The position of the Servant – Preaching Outline
Preaching Outline on 2 Chronicles 20:12 – “Oh our God, will you not judge them? For we have no strength before this great multitude that comes against us, and we do not know what we shall do, but our eyes are on you.”
Introduction to 2 Chronicles 20:12
No matter how experienced in faith a man may be; no matter how many tribulations he may have gone through and been victorious over, sometimes there may be times when he feels lost, at a loss, bewildered, in the face of the great calamities that can befall him.
Josaphat, surrounded by three enemy armies, confesses: “There is no strength before this great multitude that is coming against us”. – It’s not often that you’re ready to fight.
Development
We don’t always have the strength that is common to Christians.
Sometimes the servant finds himself exhausted in the face of adversity. The word says that David fought so hard that he became weary (II Samuel 21:15).
Your strength, like Samson’s, is gone.
Oh, dear God! The struggles seem to be stronger and more likely to overcome the servant.
They don’t come alone, but accompanied by their armies – a set of attacks, problems and consequences…
Oh Lord, this situation is beyond human strength!
As if being powerless wasn’t enough, Jehoshaphat was at a loss, as the text says: “And we don’t know what we’re going to do”.
The senses become dull at that moment
Feelings are so shaken that it’s possible to lose your mind. It’s easy to think: “I’m lost, I don’t know what to do, what decision to make, I can’t see a way out of my problem”.
Despite the difficult situation, Jehoshaphat had the wisdom to trust in the Lord, and said: “But our eyes are on you”.
Some struggles make a man prostrate, downcast… but the servant must lift up his head and look to the Lord and trust in his promises and his great mercy and love.
Calm down! Everything is under God’s control!
Pedro often made mistakes during the race, when he was in the boat on a difficult crossing:
- First, he didn’t believe the word of the Lord, who commanded them to cross over to the other side;
- Hehad no faith, so he got out of the boat and sank.
- Then he stopped looking to the Lord and looked only to the struggles – and he sank into the waters.
Jehoshaphat received a great deliverance: “In this battle you will not have to fight; take your stand, stand still, and see what deliverance the LORD will give you, O Judah and Jerusalem” (2 Chronicles 20:17).
There are battles that man must fight and the Lord will give him victory; but in others, such as the one against Jehoshaphat, it will be the Lord himself who will fight.
The servant must:
- Taking a stand: Being defined. To know what he is – is he a servant or not? Does he want work or not?
- Standing still: Not taking action without a revelation from the Lord.
- To see the deliverance that the Lord will give: Being sensitive to the action of the Holy Spirit and seeing how the Lord cares for his servants.
Conclusion of 2 Chronicles 20:12
“In all things we are troubled, but not distressed; perplexed, but not dismayed. Persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed.
For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, works for us an eternal weight of exceedingly great glory.
(2 Corinthians 4:8-9 and 17).
Preaching Outline on 2 Chronicles 20:12 – “Oh our God, will you not judge them? For we have no strength before this great multitude that comes against us, and we do not know what we shall do, but our eyes are on you.”
More Preaching Outlines
