Do Not Be Shaken

We live in tumultuous times. There are wars and rumors of wars in our world today. We look at the news and we are told there are earthquakes, flooding, fires that take out entire cities. We react in different ways. Many are frightened. Some are discouraged. Others are depressed. Many are unsure of the future. My task as a pastor is to help you to turn your eyes to God, who is sovereign over all things. Keep your gaze upon Him! All things will be well! 
     2 Chronicles 20 is perhaps one of the most beautiful passages about God’s attributes; about what the biblical God is really like. Let me give a brief context here, and then give you some principles that will edify your souls. Israel was broken up into two kingdoms. The northern kingdom is comprised of 10 tribes and so they retained the name Israel. The southern kingdom is comprised of 2 tribes of Judah and Benjamin, and therefore maintained the name Judah. Jehoshaphat was one of the kings of Judah. There was an impending invasion of a massive enemy army. Moab from the east [modern day Jordan], descendants of Esau; and Ammon from the north east [modern day Syria], descendants of Lot, the nephew of Abraham; sought to decimate Judah off the face of the planet! [Read the historical narrative beginning in v. 3 until v. 13.]

My task as a pastor is to help you to turn your eyes to God, who is sovereign over all things. Keep your gaze upon Him! All things will be well! 

Pastor Christian

We find here that their eyes were upon the Lord! There are five reasons why their eyes were upon the Lord. First, because they realized that the land they inherited and inhabited was God’s possession, v. 11. God brought them there. God chose them to go there. God gave them the land. Second, because they were reminded of God’s goodness, v. 10. It was the goodness of the Lord that He did not allow Israel to invade their cousins, Moab and Ammon, when they came out of the land of Egypt. It was the goodness of the Lord that compelled them to turn their eyes upon the Lord. But now, Esau and Ammon had a lust for more land. They wanted to eradicate the people of Judah! So what did Judah do? They looked upon the LORD. Lord, we are Your people. You have been good to us in the past!
     Thirdly, because they were aware of God’s presence, vv. 8-9. God’s presence is very well-defined here as well. God is in heavens! God is here in the sanctuary! He is ever-present, and He is all-present! There is no better time to be more aware of the presence of God than when in time of trouble. God is here! Our text tells us that king Jehoshaphat and the rest of Judah were so aware of the presence of God! Trust the presence of God! What a display of looking upon the LORD for their victory!
     Fourthly, because they remembered God’s covenant to Abraham their father, v. 7. Go to Isaiah 41:8-10, and Genesis 12:2-3. You will find that they remembered God’s covenant, and in times of tumult, God’s covenant was a compelling reason for them to keep their gaze on God! Christian, you only need to remember God’s covenant with you. “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?—Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:35-39).

They kept their gaze upon the Lord because they were aware of God’s presence. God’s presence is very well-defined here as well. God is in heavens! God is here in the sanctuary! He is ever-present, and He is all-present! There is no better time to be more aware of the presence of God than when in time of trouble. God is here!

See 2 Chronicles 20:8-9

Finally, because they believed in God’s sovereignty, v. 6. You know I have studied the Bible now for over 30 years [I was around 10 years old when I started reading it in my mother tongue and almost immediately after that in English; some Greek and Hebrew during bible college and seminary respectively] and I can honestly tell you, you can find that God is in charge and God is in control of everything in just about every page of the Bible! Consider just a few of them: Isaiah 46:10, Ps. 115:3; 135:6; Eph. 1:11. The newly-converted pagan king, Nebuchadnezzar, after seven years of madness, the Lord converted him, he said, “all the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing, and he does according to his will among the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth; and none can stay his hand or say to him, ‘What have you done’” and then he says, “Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and extol and honor the King of heaven, for all his works are right and his ways are just” (see Daniel 4:35, 37). God is in charge of everything! God is in control of everything! Romans 11:36, “For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.”
     Consider the following applications. We live in tumultuous times. The current events of our world today cause us to wonder is this the end of the world as we know it? With the just war which Israel has declared on Hamas terrorist group in Gaza, and the possible entrance of many other Arab nations into the war, what does this mean for the Christian? Where does this fit into our study of future events? Is this the beginning of the end? When will Jesus come back? The simple answer is: Jesus did not lie when He said I’m coming back! Just like that T-shirt I’ve been wearing lately—normal isn’t coming back; but Jesus is! We just don’t have a date on that. But it doesn’t change one iota the truthfulness of His return! He will come back just as sure, and as literal as He ascended into heaven. You will recall, the disciples gazed at Jesus as He ascended into the clouds, and the angels told them: “Men of Galilee, why do you stand here looking up into the sky? This same Jesus who has been taken up from you into heaven will come back in the same way you saw him go into heaven.” Do you know what they did? They went back to Jerusalem; went up to the upper room; prayed together [let’s do that!]; the Holy Ghost power filled all of them up; and they preached the gospel, and voila!, thousands of people got saved, got baptized, became members of the church and repeated that same pattern of discipleship all around the globe! That’s what all of us need to do while we wait for the second coming of Christ! Let us not be troubled, Jesus said. And just like the people of Judah and king Jehoshaphat, let us turn our eyes on the Lord. Why? Because: first, we will inherit one day a new heaven and a new earth! Second, because God is good. Third, because God is present here. Fourth, because God gave us a new covenant. Finally, because God is sovereign—absolutely in charge and in control of everything. When your eyes are fixed upon the Lord, you will not be shaken!