Salvation Of The Lord
Salvation is of the Lord. Jesus Christ came to seek and save the lost. The Lord came to save His people from their sins. Have you seen the salvation of the Lord? Have you received the salvation of the Lord? Are you saved? Have you been born again? Have you repented from your sins and surrendered your life to Jesus?
The Lord still saves souls today and the Lord saved His people Israel during Old Testament times. Tonight, I want to read the salvation of the Lord as told in 2 Chronicles 20:1-25: After this the Moabites and Ammonites, and with them some of the Meunites, came against Jehoshaphat for battle. Some men came and told Jehoshaphat, “A great multitude is coming against you from Edom, from beyond the sea; and, behold, they are in Hazazon-tamar” (that is, Engedi).
None Are Able To Withstand You
Then Jehoshaphat was afraid and set his face to seek the Lord, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah. And Judah assembled to seek help from the Lord; from all the cities of Judah they came to seek the Lord. And Jehoshaphat stood in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem, in the house of the Lord, before the new court, and said, “O Lord, God of our fathers, are you not God in heaven? You rule over all the kingdoms of the nations. In your hand are power and might, so that none is able to withstand you.
Did you not, our God, drive out the inhabitants of this land before your people Israel, and give it forever to the descendants of Abraham your friend? And they have lived in it and have built for you in it a sanctuary for your name, saying, ‘If disaster comes upon us, the sword, judgment, or pestilence, or famine, we will stand before this house and before you—for your name is in this house—and cry out to you in our affliction, and you will hear and save.’
And now behold, the men of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir, whom you would not let Israel invade when they came from the land of Egypt, and whom they avoided and did not destroy— behold, they reward us by coming to drive us out of your possession, which you have given us to inherit. O our God, will you not execute judgment on them? For we are powerless against this great horde that is coming against us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you.”
Do Not Be Afraid, Stand Firm
Meanwhile all Judah stood before the Lord, with their little ones, their wives, and their children. And the Spirit of the Lord came upon Jahaziel the son of Zechariah, son of Benaiah, son of Jeiel, son of Mattaniah, a Levite of the sons of Asaph, in the midst of the assembly. And he said, “Listen, all Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem and King Jehoshaphat: Thus says the Lord to you, ‘Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed at this great horde, for the battle is not yours but God’s. Tomorrow go down against them. Behold, they will come up by the ascent of Ziz. You will find them at the end of the valley, east of the wilderness of Jeruel.
You will not need to fight in this battle. Stand firm, hold your position, and see the salvation of the Lord on your behalf, O Judah and Jerusalem.’ Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed. Tomorrow go out against them, and the Lord will be with you.” Then Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground, and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell down before the Lord, worshiping the Lord.
And the Levites, of the Kohathites and the Korahites, stood up to praise the Lord, the God of Israel, with a very loud voice. And they rose early in the morning and went out into the wilderness of Tekoa. And when they went out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, “Hear me, Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem! Believe in the Lord your God, and you will be established; believe his prophets, and you will succeed.” And when he had taken counsel with the people, he appointed those who were to sing to the Lord and praise him in holy attire, as they went before the army, and say, “Give thanks to the Lord, for his steadfast love endures forever.”
Singing Praises To The Lord
And when they began to sing and praise, the Lord set an ambush against the men of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, who had come against Judah, so that they were routed. For the men of Ammon and Moab rose against the inhabitants of Mount Seir, devoting them to destruction, and when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, they all helped to destroy one another.
When Judah came to the watchtower of the wilderness, they looked toward the horde, and behold, there were dead bodies lying on the ground; none had escaped. When Jehoshaphat and his people came to take their spoil, they found among them, in great numbers, goods, clothing, and precious things, which they took for themselves until they could carry no more. They were three days in taking the spoil, it was so much.
Now some people will hear these verses and think that it sounds like a prosperity gospel. They will hone in on the Israelites carrying away the spoil from those the Lord defeated. In fact, they carried the spoil away for three days. Yes, the Lord provided for His people Israel, but health, wealth and prosperity is not the point of these verses.
The Lord Delivered His People
The point is the Israelites trusted in the Lord and He delivered them, He saved them. People are still being delivered today by the Lord. The salvation of the Lord is the only salvation of mankind; there is no other. The Lord delivers people from bondage, the bondage of sin. Whom the Son sets free is free in deed. Have you been set free from your sins? We are not out here preaching sinless perfectionism. No, but if you are saved, you become a new creature in Christ. Can you say this? Have the old things passed away and all things have become new?
Oh, ave you seen the need for salvation? Have you seen your wretchedness and God’s Holiness? 2 Chronicles 20:17 says: You will not need to fight in this battle. Stand firm, hold your position, and see the salvation of the Lord on your behalf, O Judah and Jerusalem.’ Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed. Tomorrow go out against them, and the Lord will be with you.”
Again I ask, have you seen the salvation of the Lord? Through the power of the Holy Spirit, have you seen that you are a liar, thief, adulterer at heart, covetous person, blasphemer and idolater? All of us have sinned against God. There is none righteous, no not one. Have you seen yourself as God sees you? My friends and I ask people if they think they are good and 95% or more answer that they are good. That they try to treat others as they want to be treated.
You Can’t Compare Yourself To Other People
But the problem is we compare ourselves to other people. Compared to a mass murderer, you probably seem good or compared to a serial rapist, you may seem like a good person. The problem is you and I are not the standard, God is and His standard is perfection. You don’t know me and I don’t know you, but one thing we both know is that neither of us are perfect. There is not a righteous person on the earth, no, not one. Have you ever recognized this?
Have you confessed and forsaken your sins? Folks, have you understood that all sin is rebellion against God? Are you a former rebel or a current rebel? Has God revealed His Holiness to you? When Isaiah saw the Lord sitting on His throne, Isaiah said, “Woe is me! I am undone! I am a man of unclean lips living amongst a people of unclean lips!” Have you joined Isaiah in recognizing your sinfulness and God’s righteousness?
Have you seen your need for salvation? Not only do you need to see your need for salvation, you need to believe in the Lord for salvation. In 2 Chronicles 20:20 it states: Jehoshaphat stood and said, “Hear me, Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem! Believe in the Lord your God. Believe in the Lord your God. Oh, we are out here tonight pleading with you to repent from your sins and believe the Gospel. Repent and put your trust in the Lord Jesus.
Don’t Just Believe Some Facts
We aren’t asking you to just believe in some facts about Jesus, but truly believe in the Lord. Believe in His finished work on the cross. Salvation is of the Lord. Salvation is through faith alone in Christ alone. There is no other savior. Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is no other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved (Acts 4:12).
Belief in Jesus is a total and complete surrender. Not just a one-time religious experience. When you are truly saved, you become a new creature in Christ. Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new (2 Corinthians 5:17).
Oh, we want you to become a new creature in Christ. Your sins can be forgiven. God will cast your sins as far as the East is from the West, if you repent and believe in the Lord. Who or what are your trusting in tonight? What are you trusting to save you? Trust in Christ alone. Believe in Jesus. Call upon the name of the Lord and be saved.
But what saith it? The word is near you, even in your mouth, and in your heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach; That if you shall confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, and shall believe in your heart that God has raised him from the dead, you shall be saved.
For with the heart man believes unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the scripture says, Whosoever believes on him shall not be ashamed. For there is no difference between the Jew and the Gentile: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved (Romans 10:8-13).
Be Saved From Your Sins
Do this tonight, repent from your sins and surrender your life to Jesus Christ the Lord. Be saved from your sins, be saved from the terrors of eternal Hell. Be set free from the bondage of sin.
For those of us who have repented and submitted our lives to King Jesus, we are thankful for His great love, mercy and grace. We worship our Lord and Savior. We can never repay the Lord the debt we owe and He doesn’t require any kind of payment. But when you are saved, you are thankful, just like Jehoshaphat and the people of Judah were grateful and thankful to the Lord and worshipped Him.
And when he had taken counsel with the people, he appointed those who were to sing to the Lord and praise him in holy attire, as they went before the army, and say, “Give thanks to the Lord, for his steadfast love endures forever” (2 Chronicles 20:21). Are you thankful to the Lord tonight? If not, you probably are not saved. How can you not thank the One who has given you eternal life, if you are truly saved?
God Condemns And Saves
When God flooded the whole earth, He saved Noah and the seven other souls on the earth and condemned the rest of mankind. The Lord saved Jehoshaphat and Judah and condemned the armies that came against them. Jesus came to save His people from their sins. He still saves today and God still condemns unbelievers.
And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely. He that overcomes shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son. But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.
Come to Jesus tonight. He is the only Savior; salvation is of the Lord. Repent from your sins and put your trust in Jesus Christ. Believe in the Lord with all your heart. Call upon the name of the Lord and be saved. Then join those of us who are saved and thank the Lord for His salvation. My friends and I praise the Lord tonight; we praise Him in this life and we are looking forward to praising Jesus forevermore. Won’t you join us? Won’t you repent and believe the Gospel?
(This message was proclaimed in downtown Springfield, MO on July 12, 2019)