Covenant Theology: Blessings, Curses, and Sanctions: Promises Of The Law

How To Fight Like A Christian - Part 2 of 2

Transcript: AI Transcript

Professor: John Weaver

Subject: Covenant Theology

Genre: Sermon

Dictation Name:

Date: 2014-04-02

Synopsis: In this sermon, Pastor John Weaver continues teaching on how to fight like a Christian, using the example of King Asa in 2 Chronicles 14. He emphasizes that biblical fighting requires acknowledging God's absolute sovereignty, confessing our own helplessness, declaring faith and trust in God alone, appealing to covenantal obligations, and praying that man not prevail against God. The sermon underscores that blessings follow obedience and curses follow disobedience, and that preparation in times of peace is essential. Ultimately, victory comes from relying on the Lord, not on human strength or numbers.

[John Weaver] Alright, let's open our Bible's day to 2 Chronicles chapter 14. 2 Chronicles chapter 14. The title of the message is How to Fight Like a Christian. This is the second part. Hopefully it will go into a little more specifics than the introduction did last week. So let's look in 2 Chronicles chapter 14 and we're going to read all 15 verses. 2 Chronicles 14 verse 1. So Abijah slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the city of David.

[John Weaver] And Asa his son reigned in his stead. And in his days the land was quiet ten years. And Asa did that which was good and right in the eyes of the Lord his God. For he took away the altars of the strange gods in the high places, and broke down the images, and cut down the groves, and commanded Judah to seek the Lord God of their fathers, and to do the law and the commandment. Also, he took away out of all the cities of Judah the high places and the images, and the kingdom was quiet before him. And he built fenced cities in Judah, for the land had rest. For he had no war in those years, because the Lord had given him rest. Therefore, he said unto Judah, let us build these cities and make about them walls and towers and gates and bars, while the land is yet before us. Because we have sought the Lord our God, we have sought him, and he has given us rest on every side. So they built and prospered.

[John Weaver] And Asa had an army of men that bear targets and spears out of Judah, 300,000, and out of Benjamin that bear shields and drew bows, 204,000. All these were mighty men of valor. And there came out against them Zerah the Ethiopian with a host of 1,000,000 and 300 chariots and came to Marashah. Then Asa went out against him, and they set the battle underway in the valley of Zephthah at Marashah. And Asa cried unto the Lord his God and said, Lord, it is nothing with thee to help, whether with many or with them that have no power. Help us, O Lord our God, for we rest on thee, and in thy name we go against this multitude. O Lord, thou art our God. Let not man prevail against thee. So the Lord smote the Ethiopians before Asa and before Judah, and the Ethiopians fled. And Asa and the people that were with him pursued them unto Gera and the Ethiopians were overthrown and they could not recover themselves for that they were destroyed before the Lord and before his host and they carried away very much spoil and they smote all the cities round about Gera for the fear

[John Weaver] of the Lord came upon them and they spoiled all the cities for there was exceeding much spoil in them. They smote also the tents of cattle and carried away sheep and camels in abundance and returned to Jerusalem. I trust that you will remember last week I gave you a general introduction to this message, especially based on 2 Chronicles chapter 13, and I told you the primary verse there was verse 18, where the Bible says, thus the children of Israel were brought under at that time, and the children of Judah prevailed because they relied upon the Lord God of their fathers. I also last week told you what I meant and what I did not mean, by the title of this message on how to fight like a Christian. I told you that I implied learning to fight in a biblical manner. Not only fighting the good fight of faith that the Apostle Paul speaks about in 1st Timothy chapter 6 and verse 12, but fighting real physical battles as well.

[John Weaver] And it doesn't matter if we're talking about enemies or corrupt governments or whatever. The truth is that we should always display a biblical mentality and a biblical attitude when it comes to fighting. Unhappily, most Christians are thoroughly confused on this issue. I may remind you that in 2 Timothy chapter 1 and verse 7, the scripture says, For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. So it should be obvious and apparent from the previous message that fighting requires faith. The Bible says Judah prevailed. Why? Because they relied upon the Lord God of their fathers. But also fighting requires obedience. And it's useless to state that we have faith unless we are obedient. Our faith is just simply manifested by our works and by our life.

[John Weaver] So let me say it like this. Obedience is simply a manifestation of our faith. James said it very clearly, very simply. And James 2 in verse 18, when he said, Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works. Show me thy faith without thy works, and I will show thee my faith by my works. Last week we also learned that the Lord is indeed a man of war.

[John Weaver] That's what the Scripture calls Him. Not only is He a man of war, but He is also the God of battle. It is impossible to have victory apart from God. He is the one that either gives victory or defeat. We cannot expect victory in Him if we are disobedient or rebellious. When God gives peace in the land, none can make us afraid. You remember the passage I quoted last week from Leviticus 26 and verse 6, where God said, and I will give peace in the land, and ye shall lie down, and none shall make you afraid, and I will rid evil beasts out of the land, neither shall the sword go through your land." So when God gives peace, none can make us afraid. God is the one who gives peace and prosperity.

[John Weaver] But let me point, there is an opposite truth, and that is this. When God raises up an enemy, when God raises up an adversary, None can give us peace. There will always be trouble and confusion. I want you to hold 2 Chronicles chapter 14, but turn back very quickly to 1 Kings chapter 11. You remember Solomon was a very wise man, and for years he served the Lord and the Lord blessed him, but in his latter years, he departed from the Lord, he disobeyed God. And the Bible tells us in 1 Kings chapter 11, Verse 14, a very pertinent truth. Look at it. 1 Kings 11 and verse 14, the Bible says, And the LORD stirred up an adversary unto Solomon, Hadad the Edomite.

[John Weaver] He was the king seated in Edom. But I want you to note, the Bible says, The LORD stirred up an adversary unto Solomon. Solomon had been a man of peace, he had had Much peace during his reign. But now that he's rebelled against God and sinned against God, God raises up an adversary. Look, if you would, please, in verse 23 and 25. Verse 23, 1 Kings chapter 11. And God stirred him up another adversary, Razan, the son of Eliadah, which fled from his lord, Hadadezer, king of Zobah. Verse 25. and he was an adversary to Israel all the days of Solomon beside the mischief that Hadad did and he abhorred Israel and reigned over Syria. So the very fact is God can either give peace or trouble. God can either subdue our enemies and our adversaries or God can raise them up. He always delivers a rebellious people into the hands of their enemies.

[John Weaver] All you have to do is read the book of Judges. As you read through the book of Judges, you will see how Israel sinned against God, rebelled against God, and God delivered them into the hands of their enemies over and over. If you would turn to 2 Chronicles chapter 28. Let me read to you about King Ahaz. 2 Chronicles chapter 28. And let's begin reading there with verse 5.

[John Weaver] I'm just trying to prove this one point. That is, that the God who can give peace is also the God who can raise up trouble. Notice, if you would, 2 Chronicles 28, beginning there with verse 5. Here's what the Bible says concerning King Ahaz. Wherefore the Lord his God delivered him into the hand of the king of Syria, and they smote him, and carried away a great multitude of them captives, and brought them to Damascus. And he was also delivered into the hand of the king of Israel, who smote him with a great slaughter. For Pekah, the son of Remaliah, slew in Judah a hundred and twenty thousand in one day, which were all valiant men. Why? Because they had forsaken the Lord God of their fathers. And Zechariah, a mighty man of Ephraim, slew Massiah, the king's son, and Azaricum, the governor of the house, and Eliakah, that was next to the king. And the children of Israel carried away captive of their brethren, 200,000 women, sons, and daughters, and took away much spoil from them, and brought the spoil to Samaria.

[John Weaver] But notice if you would please, the Bible says, the Lord his God delivered him into the hand of the king of Syria. Moreover, he delivered him into the hands of Pekah, the son of Amalia. And 120,000 were slain in one day. Skip down to verse 17. 2 Chronicles 28 verse 17.

[John Weaver] For again the Edomites had come and smitten Judah, and carried away captives. The Philistines also had invaded the cities of the low country, and of the south of Judah, and had taken Bethshemesh, and Ashalon, and Gederoth, and Shoko, with the villages thereof, and Timno with the villages thereof, Gimzo also with the villages thereof, And they dwelt there. For the LORD brought Judah low, because of Ahaz king of Israel. For he made Judah naked, and transgressed sore against the LORD. Watch verse 20. And Tiglath-Pileser king of Assyria came unto him, and distressed him, but strengthened him not. So notice if you would, in each of these passages, God is bringing a people low because of their disobedience, because of their rebellion.

[John Weaver] I've told you this repeatedly. Let me reemphasize it today. You're going to find that there are two truths that you will find over and over in the Bible. The first one is this, that blessings always follow obedience. The second is equally true, and that is curses always follow disobedience. And that is true in every area of life. That is not only true in your personal life, in your church life, but it's also true in the military arena. Let me state it like this, no one ever prospers by disobedience. No one has ever worked out their problems by continuing to disobey God. Every time you disobey, you complicate and enhance your problems. So one can either fight militarily, or fighting good fight of faith spiritually, or mentally, or emotionally, or even financially. You can either fight in obedience to God, honoring God, and trusting God, or you can fight against God, and against His truth as an enemy, and be cursed of God. Now I want to share with you what I'm going to call an excellent example of how to fight like a Christian.

[John Weaver] You're going to find this in 2 Chronicles chapter 14. This happens to be during the life of King Asa. King Asa followed his father King Abijah. So, I want you to note that Asa had learned obedience and he feared the Lord greatly. I want you to look at the first seven verses. And I want to make several statements concerning these momentarily, but let's just read them. The first seven verses. So Abijah slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the city of David. And Asa his son reigned in his stead.

[John Weaver] Now watch, in his days the land was quiet ten years. For he took away the altars of the strange gods in the high places, and break down the images, and cut down the groves. and commanded Judah to seek the Lord God of their fathers, and to do the law and the commandment. And he took away out of all the cities of Judah, and the high places, and the images, and the kingdom was quiet before him. And he built fenced cities in Judah, for the land had rest, for he had no war in those years, because the Lord had given him rest. Therefore, he said unto Judah, let us build these cities and make about them walls and towers and gates and bars, while the land is yet before us. Because we have sought the Lord our God, we have sought Him, and He has given us rest on every side, so they built and prospered. Now I want you to note in this passage, God had given King Asa rest for ten years. For ten years they experienced peace and prosperity.

[John Weaver] Asa was a wise individual, and he used that time very wisely. One of the first things he did was he destroyed the various forms of idolatry that existed in the land. He broke down the images, and he cut down the groves.

[John Weaver] Now, I don't know if you remember me telling you this years ago, but every time you see the word groves in the Bible, with the exception of one, when Abraham planted a grove which spoke about a grove of trees. All the other instances outside of the book of Genesis when Abraham planted the grove, every time you see the word groves, it refers to the worship of Asherah. And when he cut down the groves, he's cutting down the images of Asherah.

[John Weaver] Notice what else he did. He not only destroyed idolatry, but he also commanded Judah to obey the Lord and his commandments. So he, on the one hand, destroyed that which was contrary to God. On the other hand, he elevated God and taught God's law. And then notice what else he did, if you would please. In the time of peace, he built fenced cities. That is, he built cities that were capable of being defended. Moreover, he added to these cities defensive walls, towers, gates, and bars.

[John Weaver] In all of this, the Bible says that he prospered. Now, I want you to note, if you would please, especially verse 7. Therefore, he said to Judah, let us build these cities. and make about them walls and towers and gates and bars while the land is yet before us. Because we have sought the Lord our God, we have sought Him, and He has given us rest on every side. So they built and prospered." I want you to understand what he's doing.

[John Weaver] Asa is preparing for war in a time of peace. Asa is making sure that his land, his people, his family are in a defensive position. That they will be able to fight. I hope you understand it is too late to prepare when war is upon you. It's too late to learn how to fight when you must fight. It's too late to learn how to shoot when you have to shoot. And so Asa is using his time wisely. I'm going to show you that he was not only using his time wisely, but biblically as well, because God gave him a great deal of rest, and notice if you would in verse 8.

[John Weaver] And Asa had an army of men that bear targets and spheres out of Judah, 300,000, and out of Benjamin that bear shields and drew bows, 204 score or 280,000, all these were mighty men of valor. So he had 580,000 fighting men, a little more than a half a million. And he had trained them, he had prepared them. Ah, skip down to verses 9 and 10.

[John Weaver] After 10 years of peace, after 10 years of preparation, and there came out against them Zerah the Ethiopian, with a host of a thousand thousand and three hundred chariots, and came to Marashah. Then Asa went out against him, and they set the battle in a ray in the valley of Zephathah at Marashah." Note if you would now, Asa has 580,000 men, and Zeru the Ethiopian comes out against him with a million men and 300 chariots. And guess what? Asa goes out to meet him. Nowhere do we read about Asa having any chariots. You have to remember that chariots in those days would have been considered tanks. They were armored implements. Usually these chariots had knives Even on the wheels or sides, that is, the wheels went around.

[John Weaver] If they rode through the men, if you were standing there, you were just cut down, your legs were cut off. Or if you were on the ground, your head was cut off. The chariots moved very quickly and they had archers in the chariots. And so, Zerah has 300 chariots. Judah has none. And so when Asa goes out to meet Zerah, he's already outnumbered 2 to 1. He's not only outnumbered, he is outgunned, so to speak.

[John Weaver] Let's put it like this. Zerah had 50 cal machine guns and Asa just had AR-15s. I mean, he was outgunned because of these chariots. But yet he's still willing to face the enemy. I want you to skip down to verses 11 and 12, because here's where the message is today. When Asa saw all this multitude, he's outnumbered, he's outgunned, verse 11, and Asa cried unto the Lord his God and said, Lord, it is nothing with thee to help, whether with many or them that have no power. Help us, O Lord our God, For we will rest on thee, and in thy name we go against this multitude. O Lord, thou art our God, let not man prevail against thee. So the Lord smote the Ethiopians before Asa, and before Judah, and the Ethiopians fled. Now, before I begin to comment on these things, I want you to understand that God gave them victory. He committed his cause unto the Lord.

[John Weaver] He engaged in the conflict. He completely routed his enemy. And he not only succeeded in obtaining a victory, but he got a great deal of spoil. For instance, look if you would, verse 13, And Asa and the people that were with him pursued them unto Gerar. And the Ethiopians were overthrown, and they could not recover themselves, for they were destroyed before the Lord and before His host, and they carried away very much spoil. And they smote all the cities round about Gera, and the fear of the Lord came upon them. And they spoiled all the cities, for there was exceeding much spoil in them. They smote also the tents of Cadillac, and carried away sheep and camels in abundance." So, obviously, God gave them victory, and they delighted themselves in the spoil.

[John Weaver] Now, what are we to learn from this? Let me just show you some elements of what I'm going to call relying upon the Lord. Last week we saw in 2 Chronicles 13 and verse 18 how Judah outnumbered two to one, won the battle because they relied upon the Lord. I want you to stop and think about this because everywhere you look today you hear about all these secret weapons that everyone has, all these countries have, even our government. And I've had people say to me over and over, it looks as if they're going to take us all. Well, that might be so if you go by looks, but not if you go by faith. Asa, when he was outnumbered 2 to 1, when he was outgunned, he offered this prayer, and he said in verse 11, Lord, it is nothing with Thee to help.

[John Weaver] With many are with them that have no power. Oh Lord, we rest on Thee and in Thy name we go against this multitude. So, let me just show you what is involved in relying upon the Lord and trusting in the God of battle. First of all, I want you to know there is a confession of God's absolute power and sovereignty. What did He say in verse 11? And Asa cried to the Lord his God and said, Lord, it is nothing with Thee to help, whether with many or them that have no power. Help us, O Lord our God, for we rest on Thee, and in Thy name we go against this multitude." So Asa recognized first and foremost that his only help is in the Lord. And what he is doing is this, he is ascribing glory to God by acknowledging His infinite power and His sovereignty. When he says, it's nothing with you to help with those who have many, or few, or those who have no power. Let me give you a quote on the sovereignty of God.

[John Weaver] I want you to listen, because I've had many people ask me in times past, what do you mean by the sovereignty of God? Here, Arthur W. Pink defines God's sovereignty in just a short paragraph, and he says this, the sovereignty of God. What do we mean by this expression? We mean the supremacy of God. the kingship of God, the Godhood of God. To say that God is sovereign is to declare that God is God. To say that God is sovereign is to declare that He is the Most High, doing according to His will in the army of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth, so that none can stay His hand or say unto Him, What doest Thou? To say that God is sovereign is to declare that He is the Almighty, the Possessor of all power in heaven and in earth. so that none can defeat His counsels, thwart His purpose, or resist His will. To say that God is sovereign is to declare that He is the governor among the nations, setting up kingdoms, overthrowing empires, and determining the course of dynasties as pleaseth to Him.

[John Weaver] To say that God is sovereign is to declare that He is the only Potentate, the King of Kings, and Lord of Lords. Such is the God of the Bible. And yes, He is. He is absolutely sovereign. And here is what Asa meant, Lord, since You are sovereign, nothing can hinder You from helping us. No one can thwart You. No one can stop You. Your power, Your supremacy, Your sovereignty, You are above and superior to any and all other.

[John Weaver] You rule according to Your will. You do that which You determine to be best. and when you stop and think that God is absolutely sovereign and none can stop him certainly Asa was wise to appeal to the sovereign God of heaven and earth I want you to hold 2nd Chronicles 14 but look in 1st Chronicles 29 because even King David acknowledged God's sovereignty and of course David

[John Weaver] was preserved throughout all of his multitudinous battles. But look in 1 Chronicles 29 at verses 11 and 12. 1 Chronicles 29 verse 11 and 12. Here's what David confessed. Thine, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty. For all that is in the heaven and in the earth is Thine. Thine is the kingdom, O Lord. Thou art exalted as head above all.

[John Weaver] Both riches and honor come of Thee. And Thou reignest over all. In Thine hand is power and might. And in Thy hand it is to make great and to give strength unto all." Notice what he's doing. He's acknowledging God's sovereignty. He's acknowledged the fact, just like Asa, that God is able to give victory or defeat. It is in His hands. Numbers do not count. Multitudes do not matter.

[John Weaver] Weaponry is not a factor. It does not matter how strong the enemy or how feeble the enemy. God is far superior. And God is able to work in His own strength. and not just in the strength of others. And so God may help the weakest as well as the strongest. God may help the underdog as well as the dog that's on top. It's up to God. You remember what Jonathan said in 1 Samuel chapter 14 and verse 6? When Jonathan saw these Philistines and most of the people of Israel were hiding themselves, Jonathan said to the young men that bear his armor, come and let us go over this garrison of these uncircumcised. It may be the Lord will work for us for there is no restraint to the Lord to save by many or by few. And of course, Jonathan and his armor bearer cut them down left and right.

[John Weaver] You can go through the Bible and you will find that every time there was a glorious and great victory. It was because the people trusted in the sovereign God of heaven and earth. I want you to turn to 2nd Chronicles chapter 32. 2nd Chronicles 32. Good King Hezekiah when he spoke to his people he was encouraging them against Sennacherib the Assyrian. So in 2nd Chronicles chapter 32 Look if you would, beginning there with verse 6. 2 Chronicles 32 verse 6. And he set captains of war over the people, and gathered them together unto him in the street of the gate of the city. And he spake comfortably unto them, saying, Now note what Hezekiah said, Be strong and courageous. Be not afraid nor dismayed for the king of Assyria. nor for all the multitude that is with Him, for there is more with us than with Him."

[John Weaver] Now watch, with Him is the arm of the flesh. But with us is the Lord our God to help us and to fight our battles. And the people rested upon the words of Hezekiah, king of Judah. Notice what he said, with Him is the arm of the flesh. But with us? is the Lord our God to help us and to fight our battles. Certainly he was outnumbered. The Assyrians were very, very wicked people, but yet they were a fighting people.

[John Weaver] And they were known for their atrocities. They were known for skinning people alive. They were the ones who came up with the crucifixion, but not the way our Lord was crucified. Theirs was even more brutal. And by the way, the Roman crucifixion was not designed to make it more easy. It was designed to make it more difficult because when the Assyrians crucified you, you usually died within a few hours of that day. When the Romans crucified you, it took you several days to die in pain and in agony.

[John Weaver] But notice if you would, with Him is the arm of the flesh. I want you to go back in your Bibles to 2 Kings chapter 6. I want you to see this one. 2 Kings chapter 6. The Syrians had come for Elisha, the man of God. And they completely surrounded Dothan where he was. I want you to look at this. You see, Elisha understood God's sovereignty as well. He understood that God was sufficient in and of himself. In 2 Kings chapter 6, and let's begin reading there with verse 8.

[John Weaver] Then the king of Syria warred against Israel and took counsel with his servants, saying, And such and such place shall be my camp. And the man of God sent unto the king of Israel, saying, Beware that thou pass not such a place, for thither the Syrians are come down. And the king of Israel sent to the place which the man of God told him and warned him of, and saved himself there not once or twice. Therefore, the heart of the king of Syria was sore troubled for this saying. And he called his servants and said to them, Will you not show me which of us is for the king of Israel? And one of his servants said, None, my lord or king, but Elisha the prophet that is in Israel. Telleth the king of Israel the words that are spoken in thy bedchamber.

[John Weaver] And he said, Go and spy where he is that I may send and fetch him. It was told him, saying, Behold, he is in Dothan. Therefore sent he thither horses and chariots, a great host. And they came by night and compassed the city round about. And when the servant of the man of God was risen early and gone forth, behold, and host, compassed the city both with the horses and chariots. And the servant said unto him, Alas, my master, how shall we do?

[John Weaver] And he, Elisha, answered, Fear not, for they that be with us are more than they that be with them. And Elisha prayed and said, Lord, I pray thee, open his eyes that he may see. And the Lord opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw, and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha. And when they came down to him, Elisha prayed unto the Lord and said, smite this people, I pray thee, with blindness. And he smote them with blindness, according to the word of Elisha. And of course, Elisha then takes them to the king of Samaria.

[John Weaver] But notice what he said. The Lord opened the young man's eyes that he may see. And what did he see? Mountains filled with chariots of fire. And certainly there was far more with Elisha, although Elisha was alone, than with the king of Syria. So if we're going to fight biblically, we have to acknowledge God's absolute sovereignty. He is in charge.

[John Weaver] Secondly, I want you to go back in your Bibles to 2 Chronicles chapter 14. If we're going to fight biblically, we must not only acknowledge God's absolute sovereignty, we must also acknowledge our absolute and utter helplessness. Look in verse 11. And Asa cried unto the Lord his God and said, Lord, it is nothing with thee to help, whether with many or with them that have no Power. What was Asa doing? He was confessing and acknowledging his own helplessness and his own powerlessness.

[John Weaver] Has it ever really dawned upon you? Has it really sunk into your being? That without Him, we can do nothing. We cannot even live through the night without Him. We cannot move without Him. In Him we live and move and have our being. So there should be a recognition of our own lack of ability, our own lack of power, our own helplessness. Now I want you to understand that a recognition of our inability and a recognition of our own helplessness does not lead to apathy, lethargy, inactivity. No. On the contrary, it leads us, it drives us to seek God and His power and His help. What we have to acknowledge is this, in and of ourselves, we can do absolutely nothing.

[John Weaver] But in Him, we're more than conquerors. In Him, we can do whatever needs to be done. You know, the Apostle Paul recognized this principle. I want you to listen carefully to what he said in 2 Corinthians 12 and verse 10. Listen now. Paul said, therefore I take pleasure in infirmities. in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake, for when I am weak, then I am strong." What did Paul mean when he said, when I am weak, then I am strong?

[John Weaver] Because he said, in my weakness I recognize I can't. I have no ability. And that drives me to trust in the God who can. Our strength, is really our weakness. It's a recognition of our inability. It is our weakness that forces us to depend upon God and His grace and His mercy. I want you to look in 2 Chronicles chapter 20 and verse 12 at what King Jehoshaphat said.

[John Weaver] He faced a battle as well. 2 Chronicles chapter 20 and look in verse 12. You're talking about a confession of helplessness, powerlessness, inability? 2 Chronicles 20 verse 12, King Josaphat says, O our God, wilt thou not judge them? For we have no might against this great company that cometh against us, neither know we what to do, but our eyes are upon thee. What is he doing? He's confessing his absolute inability and helplessness.

[John Weaver] He is saying we're insufficient. We don't even know which way to go. We don't know which way to turn. We don't know how to commence the battle. We don't know what to do. But He ended by saying, our eyes are upon Thee. You're going to find this is true in every area of life. Whenever we become full of pride and arrogance and haughtiness, and we begin to boast in ourselves and our abilities and our weaponry and our tactics, we're going to fall and we're going to fail. Pride quoth before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall. He that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.

[John Weaver] Let me show you something. Hold 2 Chronicles. But turn in your Bibles to Jeremiah chapter 17. I want you to see this passage. Jeremiah chapter 17. And let's begin reading there at verses 5 and 6. I want you to see that when we become full of pride and arrogancy, when we lift up ourselves and think that we can do it, we bring ourselves under the curse of God. Jeremiah chapter 17, beginning there with verse 5. Look at it.

[John Weaver] Thus saith the Lord, Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, whose heart departed from the Lord. For he shall be like the heath in the desert, and shall not see when good cometh, but shall inhabit the parts, places, and the wilderness in a salt land, and not inhabit it. Note what God says, Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, whose heart departeth from the Lord. By the way, can you not see that in Goliath of Gath?

[John Weaver] Don't you remember how he mocked young David? And he said, what am I but a dog that you're sending this kid out to fight me? Then he says, come on to me, young man. I'll give your flesh to the fowls of the air. I'll feed you to the dogs. Look at the pride and the arrogancy. And what did David say? I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts. So there is a curse upon those who trust in the flesh. Now watch.

[John Weaver] Let's skip down to verse 7. Blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is. For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh. But her leaves shall be green, and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit. What is God saying? God is saying you're going to prosper as long as you obey Me and trust in Me and not in yourself. So if we're going to fight any battle, I don't care what kind of battle it is, there must be an acknowledgement and confession and trust in the absolute sovereignty of God and a confession and acknowledgement of our own inability and helplessness and powerlessness which will drive us to trust in God. I want you to note thirdly, there has to be a declaration of faith and trust in God alone. I want you to go back to 2 Chronicles chapter 14, and again, look at verse 11.

[John Weaver] I want you to see this declaration. It's not just that we acknowledge in God sovereignty and our own helplessness. We are declaring that our faith and our trust is in God alone. Verse 11, he says this, 2 Chronicles 14, And Asa cried unto the Lord his God and said, Lord, it is nothing with Thee to help, whether with many or with them that have no power. Help us, O Lord our God, for we rest on Thee." What did he say? We rest on Thee. Such words express faith in God and demonstrate the fact that we're expecting help from Him. At the same time, we're encouraging ourselves and strengthening ourselves in Him. We're not going forth in our name. We're not going forth in our strength. We're going forth in His name and His strength. And when we know Him, and delight in Him, and lean upon Him, and trust Him, it pleases the Lord. It delights the Lord. And of course, it is an honor to the Lord and a worship to the Lord. I want you to go back to Jeremiah chapter 9 very quickly.

[John Weaver] Jeremiah chapter 9, and I want you to look at verses 23 and 24. Jeremiah chapter 9, and look if you would. I'm telling you there should be a confession and acknowledgement of our absolute trust and faith in God. Jeremiah 9, look in verse 23. Thus saith the Lord, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, nor let the rich man glory in his riches. But let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the Lord which exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth. For these things I delight, saith the Lord.

[John Weaver] And so what do we do? We delight the Lord by trusting in Him and acknowledging the fact that we're looking unto Him for His blessings upon us. Did you know the Bible says in Psalm 147 and verse 10, talking about God, for He delighteth not in the strength of the horse. He taketh not pleasure in the legs of a man. Does it matter the swiftness of man or the power of man? That's not what delights God. It's faith in Himself that delights God. In Proverbs 21, in verse 31, the Bible says this, The horse is prepared for the day of battle, but safety is the Lord. You can have all the armament, all the tactics, all the strategies that you want, but if God does not protect you, if God does not help you, you're done for.

[John Weaver] So if we're going to fight biblically, we must fight depending upon God's absolute sovereignty, our own inability. We must fight in faith, encouraging ourselves in Him. And fourthly, we must also fight because in verse 12, there is identification with and reminder of the covenantal obligations on both parties. Go back to 1 Chronicles chapter 14 and verse 12. Well, verse 11, the latter part first. He says, O LORD, thou art our God, let not man prevail against thee. O LORD, thou art our Lord, let not man prevail against thee. Now, if God is our Lord, then obviously we are His people. So there's a covenantal bond that exists then between God and His people.

[John Weaver] We have an obligation and a duty to trust Him and obey Him. And of course, according to His Word, He blesses those that trust Him and obey Him. There's a covenantal obligation on His part. You see, This covenantal obligation is recognized not only in the Old Testament but in the New Testament as well. For instance, in 1 Kings, let me just read it. In 1 Kings 8 verses 23 and 24, Solomon is dedicating the temple and he says this, and he said, O Lord God of Israel, there is no God like Thee in heaven above or on earth beneath who keepeth covenant and mercy with thy servants, and walk before thee with all their heart.

[John Weaver] Who has kept with thy servant David my father, that thou hast promised him, and thou spakest also with thy mouth, and hast fulfilled with thine hand as it is this day." But notice what he prayed. He prayed that thou art the God who keepest covenant and mercy with thy servants that walk before thee.

[John Weaver] Now I'm skipping down to verse 44 and 45. Listen. If thy people go out to battle against their enemy, Whether soever thou shalt send them, and shalt pray unto the Lord toward this city which thou hast chosen, and toward the house that I have built for thy name, then hear thou in heaven their prayer and their supplication, and maintain their cause." Why would God do that? Because of covenantal obligations. God has covenanted Himself with us in Jesus Christ.

[John Weaver] And He has promised that if we obey, He will bless. He has promised, if we disobey, He will curse.

[John Weaver] Now, just like Solomon was appealing to God through the Davidic covenant, we also appeal to God through the covenant of grace, which is the fulfillment of that Davidic covenant. If you will turn in your Bibles to the book of Hebrews chapter 13, Hebrews chapter 13, and look at verses 20 and 21. Hebrews 13, verses 20 and 21. Look what the Bible says. By the way, I'm going to remind you that principles do not change. God's covenantal faithfulness does not change. God does not change. That's what He said in Malachi 3.6, I the Lord change not. He is immutable. So look in Hebrews chapter 13 verse 20, Now the God of peace that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep through the blood of the everlasting covenant, make you perfect in every good work to do His will, working in you that which is well pleasing in His sight through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen. So Jesus Christ is our covenant. It is an eternal covenant.

[John Weaver] It was a covenant that was entered into before the world ever began. And we can come to God, our Heavenly Father, through the covenantal mercies of Jesus Christ. And we may rightly plead our relationship. We are His children. He is our Father. And claim the promises that He has given us. Do you know what the Bible says in 2 Corinthians 1 and verse 20? Listen. For all the promises of God in Him, that is in Jesus Christ, for all the promises of God in Him are yea and in Him amen to the glory of God. What? All the promises of God in Him are yea and amen to the glory of God by us.

[John Weaver] So, we must acknowledge we are His people. He is our God. There's a covenantal relationship that exists, and there are covenantal duties on both parts. Our part is to trust and obey. Fifthly, I want you to note in 2 Chronicles chapter 14, the last point, you'll find this also in verse 11. Look what he said. The latter part of verse 11. He said, For we rest on thee, And in Thy name we go against this multitude. O Lord our God, Thou art our God, let not man prevail against Thee." Wait a minute.

[John Weaver] I thought the Ethiopians were fighting against Judah. He did not say, let not man prevail against us. He said, let not man prevail against Thee. Here's what he's praying, O Lord, Thou art our God, and Thou only. We know and we serve no other God. We're Thy people, we're called by Thy name. Let not man prevail against Thee, for if the enemy should prevail against us, it would be interpreted as prevailing against Thee. So what Asa's praying is this, Lord, our enemy is mortal. Thou art immortal. Let him see that he cannot prevail against Thee. Maintain our cause. Maintain Thy honor.

[John Weaver] By the way, I hope you understand this. That you cannot attack my children without attacking me. My children are my flesh and blood. The same is true with our Heavenly Father. We are His children. And the enemy cannot attack us without attacking Him. I want you to turn very quickly to two passages. I want you to turn to Psalm 9 and Psalm 58. Psalm 9 and Psalm 58. I want you to see exactly what Asa was praying when he said, prevail against thee." Look in Psalm 9 and begin there with verse 19. And by the way, I think this is an excellent petition that you and I should learn to pray daily. Psalm 9, verse 19, David prays, Arise, O Lord, let not man prevail.

[John Weaver] Let the heathen be judged in thy sight. Watch! Put them in fear, O Lord, that the nations may know themselves to be but men." You're just mortal. You're not God. You have no right to reign over us and control us and order us. No! Put them in fear that they may know that they're but men. We need to learn to pray that. Arise, O Lord, let not man prevail. Let the heathen be judged in Thy sight.

[John Weaver] Look in Psalm 58, if you would please. beginning there with verse 6. Psalm 58, beginning with verse 6. Here's what Asa meant when he said, let not man prevail. Psalm 58, verse 6. He's praying against the wicked. Look what he prays. Break their teeth, O God, in their mouth. Break out the great teeth of the young lions, O Lord. Let them melt away as waters which run continually.

[John Weaver] When He bendeth His bow to shoot His arrows, let them be as cut in pieces. as a snail which melteth, let every one of them pass away like the untimely birth of woman, that they may not see the sun. Before your pots can feel the thorns, He shall take them away with a whirlwind, both living in His wrath.

[John Weaver] Now watch, the righteous shall rejoice when He seeth the vengeance. He shall wash His feet in the blood of the wicked, so that a man shall say, Verily, there is a reward for the righteous. Verily, He is a God that judgeth in the earth." Let not man prevail. You know what David prayed in Psalm 17 in verse 8? I told you earlier, you cannot attack my children without attacking me. You cannot attack God's children without attacking God. So David prayed in Psalm 17 in verse 8, keep me as the apple of thine eye, hide me under the shadow of thy wings. The apple of the eye is the pupil. Have you ever noticed How quickly your eyelids can shut and cover your eye.

[John Weaver] I've had limbs come back at me and instantly my eyes would shut. Or my hand would go up so quick it would make your head swim. Because it's just natural to protect your eyes. And David is saying, keep me an example of thine eye. In Zechariah 2 and verse 8, the Bible says, After the glory had they sent me into the nations which spoiled you, for he that toucheth you toucheth the apple of my eye."

[John Weaver] God said, if you touch My people, you're touching Me. We have to understand that when we fight, we have to understand it's more than just us involved in a battle. You look at what is going on in this country. It's humanism versus Christianity. It's Mohammed versus Christ. It's not just that we do not want man to prevail against us. We do not want man to prevail against God. And if we fight like a Christian, it means we fight in faith, we fight in obedience, we fight trusting the Lord, We fight recognizing our own helplessness. We fight recognizing the greatness of His power, of the one true and the living God. Yes, we still have to fight.

[John Weaver] And as the adage says, trust in the Lord and keep your powder dry. But you don't just trust in your powder. You have to trust in the Lord. For He is the God of war. and the God of battles. And I've got news for you. He's King of Kings and Lord of Lords and God of Gods. And He hasn't been defeated yet. And He's not going to be. We're more than conquerors through our Lord Jesus Christ. Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, we bow to Thee.

[John Weaver] We thank You for Your Word. We thank You for Your truth. And Lord, I pray that You would help us, enable us, to bring our lives into conformity to Your Word. Give us, Lord, the grace to be submissive, to be obedient, and to lean upon Thee, and look to Thee, and trust Thee. In the name of Jesus Christ, we ask and pray. Amen.

How To Fight Like A Christian - Part 2 of 2

John Weaver | YouTube

Lecture Metadata	Details
Speaker	John Weaver
Source	YouTube
Media ID	CDc1tr2l3Jg
Subject	Covenant Theology
Course	Covenant Theology: Blessings, Curses, and Sanctions: Promises Of The Law
Genre	Sermon
Date	2014-04-02
Dictation Name
Book	Book 057: How To Fight Like A Christian — Chapter 2
Source Timed Segments	73

Formatted Transcript

Introduction and Review

Weaver reviews the previous message on fighting like a Christian, emphasizing reliance on God and the necessity of obedience as a manifestation of faith.

Alright, let's open our Bibles today to 2 Chronicles chapter 14. 2 Chronicles chapter 14. The title of the message is "How to Fight Like a Christian." This is the second part. Hopefully it will go into a little more specifics than the introduction did last week. So let's look in 2 Chronicles chapter 14 and we're going to read all 15 verses. 2 Chronicles 14 verse 1:

Scripture Reading — 2 Chronicles 14:1-15

"So Abijah slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the city of David." "And Asa his son reigned in his stead. And in his days the land was quiet ten years. And Asa did that which was good and right in the eyes of the Lord his God. For he took away the altars of the strange gods in the high places, and broke down the images, and cut down the groves, and commanded Judah to seek the Lord God of their fathers, and to do the law and the commandment. Also, he took away out of all the cities of Judah the high places and the images, and the kingdom was quiet before him. And he built fenced cities in Judah, for the land had rest. For he had no war in those years, because the Lord had given him rest. Therefore, he said unto Judah, 'Let us build these cities and make about them walls and towers and gates and bars, while the land is yet before us. Because we have sought the Lord our God, we have sought him, and he has given us rest on every side.' So they built and prospered." "And Asa had an army of men that bear targets and spears out of Judah, 300,000, and out of Benjamin that bear shields and drew bows, 280,000. All these were mighty men of valor. And there came out against them Zerah the Ethiopian with a host of 1,000,000 and 300 chariots and came to Mareshah. Then Asa went out against him, and they set the battle in array in the valley of Zephathah at Mareshah. And Asa cried unto the Lord his God and said, 'Lord, it is nothing with thee to help, whether with many or with them that have no power. Help us, O Lord our God, for we rest on thee, and in thy name we go against this multitude. O Lord, thou art our God. Let not man prevail against thee.' So the Lord smote the Ethiopians before Asa and before Judah, and the Ethiopians fled. And Asa and the people that were with him pursued them unto Gerar and the Ethiopians were overthrown and they could not recover themselves for that they were destroyed before the Lord and before his host and they carried away very much spoil and they smote all the cities round about Gerar for the fear of the Lord came upon them and they spoiled all the cities for there was exceeding much spoil in them. They smote also the tents of cattle and carried away sheep and camels in abundance and returned to Jerusalem."

I trust that you will remember last week I gave you a general introduction to this message, especially based on 2 Chronicles chapter 13, and I told you the primary verse there was verse 18, where the Bible says,

Scripture Reading — 2 Chronicles 14:1-15

"Thus the children of Israel were brought under at that time, and the children of Judah prevailed because they relied upon the Lord God of their fathers."

I also last week told you what I meant and what I did not mean by the title of this message on how to fight like a Christian. I told you that I implied learning to fight in a biblical manner. Not only fighting the good fight of faith that the Apostle Paul speaks about in 1 Timothy chapter 6 and verse 12, but fighting real physical battles as well.

And it doesn't matter if we're talking about enemies or corrupt governments or whatever. The truth is that we should always display a biblical mentality and a biblical attitude when it comes to fighting. Unhappily, most Christians are thoroughly confused on this issue. I may remind you that in 2 Timothy chapter 1 and verse 7, the scripture says, "For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind." So it should be obvious and apparent from the previous message that fighting requires faith. The Bible says Judah prevailed. Why? Because they relied upon the Lord God of their fathers. But also fighting requires obedience. And it's useless to state that we have faith unless we are obedient. Our faith is just simply manifested by our works and by our life.

So let me say it like this. Obedience is simply a manifestation of our faith. James said it very clearly, very simply. In James 2 and verse 18, when he said,

Scripture Reading — James 2:18

"Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works. Show me thy faith without thy works, and I will show thee my faith by my works."

Last week we also learned that the Lord is indeed a man of war.

God Gives Peace or Raises Adversaries

God can give peace or raise up enemies based on obedience; blessings follow obedience and curses follow disobedience.

That's what the Scripture calls Him. Not only is He a man of war, but He is also the God of battle. It is impossible to have victory apart from God. He is the one that either gives victory or defeat. We cannot expect victory in Him if we are disobedient or rebellious. When God gives peace in the land, none can make us afraid. You remember the passage I quoted last week from Leviticus 26 and verse 6, where God said,

Scripture Reading — Leviticus 26:6

"And I will give peace in the land, and ye shall lie down, and none shall make you afraid, and I will rid evil beasts out of the land, neither shall the sword go through your land."

So when God gives peace, none can make us afraid. God is the one who gives peace and prosperity.

But let me point out, there is an opposite truth, and that is this. When God raises up an enemy, when God raises up an adversary, none can give us peace. There will always be trouble and confusion. I want you to hold 2 Chronicles chapter 14, but turn back very quickly to 1 Kings chapter 11. You remember Solomon was a very wise man, and for years he served the Lord and the Lord blessed him, but in his latter years, he departed from the Lord, he disobeyed God. And the Bible tells us in 1 Kings chapter 11, verse 14, a very pertinent truth. Look at it. 1 Kings 11 and verse 14, the Bible says,

Scripture Reading — 1 Kings 11:14, 23, 25

"And the LORD stirred up an adversary unto Solomon, Hadad the Edomite."

He was the king's seed in Edom. But I want you to note, the Bible says,

Scripture Reading — 1 Kings 11:14, 23, 25

"The LORD stirred up an adversary unto Solomon."

Solomon had been a man of peace, he had had much peace during his reign. But now that he's rebelled against God and sinned against God, God raises up an adversary. Look, if you would, please, in verse 23 and 25. Verse 23, 1 Kings chapter 11. "And God stirred him up another adversary, Rezon, the son of Eliadah, which fled from his lord, Hadadezer, king of Zobah." Verse 25, "And he was an adversary to Israel all the days of Solomon beside the mischief that Hadad did and he abhorred Israel and reigned over Syria." So the very fact is God can either give peace or trouble. God can either subdue our enemies and our adversaries or God can raise them up. He always delivers a rebellious people into the hands of their enemies.

All you have to do is read the book of Judges. As you read through the book of Judges, you will see how Israel sinned against God, rebelled against God, and God delivered them into the hands of their enemies over and over. If you would turn to 2 Chronicles chapter 28. Let me read to you about King Ahaz. 2 Chronicles chapter 28. And let's begin reading there with verse 5. I'm just trying to prove this one point. That is, that the God who can give peace is also the God who can raise up trouble. Notice, if you would, 2 Chronicles 28, beginning there with verse 5. Here's what the Bible says concerning King Ahaz.

Scripture Reading — 2 Chronicles 28:5-8, 17-20

"Wherefore the Lord his God delivered him into the hand of the king of Syria, and they smote him, and carried away a great multitude of them captives, and brought them to Damascus. And he was also delivered into the hand of the king of Israel, who smote him with a great slaughter. For Pekah, the son of Remaliah, slew in Judah a hundred and twenty thousand in one day, which were all valiant men. Why? Because they had forsaken the Lord God of their fathers. And Zechariah, a mighty man of Ephraim, slew Maaseiah, the king's son, and Azrikam, the governor of the house, and Elkanah, that was next to the king. And the children of Israel carried away captive of their brethren, 200,000 women, sons, and daughters, and took away much spoil from them, and brought the spoil to Samaria."

But notice if you would please, the Bible says,

Scripture Reading — 2 Chronicles 28:5-8, 17-20

"the Lord his God delivered him into the hand of the king of Syria."

Moreover, he delivered him into the hands of Pekah, the son of Remaliah. And 120,000 were slain in one day. Skip down to verse 17. 2 Chronicles 28 verse 17.

"For again the Edomites had come and smitten Judah, and carried away captives. The Philistines also had invaded the cities of the low country, and of the south of Judah, and had taken Beth-shemesh, and Aijalon, and Gederoth, and Socoh, with the villages thereof, and Timnah with the villages thereof, Gimzo also with the villages thereof, and they dwelt there. For the LORD brought Judah low, because of Ahaz king of Israel. For he made Judah naked, and transgressed sore against the LORD." Watch verse 20. "And Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria came unto him, and distressed him, but strengthened him not." So notice if you would, in each of these passages, God is bringing a people low because of their disobedience, because of their rebellion. I've told you this repeatedly. Let me reemphasize it today. You're going to find that there are two truths that you will find over and over in the Bible. The first one is this, that blessings always follow obedience. The second is equally true, and that is curses always follow disobedience. And that is true in every area of life. That is not only true in your personal life, in your church life, but it's also true in the military arena. Let me state it like this, no one ever prospers by disobedience. No one has ever worked out their problems by continuing to disobey God. Every time you disobey, you complicate and enhance your problems. So one can either fight militarily, or fighting the good fight of faith spiritually, or mentally, or emotionally, or even financially. You can either fight in obedience to God, honoring God, and trusting God, or you can fight against God, and against His truth as an enemy, and be cursed of God. Now I want to share with you what I'm going to call an excellent example of how to fight like a Christian.

King Asa's Preparation in Peace

Asa used ten years of peace to destroy idolatry, command obedience, and build fortified cities, preparing for war.

You're going to find this in 2 Chronicles chapter 14. This happens to be during the life of King Asa. King Asa followed his father King Abijah. So, I want you to note that Asa had learned obedience and he feared the Lord greatly. I want you to look at the first seven verses. And I want to make several statements concerning these momentarily, but let's just read them. The first seven verses. "So Abijah slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the city of David. And Asa his son reigned in his stead."

Now watch, "in his days the land was quiet ten years. For he took away the altars of the strange gods in the high places, and break down the images, and cut down the groves. and commanded Judah to seek the Lord God of their fathers, and to do the law and the commandment. And he took away out of all the cities of Judah, and the high places, and the images, and the kingdom was quiet before him. And he built fenced cities in Judah, for the land had rest, for he had no war in those years, because the Lord had given him rest. Therefore, he said unto Judah, 'Let us build these cities and make about them walls and towers and gates and bars, while the land is yet before us. Because we have sought the Lord our God, we have sought Him, and He has given us rest on every side,' so they built and prospered." Now I want you to note in this passage, God had given King Asa rest for ten years. For ten years they experienced peace and prosperity.

Asa was a wise individual, and he used that time very wisely. One of the first things he did was he destroyed the various forms of idolatry that existed in the land. He broke down the images, and he cut down the groves. Now, I don't know if you remember me telling you this years ago, but every time you see the word "groves" in the Bible, with the exception of one, when Abraham planted a grove which spoke about a grove of trees. All the other instances outside of the book of Genesis when Abraham planted the grove, every time you see the word "groves," it refers to the worship of Asherah. And when he cut down the groves, he's cutting down the images of Asherah. Notice what else he did. He not only destroyed idolatry, but he also commanded Judah to obey the Lord and his commandments. So he, on the one hand, destroyed that which was contrary to God. On the other hand, he elevated God and taught God's law. And then notice what else he did, if you would please. In the time of peace, he built fenced cities. That is, he built cities that were capable of being defended. Moreover, he added to these cities defensive walls, towers, gates, and bars.

In all of this, the Bible says that he prospered. Now, I want you to note, if you would please, especially verse 7. "Therefore, he said to Judah, 'Let us build these cities. and make about them walls and towers and gates and bars while the land is yet before us. Because we have sought the Lord our God, we have sought Him, and He has given us rest on every side.' So they built and prospered." I want you to understand what he's doing. Asa is preparing for war in a time of peace. Asa is making sure that his land, his people, his family are in a defensive position. That they will be able to fight. I hope you understand it is too late to prepare when war is upon you. It's too late to learn how to fight when you must fight. It's too late to learn how to shoot when you have to shoot. And so Asa is using his time wisely. I'm going to show you that he was not only using his time wisely, but biblically as well, because God gave him a great deal of rest, and notice if you would in verse 8.

The Battle Against Zerah the Ethiopian

Asa faced a vastly superior enemy but went out to meet them, relying on the Lord.

Asa is preparing for war in a time of peace. Asa is making sure that his land, his people, his family are in a defensive position. That they will be able to fight. I hope you understand it is too late to prepare when war is upon you. It's too late to learn how to fight when you must fight. It's too late to learn how to shoot when you have to shoot. And so Asa is using his time wisely. I'm going to show you that he was not only using his time wisely, but biblically as well, because God gave him a great deal of rest, and notice if you would in verse 8.

"And Asa had an army of men that bear targets and spears out of Judah, 300,000, and out of Benjamin that bear shields and drew bows, 280,000, all these were mighty men of valor." So he had 580,000 fighting men, a little more than a half a million. And he had trained them, he had prepared them. Ah, skip down to verses 9 and 10. After 10 years of peace, after 10 years of preparation, "and there came out against them Zerah the Ethiopian, with a host of a thousand thousand and three hundred chariots, and came to Mareshah. Then Asa went out against him, and they set the battle in array in the valley of Zephathah at Mareshah." Note if you would now, Asa has 580,000 men, and Zerah the Ethiopian comes out against him with a million men and 300 chariots. And guess what? Asa goes out to meet him. Nowhere do we read about Asa having any chariots. You have to remember that chariots in those days would have been considered tanks. They were armored implements. Usually these chariots had knives even on the wheels or sides, that is, the wheels went around.

If they rode through the men, if you were standing there, you were just cut down, your legs were cut off. Or if you were on the ground, your head was cut off. The chariots moved very quickly and they had archers in the chariots. And so, Zerah has 300 chariots. Judah has none. And so when Asa goes out to meet Zerah, he's already outnumbered 2 to 1. He's not only outnumbered, he is outgunned, so to speak.

Let's put it like this. Zerah had 50 cal machine guns and Asa just had AR-15s. I mean, he was outgunned because of these chariots. But yet he's still willing to face the enemy. I want you to skip down to verses 11 and 12, because here's where the message is today. When Asa saw all this multitude, he's outnumbered, he's outgunned, verse 11, "and Asa cried unto the Lord his God and said, 'Lord, it is nothing with thee to help, whether with many or them that have no power. Help us, O Lord our God, for we will rest on thee, and in thy name we go against this multitude. O Lord, thou art our God, let not man prevail against thee.' So the Lord smote the Ethiopians before Asa, and before Judah, and the Ethiopians fled." Now, before I begin to comment on these things, I want you to understand that God gave them victory. He committed his cause unto the Lord.

He engaged in the conflict. He completely routed his enemy. And he not only succeeded in obtaining a victory, but he got a great deal of spoil. For instance, look if you would, verse 13, "And Asa and the people that were with him pursued them unto Gerar. And the Ethiopians were overthrown, and they could not recover themselves, for they were destroyed before the Lord and before His host, and they carried away very much spoil. And they smote all the cities round about Gerar, and the fear of the Lord came upon them. And they spoiled all the cities, for there was exceeding much spoil in them. They smote also the tents of cattle, and carried away sheep and camels in abundance." So, obviously, God gave them victory, and they delighted themselves in the spoil.

Asa's Prayer and God's Victory

Asa prayed acknowledging God's sovereignty and helplessness, and God gave victory and abundant spoil.

Now, what are we to learn from this? Let me just show you some elements of what I'm going to call relying upon the Lord. Last week we saw in 2 Chronicles 13 and verse 18 how Judah outnumbered two to one, won the battle because they relied upon the Lord. I want you to stop and think about this because everywhere you look today you hear about all these secret weapons that everyone has, all these countries have, even our government. And I've had people say to me over and over, it looks as if they're going to take us all. Well, that might be so if you go by looks, but not if you go by faith. Asa, when he was outnumbered 2 to 1, when he was outgunned, he offered this prayer, and he said in verse 11, "Lord, it is nothing with Thee to help."

Elements of Relying on the Lord

Weaver outlines five elements: confessing God's sovereignty, acknowledging helplessness, declaring faith, appealing to covenant, and praying against man prevailing.

"With many or with them that have no power. O Lord, we rest on Thee and in Thy name we go against this multitude." So, let me just show you what is involved in relying upon the Lord and trusting in the God of battle. First of all, I want you to know there is a confession of God's absolute power and sovereignty. What did He say in verse 11? "And Asa cried to the Lord his God and said, 'Lord, it is nothing with Thee to help, whether with many or them that have no power. Help us, O Lord our God, for we rest on Thee, and in Thy name we go against this multitude.'" So Asa recognized first and foremost that his only help is in the Lord. And what he is doing is this, he is ascribing glory to God by acknowledging His infinite power and His sovereignty. When he says, "it's nothing with you to help with those who have many, or few, or those who have no power." Let me give you a quote on the sovereignty of God.

I want you to listen, because I've had many people ask me in times past, what do you mean by the sovereignty of God? Here, Arthur W. Pink defines God's sovereignty in just a short paragraph, and he says this: "The sovereignty of God. What do we mean by this expression? We mean the supremacy of God. the kingship of God, the Godhood of God. To say that God is sovereign is to declare that God is God. To say that God is sovereign is to declare that He is the Most High, doing according to His will in the army of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth, so that none can stay His hand or say unto Him, 'What doest Thou?' To say that God is sovereign is to declare that He is the Almighty, the Possessor of all power in heaven and in earth. so that none can defeat His counsels, thwart His purpose, or resist His will. To say that God is sovereign is to declare that He is the governor among the nations, setting up kingdoms, overthrowing empires, and determining the course of dynasties as pleaseth to Him."

"To say that God is sovereign is to declare that He is the only Potentate, the King of Kings, and Lord of Lords." Such is the God of the Bible. And yes, He is. He is absolutely sovereign. And here is what Asa meant: Lord, since You are sovereign, nothing can hinder You from helping us. No one can thwart You. No one can stop You. Your power, Your supremacy, Your sovereignty, You are above and superior to any and all other.

You rule according to Your will. You do that which You determine to be best. And when you stop and think that God is absolutely sovereign and none can stop him, certainly Asa was wise to appeal to the sovereign God of heaven and earth. I want you to hold 2 Chronicles 14 but look in 1 Chronicles 29 because even King David acknowledged God's sovereignty and of course David was preserved throughout all of his multitudinous battles. But look in 1 Chronicles 29 at verses 11 and 12. 1 Chronicles 29 verse 11 and 12. Here's what David confessed:

Scripture Reading — 1 Chronicles 29:11-12

"Thine, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty. For all that is in the heaven and in the earth is Thine. Thine is the kingdom, O Lord. Thou art exalted as head above all."

"Both riches and honor come of Thee. And Thou reignest over all. In Thine hand is power and might. And in Thy hand it is to make great and to give strength unto all." Notice what he's doing. He's acknowledging God's sovereignty. He's acknowledged the fact, just like Asa, that God is able to give victory or defeat. It is in His hands. Numbers do not count. Multitudes do not matter.

Weaponry is not a factor. It does not matter how strong the enemy or how feeble the enemy. God is far superior. And God is able to work in His own strength. and not just in the strength of others. And so God may help the weakest as well as the strongest. God may help the underdog as well as the dog that's on top. It's up to God. You remember what Jonathan said in 1 Samuel chapter 14 and verse 6? When Jonathan saw these Philistines and most of the people of Israel were hiding themselves, Jonathan said to the young men that bear his armor, "Come and let us go over this garrison of these uncircumcised. It may be the Lord will work for us for there is no restraint to the Lord to save by many or by few." And of course, Jonathan and his armor bearer cut them down left and right.

You can go through the Bible and you will find that every time there was a glorious and great victory. It was because the people trusted in the sovereign God of heaven and earth. I want you to turn to 2 Chronicles chapter 32. 2 Chronicles 32. Good King Hezekiah when he spoke to his people he was encouraging them against Sennacherib the Assyrian. So in 2 Chronicles chapter 32 Look if you would, beginning there with verse 6. 2 Chronicles 32 verse 6. "And he set captains of war over the people, and gathered them together unto him in the street of the gate of the city. And he spake comfortably unto them, saying," Now note what Hezekiah said, "Be strong and courageous. Be not afraid nor dismayed for the king of Assyria. nor for all the multitude that is with Him, for there is more with us than with Him."

Now watch, "with Him is the arm of the flesh. But with us is the Lord our God to help us and to fight our battles." And the people rested upon the words of Hezekiah, king of Judah. Notice what he said, "with Him is the arm of the flesh. But with us? is the Lord our God to help us and to fight our battles." Certainly he was outnumbered. The Assyrians were very, very wicked people, but yet they were a fighting people. And they were known for their atrocities. They were known for skinning people alive. They were the ones who came up with the crucifixion, but not the way our Lord was crucified. Theirs was even more brutal. And by the way, the Roman crucifixion was not designed to make it more easy. It was designed to make it more difficult because when the Assyrians crucified you, you usually died within a few hours of that day. When the Romans crucified you, it took you several days to die in pain and in agony.

But notice if you would, "with Him is the arm of the flesh." I want you to go back in your Bibles to 2 Kings chapter 6. I want you to see this one. 2 Kings chapter 6. The Syrians had come for Elisha, the man of God. And they completely surrounded Dothan where he was. I want you to look at this. You see, Elisha understood God's sovereignty as well. He understood that God was sufficient in and of himself. In 2 Kings chapter 6, and let's begin reading there with verse 8.

"Then the king of Syria warred against Israel and took counsel with his servants, saying, 'In such and such place shall be my camp.' And the man of God sent unto the king of Israel, saying, 'Beware that thou pass not such a place, for thither the Syrians are come down.' And the king of Israel sent to the place which the man of God told him and warned him of, and saved himself there not once or twice. Therefore, the heart of the king of Syria was sore troubled for this saying. And he called his servants and said to them, 'Will you not show me which of us is for the king of Israel?' And one of his servants said, 'None, my lord or king, but Elisha the prophet that is in Israel. Telleth the king of Israel the words that are spoken in thy bedchamber.'"

"And he said, 'Go and spy where he is that I may send and fetch him.' It was told him, saying, 'Behold, he is in Dothan.' Therefore sent he thither horses and chariots, a great host. And they came by night and compassed the city round about. And when the servant of the man of God was risen early and gone forth, behold, an host compassed the city both with the horses and chariots. And the servant said unto him, 'Alas, my master, how shall we do?'" "And he, Elisha, answered, 'Fear not, for they that be with us are more than they that be with them.' And Elisha prayed and said, 'Lord, I pray thee, open his eyes that he may see.' And the Lord opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw, and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha. And when they came down to him, Elisha prayed unto the Lord and said, 'Smite this people, I pray thee, with blindness.' And he smote them with blindness, according to the word of Elisha." And of course, Elisha then takes them to the king of Samaria.

But notice what he said. The Lord opened the young man's eyes that he may see. And what did he see? Mountains filled with chariots of fire. And certainly there was far more with Elisha, although Elisha was alone, than with the king of Syria. So if we're going to fight biblically, we have to acknowledge God's absolute sovereignty. He is in charge.

Secondly, I want you to go back in your Bibles to 2 Chronicles chapter 14. If we're going to fight biblically, we must not only acknowledge God's absolute sovereignty, we must also acknowledge our absolute and utter helplessness. Look in verse 11. "And Asa cried unto the Lord his God and said, 'Lord, it is nothing with thee to help, whether with many or with them that have no power.'" What was Asa doing? He was confessing and acknowledging his own helplessness and his own powerlessness. Has it ever really dawned upon you? Has it really sunk into your being? That without Him, we can do nothing. We cannot even live through the night without Him. We cannot move without Him. In Him we live and move and have our being. So there should be a recognition of our own lack of ability, our own lack of power, our own helplessness. Now I want you to understand that a recognition of our inability and a recognition of our own helplessness does not lead to apathy, lethargy, inactivity. No. On the contrary, it leads us, it drives us to seek God and His power and His help. What we have to acknowledge is this, in and of ourselves, we can do absolutely nothing.

But in Him, we're more than conquerors. In Him, we can do whatever needs to be done. You know, the Apostle Paul recognized this principle. I want you to listen carefully to what he said in 2 Corinthians 12 and verse 10. Listen now. Paul said,

Scripture Reading — 2 Corinthians 12:10

"Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities. in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake, for when I am weak, then I am strong."

What did Paul mean when he said,

Scripture Reading — 2 Corinthians 12:10

"when I am weak, then I am strong"

? Because he said, in my weakness I recognize I can't. I have no ability. And that drives me to trust in the God who can. Our strength, is really our weakness. It's a recognition of our inability. It is our weakness that forces us to depend upon God and His grace and His mercy. I want you to look in 2 Chronicles chapter 20 and verse 12 at what King Jehoshaphat said.

He faced a battle as well. 2 Chronicles chapter 20 and look in verse 12. You're talking about a confession of helplessness, powerlessness, inability? 2 Chronicles 20 verse 12, King Jehoshaphat says,

Scripture Reading — 2 Chronicles 20:12

"O our God, wilt thou not judge them? For we have no might against this great company that cometh against us, neither know we what to do, but our eyes are upon thee."

What is he doing? He's confessing his absolute inability and helplessness. He is saying we're insufficient. We don't even know which way to go. We don't know which way to turn. We don't know how to commence the battle. We don't know what to do. But He ended by saying,

Scripture Reading — 2 Chronicles 20:12

"our eyes are upon Thee."

You're going to find this is true in every area of life. Whenever we become full of pride and arrogance and haughtiness, and we begin to boast in ourselves and our abilities and our weaponry and our tactics, we're going to fall and we're going to fail. Pride goeth before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall. He that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.

Let me show you something. Hold 2 Chronicles. But turn in your Bibles to Jeremiah chapter 17. I want you to see this passage. Jeremiah chapter 17. And let's begin reading there at verses 5 and 6. I want you to see that when we become full of pride and arrogancy, when we lift up ourselves and think that we can do it, we bring ourselves under the curse of God. Jeremiah chapter 17, beginning there with verse 5. Look at it.

"Thus saith the Lord, 'Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, whose heart departed from the Lord. For he shall be like the heath in the desert, and shall not see when good cometh, but shall inhabit the parched places, and the wilderness in a salt land, and not inhabit it.'" Note what God says, "Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, whose heart departeth from the Lord." By the way, can you not see that in Goliath of Gath? Don't you remember how he mocked young David? And he said, "what am I but a dog that you're sending this kid out to fight me?" Then he says, "come on to me, young man. I'll give your flesh to the fowls of the air. I'll feed you to the dogs." Look at the pride and the arrogancy. And what did David say? "I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts." So there is a curse upon those who trust in the flesh. Now watch.

Let's skip down to verse 7. "Blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is. For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh. But her leaves shall be green, and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit." What is God saying? God is saying you're going to prosper as long as you obey Me and trust in Me and not in yourself. So if we're going to fight any battle, I don't care what kind of battle it is, there must be an acknowledgement and confession and trust in the absolute sovereignty of God and a confession and acknowledgement of our own inability and helplessness and powerlessness which will drive us to trust in God. I want you to note thirdly, there has to be a declaration of faith and trust in God alone. I want you to go back to 2 Chronicles chapter 14, and again, look at verse 11.

I want you to see this declaration. It's not just that we acknowledge in God sovereignty and our own helplessness. We are declaring that our faith and our trust is in God alone. Verse 11, he says this, 2 Chronicles 14, "And Asa cried unto the Lord his God and said, 'Lord, it is nothing with Thee to help, whether with many or with them that have no power. Help us, O Lord our God, for we rest on Thee.'" What did he say? "We rest on Thee." Such words express faith in God and demonstrate the fact that we're expecting help from Him. At the same time, we're encouraging ourselves and strengthening ourselves in Him. We're not going forth in our name. We're not going forth in our strength. We're going forth in His name and His strength. And when we know Him, and delight in Him, and lean upon Him, and trust Him, it pleases the Lord. It delights the Lord. And of course, it is an honor to the Lord and a worship to the Lord. I want you to go back to Jeremiah chapter 9 very quickly.

Jeremiah chapter 9, and I want you to look at verses 23 and 24. Jeremiah chapter 9, and look if you would. I'm telling you there should be a confession and acknowledgement of our absolute trust and faith in God. Jeremiah 9, look in verse 23.

Scripture Reading — Jeremiah 9:23-24

"Thus saith the Lord, 'Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, nor let the rich man glory in his riches. But let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the Lord which exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth. For these things I delight,' saith the Lord."

And so what do we do? We delight the Lord by trusting in Him and acknowledging the fact that we're looking unto Him for His blessings upon us. Did you know the Bible says in Psalm 147 and verse 10, talking about God,

Scripture Reading — Psalm 147:10

"for He delighteth not in the strength of the horse. He taketh not pleasure in the legs of a man."

Does it matter the swiftness of man or the power of man? That's not what delights God. It's faith in Himself that delights God. In Proverbs 21, in verse 31, the Bible says this, "The horse is prepared for the day of battle, but safety is the Lord." You can have all the armament, all the tactics, all the strategies that you want, but if God does not protect you, if God does not help you, you're done for.

So if we're going to fight biblically, we must fight depending upon God's absolute sovereignty, our own inability. We must fight in faith, encouraging ourselves in Him. And fourthly, we must also fight because in verse 12, there is identification with and reminder of the covenantal obligations on both parties. Go back to 2 Chronicles chapter 14 and verse 12. Well, verse 11, the latter part first. He says, "O LORD, thou art our God, let not man prevail against thee. O LORD, thou art our Lord, let not man prevail against thee." Now, if God is our Lord, then obviously we are His people. So there's a covenantal bond that exists then between God and His people.

We have an obligation and a duty to trust Him and obey Him. And of course, according to His Word, He blesses those that trust Him and obey Him. There's a covenantal obligation on His part. You see, This covenantal obligation is recognized not only in the Old Testament but in the New Testament as well. For instance, in 1 Kings, let me just read it. In 1 Kings 8 verses 23 and 24, Solomon is dedicating the temple and he says this, "and he said, 'O Lord God of Israel, there is no God like Thee in heaven above or on earth beneath who keepeth covenant and mercy with thy servants, and walk before thee with all their heart.'" "Who has kept with thy servant David my father, that thou hast promised him, and thou spakest also with thy mouth, and hast fulfilled with thine hand as it is this day." But notice what he prayed. He prayed that thou art the God who keepest covenant and mercy with thy servants that walk before thee.

Now I'm skipping down to verse 44 and 45. Listen. "If thy people go out to battle against their enemy, whithersoever thou shalt send them, and shalt pray unto the Lord toward this city which thou hast chosen, and toward the house that I have built for thy name, then hear thou in heaven their prayer and their supplication, and maintain their cause." Why would God do that? Because of covenantal obligations. God has covenanted Himself with us in Jesus Christ. And He has promised that if we obey, He will bless. He has promised, if we disobey, He will curse.

Now, just like Solomon was appealing to God through the Davidic covenant, we also appeal to God through the covenant of grace, which is the fulfillment of that Davidic covenant. If you will turn in your Bibles to the book of Hebrews chapter 13, Hebrews chapter 13, and look at verses 20 and 21. Hebrews 13, verses 20 and 21. Look what the Bible says. By the way, I'm going to remind you that principles do not change. God's covenantal faithfulness does not change. God does not change. That's what He said in Malachi 3:6, "I the Lord change not." He is immutable. So look in Hebrews chapter 13 verse 20,

Scripture Reading — Hebrews 13:20-21

"Now the God of peace that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep through the blood of the everlasting covenant, make you perfect in every good work to do His will, working in you that which is well pleasing in His sight through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen."

So Jesus Christ is our covenant. It is an eternal covenant.

It was a covenant that was entered into before the world ever began. And we can come to God, our Heavenly Father, through the covenantal mercies of Jesus Christ. And we may rightly plead our relationship. We are His children. He is our Father. And claim the promises that He has given us. Do you know what the Bible says in 2 Corinthians 1 and verse 20? Listen. "For all the promises of God in Him," that is in Jesus Christ, "for all the promises of God in Him are yea and in Him amen to the glory of God." What? All the promises of God in Him are yea and amen to the glory of God by us.

So, we must acknowledge we are His people. He is our God. There's a covenantal relationship that exists, and there are covenantal duties on both parts. Our part is to trust and obey. Fifthly, I want you to note in 2 Chronicles chapter 14, the last point, you'll find this also in verse 11. Look what he said. The latter part of verse 11. He said, "For we rest on thee, And in Thy name we go against this multitude. O Lord our God, Thou art our God, let not man prevail against Thee." Wait a minute.

I thought the Ethiopians were fighting against Judah. He did not say, "let not man prevail against us." He said, "let not man prevail against Thee." Here's what he's praying, "O Lord, Thou art our God, and Thou only. We know and we serve no other God. We're Thy people, we're called by Thy name. Let not man prevail against Thee, for if the enemy should prevail against us, it would be interpreted as prevailing against Thee." So what Asa's praying is this, "Lord, our enemy is mortal. Thou art immortal. Let him see that he cannot prevail against Thee. Maintain our cause. Maintain Thy honor."

By the way, I hope you understand this. That you cannot attack my children without attacking me. My children are my flesh and blood. The same is true with our Heavenly Father. We are His children. And the enemy cannot attack us without attacking Him. I want you to turn very quickly to two passages. I want you to turn to Psalm 9 and Psalm 58. Psalm 9 and Psalm 58. I want you to see exactly what Asa was praying when he said, "prevail against thee." Look in Psalm 9 and begin there with verse 19. And by the way, I think this is an excellent petition that you and I should learn to pray daily. Psalm 9, verse 19, David prays, "Arise, O Lord, let not man prevail."

"Let the heathen be judged in thy sight." Watch! "Put them in fear, O Lord, that the nations may know themselves to be but men." You're just mortal. You're not God. You have no right to reign over us and control us and order us. No! Put them in fear that they may know that they're but men. We need to learn to pray that. "Arise, O Lord, let not man prevail. Let the heathen be judged in Thy sight."

Look in Psalm 58, if you would please. beginning there with verse 6. Psalm 58, beginning with verse 6. Here's what Asa meant when he said, "let not man prevail." Psalm 58, verse 6. He's praying against the wicked. Look what he prays. "Break their teeth, O God, in their mouth. Break out the great teeth of the young lions, O Lord. Let them melt away as waters which run continually."

"When He bendeth His bow to shoot His arrows, let them be as cut in pieces. as a snail which melteth, let every one of them pass away like the untimely birth of woman, that they may not see the sun. Before your pots can feel the thorns, He shall take them away with a whirlwind, both living in His wrath." Now watch, "the righteous shall rejoice when He seeth the vengeance. He shall wash His feet in the blood of the wicked, so that a man shall say, 'Verily, there is a reward for the righteous. Verily, He is a God that judgeth in the earth.'" Let not man prevail. You know what David prayed in Psalm 17 in verse 8? I told you earlier, you cannot attack my children without attacking me. You cannot attack God's children without attacking God. So David prayed in Psalm 17 in verse 8, "keep me as the apple of thine eye, hide me under the shadow of thy wings." The apple of the eye is the pupil. Have you ever noticed how quickly your eyelids can shut and cover your eye.

I've had limbs come back at me and instantly my eyes would shut. Or my hand would go up so quick it would make your head swim. Because it's just natural to protect your eyes. And David is saying, "keep me as the apple of thine eye." In Zechariah 2 and verse 8, the Bible says, "After the glory had they sent me into the nations which spoiled you, for he that toucheth you toucheth the apple of my eye." God said, if you touch My people, you're touching Me. We have to understand that when we fight, we have to understand it's more than just us involved in a battle. You look at what is going on in this country. It's humanism versus Christianity. It's Mohammed versus Christ. It's not just that we do not want man to prevail against us. We do not want man to prevail against God. And if we fight like a Christian, it means we fight in faith, we fight in obedience, we fight trusting the Lord, We fight recognizing our own helplessness. We fight recognizing the greatness of His power, of the one true and the living God. Yes, we still have to fight.

Conclusion and Application

We must fight in faith and obedience, trusting God as the God of battles, and pray for His help.

And as the adage says, "trust in the Lord and keep your powder dry." But you don't just trust in your powder. You have to trust in the Lord. For He is the God of war. and the God of battles. And I've got news for you. He's King of Kings and Lord of Lords and God of Gods. And He hasn't been defeated yet. And He's not going to be. We're more than conquerors through our Lord Jesus Christ. Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, we bow to Thee.

We thank You for Your Word. We thank You for Your truth. And Lord, I pray that You would help us, enable us, to bring our lives into conformity to Your Word. Give us, Lord, the grace to be submissive, to be obedient, and to lean upon Thee, and look to Thee, and trust Thee. In the name of Jesus Christ, we ask and pray. Amen.

Study Guide

Major Themes

God's Sovereignty in Battle

Summary: God is absolutely sovereign and can give victory regardless of numbers or weaponry; He is the God of war and battles.

Evidence: Weaver quotes Asa's prayer: 'Lord, it is nothing with thee to help, whether with many or with them that have no power.' He also cites Arthur Pink's definition of sovereignty.

Human Helplessness and Dependence on God

Summary: We must acknowledge our utter inability and powerlessness, which drives us to trust in God.

Evidence: Weaver says, 'Has it ever really dawned upon you... that without Him, we can do nothing.' He references Jehoshaphat's prayer: 'We have no might... neither know we what to do.'

Faith and Trust in God Alone

Summary: Fighting biblically requires declaring faith and trust in God, not in human strength or weapons.

Evidence: Weaver states, 'We rest on Thee' expresses faith. He cites Jeremiah 9:23-24 and Psalm 147:10.

Covenantal Relationship with God

Summary: Believers have a covenantal bond with God; we can appeal to His promises and faithfulness.

Evidence: Weaver explains Asa's prayer 'O LORD, thou art our God' and references Hebrews 13:20-21 on the everlasting covenant.

God's Honor in Battle

Summary: We fight not just for ourselves but for God's honor; if the enemy prevails, it is seen as prevailing against God.

Evidence: Weaver notes Asa prayed 'let not man prevail against thee' and cites Psalm 9:19 and Zechariah 2:8.

Obedience and Preparation

Summary: Obedience is a manifestation of faith; preparation in times of peace is biblical and wise.

Evidence: Weaver says, 'Asa is preparing for war in a time of peace... It is too late to prepare when war is upon you.'

Key Arguments

Blessings follow obedience, curses follow disobedience

Summary: God either gives peace or raises adversaries based on obedience; this principle applies to all areas of life, including military conflict.

Evidence: Weaver states, 'Blessings always follow obedience... curses always follow disobedience.' He cites 1 Kings 11:14 and 2 Chronicles 28:5.

God's sovereignty means He can save by many or by few

Summary: Numbers and weaponry do not determine victory; God's power is unlimited and He can help the weakest.

Evidence: Weaver quotes Jonathan in 1 Samuel 14:6: 'There is no restraint to the Lord to save by many or by few.'

Acknowledging helplessness leads to strength in God

Summary: Recognizing our inability drives us to depend on God, making us strong in Him.

Evidence: Weaver cites Paul in 2 Corinthians 12:10: 'When I am weak, then am I strong.'

Trusting in man brings a curse; trusting in God brings blessing

Summary: Jeremiah 17:5-8 contrasts the cursed man who trusts in flesh with the blessed man who trusts in the Lord.

Evidence: Weaver reads Jeremiah 17:5-8 and applies it to Goliath's pride versus David's faith.

We must appeal to God's covenantal faithfulness

Summary: As God's people, we can plead our relationship and His promises through the covenant of grace in Christ.

Evidence: Weaver references Solomon's prayer in 1 Kings 8:44-45 and Hebrews 13:20-21.

Prayer should seek God's honor, not just our deliverance

Summary: Asa prayed 'let not man prevail against thee,' recognizing that the battle is ultimately about God's reputation.

Evidence: Weaver explains the prayer and cites Psalm 9:19 and Zechariah 2:8.

Scripture References

2 Chronicles 14:1-15

Context: The entire chapter is read as the primary text, detailing Asa's reign, his reforms, and his victory over Zerah the Ethiopian.

2 Chronicles 13:18

Context: Cited from the previous message: 'The children of Judah prevailed because they relied upon the Lord God of their fathers.'

1 Timothy 6:12

Context: Mentioned in reference to fighting the good fight of faith.

2 Timothy 1:7

Context: Quoted: 'For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.'

James 2:18

Context: Quoted to show that faith is manifested by works.

Leviticus 26:6

Context: Quoted from the previous message: 'I will give peace in the land...'

1 Kings 11:14, 23, 25

Context: Shows God stirred up adversaries against Solomon because of his disobedience.

2 Chronicles 28:5-8, 17-20

Context: Illustrates God delivering Ahaz into the hands of enemies because of forsaking the Lord.

1 Chronicles 29:11-12

Context: David's confession of God's sovereignty: 'Thine, O Lord, is the greatness...'

1 Samuel 14:6

Context: Jonathan's statement: 'There is no restraint to the Lord to save by many or by few.'

2 Chronicles 32:6-8

Context: Hezekiah's encouragement: 'With him is the arm of the flesh; but with us is the Lord our God.'

2 Kings 6:8-18

Context: Elisha's servant sees the mountain full of horses and chariots of fire; 'they that be with us are more than they that be with them.'

2 Corinthians 12:10

Context: Paul: 'When I am weak, then am I strong.'

2 Chronicles 20:12

Context: Jehoshaphat's prayer: 'We have no might... neither know we what to do, but our eyes are upon thee.'

Jeremiah 17:5-8

Context: Cursed is the man who trusts in man; blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord.

Jeremiah 9:23-24

Context: Let not the wise glory in wisdom, but in knowing the Lord.

Psalm 147:10

Context: He delighteth not in the strength of the horse.

Proverbs 21:31

Context: The horse is prepared for battle, but safety is of the Lord.

1 Kings 8:23-24, 44-45

Context: Solomon's prayer acknowledging God's covenant and asking Him to maintain Israel's cause in battle.

Hebrews 13:20-21

Context: The God of peace brought again Jesus through the blood of the everlasting covenant.

Historical References

King Asa of Judah

Context: Asa reigned after Abijah, destroyed idolatry, built fortified cities, and defeated Zerah the Ethiopian through reliance on God.

Zerah the Ethiopian

Context: He came against Asa with a million men and 300 chariots but was defeated because Asa trusted in the Lord.

King Solomon

Context: God stirred up adversaries against Solomon (Hadad and Rezon) because of his disobedience in his latter years.

King Ahaz

Context: God delivered Ahaz into the hands of Syria and Israel because he forsook the Lord; 120,000 were slain in one day.

King Hezekiah

Context: He encouraged the people against Sennacherib by saying, 'With him is the arm of the flesh; but with us is the Lord our God.'

Elisha and the Syrian army

Context: Elisha's servant saw the mountain full of horses and chariots of fire; the Syrian army was struck with blindness.

Goliath of Gath

Context: Goliath's pride and trust in his own strength contrasted with David's trust in the name of the Lord.

Arthur W. Pink

Context: Weaver quotes Pink's definition of God's sovereignty from his writings.

Important Quotes

Lord, it is nothing with thee to help, whether with many or with them that have no power. Help us, O Lord our God, for we rest on thee, and in thy name we go against this multitude. O Lord, thou art our God. Let not man prevail against thee.

Significance: This is Asa's prayer, which encapsulates the sermon's main points: acknowledging God's sovereignty, resting on Him, and seeking His honor.

The sovereignty of God. What do we mean by this expression? We mean the supremacy of God. the kingship of God, the Godhood of God. To say that God is sovereign is to declare that God is God.

Significance: Weaver uses Pink's definition to explain the foundational truth of God's absolute rule.

Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, whose heart departed from the Lord.

Significance: This quote from Jeremiah 17:5 underscores the danger of self-reliance instead of trusting God.

When I am weak, then I am strong.

Significance: Paul's words highlight the paradox that acknowledging weakness leads to divine strength.

We have no might against this great company that cometh against us, neither know we what to do, but our eyes are upon thee.

Significance: Jehoshaphat's prayer exemplifies the confession of helplessness and dependence on God.

He that toucheth you toucheth the apple of my eye.

Significance: God's declaration in Zechariah shows that attacking His people is attacking Him.

Discussion Questions

How does acknowledging God's sovereignty change the way we approach battles in our lives?

Context: Weaver emphasizes that God can save by many or by few, and that numbers don't matter to Him.

In what ways do we tend to trust in 'the arm of the flesh' rather than in God?

Context: Weaver contrasts Hezekiah's statement about the arm of the flesh with trusting in the Lord.

Why is it important to confess our helplessness before God? How does this lead to strength?

Context: Weaver explains that recognizing inability drives us to depend on God, as Paul said, 'When I am weak, then I am strong.'

What does it mean to fight for God's honor rather than just our own deliverance?

Context: Asa prayed 'let not man prevail against thee,' showing concern for God's reputation.

How can we prepare spiritually during times of peace for future battles?

Context: Asa used the ten years of peace to destroy idolatry and build defenses.

What are some practical ways we can 'rest on the Lord' in the midst of overwhelming odds?

Context: Asa's prayer included 'we rest on thee,' expressing faith and expectation of help.

Applications

Prepare in times of peace

Summary: Use times of peace to strengthen your spiritual life and defenses, as Asa built fortified cities and removed idolatry.

Evidence: Weaver says, 'It is too late to prepare when war is upon you.'

Acknowledge God's sovereignty daily

Summary: Regularly confess that God is in control and can deliver regardless of circumstances.

Evidence: Weaver emphasizes Asa's prayer acknowledging God's power.

Confess your helplessness to God

Summary: In prayer, admit your inability and dependence on God, which leads to His strength.

Evidence: Weaver cites Jehoshaphat's prayer and Paul's statement about weakness.

Trust in God, not in human resources

Summary: Avoid relying on your own strength, wealth, or wisdom; instead, place your faith in God alone.

Evidence: Weaver quotes Jeremiah 17:5-8 and contrasts Goliath's pride with David's faith.

Pray for God's honor in conflicts

Summary: When facing opposition, pray that God's name would be exalted and that enemies would know they are but men.

Evidence: Weaver explains Asa's prayer 'let not man prevail against thee' and cites Psalm 9.

Appeal to God's covenant promises

Summary: As a child of God through Christ, plead His promises and faithfulness in prayer.

Evidence: Weaver references Hebrews 13:20-21 and 2 Corinthians 1:20.

deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | clean_readable_transcript | 2026-06-05T20:10:07Z

deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | weaver_study | 2026-06-06T12:46:55Z

Clean Transcript

How To Fight Like A Christian - Part 2 of 2

Clean readable transcript. This view follows the Commentary.net cleaned segment text while preserving timestamps for audio follow-along.

Alright, let's open our Bibles today to 2 Chronicles chapter 14. 2 Chronicles chapter 14. The title of the message is "How to Fight Like a Christian." This is the second part. Hopefully it will go into a little more specifics than the introduction did last week. So let's look in 2 Chronicles chapter 14 and we're going to read all 15 verses. 2 Chronicles 14 verse 1: "So Abijah slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the city of David."
#1 | 0:14 to 0:48 | cleaned
"And Asa his son reigned in his stead. And in his days the land was quiet ten years. And Asa did that which was good and right in the eyes of the Lord his God. For he took away the altars of the strange gods in the high places, and broke down the images, and cut down the groves, and commanded Judah to seek the Lord God of their fathers, and to do the law and the commandment. Also, he took away out of all the cities of Judah the high places and the images, and the kingdom was quiet before him. And he built fenced cities in Judah, for the land had rest. For he had no war in those years, because the Lord had given him rest. Therefore, he said unto Judah, 'Let us build these cities and make about them walls and towers and gates and bars, while the land is yet before us. Because we have sought the Lord our God, we have sought him, and he has given us rest on every side.' So they built and prospered."
#2 | 0:49 to 1:44 | cleaned
"And Asa had an army of men that bear targets and spears out of Judah, 300,000, and out of Benjamin that bear shields and drew bows, 280,000. All these were mighty men of valor. And there came out against them Zerah the Ethiopian with a host of 1,000,000 and 300 chariots and came to Mareshah. Then Asa went out against him, and they set the battle in array in the valley of Zephathah at Mareshah. And Asa cried unto the Lord his God and said, 'Lord, it is nothing with thee to help, whether with many or with them that have no power. Help us, O Lord our God, for we rest on thee, and in thy name we go against this multitude. O Lord, thou art our God. Let not man prevail against thee.' So the Lord smote the Ethiopians before Asa and before Judah, and the Ethiopians fled. And Asa and the people that were with him pursued them unto Gerar and the Ethiopians were overthrown and they could not recover themselves for that they were destroyed before the Lord and before his host and they carried away very much spoil and they smote all the cities round about Gerar for the fear
#3 | 1:44 to 2:53 | cleaned
of the Lord came upon them and they spoiled all the cities for there was exceeding much spoil in them. They smote also the tents of cattle and carried away sheep and camels in abundance and returned to Jerusalem." I trust that you will remember last week I gave you a general introduction to this message, especially based on 2 Chronicles chapter 13, and I told you the primary verse there was verse 18, where the Bible says, "Thus the children of Israel were brought under at that time, and the children of Judah prevailed because they relied upon the Lord God of their fathers." I also last week told you what I meant and what I did not mean by the title of this message on how to fight like a Christian. I told you that I implied learning to fight in a biblical manner. Not only fighting the good fight of faith that the Apostle Paul speaks about in 1 Timothy chapter 6 and verse 12, but fighting real physical battles as well.
#4 | 2:53 to 3:56 | cleaned
And it doesn't matter if we're talking about enemies or corrupt governments or whatever. The truth is that we should always display a biblical mentality and a biblical attitude when it comes to fighting. Unhappily, most Christians are thoroughly confused on this issue. I may remind you that in 2 Timothy chapter 1 and verse 7, the scripture says, "For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind." So it should be obvious and apparent from the previous message that fighting requires faith. The Bible says Judah prevailed. Why? Because they relied upon the Lord God of their fathers. But also fighting requires obedience. And it's useless to state that we have faith unless we are obedient. Our faith is just simply manifested by our works and by our life.
#5 | 3:57 to 4:53 | cleaned
So let me say it like this. Obedience is simply a manifestation of our faith. James said it very clearly, very simply. In James 2 and verse 18, when he said, "Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works. Show me thy faith without thy works, and I will show thee my faith by my works." Last week we also learned that the Lord is indeed a man of war.
#6 | 4:54 to 5:20 | cleaned
That's what the Scripture calls Him. Not only is He a man of war, but He is also the God of battle. It is impossible to have victory apart from God. He is the one that either gives victory or defeat. We cannot expect victory in Him if we are disobedient or rebellious. When God gives peace in the land, none can make us afraid. You remember the passage I quoted last week from Leviticus 26 and verse 6, where God said, "And I will give peace in the land, and ye shall lie down, and none shall make you afraid, and I will rid evil beasts out of the land, neither shall the sword go through your land." So when God gives peace, none can make us afraid. God is the one who gives peace and prosperity.
#7 | 5:21 to 6:18 | cleaned
But let me point out, there is an opposite truth, and that is this. When God raises up an enemy, when God raises up an adversary, none can give us peace. There will always be trouble and confusion. I want you to hold 2 Chronicles chapter 14, but turn back very quickly to 1 Kings chapter 11. You remember Solomon was a very wise man, and for years he served the Lord and the Lord blessed him, but in his latter years, he departed from the Lord, he disobeyed God. And the Bible tells us in 1 Kings chapter 11, verse 14, a very pertinent truth. Look at it. 1 Kings 11 and verse 14, the Bible says, "And the LORD stirred up an adversary unto Solomon, Hadad the Edomite."
#8 | 6:18 to 7:10 | cleaned
He was the king's seed in Edom. But I want you to note, the Bible says, "The LORD stirred up an adversary unto Solomon." Solomon had been a man of peace, he had had much peace during his reign. But now that he's rebelled against God and sinned against God, God raises up an adversary. Look, if you would, please, in verse 23 and 25. Verse 23, 1 Kings chapter 11. "And God stirred him up another adversary, Rezon, the son of Eliadah, which fled from his lord, Hadadezer, king of Zobah." Verse 25, "And he was an adversary to Israel all the days of Solomon beside the mischief that Hadad did and he abhorred Israel and reigned over Syria." So the very fact is God can either give peace or trouble. God can either subdue our enemies and our adversaries or God can raise them up. He always delivers a rebellious people into the hands of their enemies.
#9 | 7:10 to 8:15 | cleaned
All you have to do is read the book of Judges. As you read through the book of Judges, you will see how Israel sinned against God, rebelled against God, and God delivered them into the hands of their enemies over and over. If you would turn to 2 Chronicles chapter 28. Let me read to you about King Ahaz. 2 Chronicles chapter 28. And let's begin reading there with verse 5.
#10 | 8:16 to 8:44 | cleaned
I'm just trying to prove this one point. That is, that the God who can give peace is also the God who can raise up trouble. Notice, if you would, 2 Chronicles 28, beginning there with verse 5. Here's what the Bible says concerning King Ahaz. "Wherefore the Lord his God delivered him into the hand of the king of Syria, and they smote him, and carried away a great multitude of them captives, and brought them to Damascus. And he was also delivered into the hand of the king of Israel, who smote him with a great slaughter. For Pekah, the son of Remaliah, slew in Judah a hundred and twenty thousand in one day, which were all valiant men. Why? Because they had forsaken the Lord God of their fathers. And Zechariah, a mighty man of Ephraim, slew Maaseiah, the king's son, and Azrikam, the governor of the house, and Elkanah, that was next to the king. And the children of Israel carried away captive of their brethren, 200,000 women, sons, and daughters, and took away much spoil from them, and brought the spoil to Samaria."
#11 | 8:44 to 9:53 | cleaned
But notice if you would please, the Bible says, "the Lord his God delivered him into the hand of the king of Syria." Moreover, he delivered him into the hands of Pekah, the son of Remaliah. And 120,000 were slain in one day. Skip down to verse 17. 2 Chronicles 28 verse 17.
#12 | 9:53 to 10:08 | cleaned
"For again the Edomites had come and smitten Judah, and carried away captives. The Philistines also had invaded the cities of the low country, and of the south of Judah, and had taken Beth-shemesh, and Aijalon, and Gederoth, and Socoh, with the villages thereof, and Timnah with the villages thereof, Gimzo also with the villages thereof, and they dwelt there. For the LORD brought Judah low, because of Ahaz king of Israel. For he made Judah naked, and transgressed sore against the LORD." Watch verse 20. "And Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria came unto him, and distressed him, but strengthened him not." So notice if you would, in each of these passages, God is bringing a people low because of their disobedience, because of their rebellion.
#13 | 10:16 to 11:03 | cleaned
I've told you this repeatedly. Let me reemphasize it today. You're going to find that there are two truths that you will find over and over in the Bible. The first one is this, that blessings always follow obedience. The second is equally true, and that is curses always follow disobedience. And that is true in every area of life. That is not only true in your personal life, in your church life, but it's also true in the military arena. Let me state it like this, no one ever prospers by disobedience. No one has ever worked out their problems by continuing to disobey God. Every time you disobey, you complicate and enhance your problems. So one can either fight militarily, or fighting the good fight of faith spiritually, or mentally, or emotionally, or even financially. You can either fight in obedience to God, honoring God, and trusting God, or you can fight against God, and against His truth as an enemy, and be cursed of God. Now I want to share with you what I'm going to call an excellent example of how to fight like a Christian.
#14 | 11:05 to 12:32 | cleaned
You're going to find this in 2 Chronicles chapter 14. This happens to be during the life of King Asa. King Asa followed his father King Abijah. So, I want you to note that Asa had learned obedience and he feared the Lord greatly. I want you to look at the first seven verses. And I want to make several statements concerning these momentarily, but let's just read them. The first seven verses. "So Abijah slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the city of David. And Asa his son reigned in his stead."
#15 | 12:32 to 13:08 | cleaned
Now watch, "in his days the land was quiet ten years. For he took away the altars of the strange gods in the high places, and break down the images, and cut down the groves. and commanded Judah to seek the Lord God of their fathers, and to do the law and the commandment. And he took away out of all the cities of Judah, and the high places, and the images, and the kingdom was quiet before him. And he built fenced cities in Judah, for the land had rest, for he had no war in those years, because the Lord had given him rest. Therefore, he said unto Judah, 'Let us build these cities and make about them walls and towers and gates and bars, while the land is yet before us. Because we have sought the Lord our God, we have sought Him, and He has given us rest on every side,' so they built and prospered." Now I want you to note in this passage, God had given King Asa rest for ten years. For ten years they experienced peace and prosperity.
#16 | 13:09 to 14:11 | cleaned
Asa was a wise individual, and he used that time very wisely. One of the first things he did was he destroyed the various forms of idolatry that existed in the land. He broke down the images, and he cut down the groves.
#17 | 14:12 to 14:30 | cleaned
Now, I don't know if you remember me telling you this years ago, but every time you see the word "groves" in the Bible, with the exception of one, when Abraham planted a grove which spoke about a grove of trees. All the other instances outside of the book of Genesis when Abraham planted the grove, every time you see the word "groves," it refers to the worship of Asherah. And when he cut down the groves, he's cutting down the images of Asherah.
#18 | 14:31 to 15:04 | cleaned
Notice what else he did. He not only destroyed idolatry, but he also commanded Judah to obey the Lord and his commandments. So he, on the one hand, destroyed that which was contrary to God. On the other hand, he elevated God and taught God's law. And then notice what else he did, if you would please. In the time of peace, he built fenced cities. That is, he built cities that were capable of being defended. Moreover, he added to these cities defensive walls, towers, gates, and bars.
#19 | 15:04 to 15:47 | cleaned
In all of this, the Bible says that he prospered. Now, I want you to note, if you would please, especially verse 7. "Therefore, he said to Judah, 'Let us build these cities. and make about them walls and towers and gates and bars while the land is yet before us. Because we have sought the Lord our God, we have sought Him, and He has given us rest on every side.' So they built and prospered." I want you to understand what he's doing.
#20 | 15:48 to 16:16 | cleaned
Asa is preparing for war in a time of peace. Asa is making sure that his land, his people, his family are in a defensive position. That they will be able to fight. I hope you understand it is too late to prepare when war is upon you. It's too late to learn how to fight when you must fight. It's too late to learn how to shoot when you have to shoot. And so Asa is using his time wisely. I'm going to show you that he was not only using his time wisely, but biblically as well, because God gave him a great deal of rest, and notice if you would in verse 8.
#21 | 16:18 to 17:19 | cleaned
"And Asa had an army of men that bear targets and spears out of Judah, 300,000, and out of Benjamin that bear shields and drew bows, 280,000, all these were mighty men of valor." So he had 580,000 fighting men, a little more than a half a million. And he had trained them, he had prepared them. Ah, skip down to verses 9 and 10.
#22 | 17:19 to 17:49 | cleaned
After 10 years of peace, after 10 years of preparation, "and there came out against them Zerah the Ethiopian, with a host of a thousand thousand and three hundred chariots, and came to Mareshah. Then Asa went out against him, and they set the battle in array in the valley of Zephathah at Mareshah." Note if you would now, Asa has 580,000 men, and Zerah the Ethiopian comes out against him with a million men and 300 chariots. And guess what? Asa goes out to meet him. Nowhere do we read about Asa having any chariots. You have to remember that chariots in those days would have been considered tanks. They were armored implements. Usually these chariots had knives even on the wheels or sides, that is, the wheels went around.
#23 | 17:49 to 18:54 | cleaned
If they rode through the men, if you were standing there, you were just cut down, your legs were cut off. Or if you were on the ground, your head was cut off. The chariots moved very quickly and they had archers in the chariots. And so, Zerah has 300 chariots. Judah has none. And so when Asa goes out to meet Zerah, he's already outnumbered 2 to 1. He's not only outnumbered, he is outgunned, so to speak.
#24 | 18:54 to 19:26 | cleaned
Let's put it like this. Zerah had 50 cal machine guns and Asa just had AR-15s. I mean, he was outgunned because of these chariots. But yet he's still willing to face the enemy. I want you to skip down to verses 11 and 12, because here's where the message is today. When Asa saw all this multitude, he's outnumbered, he's outgunned, verse 11, "and Asa cried unto the Lord his God and said, 'Lord, it is nothing with thee to help, whether with many or them that have no power. Help us, O Lord our God, for we will rest on thee, and in thy name we go against this multitude. O Lord, thou art our God, let not man prevail against thee.' So the Lord smote the Ethiopians before Asa, and before Judah, and the Ethiopians fled." Now, before I begin to comment on these things, I want you to understand that God gave them victory. He committed his cause unto the Lord.
#25 | 19:28 to 20:43 | cleaned
He engaged in the conflict. He completely routed his enemy. And he not only succeeded in obtaining a victory, but he got a great deal of spoil. For instance, look if you would, verse 13, "And Asa and the people that were with him pursued them unto Gerar. And the Ethiopians were overthrown, and they could not recover themselves, for they were destroyed before the Lord and before His host, and they carried away very much spoil. And they smote all the cities round about Gerar, and the fear of the Lord came upon them. And they spoiled all the cities, for there was exceeding much spoil in them. They smote also the tents of cattle, and carried away sheep and camels in abundance." So, obviously, God gave them victory, and they delighted themselves in the spoil.
#26 | 20:43 to 21:29 | cleaned
Now, what are we to learn from this? Let me just show you some elements of what I'm going to call relying upon the Lord. Last week we saw in 2 Chronicles 13 and verse 18 how Judah outnumbered two to one, won the battle because they relied upon the Lord. I want you to stop and think about this because everywhere you look today you hear about all these secret weapons that everyone has, all these countries have, even our government. And I've had people say to me over and over, it looks as if they're going to take us all. Well, that might be so if you go by looks, but not if you go by faith. Asa, when he was outnumbered 2 to 1, when he was outgunned, he offered this prayer, and he said in verse 11, "Lord, it is nothing with Thee to help."
#27 | 21:29 to 22:31 | cleaned
"With many or with them that have no power. O Lord, we rest on Thee and in Thy name we go against this multitude." So, let me just show you what is involved in relying upon the Lord and trusting in the God of battle. First of all, I want you to know there is a confession of God's absolute power and sovereignty. What did He say in verse 11? "And Asa cried to the Lord his God and said, 'Lord, it is nothing with Thee to help, whether with many or them that have no power. Help us, O Lord our God, for we rest on Thee, and in Thy name we go against this multitude.'" So Asa recognized first and foremost that his only help is in the Lord. And what he is doing is this, he is ascribing glory to God by acknowledging His infinite power and His sovereignty. When he says, "it's nothing with you to help with those who have many, or few, or those who have no power." Let me give you a quote on the sovereignty of God.
#28 | 22:33 to 23:44 | cleaned
I want you to listen, because I've had many people ask me in times past, what do you mean by the sovereignty of God? Here, Arthur W. Pink defines God's sovereignty in just a short paragraph, and he says this: "The sovereignty of God. What do we mean by this expression? We mean the supremacy of God. the kingship of God, the Godhood of God. To say that God is sovereign is to declare that God is God. To say that God is sovereign is to declare that He is the Most High, doing according to His will in the army of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth, so that none can stay His hand or say unto Him, 'What doest Thou?' To say that God is sovereign is to declare that He is the Almighty, the Possessor of all power in heaven and in earth. so that none can defeat His counsels, thwart His purpose, or resist His will. To say that God is sovereign is to declare that He is the governor among the nations, setting up kingdoms, overthrowing empires, and determining the course of dynasties as pleaseth to Him."
#29 | 23:44 to 24:53 | cleaned
"To say that God is sovereign is to declare that He is the only Potentate, the King of Kings, and Lord of Lords." Such is the God of the Bible. And yes, He is. He is absolutely sovereign. And here is what Asa meant: Lord, since You are sovereign, nothing can hinder You from helping us. No one can thwart You. No one can stop You. Your power, Your supremacy, Your sovereignty, You are above and superior to any and all other.
#30 | 24:54 to 25:27 | cleaned
You rule according to Your will. You do that which You determine to be best. And when you stop and think that God is absolutely sovereign and none can stop him, certainly Asa was wise to appeal to the sovereign God of heaven and earth. I want you to hold 2 Chronicles 14 but look in 1 Chronicles 29 because even King David acknowledged God's sovereignty and of course David
#31 | 25:28 to 26:02 | cleaned
was preserved throughout all of his multitudinous battles. But look in 1 Chronicles 29 at verses 11 and 12. 1 Chronicles 29 verse 11 and 12. Here's what David confessed: "Thine, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty. For all that is in the heaven and in the earth is Thine. Thine is the kingdom, O Lord. Thou art exalted as head above all."
#32 | 26:02 to 26:29 | cleaned
"Both riches and honor come of Thee. And Thou reignest over all. In Thine hand is power and might. And in Thy hand it is to make great and to give strength unto all." Notice what he's doing. He's acknowledging God's sovereignty. He's acknowledged the fact, just like Asa, that God is able to give victory or defeat. It is in His hands. Numbers do not count. Multitudes do not matter.
#33 | 26:29 to 26:58 | cleaned
Weaponry is not a factor. It does not matter how strong the enemy or how feeble the enemy. God is far superior. And God is able to work in His own strength. and not just in the strength of others. And so God may help the weakest as well as the strongest. God may help the underdog as well as the dog that's on top. It's up to God. You remember what Jonathan said in 1 Samuel chapter 14 and verse 6? When Jonathan saw these Philistines and most of the people of Israel were hiding themselves, Jonathan said to the young men that bear his armor, "Come and let us go over this garrison of these uncircumcised. It may be the Lord will work for us for there is no restraint to the Lord to save by many or by few." And of course, Jonathan and his armor bearer cut them down left and right.
#34 | 26:59 to 28:03 | cleaned
You can go through the Bible and you will find that every time there was a glorious and great victory. It was because the people trusted in the sovereign God of heaven and earth. I want you to turn to 2 Chronicles chapter 32. 2 Chronicles 32. Good King Hezekiah when he spoke to his people he was encouraging them against Sennacherib the Assyrian. So in 2 Chronicles chapter 32 Look if you would, beginning there with verse 6. 2 Chronicles 32 verse 6. "And he set captains of war over the people, and gathered them together unto him in the street of the gate of the city. And he spake comfortably unto them, saying," Now note what Hezekiah said, "Be strong and courageous. Be not afraid nor dismayed for the king of Assyria. nor for all the multitude that is with Him, for there is more with us than with Him."
#35 | 28:05 to 29:08 | cleaned
Now watch, "with Him is the arm of the flesh. But with us is the Lord our God to help us and to fight our battles." And the people rested upon the words of Hezekiah, king of Judah. Notice what he said, "with Him is the arm of the flesh. But with us? is the Lord our God to help us and to fight our battles." Certainly he was outnumbered. The Assyrians were very, very wicked people, but yet they were a fighting people.
#36 | 29:08 to 29:46 | cleaned
And they were known for their atrocities. They were known for skinning people alive. They were the ones who came up with the crucifixion, but not the way our Lord was crucified. Theirs was even more brutal. And by the way, the Roman crucifixion was not designed to make it more easy. It was designed to make it more difficult because when the Assyrians crucified you, you usually died within a few hours of that day. When the Romans crucified you, it took you several days to die in pain and in agony.
#37 | 29:47 to 30:25 | cleaned
But notice if you would, "with Him is the arm of the flesh." I want you to go back in your Bibles to 2 Kings chapter 6. I want you to see this one. 2 Kings chapter 6. The Syrians had come for Elisha, the man of God. And they completely surrounded Dothan where he was. I want you to look at this. You see, Elisha understood God's sovereignty as well. He understood that God was sufficient in and of himself. In 2 Kings chapter 6, and let's begin reading there with verse 8.
#38 | 30:26 to 31:04 | cleaned
"Then the king of Syria warred against Israel and took counsel with his servants, saying, 'In such and such place shall be my camp.' And the man of God sent unto the king of Israel, saying, 'Beware that thou pass not such a place, for thither the Syrians are come down.' And the king of Israel sent to the place which the man of God told him and warned him of, and saved himself there not once or twice. Therefore, the heart of the king of Syria was sore troubled for this saying. And he called his servants and said to them, 'Will you not show me which of us is for the king of Israel?' And one of his servants said, 'None, my lord or king, but Elisha the prophet that is in Israel. Telleth the king of Israel the words that are spoken in thy bedchamber.'"
#39 | 31:04 to 31:46 | cleaned
"And he said, 'Go and spy where he is that I may send and fetch him.' It was told him, saying, 'Behold, he is in Dothan.' Therefore sent he thither horses and chariots, a great host. And they came by night and compassed the city round about. And when the servant of the man of God was risen early and gone forth, behold, an host compassed the city both with the horses and chariots. And the servant said unto him, 'Alas, my master, how shall we do?'"
#40 | 31:48 to 32:13 | cleaned
"And he, Elisha, answered, 'Fear not, for they that be with us are more than they that be with them.' And Elisha prayed and said, 'Lord, I pray thee, open his eyes that he may see.' And the Lord opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw, and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha. And when they came down to him, Elisha prayed unto the Lord and said, 'Smite this people, I pray thee, with blindness.' And he smote them with blindness, according to the word of Elisha." And of course, Elisha then takes them to the king of Samaria.
#41 | 32:14 to 32:47 | cleaned
But notice what he said. The Lord opened the young man's eyes that he may see. And what did he see? Mountains filled with chariots of fire. And certainly there was far more with Elisha, although Elisha was alone, than with the king of Syria. So if we're going to fight biblically, we have to acknowledge God's absolute sovereignty. He is in charge.
#42 | 32:48 to 33:19 | cleaned
Secondly, I want you to go back in your Bibles to 2 Chronicles chapter 14. If we're going to fight biblically, we must not only acknowledge God's absolute sovereignty, we must also acknowledge our absolute and utter helplessness. Look in verse 11. "And Asa cried unto the Lord his God and said, 'Lord, it is nothing with thee to help, whether with many or with them that have no power.'" What was Asa doing? He was confessing and acknowledging his own helplessness and his own powerlessness.
#43 | 33:21 to 34:01 | cleaned
Has it ever really dawned upon you? Has it really sunk into your being? That without Him, we can do nothing. We cannot even live through the night without Him. We cannot move without Him. In Him we live and move and have our being. So there should be a recognition of our own lack of ability, our own lack of power, our own helplessness. Now I want you to understand that a recognition of our inability and a recognition of our own helplessness does not lead to apathy, lethargy, inactivity. No. On the contrary, it leads us, it drives us to seek God and His power and His help. What we have to acknowledge is this, in and of ourselves, we can do absolutely nothing.
#44 | 34:03 to 35:01 | cleaned
But in Him, we're more than conquerors. In Him, we can do whatever needs to be done. You know, the Apostle Paul recognized this principle. I want you to listen carefully to what he said in 2 Corinthians 12 and verse 10. Listen now. Paul said, "Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities. in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake, for when I am weak, then I am strong." What did Paul mean when he said, "when I am weak, then I am strong"?
#45 | 35:01 to 35:35 | cleaned
Because he said, in my weakness I recognize I can't. I have no ability. And that drives me to trust in the God who can. Our strength, is really our weakness. It's a recognition of our inability. It is our weakness that forces us to depend upon God and His grace and His mercy. I want you to look in 2 Chronicles chapter 20 and verse 12 at what King Jehoshaphat said.
#46 | 35:36 to 36:13 | cleaned
He faced a battle as well. 2 Chronicles chapter 20 and look in verse 12. You're talking about a confession of helplessness, powerlessness, inability? 2 Chronicles 20 verse 12, King Jehoshaphat says, "O our God, wilt thou not judge them? For we have no might against this great company that cometh against us, neither know we what to do, but our eyes are upon thee." What is he doing? He's confessing his absolute inability and helplessness.
#47 | 36:13 to 36:47 | cleaned
He is saying we're insufficient. We don't even know which way to go. We don't know which way to turn. We don't know how to commence the battle. We don't know what to do. But He ended by saying, "our eyes are upon Thee." You're going to find this is true in every area of life. Whenever we become full of pride and arrogance and haughtiness, and we begin to boast in ourselves and our abilities and our weaponry and our tactics, we're going to fall and we're going to fail. Pride goeth before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall. He that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.
#48 | 36:48 to 37:34 | cleaned
Let me show you something. Hold 2 Chronicles. But turn in your Bibles to Jeremiah chapter 17. I want you to see this passage. Jeremiah chapter 17. And let's begin reading there at verses 5 and 6. I want you to see that when we become full of pride and arrogancy, when we lift up ourselves and think that we can do it, we bring ourselves under the curse of God. Jeremiah chapter 17, beginning there with verse 5. Look at it.
#49 | 37:35 to 38:05 | cleaned
"Thus saith the Lord, 'Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, whose heart departed from the Lord. For he shall be like the heath in the desert, and shall not see when good cometh, but shall inhabit the parched places, and the wilderness in a salt land, and not inhabit it.'" Note what God says, "Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, whose heart departeth from the Lord." By the way, can you not see that in Goliath of Gath?
#50 | 38:06 to 38:43 | cleaned
Don't you remember how he mocked young David? And he said, "what am I but a dog that you're sending this kid out to fight me?" Then he says, "come on to me, young man. I'll give your flesh to the fowls of the air. I'll feed you to the dogs." Look at the pride and the arrogancy. And what did David say? "I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts." So there is a curse upon those who trust in the flesh. Now watch.
#51 | 38:44 to 39:14 | cleaned
Let's skip down to verse 7. "Blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is. For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh. But her leaves shall be green, and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit." What is God saying? God is saying you're going to prosper as long as you obey Me and trust in Me and not in yourself. So if we're going to fight any battle, I don't care what kind of battle it is, there must be an acknowledgement and confession and trust in the absolute sovereignty of God and a confession and acknowledgement of our own inability and helplessness and powerlessness which will drive us to trust in God. I want you to note thirdly, there has to be a declaration of faith and trust in God alone. I want you to go back to 2 Chronicles chapter 14, and again, look at verse 11.
#52 | 39:15 to 40:21 | cleaned
I want you to see this declaration. It's not just that we acknowledge in God sovereignty and our own helplessness. We are declaring that our faith and our trust is in God alone. Verse 11, he says this, 2 Chronicles 14, "And Asa cried unto the Lord his God and said, 'Lord, it is nothing with Thee to help, whether with many or with them that have no power. Help us, O Lord our God, for we rest on Thee.'" What did he say? "We rest on Thee." Such words express faith in God and demonstrate the fact that we're expecting help from Him. At the same time, we're encouraging ourselves and strengthening ourselves in Him. We're not going forth in our name. We're not going forth in our strength. We're going forth in His name and His strength. And when we know Him, and delight in Him, and lean upon Him, and trust Him, it pleases the Lord. It delights the Lord. And of course, it is an honor to the Lord and a worship to the Lord. I want you to go back to Jeremiah chapter 9 very quickly.
#53 | 40:21 to 41:34 | cleaned
Jeremiah chapter 9, and I want you to look at verses 23 and 24. Jeremiah chapter 9, and look if you would. I'm telling you there should be a confession and acknowledgement of our absolute trust and faith in God. Jeremiah 9, look in verse 23. "Thus saith the Lord, 'Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, nor let the rich man glory in his riches. But let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the Lord which exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth. For these things I delight,' saith the Lord."
#54 | 41:35 to 42:25 | cleaned
And so what do we do? We delight the Lord by trusting in Him and acknowledging the fact that we're looking unto Him for His blessings upon us. Did you know the Bible says in Psalm 147 and verse 10, talking about God, "for He delighteth not in the strength of the horse. He taketh not pleasure in the legs of a man." Does it matter the swiftness of man or the power of man? That's not what delights God. It's faith in Himself that delights God. In Proverbs 21, in verse 31, the Bible says this, "The horse is prepared for the day of battle, but safety is the Lord." You can have all the armament, all the tactics, all the strategies that you want, but if God does not protect you, if God does not help you, you're done for.
#55 | 42:26 to 43:20 | cleaned
So if we're going to fight biblically, we must fight depending upon God's absolute sovereignty, our own inability. We must fight in faith, encouraging ourselves in Him. And fourthly, we must also fight because in verse 12, there is identification with and reminder of the covenantal obligations on both parties. Go back to 2 Chronicles chapter 14 and verse 12. Well, verse 11, the latter part first. He says, "O LORD, thou art our God, let not man prevail against thee. O LORD, thou art our Lord, let not man prevail against thee." Now, if God is our Lord, then obviously we are His people. So there's a covenantal bond that exists then between God and His people.
#56 | 43:22 to 44:33 | cleaned
We have an obligation and a duty to trust Him and obey Him. And of course, according to His Word, He blesses those that trust Him and obey Him. There's a covenantal obligation on His part. You see, This covenantal obligation is recognized not only in the Old Testament but in the New Testament as well. For instance, in 1 Kings, let me just read it. In 1 Kings 8 verses 23 and 24, Solomon is dedicating the temple and he says this, "and he said, 'O Lord God of Israel, there is no God like Thee in heaven above or on earth beneath who keepeth covenant and mercy with thy servants, and walk before thee with all their heart.'"
#57 | 44:34 to 45:24 | cleaned
"Who has kept with thy servant David my father, that thou hast promised him, and thou spakest also with thy mouth, and hast fulfilled with thine hand as it is this day." But notice what he prayed. He prayed that thou art the God who keepest covenant and mercy with thy servants that walk before thee.
#58 | 45:25 to 45:44 | cleaned
Now I'm skipping down to verse 44 and 45. Listen. "If thy people go out to battle against their enemy, whithersoever thou shalt send them, and shalt pray unto the Lord toward this city which thou hast chosen, and toward the house that I have built for thy name, then hear thou in heaven their prayer and their supplication, and maintain their cause." Why would God do that? Because of covenantal obligations. God has covenanted Himself with us in Jesus Christ.
#59 | 45:45 to 46:15 | cleaned
And He has promised that if we obey, He will bless. He has promised, if we disobey, He will curse.
#60 | 46:17 to 46:27 | cleaned
Now, just like Solomon was appealing to God through the Davidic covenant, we also appeal to God through the covenant of grace, which is the fulfillment of that Davidic covenant. If you will turn in your Bibles to the book of Hebrews chapter 13, Hebrews chapter 13, and look at verses 20 and 21. Hebrews 13, verses 20 and 21. Look what the Bible says. By the way, I'm going to remind you that principles do not change. God's covenantal faithfulness does not change. God does not change. That's what He said in Malachi 3:6, "I the Lord change not." He is immutable. So look in Hebrews chapter 13 verse 20, "Now the God of peace that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep through the blood of the everlasting covenant, make you perfect in every good work to do His will, working in you that which is well pleasing in His sight through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen." So Jesus Christ is our covenant. It is an eternal covenant.
#61 | 46:27 to 47:57 | cleaned
It was a covenant that was entered into before the world ever began. And we can come to God, our Heavenly Father, through the covenantal mercies of Jesus Christ. And we may rightly plead our relationship. We are His children. He is our Father. And claim the promises that He has given us. Do you know what the Bible says in 2 Corinthians 1 and verse 20? Listen. "For all the promises of God in Him," that is in Jesus Christ, "for all the promises of God in Him are yea and in Him amen to the glory of God." What? All the promises of God in Him are yea and amen to the glory of God by us.
#62 | 47:57 to 48:40 | cleaned
So, we must acknowledge we are His people. He is our God. There's a covenantal relationship that exists, and there are covenantal duties on both parts. Our part is to trust and obey. Fifthly, I want you to note in 2 Chronicles chapter 14, the last point, you'll find this also in verse 11. Look what he said. The latter part of verse 11. He said, "For we rest on thee, And in Thy name we go against this multitude. O Lord our God, Thou art our God, let not man prevail against Thee." Wait a minute.
#63 | 48:40 to 49:30 | cleaned
I thought the Ethiopians were fighting against Judah. He did not say, "let not man prevail against us." He said, "let not man prevail against Thee." Here's what he's praying, "O Lord, Thou art our God, and Thou only. We know and we serve no other God. We're Thy people, we're called by Thy name. Let not man prevail against Thee, for if the enemy should prevail against us, it would be interpreted as prevailing against Thee." So what Asa's praying is this, "Lord, our enemy is mortal. Thou art immortal. Let him see that he cannot prevail against Thee. Maintain our cause. Maintain Thy honor."
#64 | 49:31 to 50:32 | cleaned
By the way, I hope you understand this. That you cannot attack my children without attacking me. My children are my flesh and blood. The same is true with our Heavenly Father. We are His children. And the enemy cannot attack us without attacking Him. I want you to turn very quickly to two passages. I want you to turn to Psalm 9 and Psalm 58. Psalm 9 and Psalm 58. I want you to see exactly what Asa was praying when he said, "prevail against thee." Look in Psalm 9 and begin there with verse 19. And by the way, I think this is an excellent petition that you and I should learn to pray daily. Psalm 9, verse 19, David prays, "Arise, O Lord, let not man prevail."
#65 | 50:33 to 51:43 | cleaned
"Let the heathen be judged in thy sight." Watch! "Put them in fear, O Lord, that the nations may know themselves to be but men." You're just mortal. You're not God. You have no right to reign over us and control us and order us. No! Put them in fear that they may know that they're but men. We need to learn to pray that. "Arise, O Lord, let not man prevail. Let the heathen be judged in Thy sight."
#66 | 51:44 to 52:13 | cleaned
Look in Psalm 58, if you would please. beginning there with verse 6. Psalm 58, beginning with verse 6. Here's what Asa meant when he said, "let not man prevail." Psalm 58, verse 6. He's praying against the wicked. Look what he prays. "Break their teeth, O God, in their mouth. Break out the great teeth of the young lions, O Lord. Let them melt away as waters which run continually."
#67 | 52:13 to 52:41 | cleaned
"When He bendeth His bow to shoot His arrows, let them be as cut in pieces. as a snail which melteth, let every one of them pass away like the untimely birth of woman, that they may not see the sun. Before your pots can feel the thorns, He shall take them away with a whirlwind, both living in His wrath."
#68 | 52:41 to 52:58 | cleaned
Now watch, "the righteous shall rejoice when He seeth the vengeance. He shall wash His feet in the blood of the wicked, so that a man shall say, 'Verily, there is a reward for the righteous. Verily, He is a God that judgeth in the earth.'" Let not man prevail. You know what David prayed in Psalm 17 in verse 8? I told you earlier, you cannot attack my children without attacking me. You cannot attack God's children without attacking God. So David prayed in Psalm 17 in verse 8, "keep me as the apple of thine eye, hide me under the shadow of thy wings." The apple of the eye is the pupil. Have you ever noticed how quickly your eyelids can shut and cover your eye.
#69 | 52:58 to 53:48 | cleaned
I've had limbs come back at me and instantly my eyes would shut. Or my hand would go up so quick it would make your head swim. Because it's just natural to protect your eyes. And David is saying, "keep me as the apple of thine eye." In Zechariah 2 and verse 8, the Bible says, "After the glory had they sent me into the nations which spoiled you, for he that toucheth you toucheth the apple of my eye."
#70 | 53:49 to 54:16 | cleaned
God said, if you touch My people, you're touching Me. We have to understand that when we fight, we have to understand it's more than just us involved in a battle. You look at what is going on in this country. It's humanism versus Christianity. It's Mohammed versus Christ. It's not just that we do not want man to prevail against us. We do not want man to prevail against God. And if we fight like a Christian, it means we fight in faith, we fight in obedience, we fight trusting the Lord, We fight recognizing our own helplessness. We fight recognizing the greatness of His power, of the one true and the living God. Yes, we still have to fight.
#71 | 54:17 to 55:20 | cleaned
And as the adage says, "trust in the Lord and keep your powder dry." But you don't just trust in your powder. You have to trust in the Lord. For He is the God of war. and the God of battles. And I've got news for you. He's King of Kings and Lord of Lords and God of Gods. And He hasn't been defeated yet. And He's not going to be. We're more than conquerors through our Lord Jesus Christ. Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, we bow to Thee.
#72 | 55:21 to 56:00 | cleaned
We thank You for Your Word. We thank You for Your truth. And Lord, I pray that You would help us, enable us, to bring our lives into conformity to Your Word. Give us, Lord, the grace to be submissive, to be obedient, and to lean upon Thee, and look to Thee, and trust Thee. In the name of Jesus Christ, we ask and pray. Amen.
#73 | 56:00 to 56:23 | cleaned

deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | clean_readable_transcript | 2026-06-05T20:10:07Z

How To Fight Like A Christian - Part 2 of 2

John Weaver | Freedom Ministries

In this sermon, Pastor John Weaver continues teaching on how to fight like a Christian, using the example of King Asa in 2 Chronicles 14. He emphasizes that biblical fighting requires acknowledging God's absolute sovereignty, confessing our own helplessness, declaring faith and trust in God alone, appealing to covenantal obligations, and praying that man not prevail against God. The sermon underscores that blessings follow obedience and curses follow disobedience, and that preparation in times of peace is essential. Ultimately, victory comes from relying on the Lord, not on human strength or numbers.

Introduction and Review

Weaver reviews the previous message on fighting like a Christian, emphasizing reliance on God and the necessity of obedience as a manifestation of faith.

Scripture Reading — 2 Chronicles 14:1-15

"So Abijah slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the city of David." "And Asa his son reigned in his stead. And in his days the land was quiet ten years. And Asa did that which was good and right in the eyes of the Lord his God. For he took away the altars of the strange gods in the high places, and broke down the images, and cut down the groves, and commanded Judah to seek the Lord God of their fathers, and to do the law and the commandment. Also, he took away out of all the cities of Judah the high places and the images, and the kingdom was quiet before him. And he built fenced cities in Judah, for the land had rest. For he had no war in those years, because the Lord had given him rest. Therefore, he said unto Judah, 'Let us build these cities and make about them walls and towers and gates and bars, while the land is yet before us. Because we have sought the Lord our God, we have sought him, and he has given us rest on every side.' So they built and prospered." "And Asa had an army of men that bear targets and spears out of Judah, 300,000, and out of Benjamin that bear shields and drew bows, 280,000. All these were mighty men of valor. And there came out against them Zerah the Ethiopian with a host of 1,000,000 and 300 chariots and came to Mareshah. Then Asa went out against him, and they set the battle in array in the valley of Zephathah at Mareshah. And Asa cried unto the Lord his God and said, 'Lord, it is nothing with thee to help, whether with many or with them that have no power. Help us, O Lord our God, for we rest on thee, and in thy name we go against this multitude. O Lord, thou art our God. Let not man prevail against thee.' So the Lord smote the Ethiopians before Asa and before Judah, and the Ethiopians fled. And Asa and the people that were with him pursued them unto Gerar and the Ethiopians were overthrown and they could not recover themselves for that they were destroyed before the Lord and before his host and they carried away very much spoil and they smote all the cities round about Gerar for the fear of the Lord came upon them and they spoiled all the cities for there was exceeding much spoil in them. They smote also the tents of cattle and carried away sheep and camels in abundance and returned to Jerusalem."

Scripture Reading — 2 Chronicles 14:1-15

"Thus the children of Israel were brought under at that time, and the children of Judah prevailed because they relied upon the Lord God of their fathers."

So let me say it like this. Obedience is simply a manifestation of our faith. James said it very clearly, very simply. In James 2 and verse 18, when he said,

Scripture Reading — James 2:18

"Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works. Show me thy faith without thy works, and I will show thee my faith by my works."

Last week we also learned that the Lord is indeed a man of war.

God Gives Peace or Raises Adversaries

God can give peace or raise up enemies based on obedience; blessings follow obedience and curses follow disobedience.

Scripture Reading — Leviticus 26:6

"And I will give peace in the land, and ye shall lie down, and none shall make you afraid, and I will rid evil beasts out of the land, neither shall the sword go through your land."

So when God gives peace, none can make us afraid. God is the one who gives peace and prosperity.

Scripture Reading — 1 Kings 11:14, 23, 25

"And the LORD stirred up an adversary unto Solomon, Hadad the Edomite."

He was the king's seed in Edom. But I want you to note, the Bible says,

Scripture Reading — 1 Kings 11:14, 23, 25

"The LORD stirred up an adversary unto Solomon."

Scripture Reading — 2 Chronicles 28:5-8, 17-20

"Wherefore the Lord his God delivered him into the hand of the king of Syria, and they smote him, and carried away a great multitude of them captives, and brought them to Damascus. And he was also delivered into the hand of the king of Israel, who smote him with a great slaughter. For Pekah, the son of Remaliah, slew in Judah a hundred and twenty thousand in one day, which were all valiant men. Why? Because they had forsaken the Lord God of their fathers. And Zechariah, a mighty man of Ephraim, slew Maaseiah, the king's son, and Azrikam, the governor of the house, and Elkanah, that was next to the king. And the children of Israel carried away captive of their brethren, 200,000 women, sons, and daughters, and took away much spoil from them, and brought the spoil to Samaria."

But notice if you would please, the Bible says,

Scripture Reading — 2 Chronicles 28:5-8, 17-20

"the Lord his God delivered him into the hand of the king of Syria."

Moreover, he delivered him into the hands of Pekah, the son of Remaliah. And 120,000 were slain in one day. Skip down to verse 17. 2 Chronicles 28 verse 17.

King Asa's Preparation in Peace

Asa used ten years of peace to destroy idolatry, command obedience, and build fortified cities, preparing for war.

The Battle Against Zerah the Ethiopian

Asa faced a vastly superior enemy but went out to meet them, relying on the Lord.

Asa's Prayer and God's Victory

Asa prayed acknowledging God's sovereignty and helplessness, and God gave victory and abundant spoil.

Elements of Relying on the Lord

Weaver outlines five elements: confessing God's sovereignty, acknowledging helplessness, declaring faith, appealing to covenant, and praying against man prevailing.

Scripture Reading — 1 Chronicles 29:11-12

"Thine, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty. For all that is in the heaven and in the earth is Thine. Thine is the kingdom, O Lord. Thou art exalted as head above all."

Scripture Reading — 2 Corinthians 12:10

"Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities. in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake, for when I am weak, then I am strong."

What did Paul mean when he said,

Scripture Reading — 2 Corinthians 12:10

"when I am weak, then I am strong"

He faced a battle as well. 2 Chronicles chapter 20 and look in verse 12. You're talking about a confession of helplessness, powerlessness, inability? 2 Chronicles 20 verse 12, King Jehoshaphat says,

Scripture Reading — 2 Chronicles 20:12

"O our God, wilt thou not judge them? For we have no might against this great company that cometh against us, neither know we what to do, but our eyes are upon thee."

Scripture Reading — 2 Chronicles 20:12

"our eyes are upon Thee."

Scripture Reading — Jeremiah 9:23-24

"Thus saith the Lord, 'Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, nor let the rich man glory in his riches. But let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the Lord which exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth. For these things I delight,' saith the Lord."

Scripture Reading — Psalm 147:10

"for He delighteth not in the strength of the horse. He taketh not pleasure in the legs of a man."

Scripture Reading — Hebrews 13:20-21

"Now the God of peace that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep through the blood of the everlasting covenant, make you perfect in every good work to do His will, working in you that which is well pleasing in His sight through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen."

So Jesus Christ is our covenant. It is an eternal covenant.

Conclusion and Application

We must fight in faith and obedience, trusting God as the God of battles, and pray for His help.

How To Fight Like A Christian - Part 2 of 2

John Weaver | YouTube

Lecture Metadata	Details
Speaker	John Weaver
Source	YouTube
Media ID	CDc1tr2l3Jg
Subject	Covenant Theology
Course	Covenant Theology: Blessings, Curses, and Sanctions: Promises Of The Law
Genre	Sermon
Date	2014-04-02
Dictation Name
Book	Book 057: How To Fight Like A Christian — Chapter 2
Source Timed Segments	73

Lecture Guide

Outline

Introduction and Review: Weaver reviews the previous message on fighting like a Christian, emphasizing reliance on God and the necessity of obedience as a manifestation of faith.
God Gives Peace or Raises Adversaries: God can give peace or raise up enemies based on obedience; blessings follow obedience and curses follow disobedience.
King Asa's Preparation in Peace: Asa used ten years of peace to destroy idolatry, command obedience, and build fortified cities, preparing for war.
The Battle Against Zerah the Ethiopian: Asa faced a vastly superior enemy but went out to meet them, relying on the Lord.
Asa's Prayer and God's Victory: Asa prayed acknowledging God's sovereignty and helplessness, and God gave victory and abundant spoil.
Elements of Relying on the Lord: Weaver outlines five elements: confessing God's sovereignty, acknowledging helplessness, declaring faith, appealing to covenant, and praying against man prevailing.
Conclusion and Application: We must fight in faith and obedience, trusting God as the God of battles, and pray for His help.

Major Themes

Key Arguments

Blessings follow obedience, curses follow disobedience

God either gives peace or raises adversaries based on obedience; this principle applies to all areas of life, including military conflict.

Weaver states, 'Blessings always follow obedience... curses always follow disobedience.' He cites 1 Kings 11:14 and 2 Chronicles 28:5.

God's sovereignty means He can save by many or by few

Numbers and weaponry do not determine victory; God's power is unlimited and He can help the weakest.

Weaver quotes Jonathan in 1 Samuel 14:6: 'There is no restraint to the Lord to save by many or by few.'

Acknowledging helplessness leads to strength in God

Recognizing our inability drives us to depend on God, making us strong in Him.

Weaver cites Paul in 2 Corinthians 12:10: 'When I am weak, then am I strong.'

Trusting in man brings a curse; trusting in God brings blessing

Jeremiah 17:5-8 contrasts the cursed man who trusts in flesh with the blessed man who trusts in the Lord.

Weaver reads Jeremiah 17:5-8 and applies it to Goliath's pride versus David's faith.

We must appeal to God's covenantal faithfulness

As God's people, we can plead our relationship and His promises through the covenant of grace in Christ.

Weaver references Solomon's prayer in 1 Kings 8:44-45 and Hebrews 13:20-21.

Prayer should seek God's honor, not just our deliverance

Asa prayed 'let not man prevail against thee,' recognizing that the battle is ultimately about God's reputation.

Weaver explains the prayer and cites Psalm 9:19 and Zechariah 2:8.

Scripture References

2 Chronicles 14:1-15: The entire chapter is read as the primary text, detailing Asa's reign, his reforms, and his victory over Zerah the Ethiopian.
2 Chronicles 13:18: Cited from the previous message: 'The children of Judah prevailed because they relied upon the Lord God of their fathers.'
1 Timothy 6:12: Mentioned in reference to fighting the good fight of faith.
2 Timothy 1:7: Quoted: 'For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.'
James 2:18: Quoted to show that faith is manifested by works.
Leviticus 26:6: Quoted from the previous message: 'I will give peace in the land...'
1 Kings 11:14, 23, 25: Shows God stirred up adversaries against Solomon because of his disobedience.
2 Chronicles 28:5-8, 17-20: Illustrates God delivering Ahaz into the hands of enemies because of forsaking the Lord.
1 Chronicles 29:11-12: David's confession of God's sovereignty: 'Thine, O Lord, is the greatness...'
1 Samuel 14:6: Jonathan's statement: 'There is no restraint to the Lord to save by many or by few.'
2 Chronicles 32:6-8: Hezekiah's encouragement: 'With him is the arm of the flesh; but with us is the Lord our God.'
2 Kings 6:8-18: Elisha's servant sees the mountain full of horses and chariots of fire; 'they that be with us are more than they that be with them.'
2 Corinthians 12:10: Paul: 'When I am weak, then am I strong.'
2 Chronicles 20:12: Jehoshaphat's prayer: 'We have no might... neither know we what to do, but our eyes are upon thee.'
Jeremiah 17:5-8: Cursed is the man who trusts in man; blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord.
Jeremiah 9:23-24: Let not the wise glory in wisdom, but in knowing the Lord.
Psalm 147:10: He delighteth not in the strength of the horse.
Proverbs 21:31: The horse is prepared for battle, but safety is of the Lord.
1 Kings 8:23-24, 44-45: Solomon's prayer acknowledging God's covenant and asking Him to maintain Israel's cause in battle.
Hebrews 13:20-21: The God of peace brought again Jesus through the blood of the everlasting covenant.

Historical References

King Asa of Judah: Asa reigned after Abijah, destroyed idolatry, built fortified cities, and defeated Zerah the Ethiopian through reliance on God.
Zerah the Ethiopian: He came against Asa with a million men and 300 chariots but was defeated because Asa trusted in the Lord.
King Solomon: God stirred up adversaries against Solomon (Hadad and Rezon) because of his disobedience in his latter years.
King Ahaz: God delivered Ahaz into the hands of Syria and Israel because he forsook the Lord; 120,000 were slain in one day.
King Hezekiah: He encouraged the people against Sennacherib by saying, 'With him is the arm of the flesh; but with us is the Lord our God.'
Elisha and the Syrian army: Elisha's servant saw the mountain full of horses and chariots of fire; the Syrian army was struck with blindness.
Goliath of Gath: Goliath's pride and trust in his own strength contrasted with David's trust in the name of the Lord.
Arthur W. Pink: Weaver quotes Pink's definition of God's sovereignty from his writings.

Important Quotes

Lord, it is nothing with thee to help, whether with many or with them that have no power. Help us, O Lord our God, for we rest on thee, and in thy name we go against this multitude. O Lord, thou art our God. Let not man prevail against thee.

This is Asa's prayer, which encapsulates the sermon's main points: acknowledging God's sovereignty, resting on Him, and seeking His honor.

The sovereignty of God. What do we mean by this expression? We mean the supremacy of God. the kingship of God, the Godhood of God. To say that God is sovereign is to declare that God is God.

Weaver uses Pink's definition to explain the foundational truth of God's absolute rule.

Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, whose heart departed from the Lord.

This quote from Jeremiah 17:5 underscores the danger of self-reliance instead of trusting God.

When I am weak, then I am strong.

Paul's words highlight the paradox that acknowledging weakness leads to divine strength.

We have no might against this great company that cometh against us, neither know we what to do, but our eyes are upon thee.

Jehoshaphat's prayer exemplifies the confession of helplessness and dependence on God.

He that toucheth you toucheth the apple of my eye.

God's declaration in Zechariah shows that attacking His people is attacking Him.

Discussion Questions

[Question]

How does acknowledging God's sovereignty change the way we approach battles in our lives?

[Context]

Weaver emphasizes that God can save by many or by few, and that numbers don't matter to Him.

[Question]

In what ways do we tend to trust in 'the arm of the flesh' rather than in God?

[Context]

Weaver contrasts Hezekiah's statement about the arm of the flesh with trusting in the Lord.

[Question]

Why is it important to confess our helplessness before God? How does this lead to strength?

[Context]

Weaver explains that recognizing inability drives us to depend on God, as Paul said, 'When I am weak, then I am strong.'

[Question]

What does it mean to fight for God's honor rather than just our own deliverance?

[Context]

Asa prayed 'let not man prevail against thee,' showing concern for God's reputation.

[Question]

How can we prepare spiritually during times of peace for future battles?

[Context]

Asa used the ten years of peace to destroy idolatry and build defenses.

[Question]

What are some practical ways we can 'rest on the Lord' in the midst of overwhelming odds?

[Context]

Asa's prayer included 'we rest on thee,' expressing faith and expectation of help.

Applications

Format deepseek deepseek-v4-pro structured study JSON | Source Commentary.net transcript enrichment

deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | weaver_study | 2026-06-06T12:46:55Z