Christ Church Sermon, Unsung: Guidance, September 6th, 2026

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of building inclusive community, sharing

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Thank you for listening.

Today's scripture reading comes from the

New Testament. Paul's letter to the

Ephesians chapter 3 20 and 21.

Ephesians 3 · chapter mention

Hear now this reading from the New

Testament.

Now to him who is able to do

immeasurably more than we all ask or

imagine according to his power that is

at work within us. To him be glory in

the church and in Christ Jesus

throughout all generations forever and

ever.

Amen. Hear what the spirit is saying to

the church.

>> Thanks be to God.

>> Thank you, Mark.

It's a new month. It's a new season. And

it is a new sermon series. We are

excited about this series because

throughout these next few weeks, we have

the chance to bring to light the

hallmarks of being a disciple of Jesus.

And we've called this series Unsung

because there are parts of being a

disciple that we don't talk about quite

as much as others that maybe don't get

as much attention as others do. But for

people who want to follow Jesus with

their whole hearts and with their whole

lives, these are the things that we must

possess or that we must do even if they

happen to fly a little bit under the

radar. And we start this series with

guidance. The act of turning to God for

wisdom and direction as we work to walk

a life of faith. If we want to live as

devoted followers, we need to be in the

habit of seeking guidance from God.

If we don't begin by seeking God's

guidance first and foremost, then

nothing else we do will ever be right.

The hard thing about seeking and

accepting God's guidance, and we've

acknowledged this in recent sermons, is

that it in doing it takes the control

out of our hands and gives it entirely

to God. And that feels almost impossible

for a lot of us to do. I think the key

to being able to trust God's guidance is

found in today's scripture. It's a

favorite of mine. I know it's a favorite

of many of yours. And the interesting

thing about this passage is that uh we

love it even though it is all about

giving up control and completely

trusting God to guide our way.

In order to trust God to guide us, we

have to know who God is. We have to

trust that God is who he says he is. So

who is God and what can God do? That's

what the verses from today talk about.

So listen again to the words of verse 20

which is the first verse that Mark just

read for you now to God who is able to

do immeasurably more than all we ask or

imagine according to his power that is

at work within us. So what do we learn

about God in this verse? First we learn

that God is able.

Our God is able to do big incredible

things. Stories of these miracles are

scattered all throughout scripture

scripture. God created the heavens and

earth. God parted the Red Sea. God

stopped the sun from moving for a little

bit. And God provided mana falling from

heaven.

But what we can't lose sight of is the

fact that the same God who orchestrated

those miracles in nature also cares for

us as people, as individuals.

God heard and answered Hannah's cry for

a child. Hagar's please in the desert

and Jabz's prayer for healing.

God is able to do big things and small

things including placing each star in

the sky and knowing the hearts of each

one of us.

2 Chronicles chapter 20 tells the story

2 Chronicles 20 · chapter mention

of Jehoshaphat who was the king of Judah

for about 25 years in the mid 800s BC.

At one point during the course of his

reign, Jehoshaphat got the very

frightening news that a massive army

comprised of three neighboring lands was

on its way to fight the citizens of

Judah. And the Bible tells us that upon

hearing this, Jehoshaphat was terrified.

He was the king and the people trusted

him to help them survive the onslaught

that was coming.

The people turned to Jehoshaphat for

guidance and then Jehoshaphat turned to

God. He realized that this situation was

more than he could handle on his own.

And the New Living Translation passage

of scripture says that Jehoshaphat

begged the Lord for guidance.

Jehoshaphat believed fundamentally that

God was able,

that God was able to do more than he

could do by himself.

Back to our verse from today. Now to God

who is able to do immeasurably more.

The second thing we learn about God from

this verse is that God is doing far more

than what we can see. We already said

that God created the heavens and the

earth. But did you know that even with

all of the scientific tools that we have

at our disposal, scientists believe that

we can only see about 5% of the totality

of the universe. We can only see a tiny

fraction of what God has created.

And the same is true for our own lives.

If you think about it, we don't know

everything. We know the date we're born.

We don't know the date we're going to

die. And we don't know everything that's

going to happen in between those dates.

We cannot see the bigger picture. We

can't see what God has in store for us

because we can only see the small part

that is right in front of us. But God

can see it all.

If we believe that God is able to do big

things and small things, then the next

step is believing that God is able to

see a bigger picture to know how those

big things and small things fit together

to form God's plan.

After King Jehoshaphat sought the

guidance of God, he gathered the people

of his kingdom together so that they

could fast and pray and seek guidance

together.

Then Jehoshaphat prayed out loud to God.

And this is part of what he said in that

prayer.

Oh Lord, God of our ancestors, you alone

are the God who is in heaven. You are

the ruler of all the kingdoms of earth.

You are powerful and mighty. No one can

stand against you. And now see what the

armies of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir

are doing. Oh our God, won't you stop

them? We are powerless against this

mighty army that is about to attack us.

Don't miss the significance of the very

honest words that Jehoshaphat prayed.

Kings are supposed to be all powerful.

They are supposed to be able to deal

with all situations and protect their

people at all times. That's the job

description, right?

Jehoshaphat gathered his people together

and instead of being prideful and

egotistical and refusing to ask for

help, he prayed. He prayed to the God of

their ancestors, which means that he

believed that God transcended time. He

acknowledged both God's power that was

mightier than his and that God could see

what was happening when Jehoshaphat

could not. And then he said three words

that you will likely never hear another

king admit.

We are powerless.

What Jehoshaphat knew and what he was a

good enough leader to admit to publicly

was that he could not stop the evil from

coming. His army could not stop it. But

he knew that God was able to do

immeasurably more than he could.

Back to today's scripture.

Now to God who is able to do

immeasurably more than all we ask or

imagine.

The third thing we learn about God in

this verse is that God's abilities to

guide us go far beyond what our human

brains can even comprehend. Not just

that we can see but that we can

comprehend. As humans we have not only

have limitations to what we can do

physically but we have limitations on

what we can even dream up.

So let me ask you a question.

How do you talk to God?

Do you approach God with a list of

requests? Do you tell God exactly what

you want to happen, how to fulfill those

requests?

Or do you approach God and ask for

guidance and then ask for the courage to

follow that guidance wherever it takes

you?

When we tell God what should happen,

instead of placing our lives and placing

our prayers in God's hand and seeking

God's guidance,

we are putting human constraints on a

God who has none.

Our prayers and our plans have limits.

Our God is limitless.

I just told you that Jehoshaphat prayed

with his people. Now, let me share the

last line of that prayer with you. Right

after Jehoshaphat admitted that he was

powerless, this is what he said to God.

We do not know what to do, but we are

looking to you for help.

Jehoshaphat didn't come to God with a

prepackaged solution for which he wanted

a stamp of approval. He didn't come with

any ideas at all. Instead, he approached

the throne of God with nothing but faith

and trust.

He admitted that he did not know what to

do and he turned everything over to God.

He trusted the guidance of a God who

could see and do things that Jehoshaphat

in his army could not and who was

capable of more than Jehoshaphat could

even think to ask or imagine.

God answered Jehoshaphat's prayer and

said to the people of Judah, "Do not be

afraid. Don't be discouraged by this

mighty army for the battle is not yours,

it is mine.

Then God told them that that while they

still needed to go and face the army,

that part had not changed. They would

not have to fight the battle. God would

do it physically for them.

And Jehoshaphat's response to all of

that, he bowed down and worshiped God.

And when the people of Judah saw him

doing that, saw their king bowing down,

they also bowed down and worshiped God.

Here, verse 20 from today's scripture

one more time.

Now to God who is able to do

immeasurably more than all we ask or

imagine according to his power that is

at work within us.

The final thing we learn about God in

this verse is that God is not just

watching us from a distance. God has put

his power to work within us to take us

wherever it is that God wants us to go.

We can't get to where God wants us to go

on our own. We can only do things God is

guiding us to do if we trust that we

have God's power working inside of us

that will make that happen.

After the people of Judah worshiped God,

they went out to face the army.

And the ones that they chose to stand in

front of the group, the first line of

defense against this in massive army

that was coming their way was not the

strongest soldiers, but the strongest

singers.

They were appointed by Jehoshaphat to

lead the way and to sing repeatedly.

Give thanks to the Lord for his faithful

love endures forever. So, I would like

to posit that the four of you are now in

charge and that whenever we go to

battle, you're up first.

So, let's just stop for a second because

all all faith in your abilities to to

fight an army aside, that's a crazy

thing to say. That's crazy. If a

commanding officer of any of our armed

forces today announced that the plan for

going into battle against any of our

enemies was not to take up our arms, but

to warm up our voices, I can guarantee

that person wouldn't have a job anymore.

And I can 99% guarantee that they would

be undergoing some serious psychological

testing.

And then think about how those singers

felt.

No weapon but their voice against an

army that was three times as big as what

they had. I think it's pretty safe to

say that they were afraid. And while

they may not have had anything to

physically fight with, what they did

know that they had was the power of God

fighting for them.

Being faithful to God and to following

God's guidance does not mean you are not

afraid. It means that your trust is

greater than your fear.

And so they marched and the plan worked.

Remember that massive army was formed by

three separate armies. And while the

singers were singing their thanks to and

their love for God, God turned those

three armies against each other. And

they destroyed each other without the

people of Judah ever having to lift a

weapon. The Bible says not one person in

that large army survived and not one

person from Judah died.

They could not do that on their own. But

God's power working through them gave

them the strength to follow his guidance

and stand faithfully singing as God

neutralized the threat against them.

Verse 20 shows us who God is. So we know

that we can trust God.

And then verse 21 tells us our response

to knowing who God is. It says this, "To

God be the glory in the church and in

Christ Jesus throughout all generations

forever and ever."

It is critical that we give God the

glory for all that God does, that we do

not take credit for it ourselves. It's

vital that we point to God and give him

all the praise so that generations after

us will know how we accomplish things

that we would not otherwise have been

able to accomplish without the power of

God working in us.

Scripture says that when that battle

such that it was was over,

all the men of Judah returned home

joyfully led by Jehoshaphat. For the

Lord had given them cause to rejoice

over their enemies. They entered the

city. They went to the temple of the

Lord. They took their harps and their

liars and their trumpets to worship and

praise the God who was able and who had

done immeasurably more than they could

have asked or imagined according to the

power that God gave them.

The story of Jehoshaphat is not about a

king who knew what to do.

It's about a king who knew where to turn

when he did not know what to do.

25 years ago this Friday, 40 strangers

got on a plane in Newark, New Jersey.

Flight 93 was supposed to land in San

Francisco hours later.

I'm sure you remember the story of what

happened on the plane before it

ultimately crashed in Shanksville. And

I'm sure you remember many of the

passenger stories, including that of

Todd Beamers. But I want to share with

you just one thing about what happened

with Todd Beamer that I think highlights

exactly what we are talking about today.

From inside that plane after the

hijackers had taken over the cockpit,

Todd Beamer made a phone call from that

phone that was in the back of the seat

and he was able to connect with an

airphone operator. He talked to her for

13 minutes.

At the end of that call, before he and

his fellow passengers took any action,

Todd asked the operator if she would

pray the Lord's Prayer with him.

Now, I want you to think about the

Lord's Prayer for a second. That is

fundamentally a prayer for guidance.

When we say it in just a few minutes, I

want you to listen to it with fresh

ears. I think sometimes because we say

it week after week, we kind of just say

it out of memory and we don't really

hear the words that we're saying. Listen

to it. Listen to it as if for the first

time when we say it later. Because when

we pray the Lord's Prayer, we ask God

for things like our daily bread and for

God's will to be done. What we do not do

as part of praying that prayer is tell

God how to do those things.

In the final moments of his life,

Todd Beamer asked God to do what?

to deliver us from evil.

Did God answer that prayer that day the

way that Todd and his fellow passengers

and their families would have wanted?

Absolutely not. No way.

But was God guiding the passengers that

day as that prayer was answered in in a

different way? Absolutely yes.

Lisa Beamer was Todd Beamer's wife. And

I've shared part of her story before,

but I think it bears repeating,

especially today, and again, especially

in light of what we're talking about.

Lisa's father passed away when she was

15 years old. And she wrote in her

autobiography that she authored after

Todd had passed away that she spent

years being angry with God because she

couldn't figure out why God took her

husband, I'm sorry, took her father away

from her at a time when she needed him

the most.

When Todd died, Lisa was left to raise

her two sons and her unborn daughter on

her own.

And Lisa wrote in her book that it was

then after he passed away that she

finally understood, that she finally saw

part of God's plan. She said she

realized that walking through the death

of her father had uniquely equipped her

to help her own children through that

very same loss in a way that she could

not have done if that had not happened

to her.

We can't see the bigger plan,

but God can.

Asking for God's guidance means trusting

that God is working all things, even

awful things,

to bring that plan to fruition.

It means trusting God to guide us no

matter where God takes us or what God

asks us to do.

Jehoshaphat did not know what to do, but

Jehoshaphat knew who to turn to for

guidance.

Todd Beamer did not know what to do, but

Todd Beamer knew who to turn to for

guidance.

Because they knew who God was when it

came to these turning points in these

men's lives, they did not hesitate to

give their circumstances fully to God

and let God guide them wherever God

wanted them to be, no matter the

outcome.

There are going to be times when we

won't know what to do.

But do we know who to turn to for

guidance?

Most of us, I think, pray a version of

this prayer. God, guide me to the life I

want.

But when we have our full trust in God,

when we are seeking God's guidance at

all times and we are willing to follow,

our prayer becomes this.

God, guide me into what you want to

accomplish. even if it is bigger,

different or harder than I imagined

so that you receive all the glory.

Seek God's guidance,

trust God, and do not limit God.

And above all, know that the God who is

able to do immeasurably more than we ask

or imagine will never guide you astray.

Let us pray.

God, we are people who are seeking to

hear your voice.

We are seeking to follow you. And so we

pray today that you would guide us, that

you would guide us wherever it is you

want us to go for the fulfillment of

your plan. We trust you because we know

that you are able. We know that you are

good. And so we pray today not only for

ears to hear that guidance, but for

courage to take the steps to follow it.

Help us to remember that you are with us

every step of the way and that you will

never take us off course, take us away

from your plan, but that you have good

things in store for us. In Jesus name we

pray. Amen.

>> Amen.