Lesson from Hezekiah

Lesson from Hezekiah
Isaiah 39

Hezekiah tearfully cried out to God when he heard he was going to die. He pleaded with God to live longer. By the grace of God, he was granted 15 more years. Then, we see Hezekiah get spiritually lazy and prideful. A visitor comes to investigate his Kingdom. The story in the Bible of Hezekiah magnifies this visit and the consequences as if the other years were not mentionable, so we learn from this visit. Hezekiah pridefully and foolishly shows off all the details of his kingdom.

God sends a prophet to explain to Hezekiah how self – centered he had become. Hezekiah does not get it. Good times and good incomes with all the good stuff American life can afford can do the same. Christians do better at war, careful to see all of satan’s trick and schemes to divert our attention. “Stand firm, let nothing move you, give your fully to the work of the Lord”…Your spirit is at war all the time with your own carnal selfish heart you were born with. It takes spiritual-will power to choose the spirit’s good influence – do nothing and your default mode is selfishness.

Be careful all the time, especially when life is good. Give even more time to the Lord in thanksgiving and be very careful to boast in His goodness – not your Kingdom. I shamefully know the dangers of boasting in my own Kingdom!

Would We Know if We Were Stubborn?

What if God was trying to get your attention, would you know it? I am continually amazed at how busy my schedule is and others. There is a continual low-level adrenaline going to make every hour worth something to our pleasure. Does God have time to convict you or me of stubbornness? Without extended appointments with God where our mind and soul are still, can we really be a good judge our stubbornness?

Unbelief: Solutions?

Exodus. 32:
Aaron was in a bind. He had about 600,000 Jewish men breathing down is back because Moses had been “gone” for 39 days, up the mountain to receive the ten commandments. Unbelief was rising – faith was waning. Perhaps Aaron wondered; what could the Jews see with their eyes that would substitute for the earthly leadership of God in the form of Moses. Because of the sin nature, believers tend grow their faith in things they see. Unfortunately, Aaron formed a gold calf to solve unbelief.

Here is the application of scripture into our lives. What do we do in our churches or in our lives that help us solve unbelief? Do buildings help us with confidence to believe enough to witness; telling people about Christ? Do church classes give us the confidence to teach our children about the ways of God?
Faith increases when we obey God based on investing time in His Word, His presence, and in His love-oriented commands.

Ask God what "things" solve your unbelief rather than Him.

40 Days Without Moses

Exodus 32: Without Moses for 40 days, God's chosen man and His people defaulted to unbelief, idolatry, and immorality. And we think we are strong enough to casually read/know our Bibles, occasionally keep conversation with our Father, and frequent church when we feel like it? All these spiritual disciplines and others help us keep focus away from unbelief. 40 days is not a long time. I know these things because I am so prone to selfish independence!

Why Does God Demand Exaltation

The scriptures consistently command us to exalt God and give him glory. I believe God knew that we would be naturally self-exalting if it were not for His leadership toward the one pursuit that fills our souls with joy. You want proof of our own natural self-exalting tendency? How often do we invest time in private worship away from the comfort of congregational worship? How often do we dedicate secret, specific acts of kindness to the worship of God? This is the battle of sin within. I am the chief self-exalter, this is how I know!

J. Piper: "God's pursuit of his glory and our pursuit of our joy turn out to be the same pursuit. This is what Christ died to achieve."

Chritian Perfection

From Oswald Chambers

“Not that I have already attained, or am already perfect … ” (Philippians 3:12).

It is a trap to presume that God wants to make us perfect specimens of what He can do—God’s purpose is to make us one with Himself. The emphasis of holiness movements tends to be that God is producing specimens of holiness to put in His museum. If you accept this concept of personal holiness, your life’s determined purpose will not be for God, but for what you call the evidence of God in your life. How can we say, “It could never be God’s will for me to be sick”? If it was God’s will to bruise His own Son (Isaiah 53:10), why shouldn’t He bruise you? What shines forth and reveals God in your life is not your relative consistency to an idea of what a saint should be, but your genuine, living relationship with Jesus Christ, and your unrestrained devotion to Him whether you are well or sick.

Christian perfection is not, and never can be, human perfection. Christian perfection is the perfection of a relationship with God that shows itself to be true even amid the seemingly unimportant aspects of human life.

Scheming

Genesis 26-30: Cultivating an attitude of thankfulness produces faith in God's everyday blessings and provisions; shortcut scheming fights against faith.