Sunday 12th October 2025

Our Bible reading this morning is from two Chronicles chapter 20, verses one to four.

Now, it came about after this. That the sons of Moab and the sons of Amon, together with some of the meite came to make war against Jehosaphat. Then some came and reported to Jehosaphat saying A great multitude is coming against you from beyond the sea out of Arum. And to behold, they are in hazard on Tamar that is in dead.

Jehosaphat was afraid and turned his attention to seek the Lord and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah. So Judah gathered together to seek help from the Lord. They even came from all the cities of Judah to seek the Lord.

Series on planting seeds, planting seeds for the future of the church as we seek the Lord in prayer. Hopefully this vision is getting embedded in our minds and in our hearts. The title of our message today, standing Firm on Shaky Ground. Let's, let's commit this time to the Lord.

Father, we thank you for this day. We can gather as your people redeemed by the precious blood of the lamb. Father, we ask and pray through this time, may a spirit come speak powerfully through your word to us. Amen. And Jesus' precious name, amen. So if I give you a date probably straight away, you know what I'm gonna talk about?

April 10th, 1912, there was a certain ship that set sail on its maiden voyage from Southampton England, bound for New York City. That was considered the pride of human engineering and its design was so advanced that many called her practically unsinkable. Now for those who know, this is the ship. There would've been people that stepped aboard that ship.

They would've been sold on the fact that it's state-of-the-art. You know, safety features were so modern, so advanced, you know, it included what they called waterproof compartments. They would've stepped onto that ship, trusting that their life was in the very best of hands. We enter this vessel knowing that our life is in the very best of hands.

And as we know, just a few days into a maiden voyage, the Titanic str, uh, you know, struck an iceberg and sank over 1500 lives were lost. It was a tragic reminder that for all of our human technological advancements, the things that we place our trust and confidence in can still be fragile. Yeah. Rewind 100 years earlier.

Napoleon Bonaparte ruled most of Europe. Now, if you look at his list of military achievements, it's incredible. I, I did some research on this. They call Alexander the Great, I reckon this guy could take the title as well. You know, he defeated the Italians, the Austrians, the Egyptians, the Spanish, and the Portuguese, and some of these he defeated more than once.

His armies and strategies were unrivaled, and he seemed unstoppable. Now in 1812, when Napoleon prepared to invade Russia, he allegedly boasted that God is on the side of the biggest battalions. Okay? It was his way of saying that. Contrary to the ancient belief and superstition, you know, that, you know, moral rightness or divine favor is what secures victory on the battlefield.

For him and his mind, it was strength and numbers that determined the outcome of war. Okay? Victory after victory had convinced him as well as much of the world that Napoleon could never fail. Now it's been said that pride has a way of blinding even the greatest minds. His confidence and trust were in his own power and intellect.

Okay? But there was one element beyond his control. Anyone know what that was? It's the weather. Okay? They, they, they make a beeline for Russia. And as his harsh Russian winter set in, not only did it avow his troops and seal defeat, it actually hastened the collapse of his entire empire. Listen to this wisdom from Psalm 33.

No king is saved by the size of his army. No warrior escapes by his great strength. A horse is a vain hope for deliverance. Despite all its great strength, it cannot save. Okay? When we think of Napoleon genius and strength with a source of his confidence and trust, and ultimately it's what led to his downfall.

Now these are just two examples of misplaced trust that's been caused by human pride. History tells us that every earthly source of security, whether it be money, power, technology, or some other form of human ingenuity, each one of these sources of security is vulnerable. And yet what we can do is we can easily place our trust in these things as our source of confidence and assurance.

That's what we can do. Listen to what the next line in Psalm 33 says, the eyes of the Lord are on those who fear Him, on those whose hope is in his unfailing love. Right here. Those words we read, this should be our source of hope and confidence. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Now, a text for today deals with this very issue.

Let's listen again to the opening verses. After this, the Moabites and Ammonites with some of the meite came to make war on Joha Phat. Some men came and told Phat, A vast army is coming against you from Eden, from the other side of the Dead Sea. Now, I don't think this was, you know, this dealing with this crisis would've been on, you know, vet's to-do list.

When he woke up that morning, he would've woken up thinking it's a brand new day. I'm king. God is good. Praise the Lord. And suddenly he's been confronted with this. Life has a way of ambushing it ambushing us, doesn't it? You ever found that everything's going swimmingly, everything's going well, and suddenly bang.

Life has this way of just hitting you from the blind side. We get ambushed. I wonder, have you ever found yourself, you're going about a normal day when suddenly you get a phone call that changes it. Everything you've ever had that experience, okay. The doctor's report wasn't quite what you'd hoped for.

Maybe the company that you're working for has announced layoffs. You get a report that the stock market is tanked in your financial security, it takes an almighty hit. Or maybe you get a phone call and it's, and it's an unexpected death in the family life, doesn't ask for permission before disrupting the peace.

Can I say that again? Life doesn't ask for permission before disrupting the piece. It just doesn't do it. And it's in these moments that we realize just how fragile life is and just how little control we actually have. Now we are Christians. We, we, we say we believe in God, we trust in him, but that doesn't mean we haven't anchored our hope in our savings or in our relationships or even our health.

And it's only when we get hit by, you know, one of these icebergs of life that we begin to see just how vulnerable our foundations really are. Maybe you're sitting here, you're getting older, and you're saying it's okay. My, my health is, is good, my confidence is in my health. Can I tell you, it only takes one ADV adverse medical report to change all of that.

This is what a crisis can do. A crisis can expose just how shaky the ground is upon which we stand. So the question is, what is it that you've truly put your hope and trust and confidence in? Here's pha. He's get the news. War is coming. It's unasked for it's unexpected. How's he gonna respond? Does he say, I'm gonna put my trust in my army and my tactical acumen, I'm a skilled fighter.

I can. I can do it. I can trust in my own resources in that which my hands have built. Will he bolster his defenses by making an alliance with a pagan nation? What's he gonna do? Where's he gonna turn? Now, before we look at our text, let me first set the scene. We've got one and two kings, and that's written before the exile.

And you read First and Second Chronicles, and that's kind of similar, but it's written after the exile. For those who have returned to Israel. Now understand the people that have returned to the land. These are people whose very foundations have been shaken to the core. They know the stories. They remember what's happened.

The Babylonians came one day. They destroyed their cities and laid waste to their land, and those who weren't put to death with the sword were taken as slaves to a strange land. Worst of all, worst of all. The temple. The temple, the very symbol of their faith and security. It was demolished before their very eyes.

Now in response, some have given up on the faith. Others have said, look, why don't we, you know, make peace with those we are living amongst. And so they marry into different religion. And now we've got a situation where the exiles are trickling back into the land and they're asking themselves this question, who will we now that our identity and security and foundations are gone?

Everything. Everything underneath our feet's been stripped away. What do we have left to put our hope and confidence in? It's a crisis of identity. They're wondering, are we still God's people? Is God even still with us? And so what the author of Chronicles does is he reminds them of his history and he says, you who live in shaky times with sinking sand all around, this is your story.

This is who you are, and this is to whom you belong. Today we're gonna look at two Chronicles chapter 20. Now, in this passage, the author uses some form of the Hebrew word for stand 10 times, and the message we're meant to draw from this as God's people throughout the ages. This is the ground beneath you may be shaky, you may be living in uncertain times.

The ground on which you stand may seem shaky, but the Lord your God is calling you to stand firm. And what the author does, he, he draws attention to this by making three pictures of what you know, standing firm looks like. And we'll come to these shortly. Now, a reading began with these words after this.

After this, the mower bites and Ammonites with some of the mites came to make war and Jehosaphat. And so the question is, after this, what does that refer to after what? So let me backtrack and explain. And when you go through Second Chronicles, you'll see the reign of Jehoshaphat begins in chapter 17. And what you see is this guy does almost everything rights.

He's a good guy. We know the story of Israel's history, Israel and Judah. You get good kings, you get bad kings, and more often than not, they're bad, not good. That's the history of God's people. And here's a guy who nearly, you know, does nearly everything right. We're told in chapter 17, he begins by removing the high places he destroys.

The ASRA polls we're told he did not consult the bowels, but sought the God of his father. And I read that and I think this is sad. The very fact that this needs to be stated shows that this is not the normal practice for the kings of Israel and Judah. It's a sad state of affairs. Vet then sends officials and Levites to the towns in Judah.

We read. They taught throughout Judah, taking with them the book of the law of the Lord. They went around to all the towns of Judah and taught the people, I love this. The fear of the Lord fell on all the kingdoms of the land, land surrounding Judah, so that they did not make war with Jehoshaphat. Vet says, I'm gonna have my people built on a good foundation.

I'm gonna bring the law of the Lord to them. They're gonna be instructed, they're gonna be grounded, they're gonna be firm, and God blesses the king with peace all around him. In chapter 18, we see something that's probably not quite right. Jehoshaphat allies himself with Ahab through marriage. So what we see here is the pairing of a good king and a bad king.

And because they're allied through marriage, Ahab says to Jehoshaphat, I'm gonna go to War against Mov. Gilead, Gilead, and I want you to join me. PHA says, my people are your people. We are gonna join you in war, but let's first seek the Lord. This is a guy with the right bearings, the right orientation, let's first seek the Lord.

And so what Ahab does is he musters 400 false prophets who tell him, go, go buddy. God's gonna give you the victory. False prophets do what false prophets do best. Pha, he's not convinced. And so he asks, is there not a prophet of the Lord here of whom we can inquire? Now it turns out there is. There's just one.

But surprise, surprise, Ahab hates him. Wickedness hates being confronted with the truth. Amen. Wickedness hates being confronted with the truth. It was true then. It's true. Now, just have a look at the world around us. You step out into the marketplace. Speaking truth, you will be hated. That's a reality. You don't even have to be arrogant about it.

You can be as kind as you like, but you are gonna get shouted down. Now to cut a long story short, a prophet comes and he declares that God has sent a lying spirit into the mouths of these false prophets. Okay? The goal of this spirit is to entice Ahab into battle because it's time for him to die. He's done enough wickedness.

Your time is up. It's time for you to die, and it comes to pass. And what we see, they go into battle. You know, Ahab disguises himself, tries to not get killed. Phat spared, but Ahab dies as predicted. Upon his return to Jerusalem, you know, Jho effect, he's rebuked for his alliance with Ahab, and what he does is, I love his response.

He kind of takes it on the chin and then proceeds to initiate reforms across the land. He takes judges, he appoints 'em, he says, you guys are gonna settle disputes. And he gets, you know, the Levites and the priests who administer to wrath throughout all the towns. And he gives this command. He says, you must serve faithfully and wholeheartedly in the fear of the Lord.

I love that. Being wholehearted followers of God in every case that comes before you. From your people who live in the cities, whether bloodshed or other concerns of the law commands, decrees or regulations, you are to warn them not to sin against the Lord. Otherwise, his wrath will come on you and your people do this and you will not sin.

This guy is a good king. He's one of the best. He's one of the good guys. And so we can see here what he's doing. Jehosphaphat wants the nation to have the right foundation. He wants them to be anchored in the hope that comes from knowing their God. He wants 'em to be anchored in this steadfast hope that comes from knowing the character and nature of their God.

He's good, but as they say, no good deed goes unpunished. After this, after this, after taking these steps to ensure the nation is established on a right foundation. After this we get this coalition of three pagan nations. They come and they wanna make war on pha. No wonder, I wonder, have you ever stepped out and stood for God only to find that you face some kind of immediate opposition and backlash.

It's ever been your experience. You've done the right thing. You've stood for God. And you're saying, thank you, Lord. Thank you, Jesus. Thank you for being with me. You take a stand and immediately you get hit by some form of opposition and backlash, and that's exactly what's going on here. Jeha. Sopha has initiated these reforms, and what he gets in return is the terrifying news that war is coming.

And please make no mistake, this is not some minor level threat. This is annihilation level damage. Annihilation level. Danger is at their doorstep. And this is the sort of crisis that's gonna ask hard questions about the people's source of confidence and trust. War is at your door. You could die. What is it in which you have placed your hope, your confidence, and trust?

Now, Jehova, he's already been rebuked for his alliance with Ahab, so forging a treaty with another nation, it's out of the question. They can't rely on reinforcements to come and save the day to save their skin. Let me read from verse three. Alarmed. I like this first word, alarmed. Jehoshaphat resolved to inquire of the Lord and he proclaimed a fast for all.

Judah. The people of Judah came together to seek help from the Lord. Indeed, they came from every town in Judah to seek him. Then Jehoshaphat stood up in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem at the temple of the Lord, in front of the new courtyard and prayed. Now did you notice that very first word, alarmed?

Jehoshaphat was alarmed. Now, the Hebrew word that's used here is usually translated as fearful or afraid war is at their, their doorstep, and just like everyone else, this king, this man of power, he is scared stiff. Can I tell you, it doesn't matter how smart or how powerful you are, this is one of those moments where you realize just how fragile life is and how little control you actually have.

Understand fear isn't a sin. Fear is part of being human. Can I repeat that? Fear is not a sin. Fear is part of being human. What matters is what we do with fear. Fear can drive us to despair. It can drive us to act emotionally and irrationally or fear can drive us to God, and that's what Jehoshaphat does.

He chooses the latter. Praise God, if you are afraid, if you are going through something and you are afraid, please don't ever think that you need to minimize your fear or deny its power as some kind of act of faith. Please don't do that in faith. Bring your fear before God. Read the Psalms. That's what the Psalms do.

Time after time, after time. Remember, we've been talking about prayer. Keep it simple. Keep it real. You don't have to pretend. If you are afraid, God knows. God understands. In faith, bring your fear to God. Now, like this, PHA calls all the people. From every age, gender in town, and they gather together in Jerusalem from the greatest to the least, and they come together and pray.

He says, I need you here guys. I need you to be alongside me as your, as your king. Support me and the people respond. I believe this is the fruit of the law being taught throughout all the towns in Judah. The people have been established in God's word. They're familiar with his character, and it's instilled this trust that in this time of darkness, they can turn to him and he can be trusted.

Leonard Ravenhill was a British evangelist. He once said, the church is dying on its feet because it's not living on its knees. And that's what could have happened here. You hear the report war is coming and the knee jerk response is you're gonna gather the army and you're gonna fight. And what could happen is they might have well died on their feet in battle instead of falling to their knees in prayer.

In verse five, we saw the first use of the form of the, the Hebrew word for stand. Jehoshaphat stood in the temple of the Lord and prayed, and I love his prayer. It's a very simple one, but it is indeed very powerful. He does three things. He firstly recalls who God is, what God has done in the past, and then he confesses total dependence.

Let me pick this up. Verse six. He begins by expressing God's greatness. Listen to this, oh Lord God of our fathers are you not the God who is in heaven. You rule over all the kingdoms of the nations power and might are in your hand and no one can withstand you. Can you see what's going on here? This imminent threat hasn't blinded Jehoshaphat to the reality of who God is.

I love this, the imminent threat. They could well die, but it hasn't, you know, blinded him to the reality of who God is. He's able to stand there and he's able to magnify the Lord. Can I encourage you? Don't let your fear drown out who God is. Don't magnify your fears. Magnify the Lord. Pha then recalls times in the past when God delivered his people.

He says, did you not drive out the inhabitants of this land and give it for, uh, give it, give it forever to the descendants of Abraham, your friend? So he recalls the past. Here's the principle. Faith grows when we remember God's faithfulness. Do you ever stop, look back before moving forward? Yeah, it is good to remember past victories.

It is good to remember God's faithfulness in the past, and it will inspire faith today. Can I exhort you? Can I encourage you? The God who answered yesterday is the same God who reigns today. Amen. Lastly, Jehosphaphat confesses their helplessness. Verse 12. Keep it simple. Keep it real. We have no power to face this vast army that is attacking us.

We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you. This last line is the heartbeat of the entire prayer. God, we don't know what to do. God, we're helpless. This is beyond us. It's beyond our control. We don't trust in our strength or our wealth or our intellect. Our hope is in you all alone. What we see here is their standing firm in their conviction that God is the only true source of confidence and hope.

I like this. K Cory Tambo once said, and she, she knows, you know, she's a Holocaust survivor. She knows what she's talking about. She said, when a train goes through a tunnel and gets dark, you don't throw, throw away your ticket and jump off. You sit still and trust the engineer. Okay? And that's what Jo did.

Darkness has descended, but he doesn't throw away his faith. He stays on the train. He trusts the engineer. I like this quote as well. It's easy to have faith when everything is going great. The real test of faith is when you're facing something that only your faith in God will get you through. That is profound.

These are moments we don't get often, but when they come, you know? You know, the only thing that will sustain your soul through this time is my faith in God alone. That's the real test of faith. Faith is easy when life's going swell. Your faith is tested in moments like this. So this is the first picture of standing firm we see in this story.

The people are standing firm in prayer and in their conviction that their hope is found in no one else but the Lord. The second picture is found in the very next verse. Let me read. Then the spirit of the Lord came upon Al, and if you've got your Bible open, the text says that he's a worship leader who comes from a long line of worship leaders.

Okay? The spirit of the Lord came upon him as he stood in the assembly, so there's another use of this word stood. He stood in the assembly and he said, listen, king, Jehoshaphat and all who live in Judah and Jerusalem, this is what the Lord says to you. Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army for the battle is not yours, but god's you will not have to fight.

Stand firm. There's that word again. Stand firm and see the deliverance the Lord will give you. Go out to face them tomorrow and the Lord will be with you. And so the second picture of standing firm, stand firm and see the deliverance, the Lord will give you. Now as you're hearing those words, you may have noticed that they're almost identical to, you know, those spoken in another fearful place.

There's a place early in the Bible, a place of fear and death. It's found in the Book of Exodus. You've got this picture at the Red Sea. You've got the children of Israel, the hemmed in Pharaoh's army in front of them, a sea behind them, and Pharaoh in his army, they've got plans not to have a picnic.

They're gonna wipe these people out. They're gonna destroy them all. And Moses says, I love this from Moses. Do not be afraid. Stand firm. And you will see the deliverance. The Lord will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today, you're never gonna see them again. The law will fight for you. All you need to do is be still.

Now as the prophet or the worship leader stands up, ziel says these words in the temple in the time of Jehoshaphat, this is exactly what those gathered are hearing. They're remembering these words. They know full well the story of the exodus, and they know how the sea came crashing down on Pharaoh. And they also remember the aftermath.

It wasn't the loss of Hebrew life, it was actually the Hebrew people singing on the other side of this miracle. Singing The Lord is my strength and my song, the Lord is a warrior. Yahweh is his name. They remember that, and that memory inspires faith in them. And we're told in our, in our text, second Chronicles 20, that they too burst into songs of praise.

Stand still, stand firm. You will be delivered. That's what they hear. Now understand God hasn't done anything yet, but give his word and they respond as if the battle is already won. I love that. Thank God. Why? Because they remember what God did in the past when they were told to stand firm, when they were told to be still, that God will deliver.

They remembered God's past faithfulness and it's inspired faith in them at that moment. And just as the Hebrew people sang that song of deliverance, Yahweh is our warrior. Yahweh will fight for us. Yahweh is his name. The people of Jehoshaphat's time, they also burst into spontaneous praise. So this is the second picture of standing firm we see.

It's the people standing firm in their conviction that God's gonna bring the victory. Phat then goes a step further, and what he does is he puts his money where his mouth is. It's easy to talk the talk. These guys are about to walk the walk. His unique battle strategy, we know what it is. Yeah. He stations the worship leaders at the head of the army.

That's what he does. Let me read from verse 20. Early in the morning, they left for the desert of Tekoa. As they set out Jehoshaphat what stood and said, listen to me, Judah and the people of Jerusalem have faith in the Lord your God, and you will be upheld, have faith in his prophets and you will be successful.

After consulting the people jehosphaphat appointed men to sing to the Lord and to praise him for the splendor of his holiness as they went out at the head of the army saying, give thanks to the Lord for his love, endures forever. Now this reminds me of, you know, of that verse we looked at earlier from Psalm 33.

The eyes are of the Lord are on those who fear Him, on those whose hope is in his unfailing love this song there singing. It's echoing. Psalm 33, verse 18. We go out celebrating that the love of the Lord endures forever and the eyes of the Lord are on us. That's what they believe. So here's what's happening.

They've expressed their conviction that God is with them, and this strategy of placing the worship leaders in front of the army, do you know what it is? It's the practical outworking of that conviction. They truly believe what it is they believe, and so we see, they march out, they sing their trust, and as they sing their trust, what we see is, you know, praises, ascending to God.

And in a classical biblical pattern, God causes confusion and chaos in the enemy ranks. And what do they do in panic? They turn on each other and the slaughter begins. Well, the Bible says is it happened. It happened as they began to sing and praise. It didn't happen before. God had not yet already done it.

It happened as they began to sing and praise. Now, imagine you're one of the worship leaders. The king says, look, guys, tomorrow when we go out to battle, I'm gonna put you, you know, the, the front of the battle lines to sing songs of praise. Could you imagine what's going through their mind? Maybe you're thinking, well king's, your phat king sitting in your palace.

It's easy for you to have faith in his strategy. But buddy, it's my neck that's on the line. Sure, we remember the stories. God, part of the, you know, the water's for Moses, but there's no water in the desert. We're going to fight in. And besides that was over 700 years ago. Does God still even do this sort of thing?

Hey King, it was a nice pep talk, but if you just given an inspirational talk, you know, to to dead men walking, and so what you do is you step out and sing all the way, pray, you know, praying to yourself, Lord, I believe, help my unbelief. Then what happens is, is you make the nerve wracking turn at the end of the gorge that overlooks the desert where the battle will be your voice cracks.

The singing around you dies down and there's a deathly silence. And with your own eyes, you witness the miracle. Thousands lay slain in the desert. The enemy's already defeated and a shout would go up from the entire army. The Lord is a warrior. The battle is his. His love stands firm forever. Amen. It's a beautiful scene and this place that could have been Death Valley, it's instead called the Valley of Akah.

Which in Hebrew means the Valley of Blessings. Do you know why it's called the Valley of Blessings? It's called the Valley of Blessings because it takes them three days to collect all the plunder that's left on the battlefield. This is what God does. He did it, then He does it now, lives today. He turns battles into blessings.

You want to be blessed, you want to grow, you wanna, you know, do something good for God. You're gonna go through some battles. But if you hold on, persevere, look to him, trust in him, God will turn those battles into blessings. Amen. Lemme pick up the story in verse 27, then led by PHAs. All the men of Juda and Jerusalem returned joyfully to Jerusalem.

For the Lord had given them a cause to rejoice over their enemies. They entered Jerusalem and went to the temple of the Lord with harps and liars, and trumpets. Praise is all over this story. You've got praise before the battle. Praise during the battle, and praise after the battle. Praise is all through this story because you know this story is all about God.

And because it's all about God. What the people can do is they can stand firm acknowledging their fear and prayer without getting consumed by it, and they can stand firm as they remember God's word and everything that he has done in the past, and they can stand firm by singing their trust in praise before the victory was even one.

It's all about God. Ultimately, though, you know, it's not about how they're standing. It's about where they're standing. Where they're standing is they're standing firm in God. This entire story is all about the one who fights for them. These are a people grounded in his word, and these are a people for whom God's character and nature are the source of their confidence and trust.

The ground beneath them may have seemed shaky, but they have this rock solid hope, this trust in the goodness of God, that he is their warrior, that he will fight for them, and God delivers.

Let me bring this back to us. Do you know, as your pastor, as I think about the long term future of this church, I, you know, it often feels like we're on shaky ground. Okay? I think of all the, the long list of needs and the times. I'm just like jehoshaphat. I feel alarmed. Lemme be honest, it's confession time.

There are times when I feel completely overwhelmed and I feel absolutely thoroughly out of my depth. I'll be honest, I can preach. I can maybe sit with people when it comes to thinking about the future and transitioning us into a next generation. I feel completely out of my depth. Don't we all? Yeah. Can I tell you?

Preparing this message has been a very humbling reminder.

As I've, you know, thinking about this story, thinking about myself, I began to question what is my source of confidence and hope? Is it in my own strength? Is it my own gifts? Is it my own talents? Is my confidence and trust in my ability to know exactly what needs to be done. Can I tell you? Because if it is I, you know, my strength's gonna fail and I'm gonna collapse under the weight of all this.

That's a reality. We all will. I need to remember. We need to remember that this is God's church and this is God's work. The battle belongs to him. Amen. Amen. Whatever the future of the church looks like, this is God's church. It's his church. It's his battle. He simply calls us to be faithful. As I said last week, prayer is our active obedience to the leading of God's spirit.

And I believe God is leading us to, you know, to keep planting seeds. We've gotta keep planting seeds. We pray in obedience as the Spirit leads, and we can also celebrate that we have a God who is able. Amen. He's able, in the life of this church, he was able in the life of Phat and his people, and he's able in whatever it is you are facing in your own life,

have a think, reflect on this. What is your ultimate source of confidence and trust? May it be only in the Lord our God, the one who fights for us. Let's pray. Let's pray.

Father, we thank you for these examples in your word that remind us that a situations never hopeless or lost or helpless. If your people turn to you. Father, we thank you that you are the Lord our God. You are our warrior. You fight for us. The battle belongs to you. Father, I pray as we think about the life of our church, the future of this church, all that needs to be done.

We ask and pray that you would go before us and that our act of obedience will be to follow the direction the spirit is leading and that we would keep planting seeds as we seek your face in prayer for the future of this church. Father, we trust in your goodness. I pray this story would inspire faith and hope in us.

Amen, in your goodness, in your character, that we would continue to pray. And as we pray, we would not only look back and reflect upon the ways you've led us in our own lives, the life of this church, but we would praise you for all that you've done, for all that you are and for all that you will do. In Jesus' precious name, amen.