Relax, Part 2

Today on Fellowship in the Word, Pastor Bill Gebhardt challenges you to become a fully functioning follower of Jesus Christ. See, when do you thank God?

Before. You see, we want to say, no, I want to thank him after I get what I want. I think the Lord would say anyone would do that.

Sure, my child, you ought to know better. Just relax and know that I am God. If I know that he is God and I know that he promises to be my refuge and my strength, that I know that he says I will be exalted through this, then I know I can thank him now. Thank you for joining us today on this edition of Fellowship in the Word with Pastor Bill Gebhardt. Fellowship in the Word is the radio ministry of Fellowship Bible Church located in Metairie, Louisiana. Let's join Pastor Bill Gebhardt now as once again he shows us how God's word meets our world.

In the dark days of your life, you can only relax if you have a really good example to follow, that you've actually seen somebody else do this. That's what I want to show you this morning. I want you to hold your place at Psalm 46 and go with me to 2 Chronicles chapter 20. 2 Chronicles, a few pages to your left, 2 Chronicles chapter 20 and hold your place at Psalm 46. And the example that we're going to use is a young king.

His name's Jehoshaphat. And he is something special as a king of Judah. In the first two verses, you get an idea of what a dark day looks like if you're the king of Judah. In the first two verses, it reads like this. It came about that after this, the sons of Moab and the sons of Ammon, together with some of the Munites, came to make war against Jehoshaphat. And then some came, reported to Jehoshaphat, saying, A great multitude is coming against you from beyond the sea, out of Aram. And behold, it says, they are in Hazazan, Tamar.

That is in Gedi. Three different nations. All of them, by the way, with larger standing armies than Judah.

And these, they have formed a confederacy and now they are going to attack Judah. Now if you're a king, that's a dark day. And by the way, sometimes dark days happen to kings, especially of the northern kingdom Israel, because they were lousy kings and God was getting them.

That's not the case here at all. In fact, if you look and read in verse 31 and 32 of the same chapter, especially verse 32 only, for example, concerning Jehoshaphat, it said this, He walked in the way of his father Asa and did not depart from it, doing right in the sight of the Lord. We find out from verse 31 that he was 35 years old when he became king and he reigned for 25 years. He's a good man. Dark days happen to God's choicest servants. See, everybody gets dark days.

Everybody. Those who sometimes the days are dark because of the disciplining hand of the Lord, but sometimes the days are dark because we live as fallen people in a fallen world. Jehoshaphat's a good man, but he has a dark day.

And notice his first initial response is exactly the same as yours or mine in verse 3. He said Jehoshaphat was afraid. He's afraid. You know that.

The oncologist is shaking his head as he looks across the desk at you and said, I have some bad news. You know that fear. It grips your heart. You get the pink slip? Fear.

You get a Dear John letter? Fear. See, when dark days come, there is fear. It's a natural first response, but it's only an initial response because Jehoshaphat was afraid, and it says, and then he turned his attention to seek the Lord.

So he didn't have that very long, but that was the very first one. Why did he stay fearful? Because he knew something. You see, Jehoshaphat knew something.

If you're going to relax in the dark days of your life, you need to know something. He knows something. Turn back to Psalm 46 now and let's look at what he might have known. Psalm 46.

Verse 1. God is our refuge and strength. The first thing that Jehoshaphat knew is God is willing to spend his protection and his power on us. God is willing to spend his protection and his power on us. That's what the psalmist says. God is our refuge. Notice that's the protection and our strength. That's the power.

It's not new to Jehoshaphat. In fact, every servant of God had the same idea. The apostle Paul understood that I can do all things through him who strengthens me. Also, God is dedicated to be with us in the dark days, a very present help in times of trouble. He's not only my refuge and my strength, my protection and my power, but he also says, I'm going to be right there.

That's so important to the psalmist. Look at verse 7. The Lord of hosts is with us. The God of Jacob is your stronghold. Verse 11. The Lord of hosts is with us. The God of Jacob is our stronghold.

Three times the same idea. He's with us. He's my security and he's going to be there. In the New Testament, the Lord said concerning all of us, I'll never leave you nor forsake you.

I won't walk out. I'm here, even in the darkest of days. Think of the apostle Paul in 2 Corinthians 12. He has a lot of dark days.

In fact, he has a dark decade. But during one of those dark days, he has this thorn in the flesh, and it's giving him so much trouble that he entreats the Lord three times for it to be removed from his life. And God finally talks to Paul, and he lets Paul know that it's not going to be removed. And then he says something to Paul that gives Paul great assurance about his presence and his life as he goes through the dark days. He says, Paul, my grace is sufficient. In other words, I will protect you. I will empower you.

My grace is sufficient to get you through. Notice he didn't promise Paul that the dark days would end. He just promised Paul that he'd be with him as he goes through the dark days.

Think of someone in the Old Testament like Joseph, righteous young man. His brothers hate his guts. So his brothers throw him in a pit and they're going to leave him to die.

Then they decide, well, no, let's not do that. Let's sell him. So they sell him as a slave to be taken to Egypt. So he goes into slavery at Egypt.

He's in prison. He gets out of prison and he gets a job, in a sense, for working something like Potiphar. Potiphar's wife keeps trying to seduce him. Now, out of respect for God and respect for Potiphar, Joseph wants nothing to do with her.

She then makes false accusations to Joseph. And guess where he ends up? Back in prison. Now imagine, so far he's done nothing wrong. He's hated by his brothers. He's sold as a slave.

He's in prison, out of prison, in prison. Those are dark days. But when you read the narrative literature in Genesis, three different times in that narrative, you read this. The Lord was with Joseph. The Lord was with Joseph.

You see, the Lord was with him. That's what God said. I'm there. No matter how dark your day is, I'm there.

I'll write with you. Think about this. Think of the 23rd Psalm, a psalm we all love. Even though I go through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil. Why?

For you are with me. See, that's the point. That's one of the things that he knew. He knew that God was willing to spend his protection and his power on him. And he also knew that God promised to be with him. There's something else, though. If you go to 4610 again, he says, cease striving and know that I am God. Here's something else we need to know. I will be exalted among the nations and I will be exalted in the earth.

Wow. God will be exalted even in our dark days. In fact, the way I understand scripture, he is most exalted as we respond to him in our dark days.

It sounds a lot like Romans 828, how all things can work together for the good. You see, that's what he tells us. The question we often have is, when is he exalted?

When? When he decides. Sometimes he's not exalted to the very end. Sometimes he's exalted somewhere down the line. But often he's exalted right in the middle of the darkest of days. You see, one of the important things that I understand about my God is this. He will never waste my struggle. He will not waste it.

My struggle is very important to him. He will be exalted even in the midst of the dark days. Let me illustrate it.

Let's go back to 2 Chronicles 20 again. And notice what happens in this scenario. In verse 15, Jehaziel, the son of Zachariah, a prophet, stands up. And this is what he says in verse 15. He said, Listen, all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem and King Jehoshaphat. He says, Thus says the Lord to you and to us. Do not fear or be dismayed because of this great multitude. For the battle was not yours, but God's. Notice what the prophet says. The battle is not yours.

It's God's. You see, that makes a lot of sense, especially if you're being overwhelmed like Jehoshaphat. I mean, no matter how he looks at the strategy, there's not much you can do about it. Each one of those armies are probably superior to his.

All three of them together, he has no chance. A lot of times, that's the way it is in our dark days. On our own, we can't do this. In fact, Jesus said, Apart from me, you can do nothing. Life is overwhelming apart from Christ. I have deep feeling for you who don't know Christ because I can tell you this. You're going to go through dark days and they're going to be all on your own.

And you're not sufficient for it. But here, Jehoshaphat is told that the battle is the Lord's. You see, he knows this.

The way you relax as you go through dark days is you need to know something. And I know he knows. And you say, Well, how do you know he knows?

Well, watch what happens. Look at verse 18. Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground. And all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell down before the Lord, worshipping the Lord. The Levites from the sons of the Kohathites and the sons of the Korathites, he said, stood up to praise the Lord God of Israel with a very loud voice. Notice that as dark as the dark can be, Jehoshaphat takes what he knows about God.

And what does he do? Worships. Now let me ask you something. Have you been in dark days? Did you worship? You see, is that up front to you, I'm worshipping? You see, what we want to do is often is this, Lord, just get me through these dark days and then I'm going to worship. You know, then I'll really, boy, I'll be grateful and I'll thank you and thank you so much, and then I'll worship you.

But right now, I'd just rather be afraid, full of anxiety. Jehoshaphat said, No, I know something. I know the Lord and I know it's his battle. I can worship him now. And that's exactly what he does. What a great example.

It's even more to it than that. Notice what else he does in verse 20. They rose early in the morning and they went out to the wilderness of Tekoa. And when they went out, Jehoshaphat stood up and said, Listen to me, O Judah, in the inhabitants of Jerusalem, put your trust in the Lord your God and you will be established. Put your trust in his prophets and succeed. And when he consulted with the people, he appointed those who sang to the Lord and those who praised him in the holy attire as they went out before the army and said, Give thanks to the Lord for his loving kindness is everlasting.

How do I know he knew? Notice what he does. They go out to meet these three armies. And normally when Judah went out to do battle, they put the tribe of Benjamin in front.

The Benjamites are their best warriors. That's who you put in front. Who does Jehoshaphat put in front?

The praise team. That's who he puts in front. He puts the singers in front. He says, You just start singing and praising God from the front. Just imagine if you're one of the other generals watching this army approach.

They're singing in the front, a bunch of guys in funny outfits. You see, that's how relaxed he was about this. Give thanks to the Lord for his loving kindness is everlasting. He knows something. You see, when you know something, here's what happens when you respond rightly in dark days. The thanksgiving is front loaded. He hasn't faced the enemy yet.

There's still three armies out there. He said, Let's thank him now. You see, real worship thanks God before, not just after. Turn with me to the book of Philippians, chapter four in the New Testament. You can hold your place in Chronicles, but Philippians chapter four, a verse we've often looked at, but I want to look at it again in this context.

In verse six, the Apostle Paul says this. Be anxious for nothing. Be anxious for nothing.

Now, could I paraphrase that? Relax. About what? Anything.

Everything. Relax. Just relax. Be still. Cease striving.

Put your arms down. Be anxious for nothing, but in everything with prayer and supplication. Notice, pray to God, pour out your heart. Then he says, With thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.

Where's the thanksgiving? Before your request. See, when do you thank God?

Before. You see, we want to say, No, I want to thank him after I get what I want. I think the Lord would say anyone would do that. But you're my child.

You ought to know better. Just relax and know that I am God. If I know that he is God and I know that he promises to be my refuge and my strength, that I know that he says I will be exalted through this, then I know I can thank him now. Right in the darkest of the day, I can thank him now. Now, notice what happens to me or you if you thank him front-loaded. Verse 7, And the peace of God which surpasses all comprehension will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

How do you put the singers in front of your army? Peace. Well, that seems crazy. Yeah, that's beyond your comprehension.

You see, how do you say, Even if he slays me, I would trust him? That's peace. Well, that doesn't make any sense.

Yes, it's beyond your comprehension. You see, we as believers in Jesus Christ, we are supposed to be the sore thumbs of the world. We should stick out like sore thumbs, all of us. And the one way that we can, versus anyone who doesn't know God, is this. We can thank God on the front end, and we can have a peace that they'll never understand.

You see, that's what happens. We can relax because we know something. We know that he is there to protect us.

We know that he's there to empower us, and we know that he'll be exalted. You see, how do you get through the dark days? You need to know something.

You need a good example, and you need to do something. Turn back to Chronicles now. There's one other thing that Jehoshaphat did. Verse 5, Jehoshaphat stood up in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem in the house of the Lord before the new court, and he said... What did he do? He prays. Watch this prayer. Oh Lord, please help us. Those armies are so big for us, we'll all end up dying, and we'll never get out of here, and I won't be king anymore, and we'll never...

Doesn't read like that. That's the way we pray in a dark day. He says, Oh Lord, the God of our fathers, are you not the God in the heavens? Are you not ruler over all the kingdoms of the nations? Power and might are in your hand, and no one can stand against you.

He said, Did you not... He said, Our Lord God, drive out the inhabitants of this land before your people, Israel, and give it to the descendants of Abraham, your friend forever. They have lived in it and have built you a sanctuary there for your name, saying, Should evil come upon us, the sword or judgment or pestilence or famine, we will stand before this house and before you, for your name is in this house, and cry out to you in our distress, and you will hear and deliver us. Now behold, he says, the sons of Amnon, the Moab, and Motzir, he says, whom you did not let Israel invade when they came out of the land of Egypt, they turned aside from them and did not destroy them.

See how they are rewarding us by coming to drive us out from your possession. He says, What you have given us is an inheritance. He said, Oh 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.

And all Judah was standing before the Lord with their infants, their wives, and their children. Pray. That's what Paul said. Pray with all prayer and supplication. But notice the prayer.

He doesn't even get to the petition until quite a bit later. It's praise. Hey God, don't you remember who you are? I know who you are. You're the only God. You see, you are the God who delivered us from Egypt. God, I know what you've done. I've read your resume. I just want to thank you and describe praise to you for being you. And oh, by the way, we're going to be overwhelmed if you don't help us. You see, he prayed.

In order to get through the dark days of your life by relaxing, you need to know something, you need a good example to follow, and you need to do something. And notice what he did. He prayed. He worshipped. And then, of course, one thing I didn't want to overlook in verse 20, it says they arose early in the morning and they went out. He obeyed. He didn't lay in bed with a pillow over his head and just say, look, let's let God handle all this.

No, he went right up there. We have to face often our darkness. Whatever we can do, we should do. But the truth of the matter is it's God's battle. So every life, including yours, will have dark days.

Everyone. The only question is, are you going to be filled with fear and anxiety when your dark day comes or you're in a dark day now? Or are you going to relax? You see, or are you going to relax? Because you can. You see, you can relax if you know something and you do something.

And Jehoshaphat gives us even a good example to follow. Some time ago, I was watching the Discovery Channel, and there were some people, about 10 or 12 of them, going to go white water rafting. And I'm always looking for an analogy, but here's something for you. Life is a white water raft trip.

That's what life is. You see, what I learned in that program was that the rapids themselves are rated from one to six, one being the smallest and six being am I crazy or what type of thing. Well, these apparently somewhere in America's western candidate, these were two to three the range on these. And they had one of those big inner tube things. And typical of people, it's a beautiful sunny day and everybody's sort of walking around laughing, mugging for the cameras, can't wait, you know, going to do great, you know, and all that kind of stuff. And everybody gets in and they start, you know, and everybody's sort of smiling and laughing and the current's picking up and it's just, and they're just laughing and everybody's having fun. And then they come to the rapids and they got cameras in there and now there's no one laughing. Everybody's ashen white, clinging on, white knuckle.

Everybody has this unbelievable facial expression, sheer terror. Except one guy, the guide. And he's in the back, completely relaxed, completely. Now, they made it through as he never doubted it.

He never doubted it. And then when they got out, then of course, like us, at the other side of a dark day, wasn't that something, that was really great, you know. But during the dark day, nothing but sheer terror. You see, that's the way our life is. Some of you are going to go through number one rapids, that's it.

Two, some of you have been or are going through number six. And they're frightening, but not to our guide. You see, when you're going through the rapids of life, don't forget who's in the back of the raft.

Don't forget who's back there. Because if you know who that is, that makes all the difference in the world. Because when you look at him, I can tell you one thing. He's smiling. He's relaxed.

You know why? He's been there before. He knows exactly what to do. Let's pray. Father, dark days is a reality that none of us really like to have in our lives, but all of us know that we will experience. Father, I just pray that as many of us as possible can take Psalm 46-10 and relax. Know that you are God, that you are a God of protection and power, that you are a God that will be exalted in and of every circumstance of our life. And Father, we will do something. We will pray. We will worship. We will thank you. And we will experience a peace beyond all comprehension. Father, thank you for the example of Jehoshaphat, a man who faced his own dark days and did it in such a fashion that he's a perfect model for us. Father, I thank you for the God who you are, for the ability to take the darkest moments in our life and turn them to times of peace and tranquility if we let you. We pray in Jesus' name. Amen. Amen.

7,006. If you find the message you are looking for, you can listen online. Or if you prefer, you can download the sermon and listen at your own convenience. And remember, you can do all of this absolutely free of charge. Once again, our website is fbcnola.org. For Pastor Bill Gebhardt, I'm Jason Gebhardt, thanking you for listening to Fellowship in the Word.