We bring you outlines of two classes taught during the regular Bible studies at the Covenant Child World Evangelistic Ministry recently by the Rev. Leeroy Wilfred Kabs-Kanu, Co-Pastor of the church
THE BATTLE IS NOT YOUR’S : JUST STAND STILL AND SEE THE SALVATION OF THE LORD
Key passage : 2 CHRONICLES 20 : 1-29
A. The Moabites and Ammonites with some of the Meunites[a] came to wage war against Jehosaphat. Jehoshaphat had sometimes been connected with the Valley of Jehosaphat, where, according to Joel 3:2, the God of Israel will gather all nations for judgment. He was the fourth King of the Kingdom of Judah ,succeeding his father Asa.
Jehoshaphat spent the first years of his reign fortifying his kingdom against Israel (2 Chronicles 17:1-2). The Bible lauds the king for overcoming sexual corruption (1 Kings 22:47), and for destroying the cult images or “idols” of Baal in the land. In the third year of his reign Jehoshaphat sent out priests and Levites over the land to instruct the people in the Law (2 Chronicles 17:7-9), an activity that was commanded for a Sabbatical year in Deuteronomy 31:10-13. The author of 2 Chronicles generally praises his reign, stating that the kingdom enjoyed a great measure of peace and prosperity, the blessing of God resting on the people “in their basket and their store.”
B. The Moabites formed a powerful alliance with the surrounding confederacy to fight Jehosaphat.
He was invaded by three powerful kings . Powerful enemies will come against you. They will have the caboodle mentality. People have the tendency to gang up against you. (USE MY OWN TESTIMONY AND HOW I DEFEATED MY ENEMIES) They will try to destroy you, But what did God say ? Let us look at the passages –
C. “Behold, they shall surely gather together, but not by me: whosoever shall gather together against thee, shall fall for thy sake. (Isaiah 54: 15) .
The LORD shall cause thine enemies that rise up against thee to be smitten before thy face: they shall come out against thee one way, and flee before thee seven ways (Deuteronomy 28: 7).
D. Therefore we Christians should never be afraid of those who come against us
E. The aim of your enemies will be to destroy you . When people fight you, they do not do it to caress your ego. Their aim is to defeat you, disgrace you, humiliate you or put you out of action for good. But with God on your side, it is you who will defeat them. Praise be the name of the Lord.
F. WHEN ENEMIES COME AGAINST US , we often do the wrong things ……….
· We fret and grumble and complain
· We displace our anger on others
· Some people go to the voodoo priests or juju men
· Some people form their own alliances
· Some people resort to the same methods of their tormentors ; “Cuss-cuss” , phone wars, street fights, public misconduct
G. JESOSAPHAT AND HIS PEOPLE WERE AFRAID : READ the line . BUT WHAT DID HE DO ? Did he surrender ? Did he fret and complain?
· The Bible says 3 “Alarmed, Jehoshaphat resolved to inquire of the Lord, and he proclaimed a fast for all Judah. 4 The people of Judah came together to seek help from the Lord; indeed, they came from every town in Judah to seek him.”
· GOD IS THE ONLY SOURCE OF OUR REDEMPTION FROM ANYTHING IN THIS WORLD : WHAT DAVID TOLD THE PEOPLE AND GOLIATH. 1 Samuel 17 : 42-46.
WHEN WE HAVE ANY PROBLEM ON EARTH, LET US TRUST IN GOD. HE IS MIGHTY TO SAVE. READ SOME MORE PASSAGES ; Zephaniah 3 : 17 ; Psalm 46 ; Read 2 Corinthians 10 : 4-5 IN FULL
· 4 (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;)
· 5 Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;
I . JEHOSAPHAT DID NOT ONLY INQUIRE OF THE LORD OR PROCLAIM A FAST OR GATHER THE PEOPLE TOGETHER TO SEEK HELP FROM GOD
· He stood in the congregation of Judah and Jerusalem and testified to the goodness and redemption power of the ALMIGHTY GOD. Verses 5-12 READ
· Christians should learn to give testimonies about God’s goodness and his power to save. Testimonies prove to God that we appreciate his goodness to us.
j. GOD’S POWERFUL MESSAGE TO JEHOSAPHAT THAT SHOULD GUIDE OUR LIVES .VERSES 15-17
· Never be afraid or discouraged
· Stand still and wait on God
· Stand still does not mean fold your hands and do nothing. You should pray
· Follow his directions carefully. Jehosaphat and his people followed God’s instructions and gained victory.
K. ALSO LET US LOOK AT A FORGOTTEN ELEMENT AMONG CHRISTIANS –THE POWER OF SINGING PRAISES TO THE LORD . IT IS VERY POWERFUL
· God moves powerfully on our behalf when we sing praises to him. We are to sing about the Lord. We are to sing about his attributes, His mercy, His guidance, His strength, His holy habitation, His power, His Excellency, His greatness, His glory, His salvation, and on and on the list could go.VERSES 21-23 –Jehoshaphat and his people defeated their armies and their enemies turned on each other and destroyed each other
· Do you want to sense the Shekinah glory ? Sing praises to the Lord. ‘Hezekiah the king and the princes, commanded the Levites to sing praises to God with Psalms of David and of Asaph. Levites sang praises with gladness and bowed their heads and worshipped’ (2 Chronicles 29:30). ). During Levite praise and worship, the glory of the Lord, or the presence of the Lord in the form of a supernatural cloud (Shekinah) was so powerful, priests could not stand up to minister to the people (1 Kings 8:10 & 11; 2 Chronicles 5:13 & 14).
· Praise is a powerful weapon in evangelism. It is a powerful weapon in spiritual warfare. Praise is a powerful tool for entering into the presence of God.
Many Christians have never entered into the presence of God though praise and worship where they have been humbled, healed, edified and been close enough to God to have a long conversation with their Father. Worship brings us into the Holy of Holies, alone with God where no one else exists for that moment. Many Christians do not know what it is like to be taken to the heavenly realm, to be shown around, to be shown their future, to meet angels, to speak to angels, to worship in the marble-floored Throne Room while God the Father is there giving instructions to angels as they answer the prayers of the saints. Praise is a powerful weapon in evangelism. It is a powerful weapon in spiritual warfare. Praise is a powerful tool for entering into the presence of God.
· The story of Silas and others in prison Acts 16 : 16-40. The Prison doors were opened. Yes, praising God is that powerful.
· Colossians 3: 16; Psalm 100; Psalm 147 :1 ; Psalm 30 : 4; Psalm 59:16; Psalm 92 : 1
CONCLUSION
Our hearts must never be troubled when people come against us; when difficult times hit; when we are faced with seemingly insurmountable mountains; when we have to do battle with the giants. Let us just trust in the Lord and seek his face and pray. God will deliver us and we will come back to the congregation and testify to his goodness. GIVE THEM MY OWN EXAMPLES IN SIERRA LEONE, LIBERIA AND USA
We must end the class by listening to some testimonies from brethren about how God helped them defeat their enemies and we close by praying to God to be our fighter and winner of our battles.
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PART 2 : DAY 2
LEARNING TO WIN OUR SPIRITUAL BATTLES
Key passage : Joshua 6 : 1-25
Last week, first during the Sunday sermon delivered by Sister Tigi AND then in our Bible class on Tuesday by me, we learnt that God is a robust defender of his people. Sister Tigi preached about how God helped his children to defeat Goliath while I taught about how Jehoshaphat and his army , led by the Spirit of God, defeated the Moabites and the Amonites .
Today, we are going to continue our studies in the Battle Series by looking at God’s battle plans for us. God is the Commander-In-Chief and Commanding General of our army. He leads our battles and if we have to win, we have to follow his battle plans like soldiers on the battlefield follow the instructions of their generals. The Commander prescribes the battle strategies and his soldiers have to follow. Why must we fight? When must we fight? How should we fight? Our Commander determines all.
A. Firstly, God wants us to know that He has called us to war: God wants us to know that the Christian race is a battle. There is no way we can be good Christians if we don’t fight.
· There will always be battles to fight —against the Devil (The author of evil) , the fallen world and ourselves (Our sins )
· We will also war against apostasy, false teachers, false prophets, blasphemous ideologies , when the truth of God is attacked and idolatrous thought. In this battle, we defend the cause of Christ and the good of the church. JUDE 1-4; 8
· Other giants that will come against us are Fear, Disobedience, and Discouragement.
B . Secondly , we Christians will fight these wars not with a triumphalist attitude that glories in our own strength, but with an attitude of humble dependency on God for the strength only he can provide. Very important to know this otherwise we will never win our battles. Heb. 13:5; Matt. 28:20. Psa. 46:1.
C .Thirdly , as we have been learning , the battle is not physical, but spiritual
· Read the arrest of Christ at the Garden of Gethsemane. What Jesus told Peter when he use his sword
· Ephesians 6 : 12 – “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places”
· 2 Corinthians 10 : 4-5 – For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds; Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;
· God’s servant does not fight physically
D. HOW GOD’S BATTLE IS FOUGHT
1. The supernatural God fights the battle for you without your knowledge. There are times when the Lord just comes to your aid and fights the hidden battle for you and you do not even know . He moves in power and his miracles are worked in your life. Such a time is pictured here. Do you know how many battles God fights for you that you do not know about? Plots, schemes, traps, ambushes etc. We all have testimonies about times God has fought this battle for us . We face many unseen dangers in our lives .We are walking in a minefield of evil people . But for God….. God does it for us by grace and his love for us. We can hinder him, however.
· That is why we must always be sober and vigilant : 1 Peter 5:8 “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour “ . We must be prayerful and we must dwell in the Word, tell people about Christ, attend fellowships etc.
· We must forgive those who trespass against us so we do not clog God’s delivery line. We must avoid resentments : Mark 11: 25;Psalm 66:18; 1 Peter 3 :7
· We must fight with determination and steadfastness
Joshua 10: 6-14
· We must always make positive confessions : Psalm 50 : 23 ”Whoso offereth praise glorifieth me: and to him that ordereth his conversation aright will I shew the salvation of God” . Proverbs 18 : 20-21 A man’s belly shall be satisfied with the fruit of his mouth; and with the increase of his lips shall he be filled. Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof” (Proverbs 18:20-21). (Philippians 4:13). I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me
2. When wee have a battle, we must trust God and pray for help and he fights alongside us to help us win it .He gives us the battle strategy and we follow it to victory .
God’s battle plan might look foolish to the unsaved or unsanctified mind , but it is a great plan –: I Corinthians 1 : 18 – “For the preaching of the cross is to them that perishfoolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.”
1 Corinthians 1 : 25 – “Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men.”
The battle is the Lord’s (1 Sam. 14:47). Therefore he decides how we fight it. We will never lose a battle if God is in it . “All these kings and their landJoshua took at one time, because the LORD God of Israel fought for Israel“ (Joshua 10:42). “The LORD your God, who goes before you, He will fight for you, according to all He did for you in Egypt before your eyes…No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life; as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will notleave you nor forsake you.” (Deuteronomy 1:30 and Joshua 1:5)
· Jehoshaphat (2 Chronicles 20 )
· Exodus 17 : 8-16 Moses Vs. Amalek
· The Fall of Jericho (Joshua 6 : 1-25) – God gave Joshua and his men specific instructions how they should fight this battle . He did the same to Jehoshaphat , as we studied last week.
VERY IMPORTANT POINTS EVERY CHRISTIAN SHOULD NOTE HERE
· Obedience very important when God begins his redemptive plan .
Saul’s disobedience : 1 SAMUEL 15 : 1-22. Pay heed to verse 22
Lot’s wife : Genesis 19 : 1-26 . Pay heed to verse 26
“There is a way which seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death” (Prov. 14:12).
· We must trust God and not operate in fear
· God tells Paul : “Do not be afraid, but speak, and do not keep silent; for I am with you, and no one will attack you to hurt you…And he continued there a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them” (Acts 18:9-11).
· Joshua 10:6-14 ; Numbers 13, 14 (The story of Caleb and Joshua ) Meditate on 14 : 37.
CONCLUSION
We will listen to more testimonies and then we will pray that :
1. God talks to us in our battles and gives us his battle plans
2. We listen to the instructions of God and comply
3. We pray according to God’s perfect will
4. We come back to thank God and testify to his goodness after he has given us victory.
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