"The Battle Belongs to the Lord"

     Dear Friends in Christ,  

   As I began to think about my sermon for this Confirmation Sunday, I naturally began to think about the 6 confirmands to whom I have had the privilege of teaching the primary doctrines of the church the past 2 years.  And as I thought about them, there were different words and phrases that came to my mind that I believe very accurately describe them, words like fun-loving and talkative – in fact, so fun-loving and talkative that I sometimes had to move them around in class like pieces in a chess game just to keep some sense of order.  I would also describe them as very bright and intelligent.  I saw this especially when we began to review the questions that would make up their oral examination that was held last Monday evening.  Typically, it takes the students a while to really buckle down and start studying those questions seriously, but this class, I’m happy to say, did it from the moment I handed out the questions.

   But of all the words and phrases that I think I could come up with to describe these 6 young people who are going to be confirmed here today, the one that I feel most accurately describes them is “fiercely competitive.”  In my Confirmation sermons the past 2 years you may recall that I’ve talked about a basketball game we usually play at the beginning of each class called Knockout.  It’s a game that seemed to bring out the fiercely competitive nature of this class in different ways.  For example, McKenzie Magnus always tried her best to get behind me in line in the hopes that she could knock me out, something that happened more times than I care to remember.  But when I would sneak in line behind her and knock her out, she would always respond with “That’s not fair!”  And then there was T.J. Alberson who was so fiercely competitive that he would often resort to less than ethical tactics to stay in the competition which included knocking his opponent’s ball out of the air if he thought it was going to make it through the basket before his or slapping his opponent’s ball down to the other end of the court.  And then you might recall a few months ago he even had the brashness and boldness to challenge me to a game of one-on-one, for which he came dressed to the hilt in his Fighting Illini orange and blue.  And for the record, I just want you to know that your 54-year-old pastor, who felt all of his 54 years out there during that game, did emerge victorious after a hard fought battle. 

   And then even Trey Engel, who was one of the quietest students I’ve ever had, was still fiercely competitive in every game of knockout, a competitiveness that enabled him to pocket a few victories this year, including the very last game we played.  And then there was Chance McCay, who probably won more games than anyone this year because he’s just an outstanding basketball player; and Alexa Garden, who came close to winning a couple times but who was always so nice and sweet even in the face of defeat because that’s just the way she is; and Haley Gallatin, who every week seemed to find herself going up against her younger sister Meagan which always made for some interesting competition – but I think you get the point.  All of these 8^th graders demonstrated a very competitive nature, which, in turn, gave me my sermon idea for today.  For one thing I can guarantee them and all of us is that we need that competitive, never-give-up, never-say-die nature as we live out the Christian life in a world that is becoming more and more hostile to those who follow Christ.  Everyday we face battles and struggles, trials and temptations, challenges and difficulties that are sent our way by none other than the prince of darkness, Satan himself, in the hopes that they will drive us away from the One who loved us enough to die for us, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

   So let’s spend some time this morning talking about those battles and what we can do about them.  For starters, many of you here today face physical battles everyday.  And if you aren’t at this time, all I can say is don’t get too cozy or comfortable because those battles will invade your life sooner or later.  I brought my prayer list along with me today that I keep in my office and refer to each day when I have my morning devotions.  The front side of it includes only the names of people who are suffering from health problems.  Right now I have a total of 125 on this list.  On this list you will find lots of cancer along with heart problems, problems with infection, depression, dementia, Alzheimer’s, vision, fibromyalgia, migraine headaches, even one who is battling mesothelioma which is caused by exposure to asbestos.  There are those who are awaiting surgery, those who have had surgery, those who are struggling to recover from surgery.  There are elderly people on this list, middle aged, young adults, teenagers, younger children, and even babies.  All of which serves as a powerful reminder to us that no one is going to get out of this imperfect and sin-cursed world without experiencing physical battles sooner or later.

   And then there are the emotional battles we face.  The hectic pace at which most people, including even many children, live their lives these days causes stress and anxiety that many of our grandparents and great-grandparents never knew because they didn’t clutter their lives with an endless array of activities and pursuits like so many do today.  Sure, they worked hard, but at the end of the day they had dinner with their family peppered with lots of conversation.  And then they spent the night relaxing in their home and getting a good night’s sleep so that they would be refreshed and re-energized for the next day.  

   But oh how times have changed as so many people today find themselves on this endless treadmill of activities and responsibilities that reminds me very much of the hamster that Marilyn and I had many years ago.  It would get in that wheel in its cage and run for extended periods of time as fast as it could, but it would get nowhere in the process.  And all of this constant running that so many of us do today is bound to affect us sooner or later.  For it can create stress fractures in marriages, temper outbursts in the home, feelings of depression and hopelessness, even ulcers and other physical problems.

   And as if all those physical and emotional battles aren’t enough, we also find ourselves faced with spiritual battles.  Like the Apostle Paul says in Eph. 6:12: “Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.”  Make no mistake about it, my friends.  The moment you wake up each and every day, your archenemy Satan has one and only one goal in mind for you and that is to drive a wedge between you and your Lord.  And he has a multi-variety of weapons in his arsenal to accomplish that goal, from friends who will try to lead you astray to images that will pop up on the Internet when you’re least expecting them to movies and television shows that make Christians look like the most ignorant, stupid human beings on the face of this earth to high school teachers and college professors that may challenge many of the beliefs you hold right now that are founded upon the Bible.  The list just goes on and on.  And the spiritual battles that we face each day just go on and on.

   So the question is, how do we fight them?  And most importantly, how do we win them?  To answer those questions, I want to take you to a fascinating story found in the 20^th chapter of the Old Testament book of 2 Chronicles.  This chapter begins by telling us that God’s people, the Jews, were about to be attacked.  The Ammonites and Moabites, along with some of their allies, had risen up to make war against them.  But it just so happened that at that time the Jews had a godly king reigning over them whose name was Jehoshaphat.  And though he was alarmed and frightened by this massive army that he knew was coming toward his people, in verse 3 of 2 Chron. 20 we’re told: “Jehoshaphat resolved to inquire of the LORD, and he proclaimed a fast for all Judah.”   I love that!  Rather than wring his hands in despair or worse yet, give up, he fell on his face before the Lord in a spirit of humility and encouraged his subjects to do the same.  And that is exactly what they did for in the very next verse it says: “The people of Judah came together to seek help from the LORD; indeed, they came from every town in Judah to seek him.”

   So what’s the first thing we should do when we find ourselves fighting those physical, emotional, and spiritual battles we spoke of earlier?  We adopt a posture of prayer.  We accept our Lord’s gracious invitation in Ps. 50:15 where he says: “Call upon me in the day of trouble.”  But we don’t stop there.  Rather, we also call together some fellow believers, some human reinforcements, who we know will come alongside of us and lift us up in prayer and encourage us as we fight our battles.

   Then a third thing we should do is recognize that the One we are praying to, the One we are calling out to is greater than any problem we could ever face.  This is what Jehoshaphat does in our text.  Listen to how he begins his prayer as he leads the people in a time of worship at the temple in Jerusalem.  He says: “O 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.”  And then a little later he adds: “We have no power to face this vast army that is attacking us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are upon you.”  Wouldn’t it be great to have a leader like that over our nation, one who would be unashamed to acknowledge who the real Leader is?  There was a time when our nation had leaders like that, until it became politically incorrect to do so.  For example, when Abraham Lincoln was once asked if he believed God was on their side at the time of the Civil War, he replied, “My friend, it matters not whether God is on our side.  What matters most is whether we are on his side.”  Can you imagine a President saying that today?  Though we’d be cheering him on, the politically correct crowd that seems to run so much of our country would probably call for his resignation for being insensitive to anyone who didn’t believe in God.

    But getting back to our story?  After Jehoshaphat prays, the Spirit of God comes upon one of the priests named Jahaziel who says: “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.”  Let that last sentence sink into your brain, my friends.  “The battle is not yours, but God’s.”  That’s the fourth thing we need to do when the struggles of life come our way.  We need to remember, as we sang in the hymn before the sermon, that the battle belongs to the Lord.  We need to understand that though we may be weak, he is strong.  Though we may be weary, he never tires.  Though we may feel hopeless and helpless, he is the Hope of the hopeless and the help of the helpless.

   And if you ever doubt that, my friends, there’s one place you need to go to have it confirmed to you.  And that is to the cross.  Like the Apostle Paul says in Rom. 8:31-32: “If God is for us, who can be against us?”  But how can we be sure that God is for us, that he’s on our side?  Paul goes on to say: “He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all--how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?”  There it is: the cross.  There God gave up his Son into death, thus taking care of our greatest problem in life, the problem of our sin.  And if God would do that for you, if he would make that kind of sacrifice for you, then surely he can be trusted to fight your other battles with you and for you. 

   And by the way, that’s exactly what he did for his people in the story we’ve looked at today.  But not before an interesting battle strategy that God gave to King Jehoshaphat.  In vv.21-22 we’re told: “Jehoshaphat 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." As they began to sing and praise, the LORD set ambushes against the men of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir who were invading Judah, and they were defeated.”  Now how cool is that!  God says, “Don’t put your strongest soldiers on the front line.  Rather, I want your strongest worshipers there.”  And notice what they did.  They acknowledged the greatness of God, they worshiped the splendor of his holiness, they thanked him for his goodness, and they trusted him for his power.  You know what that sounds like?  Sounds like a great recipe for gaining victory over our enemies, don’t you think?  And it’s just another reminder to us that the battles we fight, whether they’re physical, emotional, or spiritual, every one of those battles really does belong to the Lord.

      Amen.