Date:
Thursday,
May 07, 2015
Chapters: 2 Chronicles 6-8
Message Title: It's Okay To Be Humble
Hello My Friend,
To be humble, Christian or not, we are not very humble people. The word humble means having or showing a modest or low estimate of one's own importance. In other words, we are not to think too highly of ourselves for accomplishments in our lives. Now, this does not mean that we are not to work hard and have confidence in a job well done, but it does mean is that we should never be too proud of what we accomplish because it can be taken away from us in an instant. “The LORD hath made all things for himself: yea, even the wicked for the day of evil. Every one that is proud in heart is an abomination to the LORD: though hand join in hand, he shall not be unpunished. By mercy and truth iniquity is purged: and by the fear of the LORD men depart from evil. Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall. Better it is to be of an humble spirit with the lowly, than to divide the spoil with the proud.” - Proverbs 16:4-6,18,19.
Being humble means thank God for everything we accomplish, while it takes an effort on our part to do the work, it is God who blesses the increase through our faithfulness and obedience to Him. After the temple was built and the ark carried to it's place, Solomon stood before the entire congregation and began to pray. This was no simple prayer, it was huge, and he asked for everything from God's hand upon Israel to their forgiveness, and even that all nations would be welcome to come to Him.
“Have respect therefore to the prayer of thy servant, and to his supplication, O LORD my God, to hearken unto the cry and the prayer which thy servant prayeth before thee: And if thy people Israel be put to the worse before the enemy, because they have sinned against thee; and shall return and confess thy name, and pray and make supplication before thee in this house; Then hear thou from the heavens, and forgive the sin of thy people Israel, and bring them again unto the land which thou gavest to them and to their fathers. Moreover concerning the stranger, which is not of thy people Israel, but is come from a far country for thy great name's sake, and thy mighty hand, and thy stretched out arm; if they come and pray in this house; Then hear thou from the heavens, even from thy dwelling place, and do according to all that the stranger calleth to thee for; that all people of the earth may know thy name, and fear thee, as doth thy people Israel, and may know that this house which I have built is called by thy name.” - 2 Chronicles 6:19,24,25,32,33.
God may have used Israel as the people who were known as His, but He does mean that He limited any others from coming to Him. God used Israel to prove that He is God, and is merciful and gracious to even the worst offenders. I mean let's face it, Israel was and still is the worse example of their faithfulness to God, most refuse to even acknowledge Christ, they do not even follow the Bible past the Law of Moses, even though Christ is contained within those books as well. God gives every person, no matter what nation they were born into, the opportunity to know His Son. It's up to each one of us to humble ourselves to acknowledge and come to the Son. “Tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that doeth evil, of the Jew first, and also of the Gentile; But glory, honour, and peace, to every man that worketh good, to the Jew first, and also to the Gentile: For there is no respect of persons with God.” - Romans 2:9-11.
God replied to Solomon's prayer, letting him know that He did hear his prayer, and hears all the prayers of those who humble themselves before Him, confess, and turn from their wicked ways. “Thus Solomon finished the house of the LORD, and the king's house: and all that came into Solomon's heart to make in the house of the LORD, and in his own house, he prosperously effected. And the LORD appeared to Solomon by night, and said unto him, I have heard thy prayer, and have chosen this place to myself for an house of sacrifice. If I shut up heaven that there be no rain, or if I command the locusts to devour the land, or if I send pestilence among my people; If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land. Now mine eyes shall be open, and mine ears attent unto the prayer that is made in this place.” - 2 Chronicles 7:11-15.
God assured Solomon that if they humbled themselves before Him, repented of their sins, and sought His face, than they would be forgiven and He will hear their cries. God only listens to the prayers of those who seek His face, meaning those who humbly come to Him wholeheartedly and willingly. We can pray for someone, but that someone also needs to seek God's face also. Unless we admit our wrong and confess it to God, He will not hear our prayers. “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.” - 1 John 1:8-10.
It the twenty years since Solomon built the temple for God, he was successful and prosperous. The key to his success, his relationship with God, he was by far, perfect, but he was faithful, but he one mistake that would change that, he married the Pharaoh of Egypt's daughter. “And Solomon brought up the daughter of Pharaoh out of the city of David unto the house that he had built for her: for he said, My wife shall not dwell in the house of David king of Israel, because the places are holy, whereunto the ark of the LORD hath come. Then Solomon offered burnt offerings unto the LORD on the altar of the LORD, which he had built before the porch, Even after a certain rate every day, offering according to the commandment of Moses, on the sabbaths, and on the new moons, and on the solemn feasts, three times in the year, even in the feast of unleavened bread, and in the feast of weeks, and in the feast of tabernacles. And he appointed, according to the order of David his father, the courses of the priests to their service, and the Levites to their charges, to praise and minister before the priests, as the duty of every day required: the porters also by their courses at every gate: for so had David the man of God commanded. And they departed not from the commandment of the king unto the priests and Levites concerning any matter, or concerning the treasures.” - 2 Chronicles 8:11-15.
The strongest Christian will fall if they allow themselves to be yoked with those who are not saved or living their lives with Christ. Solomon even kept her away from the city, fully knowing that she would not follow God, and eventually he too fell away from God. As much as we want to believe that our faith in and obedience to God can overcome any outside influence in our lives, it cannot. Yes, we can overcome any situation we get into, but we need the strength of God for that, He alone is the only one powerful enough to get us out of any situation, or even keep us from getting into it in the first place. The only way He will help is if we humble ourselves before Him. “Do ye think that the scripture saith in vain, The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy? But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble. Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded. Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.” - James 4:5-10.
Today's Prayer: God, It's not easy coming to You when we have made bad decisions and do not know how to get out of the situations we are in, but in order for us to get out of them we need You. You love us and are willing to help us get out of any situation if we just humble ourselves and confess our sin to You. Lord, search our hearts, know our thoughts, see if there is any iniquity in them, and if there is, show us our error, and let us let go of our pride and seek Your face. Give us Your power to resist any outside influence that may pull us away from You, and give us the strength we need to walk away from any situation that may open the door for us to fall. In Jesus' name. Amen.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina
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Chapters: 2 Chronicles 6-8
Message Title: It's Okay To Be Humble
Hello My Friend,
To be humble, Christian or not, we are not very humble people. The word humble means having or showing a modest or low estimate of one's own importance. In other words, we are not to think too highly of ourselves for accomplishments in our lives. Now, this does not mean that we are not to work hard and have confidence in a job well done, but it does mean is that we should never be too proud of what we accomplish because it can be taken away from us in an instant. “The LORD hath made all things for himself: yea, even the wicked for the day of evil. Every one that is proud in heart is an abomination to the LORD: though hand join in hand, he shall not be unpunished. By mercy and truth iniquity is purged: and by the fear of the LORD men depart from evil. Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall. Better it is to be of an humble spirit with the lowly, than to divide the spoil with the proud.” - Proverbs 16:4-6,18,19.
Being humble means thank God for everything we accomplish, while it takes an effort on our part to do the work, it is God who blesses the increase through our faithfulness and obedience to Him. After the temple was built and the ark carried to it's place, Solomon stood before the entire congregation and began to pray. This was no simple prayer, it was huge, and he asked for everything from God's hand upon Israel to their forgiveness, and even that all nations would be welcome to come to Him.
“Have respect therefore to the prayer of thy servant, and to his supplication, O LORD my God, to hearken unto the cry and the prayer which thy servant prayeth before thee: And if thy people Israel be put to the worse before the enemy, because they have sinned against thee; and shall return and confess thy name, and pray and make supplication before thee in this house; Then hear thou from the heavens, and forgive the sin of thy people Israel, and bring them again unto the land which thou gavest to them and to their fathers. Moreover concerning the stranger, which is not of thy people Israel, but is come from a far country for thy great name's sake, and thy mighty hand, and thy stretched out arm; if they come and pray in this house; Then hear thou from the heavens, even from thy dwelling place, and do according to all that the stranger calleth to thee for; that all people of the earth may know thy name, and fear thee, as doth thy people Israel, and may know that this house which I have built is called by thy name.” - 2 Chronicles 6:19,24,25,32,33.
God may have used Israel as the people who were known as His, but He does mean that He limited any others from coming to Him. God used Israel to prove that He is God, and is merciful and gracious to even the worst offenders. I mean let's face it, Israel was and still is the worse example of their faithfulness to God, most refuse to even acknowledge Christ, they do not even follow the Bible past the Law of Moses, even though Christ is contained within those books as well. God gives every person, no matter what nation they were born into, the opportunity to know His Son. It's up to each one of us to humble ourselves to acknowledge and come to the Son. “Tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that doeth evil, of the Jew first, and also of the Gentile; But glory, honour, and peace, to every man that worketh good, to the Jew first, and also to the Gentile: For there is no respect of persons with God.” - Romans 2:9-11.
God replied to Solomon's prayer, letting him know that He did hear his prayer, and hears all the prayers of those who humble themselves before Him, confess, and turn from their wicked ways. “Thus Solomon finished the house of the LORD, and the king's house: and all that came into Solomon's heart to make in the house of the LORD, and in his own house, he prosperously effected. And the LORD appeared to Solomon by night, and said unto him, I have heard thy prayer, and have chosen this place to myself for an house of sacrifice. If I shut up heaven that there be no rain, or if I command the locusts to devour the land, or if I send pestilence among my people; If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land. Now mine eyes shall be open, and mine ears attent unto the prayer that is made in this place.” - 2 Chronicles 7:11-15.
God assured Solomon that if they humbled themselves before Him, repented of their sins, and sought His face, than they would be forgiven and He will hear their cries. God only listens to the prayers of those who seek His face, meaning those who humbly come to Him wholeheartedly and willingly. We can pray for someone, but that someone also needs to seek God's face also. Unless we admit our wrong and confess it to God, He will not hear our prayers. “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.” - 1 John 1:8-10.
It the twenty years since Solomon built the temple for God, he was successful and prosperous. The key to his success, his relationship with God, he was by far, perfect, but he was faithful, but he one mistake that would change that, he married the Pharaoh of Egypt's daughter. “And Solomon brought up the daughter of Pharaoh out of the city of David unto the house that he had built for her: for he said, My wife shall not dwell in the house of David king of Israel, because the places are holy, whereunto the ark of the LORD hath come. Then Solomon offered burnt offerings unto the LORD on the altar of the LORD, which he had built before the porch, Even after a certain rate every day, offering according to the commandment of Moses, on the sabbaths, and on the new moons, and on the solemn feasts, three times in the year, even in the feast of unleavened bread, and in the feast of weeks, and in the feast of tabernacles. And he appointed, according to the order of David his father, the courses of the priests to their service, and the Levites to their charges, to praise and minister before the priests, as the duty of every day required: the porters also by their courses at every gate: for so had David the man of God commanded. And they departed not from the commandment of the king unto the priests and Levites concerning any matter, or concerning the treasures.” - 2 Chronicles 8:11-15.
The strongest Christian will fall if they allow themselves to be yoked with those who are not saved or living their lives with Christ. Solomon even kept her away from the city, fully knowing that she would not follow God, and eventually he too fell away from God. As much as we want to believe that our faith in and obedience to God can overcome any outside influence in our lives, it cannot. Yes, we can overcome any situation we get into, but we need the strength of God for that, He alone is the only one powerful enough to get us out of any situation, or even keep us from getting into it in the first place. The only way He will help is if we humble ourselves before Him. “Do ye think that the scripture saith in vain, The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy? But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble. Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded. Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.” - James 4:5-10.
Today's Prayer: God, It's not easy coming to You when we have made bad decisions and do not know how to get out of the situations we are in, but in order for us to get out of them we need You. You love us and are willing to help us get out of any situation if we just humble ourselves and confess our sin to You. Lord, search our hearts, know our thoughts, see if there is any iniquity in them, and if there is, show us our error, and let us let go of our pride and seek Your face. Give us Your power to resist any outside influence that may pull us away from You, and give us the strength we need to walk away from any situation that may open the door for us to fall. In Jesus' name. Amen.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina
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Copyright © 2015 I'm Following Jesus, All rights reserved.
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