Jehoshaphat stood and said, “Listen to me, O Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem, put your trust in the LORD your God and you will be established. Put your trust in His prophets and succeed.” 2 Chronicles 20:20.
Giving them a garland instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the mantle of praise instead of a spirit of fainting, so they will be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that He may be glorified. Isaiah 61:3.
When he had consulted with the people, he appointed those who sang to the Lord and those who praised Him in holy attire, as they went out before the army and said, “Give thanks to the Lord, for His lovingkindness is everlasting.” When they began singing and praising, the Lord set ambushes against the sons of Ammon, Moab and Mount Seir, who had come against Judah; so they were routed. For the sons of Ammon and Moab rose up against the inhabitants of Mount Seir destroying them completely; and when they had finished with the inhabitants of Seir, they helped to destroy one another. 2 Chronicles 20:21-23.
Today your LORD (יהוה) God says:
Some of you read the book of Acts and look at Peter, John and Paul in awe thinking they have something you don’t. But I will tell you something, you have the same they had. Peter wrote to you inspired by the Holy Spirit, “Simon Peter, a bond-servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who have received a faith of the same precious value as ours, by the righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ: Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord; seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence. For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust.” 2 Peter 1:1-4.
Many a saint and many a prophet who lived before Jesus came to earth longed to have what you have and did not have it during the time they walked the earth. They longed to see what you see, and to hear what you hear. You can even listen to the preaching and teaching of My Word on the internet. You are blessed for such a time as this. You are living in the time of salvation and grace. Now is the time of salvation! As to this salvation, the prophets who prophesied of the grace that would come to you made careful searches and inquiries, seeking to know what person or time the Spirit of Christ within them was indicating as He predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories to follow. It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves, but you, in these things which now have been announced to you through those who preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven—things into which angels long to look. 1 Peter 1:10-12.
Therefore, prepare your minds for action, this is not the time for you to go down but to time for you to come up higher to the rock which is higher than you. Read the signs of the times. Keep sober in spirit, fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. As children of obedience, do not be conformed to the former lusts which were yours in your ignorance, things which only keep you down in the flesh and out of the spirit, for I have called you and given you grace to live your life through Jesus with His strength, His purity and His holiness, so be holy yourselves also in all your behavior; which I would not tell you to do if I have not given you the power to do so. I called you by My own glory and excellence and have granted to you My precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of My divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust. You can be holy, for I am holy. 1 Peter 1:13-16.
You have treasure beyond measure. You have Christ Jesus, in whom are all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge, and wisdom is the principal thing. And He has paid it all for you. When you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, I made you alive together with Him, having forgiven you ALL your transgressions, having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against you, which was hostile to you; and I have taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. When I had disarmed the rulers and authorities in Jesus, as Son of Man and Son of God, I made a public display of them, having triumphed over them through Jesus. Colossians 2:13-14. Since the children share in flesh and blood, Jesus Himself likewise also partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and might free those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives. Hebrews 2:14-15.
I disarmed Satan in Jesus. Man lost authority to Satan, and in Jesus, man took it back from Satan. Satan is disarmed. His arm of power is gone. You can rebuke him and cast him out. If you submit to My Word and resist Satan’s words, he has to flee. He has no choice. He is disarmed. The Law is hostile to lawbreakers, so Satan entices you to break My Laws so that then he can enforce the penalty to that Law by prosecuting you relentlessly. The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law; but I give you the victory through your Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved children, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in My work, knowing that your toil is not in vain in Me. 1 Corinthians 15:56-58. And to work My Works you believe in the One whom I sent to save you, Jesus.
Too many of you are reverting back to praying the prayer of the one who knows not what to do. But I gave you the answer then and I have given it to you now. Ephesians 6:10-19, 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, Psalm 100. I am speaking of the events laid out for you in 2 Chronicles 20, when three enemy armies came against Jerusalem to destroy My city and My nation. Jehoshaphat was the king at that time and he had brought Judah back to being faithful to Me. When he heard the terrifying report of the formidable enemy that was coming to conquer Jerusalem he fasted and prayed with the people, “O our God, will You not judge them for we are powerless before this great multitude who are coming against us nor do we know what to do, but our eyes are on You.”
Let Me talk to you about that prayer and where you are now in Christ. First, I have rendered the devil powerless and have disarmed him for you in Christ. Second, you are not powerless, that is why Paul prayed that the eyes of your heart would be enlightened so you would know the hope of My calling, the riches of My inheritance in the saints in light, and THE SURPASSING GREATNESS OF THE POWER I PUT IN YOU according to the power which I used in raising Jesus from the depths of hell and death to the heights of Heaven and seated Him in the place above every other name. And your problem may look overwhelming and like a great multitude but I have told you that in two join in agreement I grant it, Jesus is in their midst, and whereas one can put a thousand to flight, two of you can put ten thousand to flight. And I have told you that when you are established in righteousness, which you are in Christ, that you are far from oppression and no weapon formed against you can prosper and that every tongue raised up against you, you will prove false, for your righteousness is from Me. And you do know what to do because My Holy Spirit is in you, the anointing, and He teaches you all things and guides you to all truth. And He is in you and with you always.
Now I want you to look at how I answered Jehoshaphat’s prayer. I inspired one of the musicians to speak My Word to the people: “Listen, all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem and King Jehoshaphat: thus says the LORD to you, ‘Do not fear or be dismayed because of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours but God’s. Tomorrow go down against them. Behold, they will come up by the ascent of Ziz, and you will find them at the end of the valley in front of the wilderness of Jeruel. You need not fight in this battle; station yourselves, stand and see the salvation of the LORD on your behalf, O Judah and Jerusalem.’ Do not fear or be dismayed; tomorrow go out to face them, for the LORD is with you.” 2 Chronicles 20:15-17.
What do you see I told them?
- Do not fear or be dismayed because of the great problem for the battle is not yours but Mine.
- Go face your problem, find out what is causing it and go after that.
- You need not fight in this battle, just station yourself (like the people had to do when I parted the Red Sea, and as I show you in Ephesians 6 in My full armor) and stand. You will see My salvation on your behalf.
- Do not fear or be dismayed, tomorrow go out and face it, for I am with you. Put on My full armor and lift up your Sword of the Spirit.
And their response was not fear or doubt, when they heard this the whole crowd and Jehoshaphat worshipped Me with thanksgiving and praise and the Levites, from the sons of the Kohathites and of the sons of the Korahites, stood up to praise Me with a very loud voice. 2 Chronicles 20:18-19.
But the real answer is to come.
The very next morning, as I had instructed them, they went to face the enemy from whom they had been hiding. They rose early in the morning and went out to the wilderness of Tekoa; and when they went out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, “Listen to me, O Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem, put your trust in the LORD your God and you will be established. Put your trust in His prophets and succeed.” 2 Chronicles 20:20. Put your trust in Me and have no fear. And put your trust in what the prophets have written and what My prophets today are saying. You will know them by their fruit and if their words match up with Mine. Discern.
Now begins the answer. When Jehoshaphat had consulted with the people, he appointed those who sang to Me in My house and those who praised Him in holy attire, as they went out before the army and said, “Give thanks to the LORD, for His lovingkindness (My Chesed, that is love, mercy, compassion) is everlasting.” When they began singing and praising, I set ambushes against the sons of Ammon, Moab and Mount Seir, who had come against Judah; so they were routed. I turned the enemy and all the enemy planned back on their own heads. Back fired so to speak. For the sons of Ammon and Moab rose up against the inhabitants of Mount Seir destroying them completely; and when they had finished with the inhabitants of Seir, they helped to destroy one another. Praise confuses the enemy. Satan expects you to fall before him in fear, crying, cringing and confusion, but when he sees you standing up strong in holy attire (My armor) and praising for victory and thanking Me for My love, he is routed and must flee. His plans are totally put in confusion and all comes to naught except the destruction of the wicked. The moment you start praising in a trial, I can turn it around for you good.
Yes, as you sing songs and rejoice in My faithfulness to performing My Word, I set up ambushes in the ranks of your enemy, and there are ranks of demons from lower to higher in Satan’s realm of darkness with those of My host who went with him, and the end is they fight amongst themselves till all their plans are destroyed. The weapons formed against you I turn back on your foes.
And what happened next?
When Judah came to the lookout of the wilderness, they looked toward the multitude, and behold, they were corpses lying on the ground, and no one had escaped. You see, when the praise goes up, the enemy goes down. And you find out I was much bigger than your problem. But there is more.
When Jehoshaphat and his people came to take the spoil of their enemies, they found much among them, including goods, garments and valuable things which they took for themselves, more than they could carry. And they were three days taking the spoil because there was so much.
This should not surprise you. The wealth of the wicked is stored up for the righteous. And in Christ you are righteous with My own righteousness. But let us return to Jehoshaphat.
After three days of loading up the riches the enemies had left on their door step, so to speak, on the fourth day they assembled in the valley of Beracah, for there they blessed the Lord. Therefore they have named that place “The Valley of Beracah” until today. Berachah means Blessing in Hebrew. They renamed the place from the valley of trouble to the valley of blessing. And that is what you should be doing with all that comes against you. Once you put on My full armor and take up the Sword of the Spirit by speaking My promise and singing praises, you should see the problem fall and pick up the treasures it left behind and find that what started as a problem turned out to be a blessing in that I turned everything around to work out to prosper, bless, and restore you to better than before it began.
Then every man of Judah and Jerusalem returned with Jehoshaphat at their head, returning to Jerusalem with joy, for I had made them to rejoice over their enemies. And if you do what they did, I can do the same for you. Do not start blaming Me and complaining and grumbling and telling everyone your problem or sickness or financial loss, or relationship problems, it is time you grew up and became the mighty man or woman of God I made you to be. An overcomer through trust, prayer, praise and action. Stop hiding and start abiding.
And do you know their praise did not stop when they had gathered the spoil of victory. They did not start taking the credit themselves or forget about Me in enjoying the great things I gave them. Oh no, not My people. They came to Jerusalem with harps, lyres and trumpets to My house and told the great things I had done to all. And the good news of their victory was heard by all surrounding nations, and the dread of Me was on all the kingdoms of the lands when they heard that I had fought against the enemies of Israel. So the kingdom of Jehoshaphat was at peace, for I gave him rest on all sides. And I can do much more for you for you are in Christ.
Are you ready for a great day where you watch all your enemies fall? You can have it or you can hide in fear. Cowards do not make it into My Kingdom, you know. Revelation 21:8. Selah.
I love you. Use the praise cure. Fill up the praise bucket and your problem bucket will empty out.