2 Kings

2Ki_5:15

No other God in all the world!  Something must be done today in faith and by His servants to show and prove that there is but one God in the world.  I fear that the false gods of this world appear to many to have more power then the one true God due to our lack of faith and faithfulness.  There god apparently calls for commitment and they give it to him.  What do God's people do?  WAG

2Ki_7:9

Some mischief will come upon us!

I believe that the church has many times failed to carry the good tidings or gospel message to the world.  We live in a time of blessing.  We have salvation.  We have seen God answer our prayers and meet our needs.  We have seen God save and transform lives yet we have failed to get this message outside our "Baptist Bubble" or "Christian Cocoon" even in our own country.  We send missionaries but only as God calls them and sends them our way.  We see them almost as a nuisance due to the fact that they are super Christians and want to live in another country.  How many times have we as pastors and Christian leaders prayed for and set out to raise up laborers for the harvest fields of our Lord.  How many Christians have we equipped to take the message even to their neighbors much less the world?  Could it be that the reason we are failing in our country and churches is that some mischief has befallen us?  Could it be that God is slowly taking His hand of off our country like he seems to have done with Italy, then Germany, then Great Britain?  I mean by that these countries were greatly used of God to get the message of Christ to the world but now are in need of missionaries.  I mean by that the church of Jerusalem that so callously kept the gospel message for their own that they slowly were passed over by the Holy Spirit until He used Antioch to do what He had first commanded them to do.  How many of our young people are we losing to selfishness, sin, and worldliness?  It is a day of Good Tidings.  We must be about our Father's business. We must not hold our peace.  Let's give our lives to fulfill the Great Commission of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  WAG

2Ki_19:19

God was to answer the prayer to prove that He was and is the only God.  There are several things that are very interesting in this chapter.  The king gets word from the man of God that all is going to be ok but he still desires to take the message to God on his own.  He goes and spreads the letter before the Lord.  There is no substitute for a personal relationship with God.  We can not live off of another man's relationship with God.  Also notice that the reason he asks God to answer prayer is that He desires that God show Himself to be the only true God.  The enemy has thrown in the face of Israel that no other God has been able to stand before them and their god. Hezekiah says God show yourself to them so that they will know that you are God.  How much do we desire the world to know that God is the only God?  How much do we desire to spread His name?  World Evangelism is the ministry of proving to the world that there is only one God and He deserves our lives and testimonies.  What are you doing even now to spread the cause of our God and seek His kingdom?  WAG

2Ki_19:30

This obviously is a promise to the nation of Israel and what God was going to do with them but it does have a definite principle that applies to the life of every missionary.  To bear fruit one must first take root downward.  So often we have depended on pastors and others for our spiritual food.  The exciting Bible Conference, Camp Meeting, or Revival meeting has been what kept us going.  I have heard Christians comment and say how much they needed the Wednesday night service just to get through the week and although the pastor may love to hear how much they depend on him we must teach them to take root downward.  Christians should become "self feeders".  We must learn to get from God and His Word what we need to continue on in our spiritual live and what we need to bear fruit.  Every Christian should be taught in basic discipleship how to have a personal time alone with God everyday. He must learn to pray, to read his Bible, to meditate in the Scriptures so that he can stand alone.  The great conference meetings are a blessing but not a necessity when you get something from God personally everyday.  Immediately start discipleship by teaching them how to glean from the Scriptures and the messages preached by the pastor to gain what they need as Christians.  Our spiritual lives are not based on emotion but on commitment and discipline to spend time with God everyday.  WAG

2Ki_22:13

Josiah hears the Word of the Lord and is shocked.  He realizes that was he is hearing has not been fulfilled by his people.  He realizes that these are more than words and that God has commanded His people to do certain things.  He is concerned enough to try and right the wrongs.  His heart is broken.  He begins to do all that he can do to fix the wrongs that have been done.  I think that the lesson for us here is to hear what He actually says in His Word to us.  Then we must question ourselves; Are we doing what He teaches us or tells us to do?  Have we concerned ourselves with the spread of the gospel around the world as He commands us?  Do we take to heart what He says?  Do we truly believe that there is a literal, physical, Hell?  Have we turned a book that commands us to serve into a religion of a God that is to serve us?  I wonder if our God might be angry today with us because neither our fathers nor we have hearkened unto the words of this book?  WAG

2Ki_22:19

Josiah has a tender heart, he humbles himself before the Lord and God hears his prayer.  There wasn't much that he could do about how his family and country had failed God in the past but he could have a broken heart and begin to do all within his power to obey the words of the book and to please God.  The world has not been evangelized for many centuries now but it is time that the people of God get a broken heart for souls, humble themselves before the Lord and begin to seek a way to get the gospel to the world.  God is going to allow Josiah to die in peace and not see His punishment on his country.  I hope for better results for us.  Could we not do all within our power to get the gospel to the world and pray that God would be pleased, glorified, blessed, and have mercy on His church and this country?  We are living in the last days but do not have to have a fatalistic and pessimistic attitude.  God can yet use us if we will but dedicate our lives to the furtherance of His kingdom and causes.  WAG

2Ki_23:3

It is time to make a covenant before the Lord like Josiah did.  We must promise to keep His commandments with all our heart and soul as we seek to perform the covenant that is written in the book.  It is time for us to promise God that we will do all within our power to spread the good news of Jesus Christ around the world.  We must pledge our lives, our fortunes, all our talents and abilities to the fulfilling of His Grand Commission.  Others may not see the importance of discipleship and world evangelism but we must give all in our power to get the gospel message to the world and to train others to do so also.  I pledge to do so once again today.  WAG