BE NOT DISMAYED Pamela Hale
Many of us have experienced battle with enemy forces! I am referring to spiritual enemies and the battles between flesh and spirit. The battles we face might be different from our friends or family, yet the enemy is the same. Some of you might be rejoicing in the victory that God us wrought for you in your battle.!
I believe God is telling His people to be not dismayed by the battle you're facing, or the one you are in. God sent his Son Jesus Christ to redeem us, and we are redeemed! Jesus has won the war, but there were many battles left to fight. One of the battles we face is to keep the possession that has been given us through Jesus Christ.
COMES LIKE A FLOOD
II CHRONICALS 20:10-19
In reading the Word we see the enemy coming to cast the people of God out of their possession; what God had given them! Now, we need to note here that we're supposed to cast out the enemies of God. They're not supposed to cast us out.
If we are going to stand on the Word of God, we are going to have to know what the Word of God says and what our covenant with Jesus Christ gives to us. Our victory is only secure in Jesus! If we do not know what is ours, we cannot fight for it!
Our enemy, satan, comes to try and take our possessions. John 10:10 says: The thief cometh not but for to, steal, kill and destroy. He threatens us with almost everything! When he says you're broke and you're not going to make it. He's threatening to take your possession of provision. Philippians 4:19 promises us that “My God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus”.
When your enemy says you're getting sick, you're not going to be healed, you're going to die, he's trying to take your possession of healing and health. 1 Peter 2:24 says: “who His own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.” (Isaiah 53:5, Matthew 8:17.)
When the enemy comes with all manner of doubt and fear, he's threatening to take her possession of peace that's been left us by Jesus Christ. Jesus said in John 14:27, “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” The devil can only threaten us though. He has no power or authority to come and take by force anymore for those who are born again. However, he wants us to lay down our promises and the victory that we have in Jesus. Jesus destroyed the works of the devil and his authority. Hebrews 2:14 says, “Foreasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also Himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil.” The devil's goal is to deceive us into giving up our possession in Jesus Christ. He wants us to think the promises of God are not for today and if they are they must not be for you.
WHAT TO DO?
Jehosophat was told that trouble was coming, the enemy was on his way. What did the children of Israel do when they were threatened? First, they humbled themself in the sight of God. James 4:10 tells us, ‘If we humble ourselves in the sight of the Lord, he will lift us up.” They acknowledged they had no might against the great army company coming against them.
Next, they admitted they didn't know what to do. We need to know what the Word of God says to us. We need to know what Jesus has done for us. We need to know the power of the Blood of Jesus and know the power of His promises. If we don’t, we will not know what to do when our enemies come.
Most importantly, the whole tribe of Judah came together, standing before the Lord, waiting on the Lord. They set their eyes on God! I am telling you today that there is something mighty and powerful in setting our heart, fixing our heart on the Lord!
We must come to the place of understanding that we are powerless in our own might and abilities. We use the scripture a lot in Philippians 4:13. We go, and we proudly proclaim,” I can do all things,” but if we leave out the most important part, “Through Christ who strengthens me,” we can’t do a thing! When we try to fight in war in our own might and abilities, we will fall and fail every time! We don’t have to; Jesus has made the way for us to be victorious every time. He fought for us and conquered all for us! Jesus tells us in Luke 10:19: “Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you.” We have free access to use the power he has given us. However, we must remember the power is not in our own might and abilities, it is His power, the power of almighty God, the same power that raised Jesus from the dead, working in us!
THE VOICE OF GOD
As the men of Judah, along with their wives and children stood before the Lord, waiting on Him to show them what to do, the Spirit of the Lord fell! He said to them in verse 15, “Be not afraid nor dismayed by reason of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours, but Gods.” And further encourages and instructs them in verses 17: “…You need not fighting this battle. Set yourself, stand you still and see the salvation of the Lord with you.”
God spoke in this before to their fathers when they were at the Red Sea. In Exodus 14:14 we read the Moses encouraged the people and said, “The Lord shall fight for you and ye shall hold your peace.” Sometimes when we look at the battle that the enemy has set before us, and we can easily and quickly become dismayed. If we have been battling something a long time it is easy to lay down our promises and give up. That is exactly what the enemy wants us to do. Looking at the battle causes us to become dismayed, then discouragement sets in. We are oftentimes overwhelmed and become fearful before completely giving up. Often time we give up before we have barely begun to stand.
Remember, the thing that is set before us by our enemy is not the final authority! He is the deceiver and liar. We must go to the final authority in all things, which is God's Word! We must see what God has to say about this battle that is presented to us. If we don’t know the Lord and His promises, we will not have anything to stand and rely upon! Holy Spirit is an excellent war Chief and will direct us and teach us out of the Word and quicken it to us.
ATTACK!
We see the children of Israel going to find the enemy. They didn't run from the enemy; they went to the enemy. God told him where to find the enemy and they went with confidence trusting the promise of God! As they were going, King Jehoshaphat stood in their midst of all the people and encourage them. He said in verse 20: “Believe in the Lord your God, so shall you be established. Believers profit, so shall you prosper.”
Just the day before, the prophet of God had spoken to the people a word from the Lord and had told them what to do. King Jehoshaphat, reminded the people to stay focused on God's word and what He had promised them. If they forgot God's Word and begin running away or doing anything other than what God had said do, it would have ended in destruction.
We all need to find out who are God is and who we are in Him. We can’t make it just by knowing about Him, we must know HIM! Hearing God's word and doing what He says will establish us. Jesus said in Matthew 7: 24-25, “ He that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken Him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: and the rain descended and the floods came, and the wind blew and beat upon that house; and it fell not for it was founded upon a rock.” Why did the house stand strong? It stood strong because its foundation was on a rock. Our foundation must be on the rock, Jesus Christ if we are to stand strong and overcome our enemies.
In verse 20 Jehoshaphat encouraged his people, “Believe in the Lord your God, so shall ye be established; believe his prophets, shall you prosper.” God has ordained prophets and no matter how much some will argue the point, there are still people today ordained prophets of God. When we believe the prophets of God, we will prosper. Sad to say today as it was many times then when the prophet speaks, many shun him, or her and the word spoken. When we reject the word of the Prophet, we are rejecting the word of God and rejecting God himself. There are examples all throughout the Scriptures of what happens when the word of the prophet is rejected. For some good examples read Numbers 13 and 14. I just want to add here that not all who call themselves prophets are. We need discernment and we need to know the Word of God. The true prophet of God will never say anything contrary to the written Word of God.
VICTORY!
Finally, we see that praise begin. They began to sing praises before the Lord and look what happened! He set ambushments against the enemy and they were smitten! Praise stops and stills the enemy and avenger, Psalm 8:2. When Judah began to sing praises to God, the enemies of God had turned on each other and they destroyed each other. God inhabits the praises of his people, and His enemies are drawn back and perish in his presence. They believed God and saw the victory!
Among the dead bodies of the enemy were great riches. There was so much that it took three days to gather it. The spoil, the riches they found, were things they had stolen in other battles. God promised in Joel 2:25-26, “I will restore to you the years that the locusts hath eaten, the cankerworm, and the caterpillar, and the palmerworm, my great army which I sent among you. And ye shall eat in plenty, and be satisfied, and praise the name of the Lord your God, that hath dealt wonderfully with you: and my people shall NEVER be ashamed.” What a promise!!!
They returned to Jerusalem with joy, music and praise going up to the Father. Don't stop praising God when the battle is over! When God has done something for us, we need to talk about it every opportunity, giving him all the honour and all the glory! When we hear testimonies of the goodness of God our faith is encouraged and strengthened.
The fear of God was on all the kingdoms of those countries when they heard that the Lord had fought the enemies of Israel. Psalm 40: 3, “And He hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God: many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in the Lord” What an amazing thought that others may come to know Jesus Christ by seeing what God has done for us.
He has fought for you! He has made the way for us to walk in His victory. Let us go forth with a heart fixed of our Lords and all that He has done for us. Stay in the Word of God being filled with life building faith!
Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen the; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold the with the right hand of my righteousness Isaiah 41:10
Many of us have experienced battle with enemy forces! I am referring to spiritual enemies and the battles between flesh and spirit. The battles we face might be different from our friends or family, yet the enemy is the same. Some of you might be rejoicing in the victory that God us wrought for you in your battle.!
I believe God is telling His people to be not dismayed by the battle you're facing, or the one you are in. God sent his Son Jesus Christ to redeem us, and we are redeemed! Jesus has won the war, but there were many battles left to fight. One of the battles we face is to keep the possession that has been given us through Jesus Christ.
COMES LIKE A FLOOD
II CHRONICALS 20:10-19
In reading the Word we see the enemy coming to cast the people of God out of their possession; what God had given them! Now, we need to note here that we're supposed to cast out the enemies of God. They're not supposed to cast us out.
If we are going to stand on the Word of God, we are going to have to know what the Word of God says and what our covenant with Jesus Christ gives to us. Our victory is only secure in Jesus! If we do not know what is ours, we cannot fight for it!
Our enemy, satan, comes to try and take our possessions. John 10:10 says: The thief cometh not but for to, steal, kill and destroy. He threatens us with almost everything! When he says you're broke and you're not going to make it. He's threatening to take your possession of provision. Philippians 4:19 promises us that “My God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus”.
When your enemy says you're getting sick, you're not going to be healed, you're going to die, he's trying to take your possession of healing and health. 1 Peter 2:24 says: “who His own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.” (Isaiah 53:5, Matthew 8:17.)
When the enemy comes with all manner of doubt and fear, he's threatening to take her possession of peace that's been left us by Jesus Christ. Jesus said in John 14:27, “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” The devil can only threaten us though. He has no power or authority to come and take by force anymore for those who are born again. However, he wants us to lay down our promises and the victory that we have in Jesus. Jesus destroyed the works of the devil and his authority. Hebrews 2:14 says, “Foreasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also Himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil.” The devil's goal is to deceive us into giving up our possession in Jesus Christ. He wants us to think the promises of God are not for today and if they are they must not be for you.
WHAT TO DO?
Jehosophat was told that trouble was coming, the enemy was on his way. What did the children of Israel do when they were threatened? First, they humbled themself in the sight of God. James 4:10 tells us, ‘If we humble ourselves in the sight of the Lord, he will lift us up.” They acknowledged they had no might against the great army company coming against them.
Next, they admitted they didn't know what to do. We need to know what the Word of God says to us. We need to know what Jesus has done for us. We need to know the power of the Blood of Jesus and know the power of His promises. If we don’t, we will not know what to do when our enemies come.
Most importantly, the whole tribe of Judah came together, standing before the Lord, waiting on the Lord. They set their eyes on God! I am telling you today that there is something mighty and powerful in setting our heart, fixing our heart on the Lord!
We must come to the place of understanding that we are powerless in our own might and abilities. We use the scripture a lot in Philippians 4:13. We go, and we proudly proclaim,” I can do all things,” but if we leave out the most important part, “Through Christ who strengthens me,” we can’t do a thing! When we try to fight in war in our own might and abilities, we will fall and fail every time! We don’t have to; Jesus has made the way for us to be victorious every time. He fought for us and conquered all for us! Jesus tells us in Luke 10:19: “Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you.” We have free access to use the power he has given us. However, we must remember the power is not in our own might and abilities, it is His power, the power of almighty God, the same power that raised Jesus from the dead, working in us!
THE VOICE OF GOD
As the men of Judah, along with their wives and children stood before the Lord, waiting on Him to show them what to do, the Spirit of the Lord fell! He said to them in verse 15, “Be not afraid nor dismayed by reason of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours, but Gods.” And further encourages and instructs them in verses 17: “…You need not fighting this battle. Set yourself, stand you still and see the salvation of the Lord with you.”
God spoke in this before to their fathers when they were at the Red Sea. In Exodus 14:14 we read the Moses encouraged the people and said, “The Lord shall fight for you and ye shall hold your peace.” Sometimes when we look at the battle that the enemy has set before us, and we can easily and quickly become dismayed. If we have been battling something a long time it is easy to lay down our promises and give up. That is exactly what the enemy wants us to do. Looking at the battle causes us to become dismayed, then discouragement sets in. We are oftentimes overwhelmed and become fearful before completely giving up. Often time we give up before we have barely begun to stand.
Remember, the thing that is set before us by our enemy is not the final authority! He is the deceiver and liar. We must go to the final authority in all things, which is God's Word! We must see what God has to say about this battle that is presented to us. If we don’t know the Lord and His promises, we will not have anything to stand and rely upon! Holy Spirit is an excellent war Chief and will direct us and teach us out of the Word and quicken it to us.
ATTACK!
We see the children of Israel going to find the enemy. They didn't run from the enemy; they went to the enemy. God told him where to find the enemy and they went with confidence trusting the promise of God! As they were going, King Jehoshaphat stood in their midst of all the people and encourage them. He said in verse 20: “Believe in the Lord your God, so shall you be established. Believers profit, so shall you prosper.”
Just the day before, the prophet of God had spoken to the people a word from the Lord and had told them what to do. King Jehoshaphat, reminded the people to stay focused on God's word and what He had promised them. If they forgot God's Word and begin running away or doing anything other than what God had said do, it would have ended in destruction.
We all need to find out who are God is and who we are in Him. We can’t make it just by knowing about Him, we must know HIM! Hearing God's word and doing what He says will establish us. Jesus said in Matthew 7: 24-25, “ He that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken Him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: and the rain descended and the floods came, and the wind blew and beat upon that house; and it fell not for it was founded upon a rock.” Why did the house stand strong? It stood strong because its foundation was on a rock. Our foundation must be on the rock, Jesus Christ if we are to stand strong and overcome our enemies.
In verse 20 Jehoshaphat encouraged his people, “Believe in the Lord your God, so shall ye be established; believe his prophets, shall you prosper.” God has ordained prophets and no matter how much some will argue the point, there are still people today ordained prophets of God. When we believe the prophets of God, we will prosper. Sad to say today as it was many times then when the prophet speaks, many shun him, or her and the word spoken. When we reject the word of the Prophet, we are rejecting the word of God and rejecting God himself. There are examples all throughout the Scriptures of what happens when the word of the prophet is rejected. For some good examples read Numbers 13 and 14. I just want to add here that not all who call themselves prophets are. We need discernment and we need to know the Word of God. The true prophet of God will never say anything contrary to the written Word of God.
VICTORY!
Finally, we see that praise begin. They began to sing praises before the Lord and look what happened! He set ambushments against the enemy and they were smitten! Praise stops and stills the enemy and avenger, Psalm 8:2. When Judah began to sing praises to God, the enemies of God had turned on each other and they destroyed each other. God inhabits the praises of his people, and His enemies are drawn back and perish in his presence. They believed God and saw the victory!
Among the dead bodies of the enemy were great riches. There was so much that it took three days to gather it. The spoil, the riches they found, were things they had stolen in other battles. God promised in Joel 2:25-26, “I will restore to you the years that the locusts hath eaten, the cankerworm, and the caterpillar, and the palmerworm, my great army which I sent among you. And ye shall eat in plenty, and be satisfied, and praise the name of the Lord your God, that hath dealt wonderfully with you: and my people shall NEVER be ashamed.” What a promise!!!
They returned to Jerusalem with joy, music and praise going up to the Father. Don't stop praising God when the battle is over! When God has done something for us, we need to talk about it every opportunity, giving him all the honour and all the glory! When we hear testimonies of the goodness of God our faith is encouraged and strengthened.
The fear of God was on all the kingdoms of those countries when they heard that the Lord had fought the enemies of Israel. Psalm 40: 3, “And He hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God: many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in the Lord” What an amazing thought that others may come to know Jesus Christ by seeing what God has done for us.
He has fought for you! He has made the way for us to walk in His victory. Let us go forth with a heart fixed of our Lords and all that He has done for us. Stay in the Word of God being filled with life building faith!
Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen the; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold the with the right hand of my righteousness Isaiah 41:10