King James Bible Study – “And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.” – Mark 8:34
Date: Saturday, August 01, 2020
Chapters: II Chronicles 29-31, Psalm 48
Message: Godly Leadership
Hello My Friend,
As I was reading the chapters for today I could not help, but think of the state of the Church today, as well as what we are going through as a country. The pandemic, the violence, the riots, the stubborn and the proud leaders of states and cities that contribute to it all. Then this verse came to mind, [II Chronicles 7:14 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.]
America, and quite frankly, the rest of the world, is in a dire need of godly leaders who will stand up and lead the people back to God, starting with the Church. Through Isaiah and II Kings, we learned how Assyria attempted to overthrow Hezekiah and take over Jerusalem like they did the rest of Israel, II Chronicles gives us more insight into the amazing job that Hezekiah did to restore Judah and Jerusalem back to a godly nation. The first year of his reign he immediately had the temple reopened, repaired, and cleaned, and also commanded that the priests and Levites clean themselves up as well.
[II Chronicles 29:1-5 Hezekiah began to reign when he was five and twenty years old, and he reigned nine and twenty years in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Abijah, the daughter of Zechariah. 2 And he did that which was right in the sight of the LORD, according to all that David his father had done. 3 He in the first year of his reign, in the first month, opened the doors of the house of the LORD, and repaired them. 4 And he brought in the priests and the Levites, and gathered them together into the east street, 5 And said unto them, Hear me, ye Levites, sanctify now yourselves, and sanctify the house of the LORD God of your fathers, and carry forth the filthiness out of the holy place.]
[And he did that which was right in the sight of the LORD,] It only takes, one, saved, born again Christian to set to lead, and others will follow. And that is exactly what happened, for the first time in decades, temple worship resumed, in fact, the whole congregation came, and brought sacrifices to God to reconcile with Him.
[II Chronicles 29:28,31,34-36 And all the congregation worshipped, and the singers sang, and the trumpeters sounded: and all this continued until the burnt offering was finished. 31 Then Hezekiah answered and said, Now ye have consecrated yourselves unto the LORD, come near and bring sacrifices and thank offerings into the house of the LORD. And the congregation brought in sacrifices and thank offerings; and as many as were of a free heart burnt offerings. 34 But the priests were too few, so that they could not flay all the burnt offerings: wherefore their brethren the Levites did help them, till the work was ended, and until the other priests had sanctified themselves: for the Levites were more upright in heart to sanctify themselves than the priests. 35 And also the burnt offerings were in abundance, with the fat of the peace offerings, and the drink offerings for every burnt offering. So the service of the house of the LORD was set in order. 36 And Hezekiah rejoiced, and all the people, that God had prepared the people: for the thing was done suddenly.]
[for the Levites were more upright in heart] This is an example of church leaders who are living in sin themselves, the teachers being more godly than the leader. Remember, we must be cleansed ourselves if we want anything we do for God to be accepted. The second we receive Christ as our Saviour we are consecrated by His blood, and since Jesus is the great physician of our mind, body, and spirit, it is He that is inside of us that heals our mind, body, and spirit as we serve Him faithfully. And to serve Him faithfully means living in a way that is pleasing to God, and being repentant when we fail Him. Now, as the congregation began to hear about the revival, they too joined in, singing and praising God for all His mercies and His judgments.
[Psalms 48:9-14 We have thought of thy lovingkindness, O God, in the midst of thy temple. 10 According to thy name, O God, so is thy praise unto the ends of the earth: thy right hand is full of righteousness. 11 Let mount Zion rejoice, let the daughters of Judah be glad, because of thy judgments. 12 Walk about Zion, and go round about her: tell the towers thereof. 13 Mark ye well her bulwarks, consider her palaces; that ye may tell it to the generation following. 14 For this God is our God for ever and ever: he will be our guide even unto death.]
[Mark ye well her bulwarks,] A bulwark is a fortification, it also means any means of defense. Christ is our defense, the one who is our guide, even unto death. God’s forgiveness, mercies, and grace are endless for His saved, born again child, but that does not mean we are to live and condone the sinful and quite abominable practices of the world, and especially bring them into the Church. If they do, then God will not defend them until they repent. Let me tell you, it is the Church that is responsible for leading the people in the right direction, and many are failing greatly as they allow sinful practices to remain in their congregations. It is just like Jesus said, they are blind leaders leading the blind, [Matthew 15:14 Let them alone: they be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch.]
Since God created man, there have been more corrupt leaders in the Church than the congregation. Leader or not, there are things we ought to be doing that are common sense, we need to clean ourselves up, remove the things from our lives that are sinful, and serve God faithfully. Now, once the temple, priests, and Levites were cleansed, and the people were atoned for their sin, Hezekiah sent letters all over the country in hopes that everyone, Jew and Gentile, would come to Jerusalem for the first Passover since Solomon was king.
[II Chronicles 30:2-5,10-11,20 For the king had taken counsel, and his princes, and all the congregation in Jerusalem, to keep the passover in the second month. 3 For they could not keep it at that time, because the priests had not sanctified themselves sufficiently, neither had the people gathered themselves together to Jerusalem. 4 And the thing pleased the king and all the congregation. 5 So they established a decree to make proclamation throughout all Israel, from Beersheba even to Dan, that they should come to keep the passover unto the LORD God of Israel at Jerusalem: for they had not done it of a long time in such sort as it was written. 10 So the posts passed from city to city through the country of Ephraim and Manasseh even unto Zebulun: but they laughed them to scorn, and mocked them. 11 Nevertheless divers of Asher and Manasseh and of Zebulun humbled themselves, and came to Jerusalem. 20 And the LORD hearkened to Hezekiah, and healed the people.]
[for they had not done it of a long time in such sort] When was the last time these “contemporary” churches preached the Gospel, that there is a consequence for sin, and that consequence is death and hell? This is why Christ is angry at the Church, they have watered down His Gospel so much that it is not even His. And by the way, there is no other Gospel, [Galatians 1:6-7 I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: 7 Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ.]
When we come to understand, that regardless of what we were taught, whether it was through another religion or under the influence of someone else, all of our efforts to please God were nothing because we need Christ first. That is when we repent, and true revival begins, and talk about a revival, after the Passover there were so many people stirred up for God that they came together as one, cleansing their homes, business, and even the streets.
[II Chronicles 31:1,4-5,9-10 Now when all this was finished, all Israel that were present went out to the cities of Judah, and brake the images in pieces, and cut down the groves, and threw down the high places and the altars out of all Judah and Benjamin, in Ephraim also and Manasseh, until they had utterly destroyed them all. Then all the children of Israel returned, every man to his possession, into their own cities. 4 Moreover he commanded the people that dwelt in Jerusalem to give the portion of the priests and the Levites, that they might be encouraged in the law of the LORD. 5 And as soon as the commandment came abroad, the children of Israel brought in abundance the firstfruits of corn, wine, and oil, and honey, and of all the increase of the field; and the tithe of all things brought they in abundantly. 9 Then Hezekiah questioned with the priests and the Levites concerning the heaps. 10 And Azariah the chief priest of the house of Zadok answered him, and said, Since the people began to bring the offerings into the house of the LORD, we have had enough to eat, and have left plenty: for the LORD hath blessed his people; and that which is left is this great store.]
[for the LORD hath blessed his people;] Many people will get saved and go on living the sinful lives they live unknowing that the Holy Spirit is working in them to repent of it too. They face affliction and challenges to get them to go beyond just receiving Christ as their Saviour, but will never truly see His blessings beyond that because they will not remove the sin. However, those who do take that extra step to let the Holy Spirit direct them, will day by day, cleanse themselves of the sins and idols that they have. It is not the sacrifice that God desires more, because He knows we are sinners, it is our faithfulness to Him in doing the best we can to live as He pleases us to be, [II Corinthians 5:9-10 Wherefore we labour, that, whether present or absent, we may be accepted of him. 10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.]
Today’s Prayer: Jesus, Thank You for giving Your own life so that I do not have to give oodles of animal sacrifices to be redeemed and atoned for my sins, my simple faith in You is all that is necessary. I will never forget the day that I got baptized and decided that I wanted to dedicate my life to You, and I know You have chosen me to do a great work in You, which for the life of me I still do not understand. Whatever it is that You want me to do I will do it. I know we all have flesh and are capable of falling into sin when our heart is not right with You. Lord, prepare my way before You, give me Your power, wisdom, and guidance to serve You with all my heart. Give me Your strength to stand by Your Word at all times, and preach it just as You ask me to. In fact, let me be the godly example that You need me to lead others to Your ways and not their own. I ask these things in Your name Jesus. Amen.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina
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