{"id":4514,"date":"2019-08-20T20:00:03","date_gmt":"2019-08-21T03:00:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/?p=4514"},"modified":"2019-08-18T21:49:16","modified_gmt":"2019-08-19T04:49:16","slug":"2chronicles_6_32-42","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/2chronicles_6_32-42\/","title":{"rendered":"Put Your Hope in Jesus"},"content":{"rendered":"

2 Chronicles 6:32-42\u00a0Click here for Bible VersesHi GAMErs,<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Hi GAMErs,<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s passage is 2 Chronicles 6:32-42.\u00a0\u00a0Let\u2019s go!<\/p>\n

2 Chronicles 6:32-33 (NIV)\u00a0<\/strong>
\n32\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0“As for the foreigner who does not belong to your people Israel but has come from a distant land because of your great name and your mighty hand and your outstretched arm–when he comes and prays toward this temple,
\n33\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0then hear from heaven, your dwelling place, and do whatever the foreigner asks of you, so that all the peoples of the earth may know your name and fear you, as do your own people Israel, and may know that this house I have built bears your Name.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 32-33:\u00a0\u00a0Solomon prays that God would hear and work on behalf of the foreigner who is not an Israelite by blood but who comes to Israel from a distant land and prays toward the temple.\u00a0\u00a0Solomon asks God to hear that foreigner and help that foreigner, \u201cso that all the peoples of the earth may know Your name and fear You\u201d (v33).<\/p>\n

What can we learn from this?<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Solomon\u2019s heart was that the temple would not just be a place that would bless and benefit the Israelites, but a place that God would use to bring the nations to Himself.\u00a0\u00a0That must be our heart as well for our church.\u00a0\u00a0Like Solomon, pray often that God would use your church to bring people who are far from Him close to Himself<\/strong>, that because of their interaction with the church, people who did not have anything to do with Jesus would find Him, be found by Him, and come to a saving relationship with Him.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
      \n
    1. Solomon\u2019s hope was that foreigners who prayed toward the temple would experience God working on their behalf.\u00a0\u00a0It reminds me of how Jesus once compared himself to the temple when he said,\u00a0\u201cDestroy this temple, and I will raise it again\u00a0in three days.” (John\u00a02:19)\u00a0\u00a0When we pray toward that temple \u2013 that is, when we direct our faith and trust toward Jesus \u2013 God hears and works on our behalf, turning us who were once foreigners to His kingdom into born again children of God.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      2 Chronicles 6:34-35 (NIV)\u00a0<\/strong>
      \n34\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0“When your people go to war against their enemies, wherever you send them, and when they pray to you toward this city you have chosen and the temple I have built for your Name,
      \n35\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0then hear from heaven their prayer and their plea, and uphold their cause.<\/em><\/p>\n

      On verses 34-35:\u00a0\u00a0Here Solomon prays for the Israelites, that when they are at war against their enemies, they would pray toward the temple and find God helping them be victorious over their enemies.\u00a0\u00a0Likewise, the Bible says that our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against spiritual powers (Ephesians 6:11-12) led by Satan, who agenda is to steal, kill, and destroy our lives (John\u00a010:10).\u00a0Praise God that\u00a0when we pray toward our temple that is Jesus (John\u00a02:19), when we place our faith and hope in Him, we find all the resources we need to be victorious over our enemy.<\/strong><\/p>\n

      2 Chronicles 6:36-39 (NIV)\u00a0<\/strong>
      \n36\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0“When they sin against you–for there is no one who does not sin–and you become angry with them and give them over to the enemy, who takes them captive to a land far away or near;
      \n37\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0and if they have a change of heart in the land where they are held captive, and repent and plead with you in the land of their captivity and say, ‘We have sinned, we have done wrong and acted wickedly’;
      \n38\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0and if they turn back to you with all their heart and soul in the land of their captivity where they were taken, and pray toward the land you gave their fathers, toward the city you have chosen and toward the temple I have built for your Name;
      \n39\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0then from heaven, your dwelling place, hear their prayer and their pleas, and uphold their cause. And forgive your people, who have sinned against you.<\/em><\/p>\n

      On verses 36-39:\u00a0\u00a0Here Solomon describes the situation where God\u2019s people sin so greatly against God that God hands them over to their enemies to be taken captive.\u00a0\u00a0Solomon prays that if the people turn back to God with all their heart and soul and pray toward the temple, God would hear their prayer and uphold their cause.\u00a0\u00a0What can we learn from this?<\/p>\n

      1. Notice in verse 36 where Solomon says \u201cfor there is no one who does not sin\u201d.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Because all of us have sinned, none of us deserves to be with God.\u00a0\u00a0We are all in need of God\u2019s mercy (see Romans 3:23-24).<\/p>\n

      2. Not only have all of us sinned, but the Bible says that all of us have been held captive by sin.\u00a0\u00a0Because of sin, we were separated from the kingdom we were made to be a part of.\u00a0\u00a0But the great promise of the Bible is that if we confess our sins, God is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9).\u00a0\u00a0If we will turn back to God and cry out toward the temple that is Jesus Christ (John\u00a02:19), God hears our prayer, upholds our cause, and saves us.<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0As Colossians\u00a01:13\u00a0says, \u201cFor he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves\u201d.<\/p>\n

      2 Chronicles 6:40-42 (NIV)\u00a0<\/strong>
      \n40\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0“Now, my God, may your eyes be open and your ears attentive to the prayers offered in this place.
      \n41\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0“Now arise, O\u00a0LORD\u00a0God, and come to your resting place, you and the ark of your might. May your priests, O\u00a0LORD\u00a0God, be clothed with salvation, may your saints rejoice in your goodness.
      \n42\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0O\u00a0LORD\u00a0God, do not reject your anointed one. Remember the great love promised to David your servant.”<\/em><\/p>\n

      On verses 40-42:\u00a0\u00a0In my sharing on verses 32-39, I have been comparing the Lord Jesus to the temple that Solomon built, how when we pray toward our temple that is Jesus, God hears and acts on our behalf.\u00a0\u00a0But don\u2019t forget that the Bible also calls us \u2013 those who have trusted in Jesus Christ \u2013 His temple too (See for example 1 Corinthians 3:16-17).\u00a0\u00a0Just as Solomon prays in verse 41 that God would come to His resting place (i.e. the temple),\u00a0when we place our faith in Jesus Christ, God by His Spirit comes into our lives and makes us His temple and His resting place.\u00a0<\/strong>\u00a0When Jesus come into our lives, we become God\u2019s priests who are clothed with salvation (\u201cmay your priests, O Lord God, be clothed with salvation (v41)).\u00a0\u00a0We also become God\u2019s saints who rejoice in His goodness (\u201cmay your saints rejoice in your goodness\u201d (v41)).\u00a0\u00a0Just as in verse 42 Solomon stands on the promises God made to David (\u201cRemember the great love promised to David your servant\u201d (v42), so we stand on the promises that God makes about His Son Jesus and about all who trust in Him.<\/p>\n

      Heavenly Father, thank You that while Solomon and the Israelites had the temple to pray toward, a temple which has since been destroyed, we have a far greater and indestructible \u201ctemple\u201d we can pray toward: Your Son Jesus.\u00a0\u00a0Thank You that when we direct our faith and hope toward Jesus, we are brought into Your kingdom, we are rescued from sin, we gain victory over the devil, and You by Your Spirit come into our lives and make us Your resting place.\u00a0\u00a0Thank You for being the God who met our every need through Your Son Jesus Christ.\u00a0\u00a0In Jesus\u2019 name, AMEN!<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><\/section><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      Hi GAMErs,<\/p>\n

      Today\u2019s passage is 2 Chronicles 6:32-42.\u00a0\u00a0Let\u2019s go!<\/p>\n

      2 Chronicles 6:32-33 (NIV)\u00a0
      \n32\u00a0\u00a0“As for the foreigner who does not belong to your people Israel but has come from a distant land because of your great name and your mighty hand and your outstretched arm–when he comes and prays toward this temple,\u00a0
      \n33\u00a0\u00a0then hear from heaven, your dwelling place, and do whatever the foreigner asks of you, so that all the peoples of the earth may know your name and fear you, as do your own people Israel, and may know that this house I have built bears your Name.<\/p>\n

      On verses 32-33:\u00a0\u00a0Solomon prays that God would hear and work on behalf of the foreigner who is not an Israelite by blood but who comes to Israel from a distant land and prays toward the temple.\u00a0\u00a0Solomon asks God to hear that foreigner and help that foreigner, \u201cso that all the peoples of the earth may know Your name and fear You\u201d (v33).\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4515,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4514","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-gametime-sharing"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4514","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4514"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4514\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4517,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4514\/revisions\/4517"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4515"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4514"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4514"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4514"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}