prayer

Overcoming Fear with Prayer: Jehoshaphat’s Story

/ Richard Bargas / Leave a comment

“And Jehoshaphat was afraid and set his face to seek Yahweh, and called for a fast throughout all Judah.” (2 Chronicles 20:3, LSB)  

People react differently when they become afraid. Psychologists have noted that people typically respond with either a “fight or flight” reaction. Being originally from Southern California, I can testify that every time there is a major earthquake, the news reports that someone died from the earthquake. Surprisingly, many of these deaths are not directly related to the earthquake, such as something collapsing on the victim. Instead, some deaths occur when a person panics and runs into the street into traffic because they are afraid of being in a shaking building. I have heard of people running through glass doors or falling in their panic and hitting their heads. This is the “flight” response at play.

However, fight or flight aren’t the only two ways that people react to fear. In 2 Chronicles 20:3, King Jehoshaphat was in a moment of fear that I have to imagine was terrifying, and for good reason. War was on the horizon. Two nations had gathered to wage war against the kingdom of Judah, and it appeared there was no stopping them. The gathered armies had already crossed the Dead Sea and advanced north to En Gedi. They were in the land and moving quickly to engage in battle.

In such an instance, kings are no different. They either fight or flee to save their own necks. But as I mentioned, these aren’t the only two responses, and Jehoshaphat chose another option—prayer. Verse 3 above shows us the moment when the king decided he wasn’t going to fight and he wasn’t going to run.

In his prayer, Jehoshaphat states several truths that are helpful for us to remember when we are stricken by those terrifying moments when we are tempted to either fight or flee. I’d like to point them out so we can keep them in mind for when that moment arrives:

  1. Remember the mighty power of God. The king prayed: “and he said, “O Yahweh, the God of our fathers, are You not God in the heavens? And are You not ruler over all the kingdoms of the nations? Power and might are in Your hand so that no one can take their stand against You” (2 Chronicles 20:6, LSB).  
  2. Remember God always keeps His covenant promises. ““Did You not, O our God, dispossess the inhabitants of this land before Your people Israel and give it to the seed of Abraham Your friend forever?” (2 Chronicles 20:7, LSB).  
  3. Remember God loves His people. Notice the possessive pronouns the king used: “and he said, “O Yahweh, the God of our fathers, are You not God in the heavens? And are You not ruler over all the kingdoms of the nations? Power and might are in Your hand so that no one can take their stand against You. Did You not, O our God, dispossess the inhabitants of this land before Your people Israel and give it to the seed of Abraham Your friend forever?” (2 Chronicles 20:6–7, LSB)
  4. Remember that God remembers! “Did You not, O our God, dispossess the inhabitants of this land before Your people Israel and give it to the seed of Abraham Your friend forever? And they have lived in it, and have built You a sanctuary there for Your name, saying,‘Should evil come upon us, the sword, or judgment, or pestilence, or famine, we will stand before this house and before You (for Your name is in this house) and cry to You in our distress, and You will hear and save us’” (2 Chronicles 20:7–9, LSB).
  5. Remember that God is just and will not allow the wicked to go unpunished: “So now, behold, the sons of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir, whom You did not let Israel invade when they came out of the land of Egypt (they turned aside from them and did not destroy them), and behold, they are rewarding us by coming to drive us out from Your possession which You have caused us to possess. “O our God, will You not judge them? For we are powerless before this great multitude who are coming against us; and we do not know what we should do, but our eyes are on You.”” (2 Chronicles 20:10–12, LSB)
  6. Remember that prayer is a family affair: “Now all Judah was standing before Yahweh, with their little ones, their wives, and their children.” (2 Chronicles 20:13, LSB)

In times of fear, it’s easy to be swept away by the instinct to fight or flee—but Jehoshaphat shows us a better way. He turned his fear into faith, and his panic into prayer. Rather than rely on his own strength, he gathered his people, remembered God’s character and promises, and sought divine help. When fear grips us, may we too fix our eyes not on the danger, but on the One who is sovereign over it. Like Jehoshaphat, let our first response be to seek the Lord.

Pride and Cowardice in God’s Messengers

/ Richard Bargas / Leave a comment

“For the eyes of Yahweh move to and fro throughout the earth that He may strongly support those whose heart is wholly devoted to Him. You have acted foolishly in this. Indeed, from now on you will surely have wars. Then Asa was vexed with the seer and put him in prison, for he was enraged at him for this. And Asa oppressed some of the people at the same time.”  (2 Chronicles 16:9–10, LSB)

Overall, King Asa wasn’t an evil king, at least not in the beginning. When he faced a million-man army from Ethiopia, he cried out to the Lord for help: “Yahweh, there is no one besides You to help in the battle between those of abundant power and those who have no power; so help us, O Yahweh our God, for we lean on You, and in Your name have come against this multitude. O Yahweh, You are our God; let not mortal man prevail against You” (2Chron 14:11, LSB). He grasped how powerless he was without God.

Asa removed idolatry from the land during his reign and experienced success and peace in his time. However, another threat soon arose that would test his faith in God. Baasha, the king of Israel, brought war once again to Asa’s doorstep. When Asa faced the larger Ethiopian army, he cried out to the Lord, and the Lord defeated that massive army for him. But something had changed in Asa.

Perhaps he had become overly confident. Maybe he had learned the politics of ruling by watching other kings. Whatever the reason, Asa didn’t go to God with his problem. Instead, he gathered up all the wealth he could and struck a deal with the King of Aram. Asa would give this wealth to entice the Aramean king to break his covenant with Baasha and go to war. It all seemed to work as he planned. And although Asa didn’t say it, his whole plan acted as if Yahweh didn’t even exist.

Asa didn’t consult a prophet. He didn’t pray as he did when facing the Ethiopian army. He didn’t offer up sacrifices to the Lord. Because King Asa had failed to entrust himself to the Lord, the Lord sent his prophet to speak to him words of condemnation and judgment.

We get a glimpse into Asa’s heart. Once the prophet is finished speaking the word of the Lord to the king, he responds with wrath and puts the prophet into prison. This is a classic case of striking out against the messenger because you don’t like the message. King Asa could have put the prophet to death, but the act wasn’t merciful; it was cowardly. Asa had grown so prideful that he not only didn’t need God to fight his battles for him, he also didn’t need any of his advice or counsel. And since Asa didn’t dare strike out against God (and how could he?), he struck out against God’s man.

My thoughts for this morning could be about Asa’s pride and how he responded, but I’d like to turn my final thoughts to the unnamed man of God who brought the unwanted message. As a preacher, I am often allowed to stand before people and proclaim to them God’s message. Sometimes, especially in mixed groups of believers and unbelievers, it is unwelcome.

How should we, as God’s messengers, behave when we sense people might not like our message? Should we be cowardly and soften the message? Should we add some sugar to the medicine to help it go down, like Mary Poppins would prescribe? Or perhaps, we should avoid giving the message altogether, like Joel Osteen? “Nuance” is another method that many use. Apologizing for the message is yet another method. All of these are ways of soft-selling the biblical message.

It’s easy to identify pride, cowardice, anger, and selfish motives in others, like Asa. But God’s messengers need to be wary of these sins in their own lives as well, because they will impact the way they deliver the message God has given to them.

Am I independent of God’s strength, or at least act like I am? Then my messages will be prayerless. I can study, write a sermon, and preach, all without God’s help. And I will be without God’s power and blessing as well.

Am I prideful, thinking that I’m the next superstar messenger? Have I forgotten that all I have has come from God? Who made your mouth and lips? Who makes your vocal cords work, and gives your eyes sight? Who causes your heart to beat? Who called you, and saved you? Who gave you His Spirit and His Word?

And like Moses, we can become angry when the people will not listen. We can strike the rock instead of speaking as a messenger. They aren’t your sheep, and they’re not mine. Those sheep are Jesus’ and we shouldn’t beat the Lord’s sheep—either figuratively or literally. Anger is often a manifestation of pride.

And cowardice can come, just like it did with Asa. Not like Asa, as the one receiving God’s message, but as a messenger who is afraid of how people will react to what we say. We skip topics or issues because they are “controversial” or people will take offense. We soften words to be more palatable to the “sensitive.” There’s a difference between being intentionally harsh and offensive and letting the message speak for itself, including those things that strike at the heart. If God’s Word offends, so be it. What right do I have to refashion God’s message to my liking?

Second Chronicles 16:9 says, “For the eyes of Yahweh move to and fro throughout the earth that He may strongly support those whose heart is wholly devoted to Him.” May this not just be the desire of those who hear the Word of God, but also of those who deliver the message of God as well.

Human Heart and Unbelief: A Biblical Perspective

/ Richard Bargas / Leave a comment

“Therefore many of the Jews who came to Mary, and saw what He had done, believed in Him. But some of them went to the Pharisees and told them the things which Jesus had done. Therefore the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered the Sanhedrin together, and were saying, ‘What are we doing? For this man is doing many signs. If we let Him go on like this, all will believe in Him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation.’”  (John 11:45–48, LSB)

It is amazing how deep the human capacity is for unbelief and skepticism. In Luke 16:19-31, Jesus tells the parable of the rich man who is cast into hell. The man begs for permission to allow Lazarus to rise from the dead to go and warn his brothers that hell is not only real but that they are heading toward joining him. The rich man believes that if only a dead man will warn them, then their hard hearts will melt and they will believe. In Jesus’ parable, Abraham tells the rich man that these five brothers have the Scriptures and that this testimony from God should be enough. The rich man disagrees. After all, he too had the Scriptures, and he ended up in hell! No, a man raised from the dead was needed. Something so miraculous, so irrefutable that they had to believe and repent. He had one shot at getting through to his brothers, and he knew he needed a BIG sign to get their attention.

After Jesus raised his friend Lazarus from the dead (not the fictional man by the same name), we read in John 11:45-48 the response of those that were eyewitnesses. Many believed in Him, Jesus (v. 45). But notice where the emphasis moves after the mention of those who believed; some went to the unbelieving religious leaders and told them what Jesus had done. Since this group is set apart from those who believed, we shouldn’t be confused about what they were doing. They weren’t reporting the miracle as a good thing, but as a concern.

And the Pharisees, how did they take it? They didn’t deny that Jesus was doing sings that pointed people to God, and that they were irrefutable. They were past the phase where they considered Jesus a huckster and fraud. No, Jesus was demonstrating unmistakable power, most likely from God Himself. His power not only confirmed that He had been sent by God, but it further undergirded His own claim to be God.

This led them to a greater fear than the fear of God. They feared losing their positions of power and prominence. They feared that if word spread, the believers would grow to the point that everyone would believe that Jesus was the promised Messiah. But their fears were unfounded. Everyone wouldn’t believe, and their own resistance in the face of proof was evidence of the stubborn hearts of men. A man had been raised from the dead and it was very clear that Jesus did this by His own power. Yet, those who reported didn’t believe in Him, and neither did the majority of the religious leaders.

There are some people who say they are agnostic in their beliefs, denying God because they think evidence is lacking. But will there ever be enough evidence for these doubters? The proof of God is all around them and even beats within their chests. God sent His Son, and His Son died on the cross as the Savior of the world. “But…I need more proof.” The problem isn’t that proof doesn’t exist. The problem is the human heart, laden with sin, doesn’t want to believe. There is no neutral ground. God has shown Himself in so many ways, but still the human heart wants to suppress that knowledge:

“For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, both His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse. For even though they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish heart was darkened.  (Romans 1:18–21, LSB)

The people that watched Lazarus come out of that tomb believed in God, but they couldn’t believe in Jesus. The Pharisees believed in God, but they rejected Jesus. The agnostic doesn’t deny God exists, he just doesn’t have enough proof to believe. But that’s not an honest assessment, as much as the agnostic wants it to sound humble and honest. The evidence is “clearly seen” and so all people, are without excuse.

What’s the solution? Seek God. Go to Him in humble prayer and ask Him to reveal Himself to you. Pick up a Bible and read it. It is God’s Word to you. Begin in the New Testament, maybe in John, the Gospel I am writing from this morning. Then as you read, let the God who came to save the world speak to you through His Word.  

Yesterday was Sunday. Now What?

/ Richard Bargas / Leave a comment

“But to the king of Judah who sent you to inquire of Yahweh thus you shall say to him, ‘Thus says Yahweh, the God of Israel, ‘Regarding the words which you have heard, because your heart was soft and you humbled yourself before Yahweh when you heard what I spoke against this place and against its inhabitants that they should become an object of horror, and a curse, and you have torn your clothes and wept before Me, I truly have heard you,’ declares Yahweh. ‘Therefore, behold, I will gather you to your fathers, and you will be gathered to your grave in peace, so your eyes will not see all the evil which I will bring on this place.’ So they brought back word to the king.”  (2 Kings 22:18–20, LSB)

How will we respond to the Word of God once we know what He has said? Many of us spent a good portion of our Sunday in our local church and we heard the Bible taught to us—possibly multiple times in different ways. In addition we sang biblical words, and prayed Scriptural truths. But, what happens to that truth we heard now that it’s Monday?

Josiah was a king who began his reign at the tender age of 8. His prospects for a long and godly reign didn’t look good. Many kings before him had been assassinated, and most of the kings who ruled David’s former kingdom (now divided in two) ruled in evil ways that looked more like the pagan nations around them. But King Josiah was different. His heart was set to obey the Lord, and the influence of godly priests around him hardened his resolve to follow God and lead his nation with wisdom and godliness.

At 18, Josiah began making some long-overdue changes. The temple had been neglected and he made arrangements for this to be corrected. In the process a copy of the Word of God was discovered and brought to the kings attention. As this mysterious book was read to the young king, he reacted with great emotion. He tore his robe in grief and anguish, and called the priest and his scribe to go and seek the Lord on his behalf.

What had disturbed this young king? The words of the Law of God spoke clearly about how God’s people—Josiah’s people—were to behave. They were to be a holy people, a godly people. They were never to worship any other gods, and they were to follow the Lord’s directions for life. But Josiah knew that it had been a long time since they had done that, and that the nation was guilty of great sin against the Lord God.

Imagine taking on a new job, and you start with anticipation of how well you will perform your duties. You work there for a few years, and you begin to learn that you are in a long line of serious slackers. Not only did they fail to do their jobs, but they stole from the company, sold secrets to the competition, and talked bad about the company owner. Some even called the company by the rival company’s name! Now you have the job, and you are a company man, and you hope to change things, and straighten up things. Then one day you find a book that not only has the company history, showing you the glorious past of your firm, but it also has all of the expectations that you should be meeting. As you read it, you become terrified! “We’re failing every metric in this book! Every worker in this company should be fired, and even sued for the damage they have caused to the owner. His losses are immense!”

This was Josiah’s dawning reality. He sent the priest and scribe to the Owner, the real King of his kingdom, to find out what He really thought about their situation. The word that came back was what Josiah feared—God was furious. Payback was coming, and it would cause the ears of those who heard about it to buzz.

Josiah, this righteous king, was overcome by grief. Yes, he was filled with sorrow for the coming judgment. But even more so, he was crushed by how his people had been toward their God. Josiah wanted to be a good king, obedient to all that the Lord had spoken—but he was in a long line of losers. It was almost payday, and not the good kind.

But God saw Josiah’s heart, and he saw his grief over the situation. The Lord told his ministers to tell the king that the judgment was so great that there was no avoiding it, but that it would be delayed. Josiah would reign, and he would be recorded as a good king. God would wait until after he was gone to bring the promised judgment.

How would you respond? Josiah was surely relieved. But even more, he was determined. He knew the judgment would miss him, but instead of sitting back and enjoying his royal life, he leaped into action. He leaned into the reforms he knew were needed. He tore down the centers for idol worship and reinstated God’s holy standard. He made godliness great again.

Let’s go back to Sunday—yesterday. What did God say to you through His servants? Do you have the zeal of Josiah? Are you looking at this week with anticipation for how you will carry out what God shared with you through His Word yesterday, or are you comfortable sliding back into your life, like the kings that came before Josiah?

Josiah is known to this day as one of the godliest kings of Judah. His reforms didn’t last long because the people quickly slid back into their wretchedness when the kings after him continued the long path toward paganism. But that doesn’t matter. Right is right, and God calls us to obey. What happens after we are gone isn’t our problem. He calls His people to walk with Him, and we need to strive to do so every day of our lives. We can prepare the next generation as best we can, but ultimately, they will need to do it themselves, and will give an account before God, just like we will.

Yesterday was Sunday. Now what?

Sleeping Under the Threat of a Tornado

/ Richard Bargas / Leave a comment

“So Jesus, knowing that they were going to come and take Him by force to make Him king, withdrew again to the mountain by Himself alone. Now when evening came, His disciples went down to the sea, and after getting into a boat, they began to cross the sea to Capernaum. It had already become dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them. And the sea was stirred up because a strong wind was blowing. Then, when they had rowed about twenty-five or thirty stadia, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and drawing near to the boat; and they were frightened. But He said to them, “It is I; do not be afraid.”  (John 6:15–20, LSB)

Last night, while half way across the country, I received weather alerts telling me that there was a growing threat that tornadoes were possible back home. I saw the weather map in the morning when I passed by the TV screen in the hotel lobby and the dark red spots over home made me a little concerned—but these things always seem to pass by, right?

Last night the text appeared on my phone: “We are going down [into the basement]. Please pray.” The accompanying photo of an emergency weather alert didn’t settle my heart: “National Weather Service: TORNADO WARNING in this area until 10:45 PM EDT. Take shelter now in a basement of an interior room on the lowest floor of a sturdy building…”

After feeding 5,000 men, not counting women and children, Jesus knew that the people wanted to make him their king. I wondered, what kind of king could they have wanted? Israel was under Roman occupation and a part of the Empire, though they wouldn’t have accepted that truth. Surely they didn’t think Jesus would become the new Emperor of Rome. The Herodian Dynasty was still active, and Herod was called a “king” even though he ruled locally at the pleasure of Rome. Would Jesus simply take Herod’s place as the “king of the Jews” in Palestine? The more I think about it, not only did Jesus refuse to allow them to make him their king because he needed to be crucified for the sins of men, but add to that the fact that the type of king the people wanted was far too small of an office for Jesus. He wasn’t satisfied to simply be a king, or the king of the Jews, or even the Emperor of Rome. No, Jesus is the King of kings and Lord of lords. The people weren’t thinking big enough.

That may have been why John shows his readers that Jesus crossed the sea in a storm by walking upon the water. Jesus was overqualified to be a simple client-king. He was too powerful to fit into the hierarchy of rulers and petty lords that dotted the earth in those days. The God-Man who can feed his people, had complete power over nature. He was not scared of the storm as the disciples in their little fishing boat were. Of course not. He made that body of water, and he commanded the wind and the waves. He wasn’t a victim of gravity and didn’t need to obey the laws of nature that say a man’s mass is heavier than water. Just like he was Lord of the Sabbath, Jesus is Lord over all, so that even the wind and the seas obey him.

After I prayed for my family—and pray I did!—I was able to rest. I didn’t have the best night of sleep, but I slept. Being half-way across the country reminds a person that they are helpless to do anything to help. But had I been huddled in the basement with my wife and daughters, what would I have done if a tornado had touched down in our neighborhood? I was powerless to help them—either away or at home.

But as I called out to the One who has all power, who is greater than any earthly king or president or prime minister, I was reminded of the final words of Jesus above as I prayed, “It is I; do not be afraid.”