.
And, and yet we just we, we, we do it.
And, and even our president sometimes, yeah, it's like it's
no big deal, but it is a big deal.
A man because there is a king of the North that is coming.
And he just as just as these were coming, there is a king
from the north that is going to come.
And and America is going to face confrontation in the near
future. I really believe.
Amen. And as I've said many times,
there's something that that always makes me wonder about
America and the things because all the people that are in
America, especially now, we think we're unstoppable.
But the Bible is clear that that a man will do what he will reap
what he's sown at a later date. You know, America is the is the
only nations that have sown nuclear bombs in here or she we
have sown 2 of them. We have sown 2 of them.
And thank God they're fighting to keep them out of here.
But it's just food for thought there because see, we there,
there's coming some things up on our country that we cannot
control and we're going to see them.
I believe it's the day is getting so near that and, and,
and it's even a worse place maybe than we were before
because we don't really think it can happen to us.
We don't really think that it's going to have.
We think that we're bigger and better.
And if that's true, why are we not mentioned in end time
prophecy? So we better be praying.
We better be praying for our leaders because there's some
things that are coming against us.
Nor do we know what to do. Preaching to you tonight about
what to do when you don't know what to do.
These are steps, he says. We do not know what to do, but I
like this. The last thing he does here is,
he says, But our eyes are up on you.
Our eyes are up on you, so we know where God is, but we can't
place our physical eyes upon God.
That's why we spend all the time around here preaching in the
spiritual right, because we have to see with our spiritual eyes.
Now all of Judea, all of Judah with their little ones, their
wives, and their children stood before the Lord.
Then the Spirit of the Lord in verse 14 came up on Jay Hassle,
the son of Zechariah, the son of Ben and I, and the son of jail,
and the son of Matthea the Levi, the sons of Aspen in the midst
of the assembly. And he said, listen, all of you
of Judea, you inhabitants of Jerusalem, and you King
Jehoshaphat Thus says the Lord, do not be afraid nor dismayed
because of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours.
What a thing for God to tell you, what a thing for us to
recognize. And he says tomorrow go down
against them, they will surely come up by the ascent of Zing,
and you will find them at the end of the brook before the
wilderness of Jerusalem or Gerald.
You will not need to fight in this battle preached on that
many times. You will not need to fight in
this battle. What would a battle be like if
we didn't fight in it? It'd be a good battle.
But see, why would he not have to fight?
Because he had already positioned himself.
He already had a strategic purpose.
He was where God wanted him. But many times we don't realize
where we're at spiritually and we don't position ourselves.
Going to follow up on some of this stuff Sunday of how to
position ourself. A position is a situation or set
of circumstances, especially one that affects one's power to act.
Did y'all get that? A situation or a set of
circumstances, especially one that affects one's power to act,
What makes it? What affects our power that we
always think we have to fight? What would it be like here?
See, the God told him, He said you will not need to fight in
this battle. Just position yourself.
If you're in the right position, you don't have to fight is what
he was saying right? But we're always in the fight
position, you know, spiritually, we're always going through a
battle because we haven't positioned ourselves before the
battle to where we didn't have to fight in it, right?
So we're always having to fight. What's the number one thing that
causes us to have to fight, makes our response time to a
battle or trial slower? What is it?
It's sin. Sin.
That's why we preach on it so much because sin makes your
response time slower when you're feeding your life spiritually,
sin will always make your response time slower because if
we don't have we have unrepented sin in our heart.
Condemnation comes in and then we don't even want to go to
church. We don't even want to hear the
word of God. We don't build our faith because
we we we think we sin in our eyes is on the sin.
So it's slower slows our response time.
See, a position is a state of being placed where we have an
advantage over the rival. You need an advantage over Satan
tonight if you're going to defeat him, because you're in a
competitive situation, whether you realize there or not.
A lot of people throw up their hands and just say, well, I've
been saved, I've been baptized. It's God's battle.
But that sounds good. But if you hadn't positioned
yourself, the enemy's fixing to come in and he's fixing to
defeat you because he's your rival.
And the stakes are high because it's a soul that's going to live
somewhere for eternity. And Satan wants your soul a man.
He has a point that he thinks he can prove to God, and he's
trying to prove it. The stakes are high.
Wake up, look up because your redemption draws nigh.
But I challenge you, take these steps get you a purpose.
See, not everyone wants to hear the gospel, much less live it.
I begin to think of, you know, two people go to church on any
given Sunday. Two people turn on the radio any
given day and listen to a message and preaching something
about positioning yourself or preaching something about the
things we've overcome in this life.
Well, one person takes it as they got their checklist out
there. Like, man, I've done that I've
done that. This is a good thing.
I got all these things going to my spiritual life and they stick
their chest out. I've been reading my I've been
doing everything the preacher said this morning, man, while
the other one is sitting over here ain't done none of it on
the same seat on the same royal pews a few pews down.
You're getting lifted up because you positioned yourself to
receive the word of God and the Holy Spirit to minister to you
while the other one over here hasn't been positioned in their
self. So two people, you can preach
one message, one thinks it's really good.
The other one thinks is you. They just got beat over the head
with a 2 by 4, right? Why?
Anybody ever been there and don't want to go back because
they took such a beating, but yet the other one took such a
blessing? What was the difference?
One had positioned herself, right?
You know, you can almost see it what people's going through
sometimes. Couldn't you sister Linda
preaching the same? You see their fate.
Oh, I just hit them because they're doing that and they're
like, you know, and then the other bless God, that's under
the blood. Wow.
One has positioned herself, one has not.
Position yourself. Many people want to talk to you
about the Lord because they know you're a Christian.
I was hunting with a guy a few months ago and got a got AI had
talked to the same guy he was talking to just a few days
before and the the conversation was totally different.
He didn't know I was even there and I was hearing it.
You know, everybody likes to talk on speaker.
Beware the things you say, the things you do.
People will find out sooner or later.
But I was like, this is the same guy that just told me how he was
growing. This is the same guy that was
preaching to me and quoting me scripture 2 days ago.
Is that really human? I got all said who was you
talking to? And he tell us that's what I
thought. I just prayed for him, you know.
But see, we have to discern these things because I thank God
every day for my new song. How about you?
I thank God every day for my new tongue, for all the things that
God gave me when He saved me, Amen.
I don't hear these people talking about what they give up
when they got. I thank God for all the things
He gave me, Amen. He gave.
Somebody ought to praise the Lord in this house, Amen.
He give you a new song. He give you a New Hope.
He give you a future. He's worthy of our praise today.
See, after receiving the report, Jehoshaphat stood in the
assembly. He realized that he said we
don't know what to do. But when he did not know what to
do, he said our eyes remain on you.
The battles, not mine. It's God's.
I find peace in that. Amen.
Because you're fighting a battle you can't win anyway.
Position yourself and you will find there's some battles that
you might not have to fight. The best way to fight battles
when you're going through trials, when you're going
through heartaches, go to John chapter 15 and verse 9.
We can't fight battles. If I came to you and I'm not
going to do it, so don't get nervous, But if I came to you
and said there's what is it in your life that I could just take
out tonight that I can just take out and give you back what
you're wanting in that area? Just take that piece that's got
you all disturbed and take it out.
You know, I, I would dare say if you went out on the street and
ventured out and begin to give people the microphone to
announce it, they it would probably be broke money because
people think it fixes things when we know it don't.
But I think the second one, what do y'all think it would be?
In fact, you could go to people and say, I want this thing
that's causing you not to be able to live for God like you
need to. It just pulls you down every
day. What would it be?
I thank you. Boldness.
Yeah, that does a lot. Pride maybe.
But I really think, I think that people would have an
individual's name if I could get rid of this one person.
Because every time they're in my life, every time, maybe it's two
or for some people it's more than one.
For some people, it's everybody. And they hadn't figured out that
it's them, right? You ever know somebody?
It's everybody else. But everybody sees it.
But you, you have to look at your own self sometimes.
But I think sometimes it would be like that.
But when you're fighting a battle, it doesn't matter what
it is. And I'm just, I'm going to be
honest with you. And I, this is what I fear for
the United States of America because I fear our leader's a
smart man. I fear our leader does reach for
God, but I fear our leader lacks love.
I fear our leader lacks love. And without love, we're nothing
in John chapter 15 and verse 18. Let's go to verse 9, John 15,
verse 9. It says as the Father, love me.
Think about this. I also have loved you.
This is Jesus talking. You know, we think many times
the enemy comes in and tells us he don't love us because of what
we've done. That's not true.
He still loves us. Abide, man, I, I just got all
over me today when I read that. Abide and my love.
See, His love is an endless love.
It's a bound, unboundless love and it reaches out and it
touches me. If you keep my commandments, you
will abide in my love. That's powerful, isn't it?
Just as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in His
love. Jesus needed love.
These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may remain in
you. See, if you don't have love, you
don't have joy, and that your joy may be full.
This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved
you. That's that's powerful.
Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down his own
life for his friends. Remember what we read a while
ago back there in Chronicles? You're my friends and said we
were. We have remained his friends
since the covenant with Abraham. You're my friends if you do
whatever I command you. No longer do I call you
servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing.
But I have called you friends for all things that I heard from
the Father I have made known to you.
You did not choose me, but I chose you, and I appointed you
that you should go and bear fruit.
I like that that you should go and barefoot and that your fruit
should remain that whatever you ask the Father in my name, He
may give you these things. I have commanded you that you
love one another. See, there's a place that God's
trying to position us, and I've known some great teachers, some
great preachers, but I didn't feel love.
We can never get away from love, and love is one of the hardest
thing. Jesus said that that's one thing
we have to do is love our neighbor as ourself, right?
But there's a place that God's trying to position you in so you
can win your battle. How many believe that tonight?
It might be a trial. It might be hard pressed on
every side, but position yourself.
And when you position yourself, you might get an answer like
Jehoshaphat did. You don't need to fight this
thing. Let me handle it.
Let's go to let's go back to Second Rock Chronicles verse 18
through 22. I'm going to read here and I'm
verse chapter 20, verse 18 we're let's just read on down.
I listed 17 that says you will not need to fight in this
battle. Say it with me.
Position yourselves, stand still and see the salvation of the
Lord who is with you. I wonder how many Christians
think about positioning their self every day.
They just walk around like a blonde.
You know God's going to take care of.
God's going to do it. Oh, God's going to do it.
I walk out in front of this truck.
God just going to stop it out here running 70 miles an hour.
No, God give you wisdom, right? God give you the power and might
to position yourself. He says, O Judah, O Jerusalem,
do not fear nor be dismayed, for tomorrow go out against them.
I like this right here. See, when you position yourself,
the Lord is with you, the Lord is with you.
Jehoshaphat bowed his head and his face to the ground, And all
Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem bowed before the Lord,
worshipping the Lord, than the Levites and the children of the
Coathites, and the children of the Whoever stood up and praised
the Lord God of Israel with voices loud and high.
They stood up and they begin to praise because they had
positioned herself. So they rose early in the
morning, and they went out into the wilderness of Tioka.
And as they went out, Jehoshaphat stood and he said,
Hear me, O Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem, believe in the
Lord your God, and you shall be established.
Believe his prophets and you shall prosper.
That word still true today. I believe it.
And when he had consulted with the people, he appointed those
who should sing to the Lord. I like that he didn't appoint a
council that could come in and talk to everybody about the
problems. He said we've all got problems,
we've all failed, but today we're going to worship a man.
Today we're going to praise the Lord.
I talked to some people that was here Sunday morning.
They said, man, I haven't felt the Holy Spirit like that in a
long time. As I begin to walk to them
altars, I said, God, I want to feel your presence again.
And as I said, it doesn't matter how much you fall, you got to
keep getting back up. But he said he appointed those
that who should sing to the Lord.
You know, that's the greatest counseling session you could
ever have. This somebody who wants
counseling, just bring them on in the office, turn some praise
and worship. And I said, look to the God that
can fix it. Amen.
Because I can't fix it. He can.
He appointed those. I wonder if there was something
I Can't Sing. I'll do anything, but I Can't
Sing. And then there was some that
probably wanted to sing and couldn't sing at all.
You have both kinds, right? But it's not that we listen to.
It's about the praise. Amen.
It's about the praise. But it says that.
And it says that those who should sing to the Lord.
I like that. Should some shouldn't, I guess.
But he said He appointed those who should sing to the Lord and
who should praise look well, they look at look at the praise
they give here, the praise, the beauty of holiness.
It's a lot different than the praise we see today.
You know, some of these concerts that people spend enormous
amounts of money to go to and and these these people charge
minimums of millions of dollars to just to come and they serve
alcohol at a lot of them serve alcohol.
If I was going to preach somewhere like that, I would I
would ask him not to serve alcohol.
I wouldn't go right. But they're up there.
You can see them zoom in on some of them.
They're worshiping the Lord and drinking alcohol and just be in
the world. But it's today we're going to
worship God. I'm not sure that this right
here don't fit and who should praise?
We all should praise, but there's a praise that he
receives is a praise that he rejects because what you're
praising is the beauty of holiness.
I like that, don't you? So if I'm not, I can praise.
But there's sometimes that when I begin to praise, His Holiness
has got to get on me. Right as they went out before
the armies and they were saying praise the Lord for his mercy.
Endure, say it with me forever. Now when they begin to sing and
praise, y'all ready for this is the best part.
When they begin to sing and praise say it with me.
When I begin to sing and praise, I Can't Sing well you better
learn, you better find somewhere that you can sing.
When they begin to sing and to praise the Lord boy like this
the Lord said an ambush. Tell the enemy my God's about to
ambush you against the people of Amon and Mohab and Mount Seir,
who had come against Judah and they were defeated.
Your God set in an ambush. I told the devil that this
morning. So my God's about to set ambush
for you. Enough's enough for the people
of Amon and Mohab stood up against the habit, inhabitants
of Mount Siri to utterly kill and destroy them.
And when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Syria, they
helped to destroy one another. Isn't that cool?
They didn't. God caused him to fight amongst
ourselves. And he said you ain't going to
have to fight because they're going to kill themselves.
That much like America. Hey man, we ain't nobody's going
to have to wipe us out if we keep going.
We're going to kill ourselves. Hey, man, we're going to break
out because we can't get along and acknowledge God.
That's the truth. You want to hear some more?
So when Judah came to a place overlooking the wilderness, they
look toward the multitude, and there were their dead bodies
falling on the ground, and no one escaped.
When God sets an ambush is serious.
When Jehoshaphat and his people came to take away their spoil,
they found among them in an abundance of valuables on the
dead bodies and precious jewelry which they stripped off for
themselves more than they could carry.
He said you don't got to fight this battle.
We're just going to bless you today because they had
positioned themselves and let's let's go down to verse 29.
You go home read the rest of it and it says in the fear of God
was on all the kingdoms of those countries when they heard that
the Lord had fought against the enemies of Israel.
Then the realm of Jehoshaphat was quiet for his God gave him
rest all around. Go home and read deny the rest
of that. I'm going to keep you read it,
but 31 to to the end there go read what happened to
Jehoshaphat. He wavered a little bit.
He joined in with a he joined in with another king and did some
things that that that he he didn't really have nothing to do
with it, but he kind of joined forces with it a little bit.
And God did not bless some things in his life after that.
He his and and he was unable to pass his faith on to his son
Jerome, because after him, he he killed his brothers and he
married a daughter of King Ahab. I don't know if it was because
he wavered a little bit there, but you read it in 35
Jehoshaphat. He, he allied himself with
Isaiah, the king of Israel, who acted very wickedly.
So he wavered a little bit. It's important to keep the plan
of God, the purpose of God, the protection of God and the
provision of God in your life. There's key things that
Jehoshaphat did here to position himself.
The number one thing he did, and I'm going to close, he took his
eyes off the battle. Whatever you're battling
tonight, maybe it's a habit, maybe it's something else,
Whatever it is, take your eyes off of it because there's a
great multitude that you can't see.
A host of heavenly angels that's there to help you.
Just as the enemy was coming for Jehoshaphat, he's coming for us.
He's not stopping. But he proclaimed to fast.
He spent more time with God number #2 and he asked for help
from the Lord. He stood with boldness and he
proclaimed who God was. He recognizes His sovereignty
and he recalls past victories. When we when we do these things,
it puts us in a position for victory.
Don't forget love. Just as Jesus said, we're
friends of His. As we close, I want to read this
very important passage of Scripture here in First
Corinthians 13. If you ever think you've
arrived, go read this. He talks about the greatest gift
here. And when you're positioning in
your battle, I said the number one thing you got to do is love,
Amen. You got to love those that
persecute you because if you if you, if you start looking at
just those that persecute you, pretty soon love will leave you.
And the apostle Paul says here in First Corinthians 13, he
says, let's stand as we read this, though I speak with
tongues of men and angels, but I have not loved.
I have become a sounding brass or a clanging symbol.
People in the world need to know that we love them.
Amen. When you're going through a
battle, even if you're fighting against somebody, they got to
know that you love them. If you're discipline a child,
you got to discipline, but they got to know that you love them.
And though I have the gift of prophecy and understand all
mysteries, that'd be a great thing, wouldn't it?
And all knowledge. And though I have all faith so
that I can remove mountains, but have not love, I'm nothing.
And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I
give my body to be burned, well, it's pretty serious.
But have not love. It profits me nothing.
There's some people hard to love.
Anybody got them in your life? Seems like the more you love,
the more they take. But look what it does here.
Love suffers long and is kind. Love does not envy.
Love does not parade itself. It's not puffed up.
It does not behave rudely. We need love, right?
It does not seek its own. It's not provoked.
Love's powerful. It thinks no evil, does not
rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in truth, bears all
things, believes all things, hopes all things, and endures
all things. Love never fails.
How could something do this? Because it's the DNA of God.
God is what? Love.
That's why you need love, you need God.
But where there are prophecies, they will what?
Where there are tongues, they will cease.
Where there is knowledge, it will vanish away.
Or you get so old you can't remember it right.
It vanishes. For we know in part, we prophecy
in part, but when that which is perfect has come, then that
which is in part will be done away with.
When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child,
I thought as a child. But when I became a man, I put
away childish things. But I'm preaching to somebody
tonight. Be a man for now we see in a
mirror dimly, but then face to face.
Isn't that powerful? Now I know in part.
But then I shall know, just as I also am known.
Now abide faith. Now abide faith, hope, love.
These are the three. But the greatest thing I can do
is to love. I think we forget that
sometimes. Even in the battles when you're
going through the battles, even when somebody's made you mad,
you know, God's places verse on my heart for the last few years
and he says, Oh no man, nothing but to love him.
And then what would what would life be like if the old no man,
nothing but to love him? I'm headed there.
Amen. By the grace of God, I'm headed
there. Father, we love you tonight.
Father, we all face battles. We all face trials in this life,
but help us to do his King Jehoshaphat did help us to
recognize who you are. Help us to keep our eyes upon
you. Help us to know that you have a
plan, you have a purpose, and where your plan is and where
your purpose is, there is provision and there is say it
with me protection. And we thank you for that
tonight. But most of all, when we're in
the heat of the battle, help us to proclaim a fast, ask for help
from the Lord and stand with boldness and proclaim who you
are and recall past victories. But most of all, help us to
love. For without love we're nothing.
Without love we're nothing. And we thank you that you are
love, and we thank you that love overcomes all things.
Father, give us love tonight. We'll have no worries, because
you are love. It's in your Son's name.
We ask and pray. Amen.
Thanks for listening to the Cross Power Church podcast.
May you know that true hope, peace, and salvation can only be
found in Jesus. If you're near Campbell, TX, we
would love for you to join us in person.
You can find service times at crosspowerchurch.com.