King Jehoshaphat arid the kingdom of Judah were about to be invaded by their enemies, and thus they faced a national crisis. This crisis was unique to Jehosphaphat and to the people of his day (you can be sure that tomorrow you will not be invaded by the Moabites!). Yet, the way in which he handled the crisis suggests to us certain principles which if properly applied can be used in conquering the crises and solving the problems that we face in our daily walk with the Lord.
The living God has the solution to our problem. Christ is greater than any crisis! Therefore, before we do anything else, we must turn to Him. The King (v.3) and the people (v.4) decided to seek the Lord’s solution.
As the King prayed, he said, art not thou _______ in ______________ (He’s the Sovereign Lord)?and _______ not thou over all the kingdoms of the heathen (He’s the Supreme Ruler)? and in thine hand is there not ___________ and ______________, so that none is able to withstand thee (He’s the Almighty God)?
The God who drove out the Canaanites (in the days of Joshua) is certainly able to keep out the Moabites and Ammonits (in the days of Jehoshaphat). The God who gave them the land can certainly help them to keep the land. Likewise, the God who saved you from eternal condemnation (your greatest problem), is He also able to deliver you from the lesser problems that you might face? ______ If He took care of your eternal needs, can He also very easily take care of your temporal, day by day needs? _______
God promised that if His people should cry out to Him in their time of great distress, He would H______________ and H_____________(verse 9–the word ‘help’ means God would save and deliver and rescue them from the crisis). God will do the same today!
Instead of holding on to the problem and worrying about it, what should we do according
to 1 Peter 5:7 and Philippians 4:6? __________________________
________________________________________________________________
Did King Jehoshaphat do this? ________
Jehoshaphat said, "we have no M _____________" (verse 12). Who did have MIGHT (see verse 6)? _________________ When is a believer strong (2 Corinthians 12:9-10)? __________________________________________________
The King also said, "we do not know____________ to _____" (verse 12). "I don’t know the solution but I know Someone who does!" If a believer lacks wisdom in the middle of a great trial or crisis, what should he do (James 1:2-7)?
Even though the King confessed that he and his people had no might and no wisdom, he confidently said, "but our __________ are upon Thee" (verse 12). When our eyes are fixed upon the Lord, the problem becomes very insignificant. The danger comes when we become so engrossed with the problem that we forget the Lord and we forget His promises. What person in the New Testament took his eyes off the Lord (Matthew 14:25-33)? _______________
In this remarkable battle, who promised to do the fighting? ___________ (verses 15 and 17). Did God say that the people would FIGHT the enemy or FIND the enemy (verse 16)? __________________________________ Is there a difference? _________ The battle belongs to God and not to us. God’s responsibility is to solve the problem. Our responsibility is simply to trust Him. God never asked us to solve our problems in our own strength or in our own wisdom. God has the solution and there is no problem too big for God.
The King and the people bowed down before God in humble adoration and worship. In our particular problem or crisis, we must do the same. We must humbly recognize our weakness and claim God’s. strength (2 Cor. 12:9-10; Eph. 6:10; 2 Tim. 2:1). We must humbly acknowledge our insufficiency ("I do not have the adequate resources to handle this problem or crisis") and realize the sufficiency of God (He does have the resources to handle and solve this problem–2 Cor. 12:9; John 15:5; Philippians 4:13).
These Jews praised the Lord with an exceeding loud voice. They put their whole heart into it! So too, we need to enthusiastically tell God how great He is (Psalm 34:1-3).
The people rose up ________________ in the morning and went out according to God’s command (verse 20). They wasted no time in obeying God! The believer does not need to run away from the crisis (as we discussed in chapter 12). With full confidence in the LORD the believer can meet the problem head on. Did Daniel run away from the lions?________ (he faced them end God took care of them!). The world does everything possible to avoid and escape their problems. The believer who had God as his Helper (Heb. 13:5-6) can enter the heat of the battlefield with full assurance of faith (compare Romans 8:31)!
Note: Even though the "battle is the LORD’s" we are not to be completely passive as God solves the problem. There are some things that we are able to do and that God expects us to do. David did his part with his sling and his atones. God did His part with the giant. In Acts 12:1-9 Peter had a problem. He was in jail and could not break his chains. This was something only the Lord could do. There was something, however, that Peter was able to do and which the Lord expected him to do. What was it?
Faith is taking God at His Word. Faith is believing that God is able to keep His promises. "__________________ in the LORD your God, so shall ye be _________" (verse 20). In other words, if you put yourself in His hand, He’ll hold you up! If you come under His wings, He’ll shelter and protect you! If you stand on the ROCK, then you will be established on the ROCK (Psalm 40:2)! God has spoken and said, TEE BATTLE IS THE LORD’S!!! Are we going to believe that word? Are we going to claim that promise by faith?___________________"________________ His prophets, so shall ye_______________________ (have success–verse 20).
The expression "Praise the Lord" can be translated "Give thanks to the Lord." Philippians 4:6 tells us that we are to pray and give our problems to the Lord "with _____________."Notice that the people gave thanks to God IN THE MIDDLE OF THE CRISIS, even before it was over. Later when the crisis was all over, they gave thanks again (see verse 26-28). We need to learn to give thanks in the middle of the problem and in the middle of the battle, end then again once God has conquered the crisis!
When did God begin to do His great work? "when they began to___________ and to" (verse 22). What did the Apostle Paul do in the middle of a prison cell (Acts 16:23-26)?
Note:
In verse 1 we are told that the invasion took place "after this", referring
to the previous chapter. In chapter 19 king Jehoehaphat was strongly rebuked by the
prophet Jehu because of his compromising alliance with wicked king Ahab. This rebuke
proved effective as Jehoshaphat brought the people back to the Lord (verse 4). He also
encouraged judges and priests to serve faithfully"in the fear of the LORD"
(verses 6,7,9,11). Thus the King was seeking the LORD before the crisis
ever came. Often we do not seek the Lord until the crisis or problem comes. We turn to God
when we are in trouble! Jehoahaphat turned to God before the trouble came and when it did
come, he was prepared!
God is faithful! He cannot fail! He never loses a battle! The people of Judah simply FOUND the enemy (dead!); they did not have to FIGHT them! They worked much harder gathering the spoil then they did in winning the battle (see verse 25)1
The people blessed and thanked the Lord for the victory. The result was much joy and peace in the lend and God’s name was glorified! If we handle our problems and crises in the right way (Philippians 4:6), then what does God promise as a result (Philippians 4:7)? _____________________________________
This concludes this set of notes on some of the crises of our day and how to handle them. May Christ be the solution to your every crisis, as you seek Him and turn to His Word!
Back to CRISES OF OUR DAY
Back to SUNDAY SCHOOL MATERIALS &
HELPFUL BIBLE STUDIES