WEBVTT 00:00:00.239 --> 00:00:02.640 Welcome to the City Covenant Podcast. 00:00:02.879 --> 00:00:11.599 We are a warm, welcoming church located in downtown Spokane, dedicated to practicing the way of Jesus in the heart of the city. 00:00:11.839 --> 00:00:15.679 Please join us as we dive into the Word of God together. 00:00:38.880 --> 00:00:39.759 It's 1045. 00:00:39.840 --> 00:00:41.759 I've got about 25 to 30 minutes. 00:00:41.840 --> 00:00:45.759 So I know many of you have are already grateful for me to preach shorter, right? 00:00:45.840 --> 00:00:46.960 And so I get that. 00:00:47.439 --> 00:00:48.399 Here's what we're doing. 00:00:48.560 --> 00:00:51.840 We are looking at the sermon series during this, um during summer. 00:00:51.920 --> 00:00:52.880 We're looking at prayer. 00:00:53.039 --> 00:00:58.560 As we look at all these different stories of prayer throughout the Old and New Testament, here's what we're doing. 00:00:58.640 --> 00:01:01.439 Um each one of these texts is a standalone sermon, right? 00:01:01.520 --> 00:01:06.319 So if you miss some, you can dive right back in and hear the talk on prayer. 00:01:06.480 --> 00:01:14.640 So today we're looking at 2 Chronicles 20, and I can't believe of all the times that I forgot to write down the page in your pew Bible. 00:01:14.799 --> 00:01:16.400 Um I I forgot what it is. 00:01:16.640 --> 00:01:17.519 I forgot to write it down. 00:01:17.680 --> 00:01:20.879 And so, Philip, I don't know if you see that pew Bible or somebody can help me. 00:01:20.959 --> 00:01:22.959 Um you can tell me in a second and help everyone else. 00:01:23.040 --> 00:01:24.799 Get to 2 Chronicles 20, okay? 00:01:24.959 --> 00:01:28.719 Um feel if somebody knows the NIV one in your pew Bible, go and tell it to me. 00:01:28.879 --> 00:01:31.120 Um, whoa, what's the other one? 00:01:31.840 --> 00:01:34.079 385, that's the text. 00:01:34.239 --> 00:01:36.079 And so we're looking at 2 Chronicles 20. 00:01:36.159 --> 00:01:39.439 I'm just gonna give you a little clue for finding, navigating the Old Testament, right? 00:01:39.519 --> 00:01:44.400 You've got the Pentateuch, you've got you right, Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, right? 00:01:44.480 --> 00:01:47.359 You've got that a little bit after that, right? 00:01:47.439 --> 00:01:54.159 You're gonna hit Joshua and Judges, and then 1st and 2 Samuel, you've got Ruth in there too, it's a small one, and then Kings and then Chronicles. 00:01:54.239 --> 00:01:55.599 So that's just a little tidbit. 00:01:55.680 --> 00:01:57.439 That wasn't even part of the 30-minute talk, okay? 00:01:57.519 --> 00:01:59.359 That doesn't count against my time. 00:01:59.599 --> 00:02:04.159 Um, I want to tell you though, what's happening, and then we're gonna read 2 Chronicles 20, okay? 00:02:04.319 --> 00:02:12.159 There's something that's coming up in the history of the nation of Israel, and they find themselves at this inflection point where they desperately need God's help. 00:02:12.240 --> 00:02:13.120 Okay, that's where we're going. 00:02:13.199 --> 00:02:15.120 That's the text that we're gonna read in a minute. 00:02:15.280 --> 00:02:17.199 And I want to tell you how we got there. 00:02:17.439 --> 00:02:25.199 Because going back around 1000 BC, there's a young guy that almost everybody who's walked into a church knows about. 00:02:25.360 --> 00:02:28.159 There's this young guy, teenager named David, right? 00:02:28.479 --> 00:02:32.319 David um kills this Philistine named Goliath. 00:02:32.639 --> 00:02:36.240 Um, what we see is it's not just David doing it on his own. 00:02:36.400 --> 00:02:41.759 In fact, it was really it was God's hand in the midst of this, protects the nation of Israel, right? 00:02:41.919 --> 00:02:45.520 Um, David is then moved up into this place of leadership, right? 00:02:45.599 --> 00:03:01.120 He's brought up into this place of leadership, and and it begins this golden era for Israel because unlike his predecessor Saul, um, he understands one other thing that ultimately he has this role as king, but that God himself is the ultimate king of Israel. 00:03:01.280 --> 00:03:02.560 And David lived like this. 00:03:02.639 --> 00:03:03.280 He knew this, right? 00:03:03.360 --> 00:03:09.120 He was a deeply flawed person in his own ways, but still he understood that God is the ultimate king, right? 00:03:09.280 --> 00:03:27.759 And God creates this covenant promise with David, and he assures him that one of his lineage will always be the king of Israel, right, which reaches its ultimate final culmination, its fulfillment in the person of Jesus Christ, as Jesus Christ is the true king that all of Israel have been waiting for, right? 00:03:28.000 --> 00:03:29.759 In the lineage of David. 00:03:30.000 --> 00:03:45.199 And then from that point on, though, from David's point on, there's always, though, this abiding question behind everything, which is will God preserve David's line despite Israel's repeated failures, right? 00:03:45.360 --> 00:03:52.960 Because even though God has this promise, at the same time, Israel seems to not be living into the promise so frequently, right? 00:03:53.120 --> 00:03:57.039 So there's David and then the next guy right in line, his son, Solomon. 00:03:57.199 --> 00:04:01.039 And Solomon, I mean, it starts out so great, doesn't it? 00:04:01.199 --> 00:04:08.159 Solomon, this guy with so much wisdom that people from around the region come and they want to learn from Solomon, right? 00:04:08.240 --> 00:04:12.879 Because Solomon is blessed with this incredible wisdom from God himself. 00:04:13.039 --> 00:04:23.839 But then something happens as it starts going downhill because Solomon starts making these alliances with other nations because he thinks in his wisdom he should secure the boundaries of the country, right? 00:04:23.920 --> 00:04:28.959 And secure the country by forming alliances with countries that didn't trust in Yahweh, right? 00:04:29.120 --> 00:04:34.560 But by doing that, he goes so far as building alliances with other countries by marrying foreign wives. 00:04:34.639 --> 00:04:42.319 But the challenge is with these foreign wives who didn't serve Yahweh, Solomon starts being drawn away from God Himself, right? 00:04:42.480 --> 00:04:45.519 And this is actually something that we see so frequently. 00:04:45.680 --> 00:04:53.839 We see ultimately in the story of the nation of Israel, what's happening is the biggest threat to Israel isn't from the outside. 00:04:53.920 --> 00:04:55.680 It's not military conquest from the outside. 00:04:55.839 --> 00:04:58.560 Actually, it's compromise from the inside, right? 00:04:58.639 --> 00:05:01.360 And so that unfortunately is starting with Solomon. 00:05:01.519 --> 00:05:04.720 It goes downhill and it goes from bad to worse. 00:05:04.879 --> 00:05:05.759 Solomon dies. 00:05:06.000 --> 00:05:09.199 Um, the 10 northern, there were 12 tribes of Israel, right? 00:05:09.360 --> 00:05:20.800 The 10 northern ones end up breaking off, and and all you're left with is these two smaller ones, Judah and Benjamin, that just end up being known as Judah, right? 00:05:20.959 --> 00:05:26.399 And so um about 60 years after that happens, we roll in to where we're at now, right? 00:05:26.560 --> 00:05:28.000 The northern tribes are gone. 00:05:28.079 --> 00:05:34.399 Um, Jehoshaphat, this new this new king, is doing a mostly good job, actually. 00:05:34.560 --> 00:05:37.600 There's some really great things that's happening, right? 00:05:37.680 --> 00:05:41.600 He he comes and he he says, hey, we can no longer um worship. 00:05:41.680 --> 00:05:45.040 We we can't have these pagan deities, we can't have these pagan shrines anymore, right? 00:05:45.120 --> 00:05:50.399 So in his efforts to like make Israel great again, he looks and says, We gotta get rid of the pagan shrines, right? 00:05:50.560 --> 00:05:55.040 He he ends up saying, we need to learn the ways of Yahweh once again, right? 00:05:55.199 --> 00:05:57.120 We need to learn the ways of Yahweh. 00:05:57.279 --> 00:06:04.399 And so we need to teach people about how to insist, we need to teach people how to follow God's law, right? 00:06:04.560 --> 00:06:11.680 He ends up appointing judges and he reminds them that justice ultimately belongs to the Lord. 00:06:12.399 --> 00:06:12.800 Right? 00:06:13.040 --> 00:06:19.839 He gets that ultimately the national renewal of Israel is only gonna happen actually with spiritual renewal, right? 00:06:20.000 --> 00:06:21.040 But he's not perfect. 00:06:21.279 --> 00:06:24.560 He does one thing that really ends up bringing things sideways. 00:06:24.720 --> 00:06:32.480 He creates an alliance with this wicked king from the north named Ahab from the northern tribes, and which turns into a total mess. 00:06:33.040 --> 00:06:53.120 Fast forward, where we're at now in 2 Chronicles 20, is three tribes from around the area, not Israel, not Israel, um, uh the people group of Moab, the Moabites, the Ammonites, and probably this other group called the Edomites, are formed this alliance against Judah, and now we stumble in to the text we're reading today. 00:06:53.279 --> 00:06:54.319 Okay, so that's the background. 00:06:54.480 --> 00:07:07.439 And so if you would join me in reading 2 Chronicles, we're gonna read it 2 Chronicles 2 through 17, but we're gonna, there we're I'm shortening a little bit, so I'll tell you if we're gonna move on to another line, okay? 00:07:07.600 --> 00:07:11.600 And we're gonna we're gonna read this, then we'll pray, and then we'll study it together, okay? 00:07:11.759 --> 00:07:15.600 This is what 2 Chronicles 20, verses 2 and following say. 00:07:15.759 --> 00:07:24.399 Some people came and told Jehoshaphat, a vast army is coming against you from Edom, from the other side of the Dead Sea. 00:07:24.639 --> 00:07:28.800 It is already in Hezazon, Timar, that is, in Gedin. 00:07:29.040 --> 00:07:34.560 Alarmed, Jehoshaphat resolved to inquire of the Lord, and he proclaimed a fast for all of Judah. 00:07:34.720 --> 00:07:38.879 The people of Judah came together to seek help from the Lord. 00:07:39.040 --> 00:07:42.879 Indeed, they came from every town in Judah to seek him. 00:07:43.120 --> 00:07:57.920 Then Jehosaphat stood up in the assembly of Judah in Jerusalem at the temple of the Lord in front of the new courtyard and said, Lord, the God of our fathers, or the God of our ancestors, are you not the God who is in heaven? 00:07:58.319 --> 00:08:05.199 You rule over all the kingdoms of the nations, power and might are in your hand, and no one can withstand you. 00:08:05.519 --> 00:08:16.160 Our God, did you not drive out the inhabitants of this land before your people Israel and give it forever to the descendants of Abraham, your friend? 00:08:16.720 --> 00:08:36.720 They have lived in it and have built in it a sanctuary for your name, saying, If calamity comes upon us, whether the the weather, the sword of judgment, or plague or famine, we will stand in your presence before this temple that bears your name, and we will cry out to you in our distress, and you will hear us and save us. 00:08:37.039 --> 00:08:45.279 Verse 12 Our God, will you not judge them, for we have no power to face this vast army that is attacking us? 00:08:46.000 --> 00:08:46.879 And this is the line. 00:08:47.039 --> 00:08:47.759 I love this line. 00:08:48.480 --> 00:08:53.279 We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you. 00:08:54.799 --> 00:09:00.000 All the men of Judah, with their wives and children and little ones, they stood there before the Lord. 00:09:00.159 --> 00:09:11.919 Then the spirit of the Lord came on Jehaziel, the son of Zechariah, the son of Beniah, the son of Jael, the son of Mattaniah, a Levite, a descendant of Asaph. 00:09:12.159 --> 00:09:21.600 As he stood in the assembly, he said, Listen, King Jehosaphat, and all who live in Judah and Jerusalem, this is what the Lord says to you. 00:09:22.240 --> 00:09:29.519 Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this fast army, for the battle is not yours, but God's. 00:09:29.679 --> 00:09:34.159 And it finishes at the end of 17 by saying, Do not be afraid. 00:09:34.639 --> 00:09:36.240 Don't be discouraged. 00:09:36.480 --> 00:09:40.960 Go out to faith than tomorrow, and the Lord will be with you. 00:09:41.279 --> 00:09:43.759 Friends, this is the word of the Lord. 00:09:45.519 --> 00:09:46.159 Let's pray. 00:09:46.399 --> 00:09:49.600 Father in heaven, we thank you for your goodness, your kindness to us. 00:09:49.759 --> 00:09:52.559 We thank you that your mercies are new to us every morning. 00:09:52.639 --> 00:09:54.320 We thank you that you teach us how to pray. 00:09:54.480 --> 00:10:09.120 We we see the prayers across all of Scripture, and we pray that even as we study today, you would move in our hearts so that we might know you more, so that we might be able to give our hearts even more to you in prayer, knowing you've already given your heart to us. 00:10:09.360 --> 00:10:11.360 Lord, and we simply respond. 00:10:11.679 --> 00:10:18.240 Lord, help us to be people that would say that we don't know what to do, but our eyes are on you. 00:10:18.399 --> 00:10:20.080 Lord, help us to be those type of people. 00:10:20.240 --> 00:10:22.240 Lord, be because of Jesus. 00:10:22.399 --> 00:10:25.600 And it and it's in his strong name we pray, amen. 00:10:26.240 --> 00:10:29.679 So these folks, they get together, they pray, right? 00:10:29.840 --> 00:10:36.399 They and it says, this is the language that's used, the um NIV uses a more general gender-neutral word, right? 00:10:36.480 --> 00:10:37.200 Of ancestors. 00:10:37.360 --> 00:10:39.440 The original word in the Hebrew would have been fathers. 00:10:39.519 --> 00:10:45.360 And so when they go back, it says they they go and they say, Lord, the God of our fathers, right? 00:10:45.519 --> 00:10:50.320 This phrase, just you know, it's used in 1st and 2 Chronicles um four other times. 00:10:50.559 --> 00:10:55.200 About 20 times, it's used 20 times in the Old Testament in total, right? 00:10:55.279 --> 00:11:14.399 And this word, this invocation, every time they they say, God of our fathers, they're essentially saying, our confidence as we pray, God, our confidence is not just in what we are seeing today, but our confidence is in what you've always done, who you've always been, right? 00:11:14.559 --> 00:11:19.840 So they're reminding, even as they pray, they're reminding themselves and God, is this is all of our history together. 00:11:20.000 --> 00:11:24.320 You're the God of covenant, you're the one who has been so committed to us, right? 00:11:24.559 --> 00:11:31.840 And and he says, God of our fathers, which fathers is he talking about that God has already been faithful to, right? 00:11:32.080 --> 00:11:34.000 So let's just look at this for a second, right? 00:11:34.080 --> 00:11:34.960 Who are they, right? 00:11:35.039 --> 00:11:36.799 You think about some of these patriarchs, right? 00:11:36.879 --> 00:11:38.559 You think about some of the ancestors, right? 00:11:38.720 --> 00:11:45.360 You have Abraham and Sarah with these impossible promises of blessing and then children, right? 00:11:45.519 --> 00:11:48.080 You have Jacob wrestling with God, right? 00:11:48.240 --> 00:11:51.039 You have Joseph in all of his despair, right? 00:11:51.200 --> 00:11:55.440 Remember as he's thrown into the pit and then sold into slavery, right? 00:11:55.600 --> 00:12:01.120 You have Moses in the Exodus, you have David's victories, you have Solomon's temple, right? 00:12:01.279 --> 00:12:09.519 So, in other words, Jehoshaphat's grounds today, he grounds today's crisis in yesterday's faithfulness. 00:12:10.399 --> 00:12:14.559 But here's the thing, he's not just talking about family tree, he's not just talking about genealogies here. 00:12:14.799 --> 00:12:17.039 It's about the covenant, right? 00:12:17.200 --> 00:12:19.919 This this title, God of our ancestors. 00:12:20.159 --> 00:12:24.799 What this is saying is that God's character is stable across all generations. 00:12:25.200 --> 00:12:32.960 He knows that God is trustworthy, and he's reminding all of his people that that's what his prayer is rooted in. 00:12:33.120 --> 00:12:35.600 Friends, that's what our prayers are rooted in, right? 00:12:35.840 --> 00:12:40.399 Sometimes we can be tempted to despair and we wonder: is God still faithful? 00:12:40.559 --> 00:12:42.480 Is God still caring about me? 00:12:42.639 --> 00:12:44.320 Is God still going to come through? 00:12:44.480 --> 00:12:44.639 Right? 00:12:44.879 --> 00:12:46.559 And this is the type of prayer. 00:12:46.720 --> 00:12:51.600 I know, you know, it's funny, this little line from 2 Chronicles 20. 00:12:51.919 --> 00:12:57.919 My guess is outside of going through like a Bible through the year plan, it's not a chapter you've read a ton. 00:12:58.159 --> 00:13:02.879 And there's this nugget in there that all of a sudden says, oh my goodness, this changes everything. 00:13:03.039 --> 00:13:11.440 The way I pray is actually, when I pray, it's based on this knowledge of everything that I do, or excuse me, everything God has done in the past. 00:13:11.679 --> 00:13:13.279 Look at how trustworthy he is. 00:13:13.440 --> 00:13:16.879 I get to trust in God because he's always been trustworthy. 00:13:17.200 --> 00:13:20.960 This is who he is, right? 00:13:21.200 --> 00:13:23.519 The one that called Abraham, right? 00:13:23.600 --> 00:13:28.240 The one that delivered Israel out of captive slavery in Egypt, right? 00:13:28.399 --> 00:13:34.720 The one that established David's throne and heard Solomon's prayer is the same one. 00:13:36.399 --> 00:13:39.840 He's the same God who Jehoshaphat cries out to now. 00:13:41.120 --> 00:13:41.440 Right? 00:13:41.600 --> 00:13:43.519 This is why it's such a big deal. 00:13:43.840 --> 00:13:55.840 It reminds them that their hope rests not in present strength, because they have very little of that, but in the enduring faithfulness of the covenant God. 00:13:56.720 --> 00:13:57.039 Right? 00:13:57.120 --> 00:14:03.759 Here's the thing these invading nations, these invading peoples, they have military strength. 00:14:04.559 --> 00:14:07.679 All Israel has is a memory. 00:14:09.759 --> 00:14:14.559 Yet in biblical faith, memory isn't some type of like nostalgia. 00:14:14.639 --> 00:14:16.240 It's not sentimentalism. 00:14:17.039 --> 00:14:20.639 It's evidence, it's a knowledge of who God is. 00:14:20.799 --> 00:14:21.039 Right? 00:14:21.200 --> 00:14:26.799 When we pray, we start praying by going backwards so that we can pray forwards. 00:14:27.039 --> 00:14:27.279 Right? 00:14:27.440 --> 00:14:33.759 We start looking at God's covenant faithfulness in the past, knowing He will continue to be faithful. 00:14:34.000 --> 00:14:34.320 Right? 00:14:34.399 --> 00:14:37.840 We look at what God has done in the past to ask for our present help. 00:14:38.639 --> 00:14:40.399 Friends, I mean, you gotta look. 00:14:40.639 --> 00:14:42.879 You gotta look at your own personal life. 00:14:43.440 --> 00:14:45.200 You look and say, why was it? 00:14:45.440 --> 00:14:51.360 They remember in Joshua 4, they're crossing the Jordan, and God tells them to build these rocks. 00:14:51.519 --> 00:14:53.039 You remember that, those piles of rocks? 00:14:53.200 --> 00:14:53.519 Why? 00:14:53.759 --> 00:15:00.720 So we can say, because one day you're gonna need to tell the people after this generation about God's faithfulness. 00:15:00.960 --> 00:15:01.279 Right? 00:15:01.440 --> 00:15:02.879 So you don't forget. 00:15:03.279 --> 00:15:09.200 You're gonna have to go back and say, look, the God of our ancestors helped us. 00:15:09.759 --> 00:15:12.240 He's with us, he's present. 00:15:13.279 --> 00:15:18.799 Friends, you have to make those stone piles in your own heart. 00:15:19.120 --> 00:15:22.960 Because there we are constantly assaulted over the years. 00:15:23.120 --> 00:15:25.759 As we get beat down, discouraged, right? 00:15:26.159 --> 00:15:30.159 As we get to a point in our lives where it feels like we become hopeless. 00:15:31.360 --> 00:15:35.919 You have to be able to look back and say, that's right, hold on. 00:15:36.480 --> 00:15:39.919 In 1998, God did that. 00:15:40.799 --> 00:15:44.080 And it feels like that was a long time ago, but I know he did it. 00:15:44.559 --> 00:15:49.039 And it might only be that one thing that I remember now, but I know he really did it. 00:15:50.320 --> 00:15:52.639 That's those pile of stones for your life. 00:15:54.559 --> 00:16:00.639 When they say God of our ancestors, they're recalling all those stones. 00:16:03.200 --> 00:16:08.799 You know, I remember a cut a long time ago now, Keris was just a little baby. 00:16:09.039 --> 00:16:12.480 I remember I was so bummed out for a while in life. 00:16:12.720 --> 00:16:14.080 Like life was crazy. 00:16:14.240 --> 00:16:15.360 We were short on money. 00:16:15.519 --> 00:16:16.799 I was working two jobs. 00:16:16.960 --> 00:16:21.679 I was trying to, I was working at First Press for like 20 hours a week or something. 00:16:21.840 --> 00:16:28.240 I was working at this company that was clearly gonna close called New Home Trends, doing this urban planning consulting thing. 00:16:28.399 --> 00:16:39.759 Mia's working a lot as a teacher, and what I would do is I would bring Keris to the YMCA downtown because they had two free hours of child care that I could go to every single day, right? 00:16:39.919 --> 00:16:44.240 And so I would go work on my sermons in the YMCA like commons, right? 00:16:44.399 --> 00:16:52.720 And Keris would be hanging um in the YMCA daycare with some people that we became close friends with because we saw them so frequently. 00:16:52.879 --> 00:16:59.919 And I just remember one day I'm rolling in there, and that when the YMCA had just opened, you could never find parking in there. 00:17:00.080 --> 00:17:10.400 And so I am driving around, I feel like if you guys remember this moment from Dumb and Dumber where Jim Carrey is complaining about how everything bad is happening and even their pets' heads are falling off. 00:17:10.559 --> 00:17:12.240 I'm having one of these moments, right? 00:17:12.319 --> 00:17:16.480 I'm having this moment, and I just say, God, you know, I I'm trying to follow you. 00:17:16.559 --> 00:17:21.759 I I feel like um I'm, you know, I'm I'm I'm following you. 00:17:21.920 --> 00:17:30.640 I know you're trustworthy, I know you're good, but I just I'm driving around here and I've got my daughter in the back, and we're gonna, we can't even find a flipping parking spot right now. 00:17:30.720 --> 00:17:32.720 I mean, God, could you just give us a parking spot? 00:17:32.880 --> 00:17:36.559 I mean, why can't you be the type of God who gives people like me parking spots? 00:17:36.720 --> 00:17:38.240 All I'm asking is one. 00:17:39.039 --> 00:17:45.599 And I'm just prepared, you know, I'm gonna have to leave the parking lot, the gate's gonna open, I'm gonna find, you know, I don't know where I'm gonna walk from. 00:17:46.720 --> 00:17:48.880 And somebody pulls out right in front of me. 00:17:49.039 --> 00:17:51.519 And they back up, and there's a parking spot. 00:17:51.680 --> 00:17:55.519 Now listen, I am not in the business of praying for parking spots, okay? 00:17:56.640 --> 00:18:02.559 But on this particular day, I don't know if it was God saying to me, touche, you know. 00:18:05.039 --> 00:18:07.680 What I think it was was God saying, I'm still here. 00:18:08.480 --> 00:18:10.079 I know it feels like you're alone. 00:18:10.240 --> 00:18:16.079 I know you feel like you're fine feeling and experiencing what seems almost like insurmountable odds right now. 00:18:16.960 --> 00:18:18.240 I'm still with you. 00:18:19.920 --> 00:18:21.759 I'm the God of your ancestors. 00:18:22.000 --> 00:18:23.039 I'm still here. 00:18:25.839 --> 00:18:29.839 We fast forward to the second part of the sermon that I want you to see. 00:18:30.079 --> 00:18:32.720 The line that I love, right, is that God of our fathers line. 00:18:32.880 --> 00:18:35.039 There's a second line that I mentioned. 00:18:35.279 --> 00:18:37.519 These people who are desperate now. 00:18:38.559 --> 00:18:38.880 Right? 00:18:39.039 --> 00:18:41.279 The best prayers come, right, when we're desperate. 00:18:41.519 --> 00:18:43.440 And these folks are desperate. 00:18:43.839 --> 00:18:47.519 They look and say, there's insurmountable odds against us. 00:18:48.079 --> 00:18:54.079 They say, God, we don't know what to do, but our eyes are on you. 00:18:54.480 --> 00:18:56.240 We don't have any direction. 00:18:56.480 --> 00:19:00.000 We don't have what seems like any hope other than you, God. 00:19:00.559 --> 00:19:02.880 So now what what else do we do? 00:19:03.119 --> 00:19:03.359 Right? 00:19:03.519 --> 00:19:10.880 You've always been faithful to our ancestors through this covenant, and our eyes are on you. 00:19:11.359 --> 00:19:23.359 Friends, there are days that you are gonna face when the when the the scan at the doctor doesn't go the way you thought and it doesn't bring the news you prayed for. 00:19:23.599 --> 00:19:23.920 Right? 00:19:24.000 --> 00:19:32.319 There are there are seasons when the savings are gone and tomorrow still expects something from you. 00:19:32.720 --> 00:19:41.039 Or there are nights when the chair at the dinner table stays empty, and you wonder if they're ever gonna find their way home. 00:19:42.720 --> 00:19:51.680 Right, there are moments when the the phone never rings, the door never opens, and the silence just feels louder than the answers. 00:19:52.960 --> 00:19:56.000 And there are burdens that no one else can see. 00:19:56.799 --> 00:20:05.039 The the private grief, the hidden shame, that that quiet fear that you'll carry into another Monday. 00:20:06.319 --> 00:20:13.279 And there are just these crossroads, right, where it feels like every path costs something. 00:20:15.680 --> 00:20:18.240 And wisdom just feels beyond reach. 00:20:20.480 --> 00:20:31.519 And there there are times when faith isn't having the answer, but simply lifting your eyes to the one who does. 00:20:35.039 --> 00:20:42.720 I remember the first time we ever went as a family to Hawaii, we went out to this beach called Yokohama Beach, way, way out on the west side. 00:20:42.880 --> 00:20:45.279 It's behind way beyond any towns or anything. 00:20:45.680 --> 00:20:47.279 Good, nice waves, big waves. 00:20:47.519 --> 00:20:49.759 That's when I say good, that means big. 00:20:50.079 --> 00:20:54.720 And um, we'd been out all these small places with waves because we had to for little kids. 00:20:54.880 --> 00:20:57.119 And we I get to go to one good wave beach. 00:20:57.279 --> 00:20:58.240 So we're out there. 00:20:58.400 --> 00:21:12.720 And and Karis and um Karis and I and Levi, Judah wasn't born yet, and Karis and Levi and I are on the beach watching the waves, running through, you know, we can come up to the edge of the waves, but they're little kids, right? 00:21:12.799 --> 00:21:13.519 So they're cautious. 00:21:13.680 --> 00:21:14.559 Like they should be, right? 00:21:14.640 --> 00:21:15.599 They're big waves. 00:21:15.839 --> 00:21:21.519 And as we're we're walking, here's what's amazing with little little kids when they walk with an adult in a situation like this. 00:21:21.680 --> 00:21:26.880 You would think that what they would do for their own safety is they would be looking at the waves, protecting themselves. 00:21:27.119 --> 00:21:28.000 But you know what they do? 00:21:28.160 --> 00:21:28.559 They didn't. 00:21:28.640 --> 00:21:29.680 They looked at me. 00:21:30.880 --> 00:21:34.559 They said, even though I don't know if this is safe, my eyes are on you. 00:21:35.519 --> 00:21:40.559 They said, I I know you're the one who's gonna keep me safe in the midst of this. 00:21:45.759 --> 00:21:46.799 They looked up. 00:21:48.079 --> 00:21:56.400 You know, when we read 2 Chronicles 20, the big movement is not Oh, God wins a battle. 00:21:58.079 --> 00:21:59.599 It's the the people of God. 00:22:00.640 --> 00:22:02.240 Stop looking at the enemy. 00:22:02.480 --> 00:22:04.160 They stop looking at the danger out there. 00:22:04.240 --> 00:22:09.039 And they start looking up to God and they start saying, our eyes are on you. 00:22:10.240 --> 00:22:10.480 Right? 00:22:10.720 --> 00:22:13.599 Joe Hosephat's a great confession. 00:22:14.720 --> 00:22:17.839 Here's the thing this isn't like a William Wallace moment. 00:22:18.640 --> 00:22:20.799 This isn't this great moment of courage. 00:22:21.039 --> 00:22:23.119 It's a great moment of dependence. 00:22:24.880 --> 00:22:29.440 We don't know what to do, but our eyes are on you. 00:22:30.799 --> 00:22:32.319 I know they're coming for us. 00:22:32.960 --> 00:22:38.640 Friends, I know you have things that you feel like it's all these things coming for you. 00:22:40.319 --> 00:22:41.920 Our eyes are on him. 00:22:43.519 --> 00:22:46.480 In verse 15, it says the battle's not yours, but it's God's. 00:22:46.640 --> 00:22:50.079 In verse 17, it says, Don't fear, go out to face them tomorrow. 00:22:50.240 --> 00:22:51.680 God's going to be with you. 00:22:52.000 --> 00:22:52.880 What do we see? 00:22:53.119 --> 00:22:54.319 Do not fear. 00:22:54.640 --> 00:22:57.920 Said 365 times throughout the scriptures. 00:22:58.880 --> 00:22:59.279 There's enough. 00:22:59.359 --> 00:23:02.160 You could read one of those texts every single day of the year. 00:23:02.960 --> 00:23:05.519 On one hand, the battle's not yours, it's God's. 00:23:05.839 --> 00:23:07.599 And go out and face them. 00:23:07.680 --> 00:23:09.200 The Lord will be with you. 00:23:09.920 --> 00:23:12.799 The knowledge that God's with you doesn't lead to inaction. 00:23:13.200 --> 00:23:15.759 It leads to go out and do what you're supposed to do. 00:23:15.920 --> 00:23:17.440 Go out and do, live your life. 00:23:17.599 --> 00:23:22.960 Go out and do it, knowing God's with you, knowing God's present, in utter dependence, go out and do it. 00:23:23.599 --> 00:23:26.960 You don't just stay in your room waiting for the phone call to call all the time. 00:23:27.119 --> 00:23:29.440 Sometimes you keep on trucking. 00:23:29.759 --> 00:23:34.720 Knowing ultimately, though, the battle's not God's, or the battle's not ours, it's God's. 00:23:35.599 --> 00:23:38.319 It doesn't mean that Christians never struggle. 00:23:38.880 --> 00:23:44.960 It means that the decisive battle has already been fought, though. 00:23:45.200 --> 00:23:48.000 And it's been won by Jesus Christ. 00:23:48.240 --> 00:23:48.640 Right? 00:23:48.880 --> 00:23:53.759 Israel stood and watched while God defeated their enemies. 00:23:54.480 --> 00:23:59.839 Jesus fought our battle against the greatest enemies. 00:24:00.160 --> 00:24:04.160 He had victory over sin and death and the devil. 00:24:05.519 --> 00:24:07.680 And here's the thing: we don't do it. 00:24:07.839 --> 00:24:09.519 We don't contribute to that. 00:24:10.000 --> 00:24:12.559 We simply say our eyes are on you. 00:24:13.359 --> 00:24:25.839 We recognize when we look and at the as we live out our lives, how much of the time have we said, the way I could have the right social standing is if I do the work? 00:24:26.079 --> 00:24:29.759 The way that I could have the right spiritual standing is if I do the work, right? 00:24:29.920 --> 00:24:36.160 The way I could get dot that you fill in the blank is if I do it right. 00:24:37.279 --> 00:24:42.559 Yet what we see with Jesus is unmerited favor, unmerited grace that we receive. 00:24:44.319 --> 00:24:44.960 Right? 00:24:46.000 --> 00:24:52.319 Christ, disarmed rulers, authorities, He He triumphed over them on the cross. 00:24:54.160 --> 00:24:59.920 Israel's greatest act was to trust while God fought. 00:25:01.519 --> 00:25:05.279 Our greatest act is to trust in the one who already won. 00:25:07.039 --> 00:25:09.119 And I will tell you one last thing as we close. 00:25:09.839 --> 00:25:11.279 Look at that, I'm ahead of time. 00:25:11.599 --> 00:25:14.240 I'll probably give some other talk stories instead then. 00:25:17.279 --> 00:25:18.079 I'll tell you this. 00:25:18.160 --> 00:25:19.279 Sorry, that's a joke. 00:25:20.880 --> 00:25:24.799 I think sometimes the challenge with a sermon like this, I'm gonna tell you this now. 00:25:25.279 --> 00:25:27.599 Sometimes the victories are really slow. 00:25:28.880 --> 00:25:30.559 I think we have to know that. 00:25:31.519 --> 00:25:35.920 Sometimes we we hope for the ecstatic for the immediate, don't we? 00:25:36.160 --> 00:25:36.480 Right? 00:25:36.640 --> 00:25:41.039 It's like you you somebody gets married, you watch them get married, they do these incredible vows. 00:25:41.119 --> 00:25:43.359 They say sickness and health, right? 00:25:43.440 --> 00:25:45.039 They say richer or poorer. 00:25:45.279 --> 00:25:49.279 You know, they're 21 years old, and whenever you say those vows, you mean them. 00:25:49.359 --> 00:25:49.920 But guess what? 00:25:50.079 --> 00:25:53.119 You actually are really hoping for richer and healthier. 00:25:53.759 --> 00:25:54.079 Right? 00:25:54.240 --> 00:25:57.440 You're not anticipating what it's gonna be like when you're 70, right? 00:25:58.400 --> 00:26:06.160 When we when we look and say, look, the promises of God is that God's gonna fight my battles, God's gonna bring me the victory, he might do it real slow. 00:26:06.400 --> 00:26:07.839 That's just a reality. 00:26:09.440 --> 00:26:11.279 But we know that he's with us in the midst of it. 00:26:11.359 --> 00:26:14.000 I want to, I'm gonna read this thing to you, then we're gonna finish. 00:26:14.160 --> 00:26:16.799 Um, some of you guys have heard me talk about this guy, Andy Squires. 00:26:16.880 --> 00:26:18.799 I like this singer-songwriter. 00:26:18.880 --> 00:26:20.880 He has this new song called Sing Your Glory. 00:26:21.039 --> 00:26:22.400 He said, Here's the lyrics. 00:26:22.480 --> 00:26:26.000 He says, Looking back, I can barely see you. 00:26:26.720 --> 00:26:29.599 I've learned how to live without a breakthrough. 00:26:29.920 --> 00:26:32.160 You're not making this very easy. 00:26:32.400 --> 00:26:34.480 I'm packing my bags and leaving. 00:26:34.640 --> 00:26:35.359 Just kidding. 00:26:35.519 --> 00:26:36.880 Where else would I go? 00:26:37.119 --> 00:26:39.839 Here's the part that nobody should know. 00:26:40.160 --> 00:26:42.720 Some miracles only come slowly. 00:26:43.119 --> 00:26:44.799 But I sing your glory. 00:26:46.720 --> 00:26:48.799 I I don't know where you're at today. 00:26:50.240 --> 00:26:54.079 But but as we pray, as we sing, we sing his glory. 00:26:54.480 --> 00:26:55.039 Let's pray. 00:26:55.200 --> 00:26:58.720 Father in heaven, you are with us. 00:26:58.960 --> 00:27:09.039 You're trustworthy, you're good, you're the God of our ancestors, you're the one that you call us to give cast our gaze upon you. 00:27:11.039 --> 00:27:18.720 Lord, help us though, in that because we confess that we don't always live into that. 00:27:19.200 --> 00:27:26.640 Lord, even though that's the call, even though that's the hope, even though you've given us all these incredible promises, so frequently we don't live into it. 00:27:29.440 --> 00:27:30.400 But you do. 00:27:31.680 --> 00:27:33.839 You're the God of covenant faithfulness. 00:27:34.000 --> 00:27:36.000 And you keep welcoming us back. 00:27:36.400 --> 00:27:38.640 And you keep calling us to pray. 00:27:39.119 --> 00:27:44.079 And we just give this little thing back to you of praise. 00:27:46.240 --> 00:27:50.079 As we pray and get to know you, Lord, we thank you for that. 00:27:50.319 --> 00:27:52.079 We thank you for who you are. 00:27:52.799 --> 00:27:54.000 In Christ's name we pray. 00:27:54.160 --> 00:27:54.799 Amen. 00:27:58.480 --> 00:28:00.000 Thank you for listening. 00:28:00.240 --> 00:28:05.519 Please join us in person for community worship, the breaking of bread, and prayer. 00:28:05.759 --> 00:28:13.359 We are located at 512 South Bernard Street, Spokane, Washington, 99204.