 In your Bible, if you will, to 2 Chronicles, chapter 20. 2 Chronicles 20, as I was praying about what the Lord would have me to share with all you today, He put it on my heart to have us study together one of the most astounding and incredible stories in all of the Bible. It is found in 2 Chronicles, chapter 20, verses 1 to 22. And the title of this message is Fear Not, God is with you. Fear not, God is with you. The story is told about a little boy, he was growing up in church, and the church that he went to, the children's ministry department there, was going to be doing a dramatic production, a play, on famous scenes throughout the Bible. And this little boy's second grade class was chosen to do the scene where Jesus comes walking out onto the stormy sea of Galilee to the disciples there in the boat, and Jesus says to them, it is I, be not afraid. And this little second grade boy, he was chosen to have the honor of playing the part of Jesus. And he had one and only one line, that line, it is I, be not afraid. And so this little guy began to practice his line. While he was having breakfast in the morning, it is I, be not afraid, it is I, be not afraid. When he got on the bus to go to school, it is I, be not afraid, it is I, be not afraid. When he was having lunch in the cafeteria, it is I, be not afraid, it is I, be not afraid. When he was out on recess on the playground, it is I, be not afraid, it is I, be not afraid. At dinner, it is I, be not afraid. Before he went to bed, it is I, be not afraid. He kept practicing week and week. and finally came the night of the big play, the big dramatic production. And different classes were doing different scenes through the Bible and then it came turned for his second grade class to do their scene. And all of his friends there on this makeshift cardboard boat out on the middle of the stage and you know there's like black lights and like clouds and his friends are kind of weaving back and forth like they're in the middle of the storm and so he comes out in a white robe to give his one and only one line. Only when he walks out there the place is totally packed with people. He's never seen so many people in all of his life and the poor little guy is, he's scared. I mean he's petrified. And so his mom, she's sitting down on the front row, she's trying to coach him, you know. He's high being unafraid, he's high being unafraid, he's high being unafraid. But he's still so afraid he can't say anything and his teacher, she's off to the side of the stage and she's trying to coach him as well, he's high being unafraid. But he's still so afraid. But finally the little guy works up enough courage and he opens his mouth and he says, it's only me and I'm scared to death. I love that story. There have been many times in my life that I felt like that little guy. And maybe today as we gather you feel like that little guy. Before us in the Word of God today is the story of a man who felt very much like that little boy. It was 700 years before the time of Christ. The place was Jerusalem and the man's name was Jehoshaphat. Now Jehoshaphat was the fourth king of the southern kingdom of Judah. And Jehoshaphat was the great, great grandson of King Solomon. If you're a student of the Bible you know that King Solomon is famous because he is the one that built the temple in the Old Testament. And his great, great grandson was Jehoshaphat. And Jehoshaphat was a good king. He was a godly king. And that in part is the reason why things were going so well in the kingdom and going so well in his own personal life. But then in one day everything changed. Don't know if you've discovered the difference that just one day can make. One day it can seem like you were on the top of the world and then just one day later it can seem like everything is against you. One day it can seem like it's the absolute best day of your life. And then 24 hours later, just one day later it can seem like it is the absolute worst day of your life. One day you can feel happy and joyous and safe and secure and then the next day, just one day later you can feel so lonely, so overwhelmed and so afraid. And so afraid. Dear ones, if you've ever felt like that, maybe you feel like that today. Know that you are in good company because many of God's people have felt that way. Jehoshaphat felt that way. What do you do when you're in a situation like that? The story of Jehoshaphat tells us. His is a story that shows us what to do when it seems like everything is against you. His is a story that shows us what to do when your world falls apart. His is a story that shows us what to do when you're in trouble. Now as you read and study Second Chronicles chapter 20 over and over and over again, I believe there are four things that stand out in this story. Four things is the story unfolds and if you happen to have a piece of paper and a pen, I would highly encourage you to write these four things down because they will help you to remember the story and they will help you to share this story with someone else so it will be a blessing to them. Four things we see about Jehoshaphat as the story unfolds. Number one, we're gonna see Jehoshaphat's problem. Number two, we're gonna see Jehoshaphat's prayer. Number three, we're gonna see Jehoshaphat's promise and number four, we're gonna see Jehoshaphat's plan. Four things. Jehoshaphat's problem, his prayer, his promise and his plan. The first thing we see as the story unfolds is about Jehoshaphat's problem. That's what we see in verse one and verse two. Look there in your Bible, it's 2nd Chronicles chapter 20, verse one and verse two. Now what happened after this, that the people of Moab with the people of Ammon and others with them besides the Ammonites came to battle against Jehoshaphat. Then some came and told Jehoshaphat saying, a great multitude is coming against you from HaZazan to Mar, which is in Getty, 30 miles away from Jerusalem and Jehoshaphat was afraid. What was Jehoshaphat's problem? Well, enemies had risen up against him. Now it's one thing if one enemy were to rise up against you, it's another thing if two enemies have risen up against you, but here we see three enemies have risen up against Jehoshaphat. Humanly speaking, Jehoshaphat found himself in an impossible situation. But did you know that Jehoshaphat's problem is often your problem and my problem? Often enemies rise up against you and me. We're not talking about literal enemies with a sword or a spear or something like that, but there are other enemies. There are financial enemies that will suddenly rise up against you and me. There are health enemies that will suddenly rise up against you and me. There are legal enemies that suddenly rise up against you and me. There are relationship enemies that rise up against you and me. Enemies had risen up against Jehoshaphat and enemies rise up against you and me. Jehoshaphat's problem is often your problem and my problem. And I'm sure from Jehoshaphat's standpoint, what made things even worse for him is that Jehoshaphat was a good king. He was a godly king. Now, I don't know about you, but I get it when bad things happen to bad people. In my puny mind, at least I think, well, they sort of deserved it. But bad things happen to good people? Bad things happening to God's people? Why would a good, gracious, loving God allow trouble and trial and difficulty to come into your life? Why would a gracious, loving God allow enemies to rise up against his people, against you and against me? I'll tell you why. So that you will learn to trust him and only him, not yourself. So that you will begin to look to him and only him and not look to other people. Why would a good God allow enemies to rise up against us? Why would a good God allow us to get into situations that are way over our head, that are overwhelming, that humanly speaking are impossible. I'll tell you why. So that you can see what the Lord will do on your behalf. When he rescues you, when he delivers you, as you call on his name, Jehoshaphat's problem is often your problem and my problem. Why does God allow this? Listen, so that you will look to him, so that you will trust him. The story is told about a Christian man, he was a farmer and he had a teenage son and this father was increasingly concerned about his son because his son as a teenager was pretty stubborn and hard headed and independent. He acted like he didn't need anybody's help and his father was really concerned because he knew what problems it would cause for a son in life, but not only that, what would cause him problems in his relationship with God spiritually and so his dad began to pray about what he could do to help his son and one day an idea came to him and so one afternoon he said to his son, hey, would you like to go for a ride in the wagon? And his son said, oh yeah, that'd be great, that'd be awesome and so they hitched up a team of horses and down the road they went and not far down the road, the father says to his son, would you like to drive? Would you like to take the rain? Well, this proud, arrogant son so sure of himself said, absolutely, I could do this and so his father handed him the reins, well the moment that he handed him the reins, those horses could sense the insecurity and the inexperience of this teenager and so they shot off like a rocket down the road. Down the road they're going and the faster they're going down the road, the more panicked this teenager is getting. Finally in his fear and his panic, he says, dad, you take the reins and his father slowed down the horses and he said, son, let me talk to you. I'm so concerned about you. You act like you don't need anybody's help. You act like you don't need God's help but son, you can't do that. You do need the help of other people and more than that, you need God's help. Why would a gracious, loving, merciful heavenly father allow trouble, trial, and difficulty to come into your life and my life? Why would he allow enemies to rise up against us, listen, so that we will turn the reins of our life over to him, so that we will trust him and only him. So we will look to him to see what he will do when we call upon him. What do you do when you're in trouble? What do you do when it seems like everything is against you? What do you do when your world falls apart? Well, that brings us to the second thing we see in this story and that is Jehoshaphat's prayer. His problem in verse one and two leads to his prayer in verse three to verse 13. Notice in verse three, and Jehoshaphat was afraid and he set himself to seek the Lord and he proclaimed a fast throughout all of Judah so Judah gathered together to ask help from the Lord and from all the cities of Judah they came to seek the Lord. Listen, what do you do when you're in trouble? You call on the Lord, you begin to cry out to him in prayer. One of my favorite verses in all of the Bible is Psalm 50 and verse 15. Here's what the Lord says in Psalm 50 and verse 15. Call on me in the day of trouble and I will deliver you and you will glorify me. What an invitation. Call on me in the day of trouble and I will deliver you and you will glorify me. And this is what Jehoshaphat did. He began to call on the Lord in prayer but not only prayer, fasting and prayer. Now fasting isn't just a spiritual way to lose weight. Some people think that but it's not. It just showed the intensity of his prayer. The situation that he was in was so desperate that he wasn't interested in eating food. He just needed to get to the place where he could call on the Lord in prayer and not only did Jehoshaphat fast and pray but listen, he also got everybody else he knew to begin to pray. That's a good thing. In verse four, notice, so all Judah gathered together to ask help from the Lord, from all the cities of Judah, they came to seek the Lord. Verse five, then Jehoshaphat stood in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem in the house of the Lord before the new court. Notice this little phrase, in the house of the Lord, in the house of the Lord, in the house of the Lord. Listen, where do you go when you're in trouble? Where do you go when it seems like everything is against you? I'll tell you where you go. You run as fast as you can to the house of the Lord to be with God's people and to call on the Lord. Listen, I'm so glad all of you are here today. So glad all of you have come to the house of the Lord. Listen, this is where the answers are. The answer's not in the White House, it's in the Lord's house. The answers for our country are not in the State House, they're not in the Supreme Court House for sure. They're in the house of the Lord. The house of the Lord, what was the house of the Lord for Jehoshaphat? It wasn't a church building like this. The house of the Lord for Jehoshaphat was the temple. That building that his great-great-grandfather Solomon had built. When you read the Old Testament, when Solomon dedicated the temple, he prayed an amazing prayer. As he was praying, here's what he prayed. He said, oh Lord, if your people ever are in trouble, oh Lord, if enemies ever rise up against your people and they come into your house and they begin to call on your name, Lord, then hear their cry and deliver them. And Jehoshaphat knew about that prayer. He knew what his great-great-grandfather had prayed. He knew where to find help. He got as fast as he could to the house of the Lord. And he began to call on the Lord in prayer. And what a prayer he prayed. Notice in verse six, he begins to pray. Oh Lord, God of our Father, stop there for a moment. What a beautiful name of God. As you study the Bible, you find out there are many different names of God. He is called God. He is called Lord. He's called I am that I am. He is called Jehovah. He is Jehovah Jireh. He is Elohim. He's El-El-Yan. He's Adonai. There are all these names of God. And Jehoshaphat could have begun his prayer with any one of those names of God. But he chose this name of God. Oh Lord God of our fathers. Say, why did he use that name? What did that name mean? I'll tell you what it meant. Here's what he was saying by saying, oh Lord God of our fathers. Oh God, when Noah was in trouble he called out to you. You delivered him and helped him. Oh Lord, when Abraham was in trouble he called out to you and you helped him. Oh Lord, when Joseph was sold as a slave down into Egypt he called out to you and you helped him. Oh Lord, when Moses was in the desert he called out to you and you helped him. Oh Lord, when Joshua was in trouble he called out to you and you helped him. Oh Lord, when David was standing in front of Goliath if he called out to you and you helped him. Oh Lord God of our fathers, what was he saying? Oh God, when your people have called on you in the past, you've always heard their cry and you've always rescued them in response to their pleas. Oh Lord God of our fathers, verse six, 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 so that no one is able to withstand you? What was he saying? Oh Lord God of our fathers, you are still on the throne. Dear ones, I've come to you today with good news, such good news, here it is. The Lord is still on the throne. God is still on the throne. Doesn't make any difference what's happening in Washington DC or the Middle East or around the world. Listen, the Lord is still on the throne. He rules and reigns on high, not only in the world, but in your life and in my life, he's still on the throne. Oh Lord God of our fathers, he prays. You're still on the throne and not only that, look at this verse seven, are you not our God? I like that. You're not just the God of Abraham and you're not just the God of Joseph and you're not just the God of Moses and Joshua. You are my God, you are our God right now. Listen, the God we serve is not just the God of Abraham and David and Jehoshaphat, he's a God of David Rosales. He's a God of Calvary Chapel, Chino Valley. He's our God. Are you not our God? And he answers yes. He's your God. A very same God who's always been with his people, who sits and is thrown in heaven right now. He's your God today. Oh, I like this prayer. Are you not our God? Verse seven, 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 a sanctuary in it for your name, saying. And now he's gonna quote his great, great grandfather, saying if disaster comes upon us, sword or judgment or pestilence or famine, we will stand before this temple and in your presence for your name is in this temple and we will cry out to you in our affliction and you will hear and you will save. And now he's gonna mention his enemies by name. And now here are the people of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seer 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 and here they are. They are rewarding us by coming to throw us out of your possession which you have given us to inherit and then verse 12. And then verse 12, one of the greatest verses in the Bible, the verse you had to have marked and noted in your Bible, verse 12, he prays, oh 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. Stop there for a moment, right now. Right now if you happen to have a pen, I want you to underline two phrases that we just read together. I want you to underline in your Bible right now. We have no power. And then I want you to underline this next phrase nor do we know what to do. We have no power nor do we know what to do. Ever been there? Maybe you're there right now. We have no power. Lord this is way beyond me. I'm way over my head here. I have no ability to fix this. The bills are piling up. I don't know where the resource is gonna come from. I have no power. The lawyers have filed suit. I can't defend myself. I don't know how to get out of this Lord. The doctor says, here's the diagnosis. Lord I can't fix this. I have no power and then notice this phrase nor do we know what to do. Lord I'm at the end of my rope. I've tried this. I've tried that. I've tried the other. I've talked to this person. I've talked to that person. I've been on the internet and googled everything. I don't know what to do. We have no power nor do we know what to do. But then look, look at the next phrase. Underline it in your Bible. Put a star about it in your Bible. We have no power nor do we know what to do. But our eyes are upon you. Our eyes are not on the problem. Our eyes are not looking to see can somebody else help me out of this situation Lord? Our eyes are looking to you and only you because only you can deal with this situation. Only you can save us. Only you can help us. Listen, what do you do when you have no power? What do you do when you don't know what to do? Listen, look to the Lord. Begin to look to him in prayer. Begin to call out to him. He's the one who can help you. Oh, we have no power nor do we know what to do. But our eyes are upon you. Now all Judah verse 13 and all their little ones and their wives and their children, they stood before the Lord. Here they were just waiting on the Lord in prayer. All of them looking to the Lord. That is what we need to do in our day. That is what we need to do in our time. That is what you need to do in your life. That's what I need to do in my life. Get to the house of the Lord fast and begin to call on the Lord in prayer. Listen, that's where the answer is. That's where the help is. I was a little boy growing up in church. I remember we had these Sunday classes that we would go to and the teacher would lead us in a couple of little songs before we would do our Bible study in. There's one song that we used to sing just as little kids and after all these years, I still remember these words. I think of them often. We used to sing these words. Got any rivers you think are uncrossable? Got any mountains you can't tunnel through. God specializes in things. Fought impossible and He will do for you. That's what no one else. This is where Jehoshaphat was. This is where so many of us are looking to the Lord in prayer, but I like verse 13. I like verse 13, do you see it? Now all Judah with their little ones and their wives and their children, they stood before the Lord. Do you see it? Here they are, all of them. They're in the house of the Lord. They're just standing there. They're just waiting as it were. Lord, please speak to us. Please speak to us, Lord, we need to hear from you. I pray that's why you've come today. I pray you didn't come today just to see your friends. I pray you didn't come today just to have fellowship or just to sing some worship songs. We're here in interesting, clever Bible study. I pray that's not why you came today. I pray you came to the house of the Lord today because as you needed to hear from the Lord. Oh, Lord, I need to hear your voice speaking to me through your word. Please, God, please speak to me. I'm listening to you. This is where the people were. They were waiting. Lord, speak to us and the Lord spoke to them. And that leads us to the third thing we see in this story and that is Jehoshaphat's promise. His problem, verse one and two. His prayer in verse three to 13. And then the promise that was given to him in verse 14 through verse 19, notice verse 14. Then the spirit of the Lord came on Jehaziel, the son of Zechariah, the son of Baniah, the son of Jail, the son of Matiniah, a Levite of the sons of Asaph in the midst of the assembly. Notice the spirit of the Lord came on Jehaziel. Now you say who's Jehaziel? I mean, I've heard of Elijah and Elisha. I've heard of Isaiah and Jeremiah and Ezekiel and Daniel but Jehaziel, not a celebrity prophet. Just an ordinary person with an interesting name. Do you know what the name Jehaziel means? It means our eyes are upon you. Here Jehoshaphat had just been praying, we have no power and we don't know what to do but our eyes are upon you. And all of a sudden the spirit of the Lord comes on an unknown man whose name means our eyes are upon you. And he begins to give a word from the Lord. He begins to give a promise from heaven that was just what the people of God needed right then. In that moment, notice in verse 15, and he said, listen all you of Judah and all you inhabitants of Jerusalem and you, O King Jehoshaphat, thus says the Lord to you, do not be afraid nor be dismayed because of this great multitude. Do not be afraid. Some translations say fear not. Do you know that little phrase fear not is found some 60 times in the Bible. Fear not, fear not, fear not, fear not, fear not. Stop being afraid, stop being afraid. Don't be afraid, says the Lord. Nor be dismayed because of the enemies that have risen against you. The word dismayed is an interesting word in the Hebrew. It means to look at something and become agitated because of what you're looking at. To look at something and become anxious because of what you see. It's very much like the apostle Peter who was walking on the water until he looked at the waves. And then he began to sink. Don't look at the problem. Don't look at the trouble around you and become anxious and worried about it. Fear not, nor be dismayed. Why? Notice the next phrase. Oh, this is so great. For the battle is not yours, but God's. Underline that in your Bible right now. The battle is not yours, but God's. Dear ones, as we gather today, I don't know what's going on in your life. I don't know. I don't know what enemies might be rising against you right now. They might be financial enemies or health enemies or legal enemies or relational enemies. I don't know what enemies might have risen against you. All I know is this, is that when your wonderful pastor asks if I would come over and teach, I began to pray, Lord, what do you want to say to all those precious people? And he said, go over there and have them open their Bible to 2 Chronicles chapter 20 and read about Jehoshaphat. Have them underline in their Bible. When you have no power and you don't know what to do, put your eyes on the Lord. Have them underline in their Bible. The battle is not yours, but the Lord's. I don't know what you're going through right now. I don't know what enemies you're facing, but here's what the Lord is saying to you today. He's gonna fight for you. This battle is not yours. This battle is the Lord's. If you will look to him, oh, what a message from heaven. He goes on, verse 16, tomorrow go down against them. They will surely come up by the ascent of Ziz and you will find them at the end of the brook before the wilderness of Jerul. Again, verse 17, you will not need to fight in this battle. Position yourselves, stand still, stand still and see the salvation of the Lord who is with you. Underline those words, stand still. Circle them in your Bible. Those words ought to jump off the page of God's word to you. Because if you are a careful student of the Scripture, you've seen them before in the Old Testament. You saw them in the story of Moses and the children of Israel. God delivered the children of Israel out of their bondage in the land of Egypt and they came down to camp at the Red Sea and then all of a sudden, the Pharaoh changed his mind and started chasing them down. All of a sudden, an enemy rose up against them and here they found themselves stuck between an enemy and an impossible situation. You talk about being between a rock and a hard place. You talk about being in a no win situation but then the Lord spoke to them and said, stand still and watch what I will do. And now centuries later, Jehoshaphat finds himself in a similar situation and the word of the Lord comes to him through some unknown prophet. Never heard of him before. Some ordinary person saying thus says the Lord to you, stand still and see the salvation of the Lord. Notice in verse 17, who is what? Where is he? He's with you. The Lord's not in heaven watching you go through your trouble. He's right there. Our God, listen, is a never leave you, never forsake you God. He's right there with you, whatever you're facing today, whatever trouble, whatever trial, whatever circumstance, whatever enemies are surrounding you. The Lord is right there with you. I like this verse 17. Stand still and see the salvation of the Lord who is with you, O Judah and Jerusalem. Do not fear, nor be dismayed. Twice he says it. For tomorrow you will go out against them for the Lord is with you. Again he says, don't be afraid, don't be dismayed, I'm with you. I'm with you. At verse 18, and Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground. And all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem bowed before the Lord, worshiping the Lord. You see it? You see it all of a sudden, Jehoshaphat, he just drops down on his knees. He just puts his face down to the ground and starts worshiping the Lord. I can imagine what Jehoshaphat was saying. I can almost hear him. He probably was saying something like, thank you. Thank you, Lord. I just needed to hear something from you, Lord. It seemed I was without hope. I just needed something from heaven to hang on to. I just needed a message, a promise from you to hold on to, then something amazing happened. In verse 19, then the Levites, of the children of the Corvites and of the children of the Chorites, stood up to praise the Lord God of Israel with voices loud and high. All of a sudden, spontaneously, it began with the leaders. They just started standing up all over the place. They just started standing up. Oh, thank you, Lord. Thank you, Lord. Thank you, Lord. Thank you, Lord. Thank you, Lord. You said you would fight for us. We praise you, Lord. We bless you, Lord. Hey, why were they standing? Why were they doing that? Listen, because they believe what God said to them, they were standing up in faith. We stand up and claim your promise. Here's what you said, God. We're gonna take you out your word and we're gonna hold on to your word. And you know what? That's what you and I need to do. We need to claim the promises that God gives us. You know, this book is not just a history book. It's a personal book. When you read this book, always have a pen in your hand. Underline things. Write notes to yourself. Put dates in your Bible. Because when you're reading along, Lord, I need to hear from you. All of a sudden, you're gonna hit something. And it's gonna be the Lord speaking to you right through his word. When you're in trouble and all of a sudden you read a passage like Psalm 27 and verse one. The Lord is my light and my salvation. Whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life. Of whom shall I be afraid? You just pull out your pen and right next to it. That's for me. Because that's for you and me. When you're reading along and all of a sudden you come to a passage like in Isaiah chapter 41 and verse 10, which says fear not for I am with thee. Be not dismayed for I am your God. I will strengthen you. I will help you. I will uphold you by my righteous right hand. You just write in your Bible there. That's for me. Thank you, Lord. That's for me. When your finances are meager and you don't know how to make the ends meet and all of a sudden you read a passage like Philippians 4 and verse 19 which says my God will supply all of your needs according to his riches and glory by Christ Jesus. Circle the word will and right out there, not maybe. That one's for me. Begin to claim that promise from God. When you need healing in your life and you come across a passage like Exodus 15 and verse 26 which says I am the Lord. That's for me. That's my friend. That's my husband. That's where my wife. I'm gonna claim that promise. When you need guidance in your life and you're not sure, should I take this job opportunity? Should I go to this college? What should I do? And you're reading along and all of a sudden in Proverbs 3, 5 and 6 you find these words trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding and all your ways acknowledge him and he will direct your path. Right out next to it. Thank you, Lord. That one's for me. When God speaks to you from his word, you mark that, you note that, put a date by that and you begin to claim that promise. You begin to stand as they literally were standing on God's promise. We over at Calvary Chapel Golden Springs, we know that for sure. Our pastor, Raul Reese, his wife's name is Sharon. And some of you might know a few years back she was diagnosed with breast cancer and the Lord brought her through all of that and it was just a God thing. But then a year and a half ago she wasn't feeling so well and she went to the doctor, they sent her to the oncologist, they ran some tests and they discovered two spots on her liver, one on one side and one on the other side and the oncologist were telling her, yeah, stage four cancer, it's metastasized, that breast cancer's metastasized down into your liver and one spot on one side, one spot on the other side the cancer likely has grown right through your liver, you probably don't have too long to live, you better set your affairs in order. And I remember over on Diamond Bar all the staff just sitting together in the conference room and we were raiding and all of a sudden pastor, Raul Reese, he walks in and he sat down right next to me with tears in his eyes, he began to explain all of this to him. And I remember I just reached over and I grabbed his arm. I said, it's gonna be okay, we're gonna pray because we believe God answers prayer. We just knew in our hearts, so many of us knew in our heart that God wasn't done with Sharon yet. There'll come a time when he'll take her home, but he wasn't done with her yet. So we just began to pray and pray and pray and pray when, unbeknownst to us, Sharon, of course, she's back at home resting and she was very much like Jehoshaphat just needing a word from the Lord. Just needing something to hang on to. And her mother's Bible was sitting there on the table, mother was a wonderful missionary in South America who's now in heaven with the Lord. So Sharon just reached over and grabbed her mother's Bible. Speak to me, Lord. She opened her mother's Bible and when she did, her eyes just happened to fall on these words. Thus says the Lord who created you and he who formed you, fear not, I have redeemed you, I have called you by name, you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you and through the rivers, they will not overflow you and when you walk through the fire, you will not be burned for I am the Lord your God. So says Isaiah 43 verses one to three. She began to claim that promise. We began to stand on that promise and we began to pray and pray and pray and pray for weeks and weeks and weeks we prayed. And I'll never forget as long as I live, a year ago on New Year's Eve, we had just gone to the church and Sharon Reeves literally came running up to me. She said, Lord, you're not gonna believe this. She said, the doctor just now called and the latest test they did, they can't find the cancer anywhere. That's the Lord. To God be the glory, that's the Lord. Standing on God's promises, that's what they were doing. And that's what we need to do. There's an old hymn of the faith that I like so much called standing on the promises. I like the words of the hymn writer wrote, standing on the promises I cannot fall, listening every moment to the Spirit's call. Resting in my savior is my all in all standing on the promises of God. Standing on the promises that cannot fail when the howling storms of doubt and fear assail by the living word of God, I shall prevail standing on the promises of God, the chorus standing, standing, standing on the promises of God, my savior, standing, I'm standing on the promises of God. That's what they were doing, and that's what we need to do. But what happened? That leads us to the fourth and final thing we see in this story, and that is Jehoshaphat's plan. In verse 20 to 22, Jehoshaphat's plan. And I must confess to you, this is the craziest plan any leader ever came up with. Jehoshaphat's plan, verse 20. So they arose early in the morning and they went out to the wilderness of Tekkoah, and as they went out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, hear me, O Judah, in your inhabitants of Jerusalem, believe in the Lord your God, and you will be established, believe in his prophets, and you will prosper. Underline that we're believed. Twice you see it. Believe, believe, believe in the Lord, and believe in his prophets means believe in his word. Just believe the Lord, believe what his word says. He exhorts them, believe, believe. In verse 21, 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 and name for God, and as they went out before the army, they were saying praise the Lord for his mercy endures forever. That was Jehoshaphat's plan. What a crazy plan. I don't know about you, but if I had been alive in those days, I would not have been down for that plan. No swords, no spears, just go out there and just say thank you, Lord. What was he doing? What were they doing? Listen, Jehoshaphat really believed God. The Lord had said to him, you're not gonna need to fight. I'm gonna fight for you. The Lord had said, stand still. He believed it, really believed it. I'll tell you what is the hardest thing to do when you're in trouble, when enemies come up against you, when you're in trial and difficulty. Listen, I'll tell you what the hardest thing is to do, nothing, just to trust the Lord. I'll tell you what the hardest thing to do is when people are speaking against you and telling untruths about you. Don't say anything, just let the Lord defend you. It's so hard to do, but it's the right thing to do. Jehoshaphat really believed. God says, stand still. God says, I'm gonna fight for you. And Jehoshaphat said, then that's what we're gonna do, Lord. No matter how silly, no matter how stupid, no matter how foolish, this seems to other people, humanly speaking, we're not gonna take matters in our own hands. We're not gonna go try to find somebody to fight our enemies. We're just gonna look to the Lord. We're just gonna trust Him. And we're gonna say, thank you, Lord. We praise you, Lord. You said you would fight for us and we believe you. That's what we need to do, to trust the Lord, to really believe in Him. I'm so thankful that I was raised in a Christian home. I'm so thankful that I had a godly mother. And my mama, when she was cleaning the house, she would always sing these worship courses while she was sweeping and dusting and all of those things. It was one song, I think she'd probably sing it more than any other song, I don't know for sure, but I can still hear my mom singing. She would sing these words, faith in God can move a mighty mountain. Faith in God can calm a troubled sea. Faith in God can make the desert faith will bring. Believing God, really trusting Him, that's what they did. And what happened? What happened? Verse 22, now when they began to sing and praise, the Lord said ambushes against the people of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seer who had come against Judah and they were defeated. In verse 27, then they returned every man of Judah and Jerusalem with Jehoshaphat in front of them to go back to Jerusalem. They returned with joy, oh happy day, for the Lord had made them rejoice over their enemies. Listen, when they trusted the Lord and only the Lord, he did exactly what he said he would do, and God gave them a mighty victory. God made them rejoice over those enemies that had risen up against them and God will do the same for you. They'll do the same thing for me. Our God is an unchanging God, he's the same yesterday, he's the same today, he'll be the same forever, his power isn't diminished, his love hasn't changed, his grace has no end. There was as we gather together today, I don't know what circumstance or situation you find yourself in. I don't know what trouble or trial or difficulty you're facing. I don't know what enemies have risen up against you. They might be financial or legal or health issues or relationship issues, I don't know what they are. All I know is this, when your wonderful pastor will come over and teach and I begin to pray, Lord, what do you want to say to those people over there at Chino Valley? Those people I love so much. Just was so clear in my heart. Go over and have them open their Bible to 2nd Choronicles chapter 20. Go over and have them underlining their Bible. We have no power, we don't know what to do, let our eyes are upon you. Have them underlining their Bible. Fear not or be dismayed. Have them underlining their Bible. Stand still and see the salvation of the Lord who is with you. Listen, I don't know what you're going through, but the Lord knows what you're going through. And his word to Jehoshaphat is his word to you and to me. Your ends, I've come today with good news, such good news, no weapon formed against God's people will ever prosper. It's not gonna happen. Whatever enemies come up against you, it's not gonna happen. I've come with good news today. Listen, if God is for us, then there's nobody that can be against us. I've come with good news today. If God is on our side, and he is on our side, there's nobody that can ever stand against us. I've come with good news. The Lord sees what you're going through. And if you will call on him in a day of trouble, he will deliver you. And you will glorify him as his help. His help is only one prayer away. It's as close as the next breath you breathe. It's as close as the next prayer you prayed. Fear not, God is with you.