Todd's Road Grace Church would
like to invite you to listen to a sermon by our pastor, Todd
Neiberg. We are located at 4137 Todd's
Road, two miles outside of Manowar Boulevard. Sunday services are
at 1030 a.m. and 6 p.m. Bible study is at
945 a.m. Wednesday services are at 7 p.m. Nursery is provided for all services.
For more information, visit our website at toddsroadgracechurch.com. Now here's our pastor, Todd Nybert. I've entitled this message for
this morning, The Battle Is Not Yours. Now, Jehoshaphat is speaking
to the people he was king over, Judah. And he said in verse 15,
hearken ye all Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem,
and thou King Jehoshaphat, this is the prophet speaking to them,
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. the war. Sin causes so many problems,
so many conflicts. The consequences of sin are myriad. What troubles have sexual sin
brought into the world? The crimes, the broken homes,
the shattered families. What Devastating consequences
have addictions brought into this world. How they've destroyed
the lives of so many people. What about the devastations of
greed and covetousness? I want what you have. And you think of all of the terrible
problems brought into this world by greed and covetousness. Paul did say the love of money,
not money, but the love of money is the root of all evil. Now, every man and woman in this
world has to deal with and battles the consequence of sins, either
their own sins or the sins of others. Everybody deals with
the consequences of sin, but only a believer battles with
sin itself. Now, everybody deals with the
consequences of sin. Only the believer deals with
sin. Now, let me show you what I mean,
and I want you to listen to this passage of Scripture. I've got
a Scripture that I think tells us exactly what I'm talking about,
and I want you to measure your experience by what the Apostle
Paul says in the Scripture. In Romans 7, verse 14, Paul said,
for we know. I don't miss that. This is something
we know. This is not speculation. This is not our opinion. This
is something we know. And he speaks as the representative
of every believer, for we know that the law is spiritual, but
I am carnal. sold under sin. Now this is the Apostle Paul
speaking, and there was a time when he would say, touching the
righteousness which is in the law, I was blameless. But now
that God has saved him, here is his personal testimony concerning
himself. For we know that the law is spiritual,
but I am carnal, sold under sin, which means literally sold as
a slave to sin. Now that's Paul speaking. I know
people have argued that he's talking about before he was saved.
That's ridiculous. He was saved when he made this
statement. Look at the end of this chapter,
beginning in verse 18 for I know that in me that is
in my flesh dwelleth no good thing. Do you know that about
yourself? And this is Paul's testimony. I know that in me
that is in my flesh dwelleth no good thing Nothing that is
good For to will is present with me
But how to perform that which is good, I find not. For the good that I would, I
do not. But the evil which I would not,
that I do. Now if I do that which I would
not, it's no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. I find then a law that when I
would do good, evil is present with me, For I delight in the
law of God after the inward man, but I see another law in my members. Warring, there's that battle. warring against the law of my
mind and bringing me into captivity." Notice the language, bringing
me into captivity to the law of sin, which is in my members. Oh, wretched man that I am. Present tense, active voice. Paul was no ex-sinner the way
so many people are. Oh, wretched man that I am, who
shall deliver me from this body of death? Now, he is speaking
of his experience as a sinner. Is this your experience? A war within, seeing that you
in and of yourself are nothing but sin. From head to toe, you're
nothing but sin. You sin because you are a sinner. That is your experience. Now, this is the person that
is going to appreciate this message. The battle that you're fighting
is not yours. The battle is not yours. Now, in 2 Chronicles 20, verse
1, it came to pass after this also that the children of Moab
and the children of Ammon, and with their mother besides the
Ammonites, came against Jehoshaphat to battle. Then there came some
that told Jehoshaphat, saying, There cometh a great multitude
against thee from beyond the sea on the side of Syria. And,
behold, they be in Hazazon, which is in Enjedei. And Jehoshaphat
feared. He knew this is a battle he could
not win. And he set himself to seek the
Lord and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah. He knew he could not
win this battle. 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. You see, I need help. am helpless. You've heard that
statement, God helps those who help themselves. That won't do
me any good. God helps those who cannot help
themselves. That's who he helps. And Judah
and Jehoshaphat seeking help from the Lord. And Jehoshaphat,
verse 5, And Jehoshaphat stood in the congregation of Judah
in Jerusalem in the house of the court before the new court,
and said, O Lord God of our fathers, Art not thou God in heaven? And rulest not thou over all
the kingdoms of the heathen, including these kingdoms that
are coming in to invade Judah and destroy us? And in thy hand
is there not power and might, so that there is none able to
withstand thee?" Now, Jehoshaphat knew the Lord. And he knew the
Lord was absolutely sovereign. That's who God is. He is sovereign. He rules over everybody, everything,
and every event. He's the first cause behind everything. He's sovereign in creation. He
created the universe as an act of His will. He's sovereign in
providence. That means that everything that
happens in time, He's the first cause of everything. You can't
take that too far. and He's sovereign in salvation.
If you're saved, it is because He willed your salvation. Not
because you willed your salvation. As a matter of fact, if you were
left to yourself, or if I was left to myself, we would never
be saved. But thank God He wills the salvation
of some because He is the absolute sovereign of the universe. Jehoshaphat
knows that, and he acknowledges that when he thinks of these
nations coming in to invade Judah and destroy them, and he knew
that he could not defeat them. And then he says in verse seven,
are not thou our God? Now here he's speaking of God's
covenant. Art thou not 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? Now, In the covenant, God said,
I shall be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people. Now, if God be for us, who can
be against us? Now, who is the us being spoken
of if God be for us? Who could be against this? Well,
he said in the previous verse, for whom he did foreknow, them
he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his
son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover,
whom he did predestinate, them he also called. Whom he called,
them he also justified. Whom he justified, them he also
glorified. What should we say to these things?
If God be for us, who can be against us? You see, every believer
through this covenant is the friend of God. You gave this land to your people,
Israel, and gave it to the seed of Abraham, Naphreen, forever,
the eternal relationship between all of God's people. And they
dwelt therein and have built thee a sanctuary. for thy name,
saying, if when evil 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." Now, this
temple he's speaking of represents the Lord Jesus Christ. God's
name dwells in Christ. Now, his name is his attributes. It's the person behind the name. All of God's glorious attributes
or in His Son. He is equal with God because
He is God. The scripture says, in the beginning
was the Word, the Word was with God as a separate person, and
the Word was God. The only one who is equal with
God is God himself. In him dwelleth all the fullness
of the Godhead bodily. And he's saying when we stand
before this house and pray for your help, coming in the name
of the Lord Jesus Christ, you've promised to hear us and to Help
us. I need help. You need help whether you know
it or not, but I need help. I think of the Lord saying to
that Syrophoenician woman, I've not sent but to the lost sheep
of the house of Israel. Now, he tells this woman, I've
only come for the elect. Now, did she get frustrated and
say, well, what's the point in seeking him then? No, the scripture
says, then came she and worshiped him saying, Lord, help me. If
you don't help me, I will not be helped. How desperately I
need your help. Now, look what Jehoshaphat says. Oh, our God, wilt thou not judge
them? For we have no might against
this great company that cometh against us. We are utterly helpless. There's not one thing we can
bring to the table that'll help us in this battle. Neither know
we what to do, but our eyes are upon thee. We are waiting on
you to do something for us. We don't have anywhere else to
look. Look to Christ. He's the only place to look.
And that's what Jehoshaphat is saying. Our eyes are on thee. And all of Judah stood before
the Lord with their little ones, their wives and their children. Upon Jehaziel, the son of Zechariah,
the son of Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah,
a Levite of the sons of Asaph, came the Spirit of the Lord in
the midst of the congregation. He came upon this man. And this
man was inspired by God to make this statement, the verse I open
this scripture, this message with. He said, hearken ye all
Judah. and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem,
and thou King Jehoshaphat, thus saith the Lord, be not afraid
nor dismayed by reason of this great multitude. For the battle is not yours,
but God's. Now, hearken, faith cometh by
hearing. Thus saith the Lord, this is
God's message, And this is to the child of God battling these
great multitudes of sin. This battle is not yours, but
the Lord's. He has taken full responsibility
for you. Now, this is the uniform teaching
of the scripture. A beautiful story, you've all
heard of it, the story of David and Goliath. Most people think
of the little going against the big and the little winning. Well,
that is true in that sense, but the point of this story, David
and Goliath, If David wins, all of Israel wins. If David loses,
all of Israel loses. That's the typology of this.
David is a type of the Lord Jesus Christ. If he wins, all of God's
people win. If he loses, all of God's people
lose. Now look what David says at this
time. We read beginning in verse 45,
then said David to the Philistine, thou comest to me with a sword
and with a spear and with a shield. But I come to thee in the name
of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom
thou hast defied. This day will the Lord deliver
thee into my hand, and I'll smite thee, and take thine head from
thee, and I will give the carcass of the hosts of the Philistines
this day unto the fowls of the air and to the wild beasts of
the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God
in Israel. And all this assembly shall know
that the Lord saveth not with sword nor spear, for the battle
is the Lord's, and He will give you into our hands. The battle's
not yours. The battle is the Lord's. Do
you remember what Moses said to the children of Israel standing
at the Red Sea? Oh, I love what he said. He said, fear ye not, stand still
and see the salvation of the Lord, which he shall show you
this day. For the Egyptians whom you've seen today, you shall
see them no more forever. The Lord shall fight for you
and you shall hold your peace. Now the battle is the Lord's. What does that mean? Salvation
is of the Lord. Your salvation doesn't have anything
to do with your strength to meet your enemies and do battle with
your enemies. The salvation of all of God's
people was completely accomplished by what Christ did without their
help. Hebrews 1.3 says, when he had
by himself purged our sins. not with a cooperative effort
with something you or I have done. When he had by himself
purged our sins, he sat down at the right hand of the majesty
on high. When he bowed his head and said,
it is finished. The salvation of everybody he
died for was accomplished. He fought the battle and he won
the battle. Now you think about this. Simeon
called him thy salvation. Now mine eyes have seen thy salvation.
My salvation is the eternal Son of God who came in the flesh
and kept the law for me and was nailed to a cross bearing my
sins. They became his sins. He put
them away. He purged them. He gives his
righteousness to me. He walks out of the tomb, my
salvation being accomplished. The battle's his. It's not mine. It is. Now he says to these people,
don't be afraid. Don't be dismayed. The battle
is not yours, but God's. Now he says, tomorrow, go ye
down against them. Verse 16, 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. You're not going to be active in this battle.
You're not going to do anything. Set yourselves, stand ye still,
and see the salvation of the Lord with you. O Jew in 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 of Judah and the inhabitants
of Jerusalem fell down before the Lord, worshiping the Lord."
Now, that's the only response. When you find out he's going
to do it all, the battle's his, not yours, he's taken full responsibility
for your salvation, you know what you're going to do? You're
going to bow your head, and you're going to worship. That's what
Jehoshaphat and all Judah did. And they rose up early in the
morning, verse 20, and went forth into the wilderness of Tekoa.
And as they went forth, Jehoshaphat stood and said, Hear me, O Judah,
and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem. Believe in the Lord your God,
so shall ye be established. Believe his prophets, so shall
ye prosper. Believe the gospel. And when
he had consulted with the people, he appointed singers under the
Lord that they should praise the beauty of holiness as they
went out before the army, and to say, praise the Lord for his
mercy endureth forever. Now here's what they witnessed.
And when they began to sing and to praise, the Lord set ambushments
against the children of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, which were
coming against Judah, and they were smitten. For the children
of Ammon and Moab stood up against the inhabitants of Mount Seir,
utterly to slay and destroy them. And when they had made an end
of the inhabitants of Seir, every one helped to destroy another.
And when Judah came toward the watchtower in the wilderness,
they looked into the multitude, and behold, there were dead bodies
fallen to the earth. None escaped." Now, in this battle,
they didn't do a thing. All they did was watch as the
Lord God caused all these people to kill one another. They didn't
lift a sword. They didn't throw a spear. They
just watched as the Lord fought this battle for them. And remember, if God be for us,
who can be against us? Now, let's go on reading. And when Jehoshaphat and his
people came to take away the spoil of them, they found among
them in abundance both riches with dead bodies and precious
jewels, which they stripped off for themselves more than they
could carry away. And there were three days in
gathering of the spoil." It was so much. Now, the Lord won this
battle. Who got the spoils? Judah. And I want you to think of the
spoils that every believer enjoys from the Lord winning this battle
for them. And notice it took three days
for them to gather up all this spoil. The Lord was in the ground
three days, and that is what caused all the spoil that he
achieved to be every believer's. Now you think of the spoils,
the forgiveness of all your sins. All your sins are forgiven sins. Justification. You stand before
God. If Christ died for you, if he
fought this battle for you, you stand before God having never
sinned. How could that be? Because He
bore them and put them away, and He gave you, gives you His
very righteousness, and you are the righteousness of God. You
have acceptance in the Beloved. You have a place in heaven with
your name already there, reserved, and you're going to spend eternity
in perfect likeness to the Lord Jesus Christ, praising and blessing
His holy name. You have A new heart that He's
given you. You have the gift of the Holy
Spirit. You have faith. You have repentance. You have
perfection in Christ. All the spoils of salvation are
yours. You have them all. There's nothing
that you do not have. He hath blessed us with all spiritual
blessings in heavenly places in Christ. Now they gathered
up all these spoils from the victory. They didn't fight, but
they certainly got the spoils from it. And on the fourth day,
verse 26, they assembled themselves in the Valley of Berekeh, for
there they blessed the Lord. Therefore, the name of the same
place was called the Valley of Berekeh unto this day, the Valley
of Blessing. All the blessings, the free blessings
of grace, every believer receives because of the victory the Lord
worked for them. And they did not fight in this
battle. 27. Then they returned every man
of Judah and Jerusalem and Jehoshaphat to the forefront of them to go
again to Jerusalem with joy. For the Lord had made them to
rejoice over their enemies. And they came to Jerusalem with
psalteries and harps and trumpets into the house of the Lord. And
the fear of God was on all the kingdoms of those countries when
they heard that the Lord fought against the enemies of Israel."
So, here's the closing statement. So the realm of Jehoshaphat was
quiet. For his God gave him rest round
about. Now here's the result of God
fighting my battles for me and achieving my salvation for me,
where he did it all and I do nothing. First, there is quiet. No disturbance. No disturbance. You see, I'm completing Christ. There is quiet and there is rest. Now, you only rest when the job
has already been done. And the Lord Jesus Christ accomplished
my salvation. There's nothing for me to do
but rest. Now, if there's still work to
be done, I can't rest. If there's still something I
need to do in order to achieve my salvation, I have no rest.
I'm scared to death. I can't enjoy anything but a
fear of me not measuring up. But oh, how I can rest in Him
completely achieving my salvation, the battle being His and not
mine. You see, before time began, He
was my surety. And before time began, He took
full responsibility for my salvation. And in time, He came, and He
fought this great battle for me, and He achieved my salvation. And all I do is take the spoils
that He has won." The battle is not yours. Now, if you're
a sinner and have no hope of saving yourself, this is the
only gospel. The battle is not yours. It's God's. Now we have this
message on DVD and CD. If you call the church, write,
or email, or look on our website, you can get a copy. It says,
Todd Nybert, praying that God will be pleased to make himself
known to you. That's our prayer. Amen. To receive a copy of the
sermon you have just heard, send your request to todd.nybert at
gmail.com. Or you may write or call the
church at the information provided on the screen.