Knees for Praying - Jehoshaphat
Notes
Transcript
Introduction: A few years ago, Amanda and I started watching the show 24 together. Maybe you’ve seen it.
We loved it. There was a lot of action and a lot of questions about how everything was going to work out in a short amount of time. The craziest part of the show was how they were able to navigate LA traffic and still have enough time for a plot and commercials in that hour time slot.
But over time, I noticed that the show was effecting me in negative ways. I found myself having nightmares where I’m being chased by terrorists and having to save the world with no hope. I had to stop watching after season 1. Amanda watched the rest by herself.
I found that I need my shows to resolve in 45 minutes or less. And I need a happy ending. The world around us has enough tragic endings that I don’t really want that in my entertainment choices.
Now with shows like this, you know that eventually everything is going to work out. I mean it’s Jack Bower.
In life you worry if things will work out like they do in the movies. Especially when things get desperate.
But if we want to know how to handle desperate situations, the Bible is a great help because it’s full of desperate situations. But what we can learn most from the stories of the Bible is how best to respond.
Transition to the Text: Turn with me in your Bibles to 2 Chronicles 20:1-12. Jehoshaphat was the king of Judah. He was a descendant of David and generally was a good king who loved the Lord. He made some dumb decisions in trying to make peace with the king of Israel. Typically wicked kings could expect judgment and destruction. On the other hand, you’d think that good kings would be blessed by God. But that’s not the way that it always works. Sometimes wicked kings prosper and good kinds face all kinds of adversity. But what often distinguishes a good king fro a bad king is how they respond to the ups and downs of life.
So when things got rough in Jehoshaphat’s reign, he remembered to pray.
Introduce:
Authentic Principle: Hope is never lost when you remember to pray.
Authentic Principle: Hope is never lost when you remember to pray.
Read:
1 After this the Moabites and Ammonites, and with them some of the Meunites, came against Jehoshaphat for battle. 2 Some men came and told Jehoshaphat, “A great multitude is coming against you from Edom, from beyond the sea; and, behold, they are in Hazazon-tamar” (that is, Engedi). 3 Then Jehoshaphat was afraid and set his face to seek the Lord, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah. 4 And Judah assembled to seek help from the Lord; from all the cities of Judah they came to seek the Lord. 5 And Jehoshaphat stood in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem, in the house of the Lord, before the new court, 6 and said, “O Lord, God of our fathers, are you not God in heaven? You rule over all the kingdoms of the nations. In your hand are power and might, so that none is able to withstand you. 7 Did you not, our God, drive out the inhabitants of this land before your people Israel, and give it forever to the descendants of Abraham your friend? 8 And they have lived in it and have built for you in it a sanctuary for your name, saying, 9 ‘If disaster comes upon us, the sword, judgment, or pestilence, or famine, we will stand before this house and before you—for your name is in this house—and cry out to you in our affliction, and you will hear and save.’ 10 And now behold, the men of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir, whom you would not let Israel invade when they came from the land of Egypt, and whom they avoided and did not destroy— 11 behold, they reward us by coming to drive us out of your possession, which you have given us to inherit. 12 O our God, will you not execute judgment on them? For we are powerless against this great horde that is coming against us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you.”
Authentic Principle: Hope is never lost when you remember to pray.
Authentic Principle: Hope is never lost when you remember to pray.
Transition: For Jehoshaphat and his people, Hope seemed lost. How would they make it out of this alive?
1. Pray when others bring bad news. (2 Chronicles 20:1-2)
1. Pray when others bring bad news. (2 Chronicles 20:1-2)
Explanation: Let’s get this straight. The moabites and the Ammonites with some of the Meunites, have surrounded Jehoshaphat and his army. And now some men have come to tell Jehoshaphat that a desperate situation is now worse: A great multitude is also coming Edom; from beyond the sea and they are close.
This could mean the end of the jewish people. There is no way that they can achieve victory by their own numbers and strength.
When bad things happen, people naturally look to their leader to help. That’s why the men came to Jehoshaphat anyway. He was the King, in direct line of succession back to David. The family to which God had promised would always sit on the throne of David. If God would help anyone, it would be the king of Judah.
The leader sets the tone for the whole people. However they respond, the people will follow.
But Jehoshaphat had his share of bad news already, how would he respond to this added bad news?
Illustration:There are different ways of breaking bad news to people. Sometimes people say, “I’ve got good new and bad news. What do you want first?”
I always go for the bad news first. Rip the band-aid off. And then sooth yourself with the good news, which is usually just neutral news that seems good in comparison to the bad news.
But the truth is we love delivering good news because why not? It makes people happy! But bad news stinks. I would hate to be a doctor who always has to deliver bad news. Bad news weighs on you and even though you’re just the messenger, sometimes they take out their frustration on you.
Now it’s one thing to give out bad news, but how do you respond when you get bad news?
Do you follow the 5 stages of grief? Denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance?
Or like Jehoshaphat, do you skip all of that and go straight to God in Prayer?
Application:
The truth is that it’s inevitable that we will find ourselves in a desperate situation at some point in our lives.
How do you respond in desperate situations? Who is watching you hoping to draw strength from your response?
Let’s consider how Jehoshaphat responded to this desperate situation.
2. Seek God when you are afraid. (2 Chronicles 20:3-4)
2. Seek God when you are afraid. (2 Chronicles 20:3-4)
Explanation: I love how scripture says that Jehoshaphat was afraid. Because that’s a reality that we can relate to. We would be surprised if he wasn’t afraid. He and his people are surrounded. Times are dire.
If you’ve ever seen Lord of the Rings where the city is surrounded by orcs and goblins trying to kill everyone, that’s what this would have been like…only real.
So what would he do when he was afraid.
We are told that because he was afraid, he set his face to seek the Lord and he called upon all of his people to fast.
So not only did Jehoshaphat seek God’s face, he led others to do the same. And how did he do? Through a national fast.
Fasting is something that Christians today don’t often practice. But the purpose of fasting is to teach yourself to rely on God, by denying yourself what you think you need.
It might be easy for Jehoshaphat and the people to either despair or rush headlong into a losing fight. So they fasted to force them to depend on more than just themselves.
Illustration: Have you ever run confidently into something only to realize that you were way over your head?
For me it was freshman year of college. I thought I wanted to major in math and then I hit college calculus. It was 8 am Monday, Wednesday and Friday. I even got a tutor. It just didn’t work out. So I changed my major. I was way in over my head.
And sometimes, when you are way in over your head, the best thing you can do is surrender. I’m not talking about being lazy or quitting something you are supposed to do because it’s hard. But sometimes we try really hard at something we are supposed to surrender. Jehoshaphat was in over his head with the armies coming against Him. If he went out against them in his own power, he and his own people would die. He had to do this God’s way. But he didn’t yet know what that was. So he set his face towards God so he could figure it out. And he called the nation to do that same.
Application: You don’t have to wait until you are afraid to seek the Lord? You don’t have to wait to fast as a way of teaching yourself that all you need is God.
You can start now. In fact I don’t think this is the first time that Jehoshaphat sought the Lord. He had been doing it his whole life. Which is why it was so natural that this was his first response. When you are afraid, seek God.
3. Lead others to pray. (2 Chronicles 20:5)
3. Lead others to pray. (2 Chronicles 20:5)
Explanation: And then Jehoshaphat led his people in prayer. He stood up in front of the entire assembly of Judah and prayed for them. His prayer is one of the most beautiful prayers recorded in the Bible.
There are around 650 prayers recorded in the Bible. Prayers of adoration, confession, thanksgiving, supplication, and lamentation. These prayers teach us how to pray and how to have knees for praying. They teach us that God invites his people to have intimate conversations with Him any time; any place. And not just the good stuff.
There are prayers in the Bible that read a whole lot like people yelling at God. And guess what, He can take it.
However, in this case, Jehoshaphat leads his people to cry out to God and to plead for Him to rescue them from the advancing armies coming to destroy them. He pleaded with God to tell him what to do.
It’s not about manipulating God into doing something that He doesn’t want to do.
We now that prayer doesn’t change anything in God because God doesn’t change. God desires to save His people. Prayer changes us, as we learn to depend on God whatever may come.
Illustration: Knees for praying are not just about you, but about inviting others to join into prayer. Especially when tragedy strikes.
I remember hearing stories on 9/11 of prayer groups gathering together above the flames on the towers. There was nothing they could do. The first responders couldn’t get to them. So they prayed. They hopeless prayer of desperation. Something that may be hard for us to understand, is that sometimes God allows bad things to happen so that we will respond to Him in desperation. There are people who came to know Jesus that day and immediately entered into His presence. That’s something to celebrate in the face of tragedy.
Application: No mater what happens, pray.
This is what the Apostle Paul meant when he wrote his first letter to the church at Thessalonica.
16 Rejoice always, 17 pray without ceasing, 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
So often in life we forget to pray. We try to tackle challenges ourselves.
Don’t do that. Start by praying. Let God lead you in His ways.
But how can we know that God will answer our prayers?
4. Trust in what God has already done. (2 Chronicles 20:6-12)
4. Trust in what God has already done. (2 Chronicles 20:6-12)
Explanation: So what did Jehoshaphat pray? And on what did He base His confidence?
Jehoshaphat prayed: 1) Theologically, 2) historically, 3) specifically; and 4) desperately.
What I mean by Jehoshaphat praying theologically, is that He prayed to God has He has revealed Himself. This is not a desperate prayer to an unknown God. This isn’t a “God if you’re actually there...” kind of prayer. This is a knowing prayer. An intimate prayer.
You are the God of our Fathers. You are the same God that created the heavens and the earth. You are the same God that called Abraham out of Ur. Who called Moses from a burning bush. The same God who anointed David King and promised a perpetual kingdom that exists to this day. You are the God who is in Heaven, but also is ruler of the kingdoms of the earth. Sovereign over all creation. And most importantly you have the power to save and to rescue.
We don’t just throw out prayers. We pray confidently to the God Who is known.
By historically, I mean we base on confidence in what God will do in the present on what He has done in the past. Because he is a God who never changes.
You are the God has come through time and time again. We are your people. And even though we sin and mess up time and time again, when we cry out in repentance and faith, you hear, you forgive and you save. So we cry out to you know not because we are more worthy than those who have come before us, but because you, God never change.
By specifically, I mean that we are specific in our prayers. We ought not pray in generalities of things that don’t matter. If you know what you want to say, say it. If you don’t know what to say, say that. Jehoshaphat recounted to God what was going on and what he wanted Him to do about it.
God save us from this army that has come to destroy us. Sure they outnumber us. Sure that have more firepower than us, but you are God of all of creation. We believe that you are able to save and we pray in confidence with the words of Elisha:
16 He said, “Do not be afraid, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.”
Because you are with us.
And lastly Jehoshaphat prayed desperately by acknowledging their utter helplessness without God:
Will you not act on behalf of your people? Will you not save us from those who surround us? We are powerless against those who come against us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you.
They were desperate for God.
Illustration: For Jehoshaphat and the people of Judah they could look back to all the things that God had done for his people throughout history. But even then they didn’t know what to do. But even in their not knowing, they knew enough. They knew to pray. And they knew that God was a God who answers prayer.
For Christians today, we can look back on something even greater: the cross. And Paul makes this very argument in Romans 8:31-32
31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?
So when we face situations that we don’t know what to do about, we pray to the one who showed Himself to be a God who hears prayer and acts on behalf of His people…right up to saving His people from their sins by sending His Son to die on the cross for those sins.
Application: We have been told that not knowing what to do in life is a sign of weakness. How can you not know what to do?
But acknowledging our complete and total dependence on God is the first step toward salvation.
Response: When the going gets tough, do you have knees for praying?
Response: When the going gets tough, do you have knees for praying?
Summation:
Authentic Principle: Hope is never lost when you remember to pray.
1. Pray when others bring bad news. (2 Chronicles 20:1-2)
2. Seek God when you are afraid. (2 Chronicles 20:3-4
3. Lead others to pray. (2 Chronicles 20:5)
4. Trust in what God has already done. (2 Chronicles 20:6-12)
Conclusion:
Many of us today are surrounded by a great army that is bent on destroying us. It’s not a nation or a people but our own sin.
It’s pursuing us and won’t let us get away. Too many of us stand up and try to fight on our own when we are powerless to stop it.
We need to turn everything over to God.
We often doubt people who come to faith in prison because we see it as a sign of someone trying to fain change in order to get leniency. And that may happen. But sometimes it’s only when people hit rock bottom that they truly understand that God is able to rescue them from themselves.
May you never have to hit rock bottom to learn that you can turn to God for rescue the tough times you face in this life.
You might ask, how did God respond to Jehoshaphat’s prayer?
You find out a few verses later:
14 And the Spirit of the Lord came upon Jahaziel the son of Zechariah, son of Benaiah, son of Jeiel, son of Mattaniah, a Levite of the sons of Asaph, in the midst of the assembly. 15 And he said, “Listen, all Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem and King Jehoshaphat: Thus says the Lord to you, ‘Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed at this great horde, for the battle is not yours but God’s.
The battle is never yours to fight. It’s always God’s and He has invited you to cry out to him, not just in the desperate times but in the good times as well.
Even in the good times, may we loudly proclaim: God we are powerless to do anything in this life apart from you.
We don’t know what to do, but our eyes are on you.
May that be our prayer today.
Let’s pray.
Week 42 of 2021-2022 Sermon Series: Authentic Character: Knees for Praying - Jehoshaphat
Authentic Principle: Hope is never lost when you remember to pray.
1. Pray when others bring bad news. (2 Chronicles 20:1-2)
2. Seek God when you are afraid. (2 Chronicles 20:3-4
3. Lead others to pray. (2 Chronicles 20:5)
4. Trust in what God has already done. (2 Chronicles 20:6-12)
Response: When the going gets tough, do you have knees for praying?
Opening Discussion: Have you ever been in a desperate situation? What was that like? Is your first thought to pray?
Sermon:
How would you describe the situation that Jehoshaphat and the kingdom of Judah found themselves in?
How did Jehoshaphat and the people of Judah respond to the armies that came against them?
How does Jehoshaphat demonstrate His leadership to his people?
How would you describe Jehoshaphat’s prayer? What did he pray for?
Why does Jehoshaphat believe that God will answer the nation’s prayer?
How does Jehoshaphat’s humility and desperation for God come through in the end of his prayer?
Application:
How important is prayer in your life?
How can desperation lead to an intimate prayer life? Why might God actually want us to be desperate for Him before He steps in and helps?
How can remembering what God has done in the past, give us confidence that He will come through in the present and future?
Why might it be important to develop a solid prayer life before you are in a desperate situation? How does open communication with God make desperate prayers easier?
How will you cultivate knees for praying in your life?