Victory in the Valley - 8/9/26 - Meadows Baptist Church - Pastor Charlie Branch

Welcome to the [music] podcast of

Meadows Baptist Church of Walnut Cove,

North Carolina.

We're so glad [music] you joined us

today.

If you enjoy today's message, be sure to

subscribe, [music] follow, and share

with your friends.

Now, let's join Pastor Charlie [music]

Branch

with a word from God.

>> Amen. I appreciate the good singing this

morning. I'd like you to turn with me to

the book of 1 Kings chapter number 20.

When you find your place, if you would

stand it on the reverence of the reading

of God's word, if you're able. And I

appreciate you being here and I thank

the Lord for allowing us to be

in the house of God today. I want to say

this,

let him not in here.

>> Amen.

>> If I was where I belonged this morning,

that's where I'd be.

Amen. But I'm thankful, amen. Bible says

if any man be in Christ, he's a new

preacher, amen. And I'm thankful that

he's able to make all things new. And he

is truly good this morning and I bless

his name. 1 Kings chapter 20, let's

1 Kings 20 · chapter mention

begin reading in verse number

Let's begin reading verse number 22.

Verse number 22,

1 Kings chapter 20.

1 Kings 20 · chapter mention

The Bible says, "And the prophet came to

the king of Israel

and said unto him, go strengthen thyself

and mark and see what thou doest. For at

the return of the year, the king of

Syria will come up against thee." And

the servants of the king of Syria said

unto him, "Their gods are gods of the

hills. Therefore, they were stronger

than we.

Let us fight against them in the plain

and surely we shall be stronger than

they.

And do this thing. Take the kings away,

every man out of his place and put

captains in their rooms and number thee

an army like the army that thou has

lost, horse for horse and

chariot for chariot and we will fight

against them in the plain and surely we

shall be stronger than they. And he

hearkened unto their voice and did so.

And it came to pass at the return of the

year that Ben-hadad numbered the Syrians

went up to Aphek

to fight against Israel.

And the children of Israel were numbered

and were all present and went against

them. And the children of Israel pitched

before them like two little flocks of

kids, but the Syrians filled the

country.

And there came a man of God and spake

unto the king of Israel and said,

Thus saith the Lord,

because the Syrians have said, The Lord

is the God of the hills, but he is not

God of the valleys, therefore will I

deliver all this great multitude into

thine hand

and ye shall know

that I

am the Lord.

Now Father, I come before you this

morning one more time

this side of eternity

Lord to ask humbly for your help.

God, I cannot preach this morning if you

do not enable me.

And Lord, I thank thee that you've given

me the opportunity, the privilege, but

Lord, you've given me the calling to

give the gospel.

And I thank you, Father, for this place

and for these people and for this pulpit

you've allowed me to stand behind and I

thank you for every time you filled me.

But God, this is another time I need

your filling.

I need it more than I've ever needed it

before.

And God, I ask Lord, you'd clothe me in

your calling. I pray you'd rid me the

flesh, sin and self, I pray you'd put

far behind me. And God, I ask this

morning you'd bind the forces of hell,

the power of Satan to hinder this

service.

Lord, we cry out to you and ask for your

divine help. God, we ask Lord this

morning you would be pleased with our

worship. God, I pray you'd allow us to

lift up our hands in the sanctuary and

bless the Lord. God, I pray today we

would rejoice God that you are not just

God on the mountain,

but Lord, you're God in the valley as

well.

And Lord, I ask you God that you would

help us today. You know what we stand in

need of, save the center near his tail,

reclaim the backslidden, for that one

that's struggling today. I pray they

would find comfort and rest in the word

of God. And Lord, I I thank you for what

you do, but I praise you most of all for

who you are. And Lord, it's because of

who you are we ask it in Jesus' name,

for his sake we pray. Amen. You can be

seated. Thank you

for standing.

The Bible says in chapter number 20 of 1

Kings in verse number 20 28, the Bible

says, "Because the Syrians have said,

the Lord is the God of is God of the

hills, but he is not God of the valleys.

Therefore, I will I deliver all this

great multitude into thine hand, and you

shall know that I am the Lord."

I want to preach on this thought for a

little while this morning with the help

of the Lord on victory

in the valley.

Victory

in the valley. Now, I don't know where

you are at this morning, and as every

service, I many times preface my sermon

with that statement, and the reality is

that I never have and never will know

this every situation that is present in

the house of God this morning, but I do

know this this morning that we're all

human.

Amen.

We're all human, and humans are prone to

failure, we're prone to folly, we're

prone to fear. But I'll say this this

morning, God is still the same. Amen,

and I bless his name this morning that

he has not changed. And this text this

morning, we dealt with the first 21

verses in Sunday school this morning and

talked about this man Ahab. And we

noticed in verse number 22 that there is

a prophet that comes and gives Ahab a

message. This prophet has spoken Ahab

prior to this text in verse number 13,

but he has another message. You see,

Ahab has just come off of a victory in

battle in this text. And I want to say

this, there's never a more vulnerable

time in your life when you are on the

other side of a victory. I want to say

this many times when we are down in

defeat and we are in doubt and despair.

Many times we are not in danger for

reality is that many times the greatest

harm we can be to ourselves is defeated,

but the worst place we can be in is in a

place of victory and riding on that

victory and not aware of the

circumstances that would surround us.

And I want to say this this morning, I

hope that you'll do some self-inventory

and locate yourself this morning and and

and find out where you're at with the

Lord. But I I noticed that there is a

witness in verse 22, the Bible says,

"And the prophet came." And so, we know

the prophet there signifies that this is

a witness from the Lord. He is an

ambassador from God and God has given

him a word in this text. And not only we

notice the witness, but we notice the

warning. In verse 22, he came to the

king of Israel and said unto him, "Go

strengthen thyself and mark and see what

thou doest." And so, he is telling him,

"All right, look, you need to do some

self-inventory. You need to examine your

life." Look, he has just wrought victory

in verse number 21 by the hand of the

Lord God has given him victory. And in

verse 22, the prophet says, "You need to

go and figure out. You need to go and

examine yourself what you're doing." And

let me say this to you this morning,

sometimes victory comes in our lives so

that we might examine ourselves. And I

want to say in every case, really most

of the time victory comes in spite of us

and who we are this morning. Many times

the God has God has to work around us

and work beyond us cuz in reality, we

just hinder ourselves most of the time.

Amen. But I notice here this warning

that's given. He said, "Go strengthen

thyself and mark and see what thou

doest." And notice this warning leans to

the word that is to come. Look what he

says, "For at the return of the year,

the king of Syria will come up against

thee." And so, this is simply signifying

that in a year's time, there were

certain times of the year that kings

would go forth to battle. We know we

often talk about the book of Samuel

there in chapter number 11. The Bible

says that when David was at home at the

time when kings go forth to battle. And

that simply signifies that due to the

weather, either the extreme heat or the

extreme cold, they would only battle in

certain times of the year. And so the

Bible tells us here the man of God, the

prophet says, "Look, in a year, in the

next time when kings are going to

battle, they are going to return and

come up against thee." And I want to say

this to you this morning. If you've been

given victory, you need to realize that

victory on this side is only temporary.

Amen. Every day of your life you need to

seek God and you need to have victory in

your heart over your flesh, over the

devil, and over this world. You will not

have that in your life if you're not

faithful to seek for it. And I notice

that the man of God has given him this

warning. And then we notice here in the

text that out of this they begin to

prepare. And I want to give you a few

things this morning. We We notice that

the Syrians are beginning to prepare for

battle in verse number 23. And I want to

give you a few things by way of

introduction. We'll give you the message

this morning. The Bible says, "And the

servants of the king of Syria said unto

him, Their gods are gods of the hills.

Therefore they were stronger than we,

but let us fight against them in the

plain, and surely we shall be stronger

than they." And I noticed in this text

that God is seeing all this. He see

these words that the Syrians are saying

here in this text. These are not words

that are being broadcast to the children

of Israel, but this is the plan of the

enemy against the children of God. And

let me say this to you this morning,

child of God. Many times, and most of

the time, you cannot recognize the plan

of the enemy until you are face to face

with the battle. Amen. And the enemy is

is working behind the scenes, doing all

that he can to destroy you. But aren't

you thankful this morning the things

that you don't know about, the things

that the enemy's got in store for you to

come? God knows what's around the

corner. You say, "What do you mean?"

Well, the Bible said in verse 28 that

the man of God came and spake to the

king of Israel and said, "Thus saith the

Lord, because the Syrians have said"

Notice that. You see, those Syrians did

not say that to the Israelites, but God

heard those Syrians and heard what they

were saying. Amen. And you know what he

did? He went to the man of God and he

said, "Hey, the enemy's saying that I'm

not a god of the valleys, that I'm just

a god of the hills. But, I've got

something I want you to tell my people.

Amen. Oh, aren't you thankful for the

times in your life when God sent a word

by the preacher man that said even you

didn't even know what was on the

forefront. You didn't even know what you

was beginning to face, but God did.

Amen. And he knew exactly what the enemy

was saying. And because of that, he

sends a word by the preacher and says,

"All right, you're going to have to

listen to me so you can have victory.

Amen." And I want to say this this

morning, I'm thankful that God is a god

of the hills. David said it this way, "I

will look unto the hills from whence

cometh my help. My help cometh from the

Lord." But, I want to say this, just as

much as he's a god of the hills and the

god of heaven and the god of the

mountains. Amen. He is the god of the

valley. Amen. He is the god of the low

places. And there's some of you here

this morning that no doubt in my mind

have been in a low place for some time.

Oh, but friend, let me remind you one

more time, just as he's god on the

mountain top, HE IS STILL GOD IN THE

VALLEY. HE'S STILL GOD JUST AS HE IS ON

THE MOUNTAIN top able to provide for

your needs. The valley does not aid

hinder HIS ABILITY TO PROVIDE FOR YOU.

AMEN.

I want to say this, God is still god in

the valley in spite of what the enemy

says.

You say, "What do you mean?"

Well, the Syrians said their gods are

gods of the hills.

You know what? The world tries to

determine who our god is.

But, you know what? They've been trying

to put God in a box for some 6,000 years

now and they've just found that ain't

never never any of that work. Amen. I

want to say this, their saying was bad

doctrine. Notice this. Their gods are

gods of the hills. You say, "How is that

bad doctrine?" Well, you see the

plurality there. Their gods. You see

everybody else's gods to them was just

like theirs. Amen. Multiple, amen, and

helpless all at the same time. Their

gods have eyes but they see not. They

have ears but they hear not. They have

lips but they speak not. Hands but they

reach not. I'm saying, friend, they had

no ability to help themselves. And what

we realize in this text here is that

their saying is their doctrine is bad.

Let me say this, the world wants to spit

on our God and even much of the

so-called church world wants to spit on

our God in this day and time and say my

God's not like that. Well, let me say

this, YOUR GOD MAY NOT be but mine is.

Amen. I want to say he's still holy and

he's still righteous. And in spite of

every bad doctrine that's put out on the

face of so-called Christendom IN THIS

DAY AND TIME, GOD IS STILL THE GOD OF

THE KING JAMES BIBLE. AMEN. AND IT'S

STILL RIGHT TO PREACH what that book

says. And the world can say what they

WANT TO. THE WORLD CAN DO WHAT they want

to and call themselves Christian. But

I'm going to tell you one of these DAYS

THAT ALL THAT'S GOING TO COME TO THE

SURFACE just like draws. It's going to

be revealed. Amen. The third DOCTRINE

THEY'RE SAYING THEY SAID A WHOLE LOT BUT

NONE OF IT WAS TRUE. AMEN.

You say, "Preacher, are those PEOPLE

REALLY MY ENEMY?" THE BIBLE says you're

to mark them that preach any other

doctrine than what we preach to you.

Notice this. You see their saying

revealed their doctrine that it was bad

but it also revealed their decision.

You know what, we going to go fight

against the people of God again.

I want to say this, the devil, he's been

fighting against the people of God for

years and years. And you know what, he

might win a few battles here and there

but he's going to lose the war.

And he can wage war against us but the

Bible tells me that no weapon that is

formed against thee shall prosper, amen.

And his bad decision is the fact that

he's never going to give in. He's never

going to give up until one of these days

God's just going to reach down and grab

him by the neck and cast him into the

pit, amen. And he'll never more be

removed from that thing. I'm saying it's

a bad decision for the world to come

against the child of God. And you just

know and mark her down this morning, the

world's going to have a whole lot to say

about how we live. The world's going to

have A WHOLE LOT TO say about the way we

live and what we preach AND WHAT WE

BELIEVE, AMEN. BUT YOU LET THEM TALK,

AMEN, BECAUSE AT THE end of the day

we're not FIGHTING THE BATTLE, GOD IS,

AMEN. And let me say this TO YOU THIS

MORNING, GOD IS GOD ON THE MOUNTAIN, GOD

IS GOD IN THE VALLEY IN SPITE OF WHAT

THE ENEMY SAYS.

Hey friend, don't you let the enemy tell

you there's no hope for you this

morning. DON'T YOU LET THE ENEMY TELL

you that you'll never be right again.

Don't you let THE ENEMY TELL YOU THAT

THERE'S NEVER any forgiveness, there's

never any help for your aid, never any

help for your illness. There's not any

hope for your ailments this morning. I'M

SAYING FRIEND, YOU BELIEVE GOD in spite

of what the enemy says.

I want to say this, God is still God in

spite of what the enemy says. I notice

second of all, God is still God in spite

of the enemy's strategy.

You say, "What do you mean, preacher?"

Well, notice the text.

They decided they're going to go and

fight against them in the plain. The

Bible said, "And surely we shall be

stronger than they." Notice verse 24.

First of all, you see their strategy is

misleading.

He said that and do this thing, take the

kings away, every man out of his place,

and put captains in their rooms. You

see, just a few verses prior the Bible

says that those princes of Israel came

against the Syrians that year prior. In

verse number 16, they went out at noon,

the princes did, Ben-Hadad was drinking

himself drunk in the pavilions, he and

the kings, the 32 kings that helped him,

and the young men of the princes of the

provinces went out first, and Ben-Hadad

sent out and they told him saying,

"There are men come out of Samaria and

he said whether they be come out for

peace take them alive or whether they be

come out for war take them alive. So

these young men of the prince of the

province came out of the city and the

army which followed them and they slew

everyone his man and the Syrians fled

and Israel pursued them and Ben Hadad

the king of Syria escaped on an horse

with a horseman. You say what does that

mean? Well, it means that all of those

kings, those 32 were setting in the

pavilion drinking themselves drunk with

Ben Hadad. And these princes of Israel

began to run in there and they began to

destroy them and they said all right,

well, when they come back this time,

we're going to have a captain of the

army sitting in those kings' chairs. So

when they come in along to slay the

kings, we're going to destroy them when

they come in. And let me say this, the

devil's tactics are always changing.

If he can't get you one way, he'll get

you another.

He'll get you by misleading.

I noticed this, not only the strategy is

misleading, but the strategy is

multiplication. Notice verse 25. And

number thee an army like the army that

thou hast lost, horse for horse and

chariot for chariot and we will fight

against them in the plain and surely we

shall be stronger than they. You see

here he's telling them all right, you

get the army that you had and you double

it. You make it larger in size, horse

for horse, chariot for chariot, you get

as many as you had and double it and

we're going to go up against them and

fight against them. And let me say this,

when longer you resist temptation, the

harder that temptation's going to

become. You're going to have to stand up

and be strong, but I noticed we need to

believe God in spite of the strategy,

though it's misleading, though he's

multiplying against us. And I want to

say this, we need to believe God in

spite of the enemy's strategy, in spite

of the manipulation that they put us

into.

Notice this. We will fight against them

in the plain, verse 25. And surely we

shall be stronger than they. And he

hearkened unto their voice and did so.

You see the army of Syria in this text.

They had over 125,000

men.

You say, "How is that?" Well, you notice

later on in the chapter and we'll see in

just a little bit that Israel slays

100,000 footmen in verse 29 and verse

30. There are 20 and 7,000 men that die

in verse number 30 of the Syrians. I'm

saying, friend, this army was huge.

Israel only has 7,000.

And so, you know what? Israel won the

last time because they were in the

hills. And you know what the hills

provides? It provides some help in the

battle, don't it?

I like to think about American history.

I think about those colonists that come

over and they won that Revolutionary War

because they knew how to fight. British,

when they come over here, they'd all get

in lines and they'd just shoot them down

like dominoes.

But we think about those men that were

on this side, those colonists, they

would hide behind the trees and the

rocks and they would strategize their

fighting. But you see, the enemy

decided, "Look, we can't beat them in

their own ground.

Where They're going to have to come to

our ground."

Here's what'll happen in your life.

You'll end up somewhere you don't

belong.

And you know what he'll do? He'll do his

best to destroy you by manipulating you.

You see, they wanted to get them in a

plane where their horses and chariots

could ride freely. Those mountains,

those chariots were no good in the

mountains around the trees and rivers

and creeks and streams and all of that

and the rocks. And so, they wanted to

get them out in the open, out in the

plain. Let me say this to you this

morning, child of God, the devil wants

to single you out out in the open, out

in the wide open plain and throw his

entire army against you. But I want to

say this this morning, you just remember

the God of those mountains where we're

fit to serve and where we're fit to

fight. When you get isolated, he's still

the same God. Amen. He's still the same

God when the devil MANIPULATES YOU. HE'S

STILL THE SAME GOD WHEN THE ENEMY

MULTIPLIES AGAINST YOU. HE'S STILL the

same God in spite of every tactic THE

ENEMY HAS. GOD CAN and will give

victory. Amen. And we ought to believe

him in spite of what the enemy says and

in spite of the enemy's strategy. And

we're to believe him in spite of the

enemy's size. Hey friend, you just need

to know this morning you're no match for

the devil just like Israel is no match

for these Syrians. But aren't you

thankful what we lack in size, we make

up for in strength in the person of God.

I'm saying their size, the appearance.

Notice verse 27, the children of Israel

pitched before them. Notice it like two

little flocks of kids.

Looked like two little flocks of sheep

before these Syrians.

You know what? There's some of you think

you're real big and bad.

But you know what? Before the devil, you

just look like a little sheep.

A little helpless lamb. You say,

"Preacher, I I'm a brawny individual.

I'LL TAKE CARE OF MYSELF." WELL, you'll

find out when the devil gets a hold of

you that you won't make it as far as you

thought you would, amen. I'm saying the

appearance, it was like two little

flocks of kids and the Syrians notice

their advantage. The Syrians filled the

country.

I want to say this, it don't look good

in our country, does it?

We're outnumbered.

But I want to say this, it don't matter

how many of them there is, they'll never

out-measure our God.

I want to give you these three things

and I'll be done this morning. I'm

talking about victory in the valley.

You see, we've got to believe God in

spite of the saying of the enemy. We got

to believe God in spite of the strategy

of the enemy. We got to believe God in

spite of the size of the enemy. And you

say, "Why, preacher, why would I believe

God? Why why would I believe God in

spite of everything being against me?

PREACHER, I DON'T FEEL LIKE there's a

word good enough to satisfy me with the

battle that I'm in."

All right, well, let me give you three

things this morning and let's see how

you feel about it after we get done with

this.

Notice this, verse 28. And there came a

man of God and spake unto the king of

Israel and said, "Thus saith the Lord."

God's still got something to say.

Amen, friend. He's still talking in this

day and time and you ought to rejoice

for that.

You say preacher, what do you mean?

Well, there's been plenty of generations

passed where God just shut up the

heavens.

You say how is that? Well, there was 400

silent years between Malachi and Matthew

where he didn't speak a thing, didn't

reveal a thing and those men and women

walked in darkness. I'm saying friend,

we are walking in the light of the grace

and glory of God in this day and time

and we ought to bless his name for it

that he's still got a word for us.

Listen to this. Thus saith the Lord,

because the Syrians have said, "The Lord

is God of the hills, but he is not God

of the valleys."

I want to say this. All right, I want to

say number one, you need to believe God

in the valley.

Because God

is not limited to any place.

You say what do you mean? Well, the

Syrians said, "He's God of the hills,

he's not God of the valleys.

You see those God THAT GOD'S OF THE

ISRAELITES, HE ONLY WORKS WHEN they're

in their place.

He only works when we come He only works

when we come against their land. But if

we get them in our territory,

we'll take them out.

We'll knock THEM DOWN. WE'LL TAKE CARE

OF THEM JUST SHORT AND EASY AND GOD

SAYS, "All right,

I've got a word

to say to that crowd."

You say preacher, what are you saying?

I'M SAYING ISRAEL DON'T even know the

plan of the Syrians and God comes to

them and says, "Hey look, this is what

the enemy has said."

Notice it again in the text.

And there came a man of God and spake

unto the king of Israel and said, "Thus

saith the Lord, because the Syrians have

said He don't even know that they've

said this. He said, "Because the Syrians

have said the Lord is God of the hills,

but he is not God of the valleys." He

says, "Therefore will I deliver all this

great multitude into thine hand." You

see, he wants this king to know, "Hey

man, I'm not limited to any place."

Let me say this. I don't know what place

you're in.

You say preacher, what do you mean?

Well, I thought about it when I was

studying it. I thought about, you know,

Daniel found him while he was in the den

of lions. The Hebrew children found him

while they were in the fire. Paul found

him in the middle of the raging sea.

Peter found him in the middle of that

sea when he saw him walking on the

water. Joseph found him at Potiphar's

house. HE FOUND HIM IN THE PIT. He found

him IN THE PRISON. HE FOUND HIM AT THE

PALACE. I'M SAYING, FRIEND, IT DON'T

MATTER WHERE YOU FIND YOURSELF. DAVID

SAID, "IF I FLY UP TO THE heavens as an

eagle OR I MAKE MY BED IN HELL." HE

SAID, "BEHOLD, THOU ART THERE." I'M

SAYING, FRIEND, I DON'T KNOW WHERE

YOU'RE AT THIS MOMENT. OH, BUT I CAN

BLESS THE NAME OF GOD ABOVE THAT

WHEREVER YOU'RE AT, THERE'S NOT A PLACE

THAT HE'S NOT BEEN. THERE'S NOT A PLACE

THAT HE NOT IS PRESENTLY. AMEN. I'M

SAYING, FRIEND, HE'S RIGHT THERE WITH

YOU IN THE MIDDLE OF IT. IT DON'T MATTER

IF YOU'RE ON THE MOUNTAIN OR YOU'RE IN

THE VALLEY. I'M SAYING, FRIEND, HE WILL

BE THERE WITH YOU THROUGH THE MIDDLE OF

IT. AMEN.

Cuz he's not limited

to any place.

You say, "Preacher, what does that

mean?" Well, I'll say this.

If he was limited to any place, the

gospel wouldn't be whosoever will.

If there was some place he couldn't go,

the gospel wouldn't say whosoever will,

let them come.

The Bible wouldn't say whosoever shall

call upon the name of the Lord shall be

saved. I'm saying, friend, if God was

saving people that were religious, I'd

have been left out. If God was saving

people that were righteous, I'd have

been left out. If God was saving people,

amen, that were pretty and prompt and

proper, amen, I'm saying I'D HAVE BEEN

LEFT OUT. I'M SAYING, FRIEND, YOU OUGHT

TO THANK GOD THAT HE REACHED DOWN TO

WHERE YOU WAS AT. AMEN. HE'S NOT LIMITED

TO ANY PLACE. OH, THANK GOD, HE'S NOT

LIMITED TO ANY PERSON. HE'LL SAVE FROM

THE UTTERMOST TO THE GUTTERMOST. IT

DON'T MATTER HOW FAR YOU GONE. IT DON'T

MATTER HOW LONG YOU'VE BEEN THERE. HEY,

FRIEND, ALL THAT MATTERS IS HE WAS THERE

WITH YOU. AND THANK GOD, HE'LL BE THERE

WHEN YOU GET BACK. AMEN.

OH, HE'S NOT LIMITED TO any place. The

Syrians were wrong and the devil WILL

TELL YOU HEY, THE DEVIL WILL SAY TO YOU

GOD'S NOWHERE AROUND. GOD'S NOWHERE TO

BE FOUND. OH FRIEND, YOU MAY NOT FEEL

HIM, BUT YOU JUST KNOW ON THE AUTHORITY

OF THAT BIBLE, HE'S THERE. HE'S WITH

YOU. HE'S RIGHT BESIDE YOU. AMEN.

Because he's not limited

to a place.

You say how is that preacher?

Well,

God in his wholeness,

he could not leave heaven to reach

sinners.

But you know what? He sent his son

to reach sinners.

From the lowest

to the highest sinner.

There's not a one. Jesus said all of

them

that the father have given to me shall

come to me.

And he that cometh to me, I will in no

wise cast out.

He is not limited to any place.

I want to say this second of all this

morning.

We can rejoice in the fact that God

is a God of the mountain, but he is

still a God of the valley because he's

not limited to a place. But I'll say

this second of all, we can rejoice that

he's God in the valley

because he's not lost his power.

I want to say this.

I don't ever want to lose the all

of the power and presence of God.

Say what do you mean? Well,

the reality of my life and yours this

morning is that none of us would be here

if it hadn't been for the fact that he'd

manifested his power unto us. You see,

God tells this king in the text, he says

therefore will I deliver all this great

multitude into thine hand. You see, the

Syrians thought that when he come off of

that mountain, his power would

dissipate. But you see, their God was

not like their his God was

the king's God was not like their gods.

And I want to say this this morning, the

world can say what they want to. That

our God's dead. And I want to say this,

they've said they've been saying it for

years and they'll continue to say it as

long as eternity rolls. It don't matter

how much science proves that Jesus

really did live, and Jesus really did

die, and Jesus really did get up the

third day, there's still going to be

people that speak against the existence

of God. There's still going to be people

that speak against the existence of a

divine creator. But I want to say this,

it does not matter what they say, his

power has not changed one iota. He is

still able to save, amen. He is still

able to create and destroy, amen. And in

just the same way that he created the

worlds and all that in them is, one of

these days he's going to take it like a

bed sheet and wrap it all up and it's

going to be over with. IT'S NOT GOING TO

BE A RENOVATION, BUT HE'S going to set

an end to the things of this world. I'm

saying, friend, he has not lost his

power. Whatever God's done in the past,

he can still do in the present. Is

anybody in the building this morning?

I'M SAYING, FRIEND, WHATEVER YOU NEED,

he's able to give it to you this

morning. WHEREVER YOU'RE AT, HE'S ABLE

TO BRING IT TO WHERE YOU ARE. I'M

SAYING, FRIEND, I DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU

NEED. MAYBE YOU NEED TO BE SAVED. LET ME

SAY THIS TO YOU THIS MORNING, HE'S STILL

ABLE TO SAVE. ALL AND EVERY SINNER THAT

WOULD CALL UPON HIM BY FAITH, HE'S ABLE

TO SAVE TO THE UTTERMOST. AND ALL YOU

HAVE TO do is ask.

I'm talking about victory in the valley.

Why can we have victory in the valley?

Because God's not limited to a place.

We can have victory in the valley

because he's not lost his power.

But I think this one helps me as much as

anything.

We can have victory in the valley

because God has not left his people.

You say, "What do you mean?" Well,

notice the verse.

The Lord is God of the hills, but he's

not God of the valleys. Therefore, I

deliver all the straight multitude in

the vine hand. Notice this.

And ye shall know

that I'm the Lord.

I told our Sunday school class this this

morning.

I said Ahab was the most wicked king

that ever lived in the history of

Israel.

But you know what? He was still king of

Israel.

And you know what? Israel was still

God's people.

Let me say this to you in this day and

time, Israel is still God's people.

And regardless of what

the so-called right-wing news media says

that Israel, the nation, is not the

Israel of God.

They'll find out one of these days when

they stand at the judgment, they'll wish

that they have they had recognized

that nation as God's people.

But I want to say this, this rising

opinion of Israel in our land is showing

us the destruction of what would be

our world as it is. You say, "What do

you mean?" Well, the Bible says that all

nations will turn on little Israel.

And you know what? America was the only

nation that stood with her.

But it's quickly happening on both sides

of the curtain.

On both wings of the bird this morning,

they're turning on Israel.

You say, "What do you mean?" Well, I'm

saying this morning that Israel's God's

people, and I want you to get this,

okay? Ahab was the most wicked king

that's ever been, but the Bible says in

this text

he says, "I'm going to deliver this

multitude into thy hand."

And he said, "Ye shall know

that I am the Lord."

Ahab didn't ask for this.

He didn't ask for deliverance. He didn't

pray for it cuz matter of fact, if he'd

prayed, it wouldn't have got out of his

mouth and made it upward, it would have

went straight to the ground.

He was wicked.

I mean, I I mean, incomparably wicked to

anybody that was before or after him,

the Bible says.

And the Bible tells us that God looks at

him and says,

"I'm going to deliver this company into

your hand

so that you will know

that I am the Lord. You say, "What's so

special about that?" Well, he's done

delivered the Syrians into his hand one

time already in this chapter.

But, you know what? They have still

living wickedly.

You know what amazes me?

It amazes me at the people that call

themselves Christians

in this day and time

that go on and live wickedly. And God

continues to to bless

and to allow things into their life. You

say, "Preacher, God's not going to bless

me when I'm in wickedness." No, you're

not you're you're right you're right

about that. Here's the thing about it.

People still make money.

People still enjoy their hobbies. People

still do all the things people do and it

looks like if as if everything's fine.

And you know what? God allows it.

And here's the thing, all right? God is

doing that. He's going to allow victory

because he's the Lord and he's going to

get glory unto himself in whatever

fashion that comes. But, I want to say

this to you this morning. The church in

this day and time is a pitiful

representation of what the church is

called to be.

All right?

You say, "What do you mean?" Well, you

go back to the book of Acts and you find

about that early church. You study

through those Pauline epistles and

you'll find what the commission of the

church is supposed to be.

What a pitiful representation of that we

are.

I'm saying, friend, the truth is we're

getting victory in spite of how we're

living.

We are We are seeing the blessings of

God in spite of our failure to

evangelize this country.

You say, "Preacher, what does that say?"

Well, it says that God has honored his

people.

And if you're saved by the grace of God

this morning, you know what? Regardless

of how you live your life, you'll enter

into heaven one of these days.

But, you know what the difference is?

You'll enter in there shamed.

Because at one moment in eternity one

moment in eternity, you'll realize all

that you should have done.

But, then after you think about all that

you could have done, you going to come

to one conclusion.

God never left me.

We ought to shout the roof off this

place.

In spite of everything that you are and

are not,

in spite of everything that I am and am

not, in spite of every failure that I'll

have from now until he comes and gets

me, I'm still his child.

And he will not leave his children.

Israel failed him and ultimately one of

these days there will be judgment for

them. We talked about that on last

Sunday.

But I want to say this this morning, God

has not left his people.

And I noticed in this text they wrote

they worked victory in verse 29.

And they pitched one over against the

other 7 days and so it was that in the

seventh day the battle was joined. And

the children of Israel slew the Syrians

and 100,000 footmen in one day.

But the rest fled to Aphek and in the

city there a wall fell upon 20 and 7,000

of the men that were left. And Ben-hadad

fled and came into the city into an

inner chamber.

And the Bible tells us here in the text

that Ahab is going to spare this man. We

may preach on that tonight.

But I noticed these principles in this

text. God brought victory in spite of

Ahab in this text. He delivered his

people in spite of Ahab's leadership.

And I rest in the fact that God's going

to deliver his church in spite of the

president.

God's going to take care of his people

in spite of the governments of men.

But I thought about this.

You know, I I have some factors that

come into my mind out of this text is

this. Number one, you can't handle the

valley alone.

You say preacher, but

nobody else really knows or nobody else

really understands. Well, you see you're

missing one in that.

God does.

You say how could he understand?" Well,

he made you.

He knew what was going to happen to you.

He knows where you're at. He knows where

you will be 10 years, 20 years, 30 years

from now.

You say, "Preacher, what do you mean I

cannot handle the valley alone?" Well,

you turn to the book of Judges chapter 1

Judges 1 · chapter mention

verse number 19. You'll find that when

Israel's coming into the land of Canaan,

they are fighting against the the

nations that are present in Canaan. And

the Bible says that the Lord was with

Judah Judges 1 verse number 19. And it

says in the last part of that verse that

they drove them out, but it says they

come down to a group that was in the

valley and they could not drive them

out.

You know what every valley in your life

that most valleys in your life, pretty

much all valleys in your life, you're

not going to be able to get through them

on your own.

They couldn't get rid of those

inhabitants in the valley by themselves.

You're not going to be able to make it

through the valley alone. But I thought

about this.

You see, there's help for your valley.

You say, "What is that help?" I think it

comes in one thing. Verse number 28.

God said, "Therefore will I deliver all

this great multitude into thine hand and

ye shall know." What's What's he going

to know? He said, "You're going to know

that I'm the Lord." Let me ask you

something. Who was the greatest

Christian that ever lived?

It's the Apostle Paul, wasn't it?

And you know what encouraged him on his

journey? What was What was Paul

continually seeking for?

He said, "That I may know

him."

You know what the greatest privilege of

your life and mine is?

Knowing him.

You know how you're going to make it

through the valley?

It's knowing him.

You say, "What do you mean?" I'm talking

about it's a relationship. I'm not

saying that you that you just know who

he is or you know about him. I'm saying

you have a relationship with him.

God is stretching out his hand to a

NATION WHO HAS REJECTED HIM AND HE SAID,

"I'M GOING TO DO THIS FOR YOU THAT YOU

MAY KNOW ME. I'M SAYING, FRIEND, GOD

SAVED YOU SO THAT YOU COULD KNOW HIM.

PAUL SAYS, I SERVE HIM THAT I MIGHT KNOW

HIM. PAUL SAYS, I SUFFER THAT I MIGHT

KNOW HIM. THE REASON WE LIVE IS THE

KNOWLEDGE OF WHO HE IS, CUZ THAT'S THE

ONLY WAY WE CAN LIVE THIS MORNING. The

problem THAT YOU HAVE CANNOT BE FIXED on

your own. THE ONLY WAY THAT YOU'LL FIND

HELP IS IN THE KNOWLEDGE OF HIM THIS

MORNING. I'm saying there's hope for

your valley. You say, PREACHER, WHAT IF

I NEVER COME OUT? WELL, YOU CAN HAVE HIM

THERE WITH YOU. YOU MIGHT TRY THE LOW

LANDS FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE UNTIL

YOU LEAVE THIS WORLD. BUT ONE OF THESE

DAYS WE'RE GOING TO A PLACE, OH

HALLELUJAH, WHERE THERE NEVER WILL BE

ANOTHER VALLEY. YOU SAY, HOW IS THAT?

WELL, I THOUGHT ABOUT THE FACT THAT YOU

CAN'T HANDLE the valley alone, AND THERE

IS HELP for a valley. LET ME SAY THIS,

ONE DAY WE WILL WALK THE LAST VALLEY.

OH, HALLELUJAH THIS MORNING. OH, FRIEND,

JOEL CHAPTER NUMBER three talks about

multitudes,

multitudes in the VALLEY OF DECISION.

AND YOU KNOW WHAT THAT IS? GOD HAS

GATHERED THE GENTILE NATIONS OF THE

WORLD TO THAT PLACE, AND HE'S GOING TO

JUDGE THEM THERE. AND YOU KNOW WHAT'S

GOING TO HAPPEN? THE CHILDREN OF GOD,

THE BIBLE SAID IN VERSE 16 OF JOEL 3,

THAT THE THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL ARE

GOING TO WALK OUT OF THAT VALLEY, AND

THE LORD WILL BE THEIR HELP. I'M SAYING,

FRIEND, WHEN THAT LAST BATTLE IS FOUGHT,

THERE'LL NEVER BE ANOTHER VALLEY.

THERE'LL NEVER BE ANOTHER LOW PLACE.

THERE'LL NEVER BE A PLACE OF STRUGGLE.

I'M SAYING WE'RE HEADED TO A PLACE WHERE

THERE'LL NEVER BE ANOTHER VALLEY. AMEN.

AND I DON'T KNOW ABOUT YOU, but I'm

looking forward to that. I'm a sick and

tired OF WALKING THESE LOW PLACES, BUT

LET ME TELL YOU THIS THIS MORNING, I

KNOW WITHOUT A SHADOW OF A DOUBT THAT IF

I JUST LOOK UP, FRIEND, I CAN LOOK PAST

EVEN THE MOUNTAIN PEAKS THAT I'VE BEEN

ON BEFORE, AND I CAN SEE HIGHER BY THE

EYE OF FAITH THAN THOSE MOUNTAINS. I CAN

LOOK UP TO THE SKY, AND I CAN SEE MY

SAVIOR. I CAN SEE HIM STANDING THERE. I

CAN HAVE A RELATIONSHIP WITH HIM. YOU

SAY FRIEND, WHAT DO YOU YOU SAY

PREACHER, WHAT DO YOU MEAN? I'M SAYING

STEPHEN WAS IN THE LOWEST VALLEY OF HIS

LIFE WHEN THEY WERE STONING HIM. BUT IN

THE MOMENTS OF HIS DEATH, WHAT DOES THE

BIBLE SAY? HE LOOKED STEADFASTLY TOWARD

HEAVEN AND SAID I SEE THE SON OF MAN.

HE'S STANDING AT THE RIGHT HAND OF THE

FATHER. OH FRIEND, LIFT YOUR EYES UNDER

JESUS. HE IS ABLE TO GET YOU OUT OF THE

VALLEY. AMEN.

I'm saying there's victory

for your valley.

You say preacher,

what if he don't get me out of the

valley?

Well, there's another man that was in a

valley.

The Bible says that John blood John the

beloved

was an exile

on the Isle of Patmos, but you know

what? Although he was in the valley, the

Bible says Revelation chapter 1, I was

Revelation 1 · chapter mention

in the spirit

on the Lord's day.

And the Bible says John said I was

called a

Though he was on earth

in the valley,

in his heart,

he was in heaven.

Far beyond the tallest mountain peak, he

was in the presence of God.

You know how you going to have victory

in the valley?

You going to have to allow your flesh to

be there,

but your spirit needs to be somewhere

else.

The Bible says that we're seated in

heavenly places

in Christ Jesus. Every head bowed and

every eye closed this morning, I want to

ask you this question.

I can assure you this morning there's

victory

for your valley.

Some of you are bearing things that

you shouldn't have to bear.

Some of you are carrying weights that

you shouldn't have to be carrying.

Some of you are in a valley this

morning.

Let me say this to you this morning.

In spite of what the enemy says,

in spite of the strategy that he has

against you,

and in spite of the size, I don't know

what you're up against this morning.

I can tell you this that the God on the

mountain,

he is still God

in the valley.

And the same victory

that you had on the mountain, you can

have

in the valley. I want to ask you this

this morning. You say, "Preacher,

I don't know what that victory is you're

talking about." Well,

so here's the thing about it. Victory

was won at Calvary.

And that mountain where Jesus was

crucified is the place where you get

saved.

You see that mountain where he was

crucified was the valley for him.

The Bible says in Hebrews chapter number

12 that

he endured the cross, despising the

shame for the joy that was set before

him.

You see that valley for Jesus

is our first mountain.

And when you come to the cross, you

kneel at the cross, Christ will meet you

there.

And from that moment on, you know what?

You are set on a new path.

And through your life, you'll have

valleys, you'll have mountains.

But I can assure you of this, one day

you'll see your last valley.

And I got to ask you this morning, what

part of that journey are you in?

Have you been saved? Do you know the

Lord? You say, "Preacher,

would you pray for me? I'm not saved

this morning."

Anybody here be honest this morning and

say, "Preacher, I'm not saved." You slip

your hand up, I'll pray for you.

Let me ask you this morning.

Say, "Preacher, I'm saved, but

Preacher, I am in the valley.

Would you pray for me?"

Be honest this morning between you and

God.

God knows your heart this morning. God

sees those hands.

I want to say this this morning, there's

victory

for your valley.

You see Israel

God blessed them in spite

of the battle they were in.

And I can assure you this morning

that God

can bless you in spite of the enemy

around you.

He can help you this morning. You can

have victory.

You can have victory. Father,

Lord, these altars are open this

morning. Some have already come and

prayed.

Lord, I just pray you'd have your way

this morning.

Lord, I my own heart this morning

has struggles, has burdens, Lord, and

I've done my best to lay those at your

feet.

Cuz Lord, I know that there's

victory to be had because the victory

has been won.

Lord, you took the ultimate valley at

Calvary.

You went to that lowest of low places

and suffered my shame and agony there

so that I could be saved and you could

lift me up

and set my feet on higher ground.

Lord, I pray this morning, God, that you

would help us all to remember, Lord,

that we have been lifted out.

And God, that we should live differently

because we have.

Lord, I pray for those that are in a

valley this morning. God, I know that

many are having different struggles,

Lord. Some struggle with family. Some

struggle with health. God, we pray,

Lord, that you would help them to know,

God, to just believe you.

Lord, sometimes the means on this side,

we just get to the end of those.

We don't have an answer. We don't We

don't see the end.

But God, we know that you know all

things.

And Lord, we can trust you with our

valley.

And God, I pray you give us victory

over in spite of the enemy.

I pray God that you would help us to

resist temptation,

to draw near unto thee,

to be right with you in these days, God,

cuz we know you're soon coming. I pray

for that one who's here lost today. I

pray you'd save them before it's

eternally too late.

And Lord, we ask all this in Jesus name.

For his sake, we pray.

Amen.

>> Thank you for joining our service today.

We'd love it [music] if you'd join us in

person the next time you are able at

Meadows Baptist Church.

Our physical address is 2988

Stewart [music] Road in Walnut Cove,

North Carolina.

Our service times are Sunday school at

10:00 a.m., Sunday morning worship

>> [music]

>> at 11:00 a.m., Sunday evening worship at

6:00 p.m., and Wednesday evening Bible

study at 7:00 p.m.

For more information, [music]

visit us at meadowsbc.com.

Thanks again for tuning in.