I'm Following Jesus – Page 1393 – Mark 8:34 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.

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: Wednesday, July 01, 2020
Chapters: II Kings 1-4
Message: Power To Defeat Satan

Hello My Friend,

As I was reading the chapters for today, something Jesus said came right to my mind, [Matthew 12:25b-28 Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand: 26 And if Satan cast out Satan, he is divided against himself; how shall then his kingdom stand? 27 And if I by Beelzebub cast out devils, by whom do your children cast them out? therefore they shall be your judges. 28 But if I cast out devils by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God is come unto you.]

[But if I cast out devils by the Spirit of God,] Every single one of us, including Jesus Himself is subject to Satan, as long as he is in the world we have to deal with him and all his evil. Our ability to beat him cannot come in our own strength, we need Christ for that, first, by receiving Him as our Saviour, then in our living our lives through Him. Walking with Christ does not keep Satan from messing with us, but it does give us the power and defeat him each and every time he does, [I Corinthians 15:57-58 But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 58 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.]

The Book of II Kings contains twenty-five chapters, the author is Jeremiah, and it was written to Israel. The timeline for these events took place between 896 BC to 588 BC. The purpose of the book was to record how God dealt with Israel before the coming of Christ. What we are to learn from the book is that God is sovereign ruler of all nations, blessing the obedient, punishing the disobedient, and is merciful to those who love Him. After Ahab died in the battle his son Ahaziah began to reign, things were not much better for him as Moab attacked them. During the attack he fell and got severely hurt, it was then that God gave him a chance to repent and recover, but instead of listening to Him he calls on a false god, in fact, led by the devil himself. It was then that God not only let Ahaziah die, but placed more judgment upon Israel.

[II Kings 1:1-4,7-8 Then Moab rebelled against Israel after the death of Ahab. 2 And Ahaziah fell down through a lattice in his upper chamber that was in Samaria, and was sick: and he sent messengers, and said unto them, Go, enquire of Baalzebub the god of Ekron whether I shall recover of this disease. 3 But the angel of the LORD said to Elijah the Tishbite, Arise, go up to meet the messengers of the king of Samaria, and say unto them, Is it not because there is not a God in Israel, that ye go to enquire of Baalzebub the god of Ekron? 4 Now therefore thus saith the LORD, Thou shalt not come down from that bed on which thou art gone up, but shalt surely die. And Elijah departed. 7 And he said unto them, What manner of man was he which came up to meet you, and told you these words? 8 And they answered him, He was an hairy man, and girt with a girdle of leather about his loins. And he said, It is Elijah the Tishbite.]

[It is Elijah the Tishbite.] The king knew right away that it was Elijah that told them that he was going to die because he went to the devil for answers rather than Him. Let me tell you, anyone who chooses to follow a religion that does not teach and preach the truth is not worshiping the one and only living God, it is a false god, led by the devil himself. And they can attack or even kill the man or woman who is preaching the truth in an attempt to change their fate, it will never happen, they will all die and end up in hell because they chose Satan over Christ, [Matthew 10:28-33 And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. 29 Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father. 30 But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. 31 Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows. 32 Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven. 33 But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven.]

A weird thing happens the second we receive Christ as our Saviour, we begin to see God, not physically, whether it is through some provision, protection, or miracle, the closer we get to Him the more we see Him. Elijah spent a lot of time in the Northern Kingdom, God used him to preach and teach His truths to a nation that rejected Him. Elijah was one of only two men to ever ascend into heaven without dying, apart from Jesus, and he was taken up in a tornado of all things. There was a young man name Elisha, he knew God was with Elijah, followed him, and knowing where he was headed, did not leave his side until God took Him up in the tornado.

[II Kings 2:6-12 And Elijah said unto him, Tarry, I pray thee, here; for the LORD hath sent me to Jordan. And he said, As the LORD liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. And they two went on. 7 And fifty men of the sons of the prophets went, and stood to view afar off: and they two stood by Jordan. 8 And Elijah took his mantle, and wrapped it together, and smote the waters, and they were divided hither and thither, so that they two went over on dry ground. 9 And it came to pass, when they were gone over, that Elijah said unto Elisha, Ask what I shall do for thee, before I be taken away from thee. And Elisha said, I pray thee, let a double portion of thy spirit be upon me. 10 And he said, Thou hast asked a hard thing: nevertheless, if thou see me when I am taken from thee, it shall be so unto thee; but if not, it shall not be so. 11 And it came to pass, as they still went on, and talked, that, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, and parted them both asunder; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven. 12 And Elisha saw it, and he cried, My father, my father, the chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof. And he saw him no more: and he took hold of his own clothes, and rent them in two pieces.]

[Thou hast asked a hard thing:] Many people see the amazing blessings that happen in the lives of men and women God uses in His ministry and want what they have, many fail to realize that it is a life of total dedication to God. No one is perfect, we all mess up, in fact, God is not looking for perfect because we are perfected in Christ as we walk with Him, He is looking for willing, faithful, and dedicated, saved souls. If we are dedicated to God, then we will seek His will for our lives, and that first begins by believing that Christ is the only way to be saved, and accepting Him as our Saviour, [Matthew 7:21-23 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. 22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? 23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.]

Elisha asked for a double portion of spirit and he got it, God did not waste any time using him to show Israel and two other kings that He is merciful to His faithful. After Ahaziah died his brother Jehoram reigned because Ahaziah had no sons, he sought help from two other kings to help defeat Moab once and for all, and enlists Jehoshaphat in Judah and the king of Edom, of all people. Now, here they are, all three kings in the middle of nowhere, no water, no food, cornered by Moab. Jehoram immediately thought that all this was an act of God to get them all killed, but then Jehoshaphat, as the Godly man that he was, decided they needed answers from God, he asks if there was a man of God around, and that is when someone mentions Elisha.

[II Kings 3:9-14 So the king of Israel went, and the king of Judah, and the king of Edom: and they fetched a compass of seven days’ journey: and there was no water for the host, and for the cattle that followed them. 10 And the king of Israel said, Alas! that the LORD hath called these three kings together, to deliver them into the hand of Moab! 11 But Jehoshaphat said, Is there not here a prophet of the LORD, that we may enquire of the LORD by him? And one of the king of Israel’s servants answered and said, Here is Elisha the son of Shaphat, which poured water on the hands of Elijah. 12 And Jehoshaphat said, The word of the LORD is with him. So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat and the king of Edom went down to him. 13 And Elisha said unto the king of Israel, What have I to do with thee? get thee to the prophets of thy father, and to the prophets of thy mother. And the king of Israel said unto him, Nay: for the LORD hath called these three kings together, to deliver them into the hand of Moab. 14 And Elisha said, As the LORD of hosts liveth, before whom I stand, surely, were it not that I regard the presence of Jehoshaphat the king of Judah, I would not look toward thee, nor see thee.]

[Alas! that the LORD hath called these three kings together,] This is always the first reaction by those who know of Christ, but will not receive Him. Nevertheless, God’s mercy does prevail, even for those who reject Him, and for one reason only, His faithful. Yes, God will show His mercies on the heathens because His own people are among them. Why does He do this? Because He does not want any soul to die and end up in hell. While the majority of people will not accept Christ even though He is merciful to them as well, a few will. And that is what it is all about, even if only one soul gets saved, [Luke 17:12-19 And as he entered into a certain village, there met him ten men that were lepers, which stood afar off: 13 And they lifted up their voices, and said, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us. 14 And when he saw them, he said unto them, Go shew yourselves unto the priests. And it came to pass, that, as they went, they were cleansed. 15 And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and with a loud voice glorified God, 16 And fell down on his face at his feet, giving him thanks: and he was a Samaritan. 17 And Jesus answering said, Were there not ten cleansed? but where are the nine? 18 There are not found that returned to give glory to God, save this stranger. 19 And he said unto him, Arise, go thy way: thy faith hath made thee whole.]

Elisha traveled up and down the Northern Kingdom helping anyone that passed him by, he met a woman, we do not know her name, but do know that she was a godly woman who desperately wanted to pay off the debt her husband left behind after he died.

[II Kings 4:1-7 Now there cried a certain woman of the wives of the sons of the prophets unto Elisha, saying, Thy servant my husband is dead; and thou knowest that thy servant did fear the LORD: and the creditor is come to take unto him my two sons to be bondmen. 2 And Elisha said unto her, What shall I do for thee? tell me, what hast thou in the house? And she said, Thine handmaid hath not any thing in the house, save a pot of oil. 3 Then he said, Go, borrow thee vessels abroad of all thy neighbours, even empty vessels; borrow not a few. 4 And when thou art come in, thou shalt shut the door upon thee and upon thy sons, and shalt pour out into all those vessels, and thou shalt set aside that which is full. 5 So she went from him, and shut the door upon her and upon her sons, who brought the vessels to her; and she poured out. 6 And it came to pass, when the vessels were full, that she said unto her son, Bring me yet a vessel. And he said unto her, There is not a vessel more. And the oil stayed. 7 Then she came and told the man of God. And he said, Go, sell the oil, and pay thy debt, and live thou and thy children of the rest.]

[Go, sell the oil, and pay thy debt,] Do you see how faith and works go hand in hand? We really cannot have one with the other. Jesus paid our debt for us, the life we live today through Him is not to pay it off, rather to keep our faith and faithfulness to Him. So many Christians when faced with hardships turn to the world for help instead of asking God what they can do, that only leads to more debt. When we trust God, He will show us what we need to do so that the debt gets paid in full, [James 2:17-20 Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. 18 Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works. 19 Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble. 20 But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?]

Today’s Prayer: God, Thank You for loving me so much that You came here Yourself in the flesh of Your Son to become the sinless sacrifice I needed to be able to reach You and heaven. Not by our righteousness are we saved, but by our faith alone in what Your Son did. Lord, Lead me and guide me, help me to be a witness and a testimony to those who do not know You, open my ears to hear when You tell me to speak to someone about Jesus, and give me Your power and the boldness to speak the truth and not be offended or intimated by those who refuse to listen. Let me live every day of my life seeking Your will so that I can continue to receive Your blessings. Cover me, hedge me, with Your power and protection, give me Your mercy, grace, forgiveness, and keep my heart tender, and always on You. I as these things in Your name, Jesus. Amen.

God Bless You, I am praying for you,

Christina

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