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Topic: Put Faith To Work
[DCLM Daily Manna 19 August 2020 Devotional by Pastor William Folorunso Kumuyi]
Text: 2 Chronicles 20:20-30 (KJV)
20 And they rose early in the morning, and went forth into the wilderness of Tekoa: and as they went forth, Jehoshaphat stood and said, Hear me, O Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem; Believe in the LORD your God, so shall ye be established; believe his prophets, so shall ye prosper.
21 And when he had consulted with the people, he appointed singers unto the LORD, and that should praise the beauty of holiness, as they went out before the army, and to say, Praise the LORD; for his mercy endureth for ever.
22 And when they began to sing and to praise, the LORD set ambushments against the children of Ammon, Moab, and mount Seir, which were come against Judah; and they were smitten.
23 For the children of Ammon and Moab stood up against the inhabitants of mount Seir, utterly to slay and destroy them: and when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, every one helped to destroy another.
24 And when Judah came toward the watch tower in the wilderness, they looked unto the multitude, and, behold, they were dead bodies fallen to the earth, and none escaped.
25 And when Jehoshaphat and his people came to take away the spoil of them, they found among them in abundance both riches with the dead bodies, and precious jewels, which they stripped off for themselves, more than they could carry away: and they were three days in gathering of the spoil, it was so much.
26 And on the fourth day they assembled themselves in the valley of Berachah; for there they blessed the LORD: therefore the name of the same place was called, The valley of Berachah, unto this day.
27 Then they returned, every man of Judah and Jerusalem, and Jehoshaphat in the forefront of them, to go again to Jerusalem with joy; for the LORD had made them to rejoice over their enemies.
28 And they came to Jerusalem with psalteries and harps and trumpets unto the house of the LORD.
29 And the fear of God was on all the kingdoms of those countries, when they had heard that the LORD fought against the enemies of Israel.
30 So the realm of Jehoshaphat was quiet: for his God gave him rest round about.
Key Verse: “And when they began to sing and to praise, the LORD set ambushments against the children of Ammon, Moab, and mount Seir, which were come against Judah; and they were smitten.” – (2 Chronicles 20:22)
MESSAGE:
Think of someone who wishes to enter a locked treasure house. He has the key in his hands but just stands at the door, pushing and wishing it would open for him. The door will not open unless he puts the key in the lock and turns it. The key in his hand will do him no good until he uses it. This is just how faith works.
The nation of Judah faced a great challenge. A confederacy of nations had gathered to fight against them and wipe them out. Helpless in themselves, they prayed to ask help from God. He assured them He would fight for them and give them victory over their enemies. As they marched on to confront their enemies, Jehoshaphat admonished them to believe God and His prophets. They agreed and immediately put their faith to work by singing praises to the Lord. Their faith was demonstrated in their praises. As soon as they put their faith to work in praising God, He gave them overwhelming victory.
Faith is one of the most powerful possessions of a Christian. It can do all things because it engages and activates the power of the almighty God with whom nothing is impossible. But the power of faith can never be seen or experienced except it is put to work. While it exists in the “believe” state, it remains latent, passive and dormant. But the moment it is released in action, the power is activated and nothing can stand on its way.
Some Christians claim to have faith but the problem is that they do not put their faith to work. They cry over their mountains, fast and pray over perceived problems but never take any action to demonstrate their faith. It is about time we moved on from professing faith and began to put it into actions. Except we do, we will never have.
Thought For The Day: Great things can happen when we put our faith to work.
The Bible In One Year: Job 35-38
