Date:
Wednesday,
May 13, 2015
Chapters: 2 Chronicles 24-26
Message Title: Obedience Beyond Salvation
Hello My Friend,
Salvation, it's the one thing that guarantees a soul from entering eternal death and hell, but salvation cannot keep us from the consequences that come from sin. We may be saved from God's wrath, but He will not hesitate to put His people in their place should they turn on Him. “O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.” - 1 Corinthians 15:55-58.
Joash was seven years old when he became king, his godly influence under the hand of Jehoiada helped him prosper as a king. However, once he died, Joash quickly fell under the influence of the ungodly. “But Jehoiada waxed old, and was full of days when he died; an hundred and thirty years old was he when he died. And they buried him in the city of David among the kings, because he had done good in Israel, both toward God, and toward his house. Now after the death of Jehoiada came the princes of Judah, and made obeisance to the king. Then the king hearkened unto them. And they left the house of the LORD God of their fathers, and served groves and idols: and wrath came upon Judah and Jerusalem for this their trespass. Yet he sent prophets to them, to bring them again unto the LORD; and they testified against them: but they would not give ear. And the Spirit of God came upon Zechariah the son of Jehoiada the priest, which stood above the people, and said unto them, Thus saith God, Why transgress ye the commandments of the LORD, that ye cannot prosper? because ye have forsaken the LORD, he hath also forsaken you. And they conspired against him, and stoned him with stones at the commandment of the king in the court of the house of the LORD.” - 2 Chronicles 24:15-21.
The problem was that the people wanted to build groves and altars to sacrifice to God in their own places rather than take the journey to Jerusalem every time. Zechariah was explaining that it was against the law of God, but Joash did not listen and ordered Zechariah to be killed for being the only person to do the right thing. Later on Joash died as a result of his ordering the execution of Zechariah. While we can pray, read the Bible, and live a pretty good life without stepping foot in a church, sometimes churches are necessary. Jesus takes church seriously, after all, He died for the church, who by the way are the very members that receive Him as their Saviour. “For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: And he is before all things, and by him all things consist. And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence. For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell; And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven.” - Colossians 1:16-20.
After Joash died, his son, Amaziah reigned, he walked with God, but not with a perfect heart, which means his heart wasn't completely set on God. In the beginning he did very well as king, he had all the people executed that killed his father, but he made a grave mistake, after a victorious battle with Edom, he took the false gods and began to worship them. “Amaziah was twenty and five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned twenty and nine years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Jehoaddan of Jerusalem. And he did that which was right in the sight of the LORD, but not with a perfect heart. Now it came to pass, when the kingdom was established to him, that he slew his servants that had killed the king his father. But he slew not their children, but did as it is written in the law in the book of Moses, where the LORD commanded, saying, The fathers shall not die for the children, neither shall the children die for the fathers, but every man shall die for his own sin. Now it came to pass, after that Amaziah was come from the slaughter of the Edomites, that he brought the gods of the children of Seir, and set them up to be his gods, and bowed down himself before them, and burned incense unto them.” - 2 Chronicles 25:1-4,14.
God will have nothing to do with us if we are worshiping other gods, especially if we are saved and turn from Him to them. Let me tell you, just because you forsake God for false gods that does not mean God is going to just let you go, once saved always saved, and you cannot renounce that no matter how much you try. God will prove that one way or another, even if He has to take you home sooner than expected. “If any man see his brother sin a sin which is not unto death, he shall ask, and he shall give him life for them that sin not unto death. There is a sin unto death: I do not say that he shall pray for it. All unrighteousness is sin: and there is a sin not unto death.” - 1 John 5:16,17.
Uzziah was the next king who reigned, he was probably the longest reigning godly king recorded in the history of Judah, he probably would have lived longer had he not let his ego become his god. “Sixteen years old was Uzziah when he began to reign, and he reigned fifty and two years in Jerusalem. His mother's name also was Jecoliah of Jerusalem. And he did that which was right in the sight of the LORD, according to all that his father Amaziah did. And he sought God in the days of Zechariah, who had understanding in the visions of God: and as long as he sought the LORD, God made him to prosper. But when he was strong, his heart was lifted up to his destruction: for he transgressed against the LORD his God, and went into the temple of the LORD to burn incense upon the altar of incense. And Azariah the priest went in after him, and with him fourscore priests of the LORD, that were valiant men: And they withstood Uzziah the king, and said unto him, It appertaineth not unto thee, Uzziah, to burn incense unto the LORD, but to the priests the sons of Aaron, that are consecrated to burn incense: go out of the sanctuary; for thou hast trespassed; neither shall it be for thine honour from the LORD God. Then Uzziah was wroth, and had a censer in his hand to burn incense: and while he was wroth with the priests, the leprosy even rose up in his forehead before the priests in the house of the LORD, from beside the incense altar.” - 2 Chronicles 26:3-5,16-19.
Pride is the number one reason people fall away from God in the first place, you cannot make up your own rules and expect God to bless you. People who refuse to serve God on His terms might as well be sticking their finger in an electrical socket because they are going to be in for a huge shock when they face His judgment. And I am not just talking about when they face Jesus, God rather a person not serve Him at all then serve Him on their own terms. You can be sure if you are making up who you think God is and making Him up in your own image that judgment will come well before death. “I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth. Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked: I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see. As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.” - Revelation 3:15-19.
God wants us to prosper, He wants to give us the best life we can possibly have here in earth well before He takes us to heaven, but He's not going to fight with us on this. If we are saved and living the way we please, without even a second thought as to what God says, we can be sure that we will be judged, and it will come by our own devices. We can survive this world, and even prosper in it as Christians, but in order to do that we need Christ, and we need Him daily. “Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.” - 1 John 2:15-17.
Today's Prayer: God, Your judgments are true and just, whether they be the cause of my own actions or Yours. Everything we go through is meant to grow, strengthen, discipline, and guide us to be the best that You know we can be. Just like a parent or teacher pushes us a little bit harder to excel, so do You, Your commands and laws are not meant to keep us from living life, they are meant to give us the best life we can live in a wicked and corrupt world. Lead us and guide us, help us to watch and listen for all the warning signs and to keep going through Your power and strength. In Jesus' name. Amen.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina
Subscribe: Daily Devotion
Ready To Follow Jesus?: God's Price
Visit Our Website: I'm Following Jesus
Like Us On Facebook: I'm Following Jesus
Copyright © 2015 I'm Following Jesus, All rights reserved.
Chapters: 2 Chronicles 24-26
Message Title: Obedience Beyond Salvation
Hello My Friend,
Salvation, it's the one thing that guarantees a soul from entering eternal death and hell, but salvation cannot keep us from the consequences that come from sin. We may be saved from God's wrath, but He will not hesitate to put His people in their place should they turn on Him. “O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.” - 1 Corinthians 15:55-58.
Joash was seven years old when he became king, his godly influence under the hand of Jehoiada helped him prosper as a king. However, once he died, Joash quickly fell under the influence of the ungodly. “But Jehoiada waxed old, and was full of days when he died; an hundred and thirty years old was he when he died. And they buried him in the city of David among the kings, because he had done good in Israel, both toward God, and toward his house. Now after the death of Jehoiada came the princes of Judah, and made obeisance to the king. Then the king hearkened unto them. And they left the house of the LORD God of their fathers, and served groves and idols: and wrath came upon Judah and Jerusalem for this their trespass. Yet he sent prophets to them, to bring them again unto the LORD; and they testified against them: but they would not give ear. And the Spirit of God came upon Zechariah the son of Jehoiada the priest, which stood above the people, and said unto them, Thus saith God, Why transgress ye the commandments of the LORD, that ye cannot prosper? because ye have forsaken the LORD, he hath also forsaken you. And they conspired against him, and stoned him with stones at the commandment of the king in the court of the house of the LORD.” - 2 Chronicles 24:15-21.
The problem was that the people wanted to build groves and altars to sacrifice to God in their own places rather than take the journey to Jerusalem every time. Zechariah was explaining that it was against the law of God, but Joash did not listen and ordered Zechariah to be killed for being the only person to do the right thing. Later on Joash died as a result of his ordering the execution of Zechariah. While we can pray, read the Bible, and live a pretty good life without stepping foot in a church, sometimes churches are necessary. Jesus takes church seriously, after all, He died for the church, who by the way are the very members that receive Him as their Saviour. “For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: And he is before all things, and by him all things consist. And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence. For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell; And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven.” - Colossians 1:16-20.
After Joash died, his son, Amaziah reigned, he walked with God, but not with a perfect heart, which means his heart wasn't completely set on God. In the beginning he did very well as king, he had all the people executed that killed his father, but he made a grave mistake, after a victorious battle with Edom, he took the false gods and began to worship them. “Amaziah was twenty and five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned twenty and nine years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Jehoaddan of Jerusalem. And he did that which was right in the sight of the LORD, but not with a perfect heart. Now it came to pass, when the kingdom was established to him, that he slew his servants that had killed the king his father. But he slew not their children, but did as it is written in the law in the book of Moses, where the LORD commanded, saying, The fathers shall not die for the children, neither shall the children die for the fathers, but every man shall die for his own sin. Now it came to pass, after that Amaziah was come from the slaughter of the Edomites, that he brought the gods of the children of Seir, and set them up to be his gods, and bowed down himself before them, and burned incense unto them.” - 2 Chronicles 25:1-4,14.
God will have nothing to do with us if we are worshiping other gods, especially if we are saved and turn from Him to them. Let me tell you, just because you forsake God for false gods that does not mean God is going to just let you go, once saved always saved, and you cannot renounce that no matter how much you try. God will prove that one way or another, even if He has to take you home sooner than expected. “If any man see his brother sin a sin which is not unto death, he shall ask, and he shall give him life for them that sin not unto death. There is a sin unto death: I do not say that he shall pray for it. All unrighteousness is sin: and there is a sin not unto death.” - 1 John 5:16,17.
Uzziah was the next king who reigned, he was probably the longest reigning godly king recorded in the history of Judah, he probably would have lived longer had he not let his ego become his god. “Sixteen years old was Uzziah when he began to reign, and he reigned fifty and two years in Jerusalem. His mother's name also was Jecoliah of Jerusalem. And he did that which was right in the sight of the LORD, according to all that his father Amaziah did. And he sought God in the days of Zechariah, who had understanding in the visions of God: and as long as he sought the LORD, God made him to prosper. But when he was strong, his heart was lifted up to his destruction: for he transgressed against the LORD his God, and went into the temple of the LORD to burn incense upon the altar of incense. And Azariah the priest went in after him, and with him fourscore priests of the LORD, that were valiant men: And they withstood Uzziah the king, and said unto him, It appertaineth not unto thee, Uzziah, to burn incense unto the LORD, but to the priests the sons of Aaron, that are consecrated to burn incense: go out of the sanctuary; for thou hast trespassed; neither shall it be for thine honour from the LORD God. Then Uzziah was wroth, and had a censer in his hand to burn incense: and while he was wroth with the priests, the leprosy even rose up in his forehead before the priests in the house of the LORD, from beside the incense altar.” - 2 Chronicles 26:3-5,16-19.
Pride is the number one reason people fall away from God in the first place, you cannot make up your own rules and expect God to bless you. People who refuse to serve God on His terms might as well be sticking their finger in an electrical socket because they are going to be in for a huge shock when they face His judgment. And I am not just talking about when they face Jesus, God rather a person not serve Him at all then serve Him on their own terms. You can be sure if you are making up who you think God is and making Him up in your own image that judgment will come well before death. “I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth. Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked: I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see. As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.” - Revelation 3:15-19.
God wants us to prosper, He wants to give us the best life we can possibly have here in earth well before He takes us to heaven, but He's not going to fight with us on this. If we are saved and living the way we please, without even a second thought as to what God says, we can be sure that we will be judged, and it will come by our own devices. We can survive this world, and even prosper in it as Christians, but in order to do that we need Christ, and we need Him daily. “Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.” - 1 John 2:15-17.
Today's Prayer: God, Your judgments are true and just, whether they be the cause of my own actions or Yours. Everything we go through is meant to grow, strengthen, discipline, and guide us to be the best that You know we can be. Just like a parent or teacher pushes us a little bit harder to excel, so do You, Your commands and laws are not meant to keep us from living life, they are meant to give us the best life we can live in a wicked and corrupt world. Lead us and guide us, help us to watch and listen for all the warning signs and to keep going through Your power and strength. In Jesus' name. Amen.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina
Subscribe: Daily Devotion
Ready To Follow Jesus?: God's Price
Visit Our Website: I'm Following Jesus
Like Us On Facebook: I'm Following Jesus
Copyright © 2015 I'm Following Jesus, All rights reserved.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.