(Part 1)
“Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.”
Luke 22:31-32
Jesus is eating the Passover meal with His disciples, when in the midst of the feasting He announces that one of them is going to betray Him. Before long they began questioning among themselves which of them it might be, which then led to a dispute, among them, over who was the greatest. As they bickered among themselves, Jesus weighed in and said to them:
“The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and those who exercise authority over them call themselves Benefactors. But you are not to be like that. Instead, the greatest among you should be like the youngest, and the one who rules like the one who serves. For who is greater, the one who is at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one who is at the table? But I am among you as one who serves. You are those who have stood by me in my trials. And I confer on you a kingdom, just as my Father conferred one on me, so that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom and sit on thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.”
Luke 22:25-30
Up to this point in their walk with Christ, the disciples had faced very little opposition. They had stood by Jesus in His trials, but they had not yet tasted the bitterness of persecution. In fact, the times Jesus had sent them out (prior to this) had been amazingly fruitful as they preached the gospel, healed the sick and cast out demons. Luke 10:17 tells us that:
“The seventy two returned with joy and said, “Lord, even the demons submit to us in Your name.”
Jesus cautioned them though that this would not always be the case. In Luke 5 when Jesus was asked why His disciples did not fast like the Pharisees and John’s disciples He relied:
“Can you make the guests of the bridegroom fast while he is with them? But the time will come when the bridegroom will be taken and then, in those days, they will fast.”
Luke 5:34-35
Jesus was about to “leave the earth” and in doing so would confer the Kingdom to His disciples. So He equipped them with the authority of His name and the power of the Holy Spirit to assume the spiritual responsibility of spreading God’s Kingdom in the earth. They were about to eat and drink at “His table”, but not the banqueting table, instead they would be introduced to the table of suffering. When James and John desired to sit at His right and left hand in the Kingdom, Jesus said:
“You don’t know what you are asking. Can you drink the cup I am going to drink?”
Matthew 20:22
They both answered: “Yes” and Jesus responded:
“You will indeed drink from my cup, but to sit at my right and left is not up for me to grant. These places belong to those for whom they have been prepared by my Father.”
Matthew 20:23
He had been trying to prepare them for what was going to be the biggest spiritual shock of their lives.
Pastor Scott Burr http://faithandworshipseries.blogspot.com
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Thursday, October 21, 2010
Mercy Triumphs Over Judgment
(Part 2)
“When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.” Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground. At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there.”
John 8:7-9
Like this woman, there are many people who are afraid to approach Christ because they are fearful of being condemned. They approach Jesus the same way the priests would approach the Ark of the Covenant. They would enter once a year, with fear and trembling, beyond the veil to make atonement for sin; fearful of being struck down as they placed the blood on the altar. However, as the woman caught in adultery stood there in her shame Jesus straightened up and asked her:
“Woman where are they? Has no one condemned you?” “No one, sir,” she said. “Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.”
John 8:10-11
The good news today is that God in His great love made a way for us to come to Him and receive mercy. We can now enter the inner sanctuary, behind the curtain. We enter by a new and living way, opened for us through the curtain, that is Christ’s body. Jesus went before us into the Holy Place on our behalf and made atonement for sin.
“He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves; but he entered the Most Holy Place once for all by his own blood, having obtained eternal redemption.”
Hebrews 9:12
We can now draw near to God with full assurance of faith. He desires for us to come to Him. He is not waiting to condemn us, but rather waiting to extend His precious mercy toward us if we will come in humility.
“Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”
Hebrews 4:16
Maybe you need God to do something in your life that you don’t deserve. You, yourself, created the mess you are in, either by ignorance, willful disobedience, rebellion or unrestrained sin. Your marriage is a wreck because you were unfaithful. Your finances are a mess because you were a poor steward. Your kids are running wild because you were disengaged. Your without a job because you were chronically late. Like the adulterous woman, you have no defense for your actions. All you can do is repent and throw yourself on the “mercy” of God. Can I tell you, that is precisely where God wants to meet you. He wants to meet you in the place of mercy. His Son, Jesus Christ, died on the cross for our sins. Through the blood of His Son, God made a way for us to approach Him to receive mercy. The Judgment Seat of Christ is very real, but it holds no fear over those who have come first to the mercy seat…because mercy triumphs over judgment.
Pastor Scott Burr http://faithandworshipseries.blogspot.com
“When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.” Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground. At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there.”
John 8:7-9
Like this woman, there are many people who are afraid to approach Christ because they are fearful of being condemned. They approach Jesus the same way the priests would approach the Ark of the Covenant. They would enter once a year, with fear and trembling, beyond the veil to make atonement for sin; fearful of being struck down as they placed the blood on the altar. However, as the woman caught in adultery stood there in her shame Jesus straightened up and asked her:
“Woman where are they? Has no one condemned you?” “No one, sir,” she said. “Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.”
John 8:10-11
The good news today is that God in His great love made a way for us to come to Him and receive mercy. We can now enter the inner sanctuary, behind the curtain. We enter by a new and living way, opened for us through the curtain, that is Christ’s body. Jesus went before us into the Holy Place on our behalf and made atonement for sin.
“He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves; but he entered the Most Holy Place once for all by his own blood, having obtained eternal redemption.”
Hebrews 9:12
We can now draw near to God with full assurance of faith. He desires for us to come to Him. He is not waiting to condemn us, but rather waiting to extend His precious mercy toward us if we will come in humility.
“Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”
Hebrews 4:16
Maybe you need God to do something in your life that you don’t deserve. You, yourself, created the mess you are in, either by ignorance, willful disobedience, rebellion or unrestrained sin. Your marriage is a wreck because you were unfaithful. Your finances are a mess because you were a poor steward. Your kids are running wild because you were disengaged. Your without a job because you were chronically late. Like the adulterous woman, you have no defense for your actions. All you can do is repent and throw yourself on the “mercy” of God. Can I tell you, that is precisely where God wants to meet you. He wants to meet you in the place of mercy. His Son, Jesus Christ, died on the cross for our sins. Through the blood of His Son, God made a way for us to approach Him to receive mercy. The Judgment Seat of Christ is very real, but it holds no fear over those who have come first to the mercy seat…because mercy triumphs over judgment.
Pastor Scott Burr http://faithandworshipseries.blogspot.com
Thursday, October 14, 2010
“Mercy Triumphs Over Judgment”
(Part 1)
“But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. At dawn he appeared again in the temple courts, where all the people gathered around him, and he sat down to teach them. The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group and said to Jesus, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such a woman. Now what do you say?”
John 8:1-5
The Pharisees had once again skillfully manipulated the situation in an attempt to trap Jesus. They waited eagerly to hear what Jesus would say. Would he reject the Law of Moses and give them a basis for accusing him? Would he agree that she must be stoned and position himself with the other religious leaders of his day? What would he have to say in the face of this woman’s blatant sinfulness?
As he stooped down to write on the ground they kept pressing him for an answer, questioning him, and prodding him to take a position. And although they were wanting to “know” for all the wrong reasons, there stood among them a woman who, too, was anxiously waiting to hear what Jesus had to say! This woman was a sinner. These were not fabricated charges. She had been caught in the act of adultery. She had willfully and knowingly transgressed God’s Law. She was well aware that if she was ever caught, it meant she would be stoned to death. She makes no defense for her actions. The Pharisees seized the opportunity and dragged the woman before Jesus for judgment.
All of this played out in the Temple Courts where just a few hundred feet away was the Holy of Holies. At one time, the Holy of Holies had housed the Ark of the Covenant. Inside the Ark was the very Law of Moses to which the Pharisees had made reference. It was here that the High Priest would enter ,once a year, to make atonement for the people. The blood was applied to the lid of the Ark, known as the Mercy Seat. It is the place where God promised to meet them:
“There, above the mercy seat between the two cherubim that are over the ark of the Testimony, I will meet you and give you all my commands for the Israelites.”
Exodus 25:22
The mercy seat depicts for us how mercy and grace overshadow the Law. Judgment and death were the penalty for sin, but mercy could be found through grace and faith in the blood. God established the mercy seat as the place He would meet and commune with His people. It was the place where sins were atoned and redemption imparted. God desires to meet us in a place of mercy where He can extend His grace toward us.
Here in the Temple Courts Jesus straightened up and said:
“If anyone of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.”
John 8:7
He did not minimize the severity of her sin. Nor did He trivialize the weightiness of the Law. Rather, He chose that His first encounter with this woman be at the mercy seat rather than the judgment seat. God never brings people to judgment without first extending His hand of mercy.
Pastor Scott Burr http://faithandworshipseries.blogspot.com
“But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. At dawn he appeared again in the temple courts, where all the people gathered around him, and he sat down to teach them. The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group and said to Jesus, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such a woman. Now what do you say?”
John 8:1-5
The Pharisees had once again skillfully manipulated the situation in an attempt to trap Jesus. They waited eagerly to hear what Jesus would say. Would he reject the Law of Moses and give them a basis for accusing him? Would he agree that she must be stoned and position himself with the other religious leaders of his day? What would he have to say in the face of this woman’s blatant sinfulness?
As he stooped down to write on the ground they kept pressing him for an answer, questioning him, and prodding him to take a position. And although they were wanting to “know” for all the wrong reasons, there stood among them a woman who, too, was anxiously waiting to hear what Jesus had to say! This woman was a sinner. These were not fabricated charges. She had been caught in the act of adultery. She had willfully and knowingly transgressed God’s Law. She was well aware that if she was ever caught, it meant she would be stoned to death. She makes no defense for her actions. The Pharisees seized the opportunity and dragged the woman before Jesus for judgment.
All of this played out in the Temple Courts where just a few hundred feet away was the Holy of Holies. At one time, the Holy of Holies had housed the Ark of the Covenant. Inside the Ark was the very Law of Moses to which the Pharisees had made reference. It was here that the High Priest would enter ,once a year, to make atonement for the people. The blood was applied to the lid of the Ark, known as the Mercy Seat. It is the place where God promised to meet them:
“There, above the mercy seat between the two cherubim that are over the ark of the Testimony, I will meet you and give you all my commands for the Israelites.”
Exodus 25:22
The mercy seat depicts for us how mercy and grace overshadow the Law. Judgment and death were the penalty for sin, but mercy could be found through grace and faith in the blood. God established the mercy seat as the place He would meet and commune with His people. It was the place where sins were atoned and redemption imparted. God desires to meet us in a place of mercy where He can extend His grace toward us.
Here in the Temple Courts Jesus straightened up and said:
“If anyone of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.”
John 8:7
He did not minimize the severity of her sin. Nor did He trivialize the weightiness of the Law. Rather, He chose that His first encounter with this woman be at the mercy seat rather than the judgment seat. God never brings people to judgment without first extending His hand of mercy.
Pastor Scott Burr http://faithandworshipseries.blogspot.com
Thursday, October 7, 2010
Remaining In Christ
“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the Word I have spoken to you. Remain in me and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself, it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.”
John 15:1-4
It’s important to notice that it is the “branch” that must bear fruit. Never do you read where the gardener “cuts” or “prunes” the vine to make the branches bear fruit. The vine has already demonstrated and proven to the gardener it’s ability to give life. So any lack of fruit bearing is not on the vine side. So what must a branch do to enjoy a fruitful life?
“If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be me disciples.”
John 15:7-8
God’s Word is life blood to the branch, just as blood coursing through my veins is life to my body. My arm is like a limb. It is attached to the trunk of my body. The blood passes from my heart, located in the trunk, to my arm ensuring life to the limb. If you cut off blood circulation to my arm, eventually my arm will wither. Cut yourself off from God’s Word and eventually you will wither. God’s Word cleans us and keeps us pruned. Hebrews 4:12 describes God’s Word like this”
“For the Word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.”
We will wither like an arm with no blood flow, if we do not allow God’s Word to ebb through every corner of our lives. However, remaining in Christ is more than just remaining in His Word. It is also remaining in His love!
“As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love.”
John 15:9
Jesus is very specific about what that entails. He tells us in verse 10 that: “If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father’s command and remain in His love.”
Just as my arm needs life-giving blood flowing to it to make it viable, my arm must also be exercised! If you fail to use your arm, even with proper blood flow, your arm can still wither and become unusable. Remember fruit is the outward testimony of a life connected with Jesus. This outward evidence in manifest in our obedience to God’s Word. As we live out the Word, that is flowing through us, we demonstrate our love for God. By exercising God’s Word in our lives, we reveal ourselves to be friends of God.
“You are my friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.”
John 15:14-16
God recognizes the fruit that is born out of the vine. As the master gardener, He can identify what fruit is being born out of a life connected to Jesus and what fruit is being born out of a connection to something else. Matthew 7:17-20 declares:
“Every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit . Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.”
God’s desire for us is to bear good fruit. Fruit that will last. You can live a fruitful life if you remain in His Word and remain in His love.
Pastor Scott Burr http://faithandworshipseries.blogspot.com
John 15:1-4
It’s important to notice that it is the “branch” that must bear fruit. Never do you read where the gardener “cuts” or “prunes” the vine to make the branches bear fruit. The vine has already demonstrated and proven to the gardener it’s ability to give life. So any lack of fruit bearing is not on the vine side. So what must a branch do to enjoy a fruitful life?
“If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be me disciples.”
John 15:7-8
God’s Word is life blood to the branch, just as blood coursing through my veins is life to my body. My arm is like a limb. It is attached to the trunk of my body. The blood passes from my heart, located in the trunk, to my arm ensuring life to the limb. If you cut off blood circulation to my arm, eventually my arm will wither. Cut yourself off from God’s Word and eventually you will wither. God’s Word cleans us and keeps us pruned. Hebrews 4:12 describes God’s Word like this”
“For the Word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.”
We will wither like an arm with no blood flow, if we do not allow God’s Word to ebb through every corner of our lives. However, remaining in Christ is more than just remaining in His Word. It is also remaining in His love!
“As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love.”
John 15:9
Jesus is very specific about what that entails. He tells us in verse 10 that: “If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father’s command and remain in His love.”
Just as my arm needs life-giving blood flowing to it to make it viable, my arm must also be exercised! If you fail to use your arm, even with proper blood flow, your arm can still wither and become unusable. Remember fruit is the outward testimony of a life connected with Jesus. This outward evidence in manifest in our obedience to God’s Word. As we live out the Word, that is flowing through us, we demonstrate our love for God. By exercising God’s Word in our lives, we reveal ourselves to be friends of God.
“You are my friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.”
John 15:14-16
God recognizes the fruit that is born out of the vine. As the master gardener, He can identify what fruit is being born out of a life connected to Jesus and what fruit is being born out of a connection to something else. Matthew 7:17-20 declares:
“Every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit . Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.”
God’s desire for us is to bear good fruit. Fruit that will last. You can live a fruitful life if you remain in His Word and remain in His love.
Pastor Scott Burr http://faithandworshipseries.blogspot.com
Thursday, September 23, 2010
He Set Eternity in Our Hearts
“He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men, yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end.”
Ecclesiastes 3:11
There are some preachers, when they speak, who are so convincing that in one moment you can feel the breath of heaven and in the next moment feel the flames of hell. There are some authors who can write so vividly that you can almost see the streets of gold that pave the heavens and subsequently hear the “troubled screams” of those confined to the deepest parts of hell. There are some singers whose voices and lyrics can move us to experience tremendous joy at the prospect of seeing Jesus face to face and then bring us to tears as we consider being separated from God for all eternity.
But even with the amazing gifts and talents that God has given us to use to communicate eternal life to those around us, I have found that “death” is far greater at causing men to stop and consider eternal life than any preacher, author or singer. Death has an uncanny way of getting people’s attention. Even those who have managed to steer clear of church, religion and the Bible can’t seem to escape the message that death brings to the table.
God has set eternity in our hearts! We have been hard-wired by God to look beyond the grave. The writer of Hebrews describes it this way:
“All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance. And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth. People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. Instead, they were longing for a better country- a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.”
Hebrews 11:13-16
It is because we have been hard-wired by God for eternity that so many people believe in life after death. Life beyond the grave is universal among cultures and religions. As Christians we may not believe in a paradise with 70 virgins, a happy hunting ground, or reincarnation, but each of these differing cultures and religions has embraced the fact that there is more beyond the veil of death. Which according to scripture is a good thing:
“It is better to go to a house of mourning than to go to a house of feasting, for death is the destiny of every man, to living should take this to heart.”
Ecclesiastes 7:2
Consider these words of wisdom for a moment. How often do we consider eternity when we are “splashing around at the water park with our family”, or “enjoying a night out with friends”. However, how often is eternity considered when we are seated in the house of mourning. Death stirs us to consider our eternity!
I can’t tell you how often, at or after a funeral, I will hear someone ask… “Do you think they are in heaven?” Sometimes it is out of a genuine concern for the soul of the loved one who passed, but most often it is asked out of the uncertainty of their own hearts. It is a good thing to be troubled by death, to have “eternity” stirred up in our hearts. However, we do not have to live uncertain or leave our loved one languishing over our eternal destination. Jesus said:
“I tell you the truth, whoever hears my Word and believes Him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned, he has crossed over from death to life.”
John 5:24
If death is troubling you, maybe God is trying to stir up the “eternity”, that has been set in your heart, so that you can make a decision for Christ that will give you the eternal peace that your soul is longing to receive.
Pastor Scott Burr http://faithandworshipseries.blogspot.com
Ecclesiastes 3:11
There are some preachers, when they speak, who are so convincing that in one moment you can feel the breath of heaven and in the next moment feel the flames of hell. There are some authors who can write so vividly that you can almost see the streets of gold that pave the heavens and subsequently hear the “troubled screams” of those confined to the deepest parts of hell. There are some singers whose voices and lyrics can move us to experience tremendous joy at the prospect of seeing Jesus face to face and then bring us to tears as we consider being separated from God for all eternity.
But even with the amazing gifts and talents that God has given us to use to communicate eternal life to those around us, I have found that “death” is far greater at causing men to stop and consider eternal life than any preacher, author or singer. Death has an uncanny way of getting people’s attention. Even those who have managed to steer clear of church, religion and the Bible can’t seem to escape the message that death brings to the table.
God has set eternity in our hearts! We have been hard-wired by God to look beyond the grave. The writer of Hebrews describes it this way:
“All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance. And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth. People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. Instead, they were longing for a better country- a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.”
Hebrews 11:13-16
It is because we have been hard-wired by God for eternity that so many people believe in life after death. Life beyond the grave is universal among cultures and religions. As Christians we may not believe in a paradise with 70 virgins, a happy hunting ground, or reincarnation, but each of these differing cultures and religions has embraced the fact that there is more beyond the veil of death. Which according to scripture is a good thing:
“It is better to go to a house of mourning than to go to a house of feasting, for death is the destiny of every man, to living should take this to heart.”
Ecclesiastes 7:2
Consider these words of wisdom for a moment. How often do we consider eternity when we are “splashing around at the water park with our family”, or “enjoying a night out with friends”. However, how often is eternity considered when we are seated in the house of mourning. Death stirs us to consider our eternity!
I can’t tell you how often, at or after a funeral, I will hear someone ask… “Do you think they are in heaven?” Sometimes it is out of a genuine concern for the soul of the loved one who passed, but most often it is asked out of the uncertainty of their own hearts. It is a good thing to be troubled by death, to have “eternity” stirred up in our hearts. However, we do not have to live uncertain or leave our loved one languishing over our eternal destination. Jesus said:
“I tell you the truth, whoever hears my Word and believes Him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned, he has crossed over from death to life.”
John 5:24
If death is troubling you, maybe God is trying to stir up the “eternity”, that has been set in your heart, so that you can make a decision for Christ that will give you the eternal peace that your soul is longing to receive.
Pastor Scott Burr http://faithandworshipseries.blogspot.com
Thursday, September 16, 2010
“Silencing the Voice of Intimidation”
(part 4)
“Hezekiah received the letter from the messengers and read it. Then he went up to the temple of the Lord and spread it out before the Lord.”
2 Kings 19:14
As Hezekiah heard the voice of intimidation, once again, he had a choice to make. He could try, yet again, to bargain with his enemies; he could put on sackcloth and ashes and mourn in the streets with all the people; or he could come boldly to the throne of God and make his petition known. Hezekiah with the letter from the messengers in hand made his way to the temple of the Lord. He took the letter and opened it before the Lord:
“And Hezekiah prayed to the Lord: ‘O Lord, God of Israel, enthroned between the cherubim, you alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth. Give ear, O Lord, and see; listen to the words Sennacherib has sent to insult the living God.”
2 Kings 19:15-16
Hezekiah took the words sent to him by his enemies and laid them before God. He recounted before the Lord everything that Sennacherib had said to him:
“It is true, O Lord, that the Assyrian kings have laid waste to these nations and their lands. They have thrown their gods into the fire and destroyed them, for they were not gods but only wood and stone, fashioned by men’s hands.”
2 Kings 19:17-18
Hezekiah then prayed with confidence for God to deliver them so that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that “You alone, O Lord, are God.” God is not moved by intimidation! He was not moved by Sennacherib’s threats, the size of his nation, or the strength of his army. God was moved by the faith of Hezekiah…who finally chose to listen to the Word of the Lord rather than the voice of intimidation:
“Then Isaiah son of Amoz sent a message to Hezekiah: “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: I have heard your prayer concerning Sennacherib king of Assyria.”
Isaiah prophesied the downfall of the Assyrian army and King Sennacherib! That night the angel of the Lord put to death 185,000 in the Assyrian camp. Sennacherib broke camp and withdrew to Nineveh where he was cut down with the sword by his own sons in the temple of his god Nisroch.
So what is intimidating you? What is drawing you away from your confidence in God? What is causing you and those around you “on the wall” to fear? What does the enemy keep re-visiting in your life that is creating a stumbling block for you?
Take a moment to write it down on a piece of paper. Then find a place of prayer and spread it out before the Lord and pray with confidence:
“O Lord, my God, maker of heaven and earth. You are God over all the Kingdoms of the earth. Give ear, O Lord, and hear, open your eyes, O Lord, and see; listen to the words that “my enemy” has sent to insult the Living God! It is true, that (what is intimidating me) has created a stumbling block for me in the past and laid waste to a lot of my dreams. I’ve trusted in my own strength and the ability of others, but it amounted to little. So, I turn to You! Lord, deliver me from the hand of my enemy so that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that “You alone, O Lord, are God!”
The Word of the Lord will silence the voice of intimidation!
Pastor Scott Burr http://faithandworshipseries.blogspot.com
“Hezekiah received the letter from the messengers and read it. Then he went up to the temple of the Lord and spread it out before the Lord.”
2 Kings 19:14
As Hezekiah heard the voice of intimidation, once again, he had a choice to make. He could try, yet again, to bargain with his enemies; he could put on sackcloth and ashes and mourn in the streets with all the people; or he could come boldly to the throne of God and make his petition known. Hezekiah with the letter from the messengers in hand made his way to the temple of the Lord. He took the letter and opened it before the Lord:
“And Hezekiah prayed to the Lord: ‘O Lord, God of Israel, enthroned between the cherubim, you alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth. Give ear, O Lord, and see; listen to the words Sennacherib has sent to insult the living God.”
2 Kings 19:15-16
Hezekiah took the words sent to him by his enemies and laid them before God. He recounted before the Lord everything that Sennacherib had said to him:
“It is true, O Lord, that the Assyrian kings have laid waste to these nations and their lands. They have thrown their gods into the fire and destroyed them, for they were not gods but only wood and stone, fashioned by men’s hands.”
2 Kings 19:17-18
Hezekiah then prayed with confidence for God to deliver them so that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that “You alone, O Lord, are God.” God is not moved by intimidation! He was not moved by Sennacherib’s threats, the size of his nation, or the strength of his army. God was moved by the faith of Hezekiah…who finally chose to listen to the Word of the Lord rather than the voice of intimidation:
“Then Isaiah son of Amoz sent a message to Hezekiah: “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: I have heard your prayer concerning Sennacherib king of Assyria.”
Isaiah prophesied the downfall of the Assyrian army and King Sennacherib! That night the angel of the Lord put to death 185,000 in the Assyrian camp. Sennacherib broke camp and withdrew to Nineveh where he was cut down with the sword by his own sons in the temple of his god Nisroch.
So what is intimidating you? What is drawing you away from your confidence in God? What is causing you and those around you “on the wall” to fear? What does the enemy keep re-visiting in your life that is creating a stumbling block for you?
Take a moment to write it down on a piece of paper. Then find a place of prayer and spread it out before the Lord and pray with confidence:
“O Lord, my God, maker of heaven and earth. You are God over all the Kingdoms of the earth. Give ear, O Lord, and hear, open your eyes, O Lord, and see; listen to the words that “my enemy” has sent to insult the Living God! It is true, that (what is intimidating me) has created a stumbling block for me in the past and laid waste to a lot of my dreams. I’ve trusted in my own strength and the ability of others, but it amounted to little. So, I turn to You! Lord, deliver me from the hand of my enemy so that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that “You alone, O Lord, are God!”
The Word of the Lord will silence the voice of intimidation!
Pastor Scott Burr http://faithandworshipseries.blogspot.com
Thursday, September 9, 2010
"Silencing the Voice of Intimidation"
(part 3)
“When King Hezekiah heard this, he tore his clothes and went into the temple of the Lord. He sent Eliakim the palace administrator, Shebna the secretary and the leading priests, all wearing sackcloth, to the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz. They told him, “This is what Hezekiah says: This day is a day of distress and rebuke and disgrace, as when children come to the point of birth and there is no strength to deliver them.”
2 Kings 19:1-3
How did a man, whose name was associated with a strong trust in God, arrive at the end of himself with no strength and no options? In sackcloth and ashes, Hezekiah’s officials approached the Prophet Isaiah asking him to pray for a remnant to survive the coming onslaught by the Assyrian army. They had resigned themselves to the idea that they were going to be devastated, but the Word of the Lord came through the Prophet Isaiah:
“Isaiah said to them, “Tell your master, “This is what the Lord says: Do not be afraid of what you have heard- those words with which the underlings of the king of Assyria have blasphemed me. Listen! I am going to put such a spirit in him that when he hears a certain report, he will return to his own country, and there I will have him cut down with the sword.”
2 Kings 19: 6-7
Isaiah directed Hezekiah to stop hearkening to the words of the King of Assyria’s “underlings”. He had received their threats as “reality” and fear had swept over him and all his officials. Isaiah redirected him to consider the Word of the Lord who promised to cut down the King of Assyria with the sword. Hezekiah was further infused with confidence upon hearing that the King of Egypt was marching out to attack the armies of Assyria. However, intimidation is not stymied by an infusion of confidence!
“Now Sennacherib received a report that Tirhakah, the Cushite King of Egypt, was marching out to fight against him. So he again sent messengers to Hezekiah with this word: “Say to Hezekiah king of Judah: Do not let the god you depend on deceive you when he says, ‘Jerusalem will not be handed over to the king of Assyria. Surely you have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all the countries, destroying them completely. And will you be delivered?”
2 Kings 19:9-11
Immediately, the field commander struck back with another wave of intimidation and fear attempting to undermine Hezekiah’s new found confidence by re-visiting past successes:
“Did the gods of the nations that were destroyed by my forefathers deliver them: the gods of Gozan, Haran, Rezeph and the people of Eden who were in Tel Assar? Where is the king of Hamath, the king of Arpad, the king of the city of Sephavaim or of Hena or Ivvah?”
2 Kings 19:12-13
Hezekiah had first hand knowledge of the Assyrians victories. He had seen close up the Assyrian army sweep in and take Samaria and the northern cities of Judah. He had bargained with “intimidation” in the past, and now it was back to collect!
“When King Hezekiah heard this, he tore his clothes and went into the temple of the Lord. He sent Eliakim the palace administrator, Shebna the secretary and the leading priests, all wearing sackcloth, to the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz. They told him, “This is what Hezekiah says: This day is a day of distress and rebuke and disgrace, as when children come to the point of birth and there is no strength to deliver them.”
2 Kings 19:1-3
How did a man, whose name was associated with a strong trust in God, arrive at the end of himself with no strength and no options? In sackcloth and ashes, Hezekiah’s officials approached the Prophet Isaiah asking him to pray for a remnant to survive the coming onslaught by the Assyrian army. They had resigned themselves to the idea that they were going to be devastated, but the Word of the Lord came through the Prophet Isaiah:
“Isaiah said to them, “Tell your master, “This is what the Lord says: Do not be afraid of what you have heard- those words with which the underlings of the king of Assyria have blasphemed me. Listen! I am going to put such a spirit in him that when he hears a certain report, he will return to his own country, and there I will have him cut down with the sword.”
2 Kings 19: 6-7
Isaiah directed Hezekiah to stop hearkening to the words of the King of Assyria’s “underlings”. He had received their threats as “reality” and fear had swept over him and all his officials. Isaiah redirected him to consider the Word of the Lord who promised to cut down the King of Assyria with the sword. Hezekiah was further infused with confidence upon hearing that the King of Egypt was marching out to attack the armies of Assyria. However, intimidation is not stymied by an infusion of confidence!
“Now Sennacherib received a report that Tirhakah, the Cushite King of Egypt, was marching out to fight against him. So he again sent messengers to Hezekiah with this word: “Say to Hezekiah king of Judah: Do not let the god you depend on deceive you when he says, ‘Jerusalem will not be handed over to the king of Assyria. Surely you have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all the countries, destroying them completely. And will you be delivered?”
2 Kings 19:9-11
Immediately, the field commander struck back with another wave of intimidation and fear attempting to undermine Hezekiah’s new found confidence by re-visiting past successes:
“Did the gods of the nations that were destroyed by my forefathers deliver them: the gods of Gozan, Haran, Rezeph and the people of Eden who were in Tel Assar? Where is the king of Hamath, the king of Arpad, the king of the city of Sephavaim or of Hena or Ivvah?”
2 Kings 19:12-13
Hezekiah had first hand knowledge of the Assyrians victories. He had seen close up the Assyrian army sweep in and take Samaria and the northern cities of Judah. He had bargained with “intimidation” in the past, and now it was back to collect!
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