.  Living Hope Fellowship Church....Sermons by the Pastor 

I’m Gonna Sing

by Pastor Kevin Badgley

            People are watching your every move, and if they don’t like what they see they want to criticize.  God is looking for integrity in His body of believers, and those who will pray, believe God, and go on no matter what.  No matter what Job went through, he retained his integrity.  Obeying the Lord is paramount! 

The Word of God is TRUTH.  It is the anchor to our soul and the foundation for what we believe.  The Word tells us that our God is a spontaneous God.  He has called us to be instant in season and out of season (see 2 Timothy 4:2).  We need to be ready to go and move with Him whether it is convenient or not. 

King Jehoshaphat did something that was spontaneous as the Spirit of the Lord directed him.  It was not regular methodology, and it can be applied today.  You can read about it in 2 Chronicles, Chapter 20.  Jehoshaphat, a godly king over Judah, heard that an army was coming against them, and he knew there was no way he could defeat them.  Several kingdoms came together so they could whip them.  Maybe one devil can’t whip you, but if enough of them get together, they think they can cave you in.  In his fear Jehoshaphat turned to God.  He proclaimed a fast among all the people, no matter how politically correct it was, or how many would accept or reject it. 

That fast was the backbone of the miracle that they received.  It was obedience unto God as they sought the Lord.  The men, their wives, and their little ones were fasting and seeking God.  The Spirit of the Lord came upon a Levite and he prophesied.  He said they needed to believe God, and HE would fight the battle for them. 

God may have you to do something that may seem foolish or impossible to you, but His command is not impossible, because it is not you on your own. God tells us to just obey Him, stand still, and He will do it.  Get in the position of obedience to the Lord, and God can use you.  Be spontaneous and able to act on a moment’s notice.  Our training is in obedience at home and in the small things.  That still small voice will deal with you. 

When Nehemiah was rebuilding the temple, some people from the land of Ono, who were of the devil, opposed them (see Nehemiah, Chapter 6).  Some people nowadays live in a place called OHNO.  If God tells them to do something, they say, Oh, no!  That can’t be God, because I don’t want to do that.  We think we are just really serving Him, but it is either amen or oh no! 

The Lord showed Jehoshaphat what to do, so he consulted with the singers, and they went out before the army.  The nations that came against Jehoshaphat boasted how they had overcome other nations, and they asked what God would deliver Israel!  God wants us to believe Him and obey Him when He speaks.  Nothing is impossible to that people. 

Can’t you just see the singers in the front and the soldiers in the back marching?  There will always be some mockers in the ranks who will say, He is going to WHAT?  The devil was coming against them, and Jerusalem and Israel could have been destroyed, but God said He was going to take care of it, so Jehoshaphat was just going to sing and praise the Lord.  There is a time when the praying is over and the believing is done, and God says it is finished. 

I can imagine the enemy advancing with raised eyebrows!  The enemy might look at one another saying, What is this mess?  They have lost their minds!  We have scared them stupid.  That’s it.  This ought to be a piece of cake!  However, they did not realize what they were running into.  When God’s people begin to shout and praise the Lord, the Spirit of God moves.  Anybody can praise the Lord, and He inhabits praises unto Him.  (See Psalm 22:3).  He wants us to believe Him no matter what. 

A singer is made to sing and to praise.  Inside the Sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God, you will find that when Moses parted the Red Sea, and they got on the other side, they began to sing!  That was after the fact, but it works on either side of the trouble.  Psalm 55:17 says, “Evening, and morning, and at noon, will I pray, and cry aloud: and he shall hear my voice.”

Paul and Silas were healing the sick and casting out devils.  The religious leaders got mad and threw them in prison after they beat them.  Acts 16:25 says, “And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them.” 

The sweetest praises God ever heard is when you praise Him when there is no reason to praise Him, other than the fact that He is God.  Everything may be going wrong.  If you don’t know what else to do, just SING.  It is not the melody or the song.  You may not sound worth two hoots in a garbage can.  It is that you serve the Lord in joyfulness of heart, and the devil will flee from you!

2 Chronicles 20:22 tells us, “And when they began to sing and to praise, the LORD set ambushments. . . .” against the enemy and they were smitten!  They began to kill each other.  Verse 24 says NONE ESCAPED!  The enemy was caught in his own snare.  The devil caused them to devour themselves!  It took one big song service and a few hours to bring the victory, and it took three days to gather the spoil! 

Why shouldn’t I sing?  God is my father.  Jesus is my elder brother.  Angels minister to me now.  Why shouldn’t I sing?  The devil is under my feet!  God has given me promises whereby I might be partaker of His divine nature.  God is on my side, and if God be for me, who can be against me?  As we praise God, doors are opened, prisoners are set free, and joy comes.  Psalm 100:1-2 and 4 says, “Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all ye lands.  Serve the LORD with gladness: come before his presence with singing.”  “Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name.” 

Obey God and He will give you something to sing about. I think I’m gonna sing!