Praising God in song is a wonderful way to worship and witness, but it's also a powerful weapon in the battlefield of spiritual warfare. Today on Turning Point, Dr. David Jeremiah highlights how worship brings you closer to God and keeps the enemy at bay, both of which make it a key piece of your spiritual arsenal. From the battle for your soul, here's David to introduce the weapon of worship. I remember the first time that I read this passage in the Old Testament with understanding, and I realized that God wants worship to be a part of our arsenal of weaponry.
The worship of God drives Satan away. I remember Amy Carmichael say in one of her books, "Sing the doxology and drive the devil away." What a wonderful truth it is that when we worship God, we're fighting the battle against the enemy. Satan can't stand worship; the last thing in the world he wants to ever be around. And when we worship God, we drive Satan away. We resist him.
The Bible says, "Resist the enemy, and he will flee from you." So today I want to tell you a story about one time when that actually happened. In the Bible, we have a story of worship as a weapon, and we'll see it in just a moment. I hope you'll stay with us for the entire 30 minutes that we have together in this program. We are studying. The Battle for Your Soul, from the book by that title, and that book is now available to you from Turning Point.
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Well, today we turn our attention to an Old Testament passage in Second Chronicles, and a man whose name we don't often speak of—Josaphat—is his name. And the subject is the weapon of worship. Let's begin. We don't always think of worship as a weapon in the battle for the soul, but we should. When we talk about spiritual warfare, we think about resisting temptation, or confronting demonic forces.
But I believe one of the best ways we can fight the enemies of our soul is simply by worshiping the Lord. You see, the enemy wants to draw our hearts away from the Lord, but worship does exactly the opposite. It fixes our attention on God instead of on ourselves. And it reminds us of what is true when Satan whispers his lies. One of the great stalwarts of the faith was Martin Luther.
We sing his hymns a lot, but I doubt if we listen to them as we should. Listen to what he said about the effect that music had on his soul during his battle against the devil. He said, "Music is a fair and lovely gift of God, which has often wakened and moved me. Music drives away the devil and makes people happy.
Next after theology, I have given to music the highest place and greatest honor. Experience proves that next to the Word of God, only music deserves to be extolled as the mistress and governess of the feelings of the human heart." We know that to the devil's music is distasteful and insufferable. My heart bubbles up and overflows in response to music, which has so often refreshed me and delivered me from dire plagues. We visited some of Martin Luther's travels several years ago. Don and I did.
And there's an old story about him and the devil getting into a contest, and he threw an inkwell at the devil. And there's a place where you can see where the inkwell landed on the wall. It's still there. He was often in conflict with the enemy, and testified to the fact that it was through music and worship he often found victory.
Now, most of us are familiar with the idea of praise as worship.
Some of us are comfortable with the concept of praise as witness, but few of us have tapped the surprising power of praise as a weapon of warfare. In confrontation, our first impulse is to become defensive. But here is one way we can seize the offensive: simply lift up and exalt the name of the Lord God. Worship and warfare. Perhaps you might have identified.
These two things as enemies rather than comrades, but I didn't invent this idea. The Bible has been filled with it all along. If you skim the Old Testament and the New, you will discover that starting with the Book of Joshua, the people of God constantly rode into battle, praising God's name as they went. You'll also find that times when they fought with no heart for God, and they often lost that encounter. Victorious warfare always seemed to require victorious worship.
There may be no better place to study this truth than with the story of an Old Testament king named Jehoshaphat. It's found in Second Chronicles. I want to tell you the story.
Some of you are familiar with it. For some of you, this will be something you haven't heard before. If you know anything about the Old Testament, you may remember that godly kings in Judah and Israel were hard to come by during the centuries after Solomon's death. But Jehoshaphat was one of those few. He was the fourth king of Judah who reigned for about 25 years during the ninth century before Christ.
And in Second Chronicles seventeen three, we read this about him.
Now the Lord was with Jehoshaphat because he walked in the former ways of his father David. Even so, in spite of the fact that he walked in the ways of his father David, Jehoshaphat made some mistakes. Most notably, he allowed himself to become an ally of King Ahab of Israel. Who was a decidedly wicked man and a wicked king? Ahab, as you know, was married to Jezebel.
Have you ever noticed nobody ever calls their daughter Jezebel? Jezebel was known as one of the most evil people ever mentioned in the Bible. Ahab was no better. He was an idolater who went out of his way to murder God's prophets. Jehoshaphat became connected with Ahab through marriage within their families.
He knew this was a bad idea, but he wanted a political alliance. Unfortunately, that alliance dragged him and the people of Judah into war. Evil Ahab convinced Jehoshaphat to join him in a fight against a nation called Ramoth Gilead, and Jehoshaphat was almost killed during the subsequent battle, but he survived. Ahab was not so fortunate. The Scripture records that he was struck by a random arrow that pierced a gap in his armor.
He was carried from the fighting and remained propped up in his chariot as the battle raged on. Blood from his wound pooled in the chariot, and by evening he had died from his injuries. When Jehoshaphat returned home to Judah, a prophet named Jehu confronted him and said to him. Should you help the wicked and love those who hate the Lord? Therefore, the wrath of the Lord is upon you.
Nevertheless, good things are found in you, in that you have removed the wooden images from the land, and have prepared your heart to seek God. Jehoshaphat made an unwise alliance, but the text seems to indicate that he repented of his sin, and worked to do better. He helped the people of Ephraim turn away from idols. He appointed priests and Levites to assist judges in Jerusalem. He did fairly well according to God's standards, and the king charged his people with these words: Second Chronicles nineteen eleven.
In the midst of this apparent war, he said, "Behave courageously, and the Lord will be with the good." He may not have known how quickly his commitment to holiness would be tested by the crucible of war. The crisis came. And there's a pattern I see often in the spiritual lives of believers. It goes like this: we become exposed to a lesson or a principle that is tied to God's truth. He teaches us something that we need to know and shows us what we need to do, whether through His Word or through the wise counsel of other people.
Then we find ourselves in a situation where we need to apply that truth.
Sometimes we succeed to put the truth into practice, and other times we fail by choosing our own priorities or our own way of thinking. When we fail, God allows us some time to process our mistakes, and He brings us to a similar situation to test whether we've really learned from our failure. Jehoshaphat found himself right in the middle of that pattern. He knew he was supposed to rely on God. For the help that he needed, and for the strength and courage he needed for the war he was about to enter into, he knew that.
But he compromised his principles when he formed an alliance with an evil king. That mistake led to a close call physically and a spiritual chastening from God's prophet. Then, just when the king felt like everything was getting back to normal, he ran smack into the next test. In this case, it was a crisis. Second Chronicles twenty.
It happened after this that the people of Moab and the people of Ammon and others with them beside the Ammonites came to battle against Jehoshaphat. And then some came and told Jehoshaphat, saying, "A great multitude is coming against you from beyond the sea, from Syria. They are in Hazazon Tamar, which is in Gede." And Jehoshaphat feared and set himself to seek the Lord and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah.
Now, some people might read that passage and feel kind of disappointed that Jehoshaphat feared the arrival of these foreign enemies. Fear is the recognition that we lack the resources for the challenge that we're being confronted with. And Jehoshaphat knew his kingdom was overmatched by this coming army. He didn't have a chance. His hope did not lay in the might of armies, but in the hand of God.
So he called all the people together for a national time of prayer and fasting. And in verse four of Second Chronicles twenty, we read, "To ask help from the Lord, and from all the cities of Judah, they came to seek the Lord." Now that's where you begin, isn't it? Often, seeking the Lord becomes our last resort. Jehoshaphat had learned to make it his first. He led the people in a powerful prayer that began like this: verse six and seven of the twentieth chapter.
O Lord God of our fathers, are you not God in heaven, and do you not rule over all the kingdoms of the nations? And in your hand is there not power and might, so that no one is able to withstand you? Are you not our God who drove out the inhabitants of this land before your people Israel and gave it to the descendants of Abraham your friend forever? The people prayed together for a long time, but God answered and the Holy Spirit spoke through one of the Levites to Jehoshaphat and said, "You will not need to fight in this battle. Position yourself, stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord." Who is with you, O Judah and Jerusalem?
Do not fear or be dismayed. Tomorrow, go out against them, for the Lord is with you.
Now, imagine the relief among the people. When they heard those words, perhaps they remembered the stories of how God had rescued some of their ancestors in years past. Even so, they were still facing a terrible army marching directly toward their city, made up of several very powerful nations, which makes what happened next all the more remarkable. Here's the really surprising part of the story, and the really important part in terms of the battle for your soul. Look at how the king and his people responded after they heard from God.
Second Chronicles twenty eighteen and nineteen, and Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground, and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem bowed before the Lord, worshiping the Lord. Then the Levites and the children of the Kohathites. And the children of the Korahites stood up to praise the Lord God of Israel with voices loud and high. Remember, there was still a horde of enemies out on the horizon, coming to destroy them. Yet the people responded to that threat by praising God.
Better still, they kept on worshiping as the fight grew nearer.
So they rose early in the morning and went into the wilderness of Tekoa. And as they went out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, "Hear me, O Judah, and you inhabitants of Jerusalem! Believe in the Lord your God, and you shall be established. Believe His prophets, and you shall prosper." And when he had consulted with the people, he appointed those who should sing to the Lord, who had praise and beauty of holiness. As they went out before the army and were saying, "Praise the Lord, for His mercy endures forever." And here is how God responded.
Now, when they began to sing and to praise, the Lord set ambushes against the people of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir who had come against Judah, and they were defeated. According to the Scripture, as they worshipped the Lord that day, in response to the enemy coming after them, the opposing armies turned on one another and destroyed each other instead of them. When Judah arrived on the battlefield, there were only corpses on the ground. No one had escaped. Instead of fighting, they found victory already accomplished.
The spoil was so great that it took them three days to gather it. And when they returned, they held another service of praise and worship, giving God the glory. In short, God won a major battle on behalf of His people in response to their worship and praise. You might be thinking, "Yeah, I know, Pastor, but that was the Old Testament." But the same principles carry through in the New Testament. You remember when Paul and Silas were thrown into jail, and they weren't supposed to be there; it was unrighteous what happened to them.
And the Bible says, at midnight, Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them. Suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken, and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone's chains were loosed.
Some may say that was in ancient world, but this is the modern world. But ladies and gentlemen, the principles of God's word do not change. God inhabits the praise of His people when His people worship Him and give Him glory. He responds in power. I don't think we understand how awesome this could be.
In common worship, Michael Coleman told the story of Jerry Brant, founder of Action Evangelism, a ministry dedicated to mobilizing churches for evangelism and outreach. Brant had organized an outdoor praise and prayer service in Union Square in San Francisco. The event was scheduled for 8 p.m., but when he arrived an hour early with 15 volunteers, he noticed an angry crowd marching down Market Street. A man approached him and asked, "Are you in charge here?" And Brant replied, "No, I'm second in command. Jesus Christ is in charge here." The man pointed to the crowd and said, "We've got a thousand people coming, and we're taking this place over." Brant felt prompted to answer.
You're too late. Jesus is already taking over this square, and tonight we're going to lift up His name here. He gathered his team to pray, and just before the service began, someone read Deuteronomy 28:7. They will come at you from one direction and flee from you in seven. That promise gave the little group fresh confidence, and they began to praise the Lord.
And before long, the scripture was fulfilled right before their eyes. As Jerry and his team focused on worshiping God, something remarkable happened. The marchers who had been heading toward Union Square suddenly stopped at the entrance. Then, just as unexpectedly, they turned around and they left. Looking back on that night, Jerry said, "We realized that God had delivered us." And he had used the power of praise to do it.
He later reflected, "Ever since that night, as we've ministered on the streets, we've discovered that praise and worship are powerful weapons in spiritual warfare." Now, let me just stop and, for a moment, let you know that while we don't see some of the mighty miracles that Jesus did while he was on this earth, miracles still happen. Do you believe that? Oftentimes, while we speak against some of the frivolous things that people say about what God does, and He gets blamed for some stuff He doesn't do, we often short circuit what we believe God can do. People prayed over that event. People prayed over that place, and that night God spared the place.
And this particular situation, through the worship of the people that invented San Francisco, was spared. I don't think we have any idea how powerful worship and praise can be.
So, what do we do with all this information? How do we respond? I'm going to just give you three simple things to remember about the story of Jehoshaphat and the weapon of worship. First of all, in whatever struggle you find yourself in this moment, remember to worship before the battle. This can be a challenge.
It takes tremendous faith to praise the Lord when you are overwhelmed by the enemy, or overwhelmed by the circumstances of your life, and you can't see a way out of the trouble and the distress. And you praise God anyway. How many of you know if you only praise God when you feel like praising God, you won't ever praise God? Praise is not something that comes emotionally. It's a response to the command of the Lord, we're to praise Him, and when we obey it and do it.
God honors it. Remember what Jehoshaphat and the people of Judah did when they were surrounded by a great army. Remember how they responded. The Bible says Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground, and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem bowed before the Lord, worshiping the Lord. And the Levites and the children of the Kohathites and of the children of the Korathites stood up.
To praise the Lord God of Israel with voices loud and high, the enemy hadn't come yet. The enemy was on its way, but they were getting ready.
However strange it may seem, one of the ways you get ready for a battle is you worship the Lord. Like Jehoshaphat, you and I are involved in spiritual battles. And I want you to go to the New Testament because I found this in Ephesians chapter six. It's the Bible's clearest teaching on the subject of spiritual warfare. It tells us about the weapons God has given to us so that we can stand firm against the wiles of the devil.
But I notice something that I haven't noticed before. Right before Paul talks about spiritual warfare, he says this: "Be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in." Psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord. You want to be victorious in spiritual warfare. You better get your worship back together. You better learn to worship.
You say, "Well, I don't sing." You don't have to sing to worship. The Bible says God accepts a joyful noise. And that may be surprising to you, and maybe that's how you would describe your singing. I don't know, but God knows your heart, and He knows what you're attempting to do. In other words, before you put on the armor of God to fight, you need to put a song of praise in your heart.
When you worship before the battle, you're saying in faith, "God, I trust You before I even see what's going to happen.
So I praise You and worship You for Your wonder." Then worship God during the battle. Worship before the battle you are in, but don't stop there. Keep going. Keep worshiping in and through the battle. The Bible says, "Now when they began to sing and to praise, the Lord set ambushes against the people of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir who had come together against Judah, and they were defeated." When the people began to sing and to praise.
As they worshipped, God worked on their behalf. He sent ambushes and defeated their enemy. If you're in the middle of a battle, I encourage you to keep worshiping and praising the Lord. It will keep you from discouragement and from giving up as you wait for the victory that He's promised. And then, worship after the battle.
Do you remember what the people of Judah did after the Lord delivered them from their enemies? Yes, you got it. They worshipped, and on the fourth day they assembled in the valley of Barakah, for there they blessed the Lord. Therefore, the name of that place was called the Valley of Barakah until this day. Then they returned every man of Judah and Jerusalem with Jehoshaphat in front of them to go back to Jerusalem with joy, for the Lord had made them rejoice over their enemies.
So they came to Jerusalem with strained instruments and harps and trumpets to the house of the Lord. When the Lord answered their cry for help, they blessed His name. And did you notice how they blessed the Lord? They did it with joy and rejoicing. And with stringed instruments and harps and trumpets, and there were a lot of smiles, and there was a lot of music.
Shouldn't our response look the same? When God gives us the victory, let's not forget that it was from Him. Let's make sure we say thank you with our worship and praise. That's one of the things we need to all work on. We often are good at asking God for something, and then when He does it.
We act like maybe we did it, or we forget where it came from. Let's sing our joyful praise for all that He has done. In fact, if you are like me, He's done a lot for me in recent days, and is working in my life even now. And I am sure that what is true for me is true for many of you as well. How blessed we are to know Him!
How. Wonderful he is! How grateful we should be for all that he does for us. I know things have been tough for some of you, but really, when you stop and think about it, as someone has once said, your worst day is better than the best day many people on this earth will ever enjoy. And oh, how blessed we are to be a part of this nation, to be involved in a Christian community, perhaps for many of you to be involved in a good church, to have Christian friends.
So many of you involved in small groups—all the things that we have to be thankful for. And and Thanksgiving is a major part of our worship of God. Worship is a weapon, friends. Don't forget it next time you gather with your friends to worship the Lord. Lift up your voice and worship Him, and watch the enemy flee.
Have a good weekend. We'll see you on Monday. Our message today originated from Shadow Mountain Community Church and Senior Pastor Dr. David Jeremiah. Turning Point is also on radio and TV this weekend.
To learn where you can find it, visit our website davidjeremiah dot org slash radio. That's davidjeremiah dot o r g slash radio, or call eight hundred nine four seven nineteen ninety three. Ask for your copy of David's helpful new book, "The Battle for Your Soul." It's yours for a gift of any amount. You can also purchase the Jeremiah Study Bible in the New International and New King James versions. Complete with notes and articles from Doctor Jeremiah's decades of study.
If you have an encouraging word for us, we invite you to share it by writing to Turning Point, P.O. Box 3838, San Diego, California 92163. This is David Michael Jeremiah. Join us Monday as we continue the battle for your soul on Turning Point with Doctor David Jeremiah.
