My Eyes Are on Thee

If you don't have your Bible with you, grab a pew Bible here, page 358 on your pew Bible, the black pew Bible, 358, 2 Chronicles.

Let me just set my timer up.

Anybody who knows me knows I will talk until I'm stopped, so I'm going to try and stop myself here.

An hour and a half sound good?

All right.

All right.

Second Chronicles, chapter 20.

2 Chronicles 20 · chapter mention

Before we read, let's just pray.

Heavenly Father, just thank you for your goodness to us and your watch care over us.

Thank you most of all for the love, Lord, that you had for us.

Love that caused you to create this world and create us.

A love that caused you to send your son to die on the cross for us.

Lord, if nothing else is heard today, Lord, let us hear Christ and the precious sacrifice of him on the cross to pay the penalty for our sins.

In Jesus' name, amen.

Amen.

If any of you have ever had the privilege to try and say anything from the Bible, I will tell you there is a constant challenge to...

You're constantly fighting yourself to say what you want to say and what you think people need to hear.

Especially when you know your audience a little bit.

You start to have things in your mind.

Oh, so-and-so would love to hear this and so-and-so needs to hear that.

And I've been wanting to tell so-and-so this for a long time, so this is my opportunity.

And so there is a constant battle with the flesh, as it were, with yourself, as it were, to try and allow God to use you simply as a vessel.

And so one of the advantages that I've found in the reading plans, and if you don't have a Bible reading plan, grab them.

They're still at the back on top of the sort of mailboxes there.

The great thing about that is you don't choose what you read.

You just read through the scripture.

And so the Lord, as I was reading through the scripture, really made this stick out to me.

And it was kind of funny because my wife says, oh, you're probably going to preach on the New Testament because you never preach on the Old Testament.

And I said, well, just wait and see.

So here we are in 2 Chronicles, and I'm going to read through 2 Chronicles.

Most of you, I'm not sure what you're all reading.

I'm reading out of the King James.

Don't hold it against me because my Bible is heavier than yours.

And we've got more words in here.

So I'm going to read out of the King James, and it should be easy enough to follow through here.

But whatever you have, just read out of it.

And the Bible says that God's word will never return to him void.

So starting verse 1, 2 Chronicles chapter 20.

2 Chronicles 20 · chapter mention

And it came to pass after this also that the children of Moab and the children of Ammon and other beside the Ammonites came against Jehoshaphat to battle.

And there came some that told Jehoshaphat, saying,

There cometh a great multitude against thee from beyond the sea on this side Syria.

And behold, they be in Hazon Tamar, which is En Gedi.

And Jehoshaphat feared and set himself to seek the Lord and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah.

And Judah gathered themselves together to ask help of the Lord.

Even out of all the cities of Judah they came to seek the Lord.

And Jehoshaphat stood in the congregation of Judah in Jerusalem in the house of the Lord before the new court.

And said, O Lord God of our fathers, art not thou God in heaven that rulest over all the kingdoms of the heathen?

And in thy hand is there not power and might so that none are able to withstand thee?

Art not thou our God who did strive the inhabitants of this land before thy people Israel and gave it to the seed of Abraham thy friend forever?

And they dwelt therein and they built thee a sanctuary therein for thy name, saying,

If when evil come upon us as the sword and judgment and pestilence or famine,

we stand before this house and in thy presence, for thy name is in this house,

and cry unto thee in our affliction, then wilt thou hear and help.

And now behold the children of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir,

whom thou wouldst not let Israel invade when thou camest out of the land of Egypt,

but they turned from them and destroyed them not.

Behold, I say, how they reward us to come and cast us out of thy possession,

which thou hast given us to inherit.

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.

And Judah stood before the Lord and all their little ones, their wives and their children.

Then upon Jehazel, the son of Zechariah, the son of Benaiah, the son of July,

the son of Mataniah, a Levite of the sons of Asaph,

came the spirit of the Lord in the midst of the congregation.

And he said, Hearken all Judah, hearken ye inhabitants of Jerusalem,

and thou King Jehoshaphat.

Thus saith the Lord unto you,

Be not afraid, nor be dismayed,

by reason of this great multitude.

For the battle is not yours, but God's.

Tomorrow go ye down against them.

Behold, they will come up to the cliff of Ziz,

and ye shall find them at the end of the brook,

before the wilderness of Jeru.

You shall not need to fight in this battle.

Set yourselves, stand still,

and see the salvation of the Lord with you.

Judah and Jerusalem, fear not, nor be dismayed.

Tomorrow go out against them,

for the Lord will be with you.

And Jehoshaphat bowed his head and his face to the ground.

And all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem

fell before the Lord, worshipping the Lord.

And the Levites, the children of the Kohathites,

and the children of the Korahites,

stood up to praise the Lord God of Israel

with a loud voice on high.

And they rose early in the morning

and went forth to the wilderness of Tekoa.

And as they went forth,

Jehoshaphat stood and said,

Hear me, O Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem.

Believe in the Lord your God,

so shall ye be established.

Believe his prophets, so shall ye prosper.

And when he had consulted with the people,

he appointed singers unto the Lord

that should praise the beauty of holiness

as they went out before the army

and to say, Praise the Lord,

for his mercy endureth forever.

And when they began to sing and to praise,

the Lord sent ambushments

against the children of Ammon and Moab

and Mount Seir,

which were become against Judah.

And they were smitten,

for the children of Ammon and Moab

stood up against the inhabitants of Mount Seir

utterly to slay and destroy them.

And when they had made an end

of the inhabitants of Mount Seir,

everyone helped to destroy another.

And when Judah came toward

the watchtower in the wilderness,

they looked unto the multitude,

and behold, there were dead bodies

fallen on the earth,

and none escaped.

And when Jehoshaphat and his people

came to take away the spoil of them,

they found among them

in abundance both riches

and with the dead bodies

precious jewels,

which they stripped off them

for themselves,

more than they could carry away.

And they were three days

in carrying away the spoil.

It was so much.

And on the fourth day,

they assembled themselves

in the valley of Baracha,

and they blessed the Lord.

Therefore, the name of the place

was called the valley of Baracha

unto this day.

Then they returned every man

of Judah and Jerusalem

and Jehoshaphat

in the forefront of them

to go again to Jerusalem with joy,

for the Lord had made them

to rejoice over their enemies.

And they came again to Jerusalem

with psalteries and harps

and trumpets into the house

of the Lord.

And the fear of God

was on all the kingdoms

of those countries

when they had heard

that the Lord fought

against the enemies of Israel.

So the realm of Jehoshaphat

was quiet,

for God had given him

rest round about.

A couple of chapters back

in chapter 17,

just a quick,

you don't have to turn there.

There's an introduction

to Jehoshaphat.

Jehoshaphat becomes king of Judah.

And there's a time here

in the history

of the nation of Israel

where the nation of Israel

is divided into Judah

and Israel.

And it says that Jehoshaphat,

his sons,

we're talking about

the previous king,

reigned in his stead

and strengthened himself

against Israel.

And he placed forces

in all the fenced cities

of Judah

and set garrisons

in the land of Judah

in the cities of Ephraim.

So even the nation of Israel

was fighting against themselves.

But this is the important part

of the takeaway part

I want you to understand here.

And the Lord was with Jehoshaphat

because he walked

in the first ways

of his father David

and sought not

unto Balaam,

which is false gods here.

That's a little bit of context

into who Jehoshaphat is here.

And as I read this passage here,

I thought to myself,

there is so much in here

in regards to application

to us for the believers.

And I want to focus

for us here today

the bottom part of verse 12

where it says,

but our eyes are upon thee.

And I thought to myself,

there is so much for us

to look at in this world.

So much for us to

turn to and look to

for advice and for guidance

and for comfort.

But the reality is

none of that really works that well.

In fact, a lot of it

is distraction

and causes us to

not look upon God.

So there's some things

that I wanted to point out today.

In verse 9,

there's a very interesting phrase.

Beginning of verse 9,

it says,

if when,

if when,

if when,

if when evil come upon us

as the sword

and judgment

or pestilence

or famine,

we stand before this house

in thy presence

for thy name

for thy name is in thy house

and cry unto thee

in our affliction.

First thing I want you

to understand

is that

when you become

a Christian

you are not immune

to the troubles

of this sinful world.

In fact,

I would almost

wager to say

if I was,

wager is probably

not the best word,

but if I was

to say

when you become

a Christian

you are probably

more prone

to dealing

with struggles

in this world.

And so it says,

if when these things happen,

so that means

when these things happen,

if we do this thing,

so when evil

comes upon us

as the sword

and judgment

and pestilence

and famine,

if we stand

before this house,

if we cry unto thee

in our affliction,

then thou wilt hear us.

And I wonder,

are you dealing with

some things today?

Are you?

Are you having problems

with your kids

that aren't turning out?

But our eyes

will be on thee.

What about

if the bank account

isn't quite balancing out?

Are you saying

your eyes

will be on him?

If your relationships

aren't going well,

but our eyes

will be on thee.

My body's

falling apart,

but my eyes

will be on thee.

The things

of this world

are starting

to weigh down

on me.

I find it

very interesting.

In verse 6

it talks about

the fact that

God

is over all

the kingdoms

of the heathen.

Maybe you're

scared today

about the

enemies out there.

China

and Russia.

Maybe you're

scared about

nuclear war.

You're worried

about that.

But my eyes

will be upon thee

because I know

that God

is over all

the kingdoms

of the heathen.

I know

that all

things that

happen in

this world,

my eyes

can be upon

thee,

upon God,

because he

is God

in heaven.

I know

that all

things that

happen in

this world,

my eyes

can be upon

thee,

upon God,

I'm having

problems with

people at

work,

but my eyes

will be upon

thee.

My life

is not

turning out

the way

I wanted

it to,

but my eyes

will be upon

thee.

my eyes

will be upon

thee,

because in

thine hand,

verse 6 says,

there is

power,

and there

is might,

so much

that none

is able

to withstand

thee.

and so

my eyes

will be

upon

thee.

Verse 12,

you see

Jehoshaphat

crying out

to the

Lord,

and he

says,

we have

no might

against this

great company

that comes

against us.

I wonder,

do you feel

like you

don't have

strength

today

to deal

with the

great problem

that faces

you,

the great

struggle in

your life?

Are you

crying out

like the

nation of

Judah here

that we

have no

might against

this great

company?

I don't

have the

resources,

I don't

have the

strength,

I don't

have the

knowledge,

I don't

have the

great might

against this

company that

comes against

us,

but my

eyes are

upon thee.

Maybe

you're saying

neither know

we what to

do.

I don't

know how to

solve this

problem.

This is

beyond,

beyond my

understanding.

beyond my

problem-solving

ability,

but my

eyes are

upon me.

I want

to see,

dear believer,

that when

you have an

attitude of

putting your

eyes upon

the Lord,

God,

he is

going to

remind you

of a few

things.

And so

the Spirit

of the

Lord,

while they

were all

collected,

crying out

to the

Lord,

the Spirit

of the

Lord came

upon

Jehaziel,

who spoke

out loud.

He said,

all Judah

and all

you inhabitants

of Jerusalem,

and even

you,

King,

this is

what the

Lord says

unto you

today.

Be not

afraid,

nor be

dismayed,

by reason

of this

great multitude,

this great

problem that

is ahead in

front of

you,

this problem

that is

threatening

your very

lives,

for the

battle is

not yours,

but it's

God's.

And I'll

tell you

something,

that if I

was to go

into battle,

and I was

to rely on

my own

strength and

my own

abilities,

I would

start having

some doubts

about my

success rate

here.

But when

my eyes are

upon God,

and I

understand

that he

has power

and might,

so that

none are

able to

withstand him,

I'm so

glad that

the battle

is his

and not

mine.

Moreover,

he continues

and says,

the battle

is so much

the Lord's

that you

don't even

have to

fight.

fight.

Verse 17,

you shall

not need

to fight

in this

battle.

Set

yourselves,

stand ye

still,

and see

the salvation

of the

Lord.

Now,

sometimes the

Lord asks

us

to put

our faith

into action

and trust

that he

will

orchestrate

his

means

and his

desired

outcome

in the

end.

But

sometimes

also,

like he

did for

the nation

of Judah

here,

he said,

you don't

have to

fight.

This is

beyond

you.

The

multitude

of

enemy

that came

towards

him,

the nation

of Judah

was so

great

that

there

was

not

enough

people

in the

nation

of

Judah

that

could

fight

against

this

multitude.

So

great

that

God

said,

it's

clear

that I

need to

intervene.

It's

clear

that I

need to

take

care

of

this

battle

for

you.

And so

sometimes

I think

that we

struggle

with the

fact

that

we

might

turn our

eyes

upon

the

Lord,

but then

we decide

to try

and do

what we

can to

fix

the

problem.

We

get

involved

and we

start

doing

things.

Well,

I believe

sometimes

the Lord

calls you

not to

act,

but just

to wait

in faith

and believe.

And this

is one

of those

situations,

this

historical

account of

Jehoshaphat,

where he

says,

you shall

not need

to fight

in this

battle.

Set

yourselves

stand

still

and see

the

salvation

of the

Lord.

Lord.

And as

we read

in the

story,

we

came

through

to the

following

day,

and as

the nation

of Judah

walked

towards

the valley

where they

were told

that this

battle was

supposed to

happen,

we see

that they

did not

prepare for

war,

they did

not bring

their

swords

and their

spears,

they did

not bring

their valiant

men,

their mighty

men of

battle,

but they

went singing

to the

valley.

I will

tell you

by way

of experience,

there have

been many

times in

my life

when I

have faced

adversity

and by

the grace

of God

I've been

able to

turn my

eyes upon

him.

And even

in the

valley of

struggle,

even in

the valley

of battle,

of combat,

with whatever

situation it

is,

there's been

a song in

my heart.

And I

might even

say to you

today,

maybe this

is a good

gauge of

what you're

looking at.

If you're

facing a

trial and

a challenge

today,

and you

don't have

a song in

your heart,

I wonder,

where are

your eyes?

What are

you looking

at?

Are you

able to

say,

praise the

Lord for

his mercy

endureth

forever?

are you

able to

sing as

they did

in verse

21,

just

praising the

beauty of

God's

holiness?

holiness?

I want

to say

one thing

else to

you believers

by way of

witness for

the cause

of Christ.

In

verse 29

and 30,

we see

the result

of what

happens

when we

turn our

eyes upon

thee.

You see,

every Christian,

when you are

faced with a

struggle here

on earth,

the world

is watching.

Your friends

are watching,

your family

members are

watching.

They don't

necessarily want

you to fail,

they don't

necessarily want

bad things to

happen to

you,

but I will

tell you,

if you've

been talking

a big game

about your

God,

and how

much your

God takes

care of

you,

and how

much your

God loves

you,

and then

all of a

sudden,

you crumble

and fall

apart when

you're faced

with a great

multitude,

as it were.

What does

that say

about your

faith?

What does

that say

about where

your eyes

are looking?

What does

that say

about where

your eyes

are looking?

but our

eyes

are upon

thee,

and the

result of

having your

eyes upon

God in

the midst

of a struggle,

in the midst

of a challenge,

when there

doesn't seem

to be enough

food in the

fridge,

where your

health is

failing,

when it

seems as

though the

enemies in

this world

are pressing

down on

us,

maybe when

you're

persecuted

even for

your faith

in Christ,

when you

have your

eyes upon

him,

there can

be a

great

result for

the cause

of Christ.

Verse 29

and 30

said,

And the

fear of

God was

on all

the kingdoms

of those

countries,

when they

had heard

that the

Lord fought

against the

enemies of

Israel.

So the

realm of

Jehoshaphat

was quiet,

and for

his God

gave him

rest around

the boat.

By way of

a quick

testimony,

I want to

speak to

you about

something

today.

When I'm

a police

officer and

I'm in

uniform,

I can

often go

places that

people can't

go.

Now,

it doesn't

necessarily

mean that I'm

allowed to

be in

certain places,

but I just

walk in

pretending like

I'm supposed

to be there,

and they let

me in because

I have a

uniform,

and sometimes

I have a

nice smile.

But the

reality is

this.

Some of

you know

that I got

injured almost

a year ago,

and I

thank the

Lord that

he allowed

me to

remember to

have my

eyes upon

him.

And I

found myself

in a place

that I

could never

be by

simply being

in uniform

or simply

walking in

off the

street.

And I

found myself

flat on my

back in a

hospital bed.

And as God

continued to

bless me to

help me have

my eyes upon

him,

there were

times when I

was able to

share the

gospel with

the people

that came

in to

help me,

or so they

thought they

were helping

me.

There have

been opportunities

that I've been

able to share

the love of

Christ with

my coworkers,

people that I

have known for

years,

and I

provided an

open door.

If we think

of the

apostle Paul

and the

amount of

times that

he dealt

with physical

and physical

restraints

being put in

jail,

being put in

house arrest,

and constantly

he fought

against the

flesh and

the Lord

helped him to

keep his eyes

upon the

Lord.

And I

think that

God puts us

in places

and helps us

even in the

struggles,

because as

Paul says,

for us to

live is

Christ.

Christ.

And so

every situation

we find

ourselves in,

is it not

for the

cause of

Christ?

I've heard

some people

say,

oh,

God will

never give

you more

than you

can handle.

And you

know what?

That's

absolutely

wrong.

If God

would only

give you

stuff that

you could

handle,

then why

would you

need God?

God,

he's going

to give

you more

than you

can handle.

He is

going to

give you

a great

multitude

that comes

against you

and so

that you

have no

might against

this great

multitude

and neither

are you

going to

know what

to do.

I wonder,

but will

you say

like

Jehoshaphat

when the

world is

crumbling

down before

you and

around you

and your

life is

falling apart?

But God,

with your

help,

my eyes

will be

upon you.

Amen.

I see

also another

point of

application

here.

Maybe

there's

people here

today that

do not

know the

Lord Jesus

Christ as

their Savior.

Or maybe

you are a

Christian that's

gone away

and you've

come to

play church

as you do

every week.

You see,

there's this

great gap,

this great

divide

between the

beauty of

holiness

that the

nation of

Judah was

praising,

God who

is a

righteous and

holy God

and all

of mankind

who is

born into

sin.

and I

will tell

you that I

thank the

Lord for

his love

because it's

because God

loved us,

he created

the universe.

Because God

loved us,

he created

this earth.

Because God

loved us,

he created

mankind.

His love

was so much

even though

he knew

we would

not all

love him

back.

He did

all of

that.

He made

us.

Have you

ever done

something with

so much

love,

knowing that

the person

would not

appreciate it

or love

you back?

Or would

even despise

you?

You?

The Bible

very simply

says,

for God

so loved

the world

that he

made,

that he

gave his

only son

to die

on the

cross for

us,

that

whosoever

believes in

him shall

not perish

but have

everlasting

life.

Amen.

the only

way that

you can

please

the

Lord

is by

being

righteous

and

holy.

Now,

if you

can show

me

someone

that

can

be

righteous

and

holy,

then I

would

follow

that

person.

but the

Bible

says that

there is

none

righteous,

no,

not one.

Not

any one

of us

could

ever

be

holy

and

righteous

enough

to be

in

fellowship

with

God.

God.

So he

created

us

knowing

that we

would

never

ever

be able

to be

in

fellowship

with

him.

But his

love was

so much

that he

said,

even

before he

made us,

I will

make a

way,

I will

make a

way

whereby

the

creation

that I

love

can

have

fellowship

with

me.

And the

way was

by his

son,

Jesus

Christ.

You

see,

Jesus,

his

son,

being

fully

God,

came

down to

earth

and took

on the

form of

a man

to die

on the

cross.

And when

he died

on the

cross,

he paid

the penalty

for our

sin by

his shed

blood.

But I

will tell

you that

the story

does not

end there.

Not only

did he

pay the

penalty for

our sin,

that all

who believe

on him

will not

perish but

have

everlasting

life,

three days

later,

the Bible

says that

he rose

from the

dead.

And he

overcame

death

because he

has the

power over

life and

death.

And so

not only do

I know

that my

sins are

forgiven when

I put my

faith and

trust in

Jesus Christ,

I also

know that

when I

die and

leave this

earth,

death,

that's not

the end,

but only

the beginning.

I know

that his

power over

death,

as it

were,

has given

me life

and life

eternal.

And because

I put my

faith and

trust in

Jesus,

I know

that I

can have

a home

in heaven

where God

is,

because I

can now

have fellowship

with God

because of

Jesus.

What

greater love

is that?

What

greater love

is that?

I would

ask you

today,

if you

are not

saved,

would today

be the day

that you

turn your

eyes upon

him?

God

may be

you

are a

believer

here

today,

and yeah,

you come

to church,

yeah,

you sing

the songs,

but there's

been something

that's been

pulling you

away,

and you

know that

there's been

something between

you and the

Lord,

and your eyes

have not been

upon him,

your eyes

have been

elsewhere to

the things

of this

world.

I would

ask you to

turn your

eyes towards

the Lord

today.

Dear

believer

who has

been following

along with

the Lord,

and maybe

you're dealing

with some

struggles and

challenges here,

turn your

eyes upon

the Lord,

for he

has great

purpose,

and he

has great

salvation,

and he

has great

power and

might that

none can

stand before

him.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

You know,

I really

struggled

today with

I had a

couple different

things that I

wanted to talk

about today,

and I'm just

running out of

time here.

And I

actually

struggled

this week

with what

it is I

should talk

about here,

because as I

spoke before,

you know,

I feel like

there's things

that I want

to say to

people and

things that I

think,

you know,

I'm a

fixer,

right?

So I want

to fix

things.

And

I will tell

you that

my life has

been full of

trouble and

full of

struggles and

full of

challenges,

and many,

many,

many times

I can

clearly see

that I

should have

died and

left this

earth.

many,

many,

many times

I can

see that

I should

have had

the worst

when I

had the

best.

And I

wonder if

in your

heart of

hearts today

that you

can say

that you

have ever

turned your

eyes upon

God for

salvation.

Because

many,

many times

in those

hardships

and in

those

challenges

I can

say as

they did

in the

bottom of

verse 17

for the

Lord was

with me.

I'm here

today as

a man

with

any kind

of

earthly

respect or

honor because

the Lord is

with me.

Any kind

of blessing,

any kind

of

physical

health,

any kind

of success

in my

life

is because

God,

for some

unknown

reason,

loved me.

An

unlovable

sinner

who

deserve

nothing

more

than an

eternity

in hell.

And I

wish

nothing

more

than all

of you

to be

able to

say with

your dying

breath

that I

put my

faith and

trust in

Jesus

and the

Lord was

with me

because

there was

a time

and place

where you

can say,

I turned

my eyes

upon me.

Let's

pray.

Amen.

Heavenly

Father,

I'm

overwhelmed,

Lord,

with your

goodness.

You know,

as Jehoshaphat

and the

nation of

Judah did,

Lord,

so glad

that

you gave

me that

opportunity,

Lord,

to turn

my eyes

upon you

as a

young

child.

And I'm

sorry,

Lord,

for the

times that

I have

failed you

and sinned

against you

and turned

my eyes

away from

you.

Thank you

for your

mercy and

your grace

as you

continue with

your long

suffering,

Lord,

and your

love towards

me to

keep teaching

me,

Lord,

how to

turn my

eyes upon

you.

I pray,

Lord,

for the

precious souls

in this

room,

Lord.

You know

what's in

every man

and every

woman and

every young

child's

heart.

heart.

And you

know what

things need

to be made

right,

what people

need to

turn their

eyes back

to you.

And you

know who

and how

many may

never truly

have trusted

you and

put their

faith in

you for

salvation.

salvation.

Lord,

I pray that

you would

work in

their hearts

and work

in their

minds

before it's

forever and

too late,

Lord.

pray now

that they

know they

would trust

you and

turn their

eyes upon

you,

Lord.

Thank you

for your

word that

is a

living word.

Thank you

that we

are in

this wonderful

country,

Lord,

that we

can carry

this freely

out in

public and

read it

freely.

help us

to never

forget that

privilege.

Bless us

as we go

from here

today,

Lord,

we ask

and be

with our

pastor and

his family.

Pray you

return them

to us in

strength and

health and

pray,

Lord,

that you

would protect

him from

the challenges

of the devil

that would

like to

disrupt his

abilities to

minister and

disrupt his

family as he

seeks to

serve you.

help us

to all

return in

safety.