WEBVTT - When The Battle Chooses You 0:00:02.080 --> 0:00:04.640 Hey, this is Stephen Ferdick. I'm the pastor of Elevation 0:00:04.880 --> 0:00:07.120 Church and this is our podcast. I wanted to thank 0:00:07.160 --> 0:00:10.480 you for joining us today. Hope this inspires you. Hope 0:00:10.480 --> 0:00:12.520 it builds your faith. Hope it gives your perspective to 0:00:12.520 --> 0:00:15.240 see God is moving in your life. Enjoy the message. 0:00:18.600 --> 0:00:20.880 I would like to share with you a verse of 0:00:20.920 --> 0:00:24.079 scripture that I pray will go off like a bomb, 0:00:25.520 --> 0:00:28.560 like the promise that it is when I read it. 0:00:29.520 --> 0:00:31.680 A certain number of you. I don't know how many, 0:00:31.720 --> 0:00:34.000 and I don't know where you are, but a certain 0:00:34.080 --> 0:00:37.200 number of you are going to know that this one 0:00:37.280 --> 0:00:40.400 is for you when I read the verse. And I'm 0:00:40.400 --> 0:00:43.160 not saying this for everybody, but if it is for you, 0:00:43.560 --> 0:00:45.760 and how you can know if it's for you, If 0:00:45.800 --> 0:00:49.519 you're currently facing a battle that is bigger than you, 0:00:51.040 --> 0:00:55.680 then this verse is for you today. And so when 0:00:55.720 --> 0:00:58.640 I read this verse, it's not for everybody. It's for 0:00:58.680 --> 0:01:02.960 those who are facing a battle that is bigger than you. 0:01:03.520 --> 0:01:07.800 And the scripture is found in Second Chronicles, chapter twenty. 0:01:08.720 --> 0:01:10.240 In just a moment, I'll read it. I want to 0:01:10.280 --> 0:01:12.319 give everybody who wants to turn to it a chance 0:01:12.360 --> 0:01:18.319 to do that you got it, Rachel. When Rachel's ready, 0:01:18.319 --> 0:01:21.399 I'll read it, because she knows the Bible is so good, 0:01:21.440 --> 0:01:23.240 so she hadn't found it by now. I know somebody 0:01:23.240 --> 0:01:27.640 else is over in Galatians looking for Second Chronicles. You 0:01:27.720 --> 0:01:33.520 got it twenty seventeen. Listen to this. You ready? I 0:01:33.560 --> 0:01:36.760 don't think you are. This is the word of the Lord. 0:01:38.840 --> 0:01:41.640 And really, I'm going to minister off of the song 0:01:41.720 --> 0:01:44.840 that we just sang. We were singing I'm going to 0:01:44.920 --> 0:01:48.480 see a victory, and we were singing Romans eight twenty eight, 0:01:48.640 --> 0:01:51.600 Genesis fifty twenty, one of the major themes of scripture, 0:01:51.640 --> 0:01:55.400 how God takes what the enemy meant for evil and 0:01:55.440 --> 0:01:59.840 he flips the intention of the enemy. And actually, you 0:02:00.200 --> 0:02:05.000 is it to produce a purpose through your life? And 0:02:05.000 --> 0:02:06.960 I'm going to minister off of that today. That song 0:02:07.000 --> 0:02:08.880 went so well with my sermon. It's almost like we 0:02:08.919 --> 0:02:12.520 planned it. It's almost like I texted LJ Wednesday and 0:02:12.520 --> 0:02:17.280 told him to do that song before I preached Second 0:02:17.360 --> 0:02:21.320 Chronicles twenty verse seventeen. The word of the Lord. You 0:02:22.080 --> 0:02:30.120 will not have to fight this battle six of y'all 0:02:31.880 --> 0:02:33.640 all right, if you want that to be your word? 0:02:33.680 --> 0:02:38.080 Shot When I read it. You will not have to 0:02:38.200 --> 0:02:44.960 fight this battle. Come on, punch somebody, say not this one, 0:02:45.840 --> 0:02:49.920 not this one. You will not have to fight this battle. 0:02:50.040 --> 0:02:52.160 You will not have to fight this battle. Tell them 0:02:52.240 --> 0:02:54.160 you will not have to You will not have to 0:02:54.160 --> 0:03:00.440 fight this battle. Take up your positions, stand firm and 0:03:00.639 --> 0:03:07.320 see Stand firm and see the deliverance the Lord will 0:03:07.360 --> 0:03:10.919 give you, O Judah and Jerusalem. Do not be afraid, 0:03:11.560 --> 0:03:14.960 do not be discouraged. Don't believe that devil when he 0:03:15.040 --> 0:03:17.200 tells you that there's nothing you can do about it. 0:03:17.760 --> 0:03:21.720 Go out to face them tomorrow and the Lord will 0:03:21.800 --> 0:03:24.800 be with you. Let's give God a shout of praise 0:03:24.880 --> 0:03:31.280 for his proper amen. You may be seated in the 0:03:31.320 --> 0:03:39.880 presence of God. I should mention that yesterday marked seventeen 0:03:39.960 --> 0:03:42.560 years since I made the best decision of my life 0:03:44.000 --> 0:03:46.960 in Monks Corner, South Carolina, at the Old Santee Canal 0:03:47.080 --> 0:03:50.200 State Park, where I send my vows to the Hollyanna 0:03:50.280 --> 0:03:54.200 boyan out of my dreams. Sweating through my s and 0:03:54.280 --> 0:03:58.000 K two sizes too big, standing out in one hundred 0:03:58.040 --> 0:04:01.120 and four degree low country heat. Eric Phillips was a 0:04:01.160 --> 0:04:06.720 groomsman sweating and six ministers stood on the rostrum to 0:04:06.760 --> 0:04:10.720 share in seven different songs that we sang. It was 0:04:10.800 --> 0:04:13.040 quite an occasion. We made a big deal about it 0:04:13.080 --> 0:04:15.400 and everybody had to endure it. It was a big day. 0:04:16.120 --> 0:04:19.159 I sang a song to Holly on my Taylor acoustic 0:04:19.200 --> 0:04:21.760 guitar that I could barely afford that I had written 0:04:21.800 --> 0:04:24.600 for the occasion, And I'm going to write her another song. 0:04:24.640 --> 0:04:26.280 She doesn't know it yet, but I've already got the 0:04:26.360 --> 0:04:28.640 chorus and I'm working on it before we get to 0:04:28.720 --> 0:04:31.400 the twentieth anniversary, and I'm going to have it ready. 0:04:31.560 --> 0:04:33.520 It's a good song. It's kind of got a Tom 0:04:33.560 --> 0:04:36.400 Petty vibe with a little bit of Ed Sheeran, and 0:04:36.480 --> 0:04:39.279 I'm praying that it'll help me to unlock the doors 0:04:39.320 --> 0:04:41.440 of love that I need unlocked in moments of my 0:04:41.520 --> 0:04:44.960 life where I want affection, attention and intimacy with my wife. 0:04:45.040 --> 0:04:49.040 So y'all pray for me about that as well. Already 0:04:49.040 --> 0:04:56.039 got the chorus praying about the verse. So now I 0:04:56.040 --> 0:05:00.360 think I'm qualified to give marriage advice seventeen years something 0:05:00.400 --> 0:05:04.760 to say, not ready to do the parenting book yet, 0:05:05.320 --> 0:05:09.440 but the marriage thing. Really, I feel unqualified to give 0:05:09.480 --> 0:05:12.839 marriage advice because I feel like our marriage is strong 0:05:12.920 --> 0:05:17.200 mostly because of who I chose, And that's the honest truth. 0:05:17.200 --> 0:05:20.080 I'm not pandering now, I'm telling you the truth. I 0:05:20.080 --> 0:05:23.880 think that selection is so important. And I don't mean 0:05:23.880 --> 0:05:27.359 that God can't take a relationship that starts rocky and 0:05:27.440 --> 0:05:32.200 turn it into something that is really, really beautiful. Of course, 0:05:32.200 --> 0:05:35.520 he makes beauty out of ashes, that's what he does. 0:05:35.680 --> 0:05:39.960 But I think I get sometimes credit for things about 0:05:40.000 --> 0:05:42.000 our marriage that are really just a product of the 0:05:42.120 --> 0:05:45.640 character of the person that I'm married. And one person 0:05:45.680 --> 0:05:48.599 told me, who has a very psychologically based knowledge, that 0:05:48.680 --> 0:05:52.719 the healthiest part of me chose Holly. And I didn't 0:05:52.720 --> 0:05:53.919 even know what that meant when they said it, but 0:05:53.960 --> 0:05:59.280 it sounded true. So I'm saying it to you. When 0:05:59.320 --> 0:06:04.279 I chose her, I chose a union with her strengths, 0:06:04.560 --> 0:06:07.960 but I also chose to cover her weaknesses as her husband, 0:06:08.360 --> 0:06:10.600 and then she chose to cover my weaknesses. And I 0:06:11.240 --> 0:06:13.640 definitely got the good end of it. I promise you that. 0:06:13.839 --> 0:06:17.599 But you know, the thing about marriage is sometimes it's 0:06:17.600 --> 0:06:19.960 more helpful to look at an example than it is 0:06:20.000 --> 0:06:25.080 to listen to advice. Even Jesus he loved the church 0:06:25.520 --> 0:06:28.080 like he wants a husband to love their wife. So 0:06:28.080 --> 0:06:32.680 it's more of an example than an explanation. And people 0:06:32.760 --> 0:06:36.960 will give you marriage advice or life advice or parenting advice, 0:06:37.000 --> 0:06:39.560 but they'll give it to you based on ideal situations. 0:06:40.480 --> 0:06:43.520 And the problem with that is when someone is advising 0:06:43.600 --> 0:06:47.240 you but they don't know the exact nature of your challenges. 0:06:48.400 --> 0:06:50.600 They might give you a strategy that worked for them, 0:06:51.120 --> 0:06:54.440 but it might not work for you. Because every relationship, 0:06:54.480 --> 0:07:00.200 every challenge, every battle is not created equal. And I 0:07:00.240 --> 0:07:04.839 remember asking so many different couples before our wedding what 0:07:04.960 --> 0:07:06.839 advice they would give, and mostly you get the same 0:07:06.880 --> 0:07:10.560 old cliches, the same old tired cliches about you know, 0:07:10.680 --> 0:07:13.440 never go to bed angry, which I want to say, 0:07:13.480 --> 0:07:17.160 is a horrible, horrible thing to try, because the best 0:07:17.160 --> 0:07:19.280 thing to do sometimes is get some rest and come 0:07:19.320 --> 0:07:21.280 at it fresh in the morning before you say something 0:07:21.520 --> 0:07:24.200 you regret with your sleep deprived, delirious self, with your 0:07:24.240 --> 0:07:26.760 filter off. And now you're tired saying stuff that you 0:07:26.800 --> 0:07:28.880 would never say if it wasn't three am. So go 0:07:28.920 --> 0:07:31.480 to your corner and come out tomorrow morning. See I'm 0:07:31.520 --> 0:07:34.960 saying some of this advice that sounds good like, choose 0:07:34.960 --> 0:07:38.720 your battles. That's one advice you always get. Choose your battles. 0:07:39.480 --> 0:07:43.560 Don't fight over everything, which is great advice. You know, 0:07:44.160 --> 0:07:47.320 you have to decide in any relationship. This is not 0:07:47.360 --> 0:07:49.160 a marriage seminar, by the way, I'm just using it 0:07:49.200 --> 0:07:51.960 for an opening illustration. But you have to decide, like 0:07:52.280 --> 0:07:56.440 is this really worth waging a war over? Is it 0:07:56.480 --> 0:08:00.520 really worth If Holly still, after seventeen years, doesn't know 0:08:00.560 --> 0:08:03.760 how to correctly load the silverware in the dishwasher, and 0:08:03.840 --> 0:08:06.560 she thinks it's still okay to put the part of 0:08:06.560 --> 0:08:08.840 the fork that you put in your mouth facing up 0:08:09.080 --> 0:08:11.200 so that your hand touches the part that's going in 0:08:11.240 --> 0:08:13.240 your mouth when you get it out the next day, 0:08:13.360 --> 0:08:16.840 If she really still thinks that makes sense after seventeen years, 0:08:17.120 --> 0:08:19.800 is it really worth fighting about. No, I'm bigger than that. 0:08:19.880 --> 0:08:27.480 I'm not a petty man. I let it go. So 0:08:27.520 --> 0:08:31.720 they'll tell you choose your battles. Let your kids play 0:08:31.760 --> 0:08:34.120 the music too loud every once in a while, don't 0:08:34.160 --> 0:08:39.199 always choose your battles. Don't get tripped up over tiny things. 0:08:39.320 --> 0:08:42.800 Choose your battles. The question I want to ask today, 0:08:43.640 --> 0:08:46.280 and I guess you could use it as a title 0:08:46.280 --> 0:08:49.240 for the message as well. From Second Chronicles twenty is 0:08:49.320 --> 0:08:53.480 it's wise to choose your battles when you can. But 0:08:53.559 --> 0:09:00.160 what do you do when your battle chooses you? You 0:09:00.280 --> 0:09:05.040 do when something shows up on your doorstep and it's 0:09:05.080 --> 0:09:09.200 not from Amazon Prime and you didn't order it. What 0:09:09.320 --> 0:09:11.840 do you do when the devil drops something off for 0:09:11.920 --> 0:09:15.440 you to deal with that you did not directly cause, 0:09:16.200 --> 0:09:23.640 choose or definitely anticipate. Like Jehoshaphat in Second Chronicles twenty, 0:09:24.320 --> 0:09:27.840 who is told one morning in verse one, might I 0:09:27.920 --> 0:09:31.560 add in a time of spiritual renewal for Judah, the 0:09:31.640 --> 0:09:36.000 southern kingdom of Israel, in a time of great momentum spiritually, 0:09:36.559 --> 0:09:39.839 one day, just when everything's going good, you know how, 0:09:39.920 --> 0:09:42.360 just when you get something figured out, and just when 0:09:42.360 --> 0:09:44.440 you get in your groove, and just when you get 0:09:44.440 --> 0:09:47.080 in your rhythm, and here comes some news. The Bible says, 0:09:47.120 --> 0:09:51.400 after this first one, the Moabites and Ammonites and even 0:09:51.440 --> 0:09:55.199 some of the men Unites came to make war on Jehashaphat. 0:09:55.679 --> 0:09:59.719 And some men came and told Jehashaphat, I'm not telling them, 0:09:59.720 --> 0:10:03.000 you tell I'm not telling them. You tell him? Well, 0:10:03.000 --> 0:10:05.559 I'll tell him. Let's all tell them together. A vast 0:10:05.679 --> 0:10:09.400 army is coming against you from Edom, from the other 0:10:09.520 --> 0:10:13.800 side of the sea. This means they're sneaking up from behind. 0:10:15.160 --> 0:10:18.600 They're going around the Dead Sea and then coming back 0:10:18.679 --> 0:10:22.080 up to attack the people of God on a little 0:10:22.160 --> 0:10:25.560 known route because they can't use the normal trade route, 0:10:25.640 --> 0:10:28.520 and so they're sneaking up from behind, and they're twenty 0:10:28.600 --> 0:10:33.000 five miles out. That means that Jehashaphat doesn't have time 0:10:33.400 --> 0:10:38.040 to develop a strategy. He doesn't have time to build 0:10:38.040 --> 0:10:41.360 the armed forces to mount a defense. He doesn't have 0:10:41.440 --> 0:10:44.320 time to rethink the occasions that led up to this 0:10:44.400 --> 0:10:47.600 event is coming, and it is coming now. Have you 0:10:47.640 --> 0:10:51.440 ever got that phone call, that text message, that moment 0:10:51.559 --> 0:10:54.320 in time where something is sneaking up on you and 0:10:54.360 --> 0:10:57.560 it's only a day's march away. That means I have 0:10:57.640 --> 0:11:00.040 to deal with it tomorrow. I don't have time to 0:11:00.160 --> 0:11:02.320 read a book. I don't have time to watch a 0:11:02.360 --> 0:11:05.040 Ted talk. I don't have time to get my nutrition 0:11:05.200 --> 0:11:08.040 in my sleep. This one caught me off guard. This 0:11:08.080 --> 0:11:10.520 one slapped me up side the head. This one left 0:11:10.520 --> 0:11:13.319 my ear ringing. This one I can't even believe is happening. 0:11:13.520 --> 0:11:15.840 This one, I'm not even really sure if it's real yet. 0:11:16.080 --> 0:11:18.160 This one. I don't have time to call twelve people 0:11:18.200 --> 0:11:21.120 about this one. I don't have time to get everybody's opinion. 0:11:21.360 --> 0:11:23.800 This one, I don't have time to get everybody's advice. 0:11:24.080 --> 0:11:26.679 So watch what Chahashaphat did. He said, I don't have 0:11:26.760 --> 0:11:29.439 time for all that, so I gotta go to God. 0:11:29.800 --> 0:11:33.160 There's something about a surprise attack that will drive you 0:11:33.280 --> 0:11:36.160 into the presence of God. There's something about the one 0:11:36.200 --> 0:11:38.680 you didn't see coming that'll make you run to the 0:11:38.720 --> 0:11:44.760 place you should have run too. All along, I'm getting 0:11:44.760 --> 0:11:46.840 ahead of myself. But it said that they were coming, 0:11:47.120 --> 0:11:53.400 and they were already in ingetti, and so the response 0:11:54.600 --> 0:12:00.440 of the king is urgent. It says that in verse 0:12:00.480 --> 0:12:06.120 three he was alarmed, but yet he resolved. I really 0:12:06.240 --> 0:12:10.600 liked that. I really liked that he had a determination 0:12:11.480 --> 0:12:15.319 to seek the Lord even in the face of an 0:12:15.400 --> 0:12:19.600 unexpected attack. He had made up his mind who he 0:12:19.640 --> 0:12:22.640 would go to before he even knew what would come 0:12:22.640 --> 0:12:27.880 against him. And of course he didn't always respond this way. 0:12:28.559 --> 0:12:34.320 Nobody does. Come on, nobody does. Oh man, this is 0:12:34.360 --> 0:12:37.240 so difficult to get across the hypocritical Christians who always 0:12:37.240 --> 0:12:39.160 want to act like they always sought the Lord and 0:12:39.160 --> 0:12:44.160 prayed about everything, like you always prayed in tongues, like 0:12:44.200 --> 0:12:47.439 you always lifted your hands, like you always prostrated yourself 0:12:47.480 --> 0:12:50.560 before the holiness of His Majesty, the Great Jehovah, who 0:12:50.600 --> 0:12:55.560 fights your battles. No, Jehoshapad hooked up with Ahab and 0:12:55.679 --> 0:13:00.840 almost got himself killed two chapters ago because it seemed 0:13:00.880 --> 0:13:05.960 like the right strategy. Because when they wanted to attack 0:13:06.000 --> 0:13:10.920 a strategic city, the wicked king Ahab, and you might 0:13:11.000 --> 0:13:16.040 recognize his name from the prophetic account of Elijah. That's 0:13:16.080 --> 0:13:18.280 the one Elijah went to and he was like, Hey, 0:13:18.679 --> 0:13:22.120 it's not going to reign until I say so. The 0:13:22.559 --> 0:13:25.559 heavens are going to be like a voice activated shower system, 0:13:25.760 --> 0:13:27.760 and until I say so, it's not going to rain. 0:13:28.000 --> 0:13:31.560 That was ahap He said that too, And so Jehashafat 0:13:32.160 --> 0:13:35.079 got with that same king and went out to do 0:13:35.559 --> 0:13:39.840 what seemed smart, and they almost got killed. In fact, 0:13:39.880 --> 0:13:44.040 Ahab did get killed, and the prophet Makaiah tried to 0:13:44.080 --> 0:13:47.120 tell him these false bail prophets, what they're telling you 0:13:47.200 --> 0:13:48.480 is what you want to hear. But it's not what 0:13:48.480 --> 0:13:50.760 you need to hear. If you go into that battle, 0:13:51.760 --> 0:13:55.320 you're gonna get yourself hurt. And he did, and he 0:13:55.400 --> 0:13:58.400 barely made it out because he fought the wrong battle. 0:13:59.520 --> 0:14:01.720 Have you ever barely made it out because you fought 0:14:01.760 --> 0:14:06.840 a battle that you weren't supposed to fight. One time, 0:14:06.880 --> 0:14:10.280 my father in law were driving it was actually on 0:14:10.440 --> 0:14:14.080 the day of my wedding seventeen years ago, and we 0:14:14.160 --> 0:14:17.480 passed a couple who on the side of the road. 0:14:17.840 --> 0:14:21.960 They were fighting physically, But the interesting thing about it 0:14:22.080 --> 0:14:28.560 was the man was in a headlock and the woman 0:14:28.680 --> 0:14:31.920 seemed to have the situation firmly in control. I didn't 0:14:31.920 --> 0:14:34.880 see that till ill when I pulled the car over. 0:14:35.120 --> 0:14:37.280 I was going to get out and help because I 0:14:37.280 --> 0:14:39.120 thought that the man was beating up on the woman. 0:14:40.480 --> 0:14:46.640 But when I saw that the woman was taking care 0:14:46.680 --> 0:14:50.440 of the man, I figured, you know, just praise God 0:14:50.520 --> 0:14:56.440 for his sovereignty, that he knows what's best, and apparently 0:14:56.480 --> 0:14:58.800 this woman doesn't need my help. So I just drove off. 0:15:00.720 --> 0:15:02.720 But my father in law said, why did you stop. 0:15:02.760 --> 0:15:04.240 I said, I was going to get out and help. 0:15:04.600 --> 0:15:08.280 He said, no, no, no, never get in a fight 0:15:08.520 --> 0:15:11.680 between a man and his woman, because you'll step in 0:15:11.840 --> 0:15:15.280 to help them. And then if you step into their 0:15:15.360 --> 0:15:18.680 fight and it's not your fight, but you get in 0:15:18.720 --> 0:15:21.920 the middle of it, they'll turn around and both start 0:15:21.920 --> 0:15:27.760 fighting you. It's good life advice. Don't try to take 0:15:27.800 --> 0:15:32.040 on a fight that's not your fight, because you might 0:15:32.080 --> 0:15:34.200 find out when you take on a fight that's not 0:15:34.320 --> 0:15:38.240 your fight, you might find out that the surest way 0:15:38.280 --> 0:15:41.000 for you to get yourself in trouble is for you 0:15:41.080 --> 0:15:44.000 to take on a battle that doesn't belong to you. 0:15:45.080 --> 0:15:48.640 This is why Christians don't always need to share their 0:15:48.680 --> 0:15:57.040 opinion on every subject that is presented as a cultural issue. 0:15:57.200 --> 0:16:00.320 You've got to choose your battles and to know God. 0:16:00.400 --> 0:16:03.320 This is what Jahasipha wanted to know. Is this my battle? 0:16:03.640 --> 0:16:06.240 Is this my fight? Is this something that I need 0:16:06.240 --> 0:16:08.840 to be involved in? Is this something that I'm called 0:16:08.840 --> 0:16:11.320 to do? You'd be shocked how many people through the 0:16:11.400 --> 0:16:14.000 years have tried to get me to be more political 0:16:14.000 --> 0:16:19.280 from my pulpit. But that's not my fight. I vote, 0:16:20.080 --> 0:16:23.560 I'm involved. I lead thousands of people to make a 0:16:23.600 --> 0:16:27.400 difference in our community. I build something that represents and 0:16:27.440 --> 0:16:30.160 reflects unity to a broken fragmented world, and we do 0:16:30.200 --> 0:16:35.800 it together every six days and through the week. But 0:16:36.600 --> 0:16:39.680 you've got to be very careful that you don't expend 0:16:39.800 --> 0:16:43.520 all of your energy fighting battles that are not yours, 0:16:44.480 --> 0:16:46.840 and then you don't have any energy left for the 0:16:46.840 --> 0:16:52.080 battles that are yours. And now you've gotten so tired 0:16:52.200 --> 0:16:55.320 leaving comments on Facebook posts with people that you don't 0:16:55.320 --> 0:16:58.080 know in Idaho that you don't have any strength to 0:16:58.160 --> 0:17:00.280 engage with the people who live in your own house. 0:17:01.480 --> 0:17:04.359 I'm not trying to run the White House. I'm trying 0:17:04.400 --> 0:17:07.080 to run my house. And I got my hands full. 0:17:07.480 --> 0:17:15.680 I got three people in my house who are dependents. Yeah, 0:17:15.680 --> 0:17:17.960 I know, when you're wearing yourself out swinging that stuff 0:17:17.960 --> 0:17:24.400 that's not even yours to fight. I'm bad about this though. 0:17:24.440 --> 0:17:29.000 I sometimes it's as if I don't have enough drama 0:17:29.040 --> 0:17:33.520 for my own self, so I start trying to control 0:17:33.560 --> 0:17:36.600 other people. You know how you can tell if you're 0:17:36.600 --> 0:17:40.280 fighting the wrong battles. If you are trying to control others, 0:17:40.720 --> 0:17:46.119 you're fighting the wrong battle. You can't control others past 0:17:46.119 --> 0:17:49.480 a certain point. You can only manipulate short term behavioral results, 0:17:49.880 --> 0:17:54.280 but you can't change somebody's heart. That's why even the 0:17:54.320 --> 0:17:56.479 New Testament says, as much as it is possible with 0:17:56.520 --> 0:17:58.159 you live at peace with all men. There comes a 0:17:58.200 --> 0:18:03.120 point where the peace of another person is not your responsibility. 0:18:03.600 --> 0:18:08.119 Your piece is your responsibility. And there comes a point 0:18:08.920 --> 0:18:14.080 where you have to say, that's not my battle, that's 0:18:14.080 --> 0:18:16.560 not my battle. I've done all I can do, but 0:18:16.640 --> 0:18:19.320 that's not my battle. In fact, let me give you 0:18:19.359 --> 0:18:22.199 a great little line to use the next time somebody 0:18:22.320 --> 0:18:25.280 tries to draw you into some gossip or draw you 0:18:25.320 --> 0:18:28.639 into some drama, okay, And they'll usually say, what do 0:18:28.680 --> 0:18:32.119 you think about so and so? You heard about so 0:18:32.200 --> 0:18:33.720 and so? What you think about People ask me this 0:18:33.760 --> 0:18:35.880 off time about another ministry, what do you think about 0:18:35.920 --> 0:18:38.119 so and so? And I learned this from an older minister. 0:18:38.160 --> 0:18:40.400 They taught me what to say, what do you think about? 0:18:40.960 --> 0:18:50.760 And here's what you say back, I don't. It'll work 0:18:50.840 --> 0:18:54.760 for a variety of situations. It can work for a 0:18:54.840 --> 0:18:57.560 situation that you're ignorant about and you only read headlines, 0:18:57.600 --> 0:18:59.359 so you really don't have anything to say because we 0:18:59.400 --> 0:19:03.520 can't trust the information that we're given. It can work 0:19:03.560 --> 0:19:06.000 about Donald Trump, It can work about Kanye West. It 0:19:06.000 --> 0:19:08.199 can work about somebody else that drops their kid off 0:19:08.240 --> 0:19:09.960 at school next to you, and they're having trouble in 0:19:10.000 --> 0:19:11.840 their marriage. What do you think about so and so? 0:19:12.000 --> 0:19:18.720 I don't. My heart is a full time drama factory. 0:19:19.720 --> 0:19:23.080 I do not need to borrow drama from anybody else's 0:19:23.160 --> 0:19:29.080 personal life. I got my own drama byod bring your 0:19:29.080 --> 0:19:32.119 own drama. I got enough. You brought your own drama 0:19:32.160 --> 0:19:35.360 to church without judging somebody else from what you think 0:19:35.400 --> 0:19:38.480 about them from ten seconds of their life compared to 0:19:38.520 --> 0:19:40.919 the entirety of it. I don't have time for it. 0:19:41.040 --> 0:19:43.640 And Jehoshaphat didn't run around looking at what other people 0:19:43.720 --> 0:19:47.640 were doing. He went to seek the Lord. He went 0:19:47.680 --> 0:19:50.840 to inquire of the Lord. And this is not just 0:19:50.920 --> 0:19:53.480 some glib prayer or this is not just getting some 0:19:53.640 --> 0:19:56.080 feeling and going with it and calling it God. And 0:19:56.160 --> 0:19:58.919 this isn't just slapping a scripture verse on something that 0:19:58.960 --> 0:20:01.320 you wanted to do any so that you can blame 0:20:01.359 --> 0:20:03.719 it on God when it doesn't work out. This is 0:20:03.800 --> 0:20:06.639 really seeking the Lord. In fact, the Bible says that 0:20:06.720 --> 0:20:11.240 he was shaken, but he wasn't. He wasn't. Maybe I 0:20:11.240 --> 0:20:15.040 should say it this way. He was shocked, but he 0:20:15.160 --> 0:20:23.400 wasn't shook who didn't see this coming. Amm and Moab 0:20:23.440 --> 0:20:28.520 and the Edomites. That's three of them. I could fight one, 0:20:28.760 --> 0:20:32.719 but there's three of them. It's bigger than me, and 0:20:32.760 --> 0:20:37.960 it's coming up from behind me. You got something bigger 0:20:38.000 --> 0:20:44.480 than you that came up from behind you. Jehoshaphat's prayer 0:20:44.520 --> 0:20:48.880 is interesting because he's praying about Amm and Moab and 0:20:49.000 --> 0:20:53.280 the Edomites from Mount Sierra. But we got three different enemies. 0:20:53.280 --> 0:20:58.880 We got the world, the flesh, and the devil. That's 0:20:58.880 --> 0:21:03.080 from first John, that's your the world, the flesh and 0:21:03.119 --> 0:21:07.159 the devil, that's the values that oppose your purpose. The world, 0:21:07.560 --> 0:21:10.879 the flesh that's the patterns that oppose your purpose. And 0:21:10.960 --> 0:21:14.640 the devil that is the principality that opposes your purpose. 0:21:15.600 --> 0:21:18.240 And I could fight one, But how do I fight 0:21:18.280 --> 0:21:22.240 the devil when I'm fighting my own flesh? How do 0:21:22.320 --> 0:21:25.040 I fight the world when actually there's a part of 0:21:25.080 --> 0:21:27.600 me that wants to do it like the world. I 0:21:27.600 --> 0:21:30.520 could fight one, but I can't fight them all, and 0:21:30.560 --> 0:21:33.960 they're bigger than me and it's coming up from behind. 0:21:34.080 --> 0:21:37.360 How do I raise kids in a culture where the 0:21:37.400 --> 0:21:41.920 information of the history of the universe is in their pocket. 0:21:42.480 --> 0:21:44.880 How do I have a sex talk with kids when 0:21:44.880 --> 0:21:47.199 they don't have to go to a gas station to 0:21:47.280 --> 0:21:50.639 see pornography, They can do it right beside their Bible lap. 0:21:51.840 --> 0:21:57.600 The nature of the battle determines the nature of the strategy. 0:21:58.920 --> 0:22:02.000 When you don't understand and the nature of the battle, 0:22:02.320 --> 0:22:06.240 you will not understand the nuance of the strategy. So 0:22:06.400 --> 0:22:09.840 you will fight the battle not understanding the dynamics of 0:22:09.880 --> 0:22:13.000 the battle, and you will lose the battle because you 0:22:13.080 --> 0:22:16.600 will wrestle on the wrong level. Can I preach you 0:22:16.600 --> 0:22:21.159 a little bit today? It's for fifty people that you 0:22:21.240 --> 0:22:25.399 are facing something that snuck up from behind. You didn't 0:22:25.400 --> 0:22:28.320 see this coming, and it's bigger than you. I don't 0:22:28.359 --> 0:22:32.399 know which one to fight next. When you understand the 0:22:32.480 --> 0:22:37.239 nature of the battle, you can understand the nature of 0:22:37.280 --> 0:22:40.560 the strategy. And that's why I got to ask God. 0:22:41.480 --> 0:22:45.240 Jehasha Fat resolved to seek the lure. That means he 0:22:45.320 --> 0:22:50.080 involved the priests, the levites, and they got together and 0:22:50.119 --> 0:22:52.280 he got surrounded by the right people. He's not going 0:22:52.320 --> 0:22:56.000 to Ahab this time. He's not asking all his friends 0:22:56.040 --> 0:22:58.919 what they think about at this time. He's not looking 0:22:58.960 --> 0:23:02.520 for celebrity culture to influence his decisions. This time he's 0:23:02.600 --> 0:23:05.879 going to the right place, but he doesn't have a plan. 0:23:07.000 --> 0:23:08.720 And I want you to see his prayer because it'll 0:23:08.760 --> 0:23:11.399 help you. If you're facing a battle that is bigger 0:23:11.400 --> 0:23:14.840 than you and it's snuck up from behind you. Every 0:23:14.920 --> 0:23:17.399 day this week, I want you to open your Bible 0:23:17.440 --> 0:23:23.479 to Second Chronicles twenty verse three, and following read what 0:23:23.560 --> 0:23:28.000 Jahasapad prayed, and then pray it. Because verse five says 0:23:28.000 --> 0:23:30.040 out loud, I want you to pray this every day 0:23:30.080 --> 0:23:32.639 this week. If you're fighting a battle that is bigger 0:23:32.680 --> 0:23:36.280 than you and it's snuck up from behind you, get 0:23:36.320 --> 0:23:39.840 in God's face this week for a few minutes every 0:23:39.920 --> 0:23:43.920 day and pray this prayer. Because Jehasafad stood up verse 0:23:43.960 --> 0:23:47.280 five in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem at the 0:23:47.320 --> 0:23:50.119 Temple of the Lord in the front of the new courtyard. 0:23:50.200 --> 0:23:53.040 This is Solomon's temple. This is the one they dedicated 0:23:53.040 --> 0:23:55.600 to God. This is the one where God promised to 0:23:55.720 --> 0:24:00.159 pour out his presence for any problem you face. He 0:24:00.200 --> 0:24:05.440 starts reminding God of what God said, O, Lord, God 0:24:05.480 --> 0:24:08.040 of our fathers, are you not the God who is 0:24:08.080 --> 0:24:11.520 in heaven. I love this man because he has already 0:24:11.560 --> 0:24:16.320 shifted his focus from what is coming against him to 0:24:16.400 --> 0:24:20.040 the one who reigns above him. O, Lord, God of 0:24:20.080 --> 0:24:22.600 our fathers, are you not the God who is in heaven? 0:24:23.320 --> 0:24:26.760 You rule over all the kingdoms of the nations. Power 0:24:26.840 --> 0:24:29.640 and might are in your hand, and no one can 0:24:29.680 --> 0:24:33.600 withstand you, Oh our God, Did you not drive out 0:24:33.640 --> 0:24:37.480 the inhabitants of this land before your people Israel? Remind 0:24:37.520 --> 0:24:39.760 God of what he's already done when you're not sure 0:24:39.800 --> 0:24:42.960 what he's doing right now. Not so he can remember, 0:24:43.000 --> 0:24:45.640 but so you can. Come on, You need to remember. 0:24:45.720 --> 0:24:48.639 This is not your first rodeo cowboy. This is not 0:24:48.760 --> 0:24:51.280