Living a Humble Life Before God

Living a Humble Life BEFORE GOD

2^nd Chronicles 7:14   ¹⁴ If my people, which are called by my name,

shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.

First it says, if my people, who is the writer speaking of, what people?

Then it says who are called by my name. How do we know who are the ones called?

These particular people were the Jewish people. They were the ones God calls his own, the chosen ones.

According to Jewish tradition, the writer was Ezra, and he was writing to all of Israel.

This was written approximately four thirty BC. 2^nd chronicles relates to the time of history of Judah’s corrupt and idolatrous kings.

Solomon was a wise king, who served God and built cities. Solomon prayed and asks God to make provisions for the people when they sinned.

God answered with four conditions for forgiveness. God said, 1. Humble yourselves by admitting your sins, 2. Pray to God asking him for forgiveness. 3. Seek God continually, 4. Turn away from sinful behavior.

True repentance is more than talk, it is changed behavior.

Whether we sin as individuals or as a group or as a nation, following these steps will lead to forgiveness

God will always answer our earnest prayers.

Today we have a new covenant called the covenant of grace through Christ Jesus.

We are called the redeemed children of God and heirs of God through the finished work at the cross.

We are to humble ourself to the one that became humble, Jesus Christ.

Being humble is to be submissive to the divine will of God.

God plainly set forth certain conditions for Solomon to meet if he wanted the kingdom to continue. If Solomon followed God, he and his descendants would prosper.

3 John 1:2   ² Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth.

If we will humble ourselves and be submissive to God and his divine word, we and our descendants will prosper and be in health.

God’s rules have never changed, it didn’t change for Solomon and the rules are not going to change for us.

James 4:10   ¹⁰ Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.

If we want God to lift us up we must humble ourselves and draw near to the things of God, and he will draw near to you.

God told Solomon if he didn’t follow these conditions that He had set before him, he and the nation of Israel would be destroyed.

In Duet. 27-28 these conditions were outlined before all the people of Israel.

Solomon eventually turned from God and as result his son and heir lost most of the kingdom.

Following God and humbling ourselves to Him brings benefits and rewards.

Turning away from God can bring suffering, punishment and ultimately destruction.

Today, Gods conditions are just as clear as they were in Solomon’s day.

But some how a lot of us including Believers seem to think they can live the way they want and God will overlook it.

It is really difficult for us to imagine that such a great and wise king that God had richly blessed could become corrupted by idols, symbols of power, prosperity and sexual perversion.

It is the same today; people are lured into some of the same evil traps.

When we allow any desire to rival Gods proper place in our heart we have taken the first step toward moral and spiritual decay.

 

Be humble in Gods grace, keep praying and reading his word. Trust in God.

Being good does not make you humble, being humble makes you good.

RENEWED IN THE SPIRIT

RENEWED IN THE SPIRIT

2 Timothy 1:7   For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.

We are spirit, we live in a body, and we have a soul.

Our soul is made up of three parts, our mind, our will and our emotion.

Your mind is what you think with

Your will is what you want

Your emotions are what you act on.

Matthew 22: 37   Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.

This is what the mind does; it is supposed to make the right choices to love the lord with all your heart.

However, your mind can only do what it is trained or renewed to do.

However we still have a will and emotions to deal with.

Your will, doing what you want it to do, is called the desires of the mind.

Then comes the emotions, your emotions can really make your day

They are a state of feeling… happy, anger or fear.

Romans 8:15    For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.

Fear will put you under bondage, anger causes toxins, or poisons to be released into your body.

Eph 4:31   Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour,and evil speaking, be put away from

you, with all malice:

1 Corinthians 6: 19-20   ¹⁹ What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?

²⁰ For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's.

Let us talk about our mind: our mind is what we think. Did you ever hear the expression “I gave her or him a peace of my mind?”

Or I think I am loosing my mind:

Or my mind isn’t what it used to be

It is just mind over matter. I don’t mind and it don’t matter.

That is bad lingo in any language.

Eph. 4:23   And be renewed in the spirit of your mind;

We need to renew our minds daily, so the enemy can not deceive us. The enemy is very cunning and very smart.

Take heed to your selves, that your heart be not deceived.

Our life is not in the mind, our life is in the spirit, our mind is carnal, and sometimes carnal is not good.

Eph 2:5   ⁵ Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)

Open your mind and receive the inspired word of God.

Receive this anointing and power from reading and discerning of His word

Let the word quicken your mind with the life force that makes our spirit alive beyond natural thinking.

If you will let Gods presence in your life, the Holy Spirit will give you insight to put Gods word into action.

James 2:20 King James Version (KJV)

²⁰ But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?

Romans 12: 2    And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

Be not conformed, that is living in a worldly behavior. Rather be transformed with the renewing of your mind, “the way you think”

It is not about your will. It is about the will of God and the renewing of your mind.

RIGHTEOUSNESS AND HOLINESS

RIGHTEOUSNESS AND HOLINESS

Luke 1:74-75King James Version (KJV)

⁷⁴ That he would grant unto us, that we being delivered out of the hand of our enemies might serve him without fear,

⁷⁵ In holiness and righteousness before him, all the days of our life.

Righteousness and Holiness are two different things.

Righteousness is being in right standing with God. You got that when you accepted Jesus as savior and were born again.

The only thing you did to be made righteous was to make Jesus Christ the Lord of your life.

Matthew 6:33King James Version (KJV)

³³ But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

Romans 4:3King James Version (KJV)

³ For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness.

Romans 4:13King James Version (KJV)

¹³ For the promise, that he should be the heir of the world, was not to Abraham, or to his seed, through the law, but through the righteousness of faith.

Faith is the substance that makes righteousness obtainable.

A better way to say it is Faith is what makes it possible to stay in right standing with God, which is counted as righteousness.

First we must have faith, second we will receive Mercy because of our faith.

Then we will be able to receive the grace of God, the mercy of God, so that faith in Gods word will produce the favor of God in our lives.

Gods grace is unmerited favor. Unmerited means we could not have earned his grace by works.

Living in the gospel of Christ by the grace of God, you are counted worthy of being righteous before God through faith in Jesus Christ.

If you allow the enemy to attack your position in righteousness then he can literally shut the door on things that God has operating in your life.

The more you experience the glory of God the more the enemy will attack your position of righteousness in order to stop the flow of Gods glory.

If you are determine to never let him attack your position of righteousness you can prevent the devil from completing the plans he has for your life.

Then the devil can not stop you from operating in the glory of the Lord. Secondly he can not stop the manifestation of the promises of God in your life.

The more you experience the glory of God the more the enemy will attack your position of righteousness in order to stop the glory of God in your life.

If you’re determine to never let him attack your position of righteousness, you can prevent the devil from completing the plans he has for you life.

Then he can not stop you from operating in the glory of the Lord. He can not stop the manifestation of the promises of God in your life.

God wants to bless us with every spiritual blessing that heaven has to offer.

Holiness however is another matter.

You are not made holy by works; holiness is the results of your choices. It is what you do with your time and your actions. It is also your conduct.

Holiness comes when you make a decision with your own will to live according to the precepts of the Lord.

Holiness is doing those things that please the Father.

To be holy is to be sanctified and meet the Masters of the universe: Our heavenly father, the Lord Jesus, and the Holy Spirit.

If you keep yourself pure, you will be a utensil God can use for his purpose. Your life will be clean and you will be ready for the Master to use you.

Sanctified means to set apart from the world: Justified means just as if you had never sinned.

Galatians 2:16King James Version (KJV)

¹⁶ Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.

God wants us to be caught up in spiritual things. He knows if we are caught up in spiritual things we will lose interest in carnal activities and pursue him with all our hearts.

God doesn’t want us to simply obey a set of rules because we feel that is the right thing to do. That is law instead of spirit.

God wants us to live holy lives. He wants us to have a heart felt desire to please him.

When we spend time with the Lord we will want to do things that please Him.

Our desire will be for spiritual things, not the things of the flesh. Being dedicated to God is not something that is above and beyond the call of duty.

It is not something that is just expected of preachers and ministers. God expects us all to live holy.

We are to be a living and holy sacrifice: The kind that God will accept. When we think of what He has done for us we will realize that it is not too much for Him to ask.

1 Peter 1:16King James Version (KJV)

¹⁶ Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.

Certainly such a life will require us to make some sacrifices, in the end it will be worth it.

Romans 8:18King James Version (KJV)

¹⁸ For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.

Jesus said in   John 14:3King James Version (KJV)

³ And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.

We will stand Holy before God and wait anxiously for that day of Jesus’ return.

And that day God will give us our full rights as heirs to the throne, and we will be His children, and we will have our new bodies throughout eternity as he has promised us.

THE MERCY OF GOD

THE MERCY OF GOD

Psalm 136:1-5King James Version (KJV)

136 O give thanks unto the Lord; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever.

² O give thanks unto the God of gods: for his mercy endureth for ever.

³ O give thanks to the Lord of lords: for his mercy endureth for ever.

⁴ To him who alone doeth great wonders: for his mercy endureth for ever.

⁵ To him that by wisdom made the heavens: for his mercy endureth for ever.

Mercy is the reason we worship God. Gods’ mercy is equal to kindness in excess of what may be expected or demanded by fairness.

It motivates us to walk holy before Him.

It gives us confidence that we can come before him without fear.

We can rest in knowing that the mercy of God is greater and stronger than anything else. It has unlimited endurance for the believer.

Psalm 136:6-9King James Version (KJV)

⁶ To him that stretched out the earth above the waters: for his mercy endureth for ever.

⁷ To him that made great lights: for his mercy endureth for ever:

⁸ The sun to rule by day: for his mercy endureth for ever:

⁹ The moon and stars to rule by night: for his mercy endureth for ever.

By reading this you can see that each work of God is covered by His mercy.

Among the things that the mercy of God puts into operation are…Wonders…Wisdom… and his creative power.

Gods’ mercy is great.

Not only does it last forever but it is Holy.

This is true because love is the source of mercy…and compassion is the basis of holiness.

We need to give thanks to God and praise Him every time we remember how holy He is: Because His mercy endures forever.

Psalm 30:4-5King James Version (KJV)

⁴ Sing unto the Lord, O ye saints of his, and give thanks at the remembrance of his holiness.

⁵ For his anger endureth but a moment; in his favour is life: weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.

God in His holiness sets up a standard against sin, not to keep us from joy, but to learn to have joy in living and walking after His example.

In His mercy he is trying to keep us from sin, which has the power to kill us.

We need to worship Him because his holiness is an expression of His love: Rejoicing always in His mercy.

1 Chronicles 16:25-27King James Version (KJV)

²⁵ For great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised: he also is to be feared above all gods.

²⁶ For all the gods of the people are idols: but the Lord made the heavens.

²⁷ Glory and honour are in his presence; strength and gladness are in his place.

If we will begin to understand God’s merciful nature, we will understand more about the way he thinks.

God has always loved you. He loved you when you were a sinner even if you broke every commandment there is. God’s love never changes.

God loves you with all that he is. He is all love.

Psalm 145:8-9King James Version (KJV)

⁸ The Lord is gracious, and full of compassion; slow to anger, and of great mercy.

⁹ The Lord is good to all: and his tender mercies are over all his works.

Our Lord is gracious and full of compassion, slow to anger and full of great mercies.

His tender mercies are seen throughout all his works.