TEXT: ‘But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you’ (Matthew 6:33). God has made this promise, ‘For those who honour me, I will honour’ (1 Samuel 2:30). In fact, God’s response to our putting Him first is much greater than any cost to us. Our text challenges us to seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness. In this study we will look at the reign of King Hezekiah and see how putting God first resulted in blessing, not just for him personally but for the whole nation. 1. Priority – ‘Seek first’ Hezekiah’s public demonstration of putting God first, started on the first day, of the first month, of the first year of his reign (See 2 Chronicles 29:3, 17). He obviously did not support his father, King Ahaz’s idolatry and locking the doors of the house of the Lord (See 2 Chronicles 28:24). Instead he planned to do something about re-opening God’s house once he was king and restoring true worship for the living God. When the opportunity arose, he acted immediately. Anyone can talk about changing things when they are not in a position to do so, but how do they act once they...
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TEXT: ‘This decision is by the decree of the watchers, and the sentence by the word of the holy ones, in order that the living may know that the Most High rules in the kingdom of men, gives it to whomever He will, and sets over it the lowest of men’ (Daniel 4:17). One of the common objections encountered when evangelising is, “If there is a God, why doesn’t He do something about famine, poverty, sickness, wars, violence and inequality?” The perceived lack of divine intervention deceives many into thinking there isn’t a God. While the Bible says, ‘The fool has said in his heart, “There is no God”’ (Psalm 14:1), millions of level-headed people choose to ignore the evidence of a creator and an amazing creation, in favour of evolution and the ridiculous notion that something started out of nothing! The Book of Daniel contains some amazing prophecies that came through dreams and godly interpretations. One thing is clear from them all, God in heaven is well and truly in charge over what is happening on earth. Heaven rules, is a fact! 1. Globally King Nebuchadnezzar had a dream that terrified him and he immediately sought the interpretation of it (See Daniel Chapter 2). Not wanting to be deceived by some clever explanation from the...
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TEXT: ‘Seek the Lord while He may be found, call upon Him while He is near’ (Isaiah 55:6). The Bible records the last two named “people encounters” Jesus had before His trial and crucifixion. They happened at Jericho, shortly before His triumphant entry into Jerusalem. These form the basis for Today’s Teaching. Our text urges us to, ‘Call upon Him while He is near!’ As Jesus passed through Jericho, He spoke to Zacchaeus and as He left the city, He passed by Bartimaeus. What can we learn from their encounters with Jesus, the mighty Son of God? 1. They were excluded from normal life A. Zacchaeus – because he was hated (See Luke 19:1-10) He worked for the enemy, the Romans, and cheated his own people. He could never sleep easy, nor mingle freely with the crowds for fear of being attacked. He would always have been surrounded by personal bodyguards and Roman soldiers to protect him. This form of exclusion was entirely his own making. B. Bartimaeus – because he was blind (See Mark 10:46-52) Zacchaeus had great wealth but Bartimaeus had nothing and begged to survive. Some would throw him a coin every time they passed by, others would ignore his cry for alms, tired of seeing him sat...
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TEXT: ‘You say you have faith, for you believe that there is one God. Good for you! Even the demons believe this, and they tremble in terror’ (James 2:19 NLT). In Part 1, we studied three key truths about the devil. Satan knows who Jesus really is Satan knows he cannot go beyond what God has allowed him to do Satan will know when his time of freedom is about to end In Part 2, we will consider four more things Satan knows, and more importantly, Christians need to know that he knows them, for it will help them to stand strong in the times of testing and temptation. 4. Satan knows that when Christians resists him, he has to flee – ‘Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you’ (James 4:7) So often illustrations depict Satan towering over the cowering Christian, but the truth is the complete opposite. By submitting to God, we can resist Satan and he has to flee from us. Christians talk up the devil and talk down their God and themselves as believers, when they should do the reverse. Having had an unpleasant and frightening experience of an evil spirit when showing an interest in spiritualism (just a few...
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TEXT: ‘Then one of the twelve, called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and said, “What are you willing to give me if I deliver Him to you?” And they counted out to him thirty pieces of silver’ (Matthew 26:14-15). Judas betrayed Jesus for just 30 pieces of silver! I wonder what his starting price was before it was whittled down by the chief priests, who would never pay more than they had to? Consider the parents of the man born blind that Jesus healed (See John chapter 9). They had cared for him for years. What would they have paid for their son to see for the first time? General Naaman the leper came to Israel with, ‘Gifts of $20,000 in silver, $60,000 in gold, and ten suits of clothing’ (2 Kings 5:5 TLB). That’s how much he valued the prophet who could heal him. Mary anointed the feet of Jesus with very costly fragrant oil in appreciation of what Jesus had done by raising her brother Lazarus from the dead (See John 12:1-8). The critical disciples valued her gift at a year’s wages. Think for one minute about an impossible situation you or someone you love is facing. If it was possible, what would you be willing to pay...
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TEXT: ‘You say you have faith, for you believe that there is one God. Good for you! Even the demons believe this, and they tremble in terror’ (James 2:19 NLT). Satan, also called the devil, is viewed sometimes as a fun character, a figment of the imagination or a powerful supernatural being, depending on what a person believes. Jesus referred to him as the prince or ruler of this world (See John 14:30), but he is nothing in comparison with the God who created him, this world and everything in it! Many Christians live in fear of the devil when they do not need to. Today’s Teaching will help them not to, as we look at several things Satan does not want Christians to know that he knows. 1. Satan knows who Jesus really is – ‘If you are the Son of God’ (Luke 4:9). Satan was tempting Jesus to do something spectacular in order to gain the world’s attention. He certainly knows who Jesus is, because Jesus created him. Wherever Jesus went demons would cry out, ‘I know who You are’ (Luke 4:34, 41). They knew He was the Christ, God’s only Son. The world doesn’t know who Jesus really is and Satan wants to keep it that...
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