The power of faith
Dr. Roberto Miranda
(Audio: Spanish)
SUMMARY: In Second Chronicles 20, we see the power of faith and the principles of spirituality expressed in a clear and simple way. It begins with a national crisis in Israel, as an army approaches to conquer and destroy the land. King Jehoshaphat takes action and turns to God in prayer, and God responds to their faith with divine intervention and victory over the crisis. This passage illustrates the essential elements of faith: crisis, clamor, divine intervention, and victory. It reminds us that faith is essential in the Christian life and that God can use ordinary people with feet of clay to move through faith, not perfection. Jehoshaphat recognized the danger and defined his situation, and he humbled himself and consulted the Lord, seeking God's wisdom and advice. These are important principles for us to apply in our own lives, as we face crises and challenges that require the power of faith.
Jehoshaphat dealt with a crisis by recognizing the danger, humbling himself and seeking wisdom from the Lord, proclaiming fasting and praying in community, and giving prayer national importance. He then presented a model prayer, praising the Lord and pointing out his mighty deeds, grounding his prayer in divine realities, and strengthening himself in his faith and God's people. He also clearly described the specific situation they were facing and presented a specific petition to the Lord, expressing their weakness and need for His intervention. It is important to be specific and passionate in prayer and to present our needs and situations clearly to the Lord.
In this sermon, the speaker emphasizes the importance of presenting one's situation to God in prayer with clarity and purpose, and to have faith and expectation that God will work. He also highlights the need for an atmosphere of faith and openness to the gifts of the Holy Spirit, and encourages listeners not to be intimidated by their circumstances but to focus on God instead. Ultimately, the battle is not ours but God's.
The Holy Spirit instructs us to be proactive in life and not wait until problems are at our doorstep. We should identify problems and design strategies with the wisdom of the Holy Spirit to solve them. The Lord wants a people of faith who are aggressive in spirit and take the battle to the enemy. He wants us to live in the power of His word and learn the principles of faith. We should have confidence, wisdom, and clear instructions from God. God has not left us helpless, and His word will not return empty. We should stand, be still, and see the salvation of the Lord, and not fear or dismay. Jehovah will be with us.
Jehoshaphat dealt with a crisis by recognizing the danger, humbling himself and seeking wisdom from the Lord, proclaiming fasting and praying in community, and giving prayer national importance. He then presented a model prayer, praising the Lord and pointing out his mighty deeds, grounding his prayer in divine realities, and strengthening himself in his faith and God's people. He also clearly described the specific situation they were facing and presented a specific petition to the Lord, expressing their weakness and need for His intervention. It is important to be specific and passionate in prayer and to present our needs and situations clearly to the Lord.
In this sermon, the speaker emphasizes the importance of presenting one's situation to God in prayer with clarity and purpose, and to have faith and expectation that God will work. He also highlights the need for an atmosphere of faith and openness to the gifts of the Holy Spirit, and encourages listeners not to be intimidated by their circumstances but to focus on God instead. Ultimately, the battle is not ours but God's.
The Holy Spirit instructs us to be proactive in life and not wait until problems are at our doorstep. We should identify problems and design strategies with the wisdom of the Holy Spirit to solve them. The Lord wants a people of faith who are aggressive in spirit and take the battle to the enemy. He wants us to live in the power of His word and learn the principles of faith. We should have confidence, wisdom, and clear instructions from God. God has not left us helpless, and His word will not return empty. We should stand, be still, and see the salvation of the Lord, and not fear or dismay. Jehovah will be with us.
Second Chronicles, Chapter 20, beginning with verse 1. These days I am going to be talking a lot about this dynamic of faith, the dynamic of faith because we want to engender faith in the people of God and in my own life also because there are big struggles, there are big tasks, there are circumstances around us that require that position of faith and the Bible says that without faith it is impossible to please God. Faith is the essential conduit for the life of the son, of the daughter of God. You can't go much below the element of faith. Things don't get simpler or simpler in the Christian life than talking about the concept of faith. And this is a wonderful passage because for me it illustrates in a very simple, very concise, very graphic way the dynamics of faith. There are situations in life that are much more complex in terms of how faith and the power of God is manifested and many times in our own lives the elements of faith become more complex along with the elements of our participation in the principles of the cross and the trials in the life of the Christian and other things that mix and make the element of faith much more complex.
But here we have the power of faith and the concepts of the spirit expressed in a tremendously clear, very simple way and that is why this passage is very good. Because here we have a crisis, we have people who believe in God, we have a prayer and a cry to God and we have a God who responds to that faith and that cry and we have a victory over the crisis. Those are the key elements of the life of faith, they are portrayed here in a very, very clear way and in a way that God's people do almost nothing, except simply become a channel of God's power through their faith.
But here we have the power of faith and the concepts of the spirit expressed in a tremendously clear, very simple way and that is why this passage is very good. Because here we have a crisis, we have people who believe in God, we have a prayer and a cry to God and we have a God who responds to that faith and that cry and we have a victory over the crisis. Those are the key elements of the life of faith, they are portrayed here in a very, very clear way and in a way that God's people do almost nothing, except simply become a channel of God's power through their faith.
