EXPECTED TO BEAR FRUIT IN JESUS The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire. —Matthew 3:10 Jesus answered, It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’ —Matthew 4:4 “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.” —Matthew 4:19             First, are you producing fruit in your life? — “The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and the one who is wise saves lives” (Proverbs 11:30).  Fruit… that includes people responding to…

I BELONG TO JESUS! She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” —Matthew 1:21             The reason Jesus was named Jesus was because “He will save his people from their sins.”  Are you “His people?”  Are you “His.”  In reality, “The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it; for he founded it on the seas and established it on the waters” (Psalm 24:1).  So, in one sense all people are His as the Creator and Owner of all.  But, are you His in a relational sense. …

BLESSED OR STIFF-NECKED He (king Zedekiah) became stiff-necked and hardened his heart and would not turn to the Lord, the God of Israel. —II Chronicles 36:13 “Blessed is the one who always trembles before God, but whoever hardens their heart falls into trouble” (Proverbs 298:18).  Which are you?  King Zedekiah was “stiff-necked and hardened his heart and would not turn to the Lord, the God of Israel.”  What a dangerous and destructive place to be.  The end of that hard-heartedness and unwillingness to turn to the Lord God Almighty, well, then the end is— “A great white throne and him who was seated on it. The earth and the heavens…

With him is only the arm of flesh, but with us is the Lord our God to help us and to fight our battles. —II Chronicles 32:8 They spoke about the God of Jerusalem as they did about the gods of the other peoples of the world—the work of human hands. —II Chronicles 32:19 And the Lord sent an angel, who annihilated all the fighting men and the commanders and officers in the camp of the Assyrian king.  So he withdrew to his own land in disgrace. —II Chronicles 32:21             The Lord our God is our help.  Who can stand against Him?  Who can overpower Him?  He is Sovereign…

TRUST HIM FOR HE PRESENT AND FUTURE AS HE HAS WORKED IN THE PAST True, he struck the rock, and water gushed out, streams flowed abundantly, but can he also give us bread?…  In spite of all this, they kept on sinning; in spite of his wonders, they did not believe…. How often they rebelled against him in the wilderness and grieved him in the wasteland! —Psalm 78:20, 32, 40             We need to remember what God has done and expect that He can do anything He desires.  Nothing is beyond His capabilities… nothing.  Unbelief is sin when it includes rebelling against our Lord.  Let us trust Him with our…

PRIDE’S FATE But after Uzziah became powerful, his pride led to his downfall. He was unfaithful to the Lord his God, and entered the temple of the Lord to burn incense on the altar of incense. —II Chronicles 26:16             Power goes to some people’s heads and they become prideful and do things they shouldn’t.  Pride… “i” is right in the middle of the word.  “I” wants to be the center of attention.  Pride is all about “i”, not others, not God.  Pride will lead to one’s downfall— “Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall” (Proverbs 16:18).  When King Uzziah “was unfaithful to the Lord his God, and entered the temple…

YOU WILL BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE Then the Spirit of God came on Zechariah son of Jehoiada the priest. He stood before the people and said, “This is what God says: ‘Why do you disobey the Lord’s commands? You will not prosper. Because you have forsaken the Lord, he has forsaken you.’”  But they plotted against him, and by order of the king they stoned him to death in the courtyard of the Lord’s temple. King Joash did not remember the kindness Zechariah’s father Jehoiada had shown him but killed his son, who said as he lay dying, “May the Lord see this and call you to account.” —II Chronicles 24:20-22 “Woe to you, because you build…

DESTINY WITH DEATH! But someone drew his bow at random and hit the king of Israel between the breastplate and the scale armor. The king told the chariot driver, “Wheel around and get me out of the fighting. I’ve been wounded.” All day long the battle raged, and the king of Israel propped himself up in his chariot facing the Arameans until evening. Then at sunset he died. —II Chronicles 18:33-34              King Ahab went to war even though the Lord, through His prophet Micaiah, told him it would not end well.  Micaiah had told Ahab— “If you ever return safely, the Lord has not spoken through me.” Then he…

COMMITMENT For the eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him. —II Chronicles 16:9             Fully committed to Him… am I?  Are you?  What does that look like?  Well, we get a picture in the early church’s commitment/devotion— “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts.…

EVERYTHING IS FROM HIS HAND! All the kings of the earth sought audience with Solomon to hear the wisdom God had put in his heart. —II Chronicles 9:23 Whom have I in heaven but you?  And earth has nothing I desire besides you.  My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever…. But as for me, it is good to be near God.  I have made the Sovereign Lord my refuge; I will tell of all your deeds.  —Psalm 73:25-26, 28             There are no self-made men.  All knowledge comes from God (indeed, everything comes from God) and men can…