Turn back to 2 Chronicles 20, verse 12. Oh our God, wilt thou not judge them? For we have no might against this company that cometh against us, neither know we what to do. But our eyes are upon thee.

Now here is the Lord's answer the prophet Jehaziel, verse 15. And he said, hearken, ye, all Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem, and thou King Jehoshaphat, thus saith the Lord unto you, be not afraid, nor dismayed. by reason of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours, but God's. Tomorrow, go ye down against them. Behold, they come up by the cliff of Ziz, and you shall find them at the end of the brook before the wilderness Jeruel. You shall not need to fight in this battle. Set yourselves. Stand still. and see the salvation of the Lord with you, O Judah and Jerusalem. Fear not, nor be dismayed. Tomorrow, go out against them, for the Lord will be with you.

And Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground, and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell before the Lord worshiping the Lord.

I've entitled this message, The Battle Is Not Yours. Jehoshaphat was one of the five good kings over the nation of Judah. You'll remember after Solomon, the nation was divided into Judah and Israel. Judah had 19 kings during this time. after the division, five of them were good kings. Israel didn't have any good kings. Jehoshaphat was one of the five and Judah prospered under him. He had the largest army in scripture. He had an army of 1.2 million people and his reign was a peaceful reign. He was the king of Judah for 25 years.

Turn back to First, Second Chronicles chapter 17. And Jehoshaphat, his son, Asa's son, reigned in his stead and strengthened himself against Israel. Now Ahab, the most wicked king of all, was the king of Israel at that time. And he strengthened himself against Israel and he placed forces in all the thin cities of Judah and set garrisons in the land of Judah and in the cities of Ephraim, which Asa his father had taken. And the Lord was with Jehoshaphat."

Now, what more could be said about somebody? That's the best thing that could be said, isn't it? The Lord was with Jehoshaphat. And I pray the Lord is with me. I pray the Lord is with you. If God be for us, Who can be against us?

The Lord was with Jehoshaphat because he walked in the first ways of his father, David. King David, what was his way? The way of the Lord. I am the way, the truth, and the life. Oh, David believed that with all of his heart. So does every other believer. He walked in the ways of David, his father. and sought not unto Balaam.

You know, one of the things that is said of David in his reign, there was no such thing as Baal worship during his reign. That's the only reign where this didn't come up. In all the other reigns, there was always a struggle with this thing of Baal worship, but not under David. Well, Jehoshaphat was the same way. He sought not unto Balaam, but sought to the Lord God of his father, and walked in his commandments, and not after the doings of Israel. Therefore the Lord established the kingdom in his hand. And all Jews are brought to Jehoshaphat's presence. And he had riches and honor and abundance, and his heart was lifted up. in the ways of the Lord.

Would to God that would describe me and you. His heart was lifted up by the grace of God in the ways of the Lord. And he took away the high places and groves out of Judah. He that does not hate the false does not love the true. And he got rid of all these idolatrous groves that had made their way into Judah, his heart was lifted up in the ways of the Lord."

Now, this man was not a man without fault. We read in the next chapter how he tried to unite with Ahab for certain reasons. And he was rebuked by the Lord's prophet for doing that. And he did it again, right before he died with King Ahasuerus, the King of Israel. So he was not a faultless man.

Second Chronicles 20. Well, I can tell you who he is, the Lord Jesus Christ is. All other men are men.

It came to pass after this also that the children of Moab and the children of Ammon and with them other beside the Ammonites came against Jehoshaphat to battle. Then there came some that told Jehoshaphat, saying, there come with a great multitude against thee from beyond the sea on this side, Syria. And behold, they be in Hazazirtamar, which is in Jedi. And Jehoshaphat feared. And he set himself to seek the Lord and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah. And Judah gathered themselves together to ask help of the Lord. Even out of all the cities of Judah, they came to seek the Lord.

Now, when you know there's a battle that you can't win, that's when you seek the Lord. He knew this was a battle he could not possibly win. He was afraid and he set his heart to seek the Lord and he led all of Israel or all of Judah to seek the Lord.

Verse five, and Jehoshaphat stood in the congregation of Judah and Jerusalem in the house of the Lord, the temple that Solomon had built, which is nothing less than a type of the Lord Jesus Christ, the holy place, the holy of holies, the place where the atonement day was. And Jehoshaphat stood in the congregation of Judah and Jerusalem in the house of the Lord before the new court and said, Oh Lord God of our fathers, art not thou God in heaven?

Now what a blessing to be able to say, oh Lord, our Lord. Our Lord. He said, I'll be to them a God and they shall be to me a people. What a blessing it is to be able to say our Father, a part of that great group, our Father, our Lord, O Lord, God of our fathers, the covenant God, art not thou God in heaven? And rulest not thou over all the kingdoms of the heathen? He heard about this great gathering of people against him. And he says, you rule them. You're in absolute control of every one of them. And in thy hand is there not power and might, so that none is able to withstand thee? Art not thou our God, who didst drive out the inhabitants of this land before thy people Israel, and gavest it to the seed of Abraham?

Thy friend forever, and they dwelt therein, and have built thee a sanctuary therein for thy name." This temple I'm standing in right now saying, if evil cometh upon us, a sword, judgment, or pestilence, or famine, or we stand before this house, and in thy presence, for thy name is in this house, and cry unto thee in our affliction, then wilt thou hear and help.

Now, he knew he was in a position where he was gonna get beat. destroyed unless the Lord did something for him. I would to God that I always felt that way, waiting on the Lord to do something for me. And he appealed to God's sovereignty, and he appealed to God's power. He said, Lord, all these kingdoms that are gathered against us, they're in your hand. They're in your sovereign control.

Now, I love to think about the sovereignty of my God. Yes, He's God. He's God whether I know Him or not. But I love to think of the sovereignty of my God. I'll be to them a God and they'll be to me a people. And He says all these people that are gathered against us are in your hand.

Now, let me remind you what God's sovereignty means, it means His will is always done. Isn't that a blessed thing to think about? His will is always done. When He created the universe, it was His will being done. In all the affairs of men, in all the actions of providence, in everything that happens in time, from the creation of the universe to the destruction of the universe. Everything that takes place is His will being done. No matter what it is, you can't take that too far. You can't leave anything else out.

And I realize people are saying, are you saying God's the cause of evil? I'm saying God's will is always done. And I'm willing to leave it that way and rejoice in it. And I know this, God brings good out of evil. You meant it for evil. God meant it for good, to save much people alive. So whatever is taking place in Providence, I don't care what it is, He's in control of it. It's His will being done. And most especially, salvation is His will being done. If you're saved, it's because He Himself willed your salvation. What a Glorious thought. If God willed my salvation, saved I must be. His will is always done.

And he talked about his power. And in thy hand, verse six, is there not power and might so that none is able to withstand thee? being omnipotent, that's why his will's always done. Nobody can stand him, nobody can stop him, nobody can prevent his will from being done. And this is what Jehoshaphat is appealing to at this time. The absolute sovereignty and power of God.

Verse seven, he speaks of the covenant of God. Are not thou our God, who didst drive out the inhabitants of this land before thy people Israel, and gavest it to thy seed Abraham, thy friend forever. You know, Abraham was called a friend of God. Moses spake to God face to face, as a man speaketh with his friends. And the Lord said to his people, you are my friends. If you're a believer, God counts you his friend, just as he did Abraham. Isn't that an incredible thought? I like having friends, but this is a greater friend. And this is true of every believer, the friend of God.

And he appeals to, did you not give this to your friend and everybody in him, Abraham and Abraham seed forever, eternally. Verse eight, and they dwelt therein. and have built thee a sanctuary, therein for thy name, saying, and this is what Solomon said in his great dedication of the temple, if when evil cometh upon us as the sword, judgment, or pestilence, or famine, and we stand before this house and in thy presence, for thy name is in this house. This house is the house of the Lord. This temple is the Lord Jesus Christ. That's all it represents. And all of God's name, all of God's attributes are in the person of Jesus Christ. And he says, thy name is in this house. This is a whole lot. This house is called the Todd's Road Grace Church. Big deal. It's brick and mortar. He's talking about that, which represents the person and work of Christ. God's name is in him.

If when evil, verse nine, cometh upon us as the sword, judgment, or pestilence, or famine, we stand before this house and in thy presence, for thy name is in this house, and cry unto thee in our affliction, then thou wilt hear and help. That is his promise. And now, verse 10, behold the children of Ammon, and Moab, and Mount Seir, whom thou wouldst not let Israel invade when they came out of the land of Egypt. But they turned from them, and destroyed them not. Behold, I say, how they reward us to come to cast us out of thy possession, which thou hast given us to inherit. O our God, wilt thou not judge them? Lord, do something.

And when we ask Him to do something, we're asking Him to do it in a way that is in accordance to His justice. When I ask Him to save me, Lord, do something. Save me in a way that honors Your justice. Remember, He's a just God and a Savior. He says, will thou not judge them?

For we have no might against this great company that cometh against us. Neither know we what to do, but our eyes are upon thee. Now, we have no might. Have you ever seen that about yourself? Have I ever seen that about myself? That in and of myself, I have no mind, no ability. That's what Jehoshaphat said. And this was given to teach us about what it is to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.

Listen to this scripture. When we were yet without strength, not weak, without strength, In due time, Christ died for the ungodly. We're without might before this company, and we don't know what to do. But our eyes are upon Thee.

The children of Israel were bitten by those fiery serpents. What were they called upon to do? Was it to build walls to keep the serpents out? Was it to look to find a way to cure their venomous bite? No, they were called upon to look. Look. Look unto me. and be ye saved. All the ends of the earth. Look. Somebody says, I can't see. Look. You'll see. But I can't see. You haven't looked then. If you look, you'll see. Look unto me and be ye saved. That's the words of the Lord.

Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame. Not do, not make yourself better. Look away from yourself, don't look within. Look, we don't know what to do, but our eyes are upon thee.

Verse 13, and all Judah stood before the Lord with their little ones, their wives and their children. Then, Upon Jehaziel, the son of Zechariah, the son of Benaiah, the son of Gael, the son of Mattaniah, a Levite of the sons of Asaph, came the Spirit of the Lord in the midst of the congregation. I love this. We don't know what to do. We can't do anything. Our eyes are upon thee. We don't know which way to turn, we're just looking. We're waiting to hear from you. Our eyes are upon thee, so the Spirit of the Lord anoints this prophet, and here's his message, verse 15.

And he said, hearken. Listen, listen to what's being said. Hearken, ye all Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem, And thou King Jehoshaphat, thus saith the Lord unto you, be not afraid nor dismayed by reason of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours, but God's. The battle. Hold your finger there and turn with me to Isaiah chapter 40. The battle is not yours, but God's.

Only a believer battles with sin. An unbeliever doesn't battle with sin. Oh, he battles with some of the problems sin brings. There's no question about that. Some of the sorrows sin brings in his life. But only the believer has a battle with sin. I remember hearing Donnie Bell say one time, and it always struck me. He said, I didn't have any problem with sin till God saved me. And that's when I found out what it was. And that's a battle every believer is continually dealing with. This battle with sin, this battle with self.

Now, look at the words of the Lord in Isaiah chapter 40. Remember, he says, the battle's not yours. If you have a battle with sin, let me tell you this, the battle's not yours. It's the Lord's. Isaiah chapter 40, comfort ye, comfort ye my people, sayeth your God. Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem. And my marginal reading says speak to the heart of Jerusalem. The heart is the new heart that he's given. It's made of the affections, it's made of the will, it's made of the understanding. The gospel's addressed to the heart. It's addressed, yes, to the understanding, but it's addressed to the affections too, what you love. It's addressed to your will. Speak ye to the heart of Jerusalem. And cry unto her. Be loud about this. Make sure she hears. that her warfare is accomplished. Remember, the battle's not yours. With regard to everyone that has this battle with sin raging in their heart, the battle's not yours. Your warfare is accomplished.

Remember what the, they said, Moses and Elijah were speaking with the Lord about on the man of transfiguration. Scripture said they speak of the deceased, which he should accomplish in Jerusalem. He accomplished my salvation. When he said it is finished, my salvation is accomplished. Now, this is what you're to tell Jerusalem. Her warfare is accomplished. It's finished. There's nothing for you to do. It's already done. What it says next, her iniquity is pardoned. For she has received of the Lord's hand double for all her sins. Not only did he not punish her, for her sins. He justified her and made her clear of all guilt. He made her to where she stands before God as one who has never sinned. She's received of the Lord's hand, double for all her sins.

Verse three, the voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, prepare ye the way of the Lord. Make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Christ is the way of the Lord. In this way, every valley, every low place, shall be exalted. Every mountain and hill, high place, shall be made low. The crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed. And all flesh shall see it together, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken it, the voice said cry, And I said, what shall I cry? This is so important. Cry! What am I supposed to say? What am I supposed to say? And you can say this with regard to every message that's ever preached. Cry! Cry what? What am I supposed to say? Well, we're given the answer. What shall I cry? All flesh is grass. And all the goodliness thereof is the flower of the field. The grass withers, the flower fades, because the Spirit of the Lord blows upon it. Surely the people is grass. The grass withers, the flower fades, but the Word of our God shall stand forever. Now here is what I'm to cry. All flesh is grass. It's only the Word of God, the Lord Jesus Christ, that'll stand before God on judgment day and everyone in Him. All flesh is grass, that's me, that's you. There's only one thing that'll stand on judgment day, it's the Word of the Lord. Christ Jesus, God's Word, He shall stand forever and everybody in Him. Now that's how our warfare is accomplished. Now go back to 2 Chronicles 20, Verse 16, tomorrow, go ye down against them. Behold, they come up by the cliff of Ziz, and you shall find them at the end of the brook before the wilderness of Jeruel. You shall not need to fight in this battle. What are we to do? Set yourselves. Stand ye still and see the salvation of the Lord with you, O Judah and Jerusalem. Fear not, nor be dismayed. Tomorrow go out against them, for the Lord will be with you. Set yourselves, stand still, Don't move. See what He has done. I want us to be reminded of this glorious truth. Salvation is of the Lord. Set, don't move a muscle. Be still. Don't say, here's what I think. Be still. and see the salvation of the Lord. I love what Jonah said, salvation is of the Lord. Verse 18, and Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell down before the Lord, worshiping the Lord. Now that's the only response to the gospel. Fall down and worship. You see, you'll only worship an absolute sovereign. There's no worship without understanding I'm in His sovereign hand, His omnipotent, almighty hand. You fall down, you bow before Him, and you Worship. Verse 19. And the Levites of the children of the Kothethites and the children of the Korethites stood up to praise the Lord God of Israel with a loud voice on high. Now this goes along with worship. Praise. Praise Him for who He is. Be glad for who He is. Praise Him. Verse 20. And they rose up early in the morning and went forth into the wilderness of Tekoa. And as they went forth, Jehoshaphat stood and said, hear me, O Judah. And he happened to Jerusalem. Believe in the Lord your God. So shall ye be established. Believe his prophets. So shall ye prosper. What was the message? Believe. Believe what God has said. And when he consulted, verse 21, with the people, he appointed singers unto the Lord, and that they should praise the beauty of holiness. Holiness is so beautiful. God is holy. God is other. Holiness is not like anything in this created world. God is other. He's holy. The beauty of holiness as they went out before the army and to say, praise the Lord for His mercy forever, eternal. It never had a beginning, it'll never end. Praise the Lord for His mercy endureth forever. And when, notice this when, and when they began to sing and to praise the Lord said, ambushments. against the children of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir, which were against Judah and they were spent. Now we don't know what these ambushments were, but when did the Lord send the ambushments? When they began to praise the Lord for who he is. Then the Lord sent these ambushments. Now look what happened. Here's what took place. For the children of Ammon and Moab stood up against the inhabitants of Mount Seir. The Lord put them fighting each other. These people who were going to destroy Israel, all of a sudden they turned on each other. The Lord in absolute control of them. For the children of Ammon and Moab stood up against the inhabitants of Mount Seir, utterly to slay and destroy them. And when they'd made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, everyone helped to destroy one another." Now, can you imagine them witnessing this? They just stood there and watched all these people killing each other. That's what the Lord, what these ambushments were, I don't know, but I know this. They watched the salvation of the Lord and they watched all these people killing one another and they were just spectators to it. You see, the battle was not theirs, it was the Lord's. And they saw this in no uncertain terms. Verse 24, and when Judah came toward the watchtower in the wilderness, they looked under the multitude and behold, there were dead bodies fallen to the earth. None escaped. Our enemies, our sins, have all fallen to the earth. Not one of them has escaped. He has put them all away so that there is none left. They came to see this battle. They saw all these people killing one another. There was not one that escaped, not one of Israel's enemies. Verse 25, and when Jehoshaphat and his people came to take away the spoil of them, They found among them in abundance, both riches with the dead bodies and precious jewels, which they stripped off of themselves more than they could carry away. And they were three days in gathering of the spoil. It was so much now because of the Lord's three days in the tomb. Oh, the spoils we Get out of that. There are three days. You know the significance of that three days is that. And they had the spoils that came out of this great victory. I mean, the forgiveness of sins. This is what was accomplished by Christ. The forgiveness of all my sins. Perfect justification before God of perfect righteousness. Redemption. I'm redeemed. I'm delivered. All the, even in my experience, the faith I have, I got it out of there, out of his death and out of what he accomplished. The repentance I have, the love for God I have. It all came, all these spoils that came from his death. Regeneration. Why am I regenerated? Because he died. That's why I'm given the new birth. Why do I persevere? It all comes out of his death. Oh, they, all the spoils they recovered during this three days of these riches that came from these people. Verse 26. And on the fourth day, they assembled themselves in the Valley of Baraka. For there they blessed the Lord, therefore the name of the place was called the Valley of Baraka, and to this day, the place of blessing. Then they returned every man of Judah and Jerusalem and Jehoshaphat in the forefront of them to go again to Jerusalem with joy, for the Lord had made them to rejoice over their enemies. Now, I don't have any doubt that my enemies are my sins. And the Lord has made me to rejoice over my enemies. And they came to Jerusalem with psalteries and harps and trumpets into the house of the Lord. And look at the security they were given. And the fear of God was on all the kingdoms of those countries when they'd heard that the Lord fought against the enemies of Israel. What security? All their enemies were afraid to make a move because they knew the Lord had complete control and that He was the one who fought for Israel. So, verse 30, the realm of Jehoshaphat was quiet. You know, that 1.2 million Man army he had? None of them fought. The Lord fought for him, even though he had this great army. And God, for his God, gave him rest round about. There remaineth a rest for the people of God. for he that's entered into his rest hath what ceased from his own works." Have you ever ceased from your own works? He that's entered his rest has ceased from his own works as God did from his and he's talking about First of all, creation. Remember what it says about God after he created the heavens and the earth in seven days? He rested because his work was finished. There was nothing left to do. And I cease from my own works when I rest in what Christ has done and look nowhere else but Him. that remaineth the rest for the people of God. So the realm of Jehoshaphat was quiet for his God gave him rest round about." Now, this is the testimony of every believer. Verse 12, once again. Oh, our God. Oh, our God. Will thou not judge them? There's nothing we can do. And do this in a way that magnifies and honors your justice. Aren't you thankful that the judge of the earth shall do right? Whatever he does is right. Whatever he does is a God of righteousness and truth. Without iniquity is he. Now this is in our very thoughts with regard to our God. Will you not judge them? We can't do anything. Will you not judge them? For we have no might. against this great company. Boy, it's a blessed thing to have no might. It's only when I have no might that I look to Christ. We have no might against this great company. Neither know we what to do. Our eyes are upon thee. Let's pray. Lord, will you, by your grace, enable us to see that we have no might and our doings are futile, but our eyes are upon thee. Lord, give us the grace to look unto thy dear son and be saved. Bless this message for Christ's sake, in His name we pray.