The Battle Belongs To The Lord

This is a critical reality to understand.

The battle against the enemy of our souls is not ours, it belongs to the Lord.

We cannot battle against Satan and win, only God Almighty can;

Only Christ in us can OVERCOME the Evil One.

It is our submission to Christ that enables us to OVERCOME;

It is Christ living in and through us.

The story of King Jehoshaphat

And the time he was assailed by a vast army

Bent on destroying Judah is instructive. (2 Chronicles 20:1-30)

It is one time where the people of God did everything right before the Lord.

Let's take a look:

King Jehoshaphat is told that a vast army from Edom

Was coming toward Judah.

The King immediately resolved to inquire of the Lord as to what to do.

He proclaimed a fast for all Judah.

The people came together from every town in Judah.

King Jehoshaphat stood up in the assembly at the Temple of the Lord

And said:

'O Lord, God of our fathers, are You not the God Who is in Heaven?

You rule over ALL the kingdoms of the nations.

Power and might are in Your hand, and no one can withstand you.

O our God, did you not drive out the inhabitants of this land

Before Your people Israel and give it FOREVER

To the descendants of Abraham Your friend?

They have lived in it and have built in it a Sanctuary for Your Name,

saying, If calamity comes upon us, whether the sword of judgment,

Or plague or Famine,

We will stand in Your Presence before this temple that bears Your Name

And will cry out to you in our distress, and you will hear us and SAVE us.

But now here are men from Ammon, Moab and Mount Seir,

Whose territory You would not allow Israel to invade

When they came from Egypt,

So they turned away from them and did not destroy them.

See how they are repaying us by coming to drive us out of the possession

You gave us as an inheritance.

O our God, will You not judge them?

For we have no power to face this vast army that is attacking us.

We do not know what to do, But our eyes are upon you.'

Then the Spirit of the Lord came upon Jhaziel son of Zechariah,

The son of Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah, a Levite

And descendant of Asaph, as he stood in the assembly.

He said:

'Listen, King Jehoshaphat and all who live in Judah and Jerusalem!

This is what the Lord says to you:

'Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army.

For the battle is not yours but God's.

Tomorrow march down against them.

They will be climbing up by the Pass of Ziz,

And you will find them at the end of the gorge in the Desert of Jerue.

You will not have to fight the battle.

Take yup your positions;

Stand firm and see the deliverance the Lord will give you,

O Judah and Jerusalem.

Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.

Go out to face them tomorrow, and the Lord will be with you.'

Jehoshaphat bowed with his face to the ground,

And all the people of Judah and Jerusalem fell down in worship

Before the Lord.

Then some Levites from the Kohathites and Korahites stood up

And praised the Lord, the God of Israel, with a very loud voice.

Early in the morning they left for the Desert of Tekoa.

As they set out, Jehoshaphat stood and said:

'Listen to me, Judah and people of Jerusalem!

Have Faith in the Lord your God and you will be upheld;

Have Faith in His Prophets and you will be successful.'

After consulting with the people,

Jehoshaphat appointed MEN to SING to the Lord

And to PRAISE Him from the SPLENDOR of His HOLINESS

As they went out at the HEAD of the army, saying:

'Give thanks to the Lord for His LOVE endures FOREVER.'

As they began to SING and PRAISE,

The men of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir

Who were invading Judah, and they were defeated.

The men of Ammon and Moab rose up against the men from Mount Seir

To destroy and annihilate them.

After they finished slaughtering the men from Seir,

They helped to destroy one another.

[This is what happens at the Battle of Armageddon also.]

When the men of Judah came to the place that overlooks the desert

And looked toward the vast army,

They saw only dead bodies lying on the ground; No one had escaped.

So Jehoshaphat and his men went to carry off their plunder,

And they found Among them a great amount of equipment and clothing

And also articles of value—more than they could take away.

There was so much plunder that it took three days to collect it.

On the fourth day they assembled in the valley of Beracah,

Where they PRAISED the Lord.

This is why it is called the Valley of Beracah to this day.

Then, led by Jehoshaphat, all the men of Judah and Jerusalem

Returned JOYFULLY to Jerusalem,

For the Lord had given them cause to REJOICE over their enemies.

They entered Jerusalem and went to the Temple of the Lord

With harps and lutes and trumpets.

The FEAR of the Lord came upon ALL the kingdoms of the countries

When they heard how the Lord had fought against the enemies of Israel.

And the kingdom of Jehoshaphat was at PEACE,

For his God had given him REST on EVERY side. (2 Chronicles 201-30)

Jehoshaphat and the people of Israel

Did everything right before the Lord:

The immediately sought the Lord for His answer to their predicament;

The Lord answered though one of His Prophets.

“The battle is not yours but the Lord's;”

The worship the Lord after hearing His word to them;

Men stood up in the assembly and PRAISE the Lord with a very loud voice;

Jehoshaphat admonished the people

To have Faith in the Lord and His Prophets;

He appointed MEN to SING to the Lord and to PRAISE Him;

As they SANG their enemies were defeated;

They came away with a great amount of PLUNDER;

They returned to Jerusalem and REJOICED before the Lord at His Temple;

And the Lord gave Israel PEACE.

This story embodies the PROSCRIPTION for OBEDIENCE to the Lord,

And the resulting PEACE that will ALWAYS accompany it.

Remember our struggle is not against flesh and blood,

But against the Rulers, against the Authorities, against the Powers

Of this DARK world and against the Spiritual Forces of EVIL

In the Heavenly realms. (Ephesians 6:12)

I pray that those who read this message will make obedience to the Lord

the FOUNDATION of their Faith and their lives.

Today, the world is raging against God, rushing toward oblivion. (Psalm 2)

America is being ground to powder because of her SIN against God.

Save yourself from this Corrupt Generation! (Acts 2:40)

As God has written, so shall it be! Hallelujah! Maranatha!

Father, Your Kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as in Heaven!