"OBEY GOD, RATHER THAN MEN" - "REFORMATION"
“OBEY GOD, RATHER THAN MEN”
“REFORMATION”
Sunday, July 3, 2022
Pastor Carolyn Sissom
God has acted on the prayers of His Saints in the United States and the prayers of Saints in other nations who have prayed for the U.S. to be governed as a Christian Nation, “One nation under God with liberty and justice for all.”
We ought to obey God rather than men (Acts 5:29).
When fighting for the right, we must never cease until we prevail. The battle is not always won by the strongest, the smartest or the most elite, but ultimately it comes to those who through faith persist and persevere.
We as a people must come into agreement with God; and give no place to the Luciferian beast system. We are born in a land of freedom, to live in a nation founded by men and women of faith and with the principles of a civilized society. People argue as to whether all of the Founding Fathers were Christians. This is not an issue. Their writings in the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, the Bill of Rights and other documents give a clear understanding of the government of God, social order and morality.
For every generation since July 4, 1776, this is both a tremendous privilege and a great responsibility. We are called to be “salt and “light” to the world. We must stand before God first, not only in our homes, but also in national affairs.
This past week at the G-7 Summit, Boris Johnson, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Joe Biden condemned the overturning of Roe vs Wade by the Supreme Court of the United States. Both men used strong language to state their condemnation. I charge before the court of Heaven that both Boris Johnson and Joe Biden have defied the living God who acted through the judges to overturn this crime of murder.
2 Ch. 19: 5-6: He set judges in the land…city by city. He said to the judges, “Take heed to what you are doing, for you do not judge for man but for the LORD, who is with you in the judgment
Exodus 20:13: Thou shalt not kill.
The Holy Word of God emphatically teaches the great importance of the respect and preservation of human life. In the Declaration of Independence our nation’s Founding Fathers wrote that everyone has “unalienable rights,” and that among those rights are “Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”
If people and nations do not grant ultimate respect and protection to both the born and the unborn, all other professed morals and values are meaningless. The dignity of human life is a principle of the Holy Bible and the first principle of any civilized society.
Every person and nation will give an account for their actions to Almighty God. There is a penalty/judgment for doing wrong and a blessing when we do that which is right in the eyes of God.
In 2 Chronicles, chapters 15-20 are the stories of King Asa and his son, King Jehoshaphat. I will use these scriptures today to make my charge against Joe Biden, Boris Johnson and any of the other G-7 rulers who stand in opposition to God.
King Asa ushered in a reformation to Judah. He received a prophetic word from Azariah:
15:1-7: The Spirit of God came upon Azariah, the son of Oded. He went out to meet Asa, and said to him, “Hear me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin. The Lord is with you while you are with Him. If you seek Him, He will be found by you, but if you forsake Him, He will forsake you. For a long time, Israel has been without the true God, without a teaching priest, and without law; but when in their trouble they turned to the LORD God of Israel, and sought Him, He was found by them. In those times there was no peace to the one who went out, nor to the one who came in, but great turmoil was on all the inhabitants of the lands. So, nation was destroyed by nation, and city by city, for God troubled them with every adversity. But you, be strong and do not let your hands be weak, for your work shall be rewarded.
Asa took courage, gathered the people, removed the idols, removed the foreign altars, restored the Altar to God and brought the whole nation into repentance and worship. There was no more war until the thirty-fifth year of Asa’s reign. (2 Ch. 15:19).
A reformation brings a nation directly into an awareness of the link they are between God, their forefathers and succeeding generations. The purpose of reformation is for the advancement of God’s Kingdom purposes.
Revival will touch us individually or corporately as the Church. Whereas, reformation touches the nation and the nations. We can be in revival at Eastgate Church and the nation can still be sinking spiritually, morally, and ethically. Revival brings the dead church back to life. The true spirit of revival is to bring to life again what was once alive. Revival is a statement from God that the Church needs to return to her first works. He returns us to His life! In new birth and the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Perpetual Revival is to be continually filled with the Holy Spirit. Revivals are the signposts of imminent reformation. They are like a hand and glove fitting perfectly together.
Reformation shakes us to the core of our being nationally and internationally, producing a new kind of wine-skin that is conducive to the present emphasis of the Holy Spirit. Our focus is “Go ye into the whole world.” We must be concerned with what moves the nations.
A civil-war is going on in our cities, townships, states, nations and continents. Wicked spiritual assailants have set themselves against everything we cherish and hold dear: our values our morals, our liberties and especially our seed. Two opposing kingdoms with very different agendas are vying for the same turf: One World Order control of the nations vs the Kingdom of God! We heard the wicked voices of world leaders this past week at the G-7 summit.
The Commander-in-Chief of Heaven’s armies, King Jesus, has already provided the winning strategy with His finished work.
Reformation is mentioned only once in the Bible: Hebrews 9:6-10. This was the end of the symbolic, temporary arrangement of the Old Testament tabernacle worship and the establishing Jesus Christ as the true tabernacle (Heb. 8:2).
After ushering in this great reformation to his nation, we learn of Asa’s fall. It is a warning to us that after a great victory, be diligent because Satan will be there to help your fall.
2 Ch. 15:17: The heart of Asa was perfect all his days; that is until Asa made a treaty with the king of Syria to help him defeat Baasha, king of Israel.
Prophet Hanani was sent to him to tell him, The eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him. In this you have done foolish; therefore, from now on you shall have wars (2 Ch. 16:9).
Asa was angry with the seer, and put him in prison. The thirty-ninth year of his reign, Asa became diseased in his feet, and his malady was severe, yet in his disease he did not seek the LORD, but the physicians. Asa’s heart obviously became hardened and did not seek the Lord in faith. He died in the 41st years of his reign. (2 Ch. 16:11-14).
2 Ch. 17:1: Jehoshaphat his son reigned in his place.
2 Ch. 17:3-6: The LORD was with Jehoshaphat, because he walked in the former ways of his father David; he did not seek the Baals, but sough the God of his father, and walked in his commandments and not according to the acts of Israel. Therefore. the Lord established the kingdom in his hand…His heart took delight in the ways of the Lord.
Because he was so highly favored of the Lord,
2 Ch. 17:10: The fear of the LORD fell on all the kingdoms of the lands that were around Judah.
Jehoshaphat became increasingly powerful. He amassed a great army. He had riches and honor in abundance, but by marriage, he allied himself with Ahab. This was dangerous folly from which he was only rescued by the intervention of God. Ahab talked him into going to war with him. The Prophet Michaiah prophesied Ahab would die in the battle, which he did. They would have also killed Jehoshaphat, but the Lord helped him (18:31).
The safe return of Jehoshaphat to Jerusalem is met by a prophetic rebuke. 2 Ch. 19:2: Should you help the wicked and love those who hate the LORD? Therefore, the wrath of the Lord is upon you. Nevertheless, good things are found in you, in that you removed the wooden images from the land, and have prepared your heart to seek God.
The good deeds of Jehoshaphat outweighed his folly. He repents and brings further reforms to Judah. He brought the people back to the LORD God of their fathers. Then he set judges in the land…city by city. He said to the judges, “Take heed to what you are doing, for you do not judge for man but for the LORD, who is with you in the judgment. Let the fear of the LORD be upon you. (2 Ch. 19:5-7).
2 Ch. 20: After this the people of Moab and Ammon came to battle against Jehoshaphat. (vs. 3) He set himself to seek the LORD, and to ask help from the Lord. He stood in the assembly in the house of the Lord before the new court.
He prayed:
(Paraphrased to apply to the U.S.A. in 2022) O LORD God of our fathers, You are God in heaven, and you rule over all the kingdoms of the nations, and in Your hand is Your power and might, so that no-one is able to withstand You. You are our God, who drove out the inhabitants of this land before Your people, and gave it to a people who honor and worship Your name. Our enemies who are enemies of Your word, Your name and Your salvation through Your son, Jesus Christ have come against us. Lord God, we ask you to judge them. For You are our power against the evil rulers in this administration and the enemies of our nation as well as the enemies of the Kingdom of God.
2 Ch. 20:14: (paraphrased) Thus says the Lord to you: Do not be afraid nor dismayed because of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours, but God’s. Go against them. You will not need to fight in this battle. Position yourselves, stand still and see the salvation of the Lord, who is with you. Do not fear or be dismayed. The Lord is with you. Believe in the Lord your God, and you shall be established, believe His prophets, and you shall prosper. It is the Lord who defeats our enemies
King and people respond to the word from God with an act of praise and worship (vs. 18).
2 Ch. 20:22: …He appointed those who should sing to the Lord, and who should praise the beauty of holiness, as they went out before the army and were saying: “Praise the LORD, for His mercy endures forever.’ When they began to sing and to praise, the LORD set ambushes against Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, and they were defeated.
By the time the army of Judah arrived on the scene the enemy had already destroyed themselves (vs. 23-24).
The victory was celebrated by claiming the booty which took three days. The Lord had made them rejoice over their enemies (Vs.27b). The long- term result of the victory was that the fear of God came upon all the kingdoms of those countries when they heard the Lord had fought against the enemies of Israel.
May the fear of God fall on all leaders of the kingdoms of those countries when they heard that the Lord had fought against the enemies of His Church and the unborn by the over-turning of Roe vs. Wade by the Supreme Court of the United States.
Lord Jesus, I speak judgment and the fear of God on the Biden Administration and Boris Johnson as well as all other rulers who have defied your rule of justice.
2 Ch. 20:31-32 Jehoshaphat was thirty-five years old when he became king. He reigned twenty-five years in Jerusalem. He walked in the way of his father, Asa, and did not turn aside from it, doing what was right in the sight of the LORD.
The account of the last days of Jehoshaphat comes as something of an anti-climax. The blame is made to lie more on the people and their failure to set their hearts to the God of their fathers.
The message of these five chapters for today is The eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him. He moves sovereignly for His Kingdom purposes for this nation and the nations of the earth. He is able to totally defeat His enemies. If he chooses an ambush, then Hallelujah. But we must know the Hand of the Lord has moved and we his people in his kingdom must praise him and rejoice and take no heed to the preaching of the world system or the voices of rulers of nations. They will be brought down into judgment.
Carolyn Sissom, Pastor
Eastgate Ministries Church
Scripture from N.K.J.V. I entered into the labors of F. F. Bruce Bible Commentary. Comments and conclusions are my own and not meant to reflect the views of those who I entered into their labors.