2 Chronicles 20 The Fear of a King

Yesterday I listened to a wonderful message from the Bethel weekly sermons on the Creative power of Thanksgiving. It was so good and something I talked a little about on Wednesday about giving thanks in all circumstances and how that changes our circumstances.

These are some of my thoughts as I searched the scriptures he brought;
He talked from 2 Chron 20 about how Jehosphophat (King) feared the armies that were coming against him. Here was a king who was afraid. That gave me great encouragement right there, if a King can be afraid, then it's okay too if I am. I know for myself I am often afraid of things that I see coming and I don't know how to handle it. Neither did Jehosophophat and so he called all the people together and sought the Lord.

First position in our place of fear is to seek the Lord. Verse 12 "For we have no power against the great multitude that is coming against us, nor do we know what to do, but our eyes are upon you." So often we don't know what to do but we need to turn our eyes upon Him. As we turn our eyes on Jesus our focus changes and we remember how big our God is and our small our problem is. We get things into perspective as usually the problem has become greater than God.

V15 "Do not be afraid nor dismayed because of this great multitude for the battle is not yours but Gods" Point two is its not your battle but Gods.
V17 " You will not need to fight in this battle. Position yourselves, stand still and see the salvation of the Lord who is with you." The word here is to position yourselves and so I wonder what it means to position yourself?
V20 "Believe in the Lord your God and you shall be established, believe His prophets and you shall prosper". For me the position is to "believe in our God". But also there is the 'stand still'. We often want to jump in and do something about it but sometimes we just need to wait to allow God to work it through. As we stand still, as we believe that God can make a way through it, hope returns, as we look to Him and seek Him, he shows us the way through.

People, it doesn't matter if you are afraid, who of us isn't at times, but in that we need to change our focus and seek the Lord and believe and as it says in verse 30; "Then the realm of Jehosphophat was quiet, for his God gave him rest all around". There was a battle but it was won in the strength and strategy of the Lord, not in the fear and running around of man. God will give you rest and peace as we position ourselves and believe in Him and allow him to make the way.
If you listen to the message its great, a bit different, but what I have written here is what the Lord was showing me so well worth a listen.

http://www.ibethel.org/podcasting/SOTWpodcast.xml

podcasts.ibethel.org

The Bethel Church podcast reflecting the Sermon of the Week download from iBethel.org

Christmas Gifts Fundraiser

We are excited to be able to share with you some of the dreams and visions that God has given us for a long time now which are beginning to come into fruition. The calendar are photos I have taken throughout the years in mission, faces of the nations. It is my desire it would be a prayer calendar both for the nations and for the ministry. The wheat bags are the product of the beginning of the sewing business believing to create small business ideas for those in need so that as a body we lack nothing and have something to share. It is hoped that we will train others in sewing to be able to help themselves create a small income. These are just two of the ideas that we have been able to step into and believe to see these grow into more business ideas and opportunities. Please support us as we sow into what we believe God would have us do. Blessings - Sarah and the team

Obedience and Commitment are big things in Gods Kingdom

Reading in Acts 7 this morning the story through Stephen of Abraham being told by God to " Leave your country and your people and go the the land I will show you" So he left the land of the Chaldeans and settled in Haran. After the death of his father, God sent him to this land where you are now living. He gave him no inheritance here, not even a foot of ground. But God promised him that he and his descendants after him would possess the land, even though at that time Abraham had no child." As I reflected on this and the journey of Abraham stepping out in faith into a land that he received no inheritance in but a promise of what was to come for his descendants of which we live in the fruit of that, I thought of todays generations in which often is only doing things that we want to do or that will benefit us personally as we live for 'today' not worrying about tomorrow. A sense of if it feels good then do it, if it doesn't then we will move on - perhap...

"A man's enemies will be the members of his own household" Matt 10:36

Recently we have been pondering how to deal with situations in our family that don't line up with the word. What action do we need to take? Are we being too harsh? Do we accept the behaviour or be considered by those around us as "too radical" or "too black and white"? "Where is grace in all of this? How do we love the sinner but hate the sin? What about forgiveness? What is the role of discipline? What makes that sin any worse than lying? What is true love? And there are a lot more questions going through the mind in how to work through this and know God's will and desire for the situation and the person. And firstly to say we have not come to any conclusions and are growing and learning day by day in this but I want to throw it out there. In Matt 10:34-39 says "Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to turn "a man against his father, ...

2018 in Reflection and where to in 2019?

Firstly a huge thank you to all who have journeyed with us this past year. It has been a great year of growth and expansion in many stepping up and stepping into new things that the Lord has encouraged each to step up into. You all have been amazing! Some of the growth this year has been: A year of two services on a Sunday Shifting into two different buildings New groups formed - Wednesday Womens, Thursday Evenings and Mens Ministry Interns Guest Speakers School of the Spirit Labour Weekend of Worship Financial Increase Invitations within New Zealand and Overseas for teaching and training. None of this would have been possible without your support and encouragement practically, spiritually, financially and emotionally. Some of the words of the Lord in brief over the past year. "Restructuring of the Body of Christ" "Change is coming and it will happen quickly." "How long will you wait before you enter the promised land?" ...

6 legged sheep???

In the weekend I saw a vision of a sheep that had six legs. And what I believe the Lord is saying, there are many sheep, (followers of Christ), but they are trusting in their own strength and not in mine. When we trust in our own strength and abilities we forfeit the grace that can be ours, the enabling that comes from stepping out in faith in the impossible, the testimonies that give God the glory rather than the expectation of what should be because we have put our hand to something. God is the God of the impossible and in order for the miracles, the testimonies, we need to be a people that step out in what we can't do and allow God to come in and do the impossible. That may simply be asking the Lord to help you to forgive someone that has hurt you so much, to getting on a plane with no finances because the Lord has asked you to, to continue to stay in a job/church/marriage/relationship you don't want to because that is where God has placed you, to pra...

Now is the time for the power of God

This morning I was woken with a picture of electricity in one room that seemed to go out but then there was electricity in another room that should not have had electricity as there was no connection and yet it was full of electricity. I felt it was a picture of the power of God of supernatural things taking place that you could not explain. That there had been a little of it in the past to that seemed to go out but now it is about to increase. Then the scripture Isaiah 41 was loud and clear in my heart. So I got up and read Isaiah 41 and it is all about those who worship idols and those who put their trust in the Lord who will be protected. He encourages his faithful ones to trust in him, with an assurance that he would take their part against their enemies, making them victorious over them, and bring a about a good change of affairs in their circumstances. In praying into this is what I believe this is what the Lord said to me. "What you have s...

Glory Release Ministries

Search This Blog