Your battles are spiritual. They are not with people or things in the physical realm, but with demonic beings (demonic forces) working through people or situations. The battles that we are facing are not ours. Since they belong to the Lord, He will fight them for us, if we allow Him to.
Ephesians 6:12 NKJV
“For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in heavenly places.”
Victory will come when we recognize who God is, remember what He has done, believe in His promises, keep our eyes on Him and praise Him before we see the victory.
I. Recognize Who God Is
Jehoshaphat recognized that the Lord was the God over all things and people.
2 Chronicles 20:5-6 NKJV
Then Jehoshaphat stood in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem, in the house of the Lord, before the new court, and said: ‘O LORD God of our fathers, are You not God in heaven, and do You not rule over all the kingdoms of the nations, and in Your hand is there not power and might, so that no one is able to withstand You?’ ”
Jehoshaphat acknowledged that the Lord held all power in His hand and that He could do all things.
Psalm 62:11 NKJV
“God has spoken once,
Twice I have heard this: That power belongs to God.”
Psalm 68:34 NKJV “Ascribe strength to God; His excellence is over Israel,
And His strength is in the clouds.”
We must recognize who God is and that He holds all power. There is nothing too big or to small for God.
II. Remember What God Has Done
We must remember (recall) God’s care (help) for us in the past, when He has brought victory to us in other desperate situations. Jehoshaphat did just that. He remembered where God had brought them from and what He had done for them. Jehoshaphat remembered the victories they had won and the obstacles that they had overcame with the help of God.
2 Chronicles 20:7-9 NKJV
“Are You not our God, who drove out the inhabitants of this land before Your people Israel, and gave it to the descendants of Abraham Your friend forever? And they dwell in it, and have built You a sanctuary in it for Your name, saying, If disaster comes upon us – sword, judgment, pestilence, or famine – we will stand before this temple and in Your presence (for Your name is in this temple), and cry out to You in our affliction, and You will hear and save.”
Exodus 6:7-8 NKJV
“I will take you as My people, and I will be your God. Then you shall know that I am the Lord your God who brings you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians. And I will bring you into the land which I swore to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and I will give it to you as a heritage: I am the LORD.’ ”
Psalm 44:1-3 NKJV
“We have heard with our ears, O God,
Our fathers have told us,
The deeds You did in their days,
In days of old: You drove out the nations with Your hand,
But them You planted; You afflicted the peoples, and cast them out.
For they did not gain possession of the land by their own sword,
Nor did their own arm save them; But it was Your right hand, Your arm, and the light of Your countenance,
Because You favored them.”
God is the same God that He was in days past. You can look back on past miracles (help) and it will build your faith in believing that God will help you again.
III. Believe In God’s Promises
2 Chronicles 20:10-11 NKJV
“And now, here are the people of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir – whom You would not let Israel invade when they came out of the land of Egypt, but they turned from them and did not destroy them – here they are, rewarding us by coming to throw us out of Your possession which You have given us to inherit.”
When God promises you something you must have faith that you will receive it. God has always been faithful to His Word, and He always will be faithful to His Word.
Hebrews 11:11 NKJV
“By faith Sarah herself also received strength to conceive seed, and she bore a child when she was past the age, because she judged Him faithful who had promised.”
Truly serving the Lord requires complete trust in Him. Regardless of what is going on in your life or around you, you must trust in the Lord.
John 14:1 NKJV
“Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me.”
IV. Keep Eyes On God
We must focus our eyes (attention) on God, not on the problem or circumstance.
2 Chronicles 20:12 NKJV
“O our God, will You not judge them? For we have no power against this great multitude that is coming against us; nor do we know what to do, but our eyes are upon You.”
Our enemy would like for us to take our eyes off God and look at our problem (or our trial). Focusing on the problem and not on God will give the enemy a “foothold” into your life. We must keep our eyes on the Lord (focus on the Lord) and abide in His presence. When we keep our eyes on God, He will deliver us (protect us).
Psalm 91:7-16 NKJV
“A thousand may fall at your side, And ten thousand at your right hand; But it shall not come near you. Only with your eyes shall you look, And see the reward of the wicked. Because you have made the LORD, who is my refuge, Even the Most High, your dwelling place, No evil shall befall you, Nor shall any plague come near your dwelling; For He shall give His angels charge over you, To keep you in all your ways. In their hands they shall bear you up, Lest you dash your foot against a stone You shall tread upon the lion and the cobra, The young lion and the serpent you shall trample underfoot. Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore I will deliver him; I will set him on high, because he has known My name. He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him and honor him. With long life I will satisfy him, And show him My salvation.”
V. Praise Before Victory
The people celebrated and praised God before they saw the victory. They knew the battle was the Lord’s. When the battle belongs to the Creator of the entire universe the outcome is certain. God is always victorious!
2 Chronicles 20:21-22 NKJV
“And when he had consulted with the people, he appointed those who should sing to the LORD, and who should praise the beauty of holiness, as they went before the army and were saying: ‘Praise the LORD, For His mercy endures forever,’ Now when they began to sing and to praise, the LORD set ambushes against the people of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, who had come against Judah; and they were defeated.”
Before Judah reached the battlefield, the Lord had already destroyed their enemy. They had won the victory without having to fight. God desires for us to praise Him before we see the victory. The word “Judah” means praise. When we send our praise out before us we will win.
Judges 1:1-2 NKJV
“Now after the death of Joshua it came to pass that the children of Israel asked the Lord, saying, ‘Who shall be first to go up for us against the Canaanites to fight against them?’ And the Lord said, ‘Judah shall go up. Indeed I have delivered the land into his hand.’ ”
It takes faith to praise before the victory. Throughout the Bible we see where God honored faith. He still honors faith just like He did in the past.
Conclusion:
God will give you greater victory than you ever dreamed when you recognize who He is, remember what He has done, believe in His promises, keep your eyes on Him and praise Him before you see the victory.
2 Chronicles 20:25-28 NKJV
“When Jehoshaphat and his people came to take away their spoil, they found among them an abundance of valuables on the dead bodies, and, and precious jewelry, which they stripped off for themselves, more than they could carry away; and they were three days gathering the spoil because there was so much. And on the fourth day they assembled in the Valley of Berachah, for there they blessed the LORD; therefore the name of that place was called The Valley of Berachah until this day. Then they returned, every man of Judah and Jerusalem, with Jehoshaphat in front of them, to go back to Jerusalem with joy, for the LORD had made them rejoice over their enemies. So they went to Jerusalem, with stringed instruments and harps and trumpets, to the house of the LORD.”
waitingforthemaster 