FOR THE BATTLE IS NOT
YOURS, BUT GOD’S
2 Chron.
20:14-37
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.
First, do not be afraid
(14-19). The situation
of Judah looked desperate. A vast army was approaching from En Gedi.
Jehoshaphat himself might have thought that the LORD was going to punish him
for his alliance with Ahab. Then the Spirit of the Lord spoke through Jahaziel.
At the critical moment, God sent a man of God to encourage the hearts of his
people. “Don’t be discouraged because of this vast army. The battle is not
yours, but God’s.” He told them that they were to march down against them. But
they were not going to have to fight. Sovereign God was going to do the
fighting for them. All they had to do was stand firm and see the deliverance of
the LORD (like Moses and Israel at the Red Sea).
Again and
again, this is the message of the Bible: “The battle belongs to the LORD.” “The
battle is not yours, but God’s.” As God’s people, we are called to depend on
God and glorify God by our utter dependence on Him in our battles. It doesn’t
mean that we should do nothing at all. Often God calls us to do certain things
but when we do something we must do it by faith, not human calculation. We must
depend on God for victory and thus glorify God in our battles.
I personally
like vs. 17, which says, “You will not have to fight this
battle. Take up your positions; stand firm and see the deliverance the Lord will give you, Judah and Jerusalem. Do not be afraid; do not be
discouraged. Go out to face them tomorrow, and the Lord will be with you.’”
How did they
respond to the good news of victory? They praised God all the more. Vs. 19
says, “Then some Levites from the Kohathites and Korahites
stood up and praised the Lord, the God of Israel, with a very
loud voice.” I like these Kohathites and Korahites who stood up
and praised the LORD with a very loud voice. They are my kind of people. There is
a time and a place to praise God in a very loud voice. There also times to
praise God quietly giving thanks to Him in prayer.
Lord, I
praise you for being my God. I praise you for the victory over my sin at the
cross. Thank you Lord Jesus for taking away my
sins as the Lamb of God. Thank you for all your precious servants here in Chicago who supported us. Bless Mother Barry with good health, God's word and your Holy Spirit. thank you for P. Ron's message struggle. Continue to empower him with Mark's gospel. Thank you for P. Abraham Kim. Fill him with your Spirit and your word to lead international UBF. Thank you for M Jose Ahn, James Ahn, Dr. Augustine Suh and P Kevin and so many others. Bless your people here and empower them daily. Thank you for M Elijah and Mary and all our Oakton coworkers. Bless our upcoming SBC. Bless all SBC going on now and that are being prepared.
Help me to be a man of rejoicing and thanksgiving. I praise You for You have done great things for me. Holy is your name. Thank you for using our family in the mission field in Paraguay and Argentina. Thank you for establishing your church through the coworking of our families. Thank you for M Marcos and Ruth’s leadership. Thank you for the missionary family of M. Noe and Erendira. Thank you for our sisters Claudia, Dorka, Sandra, Maru, Julia and Maria. Thank you for brothers Leandro, Andres, Nicolas, Alberto and more on the way. Bless the labor of their hands and make Buenos Aires UBF a Mount Zion where many come to study your word and to walk in your ways. May the word of the LORD go out from Buenos Aires UBF to the ends of the earth. Thank you Father for giving me the opportunity to go out again to the mission field, even to Korea as an English teacher at Dream School. Help me to pioneer my missionary life again and stay in the mission field and keep going all the way to C nation. Bless our family to keep growing and becoming what you want us to be. Bless M Hannah with all necessary things and with good health, peace of mind and faith in God to lead our house church while I am away. Bless Paul and John to grow as men of God and to establish themselves according to your sovereignty and your guidance. Bless them to both marry women of faith and mission who can help them to be great servants of God. I ask in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Help me to be a man of rejoicing and thanksgiving. I praise You for You have done great things for me. Holy is your name. Thank you for using our family in the mission field in Paraguay and Argentina. Thank you for establishing your church through the coworking of our families. Thank you for M Marcos and Ruth’s leadership. Thank you for the missionary family of M. Noe and Erendira. Thank you for our sisters Claudia, Dorka, Sandra, Maru, Julia and Maria. Thank you for brothers Leandro, Andres, Nicolas, Alberto and more on the way. Bless the labor of their hands and make Buenos Aires UBF a Mount Zion where many come to study your word and to walk in your ways. May the word of the LORD go out from Buenos Aires UBF to the ends of the earth. Thank you Father for giving me the opportunity to go out again to the mission field, even to Korea as an English teacher at Dream School. Help me to pioneer my missionary life again and stay in the mission field and keep going all the way to C nation. Bless our family to keep growing and becoming what you want us to be. Bless M Hannah with all necessary things and with good health, peace of mind and faith in God to lead our house church while I am away. Bless Paul and John to grow as men of God and to establish themselves according to your sovereignty and your guidance. Bless them to both marry women of faith and mission who can help them to be great servants of God. I ask in Jesus’ name. Amen.
“After consulting the people, Jehoshaphat appointed men to sing to the Lord and to praise him for the splendor of his[a] holiness as they went out at the head of the army, saying:
‘Give thanks
to the Lord,
for his love endures forever.’”
for his love endures forever.’”
This is an
example of what those in leadership positions can do when their hearts are
fully devoted to the LORD and they are ruling with the fear of the LORD.
As the prophet prophesied, they
found the vast army dead. They had turned on each other. God sent a spirit of
confusion into their enemies. So exactly as the word of God said, they would
not have to fight this battle. They simply stood firm and saw the LORD’s
deliverance.
Father, let this same victory be
repeated in my life and my family and all the Kuper family and Lee family. Help
me to remember the secret of victory that comes through prayer, praise and
standing firm, holding my position. Lord, be glorified in me as I depend on you
to pioneer my missionary life anew beginning at Dream School and at HangYang
UBF. Thank you for opening a door for this unworthy servant. Help me to be a
fruitful and influential man of God and man of mission. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
One Word: The Battle is God’s!
Prayer Topics:
1. Be totally prepared for new missionary life/work hard and be an excellent teacher for Korean young people/cowork well with Damon and coworkers/serve as English Bible teacher at HY UBF
2. God's protection and guidance upon my family (Hannah, Paul & John)
3. Eat Daily Bread "daily" and spend time in prayer for God's people
4. Live by faith from first to last (Ro 1:17)/obey Jesus' Great Commission (Mt 28:19)/ persevere as a good soldier of Christ Jesus from first to last (2Ti2:3)
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