So you want to be a part of God’s kingdom...and devote your life in service to the One who laid down His life for you? That’s good, that’s very good. May I offer up a piece of simple yet blunt counsel to you before you being this journey? Lay the ‘baggage’ down, as in all of it. And if you are not ready to do so, then don’t attempt to move forward in God as it will only complicate your walk and frustrate you. I would even suggest that you ‘go do you’... and don’t come back until you are ready to wholeheartedly...lay it all down, as in your life.

Jesus did. And so must we. That’s the gospel, Friends....and it won't work any way else, despite what we've been told. (Matt. 19:16-22; Luke 14:25-33; Heb. 12:1)

Jesus could be pretty blunt, at times; and sometimes we just need to hear truth shared that way. Lord knows how many distractions and obstacles are constantly getting in our way that hinders us from making that total heart surrender. (Luke 9:57-62; Matt.13:21-22; 22:2-5)

And ‘laying it all down’...is what true ‘worship’ is all about. Anything else is nothing more than an empty shell of a ‘form of godliness’ that Paul speaks about in 2 Tim. 3:1-5 and 1 Cor. 13:1-3. Jesus even gave us an early clue as to what that (empty and fruitless service) might look like... in Matt. 7:21-23. How often are we warned by the NT writers...’take heed that no one deceive you...’?

Welcome back to the early days of King Josiah’s reforms that were sparked by his hearing the words read from the ‘Book of the Law’... after it was discovered among the rubble, back in 2 Kings. 22. And the first order of business which we started to read yesterday in chapter 23 of 2 Kings - he called all the people, great and small, together to hear the reading of the Book of the Covenant’ which had been found (2). It always starts...with the word of God: “In the beginning...God said...” (Gen. 1:1-3). “In the beginning...was the Word...” (John 1:1).

It starts...with a ‘seed’...which is...the ‘word of God’ (Luke 8:11) And without faith, it’s impossible to please God...and faith comes by hearing...the word of God’ (Heb.11:6; Rom. 10:17).

 

Friends...I would submit to you today, as I have time and time again ...the ‘law has been lost’, just as it was in the days of King Josiah before the Book was found in the House of the Lord. And because of our ignorance to what the ‘Book of the Law’ is all about, many lives have unraveled, suffered, and yes, even been ‘destroyed’ because of it.

The case can be made that when you are not taught the law of God, you don’t understand what ‘sin’ is. (1 John 3:4)

When you fail to understand what sin is, then you cannot understand God's judgement.(John 5:14; 1 Cor. 11:29-32)

And where there is no understanding of judgement, then why would anyone grasp the concept of the ‘fear of God’’? (Acts 5:1-11)

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge (Prov. 1:7)

And we should all know by now...“My people are destroyed for a lack of knowledge.” (Hosea 4:6)

Paul instructed Timothy: “Preach the Word!” (2 Tim. 4:2). And whatever you do, don’t ‘shun or shrink back from declaring the whole counsel of God’ (Acts 20:27). People today need to hear more than feel-good motivational messages, laced with heart-warming stories. And I’m not talking about countering with overly hyped, ‘in your face’ messages about ‘hell’ either, in order to produce some short-lived emotional response at some church altar. But...the ‘fear of the Lord’ is something we need to be taught (Ps. 34:11)

And I don’t know who needs to hear this, but if your attention is more drawn to all the political discourse and drama unfolding in the world today, and especially in our country, then your focus is on the wrong ‘kingdom’. Jesus made it clear that His kingdom was ‘not of this world’ (John 18:36; Col. 3:2). Whose kingdom are we to be ‘seeking first’? (Matt. 6:33) And a ‘good soldier of Christ Jesus does not...what, according to Paul? (2 Tim. 2:3-4). (More on that later)

So after King Josiah had the Book of the Law read to all the priests, prophets, and people, both small and great, we read the ‘king stood by a pillar and made a covenant before the Lord, to follow the Lord and to keep His commandments....with ALL his heart and ALL his soul, to perform the words of this covenant that were written in this book. And all the people took a stand for the covenant.” (3)

In the Bible, a pillar can symbolize God’s presence, support and stability. A pillar represents a strong foundation, both literal and metaphorically, not to mention signifying a witness and reminder of God’s power and guidance. I’ve heard it said before that any significant ‘starting point’ begins with ‘driving a stake into the ground’. For a broken-hearted soul, it is when that turn-around begins, which is what we call ‘repentance’. There is a beautiful picture of that found in the story of the prodigal son (Luke 15:17-20). For us, it often happens when we hit rock bottom and we are sick and tired of being...sick and tired, and are ready to truly ‘surrender all’. Whether this moment occurs for you at a church altar, walking a lonely path in the woods or a pasture, or slumped over the steering wheel of your car as you wipe away tears, never underestimate the power of a broken heart ready to be turned over to the only One who can heal and restore that heart.

Then...comes that moment when you roll up the sleeves, you ‘pick up your cross’...and you begin to follow and get about the business the ‘work’...that He came to do IN you. Welcome to ‘abiding in Jesus’. More tomorrow, Lord willing.