Messianic Praise and Worship

[Larry]

(Divrei-Hayamim Bet/2 Chronicles 20:1-3) “Some time later, the people of Mo’av and the people of ‘Amon with other ‘Amonim came up to fight Y’hoshafat. Y’hoshafat was told , “A huge Army from beyond the [Dead] Sea, from Aram, is on its way to fight you; right now they are in Hatzatzon-Tamar” (that is, ‘Ein-Gedi) Y’hoshafat was frightened, so he determined to seek HaShem. He proclaimed a fast throughout all Y’hudah.”

We, just like Y’hoshafat have all had times in our life where we are faced with an enemy or many at one time. Some people choose to retaliate with a sword, or guns or bombs; however some choose Emuna, just like Y’hoshafat and seek God to rise up and defend them. In this study on Emuna, we will see how the power of praise and worship enrich our Emuna and bring us closer to God in our times of trouble.

Although Y’hoshafat was frightened, just like we all get, he did not immediately resort to a carnal retaliation. Because he had Emuna, and not an earthly mind-set, he was able to seek God to deliver him and the people of Y’hudah from trouble. The people of Y’hudah under the leadership of Y’hoshafat the King were unified and this is very crucial because the Messiah, Rabbi Yeshua taught us (Mattityahu/Matthew 12:25) “However, knowing what they were thinking, Yeshua said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and every city or household divided against itself will not survive.” Y’hudah clearly understood this concept as we can see in the next portion of scripture (Divrei-Hayamim Bet/2 Chronicles 20:4) “And Y’hudah assembled to seekhelp from HaShem; they came from all the cities of Y’hudah to seek HaShem.” They were all united in one cause, to seek God for deliverance from the enemies against them; they came together in fasting and prayer where Y’hoshafat delivered a powerful prayer from (20:6-12), just like Yeshua in the wilderness, the power of fasting and prayer increased their Emuna which would overcome the enemy against them.

(Divrei-Hayamim Bet/2 Chronicles 20:13-15) “All Y’hudah stood before HaShem with their little ones, their wives and their children. Then, in the middle of the assembly, the Spirit of HaShem came upon Yachzi’el the son of Z’ kharyahu, the son of B’nayah, the son of Ye‘i’el, the son of Matanyah the Levi, from the descendents of Asaf. He said, “Listen, all Y’hudah, you who live in Yerushalayim and Kind Y’hoshafat: here is what HaShem is saying to you: Don’t be afraid or distressed by this great horde; for this battle is not yours, but Gods.”

Every day we all face battles, whether physical, spiritual, or even mental; tribulation comes our way and our Emuna is tested and we are often pushed to our limits and even face great distress and disappointment. However this passage gives us hope, because the people of Y’hudah in this portion of scripture were facing physical enemies from many directions who wanted to destroy them, yet they were firm and steady with Emuna and came together as one. In our world today, especially in the North America, we don’t normally have to deal with a physical enemy coming after us in battle unless we are involved in a life of crime, but still we every day we all have our battles, some we win and some we lose, some seem like uphill battles that seem almost impossible to overcome, and others are solved in the twinkling of an eye. Some common battles we all face involve finances, careers, sickness, family problems, the list goes on; but what we need to remember is that for us as believers in the Almighty God of Israel, just like for the people of Y’hudah, the battle belongs to God. The book of Romans provides us with a very comforting portion of scripture that has been quoted countless time by a very sincere Rabbi and has brought even me through many tough uphill battles. (Romans 8:28) “Furthermore, we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called in accordance to His purpose.”

The people of Y’hudah were all called in accordance to Gods purpose, just as we are, who are called in faith in our Rabbi Yeshua the Messiah, if God caused everything to work together for the good of the people of Y’hudah during their battle, then He will most definitely cause everything to work together for the good for those of us who are called in faith in our Rabbi Yeshua. 

(Divrei-Hayamim Bet/2 Chronicles 20:16-17) “Tomorrow, go down against them. They will be coming up by the ascent of Tzitz, and you will find them at the end of vadi, before the Yeru’el Desert. You won’t even need to fight this battle! Just take your positions, Y’hudah and Yerushalayim, stand still, and watch how HaShem will deliver you! Don’t be afraid or distressed; tomorrow, go out against them; for HaShem is with you.”

A lot of us worry about tomorrow, the upcoming battles we allow to stress us out and make us fear leaving our house and going to work, facing our bosses, or even opening the big pile of bills on the kitchen table. This portion of scripture teaches us not to worry about the battles and difficulties that await us, but rather we need to just take our positions where we are called, be still and trust in the God of Israel to deliver us because He is always with us every step of the way. Our Rabbi Yeshua teaches us (Mattityahu/Matthew 6:34) “Don’t worry about tomorrow – tomorrow will worry about itself! Today has enough tsuris (trouble) already.” The people of Y’hudah clearly understood this teaching when it was revealed by the Spirit of HaShem on that day of battle. We also need to realize and apply this to our lives, we all worry, we all stress, we all get afraid and scared from time to time, but we need to embed within our hearts, minds and souls that God is always with us and we just need to stand still, relax and watch how God will deliver us from our times of the battles of this world through miraculous events.

(Divrei-Hayamim Bet/2 Chronicles 20:18-19) “Y’hoshafat bowed his head with his face to the ground; while all Y’hudah and the inhabitants of Yerushalayim fell down before HaShem, worshipping HaShem, and the L’vi’im from the descendants of the K’hati and the descendants of the Korchi, stood up and praised HaShem the God of Isra’el at the top of their voices.”

Here in this portion we see the people of Y’hudah standing firm in faith with pure and true Emuna, at a time when many would panic and fear, they humbled themselves before God and bowed down to the ground in worship to the God of Israel. To those called to according to their purpose to praise God, stood up and praised God at the top of their voices as if their lives and everything depended on it, which at this point it did, they trusted God and had Emuna, it was a blazing spiritual fire with them all united, standing as one kingdom that activated miraculous events from heaven. We also at our congregations and fellowships around the world need to be united as one in Messiah just like the people of Y’hudah before their battle, so that we can be triumphant and rejoice in victory over the battles we face every day.

(Divrei-Hayamim Bet/2 Chronicles 20:21-22) “After consulting with the people, he appointed those who would sing to HaShem and praise the splendor of His holiness as they went ahead of the army, saying, “Give thanks to HaShem, for His grace continues forever.” Then during the time when they were singing and praising, HaShem brought a surprise attack against the people of ‘Amon, Mo’av and Mount Se’ir who had come to fight Y’hudah; and they were defeated.”

The power of praise and worship is beyond our understanding; the thought of it bringing victory in a physical war is beyond the logic of modern day military tactics. However, for us who are united as on in the Messiah of Israel, our Rabbi Yeshua; the power of praise and worship is our strength and will deliver us in our greatest times of trouble, sickness, poverty and anything else of this present world that desires to attack us. We must always be in a state of thanksgiving towards God, our everlasting Father in Heaven who has given us His only begotten son, Yeshua the Messiah, who was resurrected from the dead and through faith in Him alone, we have the free gift of eternal life. Our Rabbi Yeshua, who lived a perfect life without sin, and had the most pure and perfect Emuna, gained victory for us from the curse of sin and death; if we walk in His footsteps and live a life of Torah and faith in the one true God of Israel, then in the merit of the name of our Rabbi Yeshua, nothing will be impossible for us to overcome.

(Divrei-Hayamim Bet/2 Chronicles 20:23) “What happened was that the people of ‘Amon and the Mo’av began attacking those people who lived by Mount Se’ir, to kill and destroy them completely; and when they had finished off the people from Se’ir, they set to work slaughtering one another.”

God worked this out for the people of Y’hudah by sending a spirit of confusion over all the enemies of Y’hudah, which was most likely released from the spirit realm by the intensity of the praise and worship of those appointed to praise God, if so, then we need to seek this intense fire within us when we praise and worship our God so that we also can partake in the glory of these miraculous victories in our daily battles and troubles of this world.

(Divrei-Hayamim Bet/2 Chronicles 20:25-26) “Y’hoshafat and his army came to take the spoil from them and found among them personal property in abundance and corpses with precious jewels, which they stripped off for themselves until they couldn’t carry anymore. They took three days just to collect the spoil, there was so much. On the fourth day, they assembled in the Valley of B’rakhah [blessing], where they blessed HaShem; hence that place is called the Valley of B’rakhah to this day.”

This passage here is a fulfillment of the promise of God in the Torah (D’varim/Deuteronomy 23:6) “But HaShem your God would not listen to Bil’am; rather, HaShem your God turned the curse into a blessing for you; because HaShem your God loves you.” Y’hudah was faced with what many would consider a curse, but instead of facing death and defeat, they were victorious and blessed because of God’s love for them and the power of their praise and worship. We too, through our faith in Our Rabbi Yeshua are free from these curses because our curses were nailed on the cross with Yeshua; therefore, with faith in Yeshua and facing every battle with Emuna, we will be able to have the same victory as Y’hudah, we will be able to watch our enemies be defeated before our very eyes, and we will be brought to a personal and spiritual “Valley of B’rakhah[blessing]” rather than the Valley of the shadow of death.

Praise and worship should be part of our everyday lives as believers; there is no battle or obstacle that we cannot overcome with God by our side. God loves us, and He will not let us, His children live under a curse when the blood of Messiah has freed us from curses. We will face many battles, but with the lessons we learned from King Y’hoshafat and the people of Y’hudah, we will be able to have victory over our enemies assemble in the “Valley of B’rakhah [blessing]” and give thanks to God and praise the spender of His holiness.

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