Handling Success - Trial of Faith Series

2 Ki 18:7a  And the LORD was with him [Hezekiah]; he was successful in whatever he undertook.

In the last message we looked at Peter's life to learn God's plan for us in the face of our failures. Today, let's look at the next trial of our faith. Success.

In some candid discussions with many true men of God, I have come to the conclusion that Success is a more difficult trial of faith than failure. The danger of going through failure is that you may fall prey to unbelief and become bitter towards God. It may happen to a few people, but the common response for failure is that it drives us back towards God. What is the usual result of success ? The normal believer tends to become proud, his heart is lifted up and he forgets the God who gave him the success in the first place. It takes a very tender heart to maintain that humility before God and give Him the glory for any success which He has granted us. Let's look at the example from the life of King Hezekiah.

The Lord was with him

The name Hezekiah means "Yahweh is my Strength". True to his name, the Lord did mighty things through this wonderful king. If you read from 2 Kings 18:3-8, we note the following things about his blessed reign.

1.      2 Ki 18:3 - He did right in the eyes of the Lord (as David)

2.      2 Ki 18:4 - he eradicated idolatry in all known forms, even destroying the bronze serpent which had existed as an idol for nearly 1000 years!

3.      2Ki 18:5 - He trusted the Lord and the word of God declares him to be a king unlike any other before or after him.

4.      2 Ki 18:6 - He held fast to the Lord and didn't cease to follow Him. He kept the commandments of the Lord

5.      2 Ki 18:7 - The Lord was with Him and therefore, he was successful in all his endeavors.

6.      2 Ki 18:8 - He didn't bow down before the Syrian kings and defeated philistines across their borders.

A man whom the Lord honors and protects!

Truly, he was one of the best kings to grace the throne of Israel. There is a touching account of the King of Syria threatening to annihilate Israel. 2 Chr 32:1 (read from v1 to v19) Hezekiah prayed to the Lord (2 Chr 32:20) and the Lord sent an angel which consumed 185,000 soldiers of Syria (2Chr 32:21). I especially loved the Word of God which says 2 Chr 32:22 So the LORD saved Hezekiah and the people of Jerusalem from the hand of Sennacherib king of Assyria and from the hand of all others. He took care of them on every side.

If we have any doubt concerning this, the Lord says: it is He who delivered the nation. Not the might of armies or the wisdom of a king. But the end result of this deliverance was that the fame of Hezekiah spread far and wide and many came to him with precious gifts and he was highly regarded by all nations. (2 Chr 32:23)

The beginning of the end - Pride

Alas, the result of such fame was a falling away. 2 Chr 32:25 says: But Hezekiah's heart was proud and he did not respond to the kindness shown him; therefore the LORD's wrath was on him and on Judah and Jerusalem.

The result of that wrath was an illness which came to the King and he was near death. he prayed to the Lord and the lord answered him and gave him a miraculous sign. (Read 2 Ki 20:1-11) And he repented of the pride in his heart (2 Chr 32:26) and the Lord's wrath didn't appear to them in that generation. But the result of this prayer was an increase of his life by 15 years. That led him to commit even more mistakes in his later years and he also fathered Manasseh. (If you read 2 Chr 33:1-11, you can see the amount of evil that this young king heaped on himself and israel) While Hezekiah accomplished much in the secular realm in the added years(2 Chr 32:27-30), we see the steady decline of his spiritual life as the end comes.

The end - God leaves him to test his heart

2 Chr 32:31 But when envoys were sent by the rulers of Babylon to ask him about the miraculous sign that had occurred in the land, God left him to test him and to know everything that was in his heart.

When God leaves us to test us, he expects us to rely on what He has taught us in the past. He expects us to use the wisdom and unction that He deposited in us prior to the test. It is for us to understand the contents of our heart more clearly. 2 Ki 20:13 says - he exposed every little bit of his kingdom to the envoys of the enemy as a result of his pride and that mistake was instrumental in the nation being carried away to Babylon at a later point in time.

What is our lesson from this ?

Do I write all this to diss a godly king ? Am I magnifying his mistakes ? Am I trying to erase the good he has done by focusing on his mistakes ? Not at all! I believe all scripture is God-breathed and is profitable for our instruction, correction and reproof. It is good for us to take valuable lessons from all these scriptures because we are near the end times. (1 Cor 10:11). Where Hezekiah pleased God, let us desire to imitate his life. Where he fell short of the glory of God, let us take it as a precious example to guard against. Remember, if a spiritual giant like he could fall, so could we! Am I against success ? Not at all! I desire success and I believe it is the plan of God for all his disciples to enjoy success. That's why the precious promises are given to the victors (7 letters of revelation + Rev 21:7). But in our successes that we enjoy, do not forget to attribute glory and honor and praise and thanksgiving to the One who made it possible for us. As Jesus said - Without me, you can do nothing! My prayer is that however well we have begun our spiritual race, God give us the grace to fight the good fight, finish our race and keep the faith and to appropriate the eternal rewards kept for us(2 Tim 4:7)

Further reading : 1 Chr 28:9 & Deut 8:2

Failures and God's plan for us - Trial of Faith Series

Failures & God's plan for us

There's something in all of us that intuitively resists failure. Yet, all of us have been touched by failure at some point of our lives. We may have recovered from those failures, but even now, there is that shame that is associated with the failure. When we look back, we may think "God! Surely we knew better than that!". Today, I would like to meditate on failure as a great trial of our faith. We may have failed in our jobs, academics, in our family life, in our Christian walk, in our ministry. Let's ask the Lord for a faith and a relation with the Lord that's strong even in our times of failure.

Luke 22:31-32 "Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers." 

Peter was a strong apostle. Even before he was raised in the apostolic ranks, we see a strength of personality in him. A natural leader, an impulsive man, one who wouldn't hesitate to leave the boats and follow the Lord, one who would easily jump out of the boat to swim to the Lord or to leave the comfort of the boat to walk on water. The owner of a large heart - one who desired to do much for the Lord. We see him as a natural choice. Yet, the spiritual world operates on principles which are contrary to nature. In his very strength lay a weakness, which if allowed to continue, would bring down his ministry and life as a crack in the foundation can bring down the house that it's founded upon. Pls note: Peter was strong - but his confidence was in himself and not in God. The high degree of revelation that he received from God elevated his spirit and the calling as a leader further cemented the pedestal on which he had placed himself. The immense potential of Peter as a threat to his kingdom & the impetuous statements he made about his infallibility attracted satan's desire to sift Peter as wheat. But remember, God's on the throne! Can we start seeing satan as a mere instrument in God's hands to produce the transformation in us - to reveal our weaknesses, to cut us to shape, to remove our rough edges?

The greatest hindrance to Peter being used as a disciple and apostle is not satan. It is Peter himself. He is totally self confident but his confidence is not in God. He is rather proud of himself and thinks he'll never ever betray the Lord. Mat 26:33 - though all leave you, I will not be offended with you. (in other words, Lord, you don't know what you are talking about - I am made of better stuff than all the others!) 

The Lord sees pride as a greater danger than any other sin. God resists the proud and gives grace to the humble. Unless Peter learns to rely on Jesus and Him alone, he will never be able to qualify for the apostolic task that Jesus had for him. His current spiritual state meant that he had to be sifted before the Lord could use him. Sifting meant that the grain and chaff in Peter's life is to be separated. Sifting meant that the false foundations which he may have laid for his life (natural strength & ability) will be demolished before the true foundation (Christ) is laid. Sifting meant severe trials that he will go through. Yes, it even meant failure - to the point that Peter will deny the Lord before a little servant girl. How the mighty fall!

This is not just about Peter. It's about every child of God who has been given a promise by the Lord. In the above verses, the Lord says: I have prayed for you. Our High-priest (the Lord Jesus) is not one who is untouched by our weaknesses. He is not bothered about your failures. You may fail - But your faith shouldn't fail. Today, we can stand and say that we have been buffeted by forces and people stronger than us. And to our grief, we've failed far too many times. Yet, we are here by God's grace, thanks to His intercession for us. (therein lies the difference between the apostasy of Judas and the restoration of Peter)

A failed (and restored) Peter is a tender-hearted Peter. No more confidence in self. Humbled and yielded as a vessel in the Lord's hands. He is no more desirous of being No.1. But is thankful that his name is in the book of life. He doesn't compete with his brethren. He is able to stand with them on the day of Pentecost and preach the Good News. As the Lord prayed for him, once he was converted he was able to strengthen his brethren. It is such a person who is able to pen the verse 1 Pet 5:10 to the edification of the weak brethren who may be in a season of trials.  

And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ,after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast

Dear friend, if you have failed, you are in good company. We are in the hands of a potter who makes us into a beautiful vessel even despite our failures and shortcomings. But our faith - let it not fail!

Chastisement and Discipline - Trial of Faith Series

Heb 12:5-6 And you have forgotten that word of encouragement that addresses you as sons: "My son, do not make light of the Lord's discipline, ​and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, because the Lord disciplines those he loves, ​and he punishes everyone he accepts as a son."

Many of the trials of our life are because we have committed mistakes. The Lord prefers that we endure His punishment and disciplinary action than to suffer the judgment and be separated from Him for all eternity. Punishment ≠ Judgment. In an earlier thought, we meditated on the Lord who tries the righteous (Jer 20:12). The same God chooses to discipline us with his chastisement because that is a mark of our Sonship!  I may observe many children in my neighborhood committing mistakes and sins. And I do not go about beating them for their sins. But if my own son does a mistake, I wouldn't think much about rebuking him and maybe even beating him, because I'd much rather that he accepts my punishment and be provoked to righteousness. The punishment that we endure as a child doesn't spoil our relation with the Father. In fact, our relation with Him is stronger after that.

The word says: Do not lose heart when He rebukes you. Job 5:17 says: Blessed is the man whom the Lord corrects. So don't despise His chastening. Rev 3:19 reminds us: that He is indeed interested in correction and repentance (Those whom I love, I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest and repent.) Prov 3:11-12 reminds us the same fact, but also adds this truth - For whom the LORD loveth he correcteth; even as a father the son [in whom] he delighteth.      If the Lord delights in you, he will correct you! He is not done with you yet. He knows that your heart is still soft and tender and will yield to His correction. Heb 12:9 says: If you endured your father's punishment (and yet respected them for it), How much more should we submit to the Lord who holds our spirits and live unto eternity?!

One of the reasons why you lose heart is when you look around. You may observe many, even people who seemingly know the Lord, who seem to do their own evil plans and yet, they are not touched by God. They don't seem to be rebuked by Him or punished. Heb 12:8 soberly reminds us that it's only the True Sons who are chosen for discipline. The illegitimate children are not disciplined. They are left to reap the consequences of their evil.

For the ultimate good !

Heb 12:10-11 Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.

Dearly beloved, take courage and strengthen yourself (Heb 12:12). The reason why we maybe in a season of heaviness is because of His loving chastisement and punishment. It is going to produce a holy Fear in us which will provoke us to greater holiness and righteousness. Indeed, all things work together to the good of those who love God and those who are called unto His purpose to work in us the image of the Lord Jesus Christ himself.