Hezekiah,  the King who prospered in all he put his hand, gets tested. (2 Kings 18-19)

The King of Assyria, who took Isreal into captivity. Attacked Judah, Hezekiah,  paid tribute…  took gold off the doors of the temple. 

Sent men out to seek peace.  The enemy, spoke the Hebrew dialect so the people on the wall would hear and understand. 

They remained silent,  as per Hezekiahs order, though their faith and Hezekiahs  faith faltered. 

The Assyrians, claiming more power than the Hebrews God.   Claimed the Lord would not save them.

Hezekiah,  in sackcloth and ashes, went to the Temple to seek God.  He sent his leaders to Isaiah the prophet. 

They said:  “Thus saith Hezekiah, This day is a day of trouble, and of rebuke, and blasphemy; for the children are come to the birth, and there is not strength to bring forth.

It may be the Lord thy God will hear all the words of Rabshakeh, whom the king of Assyria his master hath sent to reproach the living God; and will reprove the words which the Lord thy God hath heard: wherefore lift up thy prayer for the remnant that are left.”

Isaiah answered:  “Thus shall ye say to your master, Thus saith the Lord, Be not afraid of the words which thou hast heard, with which the servants of the king of Assyria have blasphemed me.

Behold, I will send a blast upon him, and he shall hear a rumour, and shall return to his own land; and I will cause him to fall by the sword in his own land.”

Yet, the word of the Prophet was still not enough.  Fear, despair, despondency rules in the land.

Assyria was involved in another war at home, Rabshakeh sent a message again to Judah.

“Let not thy God in whom thou trustest deceive thee, saying, Jerusalem shall not be delivered into the hand of the king of Assyria.

Behold, thou hast heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all lands, by destroying them utterly: and shalt thou be delivered?

Have the gods of the nations delivered them which my fathers have destroyed;”

Hezekiah took this letter to the house of God, and laid it before Him, and prayed:   “O Lord God of Israel, which dwellest between the cherubims, thou art the God, even thou alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth; thou hast made heaven and earth.

Lord, bow down thine ear, and hear: open, Lord, thine eyes, and see: and hear the words of Sennacherib, which hath sent him to reproach the living God.

Of a truth, Lord, the kings of Assyria have destroyed the nations and their lands,

And have cast their gods into the fire: for they were no gods, but the work of men’s hands, wood and stone: therefore they have destroyed them.

Now therefore, O Lord our God, I beseech thee, save thou us out of his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that thou art the Lord God, even thou only.”

Isaiah sent Hezekiah the Lords answer…  “Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, That which thou hast prayed to me against Sennacherib king of Assyria I have heard.”

(Read the full answer in 2 Kings 19:21-33)

“Therefore thus saith the Lord concerning the king of Assyria, He shall not come into this city, nor shoot an arrow there, nor come before it with shield, nor cast a bank against it.

By the way that he came, by the same shall he return, and shall not come into this city, saith the Lord.

For I will defend this city, to save it, for mine own sake, and for my servant David’s sake.”

So we find the end of the story.

“It came to pass that night, that the angel of the Lord went out, and smote in the camp of the Assyrians an hundred fourscore and five thousand: and when they arose early in the morning, behold, they were all dead corpses.

So Sennacherib king of Assyria departed, and went and returned, and dwelt at Nineveh.

And it came to pass, as he was worshipping in the house of Nisroch his god, that Adrammelech and Sharezer his sons smote him with the sword: and they escaped into the land of Armenia. And Esarhaddon his son reigned in his stead.”

Hezekiah: 

~ “he did that which was right in the sight of the Lord,
~ He removed the high places, and brake the images, and cut down the groves, and brake in pieces the brasen serpent that Moses had made:
~ he trusted in the Lord God of Israel; so that after him was none like him among all the kings of Judah, nor any that were before him.
~ For he clave to the Lord, and departed not from following him, but kept his commandments, which the Lord commanded Moses.

~ And the Lord was with him; and he prospered whithersoever he went forth: and he rebelled against the king of Assyria, and served him not.”

Lord help us to learn from Hezekiah…  Amen

Do It Again, Lord – http://wp.me/p2WKHv-96

Another good word

Rejoice Evermore – http://wp.me/p2WKHv-98

A truth we need to embrace

The problem with our Christian Churches?  “Not knowing, the power of God:”

Am I  serious?   Absolutely…  Paul put it this way.
1 Corinthians 2:4-5
King James Version (KJV)
“And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man’s wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power:

That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.“

What could he mean, in demonstration of the Spirit and of Power?  That our faith should not stand in man’s wisdom, but in the Power of God.

We hear wonderful wisdom from our pulpits,  marvelous words, interesting stories, excellent ideas, brilliant insights and directions. 

“Unfortunately,  there is no power.”

Words, words and more words.  The lost aren’t found, the sick not healed, the brokenhearted not comforted.

Saints, we need to seek the Power of God, in our lives, in our Churches,  in our communities. 

So many of us think we should not ask God for the Gifts of the Spirit.  Paul wrote, “I would not have you ignorant, about Spiritual Gifts,  desire the best gifts.”

The Lord sent His Spirit to guide us to all truth, yet instead of asking the Spirit about the Gifts, we deside they are not relevant today.

We reject the very tools He gave us to build His Church.  We are working under our own power, instead of THE POWER OF GOD.

We have all heard 1 Corinthians 13, preached several times,  chapters 12 and 14, not so much.

Why?  We think,  maybe, the use by date has passed …  God doesn’t do that anymore….   We don’t need that today.

Well Jesus would tell you.

Matthew 22:29
“Jesus answered and said unto them, Ye do err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God.”

That is where we stand, in ignorance of at least the power of God, and I believe in knowing the full council of God.

We limit ourselves to our Denominational Doctrine instead of the WORD OF GOD. 

I say throw out the Book of Discipline, the Catechism, the Bible Study Guides, and the Commentaries and STUDY THE BIBLE.

It is our responsibility to know the Word, it is the Holy Spirits responsibility to lead us to all truth.

Deuteronomy 29:29
King James Version (KJV)
“The secret things belong unto the Lord our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever, that we may do all the words of this law.”

The Gifts are not the Secret Things, they are things which are revealed.   They are given that we might do all the Words of God.

Heal the sick, cast our demons,  cause the lame to walk, the blind to see… lead the lost to the Lord.

Yet, many will object, will refuse to embrace the full council of God.   Will gladly walk in darkness,  refusing the light.

Believing they have all truth.   

Don’t take my word for it…  STUDY TO SHOW YOURSELF APPROVED.   Ask the Holy Spirit to confirm His Word .   Amen

I was shocked, confused, bewildered As I entered Heaven’s door,

Not by the beauty of it all, Nor the lights or its decor.
But it was the folks in Heaven Who made me sputter and gasp–
The thieves, the liars, the sinners, The alcoholics and the trash.
There stood the kid from seventh grade Who swiped my lunch money twice.
Next to him was my old neighbor Who never said anything nice.
Bob, who I always thought Was rotting away in hell,
Was sitting pretty on cloud nine, Looking incredibly well.
I nudged Jesus, ‘What’s the deal? I would love to hear Your take.
How’d all these sinners get up here? God must’ve made a mistake
And why is everyone so quiet, So somber – give me a clue.
‘Hush, child,’ He said, ‘They’re all in shock. No one thought they’d be seeing you.’ JUDGE NOT!!
Remember…Just going to church doesn’t make you a Christian any more than standing in your garage makes you a car.
Every saint has a PAST… Every sinner has a FUTURE! Now it’s your turn… Share this poem.
And remember to forgive. HE will!

I struggle to be the man I should be.  I have received the mind of Christ, but I  set it aside and use my own. (You know that’s not good.)

I have been Justified, Sanctified, Holy Ghost  filled and water Baptized.   I have Jesus on my mind, I ‘ve found a new life….  

So why do I keep reaching back to my old life.  My old way of dealing with or doing things.  I know they don’t work so well, but….

I know how to fail.  I don’t really know how to succeed.   

I have the victory in and by the Name of Christ Jesus.   Yet, I do not call on Him, rely on Him, trust in Him.   I want control myself.

I think that is why so many fail to fulfil the Masters plan.   We do not totally trust, wait, or rely on Him.

Just do things my way Jesus,  I have a plan… disaster follows.  Quickly, totally, completely. 

Lord, help me to trust You, to be obedient to You, to walk with You.  

Lord, may my obedience and reliance on You, bring You honor and praise.

May You be glorified,  magnified, and exalted forever.  Amen

“In the Name of Jesus, In the Name of Jesus, we have the victory.   In the Name of Jesus, In the Name of Jesus,Demons will have to flee.”

(What a wonderful song:)

“Who can tell what God will do, who can say, what He’s done for you?  In the mighty Name of Jesus, we have the victory.”

I wonder how many of us, really have the victory.  Are we still battling a secret sin?

Lust, covetous, pride… These are the three sins that bring us down, the lust of the flesh,  lust of the eyes,  and the pride of life.

Our victory over our natural man is won, only by and in the Name of Jesus Christ.

Emanuel,  God with us, God within us, God directing, protecting and empowering us, by His Holy Spirit, in the Name of Jesus.

“by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ”  

We should  be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.

“ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.”

(We are Justified: Just as if we had never sinned.)

“in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ;”

We should Give thanks always

“That the name of our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in you, and ye in him”

We command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye withdraw yourselves from every brother that walketh disorderly, and not after the tradition which he received of us.

“In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ”

We should, deliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.

“This is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment.”

“to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord”

We are sanctified (set apart for His service), called, to be one… not Baptists, Methodists, Episcopal, Anglicans, Penticostals… ONE IN HIM.  That:  “The name of the Lord Jesus was magnified.“

“I am ready not to be bound only, but also to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.”

“But when they believed  the things concerning the kingdom of God, and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women.”  Then they:

“spoke boldly in the name of Jesus.”

“Men that have hazarded their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” 

“And now, Lord, behold their threatenings: and grant unto thy servants, that with all boldness they may speak thy word,

 By stretching forth thine hand to heal; and that signs and wonders may be done by the name of thy holy child Jesus.

And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spake the word of God with boldness.”

This is what our Church is missing, our being willing to die for the Gospel, that we would speak boldly, and that signs and wonders would follow.

” by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man stand here before you whole.”
” In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk.”
That is the boldness, the confidence we lack, to boldly say…  “In the Name of Jesus be healed.”

But Jesus said, “Forbid him not: for there is no man which shall do a miracle in my name, that can lightly speak evil of me.”

Saints,  do you really believe the Church is walking in the Power of God?   Are we not just hearing the great things God can, or will do maybe some day?

The Kingdom of God is at hand…. right now today.   He gave us the Holy Spirit and Power.

We need to learn how to walk in Him. If we walk. In faith, believing,  there is nothing that God  cannot do through us.

Will you allow Him to Rule and Reign in your life.  I pray we will.  Amen