Take a Peak and Prosper | II Chronicles 20:12

Amen. There is an exegetical invitation I want to extend to you, and I pray that you accept. You've been invited to fellowship with me this morning, the Old Testament book of 2 Chronicles. 2 Chronicles chapter number 20. 2 Chronicles, not to be confused with Corinthians. Chronicles is spelled C-H, Corinthians starts with C-O. Chronicles in the Old Testament. So if you're in the back there, you start seeing red letters and you at the end of your Bible, you need to come back to 2 Chronicles chapter number 20. 2 Chronicles chapter number 20, and I want to read verse number 12. I'm going to read from the King James Version because I think it sounds more familiar. Than what you're used to hearing. Word of God reads, O our God, will thou not judge them? For we have no might against this great company that cometh against us, neither know we what to do. Here it is, but Our eyes are upon thee. You may be seated.

Go ahead, preacher. Come on, come on.

It's a lot going on, and I really have no clue what to do, but I'm gonna look to you. All right, for just a few moments on this rainy Sunday morning, I want to rouse her from the subject Take a peek and prosper. Take a peek and prosper. Famed scientist and thinker by the name of Stephen Hawking, he was an atheist, but he was a brilliant scientist. He was stricken, stricken with ALS. And as time progressed, he suffered from paralysis. He lost the activity of his limbs. Hawkins could not speak because he was suffering with this disease called ALS. But in his brilliance Hawkins, though he was an atheist, was able to develop a mechanism.

And TC, the thing about this mechanism that Hawkins was able to develop is that he was able to look at a screen, and when he looked at the screen it could interpret his brain simply by looking.

This mechanism that this brilliant man was able to develop when he was not able to speak, when he looked at the mechanism, the mechanism was able to speak for it.

Since y'all don't get it because it's raining, when Hawkins was not able to do what he looked at was able to do it for him. When he couldn't talk, what he looked at did the talking for him. When he was not able to move, what he looked at did the moving for him. And I'm trying to tell somebody today that there are some areas in your life where you don't have the power, you don't have the know-how, you don't have the ability But you do have the power, right, and privilege today to look to a God that where you can't perform, the God that you look at can perform for you. And I want to remind somebody today, you're trying to figure life out, you're trying to determine what it is you need to do, you done wore yourself out trying to work it out yourself. But let me tell you today Don't try to figure it out. Just look to the one who can do the work for you. I want to know today, is there anybody who knows that the only way that I've made it to this point in my life is that there were times where I didn't have to lift a finger, but I looked to a God who was on my side. I looked to a God who knew everything.

And when I didn't have the power, when I didn't have the peace, when I didn't have the desire I had a God that I looked to who worked it out in my life. And today I want to remind somebody, you can still look to him. You don't have to do life yourself. You don't have to know all of the answers, but you do need to know who you're gonna look to. And the one that you look to still has the power to move in amazing ways. I don't care what's going on, you can still look to him. I don't care how you may feel, you can still look to him. I don't care if you even understand him, but look to him anyway.

We're in 2 Chronicles chapter 20. Children of Israel, Judah, led by King Jehoshaphat, are in a strange predicament. They are about to be attacked by not just one opponent. They are about to be attacked by three. They're about to be attacked by the Moabites, the Ammonites, and those who inhabited the mountain of Seir. It's one thing if you have to deal with one problem, but it's a whole nother thing when all types of problems are coming at you at the same time. And, and child of God, you don't have to confess. God gave me this word, so I know I'm talking to you. But you're not just dealing with the Moabites, you dealing with the Ammonites too, and you're also dealing with the people in the mountain of Seir. You got not just one problem, but you got multiple problems, and they all are coming at you at the same time.

You're trying to get your blood pressure right, now your money done gone crazy.

When your money gone crazy, now your family gone crazy.

When your family gone crazy, then your church family go crazy. And you got all of this going on at the same time.

But here is what Jehoshaphat did.

He said, we—

I don't know what we gonna do.

Yeah.

But I know who I'm gonna go to. And I know this is a simple word in this time in our life, but before you try to get to concocting your own plans, you better still say that I don't want to touch it without first talking to God. And the blessing in this text is that when Jehoshaphat found that they were surrounded by these three enemies He went to God. God gave him a word and said, you know what, this battle really ain't even yours.

This battle belongs to me.

And you think you gonna have to fight this yourself, but by the time you get to the battle, you're gonna discover that I've already won the victory. And guess what happened, children of God? Just like God said, they didn't have to lift a finger, but they lifted up their hands in prayer.

They lifted up their hands in praise.

They lifted up their hands in worship.

And while they were worshiping, God was working for them. And I want to tell you today that in 2025 it still pays to look to God. Prosperity is only going to come when you look to God and let God figure it out. Let God work it out, and you will find that God already has a plan. He already has a purpose. He already has a blessing. He already has a miracle. And I want to know today, is there anybody who believes that while you're stressed God already got it figured out. With the tears in your eyes, God already got it figured out. If you can just manage to keep on living, if you can just manage to wake up in the morning, if you can just manage to continue to believe in God, you will discover that God is a man that does not have to lie. And whatever God has spoken over whatever God has spoken to you, he knew what he was saying when he said it. So get to shouting right now!

And here is my thesis. I hear 167 calling my name. Is that you will discover that when you look to God God has a way of giving you something good to look at. I don't appreciate—

y'all missed it.

If you sitting right there will just look to God, God will get to work and give you something good to look at.

So instead of looking at your problem, look at the God who solves the problem. And when God gets through working on the problem, You will say, God done done it again. I came to him with my issue and he did it again. I came to him with my stress and he did it again. I came to him worried. I came to him frustrated. And he proved to me that he is Alpha and Omega. He proved to me that he is the beginning and the end. He proved to me that he does fight my battles. He proved to me that vengeance is his. He proved to me that I am the righteousness of God. He proved to me that all things do work together for the good of him. And I'm trying to tell somebody, look to God and he'll give you something good to look at.

When God is prospering you by taking a peek at him, there are some things I want to share with you, some Herman Luke highlights. And once I share with these— with you I'm down 167. Are y'all curious about this text? This text teaches us about God's stinginess. We see and know that God is a giving God, but what blesses me in this text, Honorable Mayor, is that even though God is gracious and giving, there are some things that God wants to keep to himself. Translated, the battle that you are in, even though you're in it, it don't belong to you.

So therefore, since the battle don't belong to you, Don't try to borrow some of God's battle from him.

Go to bed tonight because God said this don't belong to you.

And if you try to handle what belongs to me, it's gonna run your blood pressure up. If you try to handle what belongs to me, you're gonna be stressed out. If you try to handle what belongs to me, you're gonna make a mess out of it. But since it don't belong to you, keep your hands off of it and keep your hands lifted towards me.

Brothers and sisters, the grace of God— we often think about the grace of God as in what God is giving me, but the grace in this text is about what God takes from me. Because in this text they were in a battle, but God says, let me take that thing from you.

And I want to know today, has there ever been somebody who's received grace from God because he took some mess away from you? He took some struggle away from you. He took some situations away from you, and you are in the midst of it, and it did not feel good. But the grace of God said, here, give me that, let me have that witcher, because I want you to go to bed at night, I want you to live a life of peace, I want you to live a life of joy. And if you keep that thing in your hand, it's gonna wear you slap out. But our prayer for you today is that God will give you so much grace that God will get to take his battles away from you. Where you think you gotta fix it, you think you gonna cuss them back out, you think you gonna get them told. And God has a way of snatching his divine hand in the midst of your mess and say, here, give me that mess and get to serving me. You ain't got no business battling with that. You ain't got no business dealing with that. I'll take care of them. I'll give you the payback. I'll take care of the situation. You just give it to me. Is there anybody who want God to just take it from you? You want him to just reach his hand all in your mess? You want him to reach your hand all in your situation and you will be free in God knowing that God took it again? I know it gets hard, child of God.

I know it gets hard because even though the battle is God's. Mims, it's mighty strange that you have to see and feel the threat of a battle that's not yours, but don't let the feeling and threat of the battle make you try to take ownership and possession of the battle. If they talking about you, I know it don't feel bad but they really talking about God.

If they are coming against you, even though you may have to feel it, it don't belong to you, it belongs to God. So you ain't gotta get your clap back, you ain't gotta get your payback, you ain't gotta make a Facebook post about it, you ain't gotta make a snap about it, you ain't gotta make a thread about it. Just leave that thing alone and remember God done took that thing from you already.

So I want to argue, Dr. Mason, you're a critical thinker. So if the battle was God's and they had to feel the threat of the battle, then perhaps the reason that they felt the ramifications and threats of the battle is because God used his children to lure the enemy in.

You better keep your hands off me, because perhaps the only reason God allowed me to be seen by you is to lure that spirit of that demonic spirit in you in order for him to be able to conquer that spirit.

Translated, you may be blessed to be bait.

Lord, y'all, I ain't saying nothing this morning. The blessing in this text is that the children of Israel were blessed to be bait. In other words, God used them because he knew the enemy was going to go after them to bring them in. Don't y'all remember when the children of Israel were at the Red Sea? They had the Red Sea in front of them, they had Pharaoh and his army behind them. They went through on dry ground, but they were just blessed to be bait because Pharaoh's army came after them. And that thing that they walked through, the enemy drowned in it. And there are some things that the enemy is trying to chase after you, but it will drown in what the trying to chase you in.

Go to bed tonight, let it alone, let God take it from you. I, I know y'all don't care about this. I know y'all don't, but it's in my sermon, so I gotta teach. Uh, in Greek mythology, there's this 10-year battle called the Trojan War. This Trojan War, I'm not gonna tell you what it's about. Uh, the Trojan War was between the Greeks and the Trojans of Troy. It was a 10-year battle. They were beefed out for 10 years and nobody won the battle. The Greeks had a bright idea. You about to learn some Greek mythology today. The Greeks had a bright idea. They said, it's been 10 years, and we ain't won this war.

Her—

so here's what we're gonna do. Since the Trojans' walls are so hard to get through, what we're going to do, we're gonna act like we are retreating. And what we're going to do, we're going to look like we're giving up.

And they did.

They acted like they were retreating. And they pretended to be giving— to give up. And they presented the Trojans with a wooden horse. Have y'all ever heard of a Trojan horse?

They presented them with what's called a Trojan horse.

And in this wooden horse, they presented this gift to the Trojans.

And what, what they did not know was inside that wooden horse is that when they looked like they were retreating They were actually hiding in the horse, and when they hid in the horse, they were able to sneak inside the walls and get the victories. Who am I talking to today? You may look like you're retreating, but you're really just hiding in a horse. Just hide in God, just hide in your Savior, and if you hide in him and hide in his word, then he'll give you the victory. Just look like you're a tree and hide in him.

Hehehe. I didn't know that God was stingy. Come on. This text also teaches us how gestures shift. They shifted gestures. Here, here it is. Uh, after they heard the word— I'm gonna see how many of y'all really going to put this into practice. After the prophet Jehaziel came and told them, God said you're not going to have to fight this battle because it belong to him, they heard the word and start worshiping. Jehoshaphat, after hearing the word, knelt down on his face and led Judah into worship. All right, up until this moment, all that we had heard was about the threats and about the worry. After a word comes, now they go into worship. Child of God, hearing a word from God is designed to make you worship. Uh, uh, uh, they start worshiping, they still are going to have to go face the battle. But even though they're about to have to go face the battle, they're not going to have to fight the battle. And so they still see and are in the midst of the threat of the enemy. But before the battle is started, they started to worship. Jehoshaphat, this is a mighty strange time for you to start having church.

Jehoshaphat said—

he talked to me this morning, he said, ham, I know, but it may look like a strange time to worship.

That's because you ain't heard what I heard. I heard that what I've been worrying about, that God is going to take care of it, and God ain't lied to me yet. So therefore, I believe by faith in what his word says So let me start worshiping right now.

Uh-uh, now, now, now, now, now, I know because you are— you live in a human context, and since you live in a human context, you have been taught to believe— don't believe it until you see it— because you know people can lie. And you know what? That's the God knows truth. People can and will lie. And so therefore, when dealing with humans, it is wise to not get overly excited about human promises, because if you get overly excited about human promises, you are subject to disappointment because humans— here it is— you're a human. Guess What? You lied too. But it's something in this text that teaches us where we like to say actions speak louder than words, but with God, God's word is what causes actions to come to pass. Since God is not bound to time, God is already in the future, present, and past at the same time, which means that God only says what God already saw. And so God make promises because he is the God of eternity, past, present, and future.

He just simply speaks promises because he already saw how this thing gonna work out. In other words, God only said it because God already saw it. And if God has promised you something in his word, don't wait on time to catch up. You catch your worship up with time. In other words, if the word of God says that no weapon formed against you shall be able to prosper When you hear that word, just start worshiping even though you may see the weapon. Is there anybody today who's looking at a weapon right now? Well, let me go ahead and spoil the surprise for you. It ain't gonna prosper. It won't work. Is there anybody who's facing provision lack? Well, let me spoil it for you. He says that my God shall supply all of your needs according to his riches in glory. So even though you may see your bank account now, I dare you to worship in the face of what you see, because if God said it, God already saw it. And if God already saw it, I believe what he said and saw. Preach, Gavin R.M.! And I want to tell somebody today, God done already saw this thing. He done already worked it. So don't wait to worship, start worshiping now. You come here Sunday after Sunday, and I don't know if I'm preaching worth nothing, but I know you hear a word from God. So when you leave here, go home and worship. You may have to go to this same job, you may deal with them same fools, you may deal with them same n— but worship in they face. And say, God got you figured out too. You may still have sickness in your body, the doctor may still say it look bad, but worship in the doctor's office because you know that you are healed in the name of Jesus. The word is going to work out in your life. Somebody in here right now still waiting to worship. You still looking for evidence.

The word is the evidence that Y'all done made me raise my voice. It sounds like— it seems since God— I'm gonna slow this down to make sure, because it's gonna sound crazy, okay? I'm telling you now, it's gonna sound crazy. When God gives you a word, it is actually a preview of history.

I know, I know I sound crazy.

Y'all think Winfield ain't teach me nothing because you know with your Jackson Parish education that history is in the past, and a preview is something that is— you see for the future. So Gavin R. Hales, PhD, how can you see a preview of history? Because God done already fix your future, so it's history for him.

Your future, future for men is history for God. So when God gives you a word, it's a preview of historical from heaven.

I'm about to teach y'all something else that I know y'all don't care about, but it's in my sermon, so guess what I'm gonna do? I'm gonna preach it. Uh, you look up in the sky every night, on clear nights, it's pretty when you see the stars. Sometimes, every now and then, you will see a supernova. That's a big bursting flash. That means a star is dying. Guess what I discovered? That when you look up into the sky, sometimes what you see is actually already gone. Because have y'all ever heard of the term light years? The stars and galaxy are so far away that is literally years away from him. What you see here in these huts really is years away, because if you traveled, it would take you millions of years to get there. What you mean, Gabby? Since light has to travel through time, it takes years for the flash of light to make it to the Earth.

So what you look at tonight may have already happened millions of years ago, and it just took a while to get to you. Who am I talking to? There are some things already happening in the heavens. It's just gonna take some time to get to you. So if you know that it's already happened, nothing you do gonna stop it from happening. Translated: if God said it in the heavens, no matter how much time it takes, it's gonna make it to you right here on Earth. I don't care if y'all didn't want to hear that, you done heard it.

And some stuff done happened in heaven and you worried about it here. But God's word today, keep on waiting because the light done shined in heaven.

And I know you see what's going on in your life, but a light done already shined in heaven. And since the light shined in heaven, it's only a matter of time before it makes it to you right here on Earth.

Uh-huh. Well, Tamela, here I come. Time for us to have us a good argument today. But before I go argue with you, let me tell my people one more thing.

See, me and my brother have conversations, we ain't even the same place.

Text also teaches us about a grappling sound. Uh, Jaziel gave instructions from God. All right, what do we do? Here's what y'all do. Go set yourself, stand still, and you gonna see the salvation of the Lord. Wait a minute now. We about to go to battle. What gun you want us to shoot?

Put your bow and arrow up.

Go set yourself. Stand still and you gonna see the salvation.

I wish I was a good preacher of the Lord.

That was divine instruction. Go read the text. Jehoshaphat and Judah became partially disobedient. They were instructed to go set themselves and stand still. Go read the text and you'll know your pastor ain't lying to you. They get down there Jehoshaphat done started the choir. He organized the tribe of Levi. He organizes worship. And guess what they did? They started praising.

Yeah.

And when they started praising, the praise confused the people from the mountain of Seir. And Oh, the Ammonites and Moabites who were joined to fight against Judah, they start fighting each other. And so when they started praising, the enemy started killing themselves.

Which means don't worry about your enemy, but worry about the God who can fight your enemies, and praise the God who already got your enemy taken care of. And he'll just take care of himself.

Wait a minute, I have a question. How come they praise God when God didn't tell them to?

There is—

I'm trying to help somebody today. Their instruction was go set yourself and stand still. I didn't tell you to praise, so why did you praise? You want to know what that teaches me?

Some stuff God is so good with, shouldn't nobody have to tell you to praise God. You want to know somebody that you— who's looking for a key?

Crazy loud, everybody!

And then you gonna praise the Lord. But let me tell you something today that shouldn't nobody have to tell you, with your blessed and not deserved self, to praise God. Because God honors praise that is voluntary. And I'm trying to tell somebody today, there is victory for you in a voluntary praise.

All right, all right, here's something I worked on. See my hands? All right, when you can praise God without being prompted, it can prompt the power of God. Man, I worked on that.

Come on, one more time, you got to get it again.

Let me drop the yo with it. If you can praise God without being prompted, it has a way of prompting the power of God.

And somebody today, you want to prompt the power of God, it may be based upon you praising God for what he done already told you, that this thing is going to work out in your favor.

I'm done with y'all. I thought Jehoshaphat— they started this text and they said, we don't know what to do. But they get down to the end. Anybody here can admit today that you facing life circumstances and you really don't know what to do? All right. Let me help. I'm gonna give you this for free. I ain't even gonna charge you, not charge it to your insurance. They said, we don't know what to do. They get to the end and praise God without being told to do. Nobody told them to praise, but they praised God without being told to praise God. I don't want to argue, Jehoshaphat, that you really do know what to do. And I came to Pilgrim Rest today, driving down 167, to tell somebody who don't know what to do, yes you do.

Lift up your hands, lift up your voice. Tell God thank you in advance. And when you tell God thank you in advance, you'll see that the enemy that you thought you was going to have to face will be able to take care of itself. You don't know how to cuss them out, you don't know how to play the game with them, you don't know how to wrestle with it, but you do know how to look your eyes up and say, Father, I thank you because it's in your hands. But I thought you was having a problem on my job. I am. But Father, I thank you that you can take care of that job. I thought you was having problems in your body. I am, but I'm gonna talk to God about it and tell God thank you that he already took care of it. All I'm trying to say, you don't know what to do, I'm gonna tell you, just start praising right now. Let me pull my peppermint out in advance because I'm done.

I really— I'm really done. Do y'all see the theme in this text? Here's the theme in this text: they were dealing with something that was too big for them. And since it was too big for them, God said, honorable mayor, I'm gonna take care of it. Myself. Y'all know I'ma preach the gospel. It was too much for them. So since it was too much— good night— for them, God said, I will take care of it myself. One more time, they were dealing with something that was too big for them. And God said, don't you worry about it because you'll mess it up, but I will take care of it myself.

Since y'all don't know the gospel, the sin problem that you had was too big for you. You were headed straight to hell. Because you were born in sin. Abraham tried to do it, but Abraham couldn't do it. Isaiah tried to do it, but Isaiah couldn't do it. And time came and God said, you know what, I'll take care of this myself. Come here, Mary, I know you're a virgin and that's why I choose you, because I'm gonna choose you to take care of sin myself, and I'm gonna come in the form Jesus, that's God in the flesh. And that sin problem that they got that they can't fix themselves, I'ma go to the cross called Calvary and take care of it myself. And you want to know why your sin ain't your problem no more? Because God took care of your sin himself, and now you're redeemed, you're set free, you're a child of God because he took care of it himself. And he kept on taking care of it. He took care of death by getting up the third day Sunday morning, and he's still today taking care of stuff himself.

I want to remind you today, he'll take care of it himself. It don't mean you won't have to face the battle, but he gonna take care of your battle. Be encouraged, child of God. When you have to face battles, because it don't mean you're gonna have to fight the battle.

Y'all miss what I was saying?

Ding nosy.

Y'all worried about who walking down there. I didn't miss what I said.

You may have to face the battle, but that don't mean you're gonna necessarily have to fight the battle.

Be encouraged.

Set yourself. And don't just do that, start praising in advance.

I, I don't know how he gonna fight it. I don't know how you're gonna fight it, but I'm just thankful that he gonna fight it. I don't know how, really. I'm growing in faith enough to the point I'm understanding that really I don't need to know how.

I just need to know that he fighting.

You wondering about what you need to do to prosper? Take a peek.

Look to him.

What a blessing to know that when we look to him, he'll fight for us.

We offer Jesus to you today.

Hallelujah! Look to him right now.

He still like to be looked at.

You looking like, like Stephen Hawkins.

What you looking at will do the work for you, will do the work with you. Learn it now. Somebody can be relieved this week.

People ask, how you doing? Looking. How you doing with all this stress? Looking. 2025, that's my year of looking. I'm looking and lifting him. He'll tell me what to do.

He'll tell me how to serve.

He'll tell me what to do.

But in the meantime, I'm just going to look and lift his name up.

All right, all right.

He's available for you right now.

Hallelujah. Yes, hallelujah.

If God has spoken to you this morning, why don't you give God a hand clap of praise?