July 21, 2024, Sermon| Our Response to the Unexpected.

Our Response to The Unexpected

Scripture: Mark 4:35-41; First John 3:21-22; Second Chronicles 20:1-29

Good morning Strangers Rest. The title of the message this morning is “Our Response to the Unexpected.” I am going to open with a story recorded in the Gospel of Mark, where Jesus and His disciples experienced an unexpected storm. The disciples’ response was indicative of how we might respond in similar situations. Here is what is recorded in Mark 4:35-41. “(35) On the same day, when evening had come, He said to them, ‘Let us cross over to the other side.’ (36) Now when they had left the multitude, they took Him along in the boat as He was. And other little boats were also with Him. (37) And a great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that it was already filling. (38) But He was in the stern, asleep on a pillow. And they awoke Him and said to Him, ‘Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?’ (39) Then He arose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, ‘Peace, be still!’ And the wind ceased and there was a great calm. (40) But He said to them, ‘Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith?’ (41) And they feared exceedingly, and said to one another, ‘Who can this be, that even the wind and the sea obey Him!’”

In this text, we see a situation that some describe as an attempt on the part of Satan to kill Jesus. Jesus had decided to cross to the other side of the Sea of Galilee. Now remember that some of the disciples were veteran fishermen and could forecast storms, yet they all agreed to go with Jesus. This tells us that this was not a normal storm as we think of storms. This was a windstorm, and it came up out of nowhere. The disciples could not have forecasted this because the wind is invisible. If they saw dark clouds they could forecast that a storm was possible and that it would not be safe to go out on the waters. But, in this case, everything looked fine until they got on the waters and a fierce wind came up. This was not like the wind gusts we experience here in Kansas; this wind was bad. The Greek word that Mark uses to describe this windstorm is “mega” which denotes something of massive proportions. For example, we use the term when talking about computer memory (megabyte) and large Churches (mega-Church). This is the term that Mark used to denote this storm. It was fierce.

When it came upon them suddenly, the disciples immediately became scared and feared for their lives. They went to Jesus, who in the hull of the boat asleep, woke Him up and cried out to Him to save them. Jesus woke up, yawned, and stretched, walked up to the deck, looked at the situation wondering what all the fuss was about and then simply spoke to the wind and the waves and everything became calm. Now when Jesus spoke to the wind, Mark records, “there was a great calm.” In other words, there was a “mega” calm after Jesus spoke to the wind! After causing this mega calm, Jesus turns to His disciples and asked them a question. Now, I want you to hear the question that Jesus asked them in verse 40: “But He said to them, ‘Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith?’” Jesus is putting the disciples on Front Street because, what He is essentially saying is this: “If you were walking in faith, you could have calmed the wind and the sea yourselves.” The disciple’s reaction to what Jesus said in the next verse tells us a lot about their faith walk at this point in time. The verse records the disciples saying, “Who can this be, that even the wind and the sea obey Him!” When the disciples woke Jesus up, I am not convinced that they knew He could manage the situation based on what they said here. I believe they were hoping, but not sure. This is what fear does to us – it makes us hopeful and doubtful all at the same time.

When we are responding to the unexpected we need to understand and remember that doubt and fear are two of Satan’s most powerful tools. If he can get us to doubt in our hearts the goodness of God and His willingness to come to our rescue, half of his battle is already won. He knows that doubt attached to prayer means unanswered prayer. First John 3:21-22 says, “(21) Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence toward God. (22) And whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight.” Then James 1:6-8 confirms this as it reads “(6) But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. (7) For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; (8) he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.” 

Doubt and fear are enormously powerful tools, and our enemy uses them effectively against us when we are faced with the unexpected. The disciples experienced the unexpected. Had they expected this windstorm, they would have been prepared; plans would have been made to secure everything before they shipped off. Or they would have decided to stay on shore until it passed. As it was, that was not the case. When they met the unexpected, fear immediately gripped their hearts and minds and they feared for their lives.

This morning, I want you to consider how you respond to the unexpected. The unexpected happens to us every day. Some of the unexpected are extremely good – like receiving a bonus that was not expected or someone surprising you with a gift. Or you find out you are expecting a baby after giving up hope of ever having a child of your own. Or something as simple as receiving a phone call from a family member or dear friend that you had not spoken to in a long time. These unexpected events tend to bring joy and happiness. We know how to respond to them – we do not have to think about it. However, the other type of unexpected does not bring joy and happiness – at least not in the immediate. Depending on the circumstances, they can bring immediate fear and torment. This morning, we will look at an Old Testament example that gives us six keys as to how we should respond to the unexpected. Before we do that though, I want to share a personal story with you from one of the times I had to respond to the unexpected.

In April 2014, the entire sales force of the company I worked for received an email to be on an unscheduled call the next day. Everyone assumed that this meant organizational changes. I was in Tennessee at the time visiting my sister, but I made it a point to be on that call. As the call started, they announced a major reorganization of the sales force and because of it some jobs would be eliminated. Let me tell you how good and faithful God is. God told me during that call that I would be laid off but that I was not to worry because He had me. In fact, He told me I would have another job within 30 days of being laid off. That is how good God was to me! Now let me share with you how stupid I was. Instead of praising God and looking forward to what came next, I began to pray earnestly that I would not lose my job. Not only that, but I professed God word over the situation believing in faith that I would not lose my job. All of this I was doing out of fear because I could not see past my current job. The fact that God told me I would lose my job, but He had me did not matter. You understand what I am telling you? I “tried” to walk in faith against something God had already told me was going to happen instead of just believing Him and walking with Him.

Two months later I was notified that my job was eliminated and again, instead of trusting God and believing what He told me I was stressed, worried, and had moments of “why me.” This coupled with the fact that I had gone to several job interviews and did not get the job further solidified my fear, not my faith. I learned a lot about myself during this time. Two months later I received my last check from my company and 29 days after that I had a job offer. My response to this unexpected event was to spend four months praying and worrying about what came next. I wasted four months of my life when I could have easily just believed God and walked with Him. This is what fear and doubt looks like and I want you to know that I have my faith struggles just like you do, and I am continuing to learn day by day. Every sermon that I deliver to you is preached to me first and they apply to me just as much as they apply to you. Please do not think that I always have it all together – I am walking in faith just as you are, and my faith can be tested just as yours can. I wanted you to hear my testimony, so you know how close to home the story of Jehoshaphat hit me.

The story of Jehoshaphat is recorded in Second Chronicles chapter twenty, and it is the story of when he came face to face with the unexpected. The earlier chapters of Second Chronicles tell us of Jehoshaphat life and the fact that he had a humble heart and a secure relationship with God. It was this relationship that he had with God that laid the foundation for his response to the unexpected. When chapter twenty opens, we find these words: “It happened after this that the people of Moab with the people of Ammon, and others with them besides the Ammonites, came to battle against Jehoshaphat.”  (Second Chronicles 20:1) Out of nowhere, without any warning, three nations come together to start a war against Jehoshaphat and Judah. When Jehoshaphat learns of this impending attack through his servants, he becomes alarmed. The first thing he did gives us our first key to responding to the unexpected. Verse 3 says “And Jehoshaphat feared, and set himself to seek the LORD, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah.” (Second Chronicles 20:3)

Jehoshaphat’s first response was fear and then he made the decision to go to God. The first key to responding to the unexpected is to focus on God and not the problem. Jehoshaphat decided to go directly to God for advice. He also called upon the people to fast. Have you ever noticed that when you are stressed and or worried you tend to eat more – we call that stress eating. Sometimes eating can be a comfort during times of stress and make us feel better but Jehoshaphat did the opposite – he called for a fast. Fasting allows us to give God our undivided attention as we wait for our answer. Jehoshaphat went to God in prayer. He focused on God immediately and not on the impending attackers. Key #1: Focus attention on God and not the problem.

The second thing that Jehoshaphat did is found in verse four, which says, “So Judah gathered together to ask help from the LORD; and from all the cities of Judah they came to seek the LORD.” (Second Chronicles 20:4) In this verse we see all the people coming together to seek God. This is the second key to dealing with the unexpected; ask others to seek God with you. Satan loves for us to think that we are in our struggles alone, but we are not. We have help, not just the Holy Spirit, but each other. The Church exists so that no child of God is alone in their situation. We know that God is working things out but here on earth He needs us to do our part. This is the reason we refer to one another as brother and sister – we are family! We are supposed to stand with one another, especially during challenging times. Yes it takes a certain amount of trust to do this, but we are brothers and sisters in Christ and therefore we should be able to trust one another. Key #2: Ask others to seek God with you.

In verses 5-9 we find the third key. But let us focus on what is recorded in verse nine. Jehoshaphat says, “If disaster comes upon us, sword, judgment, pestilence, or famine, we will stand before this temple and in Your presence (for Your name is in this temple), and cry out to You in our affliction, and You will hear and save.” (Second Chronicles 20:9) Jehoshaphat, in the midst of all the people of Judah, reminds the Lord of His covenant relationship with Israel. Do you see how important this is? He wanted the people to know what he already knew and believed – that the Lord would keep His promise. As you read verse nine, you see that he is speaking in confidence; he is not wavering or unsure about what he is saying. In the last sentence he tells God, “….we will stand before this temple and in Your presence (for Your name is in this temple), and cry out to You in our affliction, and You will hear and save.” 

I want you to understand that he was not being belligerent or disrespectful to God. He also was not begging God. What he was doing was reminding God of what He has already promised. This kind of acknowledgement takes place between two people who are in a committed relationship where promises are made and expected to be kept. When the time comes, the person who was promised something will remind the one who made the promise fully expecting that the promise will be kept. Jehoshaphat was reminding God of what He had promised His children. Psalms 119:49-50 says, “(49) Remember the word to Your servant, upon which You have caused me to hope. (50) This is my comfort in my affliction, for Your word has given me life.”  The Psalmist asks God to remember His promises to His servants because it was those promises that provided comfort when he was afflicted. God says in Isaiah 43:26, “Put Me in remembrance; let us contend together; state your case, that you may be acquitted.” 

We too can go to God with confidence because we have such promises. First John 3:1 says, “Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God!....” We are God’s sons and daughters. Ephesians 1:13-14 says “(13) In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, (14) Who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory.”  We are sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, and we are a purchased possession. Finally, Hebrews 4:16 says, “Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” We can approach the throne of grace boldly and receive mercy and grace to help us when we need it. We can do this because of the promises God has already made to us because we are His children. Key #3: Acknowledge God for Who He is and remember His promises to us. 

When we acknowledge God for who He is AND we understand who we are in Him, we can be like Jehoshaphat and come before Him with confidence. When we come to God in confidence, we acknowledge that He is the only one who can help us, who can rescue us, who can restore us. We open the door for Him to do what He really wants to do for us. Do you understand what I am saying? Because of our relationship with Him, He is standing by waiting to help us, desiring to do so. However, we must choose to open the door to allow Him into our circumstances so that He can act. So many times, we keep our doors close to God and leave Him on the outside. Open the door and let Him in so that He may help you, something He desires to do.

The fourth key is found in verses 10-12, but again, I want to focus on verse twelve. It says, “O our God, will You not judge them? For we have no power against this great multitude that is coming against us; nor do we know what to do, but our eyes are upon You.” (Second Chronicles 20:12) Have you ever been in a situation where you really did not know what to do? This is especially stressful when you are the leader, and everyone is looking to you to give directions. There have been many decisions made that were wrong because the leader making the decision refused to acknowledge that he/she did not know what to do. In this situation, Jehoshaphat did something that most leaders would never consider doing. He said before all the people that they could not win this fight and that he did not know what to do. When the leader stands up and says, “we cannot win,” the normal response is for the people to lose hope. Jehoshaphat said they could not win, and he did not know what to do – SO they were turning to God. During this unexpected attack, the king’s relationship with God reminded him that turning to God was his only answer. One translation says, “and we are at a loss on what to do; but our eyes are upon You.” Key #4: By faith put your deliverance in God’s hands. 

Once Jehoshaphat and the people finished crying out to God, God spoke his answer through the son of Zechariah. Look at what God says in verse 15; “And he said, “Listen, all you of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and King Jehoshaphat: this is what the LORD says to you: ‘Do not fear or be dismayed because of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours but God’s.’”  (Second Chronicles 20:15) The New American Standard Bible renders the last part of this verse as “Do not fear or lose heart at the sight of this vast multitude, for the battle is not yours but God’s.” Have you ever noticed that it is the things that are seen that cause us the most trouble? This was the case with Jehoshaphat and the Children of Israel. They saw the large army. God told them not to be discouraged because of what they saw. He was asking them to use the “unseen” faith (in Him) to deal with the seen (the army). When Jehoshaphat heard this, he dismissed his fears, not because they were not real, but because he had made a deliberate decision to put his trust in the living God. When we act in faith, we make a conscious decision not to fear, not because the situation has immediately changed, but because we have decided to trust God in that moment and in that situation. Please understand that I am not saying that every time we experience moments of fear that we are not trusting God. It is what we allow the fear to do to us that determines if we are trusting God or not. In Jehoshaphat’s case, his fear made him turn towards God. When we act in faith, we turn our faces away from the problem and towards the Lord and His promises. Key #5: Dismiss your fears and trust your Heavenly Father. 

Verses 18 and 19 give us the sixth key to responding to the unexpected. It says “(18) Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground, and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell down before the LORD, worshiping the LORD. (19) The Levites, from the sons of the Kohathites and from the sons of the Korahites, stood up to praise the LORD God of Israel, with a very loud voice.”  (Second Chronicles 20:18-19) I do not know about you, but when I get an answer from God that I know is Him, I get excited. With my excitement comes impatience. I am ready for God to move NOW, not tomorrow, not next month, not next year, NOW. Waiting is not easy, even when things are going well. But when you are under attack, you wonder sometimes if there really is light at the end of the tunnel. This is the time to know that God has heard your cry, and He is providing the answer. When you recognize this you can start getting your praise on. This is key #6. When you are faced with the unexpected and you have completed the first five steps, begin to Praise and Worship God. When we praise and worship God during the unexpected, the unforeseen and the unanticipated, He can calm our “internal seas” so that we can focus on Him. This is what Jehoshaphat, and all the people did; they began to praise God, even though they were still in the exact same situation. Nothing had changed. God had not acted at that point. The enemy was still planning their attack. But when God gave the answer, the people began to praise Him for they knew the battle was not theirs, but truly it was the Lord’s.

Worship is our invitation to God to fill wherever we are with His presence and power. When we praise and worship God, when we turn our faces toward Him, we set our eyes upon Him and His abilities and not our own. Notice in verse twenty-one that they do not praise God for the victory, but for His beauty and holiness. In the minds of Jehoshaphat and the people, victory was assured. Colossians 2:15 says “When He had disarmed the rulers and authorities [those supernatural forces of evil operating against us], He made a public example of them [exhibiting them as captives in His triumphal procession], having triumphed over them through the cross.” We already have the victory, even over the unexpected. When we face difficulties, understand that while we do not know what the outcome will be, God does, and our trust is always in our Father! God is our Father and Satan has been defeated. Verse 22 tells us that as they sang and praised God, the Lord fought their battle. Whose battle was this to fight? God’s!!!

How can anyone not want to praise and worship God after reading the record of Jehoshaphat? What God did for him and the people of Judah – He is currently doing for those who worship Him today. Second Chronicles 20 provides a powerful example of how God’s people focused on Him and not the problem when there was nowhere else to turn. When we face situations of uncertainty stress and fear, we can follow Jehoshaphat’s example:

·         We must focus our attention on God and not the problem.

·         Ask others to seek God with us.

·         Acknowledge God for Who He is and remember His promises to us.

·         We put our deliverance in God’s hands.

·         We dismiss our fears and trust our Heavenly Father.

·         And finally, we praise and worship God.

When you are faced with the unexpected, remember Jehoshaphat and know that the way out for you is already in place. May God bless and keep you.

Until next time, “The Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you. May the Lord lift up His countenance on you and give you peace.”  (Numbers 6:24-26)