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: Monday, July 06, 2020
Chapters: II Kings 14, II Chronicles 25
Message: A Perfect Heart
Hello My Friend,
As I was praying this morning I thanked God, as I always do, for giving me a heart that loves Him, I also ask Him to keep my heart tender so that it never loses its love for Him. You know, all it takes is one turn of our heart for the strongest Christian to lose their love for Christ. This is why it is so important that we keep our heart tender by being humble, fearing God, confessing sin, and repentance, [Revelation 2:2-5 I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil: and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars: 3 And hast borne, and hast patience, and for my name’s sake hast laboured, and hast not fainted. 4 Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love. 5 Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent.]
This does not mean that if we fall away from Christ and into a life of sin that we lose our salvation, it does mean that God has warned us that if we do not repent, and return to Him, we will die in our sin. God loves us way too much to see us living our lives in such pain and agony because we will not remove sin from our lives. It does not matter if we repent twenty times a day, God accepts our pleas because at least our heart is perfect toward Him in that we want Him in our lives and are doing what we can to get rid of sin. When David was king, he may have fallen into sin a few times, he never blamed God nor forsook Him when he was confronted about the sin. He acknowledge that he had sinned, sought forgiveness, repented, and accepted whatever judgment God had given him. It is not easy to face God when we sin, but when we do we will find that God will usually lessen the judgment or help us endure it and live to tell about it. The key to God helping us overcome sin, is having a perfect heart for Him. After Joash died his son, Amaziah reigned in Judah, he followed God as Joash did.
[II Chronicles 25:1-4 Amaziah was twenty and five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned twenty and nine years in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Jehoaddan of Jerusalem. 2 And he did that which was right in the sight of the LORD, but not with a perfect heart. 3 Now it came to pass, when the kingdom was established to him, that he slew his servants that had killed the king his father. 4 But he slew not their children, but did as it is written in the law in the book of Moses, where the LORD commanded, saying, The fathers shall not die for the children, neither shall the children die for the fathers, but every man shall die for his own sin.]
[but not with a perfect heart.] Perfect; To complete; To do or make through; To carry to the end. Having a perfect heart for God does not mean that we will not falter, it does mean that when we do, our faith in Christ will carry us through until the very end. You see, Jesus completes us the second we receive Him as Saviour, our faith in Him is what carries us through this life until He brings us home. We are not responsible for anyone else, but our own sin, [Romans 6:22-23 But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life. 23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.]
Actually, Amaziah is an example of someone who is not saved, they attend church, participate in all the activities, and is on fire for God when faced with affliction. When, by the mercies of God, things start going well and they get strong, they are quick to forsake God, and it is all because their heart is not perfect. After their great victory over Edom, as they were taking all the fortunes they found, Amaziah noticed the idols of Edom.
[II Chronicles 25:11-12,14-16 And Amaziah strengthened himself, and led forth his people, and went to the valley of salt, and smote of the children of Seir ten thousand. 12 And other ten thousand left alive did the children of Judah carry away captive, and brought them unto the top of the rock, and cast them down from the top of the rock, that they all were broken in pieces. 14 Now it came to pass, after that Amaziah was come from the slaughter of the Edomites, that he brought the gods of the children of Seir, and set them up to be his gods, and bowed down himself before them, and burned incense unto them. 15 Wherefore the anger of the LORD was kindled against Amaziah, and he sent unto him a prophet, which said unto him, Why hast thou sought after the gods of the people, which could not deliver their own people out of thine hand? 16 And it came to pass, as he talked with him, that the king said unto him, Art thou made of the king’s counsel? forbear; why shouldest thou be smitten? Then the prophet forbare, and said, I know that God hath determined to destroy thee, because thou hast done this, and hast not hearkened unto my counsel.]
[and hast not hearkened unto my counsel.] Pride is the big factor in why one cannot accept rebuke when confronted about their sin. No one wants to hear someone tell them that they have sinned against God, but it is that deep sorrow and shame that we feel when they do that brings us to repentance. True repentance tells us that we have sinned well before someone comes to us and tells us that we did, and turns away from the sin. Anyone who does not have a perfect heart toward God will quickly turn from God when confronted about their sin. In fact, they often become down right conceded in their pride, Amaziah was full of so much pride that he even went as far as confronting Jehoash, in Israel.
[II Kings 14:8-12,14 Then Amaziah sent messengers to Jehoash, the son of Jehoahaz son of Jehu, king of Israel, saying, Come, let us look one another in the face. 9 And Jehoash the king of Israel sent to Amaziah king of Judah, saying, The thistle that was in Lebanon sent to the cedar that was in Lebanon, saying, Give thy daughter to my son to wife: and there passed by a wild beast that was in Lebanon, and trode down the thistle. 10 Thou hast indeed smitten Edom, and thine heart hath lifted thee up: glory of this, and tarry at home: for why shouldest thou meddle to thy hurt, that thou shouldest fall, even thou, and Judah with thee? 11 But Amaziah would not hear. Therefore Jehoash king of Israel went up; and he and Amaziah king of Judah looked one another in the face at Bethshemesh, which belongeth to Judah. 12 And Judah was put to the worse before Israel; and they fled every man to their tents. 14 And he took all the gold and silver, and all the vessels that were found in the house of the LORD, and in the treasures of the king’s house, and hostages, and returned to Samaria.]
[The thistle that was in Lebanon sent to the cedar] This was a parable given to Amaziah by Jehoash, he was full of so much pride after their victory over Edom as taking their gods, that he thought himself powerful enough to defeat Israel as well. Jehoash was telling him that his army was going to destroy him and Judah because of his pride. [But Amaziah would not hear.] You see, God Amaziah the chance to repent, and because he did not Judah lost horribly. God truly does have great mercy upon all, He will do whatever He can to get a person to come to Him with a perfect heart, the trials, the afflictions, the joys, and even the tears are all placed before us so that we can look to Christ, [II Corinthians 7:10-11 For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death. 11 For behold this selfsame thing, that ye sorrowed after a godly sort, what carefulness it wrought in you, yea, what clearing of yourselves, yea, what indignation, yea, what fear, yea, what vehement desire, yea, what zeal, yea, what revenge! In all things ye have approved yourselves to be clear in this matter.]
Today’s Prayer: God, Thank You, for Your endless mercy, no matter how many times I mess up, Your love for me never fades, and You even find ways to help me endure as I confess and repent of my sin. As much as I love You, I know that my flesh is weak and has a way of desiring things that could tempt me to choose them over You. I want to live all my days here on earth with You in it, following You through every challenge, trusting You to lead me through every battle, and listening for everything You have to say to me. I know that Your Son has perfected my heart and soul, and nothing I do will ever cause me to lose my salvation. Lord, search my heart, know my thoughts, if there is any wickedness in there, lead me in the way that is everlasting. Lead me and guide me, give me Your power, wisdom, mercy, and grace, to endure every trial, challenge, and temptation. Strengthen my heart, keep it tender and always looking to You. Let me not become too proud, boastful, or forget to acknowledge that You are the source to every victory I receive. I ask these things 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: https://imfollowingjesus.com/Biblestudy/welcome/
I’m Following Jesus On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/readytofollowJesus/
Copyright © 2020 I’m Following Jesus, All rights reserved.