John K. Jenkins Sr - Stand Still and Watch God Move (01/24/2026)
Introduction and Background
I want to invite your attention to 2 Chronicles chapter 20. While you’re turning there, let me give you a little bit of background information that would be beneficial to you for this message today. The message is about King Jehoshaphat, who becomes the king of Israel at the young age of 25. At 25 years of age, he becomes king. He will reign as king for 35 years. He follows in the footsteps of his father. His father, in fact, was a godly king, and he takes over the helm and the lead.
But he finds himself in a precarious situation. He’s in a troubling situation, just like some of you are today. Some of you are facing challenging moments. Let me see where the federal employees are, 'cause I know y’all stressed out. Raise your hand. All right, I got a word for y’all today. 2 Chronicles chapter 20. I’m going to be preaching from verses 1 through 21, but I just want to read verse 12.
Jehoshaphat’s Prayer Focus
Can I start at verse 12? Verse 12—it says, «O God…» Now, by the way, this is verse 12, at the end of Jehoshaphat’s prayer. And here’s what he says at the end of verse 12: «Our God, will You not judge them? For we have no power against this great multitude that is coming against us; nor do we know what to do, but our eyes are upon You.»
I like this phrase. He says, «We don’t know what to do.» So I’ve entitled this message: «What to Do When You Don’t Know What to Do.» Look at your neighbor and say, «I don’t know what to do, but I’m going to find out what to do.» Go ahead, tell your neighbor the pastor is about to tell us how to respond when we are in a situation where we don’t know what to do.
The Threat from Three Nations
Three nations—Ammon, these three—well, let me start at verse one. Let me just back up and go ahead to verse one. That’s probably the best thing for me to do. Just read from verse one. Let me read a couple verses here. Verse one and two: «It happened after this that the people of Moab, with the people of Ammon, and others with them besides the Ammonites, came to battle against Jehoshaphat. Then some came and told Jehoshaphat, saying, 'A great multitude is coming against you from beyond the sea, from Syria; and they are in Hazazon Tamar' (which is En Gedi).»
So here are these three nations, these three enemies of Israel, who have gathered together with the mindset to join forces and attack Israel. And in fact, they have come together. And you know you’re in bad shape when people who don’t like each other come together to come against you. And that is the situation here that Jehoshaphat finds himself in—a troubling situation that these three nations have made a determination to come against Israel.
Jehoshaphat’s Fear and Response
And so Jehoshaphat is scared. As a matter of fact, verse three says—just follow, walk with me, y’all with me so far? —it says, «And Jehoshaphat feared.» And I want to talk about that because there’s a lot of you today that are facing circumstances that you’re scared. How many of you know that God has not given us a spirit of fear?
Somebody, y’all need to tell yourself: when fear comes in the picture, I know that it’s the enemy trying to scare me. I know that the enemy is at play anytime fear comes in the picture, because God does not operate using fear. That is not His method to give us direction. That is not God’s will.
And so Jehoshaphat is afraid, and he set himself—verse three says—to seek the Lord and proclaimed a fast throughout all of Judah. He finds himself afraid, fearful for his life. And some of you today are fearful and scared about your future, scared about your employment, and scared about your contract, scared about your job.
But hear the word of the Lord from me today: that God has a plan, that God has not stopped being God. Lean over, tell your neighbor: God has not stopped being God. He still is the Alpha and the Omega. He still is the beginning and the end. He still has all power in His hands.
God Is Still in Control
The situation did not catch God by surprise. I’ve been telling y’all that for the past couple of weeks. I want to tell you yet again: it did not catch Him by surprise. It is not as though all of a sudden He woke up and said, «Oh my Lord, this is going on.» No, God already knew. And guess what? Long before 2025 came along, He had already orchestrated some things to get in place to take care of you.
I wish I had a praying crowd with me here today. I forgot this is the 12:00 crowd. Y’all just made it in from the club last night. I understand you’re a little tired and weary. You were out partying all last night. I understand what the trouble and the challenge is. But I got a word from the Lord for you here today.
I want to tell you what to do. God has not given us a spirit of fear. He has power and might. The devil wants you to be afraid, but God does not want you to be afraid. And so I’m going to give you four points. Somebody say four simple points.
Point 1: Pray
Here’s the first thing that Jehoshaphat did. Here’s the first thing he did in verses 6-12. He did a very important thing: he prayed. Somebody say he prayed. He prayed. He prayed. He talked to God. And that’s the first thing I want to tell you to do. We’re going to follow in Jehoshaphat’s footsteps. And here is the man who prayed. He called on the name of the Lord. He cried out to God.
And I’m going to give you an example here today. This is what you ought to be doing. We are people of prayer. That’s what I need you to get. We are people that talk to God. And you know the wonderful thing about talking to God is this: that when you have a relationship with Him, when you get saved, when you get born again, you don’t have to go through anybody else to talk to God about your situation.
Y’all not hearing what I’m saying to you today. You don’t have to go to no priest. You don’t have to go to no pastor. You don’t have to talk to anybody. Y’all stop asking me to pray for y’all. I’m praying for myself. I’m busy worried about my own self. Pray for your own self. You can talk to God for your own self.
Y’all ain’t hearing what I’m saying. You here today, you have the right and the ability and the access to cast your burdens upon the Lord and cast your cares upon Him. You don’t have to ask nobody else to pray for you. How many of you know that we serve a God that will hear and answer your prayers? He will hear and answer your prayers.
Prayer
And so the Scripture is crystal clear. Jehoshaphat went and prayed to the Lord. Now listen to his prayer. I love this prayer. The beginning of verse 6: «O Lord God of our fathers, are You not God in heaven? And do You not rule over all the kingdoms of the nations, and in Your hand is there not power and might, so that no one is able to withstand You? Are You not our God, who drove out the inhabitants of this land before Your people Israel, and gave it to the descendants of Abraham Your friend forever? And they dwelt in it, and have built You a sanctuary in it for Your name, saying, 'If disaster comes upon us—sword, judgment, pestilence, or famine—we will stand before this temple and in Your presence (for Your name is in this temple), and cry out to You in our affliction, and You will hear and save.'
And now, here are the people from Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir—whom You would not let Israel invade when they came out of the land of Egypt, but they turned from them and did not destroy them—here they are, rewarding us by coming to throw us out of Your possession which You have given us to inherit. O our God, will You not judge them? For we have no power against this great multitude that is coming against us; nor do we know what to do, but our eyes are upon You.»
And now, here are the people from Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir—whom You would not let Israel invade when they came out of the land of Egypt, but they turned from them and did not destroy them—here they are, rewarding us by coming to throw us out of Your possession which You have given us to inherit. O our God, will You not judge them? For we have no power against this great multitude that is coming against us; nor do we know what to do, but our eyes are upon You.»
Prayer Is Our Weapon
I want somebody to say: God, we’re praying and talking to You. We are crying out to You. That this is our weapon. Prayer is our weapon. I need y’all to hear what I’m saying. Prayer is a weapon that God gave to us for when we’re in trouble and when we have challenges and when we have issues. We can talk to God. We can communicate with the God that we serve.
He loves us. He cares about us. He knows about us. He didn’t bring you through all the hell that He brought you through—all of your history—to get to this place and then walk away from you. He has not stopped being God. He’s the same God that He was 20 years ago. He’s the same God that answered your prayer and brought you…
Hold up, wait a minute. Look at your neighbor, say: I’m 66 years old—or however old you are—look at your neighbor, say: God didn’t bring me through 50 years or through 60 years or through 40 years or through 25 years—I know y’all scared to admit how old you is—but however old you is, you didn’t come through all of the hell that you’ve been through and all of the challenges that you’ve been through and every door that He’s answered and every prayer that He answered. God didn’t bring you through all of that to get you to this place to walk away from you.
He is still God. Somebody say: He’s still God. He’s still a way maker. He’s still a burden bearer. He still answers prayer. He’s still an almighty God. He is still our God. Somebody say: He’s still God.
Point 2: The Battle Is Not Yours
Y’all got my first point? What was it? Pray. We are people of prayer. We pray. We cast our cares on the Lord. Whatever we’re going through, we talk to God about it. We’re not looking to Capitol Hill for our resolution. We’re looking to Calvary’s Hill.
Now here’s my second point. I’m going to be finished very quick. I’m almost done. I’m almost halfway there. Here’s point 2. Verse 14: «Then the Spirit of the Lord came upon Jahaziel the son of Zechariah, the son of Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah, a Levite of the sons of Asaph, in the midst of the assembly.»
Get the picture. When it talks about the Spirit of the Lord came upon Jahaziel—he’s a priest. God gave them a word through their pastor. I’m just saying. I’m just pointing it out.
And he said, verse 15: «Listen, all you of Judah and you inhabitants of Jerusalem, and you, King Jehoshaphat! Thus says the Lord to you: 'Do not be afraid nor dismayed because of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours, but God’s.'»
Woo! Somebody say: the battle is not yours. Woo! But God’s. Somebody say: God’s got it.
Here’s what I come to tell y’all today: God’s got the battle. He’s already working it out. He’s already orchestrating the affairs. He’s already working it out. Somebody high-five somebody, say: the battle’s not yours. Stop crying. Stop being worried. Stop being frustrated. Stop worrying. It’s not yours. The battle is not yours. God’s got this battle. God’s got this fight.
Point 3: Stand Still and Worship
Oh, I feel like running around this building right now. Now, it’s not yours, but it’s God’s. Matter of fact, verse 17 says: «You will not need to fight in this battle. Position yourselves, stand still and see the salvation of the Lord, who is with you.»
I feel like shouting right now. I feel like giving God the praise. Y’all missed it. The male chorus was singing at the earlier services today, and they sung a song that I had to stop them from singing: «Pass me not, O gentle Savior, hear my humble cry; while on others Thou art calling, do not pass me by.»
I told them: don’t sing that no more. It’s not a scriptural song. It implies that you got to grab God while He’s passing by. It implies that somehow if you don’t grab Him, He’ll pass you by and go on to the next situation. That’s not the God that I serve.
My God doesn’t pass me by. He walks with me. He talks with me. And He tells me that I am His own. He lives inside of me. Somebody say: He lives in me. I ain’t got to catch Him. He walks with me and talks with me. He fights my battle. He lives inside of me.
When you get saved, He abides with you. And it says right here in the text: He is with me. I’m sorry—tell your neighbor one more time: He’s with me.
That’s what it says right here in verse 17: He is with you. Look at your neighbor eyeball to eyeball and say: God is with you. God is with… Hold up—did y’all look at them right in their eyes? Did you tell them with an attitude? Did you string your finger in their face? Did you roll your head around on that extra bone in your neck and say: He’s with me?
That’s what I need y’all to understand. He don’t abandon you. He doesn’t leave you. He says: I’m with you always, even until the end of the world.
Worship the Lord
That’s what I’m trying to get people to understand. You ain’t got to ask nobody else to pray for you. You don’t have to hope God don’t pass you by. No, He lives in you. That’s what I’ve been trying all these 35 years to get people to understand. When you get saved, Jesus comes and lives inside of you. That means that wherever you go, He’s already there.
Do y’all know that? I know y’all don’t want to hear it, but He was with you at the club last night. Go ahead, tell your neighbor: He was with you at the club, at the party. He was with you when you was drinking last night. Tell him: while you was drinking, He was with you. Whatever you did yesterday, He was right there with you.
Oh, y’all getting quiet now. Listen, don’t get quiet. It’s okay. He’ll forgive you. Somebody say: thank God. He might have been with me, but I’m praying for Him to wash me in the blood of the Lamb.
Thank God that He’s a God that forgives me of my sins and my failures. So He’s with us. He’s with you. And then it says in verse 17: do not fear or be dismayed. Tomorrow go out against them, for the Lord is with you.
There it is again: the Lord is with us. And Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground, and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem bowed before the Lord, worshiping the Lord.
That’s the key. Here’s what you do when you don’t know what to do: you worship God. Y’all missed it. I said: you worship God. You stand still and see the salvation of God. You open your mouth. You raise your hands.
We are a people who don’t have to wait until He gives us the answer, until He works it out. Our God’s credit is good enough for us to go ahead and give Him the praise ahead of time.
Praise Ahead of Time
Here’s what I’m telling you to do: even when you don’t know what the future might be, go ahead and thank God ahead of time for what He’s already done. I feel a shout down in my sanctified soul because the credit that God has with me is good enough for me to go ahead and give Him praise even when I’m looking at situations that don’t look very positive at the moment.
His rec is good with me—all of the things He’s already done for me and the prayers He’s already answered and the victories He’s already won. I don’t have to wait to see what He’s going to do now. I will go ahead and give Him praise ahead of time.
Do I have somebody that will help me give God praise? Is there anybody in here today who will worship Him with me? Do I have anybody here who’s not ashamed to open their mouth and raise their hands and give God a praise and a shout for what He has already done? Somebody say: Worship the Lord.
That’s number three: Worship the Lord. Tell your neighbor: Worship the Lord.
As a matter of fact, Jehoshaphat was so excited about worshiping the Lord that he appointed some singers and appointed them to sing to the Lord and to praise His name. And all I’m telling you to do is go ahead and sing and praise the Lord for yourself.
Come on, let’s give Him some praise. Come on, let’s give Him some thanks. Come on, let’s magnify Him. Let’s open our mouth. Let’s give Him thanks. Let’s tell the Lord we are not scared. We are not afraid. We will bless the Lord at all times. Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Thank You for what You’ve already done. Thank You for the miracles that You’ve already wrought. Thank You for when You healed me in my past. Thank You for the jobs You’ve given me in the past. Thank You for the prayers that You’ve already answered. Oh God, I thank You! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hey, glory! Hey, thank You!
Point 4: Believe in the Lord
Here’s my final point. Here’s number four. Y’all got number one: pray. Number two: the battle is not yours, it’s the Lord’s. Number three: worship. We’re going to be worshippers. We’re not going to wait until we see what happens. Anybody can shout when the game is over—the Eagles shouted after the Super Bowl was over—but we ain’t waiting until the battle is over. We going to go ahead and shout ahead of time 'cause our God has a track record that we know He got my back. He got my back.
And here’s number four. Verse 20: «So they rose early in the morning and went out into the Wilderness of Tekoa; and as they went out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, 'Hear me, O Judah and you inhabitants of Jerusalem: Believe in the Lord your God, and you shall be established; believe His prophets, and you shall prosper.'»
Y’all missed a great spot right there. Here’s what I’m ready to tell you: believe in the Lord your God, and you shall be established. What am I saying? I’m telling you God has already established your future. Your future job is already settled. Your destiny is already settled. Your assignment is already settled. Tell your neighbor: your assignment is already established.
Believe His prophets, and you shall prosper. Believe His pastor. Believe what I’m telling you. And God’s already got it worked out. Can you hear what I’m saying to you today? Somebody say: I believe God. Tell your neighbor: I believe God. He got it worked out. Amen.
So I’m going to bless the Lord at all times. His praise shall continually be in my mouth. Oh, magnify the Lord with me and give His name the praise.
God’s Victory and Spoil
I’m almost finished. And so here’s what God did. Listen, I’m coming to a close. This is my first close. Come on here. Jehoshaphat and they didn’t have to fight. God told Jehoshaphat and them to worship God. And while they were worshiping God, the three nations started fighting against each other.
Y’all watch: something going to happen where people going to start fighting with each other. Woo! Somebody say: I ain’t worried about it. God got my back. God got my back. God got my back. Woo!
And look, I’m almost finished. I’m trying to hurry up and finish. I’m trying to bring it in. And when the smoke cleared, when the battle was all over, after they walked out and they saw that all the enemies were dead—all over the place, everything—when the people of God went to gather the spoil, it took them three days to gather everything.
Somebody better get ready. You got some spoil coming your way. Somebody say: I got some spoil. Don’t come in my way. I got some stuff that God’s laying out for me. He’s established… Are y’all hearing what I’m saying to you today? Stand on your feet.