2 Chronicles Overview Part 8 - Restoration of The Independent Belief and Seed With Lessons of Captivity
Solomon's glory = resurrection/restoration of everything = now
1 Chronicles Overview: David
1. Bloodline: hear and thus believe
2. Unite the kingdom
3. Safe-keep the Ark of Covenant
4. Victory
5. Prepare the building of the temple
2 Chronicles Overview
1. Solomon who Inherited David <1-9>
1) Wisdom
- Message
2) Build the temple
- by Rhema
3) Offer Sacrifices
4) Evidences
= progress / prayer topics
5) Testimonies
2. The Successes and Failures of 20 Kings <10-36>
1) Reason of Failures
2) Reformation Movement (Jehoshaphat/ Hezekiah/ Josiah) => (refer to Passage Readings...)
(1) Self-purification
-> timetable of loved ones then come
(2) Purify the temple
Courtyard: outer bodies
-clean, tidy, discipline
Holy Place: Hearts and minds
- rid of discouragements, hurt, sorrows, setbacks
Most Holy Place: Spirit -> Perfect Will
- God's very requirement from you
(3) Offer Sacrifice (5 offerings)
(4) Passover
- prayers reach heaven
(5) Tithes
- strength for 4G, 1/12 full-time family
(6) The root source of problems
- purpose of great attack to abolish deception/ignorance
(7) Pride -> Humility
- be watchful when we are successful or we will fall
3) Captured
(1) If a person restores a true belief, the whole era will restore together with him
- Failures/conditions are determined by God for restoration
(2) A person who has lost the true spirit of the Christian faith and walk the religious road will lose everything and will fail totally.
- right path of more important than success
- easy and natural to become like Manasseh if problems come with no way to handle them
(3) Why did man lose the previous grace so quickly?
- Emmanuel = JX
- spirit of searching/seeking for success even if it is for a good vision = religion / great deception
- Independent faith of Abraham, Jacob, Joseph -> God is fair = left to experience with God alone -> greater ministries given
- Take initiative in restoring Solomon's glory for your own conditions: seek God amidst problems and find joy -> take up ministry -> greater ministries given -> seen needing united faith -> overcoming recurring failures/captivity = putting childish acts behind
- 2 confirmations: independently seek after His truth -> independently seen the revealed truth, seen the glory of God's grace ever present and continuing faithfully for our grasp
4) Independence seed/ belief - How
(1) You must become alive
<Jn 3:1-15> Water, Spirit
Word (Bible) -> Rhema, Spirit -> burning conviction, Son (Jesus Christ) -> manifesting submission
(2) Promise (Make covenant): 4 gospelization
(i) Goal
(ii) Perfect Will (Guidance)
(iii) Victorious (Joy, thanksgiving)
-> Fruits with seeds
(3) Evidence <-> aim for success -> try -> joy by self-success
BUT
Evidence = fixed perspective -> test and approve -> submit
*timetable
3. Captured -> Restoration of promise <36:22,23>
1) Time of Captivity
- no use for any living breath if saints do not know how to hear His word!
2) Restoration of the City of David
- as told by the God who came back from the future
We must always remember - what God looks at is not whether we are weak yesterday, but how we are living right now. So what if we are successful? And so what if we are in failures? God resurrected so as to tell us that His love and guidance are unfailing. The things of yesterday that are sinful, failing, and hurtful always tell us that God's love is always there for us. We must understand what God's promise has in stall for us. If we have always failed in the family, it does not mean that we will fail forever. If we fail in our interpersonal relationships or in our evangelism attempts, it does not mean we will fail forever. Only that we do not go back to the same attitude of being man-driven towards the challenge ahead of us. What is greater than death is the life that is resurrected. Why must Jesus Christ be resurrected? Why must He die first? This is for restoration of everything. This is the promise that is given us. No matter what we are in the past, if the failures can tell us to burn in our hearts to hear what God has for us such that we submit to His commands, this is better than any success now.
2 Chronicles was written after the Israelites had been captured. There is glory in Solomon. However, that happened to tell us that we can now have such a glory. It may not mean that we will be successful now. However, are we able to explain everything that comes to us? Why is it that restoration must happen so that King Cyrus commands Israel to return? Therefore, we must really prepare for our discipleship training. We may have hurt others, but what God looks at are our hearts right now.
1 Chronicles Overview: David
1. Bloodline: hear and thus believe
2. Unite the kingdom
David actually united the kingdom that had the history of Abraham, Moses and Jesus Christ. He must and will definitely unite the kingdom. For that he built the temple. But for the temple, he brought the ark and safe kept it.
3. Safe-keep the Ark of Covenant
We must not put our career, or even serving and evangelism doors in the center. We must safe-keep the Ark of the Covenant.
4. Victory
When one has safe-kept the covenant, even if enemies come all around him, he will surely have the victory promised and given by the Lord practically.
5. Prepare the building of the temple
David said that his son Solomon was young and inexperienced, therefore he made extensive preparations for building the temple. For that, he made the temple and his palace as glorious as possible.
2 Chronicles Overview
1. Solomon who Inherited David <1-9>
1) Wisdom
We must first have message.
2) Build the temple
We cannot build the temple by our own wishes and thoughts. We build the temple by Rhema, the perfect will of God.
3) Offer Sacrifices
4) Evidences
When we can see what God tells us do, we already received evidences. If our family has not been saved, if we have received prayer topics, we already evidences. Christian living is living and active. We do not dry up if things do not seem to work out, because God gives evidences through progress.
5) Testimonies
2. The Successes and Failures of 20 Kings <10-36>
1) Reason of Failures
2) Reformation Movement (Jehoshaphat/ Hezekiah/ Josiah) => (refer to Passage Readings...)
3) Captured
(1) If a person restores a true belief, the whole era will restore together with him
God always tells us today that we must restore a true belief. It does not matter if we fail yesterday. God asks, "Do we understand?" This is a very wonderful thing. We must think. When a person is born on earth, he does not understand and know the great works of the creational God. This is so chaotic. Abraham had restored this truth and he was an example who has restored everything. God said that David was a just a small figure. However, he restored everything. Naomi lost everything and no one was worst than her. She lost her only 2 sons with only her elder daughter-in-law left. Ruth could see that though Naomi lost everything and was weak, she had the unlimited God. Therefore, God made her meet up with blessed Boaz. Our tiredness and weaknesses are not because of anything but that we do not look well upon ourselves. Do we know that God used a widow to restore Israel? A widow was despised in Israel. If we really know God, we will love ourselves. If we are a common person and God wanted to use, that condition is determined and must be used by God. Huijun must be the eldest to influence the family. Shiya and Liwen must be the youngest to restore the family. God determined this to restore the family. If one person restores, everyone around him will restore.
(2) A person who loses the true spirit of the Christian faith and walks the religious road will lose everything and will fail totally.
However, we must understand that if we worship the wrong God, we will definitely fail to the extreme. Hezekiah was so blessed, but Manasseh gave every treasure away from the temple. If we walk the wrong path, no matter how good our conditions, it is cancerous. Especially if you are a king, everyone under you will be led astray. The glorious and absoluteness of God, Jeroboam yet used his own ways to fix up the priests and the Lord. Hezekiah was so blessed, but have we asked before why his son Manasseh was so weak? If we restore the truth today, but our teachings are wrong, our children and disciples will walk like Manasseh. If we teach correctly, this will not happen. We must meditate today the difference and contrast.
When Manasseh became king, the temple of God and the book of the Law were all present. However, he felt that this is not enough. When enemies and problems came, he slowly became bias towards the gods of other nations. We must understand why Solomon was so blessed and Rehoboam was so weak. However, we must know that Hezekiah was blessed. The covenant was never broken and is eternal so that the great grandson of Hezekiah Josiah was so blessed again. However, we are to dwell today on why Solomon and Hezekiah could not teach their sons correctly.
(3) Why did man lose the previous grace so quickly?
What Jesus Christ has given is Emmanuel. The ability to see that God is with us is through Jesus Christ. If this belief cannot be passed down to a son, even if the father can pass down principles of shepherding, etc, but the son does not know how to handle and see God's works when he is met with problems, the son will surely walk the ways of Manasseh easily. Why do the history of Israel and the history of the church happen this way so that it keeps on alternating and recurring? The son may ask, "Why did my father lead the church so gloriously, yet when I lead, the ministry seems stagnant?" He may have the vision of leading a blessed ministry, and this is good. However, if he only thinks of achieving answers to a successful ministry, he will attain the ideology of idols and fall quickly like Manasseh. This is similar to how Siddhartha Gautama searched for answers for the sufferings of birth, old age, sickness, and death, and which he received "enlightenment" of man's search for answers. This is called religion. We must understand that this spirit is a great deception and it is so easy to be deceived. In this 21st Century, the idols are not only the idols that we removed at Weisheng's place. The spirit of the culture of the world does not have the culture and ways of life of Emmanuel, and this causes man's life to walk easily astray, naturally.
Genesis tells about 4 people, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Joseph. The weakest and least of the 4 was Isaac. Yes, he had met God and knew Emmanuel. Why is it that he was the weakest? He was the only one who had not left home. From young, he had received every care and comfort from his father. He knew the Lord from the father Abraham and this was it. Abraham lost his brother and father and he left Mesopotamia. Jacob, though was a deceiver, deceived his brother because of the reason of the promise of God (birthright). He was so loved and taken good care by her mother Rebekah, but his brother chased him from home with the sword after that, and he left home without a single cent. He learnt from having nothing to receiving much property from his brother-in-law Laban, and having the 12 tribes from there. Joseph wore painted clothes from young, and kept on dreaming about the promise. However, God planned for him not to remain this way. God planned to kill him with his brothers. His son was named Manasseh because God saved him out of his sufferings of almost being killed. Without standing before God alone, Joseph could not be a prime minister of Egypt one day.
God is fair. If a person can lead a small group, has his small group expanded, and has his doors of evangelism opened, so that he meets God person-to-person, he will be able to lead ministries to the ends of the world? We cannot only believe only because people tell us so. Such a faith will not stand. My wife Qiufen is the same as other sisters and has emotions. She bore 2 children and she was alone in difficulties during child-birth as I had great responsibility in the church ministry. When she bore the third child, she finally knew the holy commission God had planned for the family. If I was always with her, she will not learn this way, such that mothers see anointing on her. When we pray for our small group, have we received the answer from God alone? God is not willing that we go through sufferings with no reason. He is a loving and kind God. We do not need to leave home and go our own ways. What I mean is that I can tell you everything. If you do not pray yourself, you will never learn.
This week, William ran off from school and even two teachers could not find him. Weisheng came and God led him to find him quite easily. However, I thought that he could not only remain this way to only receive comfort that God protects the family. He must be able to explain why William must be found by him and not by the teachers. He must be able to explain why God allowed this thing to happen to him and his son in the very first place. He must pray himself and he must try to explain the works of God with him. If we do not understand, we must re-read the book of Chronicles. I tell you to take initiative to open yourselves up to me and to the ministries for quite a number of times. If you do not, I will just remain blessed myself, as I cannot force you. My reason for doing so is for you to stand alone before God and seek after Him for His unique guidance on yourself. For some brothers and sisters I tell them one thing, and I let them off for a month. These are people I know they will talk to God for His plans on them. Those whom I really worry are those I continually ask and be concerned of regularly.
I know that there should be some grace within you where you can find some love of God in you. However, I want you to think about this. If you have sought Him when you are met with sufferings or have met with challenges, Solomon's glory is upon you. However, do you really seek out so that you receive the joy of the Lord? You must test and approve, then you can receive. If you have taken on the position of a deacon, the elder's position will be given to you also if you have the burden and responsibility of a deacon. If you have sought to participate well in your small group, you will lead a small group one day. If you have led your small group well, you will become a regional group lead one day. Things do not come suddenly. What is the reason of a united message? If we do not have a united faith, we will easily walk the ways of Manasseh. Therefore, we must really drive out the discouragement, frustration, non-hunger and hurt in our hearts. Rehoboam was really one who was not an understanding child if we go according to the Chinese sayings. He did not consider the elders who went to war with his fathers, and followed the advice of those who did not have maturity yet have riches and women beside them. On national day eve, our prayer meeting told us that we must really grow up. This is not about growing up from being children or that we are not mature, but that sisters must not continue to have the temperament of a girl, and brothers must really grow up to be bold.
I know there are some amongst you who have met God alone and have grown. We must really ask ourselves, "Are we really independent to seek after His truth ourselves? God's truth is revealed upon our seeking, Have I really seen them by myself?" The second thing is, "Have we seen the glory of God's grace in Israel that is ever present and continuing faithfully?" Even though Israel might be captured, Daniel went through the change of kingdoms till Persia as a prime minister in the seventy years. God always uses His fiery eyes to look for such people whom He can use.
4) Independence seed/ belief
How do we restore the independent belief, and the seed of independence?
I discovered that there are few in this era that can be independent. There are people who can take the initiative to serve in the church. However, there are really few in the church whom we can leave alone for a month but can still really pray and be found by God. David was just a small shepherd boy. However, he met God person-to-person from young, and by the power of God, he could even win over the power of a lion. Have we praised God on our own before? Have we thanked God ourselves before because of problems? If so, we are on the path of Emmanuel. Many only just grumble when problems come. Do we have sisters who are willing to stand up on their own? Of course, sisters must be led by their husbands, but can you share with others how God enabled you to overcome your own difficulties? My daughter was one with a small scary heart from young as you all know. However, she is now like a big sister together with my maid at home, telling her two younger brothers, "Papa and Mama are going to meetings now, behave yourselves now."
(1) You must become alive
<Jn 3:1-15> Water, Spirit
Jesus told Nicodemus that if he was not born of the Spirit and of water, he could not enter the kingdom of God. Nicodemus only served by the respect of people. Abraham was born again and therefore God revealed Himself to him.
Word (Bible), Spirit, Son (Jesus Christ)
In your career life where many others complain, can you decipher the works of God on you? God is over everything. The Spirit is over everything. If you are spirit, you do not need to wait 40 years later to know the wisdom of people of age 40 years later. The Word tells us to know how to think. The Spirit tells us how to breathe. The Son tells us how to submit through our own bodies. For example, if my wife is not happy today, immediately I will think that I must bless her by the foundation of the Word. This Word will not tell me to be furious when she is unhappy. The Spirit gives me the burning conviction to help her out. The Son manifests on me to submit to Him to actually help her out. We must really meet God in entirety. Our focus must be to restore Emmanuel. If we only think about overcoming the problems we have now, we are not there. I know this is not easy, but our aim must be correct.
(2) Promise (Make covenant): 4 gospelization
This is what God has fixed for me for my whole life. From when I have this fixed out, the goal appeared.
(i) Goal
If we have not made covenant, even the purpose of going for a tour has no meaning.
(ii) Perfect Will (Guidance)
If you have the goal, and know the perfect will, you will be victorious.
(iii) Victorious (Joy, thanksgiving)
However, you must go by this process. If you have the above, you will bear fruits with seeds.
(3) Evidence (Fixed perspective / Test and approve / submit)
Many people think that after they prayed and they received promotion, that is an evidence of God. However, evidence comes from fixed perspective. If you have the fixed perspective, no matter what happens as a result, they are evidences. If you received the fixed perspective, you are able to share the gospel at home. However, if it turns out that the family becomes more chaotic, you will have received prayer topics when you have the fixed perspective. God looks at people with depth. If you do not have fixed perspective, you can be happy for a moment, but you will lose your joy easily. Yes, you have your aim to go for promotion and to go for evangelism doors, but you must first fix up the perspective. By this, you can test and approve everything that comes by. When you submit to this, you will have gathered evidences.
I have my own busyness and troubles. I know how God can use me to speak His holy word even though I was so cheap in handling my own life in the past. Through this, I know I should submit together with brothers and sisters and we will help one another to know the works of God. If I choose not to, I cannot go anywhere. You must listen well today, or else you will come with nothing again tomorrow for prayer meeting. I know that you are praying for your family and your career. Those with vision will have sufferings. For example, I know because of your vision, you are sorrowful because your family has not restored the standards of God. You will not be happy just because they are at peace. However, we must know the timetable of God. If God opens the door, we go. If not, we do not. This is because if God opens the door, it will be wide enough that we have no chance to stop and rest.
Passage Readings (from Point "2. 2)" to "3.")
Passage Reading: 2 Chronicles 28:22-26
22 In his time of trouble King Ahaz became even more unfaithful to the LORD.
In times of trouble, Ahaz should have called out to God!
23 He offered sacrifices to the gods of Damascus, who had defeated him; for he thought, "Since the gods of the kings of Aram have helped them, I will sacrifice to them so they will help me." But they were his downfall and the downfall of all Israel.
Therefore, Ahaz really fell.
24 Ahaz gathered together the furnishings from the temple of God and took them away. [d] He shut the doors of the LORD's temple and set up altars at every street corner in Jerusalem. 25 In every town in Judah he built high places to burn sacrifices to other gods and provoked the LORD, the God of his fathers, to anger.
Ahaz did all these because he must be angry of God who did not seem to answer him. There are such saints in the church.
26 The other events of his reign and all his ways, from beginning to end, are written in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel. 27 Ahaz rested with his fathers and was buried in the city of Jerusalem, but he was not placed in the tombs of the kings of Israel. And Hezekiah his son succeeded him as king.
2. The Successes and Failures of 20 Kings <10-36>
2) Reformation Movement (Jehoshaphat/ Hezekiah/ Josiah) => (refer to Passage Readings...)
Passage Reading: 2 Chronicles 29:3-10,27
3 In the first month of the first year of his reign, he opened the doors of the temple of the LORD and repaired them. 4 He brought in the priests and the Levites, assembled them in the square on the east side 5 and said: "Listen to me, Levites! Consecrate yourselves now and consecrate the temple of the LORD, the God of your fathers. Remove all defilement from the sanctuary.
(1) Self-purification
Do not look at others, but purify yourself. It is only when you self-purify that the timetable of the ones around you will come even though it may not seemed connected.
(2) Purify the temple
6 Our fathers were unfaithful; they did evil in the eyes of the LORD our God and forsook him. They turned their faces away from the LORD's dwelling place and turned their backs on him. 7 They also shut the doors of the portico and put out the lamps. They did not burn incense or present any burnt offerings at the sanctuary to the God of Israel.
Courtyard: outer bodies
The courtyard must be purified. We do not become "holy holy" but we should avoid things we should not hear, touch and see. This protects us. If we accord to this, we will have blessings.
Holy Place: Hearts and minds
This is not only about not thinking about adulterous and dirty things. However, we should purify our hearts and minds so that they should not contain discouragements, hurts, sorrows, frustrations, setbacks, etc.
Most Holy Place: Spirit -> Perfect Will
Others may have seen you serving so well, giving tithes and all, however God knows the very spirit and heart of the person if he has not died to himself in his serving.
8 Therefore, the anger of the LORD has fallen on Judah and Jerusalem; he has made them an object of dread and horror and scorn, as you can see with your own eyes. 9 This is why our fathers have fallen by the sword and why our sons and daughters and our wives are in captivity. 10 Now I intend to make a covenant with the LORD, the God of Israel, so that his fierce anger will turn away from us. 11 My sons, do not be negligent now, for the LORD has chosen you to stand before him and serve him, to minister before him and to burn incense."
27 Hezekiah gave the order to sacrifice the burnt offering on the altar. As the offering began, singing to the LORD began also, accompanied by trumpets and the instruments of David king of Israel. 28 The whole assembly bowed in worship, while the singers sang and the trumpeters played. All this continued until the sacrifice of the burnt offering was completed.
(3) Offer Sacrifice (5 offerings)
2 Chronicles 30:23-27
23 The whole assembly then agreed to celebrate the festival seven more days; so for another seven days they celebrated joyfully. 24 Hezekiah king of Judah provided a thousand bulls and seven thousand sheep and goats for the assembly, and the officials provided them with a thousand bulls and ten thousand sheep and goats. A great number of priests consecrated themselves. 25 The entire assembly of Judah rejoiced, along with the priests and Levites and all who had assembled from Israel, including the aliens who had come from Israel and those who lived in Judah. 26 There was great joy in Jerusalem, for since the days of Solomon son of David king of Israel there had been nothing like this in Jerusalem. 27 The priests and the Levites stood to bless the people, and God heard them, for their prayer reached heaven, his holy dwelling place.
(4) Passover
When Israelites did the Passover, their joy was tremendous such that it reached the heavens. Our prayers must always reach out to heaven.
(5) Tithes
If one cannot take out tithes, this means that one cannot give his whole life to God. Tithes are the strength of the church for world gospelization. Israel is a holy nation to influence the whole world. However when tithes were not restored, the high priests and thus the Levites were weakened. Thus Israelites became a weak militarily also.
I have thought of this before. For every 12 families, there shall be one full-time family. There is no need for a pastor to drive a BMW, but they shall not receive too little also. Their income shall be average. For me, I am a pastor who shepherds generally and over all. However, for people like Suyun for example, she probably will shepherd in an area of expertise. In the past, I started off by faithfully shepherding a small group comprising Huijun, Augustine, and Wilson at Guorong's place. Thus God chose me first and I do not become used by God suddenly.
(6) The root source of problems
Sennacherib, the king of Assyria, came and challenged their god against the Lord of Israel. God fixed his army and killed off 185,000 within a night, and killed the king using his 2 sons. God used this news to spread around the whole world.
Some saints suddenly became successful. They wrote a book and many people knew about the works of God. This is to abolish the ignorance in some people who worshipped the golden calf. Some have never considered God before because they have never heard of God before and have never known the extent of their problems.
We must know the spiritual meaning behind this.
(7) Pride -> Humility
Isaiah warned Hezekiah when he showed the Babylonians the treasures of the temple. Paul also said that we must really be watchful when we are successful as we will fall like lightning if we are not watchful.
3) Captured
Passage Reading: 2 Chronicles 33
1 Manasseh was twelve years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem fifty-five years. 2 He did evil in the eyes of the LORD, following the detestable practices of the nations the LORD had driven out before the Israelites. 3 He rebuilt the high places his father Hezekiah had demolished; he also erected altars to the Baals and made Asherah poles. He bowed down to all the starry hosts and worshiped them. 4 He built altars in the temple of the LORD, of which the LORD had said, "My Name will remain in Jerusalem forever." 5 In both courts of the temple of the LORD, he built altars to all the starry hosts. 6 He sacrificed his sons in [a] the fire in the Valley of Ben Hinnom, practiced sorcery, divination and witchcraft, and consulted mediums and spiritists. He did much evil in the eyes of the LORD, provoking him to anger.
7 He took the carved image he had made and put it in God's temple, of which God had said to David and to his son Solomon, "In this temple and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, I will put my Name forever. 8 I will not again make the feet of the Israelites leave the land I assigned to your forefathers, if only they will be careful to do everything I commanded them concerning all the laws, decrees and ordinances given through Moses." 9 But Manasseh led Judah and the people of Jerusalem astray, so that they did more evil than the nations the LORD had destroyed before the Israelites.
4) How do we restore the independent belief, and the seed of independence?
3. Captured -> Restoration of promise <36:22,23>
Passage Reading: 2 Chronicles 36:15-23
1) Time of Captivity
15 The LORD, the God of their fathers, sent word to them through his messengers again and again, because he had pity on his people and on his dwelling place.
God is ever loving, but we must really hear His voice.
16 But they mocked God's messengers, despised his words and scoffed at his prophets until the wrath of the LORD was aroused against his people and there was no remedy. 17 He brought up against them the king of the Babylonians, [g] who killed their young men with the sword in the sanctuary, and spared neither young man nor young woman, old man or aged. God handed all of them over to Nebuchadnezzar.
The Babylonians were called Chaldeans. They were living at the place where Abram left, his hometown. We must understand that God purpose for Israel to return to the place of Chaldeans to conquer it by the gospel.
18 He carried to Babylon all the articles from the temple of God, both large and small, and the treasures of the LORD's temple and the treasures of the king and his officials. 19 They set fire to God's temple and broke down the wall of Jerusalem; they burned all the palaces and destroyed everything of value there.
20 He carried into exile to Babylon the remnant, who escaped from the sword, and they became servants to him and his sons until the kingdom of Persia came to power. 21 The land enjoyed its sabbath rests; all the time of its desolation it rested, until the seventy years were completed in fulfillment of the word of the LORD spoken by Jeremiah.
The book of Lamentations came out because of this. There is nothing useful for the people who do not know how to hear the word of God. There is no use at all! Is there no reason that children and pregnant women are killed? There may be disasters that happened to the children of God. However, God is ever compassionate. Why not just die? God tells us to die and resurrect.
2) Restoration of the City of David
22 In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, in order to fulfill the word of the LORD spoken by Jeremiah, the LORD moved the heart of Cyrus king of Persia to make a proclamation throughout his realm and to put it in writing:
23 "This is what Cyrus king of Persia says:
" 'The LORD, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth and he has appointed me to build a temple for him at Jerusalem in Judah. Anyone of his people among you—may the LORD his God be with him, and let him go up.' "
God is faithful. No matter how shameful and sorrowful things have happened,
when the time God has fixed for us to restore, it will come back. We do not
have restore those things now and this does not mean that we will lose the
rights to restoration of those things forever. God has gone to the future and
come back to tell us His word.
I have you 3 outlines in conclusion:
(1) If a person restores a true belief, the whole era will restore together with him
(2) A person who loses the true spirit of the Christian faith and walks the religious road will lose everything and will fail totally.
(3) Why did man lose the previous grace so quickly? -> We must experience God person-to-person, individually and independently
We must read the bible. There is not a time that is not wasted on earth. No one can say that God is not using him or her right then with his or her subset of conditions. Only remember that you die and deny yourself before the Lord.
After going through each the book, the turning to God and the new hope must be received so that we can read each book newly as God wanted.
Transcript of 2 Chronicles Overview Part 8, Discipleship Training on 16 Nov 2007.