Wednesday Night Prayer 7/7/2021
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Whole Heart Devotion
Whole Heart Devotion
I want to welcome you again tonight. To be honest, I can’t think of anything more important than a group like this coming together on a Wednesday night to seek God and cry out for our church, our community, and the culture we are living in.
The fact is, we are living in wicked times. I don’t say that to be negative or to be discouraging. I state it simply as a fact and sign of the times.
Which means what we are doing here tonight is of the upmost importance. Because as scripture teaches us, our battle is not of the flesh, but is of a spiritual nature. And as a result, our weapons are not of the flesh, but are of a spiritual nature as well. Paul puts it like this:
4 For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds.
And one of those weapons, and probably the most powerful, is prayer.
That being said, we are going to take some time to pray tonight for our church, our community, and the culture we live in. But before we do, I thought it would be appropriate for us to begin with God’s Word and let it be the basis from which we pray tonight.
So, in order to help us do that, I want take a few minutes and look at 2 Chronicles 25.
If you’re reading along with us on the Bible App, this was a passage we read a couple days ago concerning a king named Amaziah, who was one of the kings of Judah in the line of David.
And like most of the Kings of Judah, he was a king who sought the Lord. However, like most of the Kings of Judah, there were areas of compromise in his life that eventually led to poor choices and ultimately an untimely death..
The writer puts it like this in 2 Chronicles 25:
1 Amaziah was twenty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Jehoaddan of Jerusalem. 2 And he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, yet not with a whole heart.
What I want you to notice first, is that the writer says Amaziah was a king that did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, yet not with a whole heart.
In other words, he was a king of good intentions. A king who wanted to please God, but whose heart wasn’t always fully devoted to doing what was right. A king who lived with one foot in the world and one foot in his faith.
As a result, he was a king who faced a roller coaster ride of blessing and defeat in his life.
We see this play out as in the beginning of his rule he seeks to do what is right. The writer puts it like this:
3 And as soon as the royal power was firmly his, he killed his servants who had struck down the king his father. 4 But he did not put their children to death, according to what is written in the Law, in the Book of Moses, where the Lord commanded, “Fathers shall not die because of their children, nor children die because of their fathers, but each one shall die for his own sin.”
The writer says Amaziah disposed the wicked, but didn’t put their children to death according to what was written in the law.
And so as you can see, he begins his rule by doing what is right in the eyes of the Lord.
His desire to do what is right in the eyes of the Lord continues as he prepares for battle. A battle in which he not only enlisted his own men, but hired 100,000 men from Israel. However, this displeased the Lord. The writer tells it like this:
7 But a man of God came to him and said, “O king, do not let the army of Israel go with you, for the Lord is not with Israel, with all these Ephraimites. 8 But go, act, be strong for the battle. Why should you suppose that God will cast you down before the enemy? For God has power to help or to cast down.”
The writer says God didn’t want Amaziah to partner with Israel. Why? Because at this point in time Israel had turned away from the Lord and the Lord wasn’t with them. And so God challenges Amaziah to trust Him versus the army of Israel. And He reminds Amaziah that He has the power to help him more than a human army.
And so desiring to do what was right in the eyes of the Lord, Amaziah listens to the man of God and sends the army of Israel home as he puts his trust in the Lord. And his trust in God pays off because the writer tells us:
11 But Amaziah took courage and led out his people and went to the Valley of Salt and struck down 10,000 men of Seir. 12 The men of Judah captured another 10,000 alive and took them to the top of a rock and threw them down from the top of the rock, and they were all dashed to pieces.
The writer says Amaziah’s trust in the Lord leads to a great victory.
And at this point you would think Amaziah would continue to be faithful to the Lord. But unfortunately, this is where the Roller Coaster ride begins as it becomes apparent that while he desires to do what is right in the eyes of the Lord, his heart isn’t fully devoted to the Lord. Because following the battle, the writer tells us this:
14 After Amaziah came from striking down the Edomites, he brought the gods of the men of Seir and set them up as his gods and worshiped them, making offerings to them.
The writer says instead of praising God for the victory, Amaziah worshiped the false gods of the nation he defeated. And as you can imagine, this didn’t sit well with God. Because the writer says:
15 Therefore the Lord was angry with Amaziah and sent to him a prophet, who said to him, “Why have you sought the gods of a people who did not deliver their own people from your hand?”
The writer says at this point God once again challenges Amaziah. And he asks him why he is worshiping the gods of a people who did not deliver their own people.
In other words, “Amaziah, why are you worshiping a defeated god instead of the God who actually delivered you?”
At this point you would think Amaziah would wake up to the reality of his error, but instead he continues to demonstrate his divided heart. Because the writer says:
16 But as he was speaking, the king said to him, “Have we made you a royal counselor? Stop! Why should you be struck down?” So the prophet stopped, but said, “I know that God has determined to destroy you, because you have done this and have not listened to my counsel.”
The writer says Amaziah isn’t about to listen to this prophet. He’s determined to worship these false gods. And according to the prophet, this will be his undoing. And true to the prophets words, it was.
Because after defeating the Edomites and defying God’s warning, Amaziah decided to pick a fight with the King of Israel. A fight that led to a battle. But a battle that Amaziah would not win. The writer tells it like this:
20 But Amaziah would not listen, for it was of God, in order that he might give them into the hand of their enemies, because they had sought the gods of Edom. 21 So Joash king of Israel went up, and he and Amaziah king of Judah faced one another in battle at Beth-shemesh, which belongs to Judah. 22 And Judah was defeated by Israel, and every man fled to his home.
The writer says because Amaziah would not listen to the Lord, God gave him over to his enemies. Why? Because he had sought the gods of Edom. Because while he desired to do what was right, his heart was not fully devoted to the Lord.
And as a result everything the Lord had given Amaziah was lost to the king of Israel. The writer says:
24 And he seized all the gold and silver, and all the vessels that were found in the house of God, in the care of Obed-edom. He seized also the treasuries of the king’s house, also hostages, and he returned to Samaria.
And not only that, but his failure to listen to the Lord resulted in his death. The writer records it like this:
27 From the time when he turned away from the Lord they made a conspiracy against him in Jerusalem, and he fled to Lachish. But they sent after him to Lachish and put him to death there.
And maybe what’s so sad about this story is that it didn’t have to end this way. If only Amaziah would have given his heart whole to the Lord.
The reason I bring this story to you tonight, is because in many ways I believe this story represents where many Christians live. Christians who want to do what’s right in the eyes of the Lord, yet not with a whole heart.
And to be honest church, I believe this is what keeps many Christians and many churches from fully accomplishing God’s plan and purpose in their life.
The fact is, we need revival in the land. We need a move of God in our culture and our country. But the truth is, that’s not going to happen if we as Christians can’t move beyond a desire to do what is right in the eyes of the Lord, to a heart that is fully committed to Him. Because that’s where revival starts. It starts in us as we become fully committed to Him.
So, what keeps us from being fully committed?
I think it’s the same thing that kept Amaziah from being fully committed.
For some, it’s our partnership with the world and our desire to serve the gods of this world.
We talked about his on Sunday. It’s you and I giving ourselves to fleshly desires. Giving ourselves to what the world says brings hope. What the world says brings salvation. What the world says brings life.
And as a result, there’s a battle within us as we desire to do what’s right while at the same time giving ourselves over to the desires of our flesh.
What desires? It’s different for all of us. For some its sexual sin. For others its the sin of gossip and division. For others its the sin of sensuality as we watch and absorb movies and television shows that promote ungodly thinking and living. For others its sins of addiction and abuse whether it be food, drink, or some kind of drug. And for many it’s the thought life as we entertain ideas and desires that are not of God.
And as a result, while we desire to do what is right in the eyes of the Lord, we give ourselves to things that aren’t right. And as a result, instead of living in victory, we begin to live a life of defeat and discouragement.
To be honest, I think a lot of Christians live in this place.
I think as well there are Christians who know their heart is divided, but their unwilling to do anything about it. Like Amaziah, the Lord has made it clear to them it’s not something He wants in their life, in fact, He’s warned them, but they refuse to remove it. They refuse to repent. They refuse to do what is right.
And that my friends is a dangerous place to be with God. Because like Amaziah, it’s a decision that leads to death in our life. And when I say death, I’m not just talking about physical, but spiritual.
So, how do we overcome this danger? How do we move past desire to whole heart commitment?
To be honest, it comes down one decision. A decision to stop living with a divided heart, and start living with a heart fully committed to the Lord.
It starts with revival. And when I say revival, I’m talking about a renewed desire for Christ. A renewed desire to start living a whole hearted life for Jesus.
“True revival is not noisy; at least not at first. It usually begins in a hushed awe. Believers get convicted about sin and the seriousness of God’s holiness. Weeping is heard before shouts.” J.D. Greear
But here’s the deal, for that to happen in others, it has to happen in you first.
God revives his church and then the new life overflows from the church for the conversion of outsiders and the renovation of society. J.I. Packer
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