When you’re facing insurmountable obstacles and all appears to be lost, there is only one direction to turn: toward God.

[Music]

with a message from God’s Word here’s

Charles Stanley some time ago I found

myself facing a situation that caused me

to feel very helpless I didn’t know what

to do I didn’t know which way to turn I

knew I didn’t have a solution whatsoever

their helplessness means that you have

passed the point of personal

manipulation that there’s not anything

you can do helplessness means that you

are now at the mercy of God as somebody

says well I don’t like that feeling of

helplessness well I don’t think anybody

likes it but on the other hand there is

something about being at the point of no

return something about feeling helpless

and knowing that you do have the mercy

of God upon which to rely I think all of

us probably have felt those times in our

life

maybe helpless about your finances are

helpless about your family or whatever

it might be but you feel absolutely

helpless and you didn’t know what to do

next what do you do next well I think

I’ve been there enough times in my life

to have learned exactly what to do and

that is to open God’s Word and to find

the passage of Scripture with those

principles that will help me through

that particular situation so what I’d

like to do in this passage today I want

to talk about this simple theme when we

feel helpless and I want you to turn to

a passage in which you will find the

principles of how you not to respond

when we have that helpless Phinney when

we don’t know what to do next we don’t

know which way to turn it seems that we

don’t have a solution we don’t know

where to go I want you to turn if you

will to second chronicles chapter 20 now

give you a little bit of background

while you’re turning there we’ll just

read the first of four verses of his

chapter but we’ll take the whole chapter

at least most of it what has happened is

Jehoshaphat who is the king of the

nation of Israel is a good king in fact

the Bible says about him in the

nineteenth chapter that he set his heart

to seek the Lord God the Bible says that

the Lord had used him to bring the

people back to the Lord the god of their

fathers and so he’s a good king and

suddenly he gets this message and the

message is that there are three armies

three nations three tribes that have

come together and their goal their

purpose is to attack him and his people

and to destroy them and to take what

belongs to them and this passage of

Scripture is Jehoshaphat’s response to

what he says is a very helpless a very

powerless situation which he did not

know what to do next so I want us to

read these first four verses together to

give us a little background now it came

about after this that the sons of Moab

and the sons of Amon together with some

of them unites came to make war against

Jehoshaphat then some came and reported

that Jehoshaphat saying a great

multitude is coming against you from

beyond the sea out of a ram and behold

they are in Hess’s on Tamar that is in

Getti Jehoshaphat was afraid and turned

his attention to seek the Lord and

proclaimed a fast threat all Judah so

Judah gathered together to seek help

from the Lord they even came from all

the cities of Judah to seek the Lord now

somebody says well no wait a minute

does not the Bible say fear not fear not

fear not did not David say that

throughout the Psalms and did not Jesus

say that that’s true does that mean that

no Christian is ever expected to be

afraid of any condition that is not what

it means

God knows that there will be

circumstances sometimes instantaneous

unseeable circumstances and unforced

seeable things that you and I will not

be able to foresee and predict that will

happen in our lives and so therefore it

may be that at the moment we first hear

them we are gripped with fear because

our first sudden response is I don’t

know what to do I don’t know which way

to turn any time we feel helpless what

we have done is we are experiencing what

it means to feel out of

control the feeling of being out of

control is always a fearful position to

be in but those of us who’ve trusted

Jesus Christ as our Savior and we know

the Almighty God of the universe

personally as a result of our

relationship to Jesus we know what to do

when gripped with fear and the dead fear

should only last a few moments and what

I want you to see in this first the

principle here is simply this that

Jehoshaphat was fearful for those

moments but he made the wisest decision

he could have ever have made and this is

the first thing that you and I should do

whenever we feel helpless and that is to

turn our eyes to seek the Lord

the first principle above all the rest

turn our eyes to seek the Lord because

the first word that should come out of

our mouths when we feel helpless is

father because what that does is this it

is a sudden recognition of Almighty God

it is a sudden recognition that we have

help it is a sudden recognition that we

have someone to turn to it is an

instantaneous igniter of my faith when I

know that I can turn to him look to him

and respond to him I know in my heart I

have someone that I can turn to that I

may feel helpless at the moment but I am

NOT hopeless as long as there was a God

and this is exactly what he did the

scripture says he was afraid he turned

his attention to seek the Lord and he

proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah

now one thing was here with this very

evident that he was a wise man is this

he did not only turn to God himself he

sent out the word and he was asking all

of the people of Judah to fast and pray

and so the scripture says Judah gathered

together to seek help from the Lord they

even came from all the cities of Judah

to seek the Lord let me ask you this do

you have someone anyone and whom you

have confidence any friend in your life

to whom you can go when you have those

helpless feelings when you don’t know

what to do next you don’t know what a

turn

and you know that listen you have passed

the point a personal manipulation you

can’t make it work is there somebody you

can pray with somebody you can call upon

if you’re one of those persons who has

no one in all of life that you can pray

with that you know in your heart when

you say to them here’s what I’m feeling

here’s what’s happening in my life I

don’t know what to do I don’t know where

to turn

I feel absolutely helpless if you don’t

have someone to whom you can go with

whom you can pray then you have missed

one of life’s greatest most powerful

assets in life and that is a praying

friend you have no greater assets

there’s something about knowing that

somebody is calling your name before God

and here was Jehoshaphat the king who

was saying Oh Lord and we’re gonna see

in just a few moments he said we’re

powerless we don’t know what to do he

said I don’t know what to do and so what

did he do he did the smartest wisest

thing he could do he gathered people

around him who would pray for him and

pray for the nation and who had prayed

that God would give him wisdom to know

what to do and how to go about it there

is something about in a moment of fear

simply crying out to God Oh father

because what you have done you have

tapped the eternal omnipotence of the

Living God who made us the promise when

he said he said he will enable he will

help he will become involved in the life

of the person who waits upon him that is

instead of running to someone else first

first of all father it ignites faith it

stirs something within us and it gives

us instantaneous hope we have hope that

our God will see us through this so when

you hit those times that you don’t know

what to do how to turn next and there is

no way to turn it seems the first thing

we do is we turn our hearts towards

seeking the Lord in prayer asking for

his direction and if you are one of

those blessed people who has one of all

folks one of all people to whom you can

go and say to them or call them this is

what I’m facing would you please

pray for me ask God to show me what to

do how to do it and where how to go

about it God will hear your plea to him

the second thing I want you to notice in

this passage is this that the second

thing Jehoshaphat did is one of the

wisest things you and I can do and that

is to recall God’s past deliverances in

our life that is because all of us who

are believers we have a heritage we’ve

trusted the Lord Jesus Christ over the

years we’ve watched God work in our life

and those of us who keep a diary we have

recorded what he has done and I say to

you over and over and over again you

ought to keep a diary you ought to write

it down and many of you have started

keeping Diaries you’ve begun to write it

down and what happens is when you don’t

you will forget Satan will see to it

that you forget it because listen you

may recall in distant times past how God

has worked to some degree and all you

remember is a minuscule part of it when

you take the time to write it down

here’s what you do you’ll express your

feelings at that moment you’ll express

how you feel you’ll express your fears

your express your hope you’ll express

your faith you’ll put down in whether

it’s pencil a pen on paper you will

describe your feelings that nobody else

can describe for you and if you don’t

you will forget it now somebody says

well I don’t know why that’s so

important do you know what this book is

somebody says well that’s the Word of

God well that’s true the infallible

inerrant Word of God it is the

revelation of God but listen it the

revelation of God is also the account

that is the written down account of how

God thought down through these years and

what he did down through these years how

he acted how he worked how he involved

himself in the life of individuals as

well as in the life of a nation this is

the written account of the actions and

and the attitude of Almighty God down

through history and so how do you and I

get blessed we opened this book and what

do we read we read what God says about

how he thinks and how he has thought and

we see what he did in the life of the

nation of Israel and in the life of the

men like Abraham

Isaac and Jacob and David and Daniel and

Paul and Peter and all the rest of them

we have an account of how he worked so

what happens we read how he worked in

their lives and we get blessed so when

you and I keep a diary we can go back

and read our own diary of how God has

worked in our own life in the past and

what does that do when we come to

present day and future day events that

cause us to feel helpless we likewise

again are encouraged by what we read and

a lot of people say well I just don’t

have time to do that you mean to tell me

you don’t have time to write down what

God has done in your life you don’t have

time to record the blessings of God and

the truth is here’s what that’ll do to

you it’ll make you become more more

sensitive to God’s actions in your life

daily little things that he does not

just the big thing it’s not just

answered prayer but you will begin to

see and begin to observe things that you

never saw before and as I say to people

not because I love and enjoy photography

but I know this is true you go on a trip

and you don’t take a camera you’ll see a

lot of things you go on a trip and you

take a camera with you you will see more

than the person who does not because

what that gives you the privilege of

doing is this it gives you the privilege

of looking at the world in which you’re

looking at that moment and you will

bracket out most of the world and you

will begin to see things more intimate

and you begin to see them from a

different perspective and things that

lose their perspective to you against

the background of a great vast landscape

or whatever it might be when you narrow

it down to a small square in your camera

you begin to see things that you’ve

never seen before when you and I begin

to record and decide we’re going to

record the events in our life here’s

what happens those things that get

washed out in a general view of your

daily life

all of a sudden you see this from a

different perspective and then you see

that’s the hand of God well look what

God did look how he answered that look

how God spoke look how he provided this

in my life and what happens is

your life takes on a whole different

spiritual level because you beginning to

see things you have never seen before of

the hand and presence and purpose and

plan and work of God in your life so

what happens we find here we find simply

this that he’s beginning to look look

what he says he’s beginning to recall

verse 5 then Jehoshaphat stood in the

Assembly of Judah and Jerusalem the

house of the Lord God the new Court and

he said O Lord the God of our fathers

are you not God in the heavens are you

not ruler over all the kingdoms of the

nation’s power and might are in your

hands so that no one can stand against

you did you not o our God drive out

speaking of the past drive out the

inhabitants of this land before your

people Israel and give it to the

descendants of Abraham your friend

forever they have lived in it and have

built you a sanctuary there for your

name and so what he’s doing he is

remembering how God has worked in the

life of the people of God before and now

he stands as king in this very difficult

situation in which he says he feels

powerless and not knowing what to do and

what is he doing he is first of all

turning his eyes before the Lord crying

out to God secondly what he’s doing is

reminding God recalling the events that

God had performed in the past and on

what you noticed this prayer which we’ll

come back to in a moment but this prayer

is so God’s Senate listen to this Oh

Lord that God of our fathers are you not

God in the heavens are you not ruler

over all the kingdoms of the nation’s

power and might or in your hand so that

no one can stand against you did you not

o our God drive them out and so

oftentimes our focus begins to be on

what the obstacle is what is it that’s

causing us to feel helpless and when our

focus is on that it increases listen in

size diminishes our faith and our fear

increases but it immediately turned his

heart and his mind to the Lord and he

immediately began to recall how God had

worked in the life of the nation of

Israel in the past and as a result of

that something began to happen in his

heart

his faith began to increase the moment

he began to cry out to God and to remind

the Lord of his faithfulness in the past

so number one what do we do when we hit

one of these helpless situations we

don’t know what to do next we turn our

eyes to seek the Lord in prayer and

secondly we begin to recall Lord when I

was in a circumstance equal to this or

like this in the past God here’s what

you did you’re a faithful God a loving

God a true God you don’t give up you

said I will be with you I will uphold

you with my righteous right hand you

said I’ll never forsake you I’ll never

never no never forsake you God here’s

where I am I need your help when you and

I can refer back to recall his hand in

the past something begins to happen in a

life that our helpless situation does

not leave us hopeless what is the third

principle here look at this if you will

the third thing I want you to notice is

this that he affirmed his faith in the

Living God it is not enough to pray and

say Lord here’s my need here’s my

situation here’s my circumstance there’s

something about affirming that faith

that is confessing that faith we can

confess and affirm God his my

circumstance here’s my situation his

helpless and hopeless I feel and Lord I

don’t know which way to turn and we can

go on and on and on in our prayers

about how bad things are how hopeless it

looks like to us and how helpless we

feel and God why don’t you do this we

can go on and on and on there’s

something about affirming our faith and

I want you to notice here how he does

this look if you will in verse 9 he said

let’s go back to verse 8 he said

speaking of the nation the past they’ve

lived in it they’ve built you a

sanctuary therefore your name saying and

this is what they prayed should evil

come upon us the sword or judgment or

pestilence or famine we will stand

before this house and before you for

your name is in this house and we will

cry to you in our distress and you will

hear and deliver us now think about this

for a moment what is fear but an emotion

an emotion that can so grip us that it

can absolutely

paralyzed us from acting fear is

destructive fear causes all kinds of

problems in our life so we can either be

afraid and fear is simply an emotion you

say well I just can’t overcome it yes

you can if you’re a believer you don’t

know Christ as your Savior you know God

is your father you’re right

and may be times when you came but every

single believer has within him and her

the power to overcome fear we have the

power to move from fear to faith we can

step up out of the slime pits of fear

onto the listen godlet level of faith

how do we do that it’s an act of our

mind it’s a choice we make it is a

decision that we make and so he says our

forefathers when they felt the same kind

of circumstance when they felt helpless

and didn’t know what to do is what they

said whether we are facing a sword and

war judgment pestilence of family we

will stand before this house the house

of God he says we will cry to you in our

distress and you will hear and deliver

us there but it’s an affirmation of

faith based on what based on their

understanding of who God is based on

their understanding and their recalling

of the events in the past of how god it

worked so when somebody says well I’m

just gripped with fear I don’t know what

to do I understand that you don’t have

to stay in that position

we’ve all been there for either a few

seconds or a few moments or maybe a few

days or a few weeks and some people a

lot longer than that living in fear

living under this awesome horrible cloud

of fear what’s going to happen next oh I

don’t know what to do next I don’t know

what kind of decision to make

you don’t have to stay there it is a

decision you make what is the decision

we make is the decision we make we will

stand before the Living God we will cry

out to the Living God and our God will

deliver us he will give us a sense of

direction he will show us what to do we

may feel helpless but we are not

hopeless no child of God has ever been

hopeless when it comes to the reality of

things you may feel fearful

you may feel absolutely helpless to

change your circumstances but if God is

your God you have no reason to be

hopeless no reason to be hopeless

whatsoever and so What did he say he

said they stood before the house of the

Lord

he said they cried out to God and they

cried out and they said you will deliver

us that is an affirmation of faith I’m

trusting my god now the problem is this

oftentimes when we start praying the

more we pray the longer we pray we build

up this awesome case against ourselves

to God I feel so helpless

I feel so hopeless I don’t know what to

do nobody cares things are bad nobody

seems to understand Lord I just

sometimes I just want to feel like I

want to give up I just want to give up

and quit and go bury myself somewhere

and just forget life walk out of life

all of that is negative affirmations

whatever happened to the sovereign

omnipotent God who loves you

unconditionally don’t even say those

kind of things they don’t fit who you

are you’re a child of an omnipotent God

what did he pray he said Oh Lord the God

of our fathers are you not the God in

the heavens are you not the ruler over

all the kingdoms of the nation’s power

and might are in your hands so that no

one can stand against you listen no

obstacle no obstruction no enemy no

matter what can overpower the child of

the Living God walking in faith does

that mean that you’ll not be persecuted

no does that mean that some people will

not lose their lives because their faith

no it simply means this that even in

death they still conquer if that is the

will of God in times of persecution you

still conquer because absent from the

body present with the Lord listen we are

to affirm our faith because God is a

helper and he has sent the Holy Spirit

to live in the life of every single

believer if you’ve trusted Jesus Christ

as your Savior listen you have

omnipotence you have omniscience living

on the inside of you and the person of

the Holy Spirit who is God’s divine

helper sent to help you in every

circumstance and every situation and he

is

all wise he knows exactly what you to do

next no matter what well I want to

notice another principle here and that

is it’s not enough to cry out to God but

we must be willing to confess our

helpless feeling if we don’t confess

that it’s because we’re gonna figure out

some how to manipulate our circumstances

there are situations and circumstances

in which people get in that they are

helpless but they denied well I’ll

figure it out somehow I’ll manage

somehow and sometimes when you start

talking those people about the Lord they

get so turned off because the reason

they’re turned off is because of their

pride no one wants to admit I don’t know

what to do next

I’m absolutely helpless as to what to do

except a committed child of God who is

at least learning the ways of God

there’s nothing wrong with say I don’t

know what to do next

there’s nothing wrong with saying at

this moment and this situation my life I

feel so helpless

there’s nothing wrong with that it’s

what you do following that and so if you

deny your feeling of helplessness you

deny that you in desperate need what you

will do you will try to manipulate and

work out your circumstances to suit you

and more than likely you gonna do the

wrong thing you see listen to this

there’s nothing wrong with feeling

helpless in fact I guarantee you at some

point a point so many times in your life

God is going to arrange to bring you to

the place of helplessness in fact that’s

how a lot of people get saved when they

have exhausted everything they know how

to do to manage their life and it ends

up in an absolute total disaster how

many people have said God just brought

me to the end of myself which means

listen he shut me up to my own failures

and he’s the only one I had to turn to

and I trusted him as my saving God has

transformed my life so feeling helpless

is not all that bad if we respond in the

right fashion sometimes people deny the

fact that they feeling helpless and and

so I think that’s the amount of pride

all Hamlet I’ll make out just don’t

worry about it and I have said to a few

people not many people in life well I

just want to know I’m gonna be praying

for you well that’s okay thank you very

much

but I’m [ __ ] all work out I’m not sure

at all work out there’s some things

listen to me friend there’s some things

you are not going to be able to work out

there’s some circumstances and

situations you can’t handle so what do

you do you go get a drink or you take

some drug or you do something else in

other words get off your mind for a

while but doesn’t go away

you’ll never be able to live in

contentment and joy and peace and

happiness and the grace of God until you

learn to be able to say God I need you I

desperately need you Father I don’t know

what to do I don’t know what a turn I

need you now the cry or what it means to

cry to God what does it mean cry to God

it simply means this it is a spontaneous

response to an urgent need that I have

Oh father Oh father a spontaneous listen

I don’t have to pre-plan it it’s just a

spontaneous response to an urgent need

got here’s what’s happening and I

received a call this week from someone

the distant state and when they finished

telling me what they were facing and the

uncertainty of it I get on my knees

before God and I wept and wept and wept

and wept and the reason I did was

because I couldn’t fix them I couldn’t

change the situation I couldn’t help

them but I could cry out to God and call

their name and plead for God to do

something in their half so that

physically they would be well we cry out

to God because there’s a sense of

urgency a spontaneous since of urgency

if you came to me and said let me tell

you what I’m facing in life

spontaneously I would want to cry out to

God in your behalf because the things I

know I can’t fix in somebody else’s life

and I can’t change in their life as much

as I would like to but I can cry to God

and ask God to do it and so this whole

idea of crying out to him and admitting

the fact that this situation is hopeless

and helpless and and what we’re doing is

this we are recognizing when you say God

I feel helpless

what you’re saying is in my circumstance

god you must do it if you don’t do it

god it’s not gonna get done and there’s

nothing wrong with saying God you must

do it what I’m saying is God I have

exhausted all possibilities

I’m absolutely helpless God you must do

it does God love to hear that he loves

see you that you know why he loves to

hear that because what that means is

finally he’s got you where you want she

wants you you can’t do a thing about

your circumstance we don’t like it it’s

painful we’d like to change it and

sometimes he’s not gonna let us change

it he’s gonna squeeze us to the point

that there is absolutely nothing left of

our possibility of manipulating and

changing things and then we have to lift

our hearts in humility for him and say

dear God please change my circumstance

you see here’s what’s happening when you

and I are crying out to God we are

recognizing who he is

that is is Jehoshaphat said he’s the God

he’s the sovereign of this universe he’s

rumbling listen ruler over all kingdoms

but he’s the ruler over every single

person he allows people to wreck and

ruin their lives when they choose to he

reaches down to redeem the most wicked

and vile sinful human being when they’re

willing to respond to his love that’s

the kind of God he is and what happens

is when we come to a place of saying god

I’m hopeless I’m helpless I don’t know

what to do which way to turn that’s the

wisest thing you can do is to tell him

god I don’t know which way to turn

you’re acknowledging that he is the one

person who can help you you’re

acknowledging that you can’t do anything

for yourself you’re acknowledging that

he’s the God he says he is that’s why

you come into him

well the another principle of when you

check on that’s this and that is that

God will encourage us he always

encourages us in the times of our

helplessness listen to this passage the

scripture says I want you to notice

where Jehoshaphat is in this passage we

read that he said in the past here’s

what they said Lord we will stand we

will cry and you will deliver us and so

then he begins to talk about Amon Moab

and Mount Seir and the fact that they

are coming against them then he says in

verse 12 look at this verse 12

oh well God will you not judge them but

we are powerless before this great

multitude who are coming against this

nor do we know what to do but our eyes

are on you now most of the time when

you’re praying or talking and you put a

butt at the end of something as bad news

and when people say I love you but I

know God answers prayer but I know he

works those people’s lives but I know he

can change circumstances but and usually

but means but you can’t do it for me you

won’t do it for me and but usually is

they is the prelude to an expression of

my doubt but a whole god what about my

situation but look at this but he says o

our God will you not judge them but we

are powerless before this great

multitude who are coming against this

know we do we know what to do but our

eyes are upon you and I cannot say

enough and you hear me say this often

and listen the reason I say it is not

because I forgot what I said last week

it’s because you forgot what I said last

week and I’ve said over and over and

over again and that is our focus is the

key when something happens father

my focus is upon him we go through

difficulties and hardship our focus is

upon him but everything looks like it’s

falling apart

our focus is upon him if it drops off of

him only any of a situation in life and

any other person then all of a sudden we

have disconnected from oppenents and

omniscience and unconditional love –

weakness and maybe a friendship and

maybe some bit of love but nobody can

love us like God no one can help us like

God nobody can change our circumstances

like he can and so when you think about

the whole idea of encouragement here he

is crying out and that’s his condition

his condition he says we’re powerless we

don’t know what to do but our eyes are

upon you

I am affirming who you are I’m trusting

you to be the god you say you are I’m

looking to you even though I feel

powerless and hopeless and helpless at

this moment god I’m sure you’re gonna

show us what to do

well it’s interesting what happens here

because in the midst of that look if you

will beginning in verse 14 then in the

midst of the Assembly of the Spirit of

the Lord came upon jahaziel the son of

Zechariah the son of benaiah the sound

jealous unn of mattaniah that Levite of

the sons of ASA and he said that is this

man said listen all Judah and the

inhabitants of Jerusalem and King

Jehoshaphat thus says the Lord he says

I’ve got a word from God to you do not

fear or be dismayed because of this

great multitude for the battle is not

yours but gods now how much more

encouraging because Jehoshaphat had been

when this man stood listen the Spirit of

the Lord came upon him the spirit of the

Lord came upon him and he spoke the

message of God to Jehoshaphat and his

message was a message of encouragement

he said look fear not and don’t be

discouraged because of this great

multitude the battle is not yours but

the battle is gods listen what else he

said he said in verse 17 you need not

fight in this battle station yourselves

stand and see the salvation of the Lord

on your behalf

o Judah and Jerusalem do not fear or be

dismayed he says tomorrow go out to face

them for the Lord is with you when you

and I hit those tough times and we don’t

know what to do and that’s exactly what

he said he said Lord we don’t know what

to do he says there’s the great

multitudes coming upon us and he says we

don’t know what to do but our eyes are

upon you listen carefully when you and I

get in those circumstances those

situations whatever may be the cause

that’s the time when we need to open our

eyes to look for the evidence of the

presence of God in the circumstance in

our life secondly listen we need to open

our ears to listen to what God may be

trying to say to us God is always

speaking

difficult circumstances he wants us to

keep our eyes open to see what he wants

us to see is he working out something

here he wants us to keep our ears alert

to the voice of God sometimes his voice

may come through someone else as through

this particular prophet or it may come

through his word or it may come through

a change of circumstance we think

certainly this is the work of God in my

life

so that whenever we face one of those

situations that’s the time to be very

sensitive what we’re listening to and

who we’re listening to there is

sensitive to what we see going on around

us because God is an encouraging by

heart listen to what he says and my

favorite word of encouragement is in

Isaiah 41 when he says do not fear I am

with you do not anxiously look about you

I am your God

I will help you I will strengthen you I

will uphold you with my righteous right

hand all those who are insensitive about

you he says will be as nothing he says

cast all your cares upon him and he’ll

care for you he says you can come boldly

to the throne of grace to find Grace and

help in time of need he is a God of

encouragement so that no matter what we

are going through he is there I am with

you he says I will never leave you nor

forsake you and that rid of me that

really says no never forsake you he’s a

God of righteousness and holiness but

he’s a God of compassion and love and

oneness and empathy with us and he

desires to take our hand and walk us

through those valleys of helplessness so

that he can walk us through it in with

his unconditional love so that when we

come out on the other side we praise Him

and adore him and worship Him and

realize we were at the end of our rope

and not only at the end of our rope but

the rope was was unwinding and it was

about to snap at any moment and God

rescued us that’s the kind of God he is

but you know what the problem is that’s

not the kind of God the world sees

secondly that’s not the kind of God that

most Christians know they kind of got

most Christians know as well you’ve got

yourself in that message

get out that’s the kind of God most

people know he’s a gun of loving

compassion it doesn’t make any

difference what’s caused you to feel

helpless as a believer he’s there to

enable you strengthen you encourage you

and he wants you to focus on him this

almighty sovereign god of the universe

who loves you individually and

personally and surely listen to this he

was encouraged this battle is not yours

but gods you don’t have to fight in this

battle he says I want to do three things

station yourself stand and see the

salvation of the Lord now my favorite

verse are one of my most favorite verses

in which you know by now is Isaiah 64

verse 4 he says that God will act in

behalf of the one who waits for him

sometimes God wants us to face those

helpless moments and situations and not

do a thing at least for a season of time

coming to another point in a moment not

for season if not maybe a short period

time maybe before a few minutes he says

he acts in behalf of for the good of

because He loves us in behalf of the one

who waits for him God I don’t know what

to do I’m trusting you I’m gonna wait

for your direction you know watch this

he doesn’t act necessarily on behalf of

those who are going about doing their

own thing he acts in behalf of those who

wait for him that is those who wait for

sense of clearly divinely given

direction God this is where I mean God

says this is what I want you to do he is

an encourage of our heart and you see

the problem often times is that you will

go to someone else say what do you think

I ought to do and they’ll say well you

know what it just looks bad it’s really

bad I don’t know what in the world

you’re gonna do I got you just kind of

work his thing out yourself you know

what God has never said to us it really

looks bad he has never said things are

really beyond all possibility he’s never

said I don’t know what to do I can’t

help you this sovereign awesome father

of ours is listen all pouty understand

what that means that every single

measure of energy and exists

is the result of the awesome power of

God just like the Sun all the heat and

all the light nor the rays of it

Almighty God is the source of the energy

and the strength and the power of our

life he doesn’t want us to be

discouraged he’s a loving encouraging

father ready to give us strength and

help in time of need

well the sixth thing I want you to

notice here that so evident this passage

is this is that when we get in those

circumstances listen mister carefully

most of the time 99.9% if not a hundred

percent of the time God is going to

require us to act in some fashion it’s

not a matter just crying out to God but

he is going to command us to obey Him in

some act now let’s think about what

these people were first of all they felt

absolutely helpless but now they’re

becoming encouraged and as a result of

their encouragement trusting God

something happens here because I want

you notice how I encourage Jehoshaphat

became because in verse 12 he says we

were powerless before this great

multitudes coming upon us but verse 20

says they arose early in the morning

when after the wilderness of Toccoa when

they went out Jehoshaphat stood and said

listen to me o Judah and inhabitants of

Jerusalem put your faith in the Lord

your God and you will be established in

this land put your trust in his prophets

and succeed something happened to his

faith God encouraged him in the most in

the most trying de stressful time of his

life and what is he saying to them he’s

saying put your faith in God trust him

he will establish this in this land and

he says listen give thanks to the Lord

for his loving kindness is everlasting

may as well I want you to see God used

this prophet to encourage listen not on

the nation but the king and now we see

the king coming out and say trust the

Living God before he was saying O God we

don’t know what to trust the Living God

let me ask you what kind of person do

you want to follow somebody who’s

following God somebody who’s confident

God somebody who’s trusting

God somebody who knows God somebody whom

you know knows where they’re going and

how to get there as they follow the

Living God all of a sudden the whole

nation of Judah all the people suddenly

became encouraged they suddenly became

confident in the Living God how do I

know that because of what God required

of them now he required them something

that would appear absolutely ridiculous

and listen a sure plan of total defeat

he said here’s what we gonna do God had

spoken to him in the night he said we’re

gonna get all of our army together we’ve

already heard the message we won’t have

to fight we getting the army together

but we’re gonna put the choir and the

orchestra in front and we’re gonna march

toward exactly what he told us tomorrow

go down against them behold they will

come up by the ascent of ziz and you’ll

find them at the end of the valley and

from the wilderness of Jarrell it’s a

year ago he’s the battle is the Lord’s

I’m sure every man put on his sword and

his dagger knowing that it was going to

be hand-to-hand combat and it was going

to be bloody and a lot of them are going

to lose their life they certainly did

not understand we’re just going at that

and sing and praise the Lord and watch

what happens so God says here’s what I

want you to do let’s suppose that it

said there is no way we’re gonna send

our choir and our orchestra out in front

and be slaughtered before we even draw

the sword there’s no way we’re gonna do

that listen carefully this you watch

this and see if this doesn’t happen in

your life oftentimes in those moments of

helplessness God is going to require you

to do something that many times will not

seem reasonable to all of your friends

don’t even ask them because they won’t

understand oftentimes God will require

us something what’s he required he’s

required and Allisyn an act of obedience

the most important thing about that act

of obedience is the fact that we’re

trusting God he wants us to act out our

faith you can tell anybody well I do I

believe in God I trust God amen

everything

fantastic I’m believing that living got

out trust them for everything and all

hell breaks loose in your life can you

still say the same thing you don’t know

whether you can or not until everything

breaks loose and then you respond so

what did he do he sent them out and as a

result what happens God always does what

he promises to do

God always intervenes in the life of his

children when they trust them I doesn’t

making them as what the circumstance is

when we feel helpless God is delighted

he is most delighted to work in our life

and for our benefit so the Bible says

they all got together and they went out

verse 21 when he had consulted with the

people he appointed those who sang to

the Lord and those who praised him in

the holy attire as they went out before

the army and said give thanks to the

Lord for his loving kindness is

everlasting and here they are going the

battle and what are they doing they just

praising God and giving thanks who are

they giving thanks for but what they

believe God is going to do in their life

not what reason tells them not what

history is told them not what rationale

that tells them but we’re going to trust

God we’ve heard the message of God from

the prophet of God who says this is not

our battle we can stand this and we can

take our stand and we can watch God to

his awesome work in our life and to me

personally I don’t like difficult and

hardship and painting and more than

anybody else I don’t like to be in those

hopeless or helpless situations and more

than anyone else but I will have to

confess this I love to watch God do his

work when I know that there’s not one

thing under God’s heaven I can do about

it

there is the most thrilling joy with the

pain it’s like this this joy and pain

come together and the pain of how you

hurt but the joy of watching God work in

your life and manipulate not so much

manipulate with God but move and change

the circumstances right in front of your

eyes there is something gloriously

exciting about being helpless and stand

and listen taking your position of faith

and watching God work in your life and

until you get to the place in your own

spiritual maturity well you can say Lord

I just want to thank you for these

difficult times because of what I

learned because what I see I get my most

accurate glimpse of you Lord when I see

you doing what you promised

acting in my behalf when it’s totally

desolate desperate and seemingly I’m

hopeless and helpless there is something

about that that I don’t know that I can

explain it adequately except to say

there is this awesome sense of joy and

excitement along with the hurt and the

pain when you know that Almighty God has

suddenly involved himself and you know

one thing to certain he will work it out

perfectly no matter what but sometimes

he requires us to act there’s something

we have to do and for them it was an

awesome act of faith they went to battle

and their responsibility was to sing in

the praise the Lord now what happened

God sent him is this belts not yours now

don’t you think about something Ramon a

lot of times when you and I get in

difficult situations we think and we

moan and groan and sometimes we don’t

even stop to ask the question God is

this something that you allowed and

arranged in my life in order to say

something to me and to speak to my heart

and to get my attention is there

something good you want to do I think

there are often times there are battles

in our life that we don’t initiate it

isn’t something that we’ve necessarily

done wrong and caused it to happen

sometimes it is but sometimes their

battles that are not our battles and

sometimes it may be that somebody

opposes you and you think this is the

battle I mean sometimes it’s not your

battle is God’s battle because the

person who opposed you are criticized

you’re ridiculed you’re persecuted you

are fired you or whatever it might be

it’s a battle between them and God they

have attacked the servant or a child of

the Living God

that battle is his to protect you and to

care for you in the watch over you and

to provide for you and sometimes we want

to fight our battles and we want to

respond the criticism we want to fight

back when somebody says things or

accuses of things you know what the

Bible says the battle is gods it’s not

ours what do we do we take our stand

invade we stand before the Living God

trusting him and we see God work in the

most awesome ways well one less Prince

of LOD mentioned that sim for this and

that is that we can expect God to

miraculously intervene in our

circumstances we can expect we can

anticipate that now that’s exactly

what’s going on here they anticipated

what God was going to do because they

said put your trust in the Lord

Jehoshaphat said you will be established

put your trust in his prophets and you

will succeed now there is a deck the

right he says this is just I am

confident this is what’s gonna happen we

will succeed in this battle because it’s

not our battle it’s God’s he’s the

sovereign of the universe we’re trusting

him here’s what he’s told us to do he’s

told us the arm ourselves but the choir

in the orchestra of the singers out

front and March told the enemy now

listen what happens verse 22 when they

begin singing and praising the Lord

praising the Lord set ambushes against

the sons of Amon Moab and Mount Seir

who’d come against Judas so they were

routed here’s what God did he’s so

confused them look what he did to him

the sons of Amon and Moab rose up

against the inhabitants of Mount Seir

that was part of the army destroying

them completely and when they had

finished with the in heavens of sear

they helped to destroy Allah they turned

on each other probably gotten some

argument about who’s going to have what

when we destroy all these these people

in this room what happens when they came

to look out at their own the wilderness

they looked toward the multitude and

behold they were corpses lying on the

ground and no one had escaped hallelujah

Amen what does God do he’s just being

himself now that’s a big deal to us but

in God’s eyes he just

himself you know what he was doing

acting in behalf of those who waited for

him watch this waited for him

you see Jehoshaphat didn’t call his soul

to his generals to the war room he

called the whole nation to the prayer

room and what happened they waited to

respond until they got a message from

God what did God do I sell 64 for he

acted in behalf of those who waited for

him and what are we fine we find now

verse 25 when Jehoshaphat and his people

came to take their spoil they found much

among them things which they took for

themselves and more listened more than

they could carry and they were three

days taking the spoil because there was

so much of it what did God do watch this

remember this now you listen say Amen

remember this when you and I’ll wait

upon the Lord and we do it his way and

we respond to our helpless hopeless

situation in the way that honors and

pleases him you’ll always come out with

more than you expect

and more than you could ever possibly

deserve it’s always that way he always

has the best but those who wait for him

he always gets involved for those who

wait for him he is willing to do

whatever is necessary when you and I

willing to wait till we get a clear

message from God and when we get his

message he’s gonna make it just right

now there’s one big key to this whole

thing now I want you to look at this

passage they move on back of course the

Jerusalem carrying all these goods and

they can even do it one day and they

praise the Lord and and so forth then I

want you to notice something something

about Jehoshaphat because here is the

ultimate key Jehoshaphat he verse 32 he

walked in the way of his father ASA and

did not depart from it doing right in

the sight of God he won’t these

principles that work in your life

they’ll work in your life not sometimes

but every single time

that you and I come to him in one of

those circumstances when we’re walking

right with him and I can tell you that

on my face before God not long ago I was

asking God for a miracle for the simple

reason I was absolutely totally helpless

there was not one single solitary thing

I could do I went right down these

principles every single one of them and

I can tell you that much I’ll have to

admit it much to my amazement in a very

very very short period of time God

worked the most miraculous thing in my

life you know what I did I just took him

at his word and I just followed the

principles I just gave you will they

work I can tell you two reasons I know

their work first of all because they’re

in the Word of God and secondly because

they’ve been tried and tested over and

over and over again in my own life and

in lives of multitudes and multitudes of

saints in the past and there’s a very

present day and God is simply saying to

you whatever the circumstance in your

life in which you feel helpless here’s

the guide book here the principles this

is life’s compass unfailing unchanging

unalterable eternal compass of truth and

God will walk you through what you’re

facing and you’ll walk through it and

what you realize is this that for the

child of God the best is always what God

gives his obedient children and father

how grateful we are that you can take a

simple incident as in the life of

Jehoshaphat thousands of years later we

can apply these simple principles in our

lives and they work every single time I

pray the Holy Spirit will sink this

message drive it home drive it deep

ignite faith change attitudes transform

lives save people turn their hearts to

the one true God to you Jehovah Yahweh

Elohim a denial

the one true God and to your son the

Lord Jesus Christ who’s shed blood at

Calvary has paid man’s sin debt in full

and makes it possible for the lowest

worst most evil being on the face of

this earth to experience forgiveness

experience your love experience your

redemption your reconciliation your

justification your sanctification

your awesome forgiveness for every sin

and to experience a wonderful intimate

relationship with you this is my prayer

in Jesus name Amen