#214: The Battle Belongs to the Lord (Overcomer Series)

Welcome to Kingdom Writers, where we help equip and empower Christian writers of all genres to share your unique gifts with the world. We're your hosts, C.J. and Shelley Hitz.

This podcast is filled with spiritual encouragement as well as prayers to help you overcome the resistance you face as a writer. Your story matters.

Welcome to the Overcomer series. My name is Shelli Hitz and in this series my husband CJ and I will walk you through some steps to help you overcome in your writing, publishing and marketing of your books. This series was originally recorded as live videos inside Christian Book Academy. And so if you would like to join us and be able to spend time with us live, then join us@christianbookacademy.com we wanted this series to also be able to encourage you, so I hope that you enjoy it and leave us a review and let us know how this podcast is encouraging your writing. We would love to hear from you. Enjoy this episode. Today's theme is the battle belongs to the Lord. So wherever you're at right now, if you can, I want you to say out loud, the battle belongs to the Lord. And today we're going to focus on the story of Jehoshaphat that comes from 2nd Chronicles 20, verses 1 through 30. And this is where you often hear the phrase, the battle belongs to the Lord. So that's the theme for today. The battle belongs to the Lord. And as Kingdom Riders, we are writing warriors, right?

We're not just writers, we are warriors. We're writing warriors. We are on the front lines, and we are.

Just a voice that God can use in this generation to impact the people in our sphere of influence, as well as strangers that don't even know us. And so we are writing warriors. Or you could even say word warriors. Yeah, and I just love that thought. Like, we are warriors. And right now we are in a battle, but that battle belongs to the Lord.

Amen. And you know, again, it's 2nd Chronicles, chapter 20, verses 1 through 30. We're not going to read the whole passage, but there are going to be some verses that we hit on and read. But if you want to go back and read that whole story, you know, in its context, but just to give you a little, little idea of what's going on here.

You know, I want to actually just read the, the first verse, and it says, after this, the armies of the Moabites, Ammonites, and some of the Meunites declared war on Jehoshaphat. And the key words there are after this. Well, what does that mean? That refers Back to the previous chapter. You see, Jehoshaphat had basically been making reforms. He had been making changes. He had removed asherah poles, he had appointed judges to actually govern the people fairly. He had essentially encouraged the people. He was the man of the people, Jehoshaphat. So, you know, there are many times where it says he was among the people. He went out among the people. He wasn't just staying inside his palace. You know, he went out among the people and encouraged them. And so there were a lot of incredible things that happened in chapter 19. And so it says right from the beginning of chapter 20 after this, these three armies, oh, what a coincidence, these three armies declare war. And, you know, essentially when you and I draw a line in the sand, get organized, when we set our face to take the steps necessary to write for the Lord, guess what? We need to expect major tests that are going to come our way. And not only that, we also need to realize that our spiritual enemy is certainly going to declare war on our writing. And so we want to say that right from the beginning that as you have signed up for Christian Book Academy, you have taken that step. And we're so grateful for those of you that have joined. We're so grateful for those of you that have been long time members. You've already completed book after book after book. You've seen the Lord work, and yet you know that anytime you set your face for forward and you endeavor to do something in terms of writing for the kingdom.

You'Re going to receive resistance. It is just going to happen. And so we just want to say that right from the beginning that we need to also expect resistance. As Jehoshaphat made these reforms, these changes, an enemy declared war on him from every side. And we as a family need to expect that as well, that resistance is coming. And yet we know again that the battle belongs to the Lord.

Yeah. And we're going to keep saying that throughout this live video today and maybe even throughout the virtual writing retreat, reminding you the battle belongs to the Lord. And, you know, that's why I think a group like this Christian Book Academy is so essential to making progress, because there's going to be points that it's like you will want to feel like giving up. And in verse three, the first part of verse three, Jehoshaphat, it says, Jehoshaphat was terrified by the news and begged the Lord for guidance. It said he was terrified. It didn't say. He just kind of like, you know, you know, got everything together and he, he, you know, he responded Perfectly. And he didn't have any emotions. No. It said he felt fear. He felt the feelings. And you know what? When things happen, when stuff happens and things go on, it's okay to feel. Feel the feelings. It's okay to feel the feelings, but then to move on and ask, like, he begged the Lord for guidance. And so there's gonna be times when maybe we'll receive bad news. Like Jehoshaphat did all those ites.

What were the ites? All the armies that were coming against him.

You know, in reality, they were just termites.

Moabites.

They were termites in view of the Lord.

Yeah, Moabites, Ammonites, and some Munites, whatever their names are. But he got the bad news that they declared war on him. And there are going to be times that you might receive bad news. There might be times that you might see circumstances. And, you know, the first initial reaction is to fear. But then.

Feel the fear.

Feel.

Feel the feelings, and then bring it to the Lord. He begged the Lord for guidance. He went to the Lord in prayer. And so he didn't get stuck. And then, you know, sometimes your greatest storm will be where God does his greatest miracle in your life. And so as you're writing and you know, if you're feeling some of that resistance or some of those things, definitely, like, get your prayer team praying, you know, post in our prayer post every week, prayer request, make sure your getting that covering in prayer. But also know that God is at work. And put your eyes on him, Fix your eyes on him in the midst of the storm. And he brought his fear and he brought the bad news to who? To God. And he brought it to God in prayer. So in verse 3, the second part of verse 3 says, chapter Jehoshaphat also ordered everyone in Judah to begin fasting. And verse four says, so people from all the towns of Judah came to Jerusalem to seek the Lord's help. You know, they didn't know what the outcome was going to be. Now we know the outcome. We know that they ended up defeating their enemies and God gave them the victory. But at that moment, they didn't know what the outcome was going to be. And so they came to the Lord in prayer, and Jehoshaphat called a fast. And like we said, we are in a battle, but the battle belongs to the Lord. And so right now, CJ and I are encouraging every single one of you to prepare for this virtual writing retreat for this first draft challenge, and by calling you into a fast. Now, I know some of you are kind of like, what a fast. I thought I was coming here to write.

But some things the Bible says only come through prayer and fasting. Now, some of you may want to fast a meal. Some of you may want to fast from food a few days. Some of you may not be able to because of medical reasons. Make sure to consult your doctor. Some of you may decide that you want to fast from social media or you want to fast from Netflix. You know, what is it that you'll be fasting from? That's up to you. We're not telling you what to fast, but we are right now, just as Jehoshaphat did. We are calling you to a fast. We are calling you to fix your eyes on Jesus. We are calling you to ask for his guidance, ask for his help as you go forward in this semester.

Yeah. And another lesson that we can learn from the example of Jehoshaphat is to remember how great the Lord is. We see that in this passage. And also to be reminded of past victories and promises. And so I'm actually going to just read verses six through nine. It says, essentially, Jehoshaphat prayed. O Lord, God of our ancestors, you alone are God who is in heaven. You are ruler of all the kingdoms of the earth. You are powerful and mighty. No one can stand against you. You see, he's basically reaffirming God's greatness in front of the people.

Verse 7. O our God, did you not drive out those who lived in this land when your people, Israel, arrived? And did you not give this land forever to the descendants of your friend Abraham? Your people settled here and built this temple to honor your name. They said, whenever we are faced with any calamity, such as war, plague, or famine, we can come to stand in your presence before this temple where your name is honored. We can cry out to you to save us, and you will hear us and rescue us.

Amen.

So what you see there is Jehoshaphat is looking back. He's reminding himself and the others that were hearing him. Hey, we've been through hard times before, and, you know, this is just a side note. This is probably a good reason or one of the good reasons that, you know why some of you keep a journal. I know Shelly's a lot more consistent with a journal than I am, but it is so interesting to look back on seasons of your life and say, oh, wow, the Lord brought me through this victory. You know, we. We've been through some hard times together. And just to remind yourself of his promises as you go through something and then verse 12, it says, we are powerless. This is again, this is. This is Jehoshaphat. We are powerless on our own against our spiritual enemy and his forces. We will have many moments when we essentially don't know what to do. You and I are going to have those moments where we feel absolutely powerless. And you know what, to be honest, you and I, in and of ourselves, are powerless against the spiritual forces of darkness on our own, in Christ, we're victorious. And that's what we must always remember. We cling to the Lord, we rally around each other, and we come to God in prayer. And so, you know, it's essential that we remember that we're powerless without the Lord. And I don't know if you want to say anything to that, but just giving Shelley a chance so that I don't just drone on and on and on.

I can get into a preaching fest here, but I am going to continue. Second Chronicles 20:13 and 14. I love this, too. This so has to do with Christian Book Academy as a family. Now listen to this. It says, as all the men of Judah stood before the Lord with their little ones, wives and children. Go and get that picture in your mind. These are men and women standing together with their families. The Spirit of the Lord came upon one of the men standing there. His name was Jahaziel, son of Zechariah, son of Madias, son of Jael, son of Mattaniah, a Levite who was a descendant of Asaph. And by the way, that's the same Asaph that was responsible for many psalms that we read. And so this was a man who, the Spirit came upon him and he encouraged the people. Now, first of all, this is cool, because I just picture all of us as a Christian.

Christian Book Academy, all of us standing together.

Before the Lord. And at any time, here's the thing, the Spirit of the Lord could speak through any one of us to bring encouragement to the whole group. And that's why don't hold back. If you feel like the Lord is saying something to you to share with the group, please post that. Please share that. Please encourage the others. It could be a timely word. What was that timely word that Jahaziel said? He essentially said in verse 15, the battle is not yours. This is the whole theme of this, this whole live video. The battle is not yours, but God's. And so in cba, we're a family standing before the Lord, waiting to see him respond. Sometimes a word of the Lord comes to us and we realize, oh, thank you, Lord. I Don't have to do this on my own. And then verse 22, at the very moment that they began to sing and give praise. And so, moving ahead here, just to give you a background, Jehoshaphat had essentially told the people, we're going to send singers out as we go meet our foes in battle. We're going to sing out this. Send out the singers first, the worshipers first.

Yeah. And just a side note, those of you that haven't checked it out yet, in the first draft challenge module in the training area, CJ put together worship playlists. One is called a battle playlist and one is called a Be still playlist. So that's how we are equipping you with worship, to go out before you, before the army, before you. And powerful things happen when we worship. So if you haven't check those out yet, definitely go and get those playlists.

How many know that there's power in music? Oh, yeah. I mean, you can listen to a song, it could bring you to tears as you just feel the Lord ministering to you in your heart. But in verse 22, it says at the very moment they began to sing and give praise, at that moment, the Lord caused the armies of Ammon, Moab and Mount Seir to. To start fighting among themselves. I want to tell you this. The enemy hates praise and worship. He wants nothing to do with it. He runs. You're going to see your enemy scatter at every point. When you begin to set your mind to worshiping, to praising, to thanking the Lord. And.

As you read that whole context, you realize that they were essentially singing Give thanks to the Lord. And I always think of that Chris Tomlin song. I did not include that one in the playlists, but go back and listen to that one. Turn that one up loud. Give thanks to the Lord for he is good. His. His. I can't remember. His love endures forever.

That's a scripture.

And so praising and worshiping the Lord through music is going to be one of our most powerful weapons as we move forward.

Yeah. And we've already started to hear testimonies of how the playlists are already helping you all. Someone was saying that they were really having a hard day and they started playing the battle list and it just lifted. I think it was Shirley. Was it? Shirley said that she was listening to the Be still playlist as she was writing. It was just feeling like, you know, God was just really flowing through her and giving her, you know, so make your own playlist if you want. Use the playlist. We've provided for you, but you can also create your own. But there is power in music. And so the theme for today is the battle belongs to the Lord. And as I mentioned earlier, we are just encouraging you and calling you to, to a fast. I, I know that our flesh goes, no, I don't want to. But you can do this in any way that you feel God calling you to do it. So if you already have confirmation in your spirit of what you feel God is asking you to do, whether it's one meal, whether it's one day, whether it's a few days, whether it's or.

Without food, the social media, it could.

Be fasting, whatever it is, except for this group, but fasting from Netflix, it could be fasting from, you know, whatever it is. So, you know, God will show you in your spirit. And this is optional, but we are really just really encouraging you to commit. It's almost like with the fast, we're committing this semester to the Lord, we're committing our book to the Lord. And so if you have already decided or, you know, heard from the Lord, post in the comments what you will do as your fast, if you are still praying about it, just let us know. Say, I'm gonna pray about it and ask the Lord for wisdom. I have joined actually something that's, I think it's closing down today or tomorrow. So if you're listening live, you could still sign up for it. It's actually a sugar fast from revelationwellness.org and it's a 21 day sugar fast. So you could actually even just fast from one type of food. You could fast from like soda or pop or, you know, something like that. But whatever it is for you, you know, ask the Lord and do it unto him, do it as unto him, to really usher in this power. And this prayer that is going to just be a force to help you this semester to finish the work that God has called you to finish the first draft of of your book. So, cj, go ahead and close us in prayer.

All right. Well, Father, we just thank you so much for this day. This is a day of opportunity. This is a day that you've given us to join you in being Kingdom writers. And Lord, I just want to ask that your holy spirit would be poured out upon each and every one of these incredible Christian writers that want to write for your glory. Lord, we ask that there would be breakthrough where breakthrough is needed. We pray that you would bring inspiration. We pray, Lord, that you would allow people to become unstuck. Lord, may we come running to you begging, just as Jehoshaphat did. May we come to you realizing you're our only hope that without your help, none of this gets finished. At least not for eternal purposes. It may be here today and gone tomorrow. But, Lord, we ask that you would give us things to write that would leave a lasting legacy, that would impact people for eternity. And even those of us that are writing things that maybe aren't as maybe overtly Christian, or maybe they're just a how to manual on some sort of technical thing regarding computers or social media, more of a practical kind of book. Lord, I still pray that your anointing would be upon those books, that people, as they read them, would just have an awareness that there's something deeper about this writer. Yes, there's something happening beneath the surface that maybe I need to even dig a little more to see what other things they offer. And I do pray that each and every one of our members, their writings would go throughout the four corners of the earth, Lord, that they truly would be writers that impact people worldwide, that they'd have a worldwide influence. And that is so powerful, possible today in the technological Kindle age that we live in. And so would you just win a mighty victory today, Lord, in whatever area each and every one of these Christian writers needs. And we will give you all the glory, all the honor, as we hear testimony after testimony of how you broke through.

Yes.

And used each and every one of us as instruments in your hands. And. And so we just ask all these things in Jesus wonderful name. Amen.

Amen. So what's the theme for today, cj?

The battle belongs to the Lord.

Let's say that together right now, out loud. The battle belongs to the Lord.

Hey, I'm just even gonna break out in song. The battle belongs to the Lord. Yeah, we say. I can't even remember all the words now.

I was just getting ready, and then it stopped when you stopped.

But the battle belongs to Lord. Write that out. Post it in your writing area, wherever you write. Trust the Lord that he has amazing things for you.

Take care, guys.

Bye. Thank you so much for spending time with us in this episode. It truly means the world to us. We also have a free gift for you. It's a new PDF that CJ and I recently wrote called 8 surprisingly Simple Writing Tips. Say that 10 times real fast in a row, right? But it's a PDF. You can get instant access just go to trainingauthors.com writingtips we'd love to send that PDF to you right now. And again, it's called Eight Surprisingly Simple Writing Tips. Enjoy.

Thank you for listening to this episode of Kingdom Writers. We believe that you, as a Christian writer, have a specific role to play in the Kingdom of Heaven to impact lives for eternity.

And because of this, we choose to pour out our lives into encouraging writers like you to to not only tell your stories, but to take the courageous step of self publishing your stories in books that will outlive you and leave behind a powerful legacy. This podcast is sponsored by Christian Book Academy, where we help you give birth to your books. We invite you to join our community of Kingdom Writers.