Such as Set Their Hearts to Seek the Lord God
“Such as Set Their Hearts to Seek the Lord God”
(II Chron. 11:16; 12:14; 19:3; 30:19)
According to 11 Chronicles 11:16, spiritual victory is determined by whether or not one has “prepared his heart to seek the Lord that we may live and walk in His sight.”
We have been taught there are over 7000 promises in the Bible, all we have to do is meet the condition and step up and claim the promise.
II Chron 16:9 makes us another promise. “For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show himself strong in behalf of those whose heart is perfect toward him.” If it is not, “Herein you have done foolishly; therefore from henceforth you shall have wars.”
Wars come to man whose confidence is in anything except the Lord.
The message of the Book of II Chronicles is God will be found of those that seek and serve Him, but He will forsake those who forsake Him. Nations must be governed by men who are governed by God. (This principle also applies to the home and the local church). The rewards of individual and national recognition of God come through seeking God and His government (Kingdom).
II Chronicles reveals to us the folly and failure of a nation which uses religious terminology without religious practice and recognizes God formally, but not by conduct. “Those that honor God, he will honor, but those that despise God shall be lightly esteemed.” (1 Sam. 2:30)
The story of Israel’s history in the Old Testament “is written for our admonition upon whom the ends of the earth have come.” (1 Cor. 10:11)
The Monarchical Period from 1 Samuel – 11 Chronicles gives us a picture of Godly Kings and Ungodly Kings. Through out the kings are describes as “And he did that which was evil in the sight of the lord: as his fathers had done: he departed not from his sins.”
Of the good kings, it is written over and over, “And he did that which was right in the sight of the Lord, yet not like David his father: he did according to all things as his father did. Yet, the high places were not taken away: as yet the people did sacrifice and burnt incense upon the high places.”
This week we saw on our television screens a temple built upon the mile-high city in the mile-high stadium. It was built to honor a man who believes in abortion (the spilling of innocent blood) and same sex marriage. At his temple, he honored all the foreign gods of even our enemies. Instead of the traditional balloons, fireworks were burned in the celebration
Kings succeed of fail according to their relationship to the Heavenly Throne and their response to the Word of the Lord as it flows through the ministry of the Prophets.
God’s throne is above all earthly thrones. The Throne of God is seen immovable in the midst of the changing throne (governments) of man. The Throne of heaven is seen filled, while the throne of the earth is sometimes vacant. God’s throne is seen as permanent and stable while the throne of man is increasingly failing. All forms of human government without God are doomed to fail. God, being left out of the government of men, reigns independently of them, instead of by them.
God causes man’s rejection of His government to work itself out into its evil consequences. There was no remedy for the evil consequences of the rejection of God’s government, except by a return to that government.
The reign of Solomon typified the Kingdom in its zenith, and full consummation of power and glory. However, the moral failure of Solomon led to the division of the Kingdom between jeroboam and Rehobaom, which in turn led to the deterioration of the monarchies of Israel and their eventual deportation. This moral failure included marrying foreign women and embracing their gods. We saw this at the DNC this past week when they opened the convention by praying to foreign gods.
By the way, they also included Jesus, but so did Solomon.
The Holy Bible is clear: Rejecting the Word of the Lord through His prophets and lapsing into idolatry and apostasy will result in rejection and then captivity.
11 Kings 17: 10-23: “And they set them up images and groves in every high hill, and under every green tree: And there they burnt incense in all the high places, as did the heathen whom the Lord carried away before them; and wrought wicked things to provoke the Lord to anger: for they served idols, whereof the Lord had said unto them, You shall not do this thing. Yet the Lord testified against Israel, and against Judah, by all the prophets, and by all the seers, saying, “turn from your evil ways, and keep my commandments and my statutes according to all the law which I commanded your fathers, and which I sent to you by my servants the prophets. Notwithstanding they would not hear, but hardened their necks like to the neck of the fathers, that did not believe in the Lord their God. They rejected his statutes, and his covenant that he made with their fathers, and his testimonies which he testified against them; and they followed vanity, and became vain, and went after the heathen that were round about them, concerning whom the Lord had charged them, that they should not do like them.”
1 Kings 14: 24, “And there were also sodomites in the land; and they did according to all the abominations of the nations which the Lord cast out before the children of Israel.
Man is unable to successfully rule himself. The increasingly failing throne of man is seen finally abolished; this is the ultimate result of shutting God out from the government of man.
The underlying cause of the failure of human government is the lost consciousness of God. Man loses his consciousness of God by his idolatries, which are actually attempts to substitute God.
The failure of man upon the throne of earth is assured when he loses his vision of a Throne in heaven. The glories of the Jewish monarchy were associated with the recognition of the Presence of God. The continued Presence of God was contingent upon their faithful maintenance of the worship and ministry he has ordained according to His due order.
The Kingdom of God and His sovereignty over the earth is based upon the Prophetic Word that flows in life and power from the throne of God. Jesus Christ is the spirit of Prophecy.
This week the Secretary of State was in Israel pushing to get the agreement signed with Israel and Palestine to divide Jerusalem. This plan was formed by the President of the United States at the time Katrina hit the gulf coast. Again, there is a deadly hurricane taking aim at our coasts.
In Chapter 16 of 11 Kings, Ahaz made a covenant with Assyria. He worshipped the gods of Syria, cut up the vessels of the temple and shut the temple doors, made high places, built His altar (instead of the brazen altar!) rearranged the temple furniture, practiced science and astrology, and much more. Ahaz and his relationship with Assyrian “politics” turn Judah in the wrong direction. (16:18) “And the covert for the Sabbath that they had built in the house, and the king’s entry without, turned from the house of the Lord for the kings of Assyria.” He died without honor.
We cannot make a covenant with the nations who worship the gods of Syria. (Islam) “It is an abomination to kings to commit wickedness: for the throne is established by righteousness,” (Proverbs 16:12)
Remember it was Solomon’s fence straddling and allowing the worship of foreign gods that caused the division of the Kingdom.
Jesus told Herod that His Kingdom was not of this world. Jesus said, “The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it; for she came from the uttermost parts of the earth to hear the Wisdom of Solomon; and behold a greater than Solomon is here.” 1 Cor. 1:30 “But of him are you in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification and redemption.”
Rev. 19:16: He is King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
Rev. 17-18: He is the one who prophesied the destruction of Ahab and Jezebel, political and religious Babylon (1 Kg. 21: 17-29; Rev. 17-18)
The Lord has again looked upon us with His mercy and delayed a greater judgment of the U.S.A. at this time. We have on one of the tickets for the coming election of the President and Vice President a woman who is pro-life, and against same sex marriage. She understands the danger of aligning ourselves with nations who worship other gods for the purpose of oil. I don’t see her as one who will compromise or fence straddle. We must pray for her that she will be able to stand against the barracudas. She is one who has set her heart to seek the Lord.
We must pray for the safety of the Obama Family and pray that he will set his heart to seek the Lord. We must pray for George W. Bush to not straddle the fence and to set his heart to seek the Lord. Let us continue to pray for John McCain to make righteous decision and set his heart to seek the Lord.
“1 Timothy 2:1-4 “I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, to be made for all men; for kings and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior; who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.”
Carolyn Sissom, Pastor
Eastgate Ministries, Inc.
Scripture from King James Bible