I'd ask you to please turn with me this morning to the second book of Chronicles in chapter 20 and verse 12. 2 Chronicles chapter 20 and verse 12. Oh our God, wilt thou not judge them? For we have no might against this great company that cometh against us. Neither know we what to do, but our eyes are upon thee. The. And the subject before us this morning is what to do when we don't know what to do. What to do when we don't know what to do. Now Jehoshaphat was a God-fearing king who from the start of his reign sought to follow and honor the Lord. And as he honored the Lord, so the Lord abundantly blessed his reign. We read in chapter 17 and the Lord in verse 3 that the Lord was with Jehoshaphat because he walked in the first ways of his father David and sought not unto Balaam but sought to the Lord God of his father and walked in his commandments and not after the doings of Israel. And therefore the Lord established the kingdom in his hand, and all Judah brought to Jehoshaphat presence. He had riches and honor in abundance, and his heart was lifted up in the ways of the Lord. Moreover, he took away the high places and groves out of Israel. Judah and we read later on in verse 10 and the fear of the Lord fell upon all the kingdoms of the lands that were around about Judah so that they made no war against the Jehoshaphat. However, in the faithful record of the Word of God, we do learn that Jehoshaphat did have problems at times. These problems related to times of compromise with ungodly leaders. So we read in chapter 18, verse 1, now, Jehoshaphat had riches and honor in abundance and joined affinity with Ahab. Well, that was a very unwise affinity. Having made an alliance with the ungodly king of Israel, Ahab, Jehoshaphat was then ensnared through such compromise to form a loyalty. And he accepted Ahab's request to go to Ramoth Gilead to battle. And there he would have been killed had it not been for the merciful intervention of God. Later in life, King Jehoshaphat aligned himself with Ahab's son, King Uzziah, in a huge shipbuilding venture. And God, in his sovereignty, destroyed such a venture. So Jehoshaphat's compromise in God's sight was spiritual folly, because light can have no fellowship with darkness. And this is the reality behind the rebuke of Jehoshaphat. Jehu to Jehoshaphat found in 2 Chronicles chapter 19 and verse 1. And Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah, returned to his house in peace to Jerusalem. And Jehu, the son of Hanani, the seer, went out to meet him and said to King Jehoshaphat, Shouldest thou help the ungodly and love them that hate the Lord, therefore is wrath upon thee from before the Lord. However, on a positive note, it's interesting to see how that even when Jehoshaphat was in a compromised situation, his conscience was still active, and that is often the case with the lost people in such an experience. When he went with Ahab to battle, he rebuked Ahab for his hateful comments about the prophet Micaiah. And then again, his awakened conscience is evidence when he was invited to rebuild a fleet of ships with King Ahaziah and he refused to do so because God had destroyed the first fleet. So, there are two issues just by way of introduction that arise for us here in Jehoshaphat's testimony. When he was walking with the Lord, when he was honoring the Lord, when he was faithful to the Word of God, when he was leading as a godly man, the Lord was with him and blessed him and undertook for him. But when he compromised, he lost the power of his testimony. And we learn from this that compromise never works in the believer's life. Compromise as a believer will always make a God-fearing person miserable. And that is one of the signs that you are a child of God, that you may well be in a type of compromise situation and it makes you uncomfortable. You're not happy in this situation and that in itself is a positive sign that you cannot continue to live in that situation. It's making you uncomfortable and miserable. And second point I'd like to make is that leadership often faces the fiercest battles in this area of compromise and temptations. And that's why it's so important for you as a church to pray for your leaders. Because, generally speaking, Satan will try and attack the leaders. and they are often the subject of the strongest attacks of the devil, because if he can compromise the leaders, then he can generally compromise the church. Well, following the Raymouth-Gilead experience, Jehoshaphat focuses again on God-fearing government, and we find that in chapter 19. Again, Jehoshaphat, we find him now leading again righteously, leading from the front, Chapter 19, verse 3. He has taken away the groves out of the land. He's prepared thine heart to seek the Lord. And we read in Jehoshaphat, 12 to Jerusalem, he went out again. This is a wonderful thing about the way God deals with His people. There's a second opportunity. Jonah said, the Lord appeared a second time to Jonah. so that he went to Nineveh. The Lord's mercy is amazing. Jehoshaphat dwelt at Jerusalem. He went out again through the people from Beersheba to Mount Ephraim and brought them back unto the Lord God of their fathers. And he tells the judges to judge for the Lord, not for man. What a message it is for our leaders today. In verse 6, take heed what you do, for you judge not for man, but for the Lord who is with you in the judgment. And he tells them to respect the standards of the Lord's justice. Wherefore now let the fear of the Lord be upon you, take heed and do it, for there is no iniquity with the Lord our God, nor respect of persons, nor taking of gifts. He commands the people, in verse 9, to fear the Lord and be faithful. He warns the people against rebelling against the Lord, in verse 10. And he encourages the people to be courageous and experience the presence of the Lord. Deal courageously and the Lord shall be with the good. So here we see something very positive. Jehoshaphat is leading again, as he should be leading. However, it was at such a time of reform, it was at such a time of righteous rule that God in His sovereignty allowed Jehoshaphat to face his toughest test as a leader. And this was confirmed by Jehoshaphat saying in the verse that I read to you, neither know we what to do but our eyes are up unto Him. Thee, our eyes are up unto Thee. Friends, this is not the case in our own lives at times. We have to say, I do not know what to do. I do not know what to do. And from Jehoshaphat's testimony, we learned some lessons this morning, what to do when we don't know what to do. And it's vital that the thinking, decisions, and actions of a Christian in a crisis come under the godly principles of the new nature and the Word of God. To understand the teaching of the Word of God, what does the Word of God have to say into this situation in our life? It's very good for us to examine ourselves in times of trial. What is at the heart of my thinking? So the example of Jehoshaphat here is of a person leading in a crisis governed by his God-fearing nature. And this made him conscious, first of all, of his dependence upon God's wisdom and not his own. And I just want to look at some of these clear principles briefly this morning to help us and to guide us from the Word of God. The first principle we find is be honest about yourselves. Be honest about the situation. Be honest about your fear. In this situation, they were surrounded by a mighty army. And we read in verse 3 of chapter 20, Jehoshaphat feared. Jehoshaphat feared. He was open about his deep fear. There was truth about his deep fear. He feared exceedingly. And that's at times, friends, when the Lord's people do fear exceedingly. Maybe the guilt of his alliance with Ahab still rested upon him. And so it is that past compromise can remain to haunt us. We are forgiven by the precious blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, we're cleansed, but the scars are not forgotten. Was the wrath of God still upon him? because he had been told in verse 2 of chapter 19, therefore is wrath upon thee from the Lord was this army of God, this army God's appointed justice upon him and his nation. And he had been told that this opposing army was a great multitude. And this statement can lead to great fear. Why? Because it is an open-ended information. How great is great? A great multitude. Now we need to remember that Jehoshaphat already had a mighty army himself. And we read of the record of this in 2 Chronicles 17 and 14 and onwards. But he knew that unless God was on his side, destruction was imminent. And therefore this trial was a test used of God to bring him to his knees in complete dependence. The reforms in the nation must harmonize with reforms in his heart, so he cast himself on God's mercy. Jehoshaphat made mistakes. Jehoshaphat did compromise. But what I want to remember here, friends, is that past difficulties are not a reason for not coming to God. They are the very reason to come to God. Past mistakes are not a reason for not coming to God. They are rather the very reason we need to come to God and to cast ourselves by faith upon His mercy. Now Satan is a very excellent fisherman. Satan gets out the rod and he goes fishing into our life in the past. And he brings up things that have happened in the past, even things that we've confessed before the Lord and had that forgiveness through the Lord Jesus Christ. Satan is a foe and he will remind us of things in the past. He is an expert at bringing up the past. He's an expert fisherman. But our answer lies in our faith in the Lord Jesus. Look into him who saves unto the uttermost. The blood of Jesus Christ, God's Son, cleanses us from all sin. And as far as the east is from the west, so far have I removed thy transgressions from me. This is the way the Lord deals with our sin. Our sin I will remember no more. What mercy is this? What love is this? What grace is this? But there are times when we're surrounded and we feel overwhelmed, like Jehoshaphat, when we fear greatly. And I want us to see now how Jehoshaphat moved from fear to faith. And so we read, he set himself to seek the Lord. And he proclaimed to fast throughout all Judah. And Judah gathered themselves together to ask help of the Lord. Even out of all the cities of Judah, they came to seek the Lord. Now this expression here, he set himself. It means in the original that he took control of his mind. He took control of his mind. And he took control of his mind to seek the Lord. in worship, to seek the Lord. He set himself to seek the Lord in worship and in prayer. Now, an example of this can be found in Psalm 56. Another example, if you please turn with me to Psalm 56, we see here the testimony of God's servant David. And again, the man of God was honest. He says in verse 3, what time I am afraid. I'm afraid Lord. This situation is too big for me. What time I am afraid I will trust in the Lord. He'd been rescued ultimately from the Philistines and he's reflecting, looking back. What was the way? What lessons did he learn from this experience? And we learn that David tells us in this psalm that his firm conviction of faith now is based upon the faithfulness of God. And he gives us five examples of why his confidence is in God. how he trusts now by faith, how he has dealt with his fear. He feared greatly. Like Jehoshaphat, he sought the Lord. And so we read that his faith was based upon God's Word. In God will I praise His Word. So when he says, what time I am afraid I will trust in thee, he then explains what he meant by that. First of all, he had confidence in God's Word, which cannot lie, which endures forever. And then his faith is based upon God's sovereignty. I will not fear what flesh can do unto me. You see, if we're looking to the Lord, friends, and we're trusting in his word, and we're casting ourselves upon God and his mercy, we will not fear what man can do unto me. And then his faith was based upon God's divine care and understanding. In verse 8, we have these remarkable words, Thou tellest my wanderings, put thou my tears into thy bottle, are they not in thy book? What comfort is this, friends? Your tears, your fear, your concerns, as you rest upon the Lord, they're in his book. Your tears are in his bottle. There are no wasted tears, friends. And this encourages faith to remember that our God is compassionate, our God is understanding. And then God's faithfulness. When I cry unto thee, then thou shalt my enemies turn back. This I know, for God is for me. And finally, his faith was based upon God's salvation and security. For thou hast delivered my soul from death. Wilt not thou deliver my feet from falling, that I may walk before God in the light of the living? Well friends, we have this wisdom here then, set in ourselves, set in our minds to seek the Lord. And then we read again in the wisdom of the book of Proverbs, again this similar type of exhortation for us in Proverbs 16, 3. Commit thy works unto the Lord, and thy thoughts, thy thinking, shall be established. And then we read, of course, in the letter of James. My brethren, count it all joy. when you fall into diverse temptations. Count it all joy? How can we count it joy when we fall into afflictions and temptations and trials? Oh, this word count is so important, friends. We set our minds to think, what is God teaching me through this trial? How can God's name be glorified through this trial? How is God going to teach me? How is God going to strengthen me? How is God going to protect me? How is God going to bring me through that I might praise his name? This is the wonder of it all. This is the difference when a trial hits a Christian and a trial hits an unbeliever. A Christian views it totally differently. A Christian views it, Lord, I know this is going to be painful. I know it's going to hurt. I know I'm going to suffer. But Lord, I know something even more important, that thou wilt never leave me or forsake me. And that thou wilt bring me through. Thy kindness is an everlasting kindness. Thy love is an everlasting love. Remember this, friends. Remember this. God can do something wonderful in us in a trial. James speaks about patience. Knowing this, that the triune of your faith worketh patience. There's something there, wonderful happening to the Lord's people. He's not playing with us. He's not experimenting with us. He's not giving us like a trial of drugs to see how we'll react. Yes, He's testing, but He's not testing to condemn us. He's not testing to destroy us. He's testing to strengthen us, to bring us through, and that we might ultimately praise His name. Fear to faith. What time I'm afraid, I will trust in The Lord. Later, David says, I will trust in the Lord and not be afraid. Moving on to prayer. So, the third step here is prayer. In verses 6 to 12 of chapter 20, we have Jehoshaphat's prayer. And it is a most remarkable prayer. It's a prayer of adoration. In verse 6, we read Jehoshaphat commences his prayer, O Lord God of our fathers, art thou not God in heaven? And that's how we should pray, friends. We begin prayer by lifting up our hearts in adoration unto God. God is great. God is infinite in wisdom and in power and in might. And he prays to God with adoration. And then he reminds God of his help in the past in verse 7. And we can look back over our lives and say, Lord, I was in this situation and my prayer was heard. You brought me through. Lord, here I am again in another situation. Oh, Lord, help me. Oh, Lord, bring me through. Lord, Thou was faithful in the past, Thou will be faithful in the present. And he appeals to Scripture. That's another aspect of prayer. In verses 8 to 9, it is an appeal to a previous promise of the Lord, that if they would return and repent and turn to the Lord, He would heal the land. He would help them. He would deliver them. And that promise is taken from 2 Chronicles 7, 14. We just very, very briefly look at that because the time is hastening on. We find here Solomon in the consecration of the temple and in verse 14. and said, O Lord God of Israel, is there no God like unto thee in the heavens or in the earth, which keep his covenant and show his mercy unto thy servants that walk before thee with all their hearts? And then he goes on to pray and to seek the Lord. And verse 21, hearken therefore unto thy supplications of thy servants and of thy people Israel, which thou shalt make towards this place. Hear thou from thy dwelling place, from heaven, and when thou hearest forgive. And in verse 15, he's pleading a promise of God. Thou which hast kept with thy servant David my father, that which thou hast promised. and spake as with thy mouth, and has fulfilled it with thine hand, as it is to this day. That's chapter 6. I do beg your pardon. I'm reading verses from chapter 6. But if we look at chapter 7, verse 14, I do beg your pardon. It's still relevant as it happened. It is part of Solomon's prayer. But if you turn to chapter 7, sorry, it's me that's got to turn to chapter 7, verse 14. If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land. Now mine eyes shall be open, and mine ears attend unto the prayer that is made in this place. So there we have the prayer of Solomon, and there we have Jehoshaphat praying in an almost identical way. He's pleading with the Lord. He's appealing to Scripture. And then he's presenting his problem to the Lord. He's telling the Lord about his problem. He's unburdening his heart in chapter 20, verse 10. He's telling them about this army that has come forward to do battle with them. and then he rests his case in God's hands. And this is really the verse that I read to you. And it's the end of that verse which I think is so significant about humility and faith. Neither know we what to do. That takes humility to say that, doesn't it? In the proud world in which we live, neither know we what to do. That requires humility. That requires faith. But our eyes are upon Thee. And so the Lord has brought Jehoshaphat into this place of absolute, complete, and utter dependence upon God. So he rests his case in God's hands. Our eyes are upon Thee. And there's a beautiful picture there where all the families are there before the Lord with their little ones and their wives and their children. But then, as we move on just briefly now, notice how he uses the word of God in verse 15. And he said, the word of God comes to him from God's servant, Jehoshiah. Thou King Jehoshaphat, thus saith the Lord be unto you, be not afraid nor dismayed by reason of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours but God's. And we notice here this great level. We read that the prophet is speaking to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem and the King Jehoshaphat. They're all together in this great need. King Jehoshaphat is a leader, but he has the same need as all the congregation. They are one, together, seeking the Lord. And along comes the word of God to them through his servant Jehoshaphat. And the Lord is saying, do not be afraid, Lord is made. By reason of this great multitude, So the same word is used, for the battle is not yours, but God's. And so God is bringing this promise for them to be encouraged from it, to be comforted from it, and to be assured in his word. But then God commands them, go ye down against them. So they've got to face the enemy. They can't sit in their armchairs. They've got to go to this meeting. And maybe you have a difficult meeting this coming week, and God is allowing you to experience that meeting, and you've got to go to that meeting. You have to go to it. But the Lord is saying to you, don't be afraid. Do not be dismayed, because the battle is not yours, but God's. And this is when faith lays hold of God's promise and sees that if God is with us and we've cast our burden upon the Lord, then it becomes God's battle, not ours. In other words, God helps us in the situation. And then I want us to notice reverence again, the necessity of reverence in this experience. Verse 18, and Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground, and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell before the Lord, worshiping the Lord upon their knees. What an example is this of a leader. He falls down with his face to the ground. Reverence. And he's saying to the people, to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, I am nothing, but my God is all in and all. Obedience. They had to believe what God was saying. You shall not need to fight in this battle. Stand ye still and see the salvation of the Lord. The Lord will be with you. Tomorrow you must go out against them for the Lord will be with you. Yes, you've got to go out. You've got to face the enemy. But the Lord is going to be in this situation. You will not actually need to fight in this battle. The Lord will go before you. And so this teaches us about obedience. What God promises us that He will bring us through the trial. He will be with us in the trial. And then, reassurance to the people. So Jehoshaphat stood and said in verse 20, believe in the Lord your God, so shall ye be established. Believe his prophets, so shall ye prosper. Reassurance for a fearful people. And then finally this morning, witness, witness. Notice here, of the singers. Most remarkable, they were instructed to say, praise the Lord for His mercy endureth forever. My friends, there is a wonderful, if I might say, spiritual therapy in worship, in praise, and in adoration. When we lift up our hearts in adoration, it's a balm to our souls, it's like a medicine that comes into our souls. our minds are taken off the problem and our minds are upon God. We're looking unto the Lord, we're resting upon his word, we're reminding ourselves of the greatness and majesty of God, God being for us. And friends, when they began to sing, it was when they began to sing, the Lord set ambushments among them, when they began to praise. So they went forward to the meeting, They praised the Lord, and when they went forth by faith, and in assurance, and in praise, and in worship, the Lord went before them. And they found the battle was won by the Lord. He'd gone before them. He had everything under control. And my dear friends, this reminds us of the Gospel. Isn't it wonderful? You may feel this morning that you're overwhelmed and surrounded by sin, but you look to the Lord and you find in the Lord Jesus, you have to address your sin, you have to be honest with yourself, you have to be real about your life, no cover-up, But you find when you come, just as you are, and you don't know what to do in and of yourselves, and you look to the Lord Jesus, wonder of wonders, it's all been dealt with. You shall not need to fight in this battle. It's not about you. It's not about your works. It's all about the Lord Jesus that's gone before you and won this great battle on your behalf, conquered over sin and death and hell, risen from the dead, victorious, satisfied God's justice. The battle is won. Be not afraid, nor dismayed. The battle is not yours, but God's. He undertook to deal with your sin in the person of the Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. More than conquerors, through him that loved us. Well, Finally, be honest about your fear. The question is what to do with your fear. Address your fear by faith. Pray to the Lord. Trust in the Word of God. Worship the Lord. Obey the Word of the Lord. And be assured in the Lord. And witness for the Lord. Amen. We conclude by singing hymn number 630. 6-3-0. O Lord, I would delight in thee, and on thy care depend, to thee in every trouble flee, my best, my only friend. 6-3-0. ♪ To thy word, it hides in thee ♪ ♪ And on thy ready hand ♪ ♪ To thee every trouble fling ♪ ♪ Thy rest, my only friend ♪ ♪ Then all created beings are bright ♪ ♪ High from earth Jesus came ♪ ♪ The unbelief is resatisfied and glowing ♪ O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave? ♪ That I had a stronger faith ♪ ♪ Till the grave in Calvary ♪ ♪ To rest upon my Saviour's head ♪ ♪ Whose breath can never fade ♪ ♪ That hath made my head secure ♪ ♪ Where did all good go vile? ♪ ♪ The vice is rich, can I be poor? ♪ ♪ What can I want beside? ♪ O'er the ramparts we watched, were so gallantly streaming? And the rocket's red glare, the bombs bursting in air, Henceforth my great concern shall be to love and praise ye men. Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, the love of God, our Heavenly Father, the communion and fellowship of the Holy Spirit, rest and continue with each one of us now and for evermore. Amen.