In this message you are going tolearn how vital praise and thanksgivingare to your victory in times of fear andcrisis.

Our text is 2 Chronicles 20. This isone of the greatest chapters in the Bibleon the cure for fear when facing theenemy. King Jeoshaphat and the chil-dren of Israel overcame their enemies inthe Valley of Berachah. The valley isusually typified as a hard, pressingplace, but God wants to make your val-ley a valley of blessings, of deliveranceand victory, and supplying of your need.They called that valley “Berachah,”because baruch is the Hebrew word forblessing. Whenever the Jewish peoplepray and give thanks for something,they always bless God who gave it.

For instance, when they say,“grace,” they don’t bless their food, theybless God that gave it. They say,“Baruch ata adonai elohainu melechha’olam ha-motzi lehem min ha-aretz.”The first part is, “Blessed art thou, Lordour God, King of the universe.” Thenthey bless and thank Him for the food:“Who brings forth bread from theearth.” They always bless God first.This is good advice for Christians aswell. When we learn to bless God in allthings, we cause His blessings to over-take us – even in the valley!

Jehoshaphat was one of the goodkings of Judah. He destroyed the highplaces of idolatry and broke down theirimages. He also established righteousjudges in the land and set in order thepriests and Levites. Judah was only onetribe, because Israel had split up underthe reign of Rehoboam, Solomon’s son.Ten tribes had left them, and they had

one tribe “for David’s sake.” And nowthree nations had come up againstthem: Ammon, Moab, and MountSeir. The news came to Jehoshaphatthat a mighty army, “a great multi-tude,” was coming against him todestroy him. The first thing that hap-pens when you receive a bad report,is fear. Whenever the devil masseshis forces against you, the first thinghe tries to bring, which he did bringto Jehoshaphat, is fear.

FAITH OVERCOMES FEAR

The enemy wants you to fear. Doyou know why? Fear is the oppositeof faith, and faith is what brings youthe victory: “And this is the victorythat overcomes the world, even ourfaith” (1 Jn. 5:5). He wants you to

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BB l e s s i n g s I n l e s s i n g s I n T h e T h e VV a l l e ya l l e y

BY R.G. HARDY

fear rather than believe. If you fear,you’re not believing. If you believe,you’re not fearing. We are going to seehow we can overcome fear so that ourfaith will overcome our circumstances.

The Bible states that it was a greatmultitude, three nations coming againstone little tribe, and Jehoshaphat lookedat the circumstances and knew, numeri-cally speaking, they were so out-num-bered, there was no way they could winthe battle. It was kind of like whenGideon was attacked by the Midianiteswhose numbers were like grasshoppers!Gideon had 32,000 that came out, andthey had multitudes. Then God said toGideon, “It’s too many on your side,”and God weeded it down from 32,000 to300 men to go out against thousands ofthe enemy! (Judges 7). But you see,God has declared: “Not by might, norby power, but by My Spirit, saith theLord” (Zech. 4:6). And “When theenemy shall come in like a flood, theSpirit of the Lord” (the invisibleness ofJehovah, because Spirit means the invis-ible force), “...shall lift up a standardagainst him” (Isa. 59:19). Let’s seeGod’s same invisible operation in thisaccount:

“Then there came some that toldJehoshaphat, saying, There cometh agreat multitude against thee frombeyond the sea on this side of Syria;and, behold, they be in Hazazontamar,which is Engedi. And Jehoshaphatfeared...” (vv 2-3). He feared because helooked with sense knowledge instead ofspiritual knowledge. If God be for you,and you are only one, you and God arethe majority, and you will come out thewinner. In fact, God doesn’t even needyou, but He will wait for you to ask Him

to move. What is the answer to fear?“And Jehoshaphat feared, and set

himself to seek the Lord, and pro-claimed a fast throughout all Judah.”Jehoshaphat faced fear, but he had theright answer! “And Judah gatheredthemselves together, to ask help of theLORD: even out of all the cities ofJudah they came to seek the LORD” (vv3-4). This is what you must do whenthe enemy comes in and amasses him-self against you. Don’t get shook up andfear, but seek the Lord because God saidthat He will make a way where thereseemeth to be no way. He promised,“There is no temptation, no test takenyou but such as is common to man: butGod is faithful, who will make a way toescape...” (1 Cor. 10:13), and He’s got away out! He’s got a fail-safe escape foryour victory. He’s got the way out, andwhat we must do is “seek the Lord.” Wedon’t know whether one day we aregoing to “break through the troop”, ormaybe we are going to “leap over thewall.” What are we going to do thistime, Lord? March around the walls andshout? Because you can’t put God in abox. He knows how He is going tomove, and He doesn’t always move thesame way in every situation. Nor did Hepromise there would be 10 ways or 5ways, but He will make “a way toescape!”

THE VICTORY’S IN GOD’S HOUSE

We need to understand also that weare the Body of Christ, and members inparticular, and members one of another.If one member suffers, we all suffer (1Cor. 12:26-27). When an attack comeson your brother or your sister, it’s anattack against you, whether you know it

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off forthemselves,more thanthey couldc a r r yaway: andthey werethree daysin gather-ing of thespoil, itwas somuch” (v.25).

All they had to do was get theblessings! Remember, it all started outin the house of God when Jeoshaphatcalled all the Saints to meet in the houseof God, so that they could seek theLord, hear the preacher preach, and givethe Spirit of God time to prophesy toboost their faith. When they got to thebattlefield, the battle was over! Manytimes God goes before you. He sendsthe angels to deliver, and when you getthere, there is nothing to do but pick upthe gold and the silver. See, sometimeswhen God wants to give you a blessing,He lets the enemy get stirred up againstyou, so that you can strip them. Thatwas always the reward of the victors,the spoils of the battle. It took themthree days to gather it all, because it wasso much.

“And on the fourth day, they assem-bled themselves (after they had gatheredthe spoils) in the valley of Berachah, forthere they blessed the LORD; thereforethe name of the same place is called,The valley of Berachah (of blessing)unto this day” (v. 26). They blessed Godthere before they started out, and Godblessed them with riches there in the

same valley. The enemy was defeated,but they didn’t run back to their homes.What did they do?

“Then they returned every man ofJudah and Jerusalem, and Jehoshaphatin the forefront of them, to go again toJerusalem with joy;” (to the house ofthe Lord with joy) “for the Lord madethem to rejoice over their enemies. Andthey came to Jerusalem with psalteriesand harps, and trumpets unto the houseof the LORD” (vv. 27-28). It started inthe house of the Lord, and it finishedin the house of the Lord!

If you start out in the house of God,God will go with you, and encourageyou and go ahead to scatter your ene-mies, and give blessings in the veryplace where you are supposed to die.But instead, the enemy died, and thenthey gathered all the gold and silver andthe blessings. Neither did they forgetGod after they got the victory. No oneran off to his own house. They weren’tlike Achan who stole the cursed thingsand hid it in his tent (Ref. Joshua 7).

On the fourth day after the victory,they worshiped God. They said, “Let usgo back into the house of God withsinging, with rejoicing, with praises andwith our spoils.” I believe they paidtheir tithes and gave God a love offer-ing, and then they went home andrejoiced in the God of their salvationwho had done great things for them.God had turned their valley of weep-ing into the Valley of Berachah –Blessings!

“And the fear of God was on all thekingdoms of those countries, when theyheard that the LORD fought against theenemies of Israel” (v. 29).

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or not.When thedevil comesagainst thepastor of achurch orthe leaders,he’s comeagainst you.What wemust do issay likeJehoshaphat,“Let’s come into the house of the Lordand seek the Lord for help.” Victorystarts at the house of the Lord!

Many Christians, when they are intheir tests, stay home from church. Ifyou happen to meet them and say,“Where have you been?” They say, “I’min a test, so I stayed home.” That’s thewrong thing to do when you’re in a test.That’s what the devil wants you to do,so he can further discourage you. That’snot the Word of God. The Word is,“Come, and seek the Lord in Hishouse”, because : “Where two or threeare gathered together in my name,”Jesus said, “I am in the midst” (Matt.18:20). One saint will put a thousand toflight, and two saints will put 10 thou-sand to flight (Deut. 32:30). If you keepmultiplying that, the number becomesexponential and astronomical. We needto be in every service possible, becausewe are a corporate people, the Body ofChrist. If one of our members is wound-ed, it’s going to come back on us andaffect us. We are out brother’s keeper.Also, the devil wants you to stay home,lest God’s Word build you up, and yourfaith that “comes by hearing the Word ofGod” (Rom. 10:17), should bring you

the victory!So the king sent the news to all the

cities of Judah, and they came from thecities of Judah to the house of the Lord.Jehoshaphat feared, but in the face ofthat fear, “he set himself to seek theLord, and he proclaimed a fast for allJudah.” He proclaimed that all of God’speople would come together in unity,and to lay aside everything else to seekGod’s help for the nation. This is theweapon of corporate prayer, but manytoday don’t worry about praying until itcomes home to them.

That’s why David said, “I was gladwhen they said unto me, Let us go intothe house of the Lord” (Ps. 122:1).Because in unity there is strength. Whenone person is down, the strength of the

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believed what God had said toJeoshaphat and to them through theprophecy. They began to praise theLord, and the Lord sent an ambush.Who did He use? He didn’t use any ofthe Israelites, but He used His heavenlyhost. He used His army of angels justlike when the enemy had surroundedElisah at Dothan, and his servant Gehazicouldn’t see the angels of God. Elisahprayed, “Open up his eyes that he mightsee.” All Gehazi could see were thearmies of the enemy surrounding them,but when his spiritual eyes were opened,he saw God’s army with the chariots offire and the horsemen around them.Elisah said, “Fear not, for they that bewith us are more than they that be withthem” ( 2 Kings 6:16).

God promised us in His Word:“For the angel of the Lord encampethround about them that fear him, anddelivereth them” (Ps. 34:7). The wordfear here doesn’t mean to be in terror,but to be in awe. When you are in aweof God, you say, “God, You are awe-some. What a mighty God I serve!”

God sent the angels to attack them,and Moab and Ammon thought MountSeir was attacking them, and their twoarmies killed the army of Mount Seir.Then the angels attacked both of them,and they killed one another! God sent anambush of angels: There is no mentionof any other army around there. It wasGod’s battle and He sent His host.

Just like Jesus said to Pilate, “If itwas my time to set up my kingdom, Icould call over twelve legions of angelsto fight” (Matt. 26:53). His time is com-ing when He will descend out ofHeaven with all of the glorified Saintsand the faithful angels, and will put His

feet on Mt. Olivet, and it will split inhalf and divide east and west and form aslaughtering trough, a valley two mileslong. He will destroy the army of theAntiChrist, and their blood will fill thatvalley til it reaches the horses’ bridles.

“And when they began to sing andto praise, (blessings in the Valley, ofBerachah), the Lord set ambushmentsagainst the children of Ammon, andMoab, and Mount Seir, which werecome against Judah, and they weresmitten. For the children of Ammon andMoab stood up against the inhabitantsof Mount Seir, utterly to slay anddestroy them : and when they had madean end of the inhabitants of Seir, every-one helped to destroy another” (vv. 22-23). They killed one another! Judahdidn’t know what was going to happen,but they were watching in faith. God’sdoesn’t always let us know all His ways.Sometimes we have to watch in faith.He had encouraged them with Hisprophetic Word before they marched.Jeoshaphat told them to believe Godand His prophets. He called the singersup, and they start singing, and Godmoved and gave the victory!

“And when Judah came to warn thewatchtower in the wilderness, theylooked unto the multitude, and behold,they were dead bodies fallen to theearth, and none escaped” (v. 24). Theneverybody who had maintained theirfaith, got treasures, blessings, and gifts.

THE SPOILS OF VICTORY

“And when Jeoshaphat and hispeople came to take away the spoil ofthem, they found among them in abun-dance both riches with the dead bodies,and precious jewels, which they stripped

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other will pick him up. Why do youthink we have services? Why do wehave preaching and teaching? To buildthe Church up. Where do the nine giftsof the Spirit work? In the church. Thebeliever’s gifts work in the church forthe edifying, for the building up of theChurch (Eph. 4:11-12). The word edifymeans “to spiritually uplift andadvance.” The Church is not just oneindividual, but many members. That’swhy Paul told those who spoke intongues to not only build themselves up,but don’t be selfish, get more – getinterpretation of tongues so you canbuild the Church up (1 Cor. 14:12-13).

The Church is only strong as thesum total of its members. It’s only asstrong as its weakest link in the chain.Why do you think the devil fights youfrom coming to church? He knows thatnot only will you be built up, but youcould be someone that God will use tobuild up somebody else: “...we haveblessed you out of the house of theLORD” (Ps. 118:26).

“And Judah gathered themselvestogether to ask help of the Lord...” Thecure for faith is to “seek the Lord.” Thecure for lack of strength is to rallytogether with Christians of “like pre-cious faith”, to seek the Lord and askHim for help. They knew they couldn’tdo it in themselves. There were threenations, multiplied enemies coming, andthey hadn’t prepared for war. Theyhadn’t practiced war strategies. Theywere in their cities enjoying the bless-ings of the Lord, and the devil got madat that, but “They gathered together,even out of all the cities of Judah, andthey came to seek the Lord.” That’swhat you must do when things come

that disrupt your life. You don’t fear!You set your heart to seek the Lord.They sought the Lord, and to show thatthey were really serious, they even fast-ed; which means you set aside all thenatural. When the enemy has comeagainst you hard, you don’t go on asusual. You have to set aside everythingand get ahold of God. Moses had to“turn aside” to see the burning bush andhear from the angel of God in it. Hecould have passed by it and went onwith his usual routine. When we sancti-fy a fast, we are feeding the spirit manand our faith, because fear belongs tocarnality, and faith belongs to the Spirit.They had to cure their fear by gettinginto the Spirit. Your faith doesn’t workwhen you are carnal. Fear and doubtwork through the carnal mind. Whenwe feed our faith, we starve ourdoubts to death!

“And they came to seek the Lord.And Jehoshaphat stood up in the con-gregation of Judah and Jerusalem, inthe house of the Lord before the newcourt” (v. 5). They went into the houseof the Lord. What house was it? Itwasn’t the temple, because in the templethey only came with an offering. But itwas David’s tabernacle where they wereto come in with singing and rejoicing,and to hear God speak. David’s taberna-cle was like the New Testament Church,where the Saints came to the hear thepreaching. They didn’t go to the templeto hear the preaching; they went to thetemple to offer up sacrifices for theirsins. But God ordained a “NewTestament church” through the taberna-cle of David. There was no singing andrejoicing in the temple. There wasmourning for sins and sin offerings. The

t o m o r r o wgo outa g a i n s tthem: forthe Lordshall bewith you”(v. 17).

“ A n dJehoshaphatbowed hishead withhis face tothe ground, and all of Judah and theinhabitants of Jerusalem fell before theLord, worshipping the Lord” (v. 18).Oh, the need for worship! The impor-tance of worship! Why do you think thatthe prophecy came through Jahaziel?Because they were still fearful, or hewouldn’t have said, “Don’t be afraid –Be not dismayed; just go up againstthem.”

They didn’t know what they weregoing to find at the end of the wilder-ness. They knew they were going to findthe enemy, but they didn’t know whatcondition or position they would be in.But the Lord said, “Don’t be dismayed,for the Lord is with you.” If the Lord iswith me, I don’t need anybody else.They worshiped the Lord, and what hap-pened? “And the Levites, of the chil-dren of the Kohathites, and of the chil-dren of the Korhites, stood up to praisethe LORD God of Israel with a loudvoice on high” (v. 19).

Do you see how important it is foranointed singers to be prayed andpraised up? When you get on the plat-form, you will be able to shout, and likeDavid, play the organ and drive thedemons out! The people worshiped the

Lord, and the singers and musicianspraised God. They were claiming thevictory already. For faith always see thevictory in advance. So what happenedwhen they praised God, showing thatthey really believed the prophetic Word?

“And they rose early in the morn-ing, and went forth into the wildernessof Tekoa: and as they went forth,Jehoshaphat stood and said, Hear me,O Judah, and ye inhabitants ofJerusalem; Believe in the LORD yourGod, so shall ye be established...” (soshall ye be firm. The Hebrew saysunmoveable); “...believe his prophets,so shall ye prosper” (v. 20). You shallstand firm if you believe God, and youwon’t back up. Believe the Lord yourGod and you shall be firm – Believe hisprophets and you will be unmoveable!

“And when he had consulted withthe people, he appointed singers untothe LORD...” He went to Asaph’s fami-ly and to some of the special singers inthe choir, and “...he appointed singersunto the LORD, that they should praisethe beauty of holiness, as they went outbefore the army, and to say, Praise theLORD; for his mercy endureth forever”(v. 21). I can just imagine the enemies’guys of reconnaissance go to their gen-erals saying, “Don’t worry, we won’thave to fight. These Israelites are crazy.They are praising their God and singing!They are coming to surrender.” Butwhen we praise God, God will moveagainst our foes!

“And when they began to sing andto praise, the LORD set ambushmentsagainst them...” Israel did not fight –God’s angels fought. The victory camewhen they began to sing and praise theLord, because that showed that they

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from you until you get where the enemyis to find them all dead. Then all youhave to do is pick up the spoils. Jahazielsaid, “This is God’s battle. You don’thave to do anything, but just have yourarmor on, be in your rank, and standfirm. Don’t doubt and desert and run.For this battle is not yours, but God’s.”Then He told them what to do:“Tomorrow go ye down against them...”They had armor on, and they weregoing against the foe.

I never take my armor off, becausein the middle of my sleep, the enemymight come. Has the devil ever tried toattack you in your sleep, and you cameout of your sleep saying, “I rebuke you,Satan”? He tries to find you with yourarmor off and catch you relaxed withyour guard down. You don’t relax,because then you are giving place to thedevil. Peter commanded: “Be sober, bevigilant; because your adversary, thedevil, as a roaring lion...” (He’s not aroaring lion. He is trying to imitateJesus. He is a defeated foe.) “...walkethabout, seeking whom he may devour.Whom resist steadfast in the faith...” (1Pet. 5:8-9). Somebody who has thearmor on, and knows how to use it, andis waiting for him, he can’t devour!

“Tomorrow go ye down againstthem; behold, they come up by the cliffof Ziz, and ye shall find them at the endof the brook, before the wilderness ofJeruel” (v. 16). He told them exactlywhere they were going to be and wherethey would find the enemy, but Hedidn’t tell them how they were going tofight them! “Ye shall not need to fight inthis battle: set yourselves, stand yestill,...” This is another misunderstoodverse: Some sing, “If I hold my peaceand let the Lord fight my battles, victory

shall be mine.” This doesn’t mean to donothing and say nothing. It means “setyourselves in array, stay with yourflank, and then stand firm. Paul com-manded in Ephesians 6: “For we wres-tle not against flesh and blood, butagainst principalities, against powers,against the rulers of the darkness of thisworld, against spiritual wickedness inthe heavenlies, Wherefore take unto youthe whole (entire) armor of God, thatyou may be able to withstand in the evilday, and having done all, to stand,Stand therefore...”(Eph. 6:12-14). Withthe armor, on stand at your post; standready for whatever the captain says todo.

That is what he meant. They camedown in their armor, and he told them tostand in their flanks, don’t fear and run,but stand there waiting for God’s direc-tions. Stand firm, stand steadfast. Itdoesn’t mean not to do anything, to justbe at ease and let God fight your battles,saying, “Well, I got a battle on andhere’s my battle armor, and I’m goingahead on and do my thing.” No, itdoesn’t say that! It says that they are togo up against the enemy, march towardsthem, stand in their flanks, be firm, besteadfast, and don’t run. I know thedevil was preaching to them, saying,“Yeah, and when you get around theedge of that cliff, they are going to bewaiting there, and you are going to bedestroyed.”

THE SALVATION OF THE LORD

God’s servant said, “You shall notneed to fight in this battle, but set your-selves in your flanks and be firm, don’tmove. “And see the salvation of theLORD with you, O Judah andJerusalem: fear, nor be dismayed,

r e j o i c i n gwas inD a v i d ’ stabernaclewith all ofthe instru-ments andsingers. Hehad scoresof singersthat workedin shifts sothat theycould sing and worship and praise Godall day and all night.

They prayed, “Lord, What shall wedo? We have to hear from You.”Jehoshaphat was the shepherd of thatflock, and he needed his faith to be builtup. He prayed to God, and His prayerwas really talking to himself and toIsrael of what God had done for them inthe past, and what He had promised tocontinue to do. “Faith comes by hear-ing,” so you don’t stay home whenyou’re in the battle. You should come toevery church service that you can. Youshould be saying, “I was glad when theysaid unto me, ‘Come to the house of theLord.’”

YOU ARE GOD – OUR GOD

Jehoshaphat was really rehearsingthe Word of God to himself and to Israelto build up their faith: “And he said, OLord God of our fathers, art not thouGod in heaven?...” (Aren’t You the realGod?) “And rulest not thou over all thekingdoms of the heathen?” (Aren’t Youeven the king of Moab, and Ammon,and Mt. Seir who are coming againstus?)“And in thy hand is there not powerand might, so that none is able to with-stand thee?” (V. 6). He was building his

faith up to get rid of his fear! Our Godis the God of the universe, and He’s gotall power, and nobody can withstandHim! There is nothing too hard for Him.He is El Shaddai, the God that isenough! Jehoshaphat was remindinghimself, “Aren’t You God? Don’t Youhave all power? Don’t You rule all theseheathens that are coming up here?

“Are not Thou our God?” (Do youknow that God is your God? If He isyour God, then you are under acovenant with Him.) “Are not thou ourGod, who did drive out the inhabitantsof this land before thy people Israel?”(And He has driven out the demonsfrom our houses, our families, and outof our lives!)

“... and gave it to the seed ofAbraham thy friend forever?” (V. 7). Ifyou are Christ’s, then you areAbraham’s seed and heirs of thepromise (Gal. 3:29). God drove out thedevil, and He isn’t going to let him backin, if you will believe and trust Him.

“And they dwelt therein, and havebuilt thee a sanctuary therein for thyname...” (V. 8). The house of God is forHis presence and power to be manifest-ed, where His children can come andhear from God, and be healed, anddelivered, and blessed, and where Hewill save our loved ones.

“Saying, If, when evil comes uponus, as the sword, judgment, or pesti-lence, or famine, we stand before thishouse, and in thy presence,” (for thyname is in this house,) and cry unto theein our affliction, then thou wilt hear andhelp” (v. 9).

Essentially, they said, “When allthese things come against us, let uscome to church. Let us not stay home,because that’s the devil’s trick to weak-

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en and divide us. Our faith will getsmaller, and our fears will get greater,and our troubles are going to be multi-plied. Instead, let us come into thechurch and stand before God, and let usseek His face, so that He can tell uswhat to do; for we need His help.”

They began to rehearse God’s Wordin prayer: “The devil has attacked ourfamilies, and You said that You wouldbless our children, the seed of our body.The devil has attacked our money, andYou said that You would bless our bas-ket and our store. You said that Youwould bless us in the city, in the coun-try, our sitting down and our rising up,our coming in and our going out. Weshall be blessed, and our enemy shallcome against us one way, and You shallcause him to scatter seven ways.” Asthey prayed God’s Word, their faithbecame stronger!

“And now, behold, the children ofAmmon, and Moab, and Mt. Seir whomthou wouldst not let Israel invade, whenthey came out of the land of Egypt, butthey turned from them, and destroyedthem not. Behold, I say, how theyreward us, to come to cast us out of thypossession which thou hast given us toinherit” (vv. 10-11). I am not going tolet the devil steal anything that God’sgiven to me! Not my joy, my peace, myblessings, my gifts, anointing, calling tothe ministry, no! When the enemy sug-gests something lustful, tell him, “Getout! I’m consecrated to God!”

They weren’t supposed to go intothe sanctuary, or into God’s presence,unless they were consecrated.Remember God commanded Moseswhen He was going to speak to themfrom Mount Sinai. He said, “Moses, tellthe people to clean up and to clean the

camp up, because I’m going to walkamongst them.” If God walked amongstthem and saw something unclean, Hewould destroy it. God said, “I’m givingyou three days to prepare.” Moses toldeverybody, and they went to their tentsand started casting their idols out. (Ex.19:14-15). It was like when Paulpreached at Ephesus, and the peoplebrought all their idols and books ofwitchcraft, voodoo, and burned them.(Acts 19:18-19).

Some Christians need to go homeand clean up what they read, what theywatch on TV, and what they listen to!I’m not filling myself with a bunch ofcarnal junk and lies. I’m not going to sitin front of the television and fill myspirit with a bunch of carnal jokesterstelling lies, and most of the time, filthycommunications, and laugh. I don’t sitand watch the late night talk shows – Idon’t want that to be the last thing onmy mind before I go to sleep. I want itto be the Word of God!

OUR EYES ARE ON THEE

“O our God, wilt thou not judgethem?” (Yes, He is going to judgethem.) “For we have no might againstthis great company that cometh againstus; neither know we what to do: but oureyes are upon thee” (v. 12). This is thekey to defeating fear and winning thevictory! Keep your eyes on God!“Looking unto Jesus, the author andfinisher of our faith” (Heb. 12:2). Whenyou don’t know what to do: “In all thyways acknowledge Him, and He willdirect thy paths” (Prov. 3:5-6). Theyprayed, “Everything is coming againstus, God, and we don’t know what to do,but our eyes are upon Thee.” “And allJudah stood before the LORD, with all

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their littleones, theirwives andtheir chil-dren” (v.13).

N o where issomethingyou can’tget ath o m e :“Then theSpirit of the Lord came upon one of thesingers in the midst of the congrega-tion” (v. 14). He was of the sons ofAsaph, and Asaph was the head of thesinging branch of the Levites. Often youwill read at the beginning of the Psalmsthat it was given to Asaph so he couldgive it to the singers. No wonder theSpirit came on him, because he wasalways singing and praising God.

“Then upon Jahaziel the son ofZechariah, the son of Benaiah, the sonof Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah, a Leviteof the sons of Asaph, came the Spirit ofthe Lord in the midst of the congrega-tion;” It didn’t happen at home in histent, but “in the midst of the congrega-tion” – in the assembly in church!When you and I come to church withthe prayerful attitude, “God, the enemyhas come in and, I’m too weak to fighthim alone. I don’t know what to do. I’mlooking to You.” When you come intoGod’s house and start to praise Him, Itell you what, God is going to answeryou! He is going to use the preachers torehearse the Word like Jehoshaphat did,that He’s still God, and He’s the God ofall your enemies, and He drove themout before, and He will drive them outagain! He’ll use the Spirit-filled singers

to usher in His presence and His power. Do you come to church looking for

God to bring a prophecy or a tongue ofinterpretation when you are in trouble?Well, you should. This is a NewTestament church of David’s tabernacle,because it has music, singers, prayer,worship, and God answers with revela-tion and instruction when we come toseek Him. God has promised in the lastdays to build again the tabernacle ofDavid that is broken down, that theresidue of men might seek after theLord and all of Israel, and all theGentiles, upon whom His name is calledshall flow into it and praise Him (Ref.Acts 15:16-17). Because there aresinging and dancing, rejoicing, praises,victory, healing, deliverance, and salva-tion in God’s house when it’s sanctified,and His people come to hear the Wordof God and say, “God, we’re looking toYou.”

I don’t believe in man’s program. Iwant the Holy Spirit’s program. I don’topen my church pulpit to unsanctifiedsingers and preachers. I’m looking forsanctified people like the sons of Asaphthat the Lord can use to speak to Hispeople. This is a sanctuary where Godis, and I’m coming to hear God.

“Then upon Jahaziel... came theSpirit of the Lord in the midst of thecongregation; And he said, ‘Hearkenye, all Judah, and ye inhabitants ofJerusalem, and thou king Jeoshaphat,Be not afraid nor dismayed by reason ofthis great multitude; for the battle is notyours, but God’s” (v. 15).

Many people don’t understandthis,“The battle is not yours, butGod’s.” He is talking about that particu-lar battle. Sometimes you have to fight,and other times God keeps the victory

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en and divide us. Our faith will getsmaller, and our fears will get greater,and our troubles are going to be multi-plied. Instead, let us come into thechurch and stand before God, and let usseek His face, so that He can tell uswhat to do; for we need His help.”

They began to rehearse God’s Wordin prayer: “The devil has attacked ourfamilies, and You said that You wouldbless our children, the seed of our body.The devil has attacked our money, andYou said that You would bless our bas-ket and our store. You said that Youwould bless us in the city, in the coun-try, our sitting down and our rising up,our coming in and our going out. Weshall be blessed, and our enemy shallcome against us one way, and You shallcause him to scatter seven ways.” Asthey prayed God’s Word, their faithbecame stronger!

“And now, behold, the children ofAmmon, and Moab, and Mt. Seir whomthou wouldst not let Israel invade, whenthey came out of the land of Egypt, butthey turned from them, and destroyedthem not. Behold, I say, how theyreward us, to come to cast us out of thypossession which thou hast given us toinherit” (vv. 10-11). I am not going tolet the devil steal anything that God’sgiven to me! Not my joy, my peace, myblessings, my gifts, anointing, calling tothe ministry, no! When the enemy sug-gests something lustful, tell him, “Getout! I’m consecrated to God!”

They weren’t supposed to go intothe sanctuary, or into God’s presence,unless they were consecrated.Remember God commanded Moseswhen He was going to speak to themfrom Mount Sinai. He said, “Moses, tellthe people to clean up and to clean the

camp up, because I’m going to walkamongst them.” If God walked amongstthem and saw something unclean, Hewould destroy it. God said, “I’m givingyou three days to prepare.” Moses toldeverybody, and they went to their tentsand started casting their idols out. (Ex.19:14-15). It was like when Paulpreached at Ephesus, and the peoplebrought all their idols and books ofwitchcraft, voodoo, and burned them.(Acts 19:18-19).

Some Christians need to go homeand clean up what they read, what theywatch on TV, and what they listen to!I’m not filling myself with a bunch ofcarnal junk and lies. I’m not going to sitin front of the television and fill myspirit with a bunch of carnal jokesterstelling lies, and most of the time, filthycommunications, and laugh. I don’t sitand watch the late night talk shows – Idon’t want that to be the last thing onmy mind before I go to sleep. I want itto be the Word of God!

OUR EYES ARE ON THEE

“O our God, wilt thou not judgethem?” (Yes, He is going to judgethem.) “For we have no might againstthis great company that cometh againstus; neither know we what to do: but oureyes are upon thee” (v. 12). This is thekey to defeating fear and winning thevictory! Keep your eyes on God!“Looking unto Jesus, the author andfinisher of our faith” (Heb. 12:2). Whenyou don’t know what to do: “In all thyways acknowledge Him, and He willdirect thy paths” (Prov. 3:5-6). Theyprayed, “Everything is coming againstus, God, and we don’t know what to do,but our eyes are upon Thee.” “And allJudah stood before the LORD, with all

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their littleones, theirwives andtheir chil-dren” (v.13).

N o where issomethingyou can’tget ath o m e :“Then theSpirit of the Lord came upon one of thesingers in the midst of the congrega-tion” (v. 14). He was of the sons ofAsaph, and Asaph was the head of thesinging branch of the Levites. Often youwill read at the beginning of the Psalmsthat it was given to Asaph so he couldgive it to the singers. No wonder theSpirit came on him, because he wasalways singing and praising God.

“Then upon Jahaziel the son ofZechariah, the son of Benaiah, the sonof Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah, a Leviteof the sons of Asaph, came the Spirit ofthe Lord in the midst of the congrega-tion;” It didn’t happen at home in histent, but “in the midst of the congrega-tion” – in the assembly in church!When you and I come to church withthe prayerful attitude, “God, the enemyhas come in and, I’m too weak to fighthim alone. I don’t know what to do. I’mlooking to You.” When you come intoGod’s house and start to praise Him, Itell you what, God is going to answeryou! He is going to use the preachers torehearse the Word like Jehoshaphat did,that He’s still God, and He’s the God ofall your enemies, and He drove themout before, and He will drive them outagain! He’ll use the Spirit-filled singers

to usher in His presence and His power. Do you come to church looking for

God to bring a prophecy or a tongue ofinterpretation when you are in trouble?Well, you should. This is a NewTestament church of David’s tabernacle,because it has music, singers, prayer,worship, and God answers with revela-tion and instruction when we come toseek Him. God has promised in the lastdays to build again the tabernacle ofDavid that is broken down, that theresidue of men might seek after theLord and all of Israel, and all theGentiles, upon whom His name is calledshall flow into it and praise Him (Ref.Acts 15:16-17). Because there aresinging and dancing, rejoicing, praises,victory, healing, deliverance, and salva-tion in God’s house when it’s sanctified,and His people come to hear the Wordof God and say, “God, we’re looking toYou.”

I don’t believe in man’s program. Iwant the Holy Spirit’s program. I don’topen my church pulpit to unsanctifiedsingers and preachers. I’m looking forsanctified people like the sons of Asaphthat the Lord can use to speak to Hispeople. This is a sanctuary where Godis, and I’m coming to hear God.

“Then upon Jahaziel... came theSpirit of the Lord in the midst of thecongregation; And he said, ‘Hearkenye, all Judah, and ye inhabitants ofJerusalem, and thou king Jeoshaphat,Be not afraid nor dismayed by reason ofthis great multitude; for the battle is notyours, but God’s” (v. 15).

Many people don’t understandthis,“The battle is not yours, butGod’s.” He is talking about that particu-lar battle. Sometimes you have to fight,and other times God keeps the victory

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from you until you get where the enemyis to find them all dead. Then all youhave to do is pick up the spoils. Jahazielsaid, “This is God’s battle. You don’thave to do anything, but just have yourarmor on, be in your rank, and standfirm. Don’t doubt and desert and run.For this battle is not yours, but God’s.”Then He told them what to do:“Tomorrow go ye down against them...”They had armor on, and they weregoing against the foe.

I never take my armor off, becausein the middle of my sleep, the enemymight come. Has the devil ever tried toattack you in your sleep, and you cameout of your sleep saying, “I rebuke you,Satan”? He tries to find you with yourarmor off and catch you relaxed withyour guard down. You don’t relax,because then you are giving place to thedevil. Peter commanded: “Be sober, bevigilant; because your adversary, thedevil, as a roaring lion...” (He’s not aroaring lion. He is trying to imitateJesus. He is a defeated foe.) “...walkethabout, seeking whom he may devour.Whom resist steadfast in the faith...” (1Pet. 5:8-9). Somebody who has thearmor on, and knows how to use it, andis waiting for him, he can’t devour!

“Tomorrow go ye down againstthem; behold, they come up by the cliffof Ziz, and ye shall find them at the endof the brook, before the wilderness ofJeruel” (v. 16). He told them exactlywhere they were going to be and wherethey would find the enemy, but Hedidn’t tell them how they were going tofight them! “Ye shall not need to fight inthis battle: set yourselves, stand yestill,...” This is another misunderstoodverse: Some sing, “If I hold my peaceand let the Lord fight my battles, victory

shall be mine.” This doesn’t mean to donothing and say nothing. It means “setyourselves in array, stay with yourflank, and then stand firm. Paul com-manded in Ephesians 6: “For we wres-tle not against flesh and blood, butagainst principalities, against powers,against the rulers of the darkness of thisworld, against spiritual wickedness inthe heavenlies, Wherefore take unto youthe whole (entire) armor of God, thatyou may be able to withstand in the evilday, and having done all, to stand,Stand therefore...”(Eph. 6:12-14). Withthe armor, on stand at your post; standready for whatever the captain says todo.

That is what he meant. They camedown in their armor, and he told them tostand in their flanks, don’t fear and run,but stand there waiting for God’s direc-tions. Stand firm, stand steadfast. Itdoesn’t mean not to do anything, to justbe at ease and let God fight your battles,saying, “Well, I got a battle on andhere’s my battle armor, and I’m goingahead on and do my thing.” No, itdoesn’t say that! It says that they are togo up against the enemy, march towardsthem, stand in their flanks, be firm, besteadfast, and don’t run. I know thedevil was preaching to them, saying,“Yeah, and when you get around theedge of that cliff, they are going to bewaiting there, and you are going to bedestroyed.”

THE SALVATION OF THE LORD

God’s servant said, “You shall notneed to fight in this battle, but set your-selves in your flanks and be firm, don’tmove. “And see the salvation of theLORD with you, O Judah andJerusalem: fear, nor be dismayed,

r e j o i c i n gwas inD a v i d ’ stabernaclewith all ofthe instru-ments andsingers. Hehad scoresof singersthat workedin shifts sothat theycould sing and worship and praise Godall day and all night.

They prayed, “Lord, What shall wedo? We have to hear from You.”Jehoshaphat was the shepherd of thatflock, and he needed his faith to be builtup. He prayed to God, and His prayerwas really talking to himself and toIsrael of what God had done for them inthe past, and what He had promised tocontinue to do. “Faith comes by hear-ing,” so you don’t stay home whenyou’re in the battle. You should come toevery church service that you can. Youshould be saying, “I was glad when theysaid unto me, ‘Come to the house of theLord.’”

YOU ARE GOD – OUR GOD

Jehoshaphat was really rehearsingthe Word of God to himself and to Israelto build up their faith: “And he said, OLord God of our fathers, art not thouGod in heaven?...” (Aren’t You the realGod?) “And rulest not thou over all thekingdoms of the heathen?” (Aren’t Youeven the king of Moab, and Ammon,and Mt. Seir who are coming againstus?)“And in thy hand is there not powerand might, so that none is able to with-stand thee?” (V. 6). He was building his

faith up to get rid of his fear! Our Godis the God of the universe, and He’s gotall power, and nobody can withstandHim! There is nothing too hard for Him.He is El Shaddai, the God that isenough! Jehoshaphat was remindinghimself, “Aren’t You God? Don’t Youhave all power? Don’t You rule all theseheathens that are coming up here?

“Are not Thou our God?” (Do youknow that God is your God? If He isyour God, then you are under acovenant with Him.) “Are not thou ourGod, who did drive out the inhabitantsof this land before thy people Israel?”(And He has driven out the demonsfrom our houses, our families, and outof our lives!)

“... and gave it to the seed ofAbraham thy friend forever?” (V. 7). Ifyou are Christ’s, then you areAbraham’s seed and heirs of thepromise (Gal. 3:29). God drove out thedevil, and He isn’t going to let him backin, if you will believe and trust Him.

“And they dwelt therein, and havebuilt thee a sanctuary therein for thyname...” (V. 8). The house of God is forHis presence and power to be manifest-ed, where His children can come andhear from God, and be healed, anddelivered, and blessed, and where Hewill save our loved ones.

“Saying, If, when evil comes uponus, as the sword, judgment, or pesti-lence, or famine, we stand before thishouse, and in thy presence,” (for thyname is in this house,) and cry unto theein our affliction, then thou wilt hear andhelp” (v. 9).

Essentially, they said, “When allthese things come against us, let uscome to church. Let us not stay home,because that’s the devil’s trick to weak-

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other will pick him up. Why do youthink we have services? Why do wehave preaching and teaching? To buildthe Church up. Where do the nine giftsof the Spirit work? In the church. Thebeliever’s gifts work in the church forthe edifying, for the building up of theChurch (Eph. 4:11-12). The word edifymeans “to spiritually uplift andadvance.” The Church is not just oneindividual, but many members. That’swhy Paul told those who spoke intongues to not only build themselves up,but don’t be selfish, get more – getinterpretation of tongues so you canbuild the Church up (1 Cor. 14:12-13).

The Church is only strong as thesum total of its members. It’s only asstrong as its weakest link in the chain.Why do you think the devil fights youfrom coming to church? He knows thatnot only will you be built up, but youcould be someone that God will use tobuild up somebody else: “...we haveblessed you out of the house of theLORD” (Ps. 118:26).

“And Judah gathered themselvestogether to ask help of the Lord...” Thecure for faith is to “seek the Lord.” Thecure for lack of strength is to rallytogether with Christians of “like pre-cious faith”, to seek the Lord and askHim for help. They knew they couldn’tdo it in themselves. There were threenations, multiplied enemies coming, andthey hadn’t prepared for war. Theyhadn’t practiced war strategies. Theywere in their cities enjoying the bless-ings of the Lord, and the devil got madat that, but “They gathered together,even out of all the cities of Judah, andthey came to seek the Lord.” That’swhat you must do when things come

that disrupt your life. You don’t fear!You set your heart to seek the Lord.They sought the Lord, and to show thatthey were really serious, they even fast-ed; which means you set aside all thenatural. When the enemy has comeagainst you hard, you don’t go on asusual. You have to set aside everythingand get ahold of God. Moses had to“turn aside” to see the burning bush andhear from the angel of God in it. Hecould have passed by it and went onwith his usual routine. When we sancti-fy a fast, we are feeding the spirit manand our faith, because fear belongs tocarnality, and faith belongs to the Spirit.They had to cure their fear by gettinginto the Spirit. Your faith doesn’t workwhen you are carnal. Fear and doubtwork through the carnal mind. Whenwe feed our faith, we starve ourdoubts to death!

“And they came to seek the Lord.And Jehoshaphat stood up in the con-gregation of Judah and Jerusalem, inthe house of the Lord before the newcourt” (v. 5). They went into the houseof the Lord. What house was it? Itwasn’t the temple, because in the templethey only came with an offering. But itwas David’s tabernacle where they wereto come in with singing and rejoicing,and to hear God speak. David’s taberna-cle was like the New Testament Church,where the Saints came to the hear thepreaching. They didn’t go to the templeto hear the preaching; they went to thetemple to offer up sacrifices for theirsins. But God ordained a “NewTestament church” through the taberna-cle of David. There was no singing andrejoicing in the temple. There wasmourning for sins and sin offerings. The

t o m o r r o wgo outa g a i n s tthem: forthe Lordshall bewith you”(v. 17).

“ A n dJehoshaphatbowed hishead withhis face tothe ground, and all of Judah and theinhabitants of Jerusalem fell before theLord, worshipping the Lord” (v. 18).Oh, the need for worship! The impor-tance of worship! Why do you think thatthe prophecy came through Jahaziel?Because they were still fearful, or hewouldn’t have said, “Don’t be afraid –Be not dismayed; just go up againstthem.”

They didn’t know what they weregoing to find at the end of the wilder-ness. They knew they were going to findthe enemy, but they didn’t know whatcondition or position they would be in.But the Lord said, “Don’t be dismayed,for the Lord is with you.” If the Lord iswith me, I don’t need anybody else.They worshiped the Lord, and what hap-pened? “And the Levites, of the chil-dren of the Kohathites, and of the chil-dren of the Korhites, stood up to praisethe LORD God of Israel with a loudvoice on high” (v. 19).

Do you see how important it is foranointed singers to be prayed andpraised up? When you get on the plat-form, you will be able to shout, and likeDavid, play the organ and drive thedemons out! The people worshiped the

Lord, and the singers and musicianspraised God. They were claiming thevictory already. For faith always see thevictory in advance. So what happenedwhen they praised God, showing thatthey really believed the prophetic Word?

“And they rose early in the morn-ing, and went forth into the wildernessof Tekoa: and as they went forth,Jehoshaphat stood and said, Hear me,O Judah, and ye inhabitants ofJerusalem; Believe in the LORD yourGod, so shall ye be established...” (soshall ye be firm. The Hebrew saysunmoveable); “...believe his prophets,so shall ye prosper” (v. 20). You shallstand firm if you believe God, and youwon’t back up. Believe the Lord yourGod and you shall be firm – Believe hisprophets and you will be unmoveable!

“And when he had consulted withthe people, he appointed singers untothe LORD...” He went to Asaph’s fami-ly and to some of the special singers inthe choir, and “...he appointed singersunto the LORD, that they should praisethe beauty of holiness, as they went outbefore the army, and to say, Praise theLORD; for his mercy endureth forever”(v. 21). I can just imagine the enemies’guys of reconnaissance go to their gen-erals saying, “Don’t worry, we won’thave to fight. These Israelites are crazy.They are praising their God and singing!They are coming to surrender.” Butwhen we praise God, God will moveagainst our foes!

“And when they began to sing andto praise, the LORD set ambushmentsagainst them...” Israel did not fight –God’s angels fought. The victory camewhen they began to sing and praise theLord, because that showed that they

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or not.When thedevil comesagainst thepastor of achurch orthe leaders,he’s comeagainst you.What wemust do issay likeJehoshaphat,“Let’s come into the house of the Lordand seek the Lord for help.” Victorystarts at the house of the Lord!

Many Christians, when they are intheir tests, stay home from church. Ifyou happen to meet them and say,“Where have you been?” They say, “I’min a test, so I stayed home.” That’s thewrong thing to do when you’re in a test.That’s what the devil wants you to do,so he can further discourage you. That’snot the Word of God. The Word is,“Come, and seek the Lord in Hishouse”, because : “Where two or threeare gathered together in my name,”Jesus said, “I am in the midst” (Matt.18:20). One saint will put a thousand toflight, and two saints will put 10 thou-sand to flight (Deut. 32:30). If you keepmultiplying that, the number becomesexponential and astronomical. We needto be in every service possible, becausewe are a corporate people, the Body ofChrist. If one of our members is wound-ed, it’s going to come back on us andaffect us. We are out brother’s keeper.Also, the devil wants you to stay home,lest God’s Word build you up, and yourfaith that “comes by hearing the Word ofGod” (Rom. 10:17), should bring you

the victory!So the king sent the news to all the

cities of Judah, and they came from thecities of Judah to the house of the Lord.Jehoshaphat feared, but in the face ofthat fear, “he set himself to seek theLord, and he proclaimed a fast for allJudah.” He proclaimed that all of God’speople would come together in unity,and to lay aside everything else to seekGod’s help for the nation. This is theweapon of corporate prayer, but manytoday don’t worry about praying until itcomes home to them.

That’s why David said, “I was gladwhen they said unto me, Let us go intothe house of the Lord” (Ps. 122:1).Because in unity there is strength. Whenone person is down, the strength of the

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believed what God had said toJeoshaphat and to them through theprophecy. They began to praise theLord, and the Lord sent an ambush.Who did He use? He didn’t use any ofthe Israelites, but He used His heavenlyhost. He used His army of angels justlike when the enemy had surroundedElisah at Dothan, and his servant Gehazicouldn’t see the angels of God. Elisahprayed, “Open up his eyes that he mightsee.” All Gehazi could see were thearmies of the enemy surrounding them,but when his spiritual eyes were opened,he saw God’s army with the chariots offire and the horsemen around them.Elisah said, “Fear not, for they that bewith us are more than they that be withthem” ( 2 Kings 6:16).

God promised us in His Word:“For the angel of the Lord encampethround about them that fear him, anddelivereth them” (Ps. 34:7). The wordfear here doesn’t mean to be in terror,but to be in awe. When you are in aweof God, you say, “God, You are awe-some. What a mighty God I serve!”

God sent the angels to attack them,and Moab and Ammon thought MountSeir was attacking them, and their twoarmies killed the army of Mount Seir.Then the angels attacked both of them,and they killed one another! God sent anambush of angels: There is no mentionof any other army around there. It wasGod’s battle and He sent His host.

Just like Jesus said to Pilate, “If itwas my time to set up my kingdom, Icould call over twelve legions of angelsto fight” (Matt. 26:53). His time is com-ing when He will descend out ofHeaven with all of the glorified Saintsand the faithful angels, and will put His

feet on Mt. Olivet, and it will split inhalf and divide east and west and form aslaughtering trough, a valley two mileslong. He will destroy the army of theAntiChrist, and their blood will fill thatvalley til it reaches the horses’ bridles.

“And when they began to sing andto praise, (blessings in the Valley, ofBerachah), the Lord set ambushmentsagainst the children of Ammon, andMoab, and Mount Seir, which werecome against Judah, and they weresmitten. For the children of Ammon andMoab stood up against the inhabitantsof Mount Seir, utterly to slay anddestroy them : and when they had madean end of the inhabitants of Seir, every-one helped to destroy another” (vv. 22-23). They killed one another! Judahdidn’t know what was going to happen,but they were watching in faith. God’sdoesn’t always let us know all His ways.Sometimes we have to watch in faith.He had encouraged them with Hisprophetic Word before they marched.Jeoshaphat told them to believe Godand His prophets. He called the singersup, and they start singing, and Godmoved and gave the victory!

“And when Judah came to warn thewatchtower in the wilderness, theylooked unto the multitude, and behold,they were dead bodies fallen to theearth, and none escaped” (v. 24). Theneverybody who had maintained theirfaith, got treasures, blessings, and gifts.

THE SPOILS OF VICTORY

“And when Jeoshaphat and hispeople came to take away the spoil ofthem, they found among them in abun-dance both riches with the dead bodies,and precious jewels, which they stripped

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fear rather than believe. If you fear,you’re not believing. If you believe,you’re not fearing. We are going to seehow we can overcome fear so that ourfaith will overcome our circumstances.

The Bible states that it was a greatmultitude, three nations coming againstone little tribe, and Jehoshaphat lookedat the circumstances and knew, numeri-cally speaking, they were so out-num-bered, there was no way they could winthe battle. It was kind of like whenGideon was attacked by the Midianiteswhose numbers were like grasshoppers!Gideon had 32,000 that came out, andthey had multitudes. Then God said toGideon, “It’s too many on your side,”and God weeded it down from 32,000 to300 men to go out against thousands ofthe enemy! (Judges 7). But you see,God has declared: “Not by might, norby power, but by My Spirit, saith theLord” (Zech. 4:6). And “When theenemy shall come in like a flood, theSpirit of the Lord” (the invisibleness ofJehovah, because Spirit means the invis-ible force), “...shall lift up a standardagainst him” (Isa. 59:19). Let’s seeGod’s same invisible operation in thisaccount:

“Then there came some that toldJehoshaphat, saying, There cometh agreat multitude against thee frombeyond the sea on this side of Syria;and, behold, they be in Hazazontamar,which is Engedi. And Jehoshaphatfeared...” (vv 2-3). He feared because helooked with sense knowledge instead ofspiritual knowledge. If God be for you,and you are only one, you and God arethe majority, and you will come out thewinner. In fact, God doesn’t even needyou, but He will wait for you to ask Him

to move. What is the answer to fear?“And Jehoshaphat feared, and set

himself to seek the Lord, and pro-claimed a fast throughout all Judah.”Jehoshaphat faced fear, but he had theright answer! “And Judah gatheredthemselves together, to ask help of theLORD: even out of all the cities ofJudah they came to seek the LORD” (vv3-4). This is what you must do whenthe enemy comes in and amasses him-self against you. Don’t get shook up andfear, but seek the Lord because God saidthat He will make a way where thereseemeth to be no way. He promised,“There is no temptation, no test takenyou but such as is common to man: butGod is faithful, who will make a way toescape...” (1 Cor. 10:13), and He’s got away out! He’s got a fail-safe escape foryour victory. He’s got the way out, andwhat we must do is “seek the Lord.” Wedon’t know whether one day we aregoing to “break through the troop”, ormaybe we are going to “leap over thewall.” What are we going to do thistime, Lord? March around the walls andshout? Because you can’t put God in abox. He knows how He is going tomove, and He doesn’t always move thesame way in every situation. Nor did Hepromise there would be 10 ways or 5ways, but He will make “a way toescape!”

THE VICTORY’S IN GOD’S HOUSE

We need to understand also that weare the Body of Christ, and members inparticular, and members one of another.If one member suffers, we all suffer (1Cor. 12:26-27). When an attack comeson your brother or your sister, it’s anattack against you, whether you know it

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off forthemselves,more thanthey couldc a r r yaway: andthey werethree daysin gather-ing of thespoil, itwas somuch” (v.25).

All they had to do was get theblessings! Remember, it all started outin the house of God when Jeoshaphatcalled all the Saints to meet in the houseof God, so that they could seek theLord, hear the preacher preach, and givethe Spirit of God time to prophesy toboost their faith. When they got to thebattlefield, the battle was over! Manytimes God goes before you. He sendsthe angels to deliver, and when you getthere, there is nothing to do but pick upthe gold and the silver. See, sometimeswhen God wants to give you a blessing,He lets the enemy get stirred up againstyou, so that you can strip them. Thatwas always the reward of the victors,the spoils of the battle. It took themthree days to gather it all, because it wasso much.

“And on the fourth day, they assem-bled themselves (after they had gatheredthe spoils) in the valley of Berachah, forthere they blessed the LORD; thereforethe name of the same place is called,The valley of Berachah (of blessing)unto this day” (v. 26). They blessed Godthere before they started out, and Godblessed them with riches there in the

same valley. The enemy was defeated,but they didn’t run back to their homes.What did they do?

“Then they returned every man ofJudah and Jerusalem, and Jehoshaphatin the forefront of them, to go again toJerusalem with joy;” (to the house ofthe Lord with joy) “for the Lord madethem to rejoice over their enemies. Andthey came to Jerusalem with psalteriesand harps, and trumpets unto the houseof the LORD” (vv. 27-28). It started inthe house of the Lord, and it finishedin the house of the Lord!

If you start out in the house of God,God will go with you, and encourageyou and go ahead to scatter your ene-mies, and give blessings in the veryplace where you are supposed to die.But instead, the enemy died, and thenthey gathered all the gold and silver andthe blessings. Neither did they forgetGod after they got the victory. No oneran off to his own house. They weren’tlike Achan who stole the cursed thingsand hid it in his tent (Ref. Joshua 7).

On the fourth day after the victory,they worshiped God. They said, “Let usgo back into the house of God withsinging, with rejoicing, with praises andwith our spoils.” I believe they paidtheir tithes and gave God a love offer-ing, and then they went home andrejoiced in the God of their salvationwho had done great things for them.God had turned their valley of weep-ing into the Valley of Berachah –Blessings!

“And the fear of God was on all thekingdoms of those countries, when theyheard that the LORD fought against theenemies of Israel” (v. 29).

B l e s s i n g s I n B l e s s i n g s I n T h e VT h e V a l l e ya l l e y