This Sunday service, Pastor Richmond Sisan Leigh preached from the Book of 2 Chronicles. “And he said, Hearken ye, all Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem, and thou king Jehoshaphat, Thus saith the Lord unto you, Be not afraid nor dismayed by reason of this great multitude; for the battle is not yours, but God’s” (2 Chr 20:15). He said that recent events in Nigeria have stirred old fears that our country will become Islamized by force. The Christians are afraid and confused. Many of the pastors are not helping the matters. Pastor Richmond Leigh said that he sees two evil spirits trying to enter the churches in Nigeria. One is the spirit of material prosperity and the other is a demon of violence. In their sermons these backsliding pastors equate material prosperity with spirituality. They say that if you are not rich in this world’s goods, you are not born again. This is a serious error. Then the evil spirit of violence, of taking arms and fight for our rights, is slowly creeping in too. And many Christians think that this is normal. It is not! This is not a political or tribal fight. This is spiritual warfare and it must be addressed as such.

We need to know the truth. The Word of God is the truth! Jesus is the truth! In the Bible we are told that there are two kingdoms. There is the Kingdom of God, whose King is our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Then there is the Kingdom of darkness, also called ‘the World’, whose ruler is the devil. Each has its own strategy and mind set. All human beings belong to one kingdom or the other. As born again believers we belong to the Kingdom of God. We live in this world but we are not of it. The Holy Spirit has separated us from the world’s mentality. We are people of the Holy Spirit. We have the mind of Christ! In this world, men chose their own leaders, thru voting or other violent means. But in the Kingdom of God leaders emerge, because God choses them. The philosophy of this world is ‘survival of the fittest’. But the Kingdom of God there is ‘righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Ghost’ (Rom 14:17). Jesus told us to give respect to all leaders. “And Jesus answering said unto them, Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s. And they marveled at Him” (Mk 12:17). But our highest praise and eternal worship belongs to God! God created all things. He allows the world to go on because His process of redemption is still going on.
Read the story of King Jehoshaphat in the book of 2 Chronicles chapter 20. Judah was attacked by three enemy nations, much stronger than them. The king declared a time of fasting and prayer. Then a prophet spoke in the name of the Lord that they should not fear; for this battle is not theirs, but God’s. Then they started praising God with a loud voice and with musical instruments saying: ‘Praise the Lord; for His mercy endures forever!’ Then God caused confusion in the camp of the enemies. They fought themselves and they ‘helped to destroy one another’. The fear of God fell on all people. There was peace and rest after that. The people of Judah became rich from the spoils of war. Praise the Lord! As you can see, fasting, prayers, the word or God, the prophetic anointing of the Holy Spirit… these are the weapons of our warfare. They are not of this world. They are spiritual weapons that can never fail. Never forget! God can never lose any battle!
When a child of God is in trouble, he does not run to men. He runs to God who alone can help him. During the history of mankind, any time the people of God were in trouble and they sought the face of God, God will raise a prophet to encourage them. God has not changed. ‘Jesus is the same, yesterday, today and forever’ (Heb 13:8). We should not fear wars or rumor of wars (Mt 24:6). Like King Jehoshaphat we should seek God, His strength and His help. When our Lord Jesus Christ came to Israel, the people were interested in a military or a strong political ruler. But Jesus came and died on the Cross of Calvary. He shed His Blood for the forgiveness of sins. The Cross is God’s strategy for victory. ‘The foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength’ (1Cor 1:25). On Calvary Hill the battle was spiritual. The victory was spiritual. It is the same now. The victory in the Spirit shall manifest as victory in the natural. Children of God, let us repent for loving the world and let us come back to God. This battle is not ours. It is God’s! And the victory will glorify His holy name! Worship the Lord!

(sermon preached by Pastor Richmond Sisan Leigh in 2018)