The power of faith

Second Chronicles, Chapter 20, beginning with verse 1. These days I am going to be talking a lot about this dynamic of faith, the dynamic of faith because we want to engender faith in the people of God and in my own life also because there are big struggles, there are big tasks, there are circumstances around us that require that position of faith and the Bible says that without faith it is impossible to please God. Faith is the essential conduit for the life of the son, of the daughter of God. You can't go much below the element of faith. Things don't get simpler or simpler in the Christian life than talking about the concept of faith. And this is a wonderful passage because for me it illustrates in a very simple, very concise, very graphic way the dynamics of faith. There are situations in life that are much more complex in terms of how faith and the power of God is manifested and many times in our own lives the elements of faith become more complex along with the elements of our participation in the principles of the cross and the trials in the life of the Christian and other things that mix and make the element of faith much more complex.

But here we have the power of faith and the concepts of the spirit expressed in a tremendously clear, very simple way and that is why this passage is very good. Because here we have a crisis, we have people who believe in God, we have a prayer and a cry to God and we have a God who responds to that faith and that cry and we have a victory over the crisis. Those are the key elements of the life of faith, they are portrayed here in a very, very clear way and in a way that God's people do almost nothing, except simply become a channel of God's power through their faith.

In other words, what we see here is faith, as I said, incarnated, graphically described faith, the processes of spiritual life expressed in a tremendously clear and simple way. This event in the life of Israel took place during the reign of King Jehoshaphat and speaks of a national crisis coming to the life of Israel. An immense army has left their country and is approaching the walls of Judah, they come to conquer, they come to destroy, they come to possess the land of God's people. It is an army without mercy, violent, it comes to kill, steal and destroy. A national crisis breaks out and Josaphat takes action about it and as we see how this unfolds we will be able to understand a little better how we too can deal with the life situations that come our way.

Now, I encourage you to think that faith is not only to solve crises, faith is not only to get out of trouble, faith is also to live life proactively, to live life positively, to prevent and prevent crises, to live having the enemy in checkmate, keeping him at bay, holding him down so that our life can prosper and be blessed. Is there anyone at least who understands what I'm saying here? How many can say amen to what I'm saying? Amen.

That is, the Christian life is not only to be lived on the defensive and to resolve crises through faith, but above all it is to live in the blessing and prosperity of God because Christ has said, I have come so that they may have life and have it in abundance. He did not say, I have come so that they survive, but so that they have life in abundance. Amen. And faith is the channel, it is the instrument, it is the conduit through which God can carry out and execute the good purposes that he has for our lives.

So I say here, this passage is important because it exhibits the dynamics of faith in a clear and concise way. I already said, crisis, first, then clamor, then divine intervention, and finally victory. Four elements that are the basic things of faith, a situation of need in our life, a request to God, then God intervenes and we see a change, a transformation. That is the dynamic of Scripture, from Genesis to Revelation, that is the essential dynamic, the characters change, the plot changes, the circumstances change, but the dynamic of faith and spirituality has been the same since the life of Daniel, the life of Moses and the people of Israel, the life of Joseph, the life of Gideon, the life of Esther, Ruth and her mother-in-law, Peter and his struggles, Paul and his ministry, Mary when she receives God's promise and her situation , the God who intervenes responding to a need and who gives victory through those who believe in him. Essentially that is the dynamic of faith, of believing God and exercising faith in the issues and situations of life.

Now, generally I say here, things are not as clear cut as we see them presented in this passage in everyday life. But to learn you have to go from the simple to the complex and that's why this passage is so good because it removes a lot of complexities and leaves the dynamics of faith essentially here. In other words, you don't start by teaching a child calculus or physics, but you start with arithmetic and then little by little you work your way into geometry, into trigonometry, until you end up in calculus and other things. But the gist is just the basics.

Now, despite this artificial simplicity here, this is essentially how the battles of life are fought, this is how life situations are lived, this is how life is led in the dynamics of faith. The first thing we see here, brothers, is very interesting: King Jehoshaphat, whom God uses to free Israel from its crisis, was a common man, spiritually speaking, Jehoshaphat was not a spiritual giant, he was not a deeply spiritual man, let's say like David would have been maybe or something like that. No, Josaphat was a man with feet of clay. I don't have time to elaborate but read Chapter 19 and Chapter 21 and you will see that Jehoshaphat was a man who made mistakes. In fact, the account of Jehoshaphat's reign begins with a great crisis that he brought upon himself by consorting with an impious king, Ahab, and he almost lost his life, but because he was a man who loved God, God had mercy on him. But he was a man with feet of clay.

And why do I say this? Because we don't have to be spiritual giants ourselves to see the glory of God in our life. Now, of course, it is important to go for the best, right? It is important to want to grow more and more every day, but sometimes we believe, well, I have to be a great man or woman, a missionary, a spiritual genius for God to move in my life, and that is for the greats. , the powerful ones. No, look, God loves to move through ordinary people, people with feet of clay, people who are still fighting their battles and who are getting better. Who of us can say, I am already perfected. If I say it, I am already committing the first sin: I am lying. But all of us have needs, but God in his mercy uses faith to break down barriers. So you don't have to be a giant, a spiritual giant, you can be a person with struggles, with inconsistencies, and be in process, but God can use faith to break down barriers. Faith is for everyone, everyone who believes. That's what's important.

David, Abraham, Gideon were people with feet of clay, they made their mistakes, they violated God's law in situations, but they were people who loved the Lord, loved the word of God, believed in God and that allowed them to live at a higher level. high. So the first principle here is that God uses your faith, not your perfection to move. How nice that sounded. God uses your faith not your perfection. That is very important.

Now, we see here in this passage, a great crisis arises, a great enemy is coming against Israel. Chapter 20 says:

“…After these things it came to pass that the children of Moab and Ammon and with them others of the Ammonites came against Jehoshaphat to war and some came and told Jehoshaphat saying, A great multitude is coming against you from the other side of the sea and from Syria, and behold, they are in Hazezon Tamar, which is in Gedi….”

There is a crisis that unleashes, a problem, how many of us have seen a problem, a crisis, a need, a pressing situation coming, a moment of suffering in our lives. The question is not if we are going to have those moments, but when those moments come, what are we going to do and how are we going to deal with life situations? In the world, says the word, you will find affliction. But Christ said, but trust, there is the concept of faith, because I have overcome the world.

A great crisis arises, a great enemy comes against Israel. Now, the way that Josaphat confronts the situation, the way that he reacts to the situation is what we have to look at here. We are going to analyze how Josaphat confronts this situation and we are going to apply those truths and those principles to our own lives. Amen.

It occurs to me, English speaking brothers and sisters you have your translation, you'll have access to your listening ok, you have earphones and so on? If you don't please, raise your hands and we'll get one for you.

The way that Josaphat confronts the situation, number 1: The first thing that Josaphat did was he recognized the situation, he recognized the danger, he saw clearly what he was confronting. He was specific in defining and acknowledging his situation. It is important that we know what we are experiencing, that we do not live thinking about little birds in the air like an ostrich with its head stuck in the sand. I like to recognize my giants, I like to recognize my problems, my limitations, my struggles, the circumstances of my life. I have to name them. God wants a realistic people. Many people are living an artificial life, disguising their shortcomings, ignoring financial problems until they get hit over the head with a bat. And there is the poor woman telling him, look, pay the electricity bill, and one goes, well don't worry, God is merciful and when he comes to see one day, he turns on the light and nothing happens. No, look at your situation, be specific in defining your problems.

Brothers, specificity is key in the Christian life, being specific is one of the most powerful principles in the Christian life. And I am going to point them out to him later, but he recognizes the danger, defines and recognizes his situation.

In verse 2 he sees that a great crowd is coming against him, they come from the other side of the sea and from Syria, they are in a neighboring city, in a neighboring region and they come against him. He is clear on what is happening. He is well informed about what is happening and experiences fear in his heart.

For example, at this time of the question of the construction of the temple, and this is one of the great tasks that I have ahead of me as a pastor, it is the main one this year, that I have considered. I have to measure exactly what this task entails. I have already spoken with financial advisers, we have a strategy to negotiate with the banks and clearly present our finances. I have identified the aspects of this process, there is the financing through the bank, there is the financial campaign, we have been planning all these things for months, there is the aspect of hiring a construction company, there is the matching between construction resources that we can provide and the direction that is needed very professional, highly professional from Construction Companies given the complex nature of what we are going to undertake. I have had to recognize the economy that we are living in and know that it is a difficult time to adjust my expectations and also to adjust the way that I present to you the task that lies ahead.

That is, all these things, the non-obvious element of faith, does not prevent us from seeing these things and, as Moses did, spying on the land before possessing it. That is, faith does not deny lucidity, the two things have to go together. We have to ask the Lord for wisdom and intelligence. The Bible talks about science too. Ask the Lord to give you intelligence, wisdom, strategy. I told you there in the video that this is a time when there is so much lack and so much sterility in the economy, people with special wisdom are needed to find resources where others do not see it. So that's why we have to ask the Lord, give me wisdom, give me strategy to dig and find where others find nothing. A strategy is needed from God.

So, he recognizes the danger, that's the first thing I see here, lucidly, clearly, he defines the situation. You have to define your problems, give it a first and last name and a second last name too if necessary and present it clearly to the Lord.

Secondly, something very important that he did, he humbled himself and consulted the Lord. Many people suffer because they prefer to do things with their intelligence, they seek God as a last resort and do not take advice and do not seek God's wisdom. Here it says in verse 3 "...that then he was afraid and Jehoshaphat humbled his face to inquire of the Lord..."

You have to ask the Lord for wisdom. The Apostle Santiago says in Santiago Chapter 1, if someone lacks wisdom, what does he do? Ask God, who gives abundantly and without reproach, and it will be given to you. The first thing I look for when I have a need or a task in my life is, Lord, give me wisdom, give me the strategy. Because I believe in a God who speaks, a God who illuminates, a God who tells us where we have to walk. The Holy Spirit is the instructor, the Bible says that he will lead us to all truth. Believe, ask the Lord for wisdom and humble yourself. Tell him, Lord, the truth is that I don't have what I need. At this time I have to say, Father, this is only a miracle. Only you moving in an extraordinary way can we reach victory. In weakness there is great power, brothers, in recognizing our weakness, in cultivating a sense of weakness there is power. Because? Because the man without God, the woman without God, cultivating weakness leads to depression and leads to failure, and leads to inaction. But the son of God, the woman of God when she cultivates weakness in the spirit, what she does is recognize, I don't have the victory but God does, I don't have the answer but God does, I don't have the power but God does. I don't have the weapons, but God does.

The Apostle Paul says that when I am weak then I am strong, therefore, he says, I will rejoice in weaknesses so that the power of God may manifest itself more powerfully in me. A man, a woman has to first empty themselves of their sufficiency and their capacity, and their self-sufficiency and say, you know what, God? I empty myself of all that, fill me now with your spirit.

Josaphat humbles himself, admits. This is too big for me, we can't, we don't have the weapons, we don't have the victory. There begins, brothers, the power of a man, a woman of God, to recognize, I cannot do it alone, I need the grace of God. So, you go and seek wisdom.

He recognized the danger, number two, he humbled himself and sought wisdom, he consulted the Lord. Number 3, proclaimed fasting and prayed. It says here:

“…and he proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah and humbled himself to inquire of the Lord…”

There is prayer and fasting. And not only prayer and fasting, but it is interesting because it says here that "... and he proclaimed a fast to all Judah, and they gathered, it says in verse 4, those of Judah to ask the Lord for help...."

What principle is here too? Prayer but there is also another principle, community prayer. In prayer the more people we have in the trenches, the more powerful we can be. The Lord Jesus Christ that where two or three are gathered in my name, there I am. He said, if two or three agreed….

I believe in individual prayer and I say that individual prayer is not a substitute for collective prayer. But brothers, there are situations in which you have to find a buddy, find a partner in the trenches and tell him, look, help me pray because what I have is so difficult and so great that all I'm going to do is I'm going to decay in my mood. And when you tie yourself up with two or three, that gives you the courage to keep going. So, pray with brothers, find people of faith, live life in community with other people, brothers, don't fight the battle alone. Don't be like Elijah who, when he got depressed, went alone into the desert and almost committed suicide there. Because when we are alone the devil can hit us more easily, unite with people of faith and pray to the Lord and cry out to God.

The Apostle Paul says, be anxious for nothing but make your requests known in all prayer and supplication. In other words, instead of crying, pray; instead of wobbly knees, bend your knees. How nice that sounded. Instead of bending your knees, you bend your knees. If they are bent, they will not be able to shake because they will be on the floor.

This is how he proclaimed fasting, prayed in community, sought support, said brothers, this is great, I need prayer, I need you to support me in this. You have to pray, the battles of life have to be fought in prayer. I believe a lot in preventative prayer. Don't wait until the devil is at the door to destroy you, to start praying. Pray to keep him away over there, in other countries. Let him go after another, one of the wicked, but let him leave you alone. And the way is that you have to pray.

They say out there, an apple a day keeps the doctor away. Well, a prayer a day keeps the devil away.

A daily prayer keeps the Devil at bay. There is another one, how beautiful, they are coming out today. This is good. Daily prayer keeps the devil at bay. It's very good. Say it 100 times real fast now and you'll see what happens. He prayed in community.

Fourth: he took time to pray and cry out to the Lord and gave prayer national importance. Look, when the king commanded the whole nation to pray and to fast, and to gather with all the television cameras there, CNN, and CBS and everything there focusing on that moment, they were holding on to their dependence on God, they were spiritually compromising, they were saying I believe in the power of prayer, and I believe in the God who has promised to intervene on behalf of his people.

I tell people, look, commit yourself, tie yourself to your spiritual goals, declare them, share them with two or three people who believe and remember what I said, that there comes a time to cultivate the visions of God in silence, in stillness and in private, but there comes a time to announce the vision and declare it, and speak it, and prophesy it and one binds oneself and commits oneself so as not to back down when things get hard and difficult.

So he not only prayed but gave it importance, public value, made clear efforts to show his confidence in prayer and publicly declared his faith in the Lord. So we see there, firstly this issue of how Jehoshaphat dealt with the crisis.

Now, let's go a little deeper and I want to ask another question, what did Hezekiah's prayer consist of? We can learn how to pray to the Lord, we can learn how to cry out to the Lord because that is important. We are going to make a deep entry specifically in the prayer of Hezekiah, because he not only prayed but how he prayed, it can help us too, how we can bathe and season, remember that I said that we must marinate the problems in prayer, there is To soften those beans and beans in prayer before eating them, you have to pray in a very specific way.

But look at what it says here in verse 5, “…then Jehoshaphat, after the people of all Judah had come to ask for help, stood up in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem in the house of the Lord before the new court and said , and here comes the prayer that he made publicly and in that prayer there are some very important principles of faith, we have here a model for our prayer life and presenting our needs to the Lord.

Number 1, the first thing he did was praise the Lord and point out his mighty historical facts, he praised the Lord and by pointing out what God had done in Israel's historical life he was implicitly glorifying the Lord and glorifying his mighty deeds.

In verse 6 and 7 it says here, “..and he said, Jehovah God of our fathers, are you not your God in heaven and have dominion over all the kingdoms of the nations?….”

There is praise there because it is a rhetorical question, it is a statement rather, but it is also already opposing the spiritual principle to the material circumstance. Yes, a mighty army is coming and all, but Lord, you are God in heaven, and you have power over all the kingdoms of nations.

"...Isn't such strength and power in your hand that there is no one to resist you?..."

Brethren, sometimes a question is more powerful than a statement. If it is a question that is pregnant with faith like this. Is not strength and power in your hand so that there is no one to resist you?

“…. Our God, did you not drive out the inhabitants of this land before your people, Israel, and gave it to the descendants of Abraham, your friend, forever?..."

There is a praise there, it is a reminder, if you will, to Almighty God. Lord, you intervened before in the life of your people, and this is the same people in favor of which you moved centuries ago. And that friend, Abraham, we are descendants of him. So there is a praise there but there is also a declaration of the power of God and the mighty acts of God.

That action has a triple virtue, that of reminding the Lord of his powerful deeds has a triple virtue. Number 1, glorifies God and points out his faithfulness, his attributes, his mighty deeds, first. Number 2, base the request that is being made on the word and promise of God.

You will remember that I told you before that one of the things we have to do when we are bathing and cultivating a miracle is to pray in the word of God and see if what we are asking for fits and flows in affinity with the word of God. This is important. When we base our requests on God's word and promises, we are reminding God. We are like lawyers coming before a judge and saying, Your Honor, the law says such and such. And God is subject to his law. God sticks to his principles. So, when we know the word of God, we know the principles of spiritual life, we can come before the Father with greater authority, yes or no? Do you understand what I am saying? And it is important, that is why it is important to know and study the word. If you study that sentence you will see how many times Jehoshaphat reminds God of the word, the promises, the mighty acts of God.

And then in third place, the triple virtue of praising the Lord and pointing out his facts, is that they strengthen our faith by mentioning these facts. Every time Josaphat told him, Lord, you did this, Father, you did that. What's going on? That your faith is getting stronger. How important it is that when we are praying and the enemy is there breathing with his smell, with his evil breath on us, we remember the Lord, Father, look what he is doing to me here, give him a hand, Lord, you did that ago years ago and you pulled me out of that. Throw yourself on him It is important, brothers, and one kind of grows then.

You have to remember, Lord, you got me out of that predicament five years ago when it seemed that everything was closed, and you can do it again, Father. And as for the moment the giant is getting smaller, smaller, smaller and our faith is growing, growing, strengthening... they are very important techniques, very real.

So, he first praised the Lord, pointed out his mighty deeds and through that he glorified God, grounded his prayer in divine realities and secondly, he strengthened himself in his faith and strengthened God's people as well.

Third concept here in this model sentence: clearly described, clearly presented what was the specific situation that they were facing. Remember that I said that specificity is very important in the Christian life, in the life of faith. Here we have that principle once again. Look at verse 11 and verse 12, he says here:

“…behold they now….”, these nations that they had had before, and had done good indeed to Ammon and Moab, the Ammonites and the Moabites, and it says, “…. And now these people look how they pay us Lord, behold, they pay us coming to throw us into the inheritance that you gave us in possession, oh our God..."

Passion is good, it is important, it is one of the things, brothers, prayer must have juice, it must have intensity. Sometimes God is waiting for us to get red hot, sometimes we're eating a bowl of cereal, and we say, Lord, remind yourself that I need this. No, God wants prayer when your hunger is gone and you are only thinking about your problem and you are focusing on the Lord. And God sometimes expects you to cook well until you reach that point of despair, that you define what you want, what you need and that you say, Lord, I can't go on living if you don't give me this. How important is passion here, the exclamation point.

Verse 11, "... behold, they give us the payment, look, O our God, you will not judge us because in us there is no strength against such a great multitude that comes against us, we do not know what to do and we turn our eyes to you...."

What a beautiful prayer, brothers. See, here is this about weakness brought to its boiling point, of total definition. The conscience, Lord, look, take that, write it down and put it in your refrigerator if you have one in the house, brothers. We don't know what to do and we turn our eyes to you.

Brothers, that is the essence of prayer there, that is the essence of life. I always say to the Lord, Father, I am a clumsy child, take me by the hand and lead me through the path of life. Because if God left me to my own devices it would be an immediate disaster. And until you cultivate that sense of total helplessness, you are not prepared to pray to the Lord properly.

So he says here, we don't know what to do, the situation is complex. It is described, they are coming to destroy us, the enemy is great, an enemy with whom we have dealt historically. There is a definition of the situation, a specificity of its own weakness and inadequacy. He clearly presented and described the situation he was facing.

Third, just as he presented the situation, he also clearly presented the petition. In verse 12, again, as I just read, “we don't know what to do and we turn our eyes to you…”

We don't have strength, it's a big crowd. Brother, when you pray to the Lord, present him in great detail what you need and what you are facing. Do not be scarce, present to God part by part, what your situation consists of, describe it to him, not so that you despair but so that you bathe aspect of your situation in the power of the Holy Spirit. It is very important to be clear in the request and in the description of the situation.

And finally, in his prayer there was an expectation that God would work. Do not pray to the Lord simply to vent emotions, pray to the Lord with an expectation that he will work. Amen. Pray but then start looking for where the blessing and the solution to the problem will come from. When you pray, get up from your seat saying, where will the answer come from? And I will wait until I see the vision come true, as Habakkuk said in Chapter 2. Although late I go to search, I go to spy, because I know that this solution is coming.

If you are going to pray to the Lord, wait for an answer, believe. There are many people who come forward here, pray, cry, clamor and are still walking to the seat and continue crying and clamoring and suffering. Brothers, I believe that there is a time to pray and there is a time to say, you know what? already. I believe and then believe and launch yourself to wait for the blessing of the Lord. Pray and believe that God is going to be the solution. We are going to be a people that believes, brothers, our yes is yes, our no is no. God calls things that are not what they are. Pray with integrity and if you asked the Lord for something, believe. Well, you can keep praying and searching and crying out but don't pray like God didn't hear you because then what you are is simply venting your despair and that doesn't honor the Lord. If we are going to cry out to God, let's cry out with purpose, let's not be like, oh Lord, here they come. And then one is in a panic. That does not honor the Lord. No, speak clearly to the Lord, define your situation. If you are going to define it, define it with purpose, with order, with poise. A soldier walks with aplomb. A soldier fights, he is not hitting the air as Pablo says, but he punches like a boxer trying to knock out the enemy. You have to be purposeful, brothers, in the Christian life.

So how do I see that he showed expectation? Because look at what it says there in verse 4, “…they gathered together and also from all the city of Judah they came to ask the Lord for help…” and it says, “…he stood up in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem in the house of the LORD, before the new court….”

There was a national congregation waiting. They met, there was a national purpose, and there was an expectation: what is God going to do, what is going to happen. The expectation is the matrix within which the miracles of the Lord can be gestated. There has to be an open and expectant womb so that the life of God can be engendered in our lives. So it's important that there is expectation.

So this model prayer praises the Lord and points to his mighty deeds; clearly presents the situation; clearly presents the request; and shows expectation that God will work.

They already fell asleep or they are still a little more energetic. I'm finishing, I'm already landing so hold on right now.

Another thing, as you will see, so that you remember what I am doing here, we have analyzed the way in which Josaphat confronts the situation, we have described before that the situation, the reaction to the situation, and among those reactions one important thing is the prayer and how he prays and how he cries out to the Lord.

Now I want us to finally look, not finally but almost finally, how divine intervention is manifested, because that is important to recognize when God is moving in our life; how God's intervention came, how it was expressed, how it manifested itself.

Look at the following, that manifestation of the power of God occurred in an environment of faith, in an environment where a supernatural mentality operated. That is why I say that these sermons are important as well as the sermons on the gifts of the spirit that we preached some time ago, because it is important to generate in the people of God an expectation of faith, an atmosphere of faith, when the people of God he exercises in faith and beats the waters of faith God can move then.

Sometimes people have faith but it is like a calm and calm lake. God likes jumping waters. River of living water, he says, they will spring from your interior.

We have to stoke our faith.

We have to get her red hot, we have to move her. I advise you to fan the fire of the gift of God that is in you. This was a people who believed God. It is important, brothers, that the León de Judá congregation begins and lives in faith, that it be a congregation that calculates life, that combines life in terms of faith, of supernaturality. Not a people that believes only in human actions and initiatives, but a people that moves in supernatural power, because if there is an atmosphere of faith, God can do things. Do you understand what I am telling you?

These towns believed that God could do something, which is why they mobilized in this way. There has to be an atmosphere of faith. Look for teaching, look for environments, look for people, look for churches where faith is preached, an intelligent faith however, not a silly and sometimes superficial faith as there is so much of that today in the people of God, a complex, deep, biblical faith nuanced, multifaceted, that's important, but faith nonetheless. A supernatural mindset.

There was an environment where God could work. There was an opening to the gifts of the spirit and they were in function, this is different from what I just said, it is a more specific way of saying it. The gifts of the Holy Spirit were in manifestation there and there were people who believed, for example, in the prophetic gift.

Look what happens here when they pray, he says, and all Judah stood before the Lord with their children, and their wives, and their children. Look here about the expectation, there was an expectation, he describes it as the people were, what is going to happen, how God is going to work, where is he going to get the rabbit out of the hat, where is the answer going to come from. There was expectation, eyes were open, what will happen.

I imagine that when Josaphat finished praying there was a kind of silence and the people said, what now? How will this be? How will it be done? There was an expectation. I imagine that in a sepulchral silence, Josaphat already finished his sentence and said, well, and now how do I fire these people, what do we do. It says, “…and there was Yahaziel, the son of Zacharias, the son of Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah, a Levite of the sons of Asaph, upon whom the spirit of the Lord came in the midst of the assembly…”

There was a visitation of the power of God, there was a manifestation of the gifts of the spirit, there was a release through the prayer of faith of the move and the divine, spiritual power. The power of God was released. There was a prophet there, a Levite, he could have been a pastor, an evangelist, whatever, but God's lightning came and used that man as a channel of solution, divine intervention. In a town that believed and a town that hoped and a town that did not hinder God, God used a man and unleashed his power.

Brothers, if we believe that the gifts, that was for when Martin Luther or for when Paul and that the gifts were already closed, as so many people preach, what happens? We kill people's faith and people say, you know what? God can't work like that because that was before the Bible was written, that was before …….. wrote his Bible or whatever, and so people, there are so many people in the Christian world today, in This nation, for example, has been killed by faith, has been numbed by the expectation that God moves in the power of the Holy Spirit, has been numbed by the idea that the gifts are still in manifestation. And those poor people then when the crisis comes, the need, they don't know what to appeal to, they don't know what to expect. Situations come and they have no resources. That is why it is important, brothers, believe that the gifts of God are for now, here and for you and that God still speaks in dreams, visions, prophecy, that the prophetic gifts of healing, miracles, signs, wonders of God are still in function, it is for now, it is for those who are far away and for those who are near, says the word of the Lord. You have to believe God.

And you have to believe that just as God opened the Red Sea with Moses, he can open it today in the 21st century too, even if the Egyptians come after me and it seems there is no way out, God can still open the Red Sea in front of me, even if there is an economic crisis, even though everything is closed, God can still open a door for me. God can make the ravens give me food, says the word of the Lord, just as he did with Elijah, he can do it with you too.

The gifts are for our time. And then in that mighty move of God the Holy Spirit comes and speaks specifically through a man and the spirit comes upon him and said, now that 'said' is a prophetic declaration, it is a 'said' not like any other said, this It is a pregnant saying, this is a saying full of the power and authority of the Holy Spirit and "... Yajaziel said, listen to all of Judah and you inhabitants of Jerusalem and your king Jehoshaphat, Jehovah says to you so, do not fear or be intimidated..." glory to the Lord, listen to me, tell your heart do not fear or be intimidated, no matter what is happening around you do not fear or be intimidated. If you were intimidated, you lost the battle, you know? If you turned your back on the devil, he will gladly give you, one cannot be intimidated or frightened, fear can come but banish it, get it out immediately before it comes, hit it with something but let it go. Don't let that animal land on your life.

"... do not fear or be intimidated in front of this huge crowd because the war is not yours but God's...."

There is a powerful dynamic of faith. The battle ultimately is not yours, it is God's. You are not the one who ultimately has to win the battle, it is God who does it, we sow others water, but growth is given by God, says the word of the Lord.

So, invite in this divine intervention where there is an atmosphere of faith, where there is an openness to the gifts of God, a supernatural mentality, the Holy Spirit invites you to set your eyes on God and not on the enemy, on your own weaknesses. This is very important as we saw in verse 15.

Do not be intimidated in front of this huge crowd, do not focus, we have said that several times throughout these sermons, do not focus on the enemy, do not focus on the difficult of the task, do not focus on the greatness of the circumstance, do not focus on the little of your resources, focus the power of God through your life. Ultimately the battle is not yours, but God's.

Fourthly, it invites not to give in to fear but to maintain a position of faith. Fear is the worst enemy, anxiety, fixation on the problem, that weakens and freezes the child of God. Look, after you define your situation, hand it over to the Lord, don't be looking at that giant every day, and listening to what he is telling you and rehearsing how difficult, how impossible the thing seems and what happens? When you cook there, you get into the difficult thing and you are constantly looking at the enemy, it's like those rabbits that look into the eyes of the snake that hypnotizes them and they freeze and the snake comes and eats them. Or the servant that at night when the car comes with the two lights sticks to it and focuses it and the rabbit that gets trapped and the car or the servant comes and runs over it.

I remember that I was in Chile with brother Gonzalo Álvarez and we were walking one of those remote country roads and Gonzalo was telling me how they hunted the rabbits, they threw the car over them at night, these people were dangerous, those Chileans are terrible, be careful with them. But do you know what they did? When they found a rabbit on the road they turned on the lights and focused on the rabbit, and in fact that's what happened, there was a rabbit that was running on the road in the dark of night and one got in our way and we focused on it and the poor rabbit running after the car and wouldn't move because every time he looked back he would see the lights and he was caught in the lights and he couldn't get out of the way but he kept his tongue out and the car behind him.

And so it happens with us, the devil behind us turns on the lights, we focus on the problem and we stay there and we get exhausted and he comes and runs over us. Put the problem aside, after you've defined it, don't be thinking about the situation every day, how difficult, how terrible, because otherwise you're going to weaken. Set your eyes on God, set your eyes on the word, focus on the word. Many Christians stop praying, reading the Bible, going to church when they don't have problems, it's the time when you should seek God the most, you should put praise in your house the most, you should put all the good preachers you can find the most over there, read good books, keep your mind focused on God because that will give you strength. If you start talking to negative people and thinking about the problem, you are going to get fried along the way, focus on God.

Do not fear or be intimidated, says the Holy Spirit, do not fear this huge crowd.

Fifth, it invites you to take the initiative and not be defensive. Take the initiative and don't be defensive. In other words, it invites you to take the battle to the enemy, to be proactive. There is a tension here and I think I am going to, there is a part that I will possibly finish next Sunday, because I do not want to tire you too much but look, verse 16 says:

The Holy Spirit is speaking, God's strategy "... tomorrow you will descend against them, behold, they will go up the slope of Sis and you will find them by the stream before the desert of Jeruel..."

How about that for specific instructions. Look, they could have been waiting all the time for these people to come. They were coming closer, they were coming with their war tanks, with their planes, with their ships and with all their infantry towards Israel. And the tendency would have been to wait for them to arrive and resist them. And what does God say? You know what? No, no, take the battle to them. Go get your hands on them right, meet them on the road.

Brothers, I see the Lord always saying, look, don't wait until the problem is at the door. Identify it and design a strategy with the wisdom of the Holy Spirit and reach out and be proactive in life. I love people who are hard-working, courageous, aggressive in spirit. Don't wait until the enemy is already destroying your life before taking action. No, when you see a problem, immediately gird your loins and go to solve the problem, go to design a strategy, go to pray, go to throw the power of God and the weapons of the Holy Spirit on the problem.

Many of us do not have solutions for our life and it is because we do not identify, we do not act, we do not undertake, we are not more aggressive and the Lord is there biting his knuckles saying, when are you going to get me into the matter so that I can do powerful deeds? in your favor It is not that God does not work, it is that we are not encouraging him to work. You do not receive because you do not ask says the word of the Lord.

So, he tells him, go and meet them on the road, don't wait for them to come here to do harm, but go to them. Be proactive in your life, brother, sister, find solutions to problems while they have solutions. As soon as you see them rise up like a tiny bush, get your hands on it right away, don't wait for it to be a bush full of animals and comegenes and all that that destroys the house and that the roots get in wherever they want. No, cut it in time.

When is the best time to remove snow from the house? I have it very fresh in my memory: since it fell. If you expect people to step on you, forget you lost the battle. yes or no? When people step on the snow it sticks to the sidewalk, that's free. That advice is free for you. How difficult it is to remove the snow after people have stepped on it and that the cars have passed over it and all that and that it has rained or whatever, it puts a marshmallow but if you remove it fresh that is ufff, not even feel even, a straw in most cases.

But then be proactive, take the battle to the enemy. And finally, that verse 17 is a spiritually pregnant verse, verse 17, look, read it with me, it says:

"... there will be no reason for you to fight in this case, stop, be still and see the salvation of Jehovah with you, O Judah and Jerusalem, do not fear or dismay, go out against them tomorrow because Jehovah will be with you...."

Glory to the Lord. Amen. Amen. You know what? I'm going to end here, I'm going to ask the musicians to come here, I'm not even going to expose it because maybe next Sunday I can do the rest of the sermon. But notice there in verse 17, in this case, let's see what's there. There is a very deep teaching, stop, be still and see salvation...

Look, I title this sermon like this, “Stand, be still and see” the salvation of the Lord.

Third, do not fear or dismay and fourth, go out and fifth, Jehovah will be with you. How many can say amen to that?

Stand up in the name of Jesus. Why in this case? Because there are different situations, but in that, that was the strategy that God wanted. In other cases it may be different, but these are principles of faith, principles of spiritual science, principles that can help you in times of scarcity and need, in difficult times you need a wise, complex and understanding people in the principles of the word of the Lord.

I want you to really let the word of the Lord simmer in your spirits. God wants a people of faith, a people who clamor, a people who are open to the supernatural, a people who believe in the gifts of the spirit, a people who know how to pray, a people who have expectation that God will answer prayer according to our faith. God needs a people who move in faith. God needs a people who will look not so much at the difficulty and the seriousness, and the critical nature of the circumstances that they're facing but rather upon the great God who has said, I am with you. And God wants a people who are aggressive, who will go towards the enemy rather than wait for the enemy to come to them and who will take the battle to the enemy, who will pray in community, who will come together in prayer and seek the blessing of the Lord. Hallelujah! Praise the Lord.

Glory in the name of the Lord. Ask the Lord to remind you of these principles and that your life be a life of faith. We are going to review these principles next time and I know that God has, as I was saying in that recording, God wants our church to learn to live in faith.

God wants us to live faith. He wants us to mature. He wants us to discover the principles of faith.

May we learn to live a complex faith, a powerful faith, a faith that lives up to the word of God. Lord, create in us faith. Create in us conviction. Create in us security and confidence. Give us wisdom, give us strategy, give us strategy, give us understanding, give us clear instructions, Lord. Teach us to live in the power of your word. Thank you, because you have not left us helpless, you have not left us without weapons. You have given us the directive, the instruction, Lord, that we need. Bless your people. Plant that seed, Lord, in their hearts. Plant your truth, Lord, that living seed, oh God, your word says that your word will not fall to the ground but will not even return to you empty, it will do what you have sent it for. We adore you. Bless your children, bless your children. Glory to the name of Jesus. Give the Lord a big round of applause, amen.