By
Pastor Matt Black
24
October 2007
Midweek Prayer Meeting
2
Chronicles 20
Scripture
and Theme:
Open your Bible to the book of Acts. Were going to meditate on 2
Chronicles 20 this evening. The title of our study this morning is: A
Spirit of Prayer.
Introduction: In our
passage King Jehoshaphat finds out that
there is a great multitude of Moabites and Ammonites ready for battle.
2 Chronicles 20
Look
at verse 3, And Jehoshaphat feared, and set himself to seek the LORD, and proclaimed
a fast throughout all Judah. 4 And Judah
gathered themselves together, to ask help of the LORD: even out of all
the cities of Judah they came to seek the LORD. 5 And Jehoshaphat stood in the congregation of
Judah and Jerusalem, in the house of the LORD, before the new court, 6 And said, O LORD God of our fathers, art
not thou God in heaven? and rulest not thou over all the kingdoms of the
heathen? and in thine hand is there not power and might, so that none is
able to withstand thee? 7 Art not
thou our God, who didst drive out the inhabitants of this land before
thy people Israel, and gavest it to the seed of Abraham thy friend for ever?
Now
verse 13, And all Judah stood
before the LORD, with their little ones, their wives, and their children.
Now
verse 16, To morrow go ye down
against them: behold, they come up by the cliff of Ziz; and ye shall find them
at the end of the brook, before the wilderness of Jeruel. 17 Ye shall not need to fight in this battle:
set yourselves, stand ye still, and see the salvation of the LORD with
you, O Judah and Jerusalem: fear not, nor be dismayed; to morrow go out against
them: for the LORD will be with you. 18
And Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground: and
all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell before the LORD, worshipping
the LORD.
Now
verse 22, And when they began to
sing and to praise, the LORD set ambushments against the children of Ammon,
Moab, and mount Seir, which were come against Judah; and they were smitten.
23 For the children of Ammon and Moab
stood up against the inhabitants of mount Seir, utterly to slay and destroy them: and when they had made an end
of the inhabitants of Seir, every one helped to destroy another. 24 And when Judah came toward the watch tower in
the wilderness, they looked unto the multitude, and, behold, they were dead bodies fallen to the earth,
and none escaped
Verse 29, And the fear
of God was on all the kingdoms of those countries, when they had heard
that the LORD fought against the enemies of Israel. 30 So the realm of Jehoshaphat was quiet: for
his God gave him rest round about. 31 And Jehoshaphat reigned over Judah: he was thirty
and five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned twenty and five years
in Jerusalem. And his mothers name was Azubah the daughter of Shilhi. 32 And he walked in the way of Asa his father,
and departed not from it, doing that which was right in the sight of the
LORD. 33 Howbeit the high places were not taken away: for as
yet the people had not prepared their hearts unto the God of their fathers.
Before
we watch our video tonight, I want you to consider that the people had such a
great victory, but it was only temporary, and it wasnt until much much later
in the time of Josiah that the high places were removed.
God
calls on us to pray to Him. He says in Jeremiah
33:3, Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and
mighty things, which thou knowest not.
But
He also says in Psalm 66:18,
David says, If I regard iniquity in my heart, the
Lord will not hear me.
Before we look at this video ask yourself, is there
ANYTHING in my life that I would be ashamed of if Jesus came tonight?
We are asking for God for a spirit of prayer
tonight, but in order to even ask him for that, we have to get rid of the high
places in our lives.
Listen to the words of Jesus: Blessed are the pure in heart for they
shall see God (Matthew 5:8).
Psalm 139:23-24, Search me, O
God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: 24 And see if there be any wicked way in
me, and lead me in the way everlasting.
God resists the proud, but gives grace to
the humble. Humble yourselves in the
sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up (James 4:10)
Conclusion: As we look at this video tonight, it is a
compilation of many of the great preachers of the past.
It
begins with various quotes, and then it turns to the testimony of a preacher by
the name of Duncan Campbell. Duncan
Campbell tells from his own testimony of the 1949 awakening in Scotland.
At
the end is a portion of a sermon by Paris Reidhead. It is a testimony to what the Gospel is and
to the great power of it.
The
audio and video is grainy at times, but it will bless your soul if you listen
closely.