I'm Following Jesus – Page 1754 – 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: Thursday, July 25, 2019
Chapters: Isaiah 37-39, Psalm 76
Message: The LORD Was Ready To Save Me

Hello My Friend,

Whenever I read about Hezekiah, God reminds me that while we are all appointed a time to die, there is always hope beyond the grave, and we have nothing to fear when we place our lives in the hands of our LORD, Jesus Christ. “Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.” – Hebrews 7:25.

“seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.” Intercession; To pass between. To mediate; to interpose; to act between parties with a view to reconcile those who differ or contend. To please in favor of one. The reason we can go to God will full assurance that He hears every prayer is because His Son stands before us, we can mediate all we want with the enemy, but unless we have that ally on our side we will lose. Isaiah goes into more detail as to what happened when the Assyrian’s attempted to get Israel into submission, there is something interesting that we find when Rabshakeh returns and finds Assyria fighting with Libnah.

“So Rabshakeh returned, and found the king of Assyria warring against Libnah: for he had heard that he was departed from Lachish. And he heard say concerning Tirhakah king of Ethiopia, He is come forth to make war with thee. And when he heard it, he sent messengers to Hezekiah, saying, Thus shall ye speak to Hezekiah king of Judah, saying, Let not thy God, in whom thou trustest, deceive thee, saying, Jerusalem shall not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria. Where is the king of Hamath, and the king of Arphad, and the king of the city of Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivah? And Hezekiah received the letter from the hand of the messengers, and read it: and Hezekiah went up unto the house of the LORD, and spread it before the LORD. Of a truth, LORD, the kings of Assyria have laid waste all the nations, and their countries, 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, save us from his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that thou art the LORD, even thou only.” – Isaiah 37:8-10,13-14,18-20.

“And when he heard it, he sent messengers to Hezekiah,” You see, the Assyrian’s were not trying to capture Judah because they were stronger than them, they wanted Judah on their side to help them defeat Libnah. They thought that by intimidating the Judean’s into submission they would be able to fight Libnah with them and win. Do not let the world fool you, they know that Israel’s God is the same God of all nations that call Him LORD, and they want all that power of God on their side, even though they want nothing to do with God. Nevertheless, their intimidation did not work, Hezekiah sought help from God, and He delivered Judah from the hands of the Assyrian’s, and promised that they would not be taken by them all the days of his life. Had the king of Assyria just gone to God himself, and not trusted in his false god, which was the work of man’s hands, He would have helped them, and they may have been able to prolong their lives.

“God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands; Neither is worshipped with men’s hands, as though he needed any thing, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things; And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation; That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us: For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring.” – Acts 17:24-28.

“though he be not far from every one of us:” Jesus is not far from anyone, He is all around, and yet, the world is too blind to see that He is ready to save them. We can never underestimate the power of our living God, He alone has the power to give life, death, and everything in between, it is how we choose to live between life and death that determines how our end will be, and in some people, how long their end will be. After God delivered Judah out of the hands of the Assyrians Hezekiah became deathly ill, we learn of the miraculous turn of events as Hezekiah humbly prays for God to prolong his life, and by the grace of God, He adds fifteen years to his life. Now, after Isaiah came to him with the news that God had granted his prayer by giving him an extra fifteen years to live, Hezekiah wrote, I guess it was in a journal, some amazing, and thought provoking words.

“The writing of Hezekiah king of Judah, when he had been sick, and was recovered of his sickness: I said in the cutting off of my days, I shall go to the gates of the grave: I am deprived of the residue of my years. I said, I shall not see the LORD, even the LORD, in the land of the living: I shall behold man no more with the inhabitants of the world. What shall I say? he hath both spoken unto me, and himself hath done it: I shall go softly all my years in the bitterness of my soul. O Lord, by these things men live, and in all these things is the life of my spirit: so wilt thou recover me, and make me to live. Behold, for peace I had great bitterness: but thou hast in love to my soul delivered it from the pit of corruption: for thou hast cast all my sins behind thy back. For the grave cannot praise thee, death can not celebrate thee: they that go down into the pit cannot hope for thy truth. The living, the living, he shall praise thee, as I do this day: the father to the children shall make known thy truth. The LORD was ready to save me: therefore we will sing my songs to the stringed instruments all the days of our life in the house of the LORD.” – Isaiah 38:9-11,15-20.

“so wilt thou recover me, and make me to live.” The second we trust in the LORD, Jesus Christ as our Saviour He will recover us, and make us to live eternally. Amen! Even Hezekiah knew that there was life beyond the grave, and the pit of hell, for all who cry out to the LORD. Jesus truly is ready to save every soul who comes to Him, and as I read this again I cannot help, but think of how He saved this wretched soul bound for hell, and how He delivered it from the pit of corruption and cast all my sins behind His back. Amen! “Thou art more glorious and excellent than the mountains of prey. The stouthearted are spoiled, they have slept their sleep: and none of the men of might have found their hands. At thy rebuke, O God of Jacob, both the chariot and horse are cast into a dead sleep. Thou, even thou, art to be feared: and who may stand in thy sight when once thou art angry? Thou didst cause judgment to be heard from heaven; the earth feared, and was still, When God arose to judgment, to save all the meek of the earth. Selah.” – Psalm 76:4-9.

“to save all the meek of the earth.” While Jesus did give His life for all, He will only save those who are meek, meaning, those who have humbled themselves to the fact that they are sinners bound for hell, but He died a sinless death on the cross, was buried in a tomb, and then three days later arose to save them. Amen! “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” – Romans 10:9-10.

The choices we make always have an impact on our lives, but what we may not realize is that they impact others as well, maybe not right away, but long after we die. Shortly after we learn of Hezekiah praising God for healing him we learn of his decision to invite the people of Babylon not only into the temple, but the palace when they brought him gifts after his recovery. God sent Isaiah to Hezekiah to warn him of the impact this would bring.

“Then came Isaiah the prophet unto king Hezekiah, and said unto him, What said these men? and from whence came they unto thee? And Hezekiah said, They are come from a far country unto me, even from Babylon. Then said he, What have they seen in thine house? And Hezekiah answered, All that is in mine house have they seen: there is nothing among my treasures that I have not shewed them. Then said Isaiah to Hezekiah, Hear the word of the LORD of hosts: Behold, the days come, that all that is in thine house, and that which thy fathers have laid up in store until this day, shall be carried to Babylon: nothing shall be left, saith the LORD. And of thy sons that shall issue from thee, which thou shalt beget, shall they take away; and they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon. Then said Hezekiah to Isaiah, Good is the word of the LORD which thou hast spoken. He said moreover, For there shall be peace and truth in my days.” – Isaiah 39:3-8.

“Good is the word of the LORD which thou hast spoken.” Unlike all the rest of the kings who revolted after getting news of judgment, Hezekiah praised God. Going against God’s Word does not change anything, regardless of whether or not we choose to believe that all the earth will be destroyed one day, it is still going to happen, and the only thing revolting will do is put you in hell. There is peace and truth in our days when we accept what God has said, and get under the blood of Christ. He may be removing the earth from all existence because it has been ruined by all its evil, but He is not going to leave us just floating on the clouds for eternity. In fact, Jesus is preparing our permanent dwelling place right now, a new earth, in which He will reign. “Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also. And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know.” – John 14:1-4. Amen!

Jesus Christ Magnified: “For out of Jerusalem shall go forth a remnant, and they that escape out of mount Zion: the zeal of the LORD of hosts shall do this.” – Isaiah 37:32.

Today’s Prayer: God, I know that you are the only living God and that because I put my faith and trust in Your Son, I know You are my God. You already produced one miracle by giving me eternal life, now, I am trusting in You to do more as you help me endure the afflictions in life until You bring me home. Lord, Lead me and guide in me in Your will and Your way, let me be a witness and a story for all to tell of my love for You. I love you and ask this in Your name, Jesus. Amen.

God Bless You, I am praying for you,

Christina

Are You 100% Sure You Are Going To Heaven?: http://readytofollow.com/
Receive The KJB Daily Devotions In Your Email: http://eepurl.com/2WMzT
Missed A Message: https://imfollowingjesus.com/Biblestudy/
Visit I’m Following Jesus Missions: http://imfollowingjesus.com/index.html
I’m Following Jesus On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/byhisstrength