Tag: immutable

God Answers Hezekiah, Showing Who He Is

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The Assyrian army is approaching Jerusalem and threatening the kingdom of Judah. King Hezekiah has pleaded with the Lord to save them and he has asked Isaiah for a word from the Lord. Here is what happened! Yeah God! Isaiah 37:7 was God’s answer through Isaiah: “Listen! When he hears a certain report, I will make him want to return to his own country, and there I will have him cut down with the sword.’” Later Isaiah expands God’s deliverance message in Isaiah 37:21-38

Then Isaiah son of Amoz sent a message to Hezekiah: “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: Because you have prayed to me concerning Sennacherib king of Assyria, 22 this is the word the Lord has spoken against him:
23 Who is it you have ridiculed and blasphemed?
    Against whom have you raised your voice God- “You dared to ridicule the Holy One of Israel.”
and lifted your eyes in pride?
    Against the Holy One of Israel!
28 “But I know where you are
    and when you come and go God- “I know where you are and your attitudes.”.
    and how you rage against me.
29 Because you rage against me
    and because your insolence has reached my ears, God– “I have heard your insults.”
I will put my hook in your nose
    and my bit in your mouth,
and I will make you return
    by the way you came. God- “I will turn you around and send you home.”

33 “Therefore this is what the Lord says concerning the king of Assyria:

“He will not enter this city
    or shoot an arrow here.
He will not come before it with shield God- “You will not enter my city.”
    or build a siege ramp against it.
34 By the way that he came he will return;
    he will not enter this city,” God- “You will go back the way you came!”
declares the Lord.
35 “I will defend this city and save it,
    for my sake and for the sake of David my servant!” 36 Then the angel of the Lord went out and put to death a hundred and eighty-five thousand in the Assyrian camp. When the people got up the next morning—there were all the dead bodies! 

God’s Action- without an arrow being shot 85,000 died and it sent the Assyrian army running in fear.

37 So Sennacherib king of Assyria broke camp and withdrew. He returned to Nineveh and stayed there.38 One day, while he was worshiping in the temple of his god Nisrok, his sons Adrammelek and Sharezer killed him with the sword, and they escaped to the land of Ararat. And Esarhaddon his son succeeded him as king.

God Action- you, king Sennacherib will die by the sword.

How can this message speak to you and me? God is a Holy and just God who is unchanging. When God gives His Word about something it happens! Guaranteed. His will cannot be thwarted. Sennacherib did not revere God or believe in His power. He paid for his unbelief with his life and the lives of his soldiers. Hezekiah, Isaiah and the people of Judah saw God defending, protecting and answering their cries for help. They saw a Righteous God who would not be ridiculed or have His name defamed.

We too can know – God is Holy and unchanging. John 6:68-69 “Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. 69 We have come to believe and to know that you are the Holy One of God.” Hebrews 13:8 “8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” God’s will cannot be stopped. Job 42:2 “I know that you can do all things; no purpose of yours can be thwarted. God is to be feared and revered. Psalm 96:4 “For great is the Lord and most worthy of praise; he is to be feared above all gods. Hebrews 12:8 “Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe,” Unbelief in God results in death. Hebrews 3:18-19  “And to whom did God swear that they would never enter his rest if not to those who disobeyed? 19 So we see that they were not able to enter, because of their unbelief.” Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” God defends His own. Psalm 118:14 “The Lord is my strength and my defense; he has become my salvation.” God protects believers. Proverbs 2:7-9 “He holds success in store for the upright,  he is a shield to those whose walk is blameless, 8 for he guards the course of the just  and protects the way of his faithful ones.” God hears our prayers and cries for help. Proverbs 15:29 “The Lord is far from the wicked, but he hears the prayer of the righteous”. Psalm 34:17 “The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them; he delivers them from all their troubles.” God defends His Name. Zechariah 14:9 “The Lord will be king over the whole earth. On that day there will be one Lord, and his name the only name.’

I pray as you look at these truths about God that your faith is strengthened and you see how our God is real today as He continues to save, protect and listen to us. We have the fuller revelation of God in Jesus the Son. Christ is the Holy one, the Only one, who can Save us. Christ promises to listen to us and intercede before the Father for us. Praise God!

Linda

God is UNCHANGING, What a Blessing that is!

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November 22, 2022

Our passage today comes from Hebrews. The author of Hebrews is talking about the unshakable nature of God’s kingdom. Hebrews 12: 28-29 gives us the conclusion the author reaches and what our response to the unsinkability of God should be. “Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, 29 for our God is a consuming fire.

Is your response to the Immutability of God, his unchanging character and will, one of gratitude? Can you imagine if God was changeable? We could never be assured that He would not change His mind about our salvation! How do we know that God would not change what He desires from us? His purity, goodness and truth would also come into question. In the Old Testament we see the Israelites and other pagan nations worshipping idols. They never knew what would please their gods, how they would react, what they wanted or what they would or even could do. Psalm 96:5 reminds us that idols do not create anything. ” For all the gods of the peoples are worthless idols, but the Lord made the heavens.”

The author of Hebrews wants to remind us that God is immutable, and therefore worthy of all our worship. He is a consuming fire! The picture of fire is one that appears repeatedly in the Bible. God appeared to Moses in a burning bush that was not consumed (Exodus 3:5), a pillar of fire to moved the Israelites at night in the desert (Exodus 13:21), the Lord consumed the offering on Mt Carmel with fire (1 Kings 18:38) and the Holy Spirit descended upon believers with tongues of fire (Acts 2:3). Fire is a picture of pure energy and power, that is our Sovereign God!

I am so thankful that God is unchanging and I can depend upon Him to keep all his promises. I have several verses that remind me of God’s unchanging character that I can claim with assurance. James 1:17 “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.” and Hebrews 13:8 “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.’ We can place our faith in our unchangeable God.

A truth to claim with thanksgiving: I am sealed by the Holy Spirit. God’s all consuming fire that was manifested to the early believers as tongues of fire. It showed the presence of His Holy Spirit descending upon the believer. We can know His power within us today. That same power of fire and energy indwells each believer and seals us or guarantees our faith. Ephesians 1:13-14 “ In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.” He guarantees our salvation and inheritance in heaven by His Holy Spirit! 2 Corinthians 1:21-22  “In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.” God did this for us so we would know His love and promises are true. It is reaffirmed in 2 Corinthians 5:5 also “He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who has given us the Spirit as a guarantee.”

What a wonderful gift God has given us by telling us we do not have to worry about His kingdom as it is unshakeable. We can rest assured that He is unchanging. His consuming Holy Spirit will indwell us and hold us for all eternity. That is some guarantee!!

Linda