The Way We Fight Our Battles
Worship is love expressed. It is an outward expression of what is in your heart. There are different ways to express our worship and we need to worship on both good days and on bad days. Too many minimize the power of worship. It's not about time but about coming into God’s presence. Even on your worst day you can win with worship.
We may not always be aware, but there are spiritual battles and victories that happen during worship. 2 Chronicles 20 tells us the story of Jehosophat. In this passage, he is coming out of a disappointing defeat and finds that there is more battle coming.
During worship, we have three common enemies:
1) Distraction: You may find when you commit to be “all in” that distraction comes. For example: I had a friend who committed to tithe but encountered a lawsuit and other difficulties right after he had made the commitment and he never followed through on that commitment. But, another friend who made the same commitment pushed through the distractions and has experienced blessing as a result. I have a 3rd friend who told me that she as a single mom has realized she couldn’t afford not to tithe and as a result, she always has enough to pay her bills. Worship functions that same way. Press in and press through the distractions and enter into the Presence of God expecting to receive and see results.
2) Destruction: Another enemy of worship is destruction; things that used to work don't work anymore. Worship positions you to overcome destruction but you must intentionally enter into worship in order to overcome.
3) Discord: A third enemy of worship is discord in relationship. Everything falls apart. Discord causes breakdown of relationships. Sometimes we experience a season of attacks from many directions. Our flesh wants to get discouraged and collapse inwardly but worship will bring the Presence of God and it is Him who makes a way where there seems to be no way.
When Jehosophat heard what was threatening him, he was shaking in fear. What did he do? He prayed and ordered a nationwide fast! His situation did not keep him from stepping toward God. We must let the distractions motivate us to move closer to God. Jehosophat resolved to seek the Lord. Stop retreating and get resolved to worship in spite of bad news, in spite of what's going on. Worry increases pressure, but worship releases pressure. Worship is your weapon. Battle for your blessing. Let the fight that is in you come out. Choose to let worship displace worry.
There are five reasons that worship, as a weapon, brings victory.
1) Worship refocuses attention. It changes our focus from the problem to the Problem Solver. In Ps 34:3-4, David, in his time of trouble, declared he would magnify the Lord. Magnification does not make its object bigger, but it makes our view bigger. It affects our focus. God is already big. Worship helps us forget what's wrong in our life and remember what's right with God. He's bigger than all problems and fears. Worship is an exchange. We may come in with big problems but we leave with a big God and small problems. Let us exalt his name together.
2) Worship reminds me who's in charge. Don't be afraid. 2 Chronicles 20:15 reminds us that the battle is not ours. It's Gods. A. W. Tozer wrote: “The reason why many are still troubled, still seeking, still making little forward progress is because they haven't yet come to the end of themselves. We're still trying to give orders, and interfering with God's work within us.” Don't fight battles that belong to the Lord. At the end of yourself there is the beginning of God. Surrender. If you hold onto it, God can't take care of it.
3) Worship releases faith. In verse 21, praisers were placed in the front of Jehosophat’s army. Faith is based on what you believe will happen. When you worship God for giving the victory before you have seen it happen, this is called faith. It takes a special bold faith to worship before the answer comes. I've already won. I'm surrounded by God. This is how I fight my battles. Celebrating God’s answer before you have seen it, defeats the enemy.
4) Worship reverses the plan of the enemy. Second Chronicles:20: 22 tells us that as the singers praised God, the Lord set ambushes against the enemy. God began to move as they began to praise. As the worship went forth, the enemy was defeated. Worship defeats the enemy because his strategy is in lies and when we praise, we praise in pure truth. It is the way out of confusion, lies and fear. When worship goes up, God shows up.
5) Worship changes people around you. In Acts 16, Paul and Silas were imprisoned. Battles come even when you're doing the right thing. They were shackled in the innermost part of the prison, but they praised and worshiped God at midnight. Why worship now you might ask? God allowed them to be imprisoned so how could they find it in themselves to worship? But the power of their worship brought many people into relationship with God that night. Not only was the jailer and his whole family saved, but other guards and prisoners as well.
Enter into worship, especially in the trying times of your life. Enter into worship on Sundays at church. Focus on the words. Meditate on their meaning. Declare them as you sing. Take them to heart and sing them in agreement with the truth in them.
As we come into unity with God and His truth, we will see things change in our lives and we will see God work on our behalf. This is how we fight our battles.
During worship, we have three common enemies:
1) Distraction: You may find when you commit to be “all in” that distraction comes. For example: I had a friend who committed to tithe but encountered a lawsuit and other difficulties right after he had made the commitment and he never followed through on that commitment. But, another friend who made the same commitment pushed through the distractions and has experienced blessing as a result. I have a 3rd friend who told me that she as a single mom has realized she couldn’t afford not to tithe and as a result, she always has enough to pay her bills. Worship functions that same way. Press in and press through the distractions and enter into the Presence of God expecting to receive and see results.
2) Destruction: Another enemy of worship is destruction; things that used to work don't work anymore. Worship positions you to overcome destruction but you must intentionally enter into worship in order to overcome.
3) Discord: A third enemy of worship is discord in relationship. Everything falls apart. Discord causes breakdown of relationships. Sometimes we experience a season of attacks from many directions. Our flesh wants to get discouraged and collapse inwardly but worship will bring the Presence of God and it is Him who makes a way where there seems to be no way.
When Jehosophat heard what was threatening him, he was shaking in fear. What did he do? He prayed and ordered a nationwide fast! His situation did not keep him from stepping toward God. We must let the distractions motivate us to move closer to God. Jehosophat resolved to seek the Lord. Stop retreating and get resolved to worship in spite of bad news, in spite of what's going on. Worry increases pressure, but worship releases pressure. Worship is your weapon. Battle for your blessing. Let the fight that is in you come out. Choose to let worship displace worry.
There are five reasons that worship, as a weapon, brings victory.
1) Worship refocuses attention. It changes our focus from the problem to the Problem Solver. In Ps 34:3-4, David, in his time of trouble, declared he would magnify the Lord. Magnification does not make its object bigger, but it makes our view bigger. It affects our focus. God is already big. Worship helps us forget what's wrong in our life and remember what's right with God. He's bigger than all problems and fears. Worship is an exchange. We may come in with big problems but we leave with a big God and small problems. Let us exalt his name together.
2) Worship reminds me who's in charge. Don't be afraid. 2 Chronicles 20:15 reminds us that the battle is not ours. It's Gods. A. W. Tozer wrote: “The reason why many are still troubled, still seeking, still making little forward progress is because they haven't yet come to the end of themselves. We're still trying to give orders, and interfering with God's work within us.” Don't fight battles that belong to the Lord. At the end of yourself there is the beginning of God. Surrender. If you hold onto it, God can't take care of it.
3) Worship releases faith. In verse 21, praisers were placed in the front of Jehosophat’s army. Faith is based on what you believe will happen. When you worship God for giving the victory before you have seen it happen, this is called faith. It takes a special bold faith to worship before the answer comes. I've already won. I'm surrounded by God. This is how I fight my battles. Celebrating God’s answer before you have seen it, defeats the enemy.
4) Worship reverses the plan of the enemy. Second Chronicles:20: 22 tells us that as the singers praised God, the Lord set ambushes against the enemy. God began to move as they began to praise. As the worship went forth, the enemy was defeated. Worship defeats the enemy because his strategy is in lies and when we praise, we praise in pure truth. It is the way out of confusion, lies and fear. When worship goes up, God shows up.
5) Worship changes people around you. In Acts 16, Paul and Silas were imprisoned. Battles come even when you're doing the right thing. They were shackled in the innermost part of the prison, but they praised and worshiped God at midnight. Why worship now you might ask? God allowed them to be imprisoned so how could they find it in themselves to worship? But the power of their worship brought many people into relationship with God that night. Not only was the jailer and his whole family saved, but other guards and prisoners as well.
Enter into worship, especially in the trying times of your life. Enter into worship on Sundays at church. Focus on the words. Meditate on their meaning. Declare them as you sing. Take them to heart and sing them in agreement with the truth in them.
As we come into unity with God and His truth, we will see things change in our lives and we will see God work on our behalf. This is how we fight our battles.
