Do Not Fear In Your Adversities — Dan Young

Using Spiritual Gifts in the Strength God Supplies

It's good that each person do their part. We need to exercise the gifts that God gives us in the body and to practice those things. Whatever it is that God's given you to do, if it means you're preaching, then you do it with the strength that God supplies.

If you're serving, you do it with the strength that God supplies. If you're preaching, then you preach as if the words of God. And you need to study to show yourself approved. God desires that all men would prophesy.

And even the sisters, that they would prophesy as well, too, in the church. There's an opportunity that we can share testimony. It's what the Scripture says. So we can't go beyond the Scripture, and we can't take away from the Scripture.

Encouragement, Praise, and Thanksgiving in Every Circumstance

And so God desires that we would have a word of encouragement, one for another, each day of the week. I remember one day this week I got a text from a brother, and he was encouraging me to keep praising the Lord.

I had a very stressful week. I was very busy. I cannot be honest and say that I'm very weak today. I feel run down, but God is merciful to me, and he helped me get through the situations. But we can't forget to praise the Lord in every circumstance that we're in.

We can't forget to give thanks to him for the good times and the tough times. It's because sometimes we come to the Lord for the gifts and the calling of God that we don't remember to give thanks to him in every circumstance that we're going through.

Sometimes that will remove the cloud off your head. Sometimes you feel like there's a separation between you and the Lord. You may not sense the presence of God in your life as much. Sometimes we need to start praising God.

We need to start giving thanks to him. I was reading that in 2 Chronicles chapter 20 this week, and I want to read that with you guys here really quick. 2 Chronicles chapter 20, verse 1. It says, It came about after this that the sons of Moab and the sons of Ammon, together with the Meonites or Ammonites, came to make war against Jehoshaphat.

Then some came and reported to Jehoshaphat, saying, A great multitude is coming against you from beyond the sea. They are from En Gedi. And Jehoshaphat was afraid and turned his attention to seek the Lord and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah.

So Judah gathered together to seek help from the Lord, and they even came from all the cities of Judah to seek the Lord. So here's a report that somebody is coming to them from across the sea, and they are coming to make war against them, and he was afraid.

Jehoshaphat Seeks the Lord in Fear

His natural reaction wasn't to, I got this, let's go do it. No, he was afraid. He was honest, and this is wonderful comfort to us. Sometimes we're afraid. We're fearful of the future. We're fearful of the circumstance that's coming against us.

And it's not uncommon to do that, but we need to know where our help comes from, and we need to lift our eyes up to him to where our help comes from. And it says, Jehoshaphat, in verse 5, stood in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem in the house of the Lord before the new court and said, O Lord, the God of our fathers, are you not God in heaven?

And are you not ruler over all the kingdoms of all the nations? Power and might are in thy hands so that no one can stand against thee. It's amazing. He automatically acknowledges that he is the ruler of all the nations.

He is God of heaven and earth, and he is in control of every circumstance. So this man, he had faith in the midst of his fearful trial, and he acknowledged that, Lord, you're in control of this circumstance.

I also wanted to mention too that everybody came together at that time to seek help from the Lord. You know, when we have circumstances, we need to join together. We don't need to disband and be separate.

We need to join together and work together. A body can't function unless every part does its share, from the children even up to, you know, the men, the women. Everybody has to do their part as God has a portion to each of you.

Serving One Another as unto the Lord

If it means you serve, if it means you send a blessing. I remember when my wife was, we just had our baby. We had some sisters come, and they just came and brought her food and help at different times.

One day a sister came and like literally took all the kids from our house and took them to their house, and it was such a blessing. And it was like you feel so refreshed when you have something like that.

But each part is doing their share as unto the Lord. You know, I'm reminded of this. I run a business. I have employees. I have a lot of stress, and then I also have things outside of my business that are going on that also, I would say, are more stressful than this.

And I just said, Lord, this is not mine. You've given me this task to do. I need to do it as unto you. Whatever you give me to do, I want to do it as unto you. If it means I share the gospel in one place, and you open a door in another place, then I need to do it as unto you.

Even though I may be tired, even though I may be overwhelmed, Lord, I'm still doing it as unto you. And if you've opened the door, then I need to be willing. Recently some doors have opened for us, and I'm looking at my schedule, and I'm realizing, man, my schedule is overbooked.

I've got too much going on. And then I opened my Bible, and here's Jesus, a picture of him as he preached in Judea and the synagogues there. And then he left there, and then they came to find him because they wanted him to stay in one area to preach the gospel.

They wanted him to stay there. But he said to them, he says, no, for this reason my father sent me, I must also go to the other cities and preach the gospel to them as well too. And he says, I can't stay here.

There was a time where he preached the gospel in one place, and then the Spirit of God led him to go to another place. He didn't stay in the same place forever. And I received it as a confirmation from the Lord, Dan, you need to be willing to go where I send you.

You need to be willing to do it even if you're tired and weary. And I said, Baha 'u'llah, how do I get the strength to do this? I'm looking to you. I need the help to do this. And you know what he said to me?

He said, you know what, you need to do it as unto me. Do it not for their sake, not for my sake, but do it because of me. And that really should be our motivation for everything that we do. Don't go to work and do your job as unto a boss.

Do it as unto the Lord. Don't serve your parents as they're your parents. Do it as unto the Lord. And say, Lord, give me the strength to do this, even though it may be difficult. And those leaving the home or you're on your own, do it as unto the Lord.

You live on your own, do it as unto the Lord. Do you know what the Lord's going to ask you to give an account of on that day? How did you live as a single brother? What did you do with the time that you had?

Paul’s Example of Laboring by Grace

The Apostle Paul, what did he say that he did? By the grace of God, I am what I am, and I labored more than all of them. And the grace of God did not prove to be in vain towards me. He used the opportunity that he had full stop for God's kingdom.

And you know what? We struggle with this. We get sidetracked with all the different things that we think are important, but they're not as important as saying, Lord, help me to spend the time that you've given me wisely and for advancing your kingdom, whatever that may be.

And you know what? That's an encouragement to me, Paul. Even in the time in jail, he used the opportunity to write the letters that we get to read and be edified from, and the Holy Spirit speaks to us through these things.

And so, you know what? Use the opportunity that you have. It doesn't mean that you should, oh, I got to do this. No, it just, as the Lord leads you, just be faithful with what burden God puts on your heart.

Jehoshaphat Remembers God’s Covenant Faithfulness

But here's Josaphat, the king, the leader of the assembly, the leader of the nation of Israel. He's saying, Lord, you are the ruler over all the kingdoms of the nations. Verse 7, it says, Did you not, O God, drive out the inhabitants of this land before thy people Israel and give it to the descendants of Abraham, thy friend, forever?

And they lived in it and have built you a sanctuary there for thy name, saying, Should evil come upon us, the sword, or judgment, or pestilence, or famine, we will stand before this house and before thee, for thy name is in this house, and cry to thee in our distress, and you will hear and deliver us.

It's amazing, all these things came upon them in destruction, war, judgment, or pestilence, COVID, all those things. They would stand before him, and they would call on the name of the Lord. You know, that's one thing that you don't hear from the news today.

They don't hear the news saying, We need to cry out to God for help. And not once have I heard it in the whole two years that this thing has been going on. We need to cry out for God for mercy. That's what we need to do.

And we can be the leaders in the world that way. We can, as the church, we can cry out to the Lord for mercy. It will set an example that our hope is in Him. And it says right here, Verse 10, And now, behold, the sons of Ammon, and Moab, and Mount Seir, whom you did not let Israel invade when they came out of the land of Egypt.

And it says in brackets, They turned aside from them and did not destroy them. Behold, how they are rewarding us by coming to drive us out from thy possession, which thou hast given to us as an inheritance, which he has given to us as an inheritance.

You know, it's interesting in that situation that, Lord, when you let us out of Egypt into this promised land, you didn't let us touch anything that was in their land, that was given to them as their apportion.

But now they are rewarding us by now coming and taking away the possession that you've given to us. And so the Lord is not unjust. He's not partial. But He wasn't partial. He let the Ammonites stay there.

He was merciful to them. He didn't let them destroy them. That's amazing. But He was impartial to them. He said that's their land. I drove out the nations before them, and they get to settle there. That's where they get to live.

And now you guys are not allowed to touch them. You have to go to your own land. And you guys have to stay there. That's your possession. But now they're starting to press against them. They're starting to invade that land.

Judgment, Opposition, and Calling the Church to Prayer

And this was their prayer. It no longer turned to a prayer of, Lord, deliver me. It was a prayer of, Lord, this is what they're doing to you. It's now they're against you. And we prayed that prayer today.

I said, Lord, the things that are happening in our country nowadays in regards to these things, the pride movement, all these things that they're pushing and promoting so strongly that this is no longer against us.

It's against God. God's Word is against it. So now that's the battle that they're going to have to face. And this is a scary thing. And that's why I believe judgment has come upon the world. It's a tough thing to say these things, but it's the reality of the situation.

We've forsaken the Lord. It wasn't God's plan. Oh, Lord, our God, will not thou judge them? For we are powerless before this great multitude who are coming against us. Nor do we know what to do, but our eyes are on thee.

And all Judah was standing there before the Lord with their infants, their wives, and their children. Everybody was there, the infants, the wives, and the children. Then in the midst of the assembly, the Spirit of the Lord came upon Jehaziel, the son of Zechariah, the son of Banea, the son of Jael, the son of Metaniah, the Levite, the sons of Asaph.

Do Not Fear Because the Battle Belongs to God

Well, this guy came from a good lineage. This guy obviously had some good fathers and grandfathers that they brought up their names. And he said, listen, all Judah and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem and King Jehoshaphat, thus says the Lord to you, do not fear or be dismayed because of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours but God's.

But the first thing he says to them is do not fear or be afraid of the situation that you're in. Do not be afraid for the battle is not yours but God's. Tomorrow go down against them. Behold, they will come up by the mountain of Ziz, and they will find them at the end of the valley in front of the wilderness.

But you do not need to fight in this battle. Station yourselves. Stand and see the salvation of the Lord on your behalf, O Judah and Jerusalem. Do not fear or be dismayed. Isaiah, tomorrow go out to face them for the Lord is with you.

That's so encouraging. Do not fear or be dismayed. It didn't mean that they had to run. He told them to go out and face them. He actually says, you know, do not fear. Tomorrow go out to face them. So he didn't say run from this situation, go and hide in the mountains and do this thing.

He actually says go and face this situation. Sometimes we're going through a trial and we don't know what to do. You need to stand up and face it. That's the devil's trick. A lot of the time when you're beginning your journey with the Lord, even as you're walking with the Lord over time, is you come to a situation that seems so difficult.

It may be a tough job. It may be a difficult situation at home. It may be something that's in your life that is too much for you to bear. And you would think that you have the peace of God to just run and hide from the situation and not deal with it.

But you need to deal with it. You have to move forward. That's how they took the promised land, was they took a step of faith to face it. And we can't know what God's will is in our life if we're never willing to take a step of faith and try, if we're never willing to take a step of faith to go against that opposition and say, Lord, I need you to help me.

Spiritual Warfare Requires Dependence on God

Now, we don't battle against flesh and blood. We don't battle against people. We're not doing that. We're battling against principalities and powers in our DNA. Spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places that are coming against us.

And so we need to be reminded that we don't need to fight in these things. We need to raise our complaint and our prayer to the Lord and say, Lord, I need you to help me in this situation. We all don't know things against ourselves.

A lot of it we are blind to, guys. And so we need to continue to ask the Lord to help us to not try to solve situations in our own strength, but to allow the Lord to do it. It says, verse 18,. And Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground, and all Judah and the inhabitants fell down before the Lord, worshiping the Lord.

And the Levites from the sons of the Kohathites and the sons of the Korathites stood up to praise the Lord their God with a very loud voice. Now, you guys, I'll let you finish reading the story. I'll finish here.

Jehaziel’s Encouragement and the Ministry of the Ordinary Believer

But in this situation that God brought about an answer when they brought their supplication to the Lord and they praised the Lord there with a very loud voice. But the one thing that encouraged me was this one brother, this man Jehaziel.

You don't hear about this man ever, except in this situation. And you may think that you're somebody insignificant in the church and the body of Christ. But when the Spirit of God comes upon you, be obedient to what the Lord is leading you to do.

Because you may do great and mighty things. That one brother was able to encourage the whole congregation. It wasn't Jehoshaphat. It wasn't the high priest. It wasn't these other people. It was this man named Jehaziel.

And he came and he just said, you guys, don't be afraid. Do not fear. That was the message. And so we can't be afraid in the situations that we're in. Let's ask the Lord for strength to have faith in the midst of our adversities.

And we will grow. I'll finish in 1 Corinthians 15, this last verse that John was sharing. I get encouraged by this. 1 Corinthians 15, verse 30. It says, why are we in danger every hour? Why are we in danger every hour?

Dying Daily and Taking Up the Cross

Sometimes it seems like that's the case. We get reports every single hour. Sometimes at my job, we get reports every single half hour, every single minute. It's just so stressful sometimes. But praise God, we can look to Him and say, Lord, You're in control of all this.

You're allowing it. But look what He says here. I protest, brethren, by the boasting in you which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord. I die daily. There's a taking up of our cross that needs to happen. It means you have to die to your own will.

And that's where we become more Christlike is when we learn every single day to take up our cross and to die daily. We don't like to hear that message. We like to hear a message of grace and these things.

And it's good. We do need the grace of God. But there's also an application that helps us and qualifies us to receive an abundance of grace. Like Paul said, I die daily. If this is the Apostle Paul who preaches about God's grace, who preaches about these things, he is the one who said, I die daily.

And this was anointed by the Holy Spirit and it's spoken to us as a reminder to us. I die daily. And so we have to continually every day to die to my own will. It says right here, verse 32, if from human motives I fought with wild beasts at Ephesus, what does it profit me?

If the dead are not raised, let us eat and drink for tomorrow, we die. Basically he's saying, listen, if from human motives I fought from all these people at Ephesus and they were coming against me, I didn't fight them from human motives to have my way.

No. If that was the case, then I may as well just eat and drink and tomorrow we die. There's no reason. But he's doing it for a spiritual reason. He's doing it because at that time there was a great opposition to him at Ephesus.

And he fought against those men at that time because he was preaching the gospel and they were against it. But he wasn't doing it out of his own strength. He was doing it because God had called him to preach the gospel.

And so he was like, well, there's a reason why I was doing that. There's a reason why I'm living this life and living the way that I am and there's a reason that I'm dying daily because I believe that one day I'm going to stand before God and I need to finish the race that God's given me to do.

That's why he was doing it. He wasn't doing it for because, well, you know, sometimes we get afraid of these situations because of the circumstance and we don't know what to do in the situation so then we hide and we run from the trial.

But God wants us to do it. Why? Because there's a spiritual reward. There's a spiritual application that needs to be applied in our life. And that's the reason that we're taking up our cross every day and dying daily is because we want to become like Jesus, because we believe in Jesus, because we believe that he died and rose again for our sins.

That's why we do it because we also believe that he is living, alive, and he's coming back again. This is why we die daily. This is why we do it because he did it for us. You know, I won't say anything.

I'll finish here, but thank you for letting me share. But let's continue to run the race that's set before us.