QUESTION: And there was a born-again Christian, a banker by profession, a successful father of two kids, whose wife was a business woman. James served the Lord diligently with his life, his wealth, his time, his energy, his family and success. Then it came to pass that an investment bank, C-bank, sought to buy controlling shares in his bank. The rumour mill began to go round, ‘No one has ever stopped C-bank from taking over any company when they want to’ ‘Heads would roll if they succeed in their takeover bid’ ‘The deal is almost done’
James talked to his boss, who warned him of the probability of being made redundant. James had just taken out a mortgage with all his savings, and his wife’s business manager had just reported first quarter set-backs in the business, the company had just recorded unprecedented losses in sales.
What would James do?
Yes! You are tuned into the right channel, it’s THE WORD. It is with Jesus joy that I come to you today, to
share the word of God with you. Why don’t we have an interactive session? What should James do? How should he handle the situation? Can we be real?
James could be you, he could be me, or he could even be someone we both know.
Fact is 1 out of 5 people you know are silently going through a major crisis at the moment.
1 out of 7 are about to have a major crisis!
Perhaps you are reading this, and your situation is not entirely like James’ but you are UNDER SIEGE as well, UNDER SIEGE from WITHIN and from WITHOUT. Or maybe its even someone you know that is going through or about to go through this……
May I ask; what do we do when we are UNDER SIEGE?
Some say ‘we pray’ But how do we do so precisely? Many questions… so why don’t we go into the word of God, where TRUE answers are found.
(Isaiah 37:14)
“And Hezekiah received the letter from the hand of the messengers, and read it; and Hezekiah went up unto the house of the Lord, and spread it before the Lord”
Can I talk to James? Can I hook up with some real people today?
Maybe you have just received a letter, an e-mail, or a phone call that brought sweat beads to your forehead, and is taking sleep from you daily, the Lord has sent me to deliver you today, E-MAIL from ABOVE!,
Would you open it? Perhaps you are reading this; you go to bed tired, you wake up tired, and life is intimidating you, throwing questions at you that you can’t handle; threats, insults, mental fatigue, loneliness, fear….
The Lord has sent me to tell you; THIS WORD is for YOU! Can I go on?
Hezekiah had made a good king in Judah, he cleansed Judah from idol worship and won independence from all the powerful nations around him. Hezekiah served the Lord and trusted him in all his matters.
‘There was no one like him among all the kings of Judah, either before him or after him’ (2Ki 18:5)
But then came the Assyrians!! At that time, Assyria was the world’s super power and they had embarked on a campaign of DESTRUCTION; to CONQUER, ANNIHILATE and to OCCUPY.
Wherever they went, they left a trail of genocide, they exterminated their enemies, destroyed lands and properties, and NO NATION was able to stop their TAKE’ OVER bids.
Assyria cut a swarthy path through history, its armies smashed into Judah, levelling 46 walled cities and carrying away over 200,000 captives.
‘Behold thou hast heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all lands by destroying them utterly, and shalt thou be delivered? Have the gods of the nations delivered them which my fathers have destroyed? Where is the king of Harmath, and Arphad, and Sephavaim, Hena and Ivah?’ (Isaiah 37:11-13)
They besieged Judah and began to intimidate the people of God. The problems became a reality, the facts could no longer be ignored, Jerusalem was under siege, and the city appeared to be set for doom.
Hezekiah, God’s own servant, was LOSING control. Hezekiah, God’s obedient child was facing ridicule!
The warlords had succeeded in breaking down the defences of the people, for ‘Sennacherib came up against all the fenced cities of Judah and took them’ (2Ki 18:13) and he began to demand huge sums of money from Hezekiah, branding him a ‘bird in a cage’
Is there anyone who serving the Lord but is overwhelmed by the circumstances?
Is there anyone playing out a different script from the one he ‘received’ from scriptures?
Anyone wondering why IT is NOT going as planned?
Anyone who’s just realised that he or she cannot FIX IT and feels, IT, is SLIPPING out of his or her hands?
Is there anyone in the house?
For Hezekiah, the OUTCOME was DEFINED, the END IMMINENT, so: “…….Hezekiah went up unto the house of the Lord and spread it before the Lord”
Hezekiah SPREAD IT before the Lord and James pondered the TAKE OVER BID.
Hezekiah was losing grip upon his dominion and James was about to be SENT onto the streets of unemployment.
Hezekiah’s kingdom was UNDER SIEGE, the walls were closing in on him and James was UNDER SIEGE, distressed with the earth, giving way gradually under him …..
Pr18:10 says ‘The name of the Lord is a strong tower, the righteous RUN into it and are safe”
Hezekiah RAN into it, he went on his KNEES and he CRIED out to the Lord. 1Thes 5:16 says ‘Have no anxiety about anything but with prayer and thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God’