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- [00:01]
Derek Greer
Welcome to the live big broadcast with Derek Greer. We believe this teaching from God's Word will empower you to live a full, impactful life in Christ. Let's dig in.
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Unknown Speaker
Today we're gonna learn five keys, and the goal is to move you from the back to the front, to put you above and not beneath. Make you the head and not the tail. Take you from behind and put you ahead. So we're going to be in 2nd Chronicles, chapter 20, and verse 1. It says, it happened after this. King Jehoshaphat was 35 years when he started his reign, and he started it really, really strong. When he came into power, he removed all the idols from the land. Unlike his predecessors, he refused to worship baal. And under his leadership, revival broke out in the land for roughly 25 years. And revival is not as elusive as many people try to make it. It usually begins with people simply finding the courage to address the obvious. Anyone could have looked at the nation and saw the idolatry and saw the worship of the false gods and knew that that was the place to start. But, you know, most of us really don't need a prophet to tell us what's in our way. If we would just listen to our nagging conscience, if we would just listen to that witness of the Holy Spirit and not a thousand different, just two or three areas, everything in our lives would shift. You see, the only thing between where you are and where you need to be is air and opportunity. In this upcoming year. It said, it happened after this. Jehoshaphat was one of the rare good kings in Judah, but he had a problem. He didn't pay attention to who he hung out with, and he aligned himself with wicked King Ahab from the North. In fact, just two chapters earlier, his rendezvous with this king almost got him killed. You know, a pastor said this. He said, it's really hard to live a right life when you constantly surround yourself with the wrong people. He said it happened after this, that the people of Moab, with the people of Ammon, and others with them besides the Ammonites, came to battle against Jehoshaphat. In this life, we are either in a battle, coming out of a battle, or going into a battle in our fallen world. We don't really get what we want. We get what we're willing to fight for. How many don't know that's true? Second Timothy, chapter two and verse three. Paul encourages the young pastor that's struggling at this point in his ministry. He says, endure hardness, meaning you don't avoid hardness. It's going to come on every Timothy was a godly man. Endure hardness. Watch this as a good soldier. How many of y'all heard about General Patton in your history books? All right, well, he said this. A good soldier must fight where he's told and win where he fights. So you may be positioned in a hard marriage, but that's the place you must fight. You may be positioned in a hard school system, but that's the place you must fight. You may be positioned in a hard health situation, but that's where you must fight. Fight. God has called us to fight the good fight. And you know, we just kind of want to battle in the heavenlies. I've heard of people flying in airplanes, trying to pull down demons and all the rest. But let me tell you where the real fight is. The real fight is in your bedroom. The real fight. Yep. Is when those children come home from school. The real fight is when your family gets around the dinner table. The real fight is forgiving your neighbor. Your real fight is letting go of the past. You hear what I'm saying? But we have a fight that we must fight. Then some came and told Jehoshaphat saying, a great multitude is coming against you from beyond the sea, even from Syria. So we see here that at least four nations had allied themselves against Jehoshaphat. He's facing overwhelming odds and overwhelming numbers. And then the messenger goes on to say, and they're not very far away. They're in Hazazan Tamar, which is in Engedi, which is about a two or three day march away from there. Actually, if they were really serious, they could have gotten there in the day. I don't know about everyone in this room, but I'm just curious, you know, am I the only one that has ever had a bill, maybe a hostile meeting, maybe an uncertain surgery, maybe an impossible court case that was only days away. And fear tried to grip you like an ice cube. I mean. I mean, you felt immobilized by what you were about to face and deal with. Well, this is the situation of Jehoshaphat. And I don't think I'd be preaching this today if it wasn't the situation of somebody in this room. And it says in verse three, and Jehoshaphat feared. You see, it's one thing to read about Moses at the Red Sea, you know, it's another thing to read about Gideon and his 300. It's another thing to read about, you know, Joshua at the walls of Jericho, but when it's about your own survival it quickly gets deep and personal. It gets real. And, you know, he had the narratives of what God did in the past, but Jehoshaphat had to answer the question, would God do that for me? And I'm grateful for what God has done for others and what he's done in the past. But the $6 million question is, what will I believe that God will do for me? And Jehoshaphat was in his zero hour. The clock had struck midnight. And this was not a story. I mean, when you got defeated in battle, your kids were taken as slaves, you were often. The king himself was killed. Your people went into slavery.
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It was a horrible thing.
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They weren't coming with rubber bullets. They weren't coming with, you know, just a couple billy clubs. They were coming with spears and knives and chariots, and they would cut you up and not feel bad about it at all. They had bows and arrows, and people's lives were on the line. And Jehoshaphat feared. I will tell you, if you walk long enough with the Lord, you will have some moments where you have to deal with fear. But it's what we do when we're afraid that makes all the difference in the world. So here we have this man. His legs are trembling. It's like, man, it seems so much easier when it was Moses and my forefathers. But, Lord, right now, I'm not so impressed with myself. God frightened. And in this situation, Scripture says, and he set himself, didn't say he ran away. He didn't fall apart. But what he did was make a decision, and he set himself. And there are moments in your journey that you will have to brace yourself and set yourself, control yourself, handle yourself in order to manage the moment. If I had a dollar for each time in my journey that I felt like running, but I didn't, I'd be able to pay off our entire mortgage. But Jehoshaphat set himself. Some decisions you're not just going to waltz into. You have to make a concentrated and honest and earnest decision to do the thing. So instead of giving into his fear and just talking to everybody about how hurt he was and getting a psychologist to talk about what happened to him when he was a child and how that plays into the moment and all the rest, he set himself to seek the Lord, which meant the king was willing to change his daily routine. Maybe he watched two less movies that week. Maybe he took a day off from work. Maybe he went on some long walks. Maybe, you know, he started reading the Bible for himself. Maybe he even started to talk out loud. You know, if you gotta cry, if you gotta grunt, if you must shout, get it out.
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But get it on the altar. And this is what Jehoshaphat did.
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And he proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah. He was struggling, but he used his resources. And for us, it would be our church, family. And he proclaimed a fast like we have done in these 21 days throughout all Judah. And this fast was saying that God was more important than the food they.
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Ate, that God was more important than the things they did, the places they went.
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Sometimes all faith is. Is taking God seriously at that time. So Judah gathered together to ask help. Watch this from the Lord. And from all the cities of Judah, they came to seek the Lord. Unity is one of our most powerful spiritual weapons. And this is why the devil tries so hard to tear us apart, keep us apart. I mean, he'll find the smallest thing to get us the harp on. On to break our unity, because that's where our power is. But most of us have learned his game. Satan must subtract love and understanding before he can divide. So there's always a subtraction and a hardness that comes before he divides. And we got to learn to stop letting him do it. Then Jehoshaphat stood in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem in the house of the Lord, where all of us are today. And I'm glad you're here. And they stood before the new court and they got on the line and they connected. And watch this. And he prayed, and here's his words. 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? This prayer goes on like this for six verses. And we see in this prayer that Jehoshaphat was wise enough not to make it all about him, but all about God. And when you are in a difficult situation and it's still all about you, you're going to stay in that situation until you can make it all about your king and your God. The greatest results happen in fasting and praying when it's about God's glory and not our own. Stay with me now. All Judah, even with the babies. And it's important for us to worship with our babies, you know? Yeah.
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You want?
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How come my kids don't listen? Because they watch. Be more concerned about your kids watching what you do than them listening to what you say. And if you're not faithful, they're not going to be faithful. If you don't come to church, don't be surprised. Your kids don't. That was free. Now all Judah with their little ones, their wives, the whole family. And bring your family stood before the Lord. After they had fasted, after they had prayed, they move on to this next thing. You see, there are three obligations that Jesus gives every single Christian, without exception. Giving, fasting, and praying. Matthew 6:3 says this, when you give, not if you give. So God expects all of us to put some of our strength behind the work of the kingdom. Matthew 6:5 says, when you pray, not if you pray. Matthew 16, 19, 20 says, when you fast, not if you fast. So don't expect the promised output if you don't offer the proper input. Jesus said it this way, what measure you meet shall be measured back unto you. If you lean in a little bit. God said, I'm going to lean in a little bit, but if you lean in big, I'm going to lean in big. And what happens in times of crisis, we haven't leaned in. So there's no. We don't get the results we want. And we read the stories and the narratives in the Bible, but we just read the promise in the end without looking at the process. First they fasted, then they prayed. But it doesn't stop there. Watch what happened in 14. Then the Spirit of the Lord came upon Jahaziel, Jahej the son of Zechariah, the son of Benaniah, the son of Jeo, the son of Mattaniah, a Levite of the son of Asaph, in the midst of the assembly. So they fasted, they prayed. They didn't get their breakthrough yet. But after they fasted and prayed, the Holy Spirit moved. There's some things you will only hear from God after you fast and you pray.
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There's some things that are dialed up.
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On a certain level that until you get serious enough, you're not going to hear the answer until you want to know. God hides certain things from the dispassionate. Verse 15. So they fast, they pray, and then the Word of God's released. And the prophet said, listen, all of you of Judah and you inhabitants of Jerusalem, and you King Jehoshaphat, thus says the Lord to you, while it says, do not be afraid. Now, there are people around the world that pray. There are religions that require you to pray five times a day. This may bother you, it might surprise you, but I do not pray because I'm religious. The reason I pray is because I have real enemies.
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I have real problems, real Limitations, real.
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Situations in my life that I can't just wish away. I need answers from a real God.
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With real wisdom and real power. I don't got time to play.
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I need God and that's why I pray. So the prophet said, thus says the Lord to you, do not be afraid. God knows how you feel, but you need to remember who he is and who you represent, who you are, to whom you belong. Nor be dismayed. He was saying to the king and the people, you need to put your game face on. You need to collect yourself, maintain your.
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Resolve, Stay the course, stay in the game.
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Do not be moved.
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Square your shoulder.
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Show yourself a man, show yourself a woman.
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Do not back up because the Lord.
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God is with you. He said, don't be afraid, don't be upset. Everyone else is afraid, everyone's afraid, but don't be afraid because of this great multitude. But here's important. The prophet didn't preach, pretended they didn't have a big problem. He just pointed them to a big God. And sometimes I have big problems. Sometimes you have big problems, but we.
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Have a big God.
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So don't be overwhelmed by the mountain in your way. Because God's bigger than any mountain. You understand what I'm saying? For the battle is not yours. The prophet was saying, take the burden off of your inabilities. Inabilities. And let go and let God. Jesus said, my yoke is easy, my burden is light. And when I get to carrying my problem, it gets heavy, it gets hard. But when I give it to God, there's a lightness that comes. But hear me, don't think I just got it like that. I'll get news like you get news and it will hit me. And then I'll carry it for a minute, but then I'll take it to the Lord. I'll get on my face and I'll cry out, I'll worship and I'll praise, I'll bring it to God. And then somehow the problem's the same. But I walk out of that prayer closet different. He said, for the battle is not yours. I love it when God says things like this. I don't know if I have more faith than more people or just my mama gave me more common sense. I'm not sure. But over the years, in my lightning fast mind, I mean, listen, I may not know how to do the quadratic formula. I don't follow everything about the laws of relativity, but I've learned some basic things.
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If God brings me to it, he's.
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Going to bring me through it. I may not have a degree in physics. I may not understand all that's in our genome. And I don't.
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I don't.
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There's just some things I don't get.
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But I'm smart enough to know that.
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God cannot create a rock he can't lift.
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So there can't be a human problem he can't solve.
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So I've learned to give it to God and go to sleep, let everybody.
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Else figure it out, Let everybody else analyze it, dissect it, argue over it.
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I'm going to go to sleep. And then he said this, and what I'm about to say is important. He said, tomorrow, go down against them. So they fasted, they prayed, and they received a word from God. This is important. But notice, despite God's promise to fight for them, they still had to show up. Just because the battle is the Lord's doesn't mean there's not anything else for you to do. They fasted, they prayed, they heard, and then they obeyed. Would you say that with me? They fasted, they prayed, they heard, then they obeyed. Say it with me. I must fast, I must pray, I must hear, but I must obey. So watch what's happening here. So they did all these things, but in order for them to win the victory, they had to go down. They had to obey what God said. Verse 17. You will not need to fight in this battle. But like I just said, but you will need to show up. If you want to stay on the spiritual map, you got to keep showing up. In the Bible, David also said the battle is the Lord's, but he still had to find the courage to run at Goliath with his sling. So this battle you're fighting belongs to the Lord. But you still need to get in position. You still need to do the thing God's telling you to do. You still need to show up so God can show out and do what only God could do. But then he continues, he says, you will need to. You'll not need to fight his battle. But I do need you. To what? Position yourself. You see, if you position yourself well enough, God will make sure your circumstances do the rest. Position. God will fight for you, but if you're out of position, you're not gonna win. Get to where God told you to go and stay. He says, stand still, don't run, don't back up and see the salvation of the Lord. He was saying, fast, pray, but don't forget to obey. And what we do is sometimes we substitute doing the right thing with fasting and praying. We'll even go to church and hear, but we won't do so. The miracle happened when they did. Then he said, and see the salvation of the Lord. Who is what with you? You know, at the end of the day, that's all that matters. Not everyone's opinions, not everyone's feelings, not everyone's judgment. What matters is God's presence. Then he said, oh, Judah and Jerusalem, oh grace church, sitting in dumfries and across the Internet. Do not fear or be dismayed. Don't choke, don't punk out, don't get out of the position I assigned you. Don't quit tomorrow. You still gotta show up. I'll fight, but you gotta show up. Go out against them, for the Lord is with you. And what God was saying is, I'm with you, I got you. But you got to show up. And God is saying to some of you in this room, you got to show up. You got to get in the room. You got to deal with the issue. Don't avoid it. You got to show up. And then if you show up, God will do what God can do, but he won't do it apart from you. Jesus prayed at Gethsemane, but he still had to go to the cross. Faith without works is dead. And Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground. And sometimes, you know, God's just so good. I mean, he was trembling a couple moments ago. All you can do is bow your head in worship and say, a thousand may fall at my left hand, 10,000 at my right, but it shall not come near me. As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.
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If God did it for anybody, God.
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Will do it for me. He bowed to the ground and began to worship God. And all Judah and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem bowed before the Lord, worshiping the Lord. And when worship is done right, it becomes contagious. There's nothing more wholesome, there's nothing more self actualizing, more beautiful than a man or woman truly worshiping his or her creator. I mean, when we worship, it's like a horse running. I mean, it's beautiful, like a jaguar with his prey, you know? I mean, it's us in our natural environment. It's unnatural when we're worried. It's unnatural when we're fretting and fighting and bickering and complaining. We become our best selves when we are in the presence of the Almighty.
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Just throwing down our crown, saying, God, I worship you.
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I serve, celebrate you.
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You are God all by yourself.
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God and, and I look to you. I am creature.
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You. You are divine. And. And I submit. I yield. I'll. I'll go your way. Whatever you want me to do, Lord, I. I'll do what you say. I'll be who you want me to be. God. That's the most natural thing for human to do.
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Then the Levites and the children of the Kohathites and of the children of the Korahites stood up to praise the Lord God of Israel. Watch this with loud and high voice. Voices. Stop being so stiff. You shout in the boxing match.
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You shout the football game. You shout at the basketball game. You shout every place else except the place that matters most. You are on the winning team. Our God always wins. He's about to score. If you look to him and trust him. Praise him, praise him, praise him. From the rising of the sun to the going down of the same. His name, his name, his name is worthy, worthy, worthy to be praised. Anyone in this house got some praise for the living God? Hey. If it had not been, if it had not been. If it had not been, if it had not been for the Lord on my side.
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My side, my side, my side.
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I'm so grateful.
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For what he did for Daniel.
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I'm grateful for what he did for.
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The woman with the issue of blood.
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I'm grateful for what he did for the blind man. But I want to tell you what he's done for me. I got reason to praise him. You got reason to praise him. It's not just in a book. We've all experienced his goodness day after day, morning after morning. He has kept us, preserved us, upheld us. He's proved himself to be a faithful God. And if you don't praise him, the rocks will cry out. I don't want no tree to rave its branches in my place. I don't want no bird chirping songs in my place. I have a God that's worthy, a God that's faithful. A God that's committed, powerful, loving, and will never, ever, ever let me go. You either give God a hallelujah. He did it for me. He'll do it for not a respecter.
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Of persons, friend that sticks closer than a brother.
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Let me tell you how God likes his praise.
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God said, worship him with the sound of the trumpet. Praise him with the flute and the harp.
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Praise him with the timbrel and dance.
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Praise him with the string instruments and flutes.
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Praise him with the loud cymbals, the clashing cymbals. Let everything that has breath, if you got breath in your lungs, Let everything that has breath. If you got strength in your body, let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Come on, give it to him the way he likes it. Give it to him out loud. Give it to him with a hearty voice. Give it to him with strength. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. It's breaking. It's breaking. It's breaking. It's breaking off your family, it's breaking off your mind. It's breaking off your body. It's breaking off your finances.
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So they rose early in the morning and went out into the wilderness of Tekoa. And as they went, Jehoshaphat stood and said, hear me, O Judah, and you inhabitants of Jerusalem. His legs were shivering at one point. But now there's a boldness and a strength. And when you seek the Lord and lean in, there will be a boldness and a strength. He said, believe in the Lord your God, and you shall be established. Believe his prophets and you shall prosper. And what he was saying was, cook or get out of the kitchen. Fish or cut bait. Fast prayer, hear. But above all, obey. And when he had consulted the people, it seems he went to all of the heads of the tribes. And you know, even when you think you heard from God, the Bible says every word is confirmed out of the mouth of two or three witnesses. The Bible says us and actually warns us. There's wisdom in a multitude of counselors. So he heard from God, but he went to godly man. I'm not talking about, go talk to everybody. But when you think God's speaking to you, find someone that loves the Lord, that walks with the Lord, that's been in the way for a while, and get some input and let him sharpen you. And he appointed those who should sing to the Lord and who should praise the beauty of holiness. Holiness is beautiful. A man or woman you could trust in your life. A man and woman separated and dedicated to God is beautiful. We praise the beauty of his holiness. As they went out before the army, and this is what they were saying. Praise the Lord for his mercy. Never gives up, never gives out, never gives in, for his mercy endures forever. What we find here is that Jehoshaphat and the elders decided that in order to win the battle, they had to put their praise up front. If you want to win your battle.
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You'Re gonna have to put your praise out front.
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Somebody said complainers may change their complaints, but they'll never change the amount of time they complain, because their complaint is more about character than the character of their situation. After you fast after you pray, after you hear and obey, all that's left is the praise. Praise was the evidence of their faith. And praise remains the evidence of your faith. When you can praise him before the victory God has had, you step out into a vulnerable position and situation.
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But you have obeyed.
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And in the midst of you standing there, you lift your hands to God.
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And give him praise and honor. Though the armies in front of you.
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That multitudes standing in your way, but you praise. Now, when they began to what, sing and to praise. And the challenge is we read our Bible, but we only read pieces. And I'm going to try to stop in just a second, we read this and say, well, you know what, if I would just praise, God would defeat my enemy. That's not what happened. They fasted, they prayed, they heard, they obeyed. Obedient, obedient praise is the most scary thing the devil can ever hear. Miriam says, say it again. Obedient praise is the most dangerous thing the devil could ever hear. So when they began to sing praise, this is my last verse. The Lord sent ambushes against the people of Ammon, Moab and Mount Seir, who had come against Judah. In other words, they began to attack themselves. The devil would rather kill himself than hear obedient praise.
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God can tolerate a singer with a song, but he can't tolerate real praise that comes from the heart.
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And when you've really given yourself to the Lord and you're singing out a place of surrender and destiny, there's nothing.
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The devil can do about that. So you could go through these 21.
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Days and go through the form, but if you put your heart behind it, you're going to find power and deliverance like you have not imagined. So it says, and they were what? Defeated? And I'm done. So if God's people would humble themselves, fast and pray, hear and obey, and.
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Give God all the praise, nothing, no thing, will be too hard for our God. Give God a hallelujah and a hand clap for being faithful, a friend that sticks closer than a brother.
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Derek Greer
Thank you for joining us. Until next time, remember, you have what it takes in Christ to live big. We also invite you to partner with Derek Reer Ministries in bringing the life changing and impactful teachings of God's Word to the world. Get started by visiting Derek rear.com by clicking the link in the description.