TITLE: BE CAREFUL OF  FIGHTING BATTLES THAT AREN’T FOR YOU TO FIGHT

TITLE: BE CAREFUL OF  FIGHTING BATTLES THAT AREN’T FOR YOU TO FIGHT

SCRIPTURE:

“After all this, when Josiah had set the temple in order, Necho king of Egypt went up to fight at Carchemish on the Euphrates, and Josiah marched out to meet him in battle. 21But Necho sent messengers to him, saying, “What quarrel is there, king of Judah, between you and me? It is not you I am attacking at this time, but the house with which I am at war. God has told me to hurry; so stop opposing God, who is with me, or he will destroy you.” 22Josiah, however, would not turn away from him, but disguised himself to engage him in battle. He would not listen to what Necho had said at God’s command but went to fight him on the plain of Megiddo. 23Archers shot King Josiah, and he told his officers, “Take me away; I am badly wounded.” 24So they took him out of his chariot, put him in his other chariot and brought him to Jerusalem, where he died. He was buried in the tombs of his ancestors, and all Judah and Jerusalem mourned for him.”  (2 Chronicles 35:20-24 NIV)

OBSERVATION:

            Joshiah was a good king.  He did his best to clean up the mess Manasseh and his son Amon had created for the people of Israel.  He was doing well.  Josiah brought so much reformation before and restore many things back to the national life of the nation of Israel that his predecessors have done.  “Josiah removed all the detestable idols from all the territory belonging to the Israelites, and he had all who were present in Israel serve the Lord their God. As long as he lived, they did not fail to follow the Lord, the God of their ancestors.”

            However, he was not careful.  A great lesson to learn from Joshiah is, be careful of fighting battles that God did not called you to do.  Sometimes our success can get into our heads and pride can swell up that makes us think we can do whatever we want to do. 

            After ALL this, when Josiah had set the temple in order, he involved himself in a fight that wasn’t supposed to be for him to fight.  Pride is a subtle thing.  Our success as blessed as they can be can also be a curse.  King Neccho of Egypt was waging a war not with Israel, however Josiah marched out to meet him in battle. 

            Necho sent message to him saying; What quarrel is there, king of Judah, between you and me? It is not you I am attacking this time, but the house with which I am at war.  God has told me to hurry; so stop opposing God, who is with me, or he will destroy you.  But Josiah would not listen to what Necho said at God’s command and went ahead and fight.  Sad to say, Josiah was shot by Necho’s archers and he died.   I asked questions to myself, after all the good thing Josiah did, what made him veered off from his assignment and met his fateful end?  I learned a few lessons from Josiah’s last battle:

§  Never let success blind me from the subtlety of pride.  Pride is sublte and dangerous.  Pride can make us feel invincible and lead us to do things we are not called to do.

§  I must learn to fight my fights and not involved myself in other peoples affairs.  Keep your fight in your lane and don’t try to fight others fight.

§  Pray before you involved in places you think you should.  Josiah did not seek the Lord on this battle with Necho if it was something for him to get involve with.

§  I must learn to discern God’s will even if it comes from a source that I do not expected to come from.  Josiah did not hear the warning from Necho about God’s word to him, but keep on wanted to fight.  Josiah probably think, how can God use a king of Egypt to speak to me?  There are times God uses vessels that we do not approved of, we must not be  dismissive about it. 

§  I must choose my battles wisely. 

APPLICATION:

            So often we involved ourselves with things that we are not supposed to just because we are successful and things seems to be going well.  I learned today that I must guard my heart from a sense of being successful and from pride that often accompany success.  I want to choose my battles wisely and fight only the battle that God has called me to do.  I also learn that I mus discern the voice of God from sources that I do not approve of or usually receive from.  I must not be dismissive of God using other means that he chooses to speak to me. 

PRAYER:

            Father, thank you for reminding me of the danger of pride and its subtlety.  Please help me to discern your voice even if it comes from sources that I deem unworthy to come from.  Help me hear your voice above all else.  Help me choose my battle wisely and stay focus on the ones that you want me to be involved in.  Give me your wisdom and discernment so I may be obedient to your will. Amen!