Let’s turn in our Bibles to II Chronicles, chapter sixteen. When king Asa began his reign in Judah, he initiated certain spiritual reforms, drawing the people back to God, and thus his reign was a period of national prosperity. But then, the nation was threatened by a massive invasion of people from the African states. An army of over one million men, armed with their chariots, invaded the land of Israel. Asa was out numbered two to one.
So Asa sought the Lord, and he said, “Lord it is nothing for you to help, whether those that are weak, or those that are strong. Help us, O Lord, for in your name, we’re gonna go out to face this enemy. Lord, don’t let man prevail against you”. So, he committed himself fully to being on the Lord’s side. “Lord it’s in your name, we’re going out. Lord we’re trusting in you.” Asa went out, and the Lord gave to his troops tremendous victory. They routed the enemy and they were able to take much spoil from war. All of the supplies that had been brought to feed and to take care of the million man army were captured by Asa.
So as they were coming back victorious, happy, wealthy with the spoils of war, the prophet of God came out to meet the victorious armies, and gave them the message of the Lord, which basically is, “The Lord is with you, while you be with Him; and if you seek Him, He will be found of you; but if you forsake Him, He will forsake you”. The people were thrilled. Asa initiated even further spiritual reforms in the land of Judah, and seemed to have a long, prosperous reign.
But now, towards the end of his reign, the kingdom has become very strong, and very powerful. He had been able to make military alliances with other nations. In the sixteenth chapter we read that…
In the thirty sixth year of the reign of Asa that Baasha the king of Israel came up against Judah, and they built Ramah, to the intent that he might let none go out or come in to Asa king of Judah (16:1).
So the northern kingdom of Israel, king Baasha built this fortified city on the main trade route, to stop all supplies from coming into Israel from the north. This was a threat to the nation of Judah, and thus…
Asa took silver and gold out of the treasures of the house of the Lord and out of the king’s house, and he sent them to Benhadad the king of Syria, who was dwelling at Damascus, and he said, We have a league between us, it was between your father and my father: and behold, I am sending you silver and gold; and I want you to go, and break your league with Baasha the king of Israel, that he may depart from me. And so Benhadad hearkened unto king Asa, he sent the captains of his armies against the cities of Israel; and they smote Ijon, and Dan, and Abelmaim, and all the store cities of Naphtali. And so it came to pass, when Baasha heard of this invasion from the north, that he left off the building of the city of Ramah, and he let the work cease (16:2-5).
In order that he might send his troops to the north to defend themselves from this invasion of Syria.
Then Asa the king took all of Judah; and they carried away the stones of Ramah, the timber thereof, wherewith Baasha was building; and he built therewith the cities of Geba and Mizpah (16:6).
So it would seem that the strategy worked. Baasha the king of Israel, had made this threat of war by building the fortified city. But he, taking the money, bought the help of Syria, who attacked the nation of Israel from the north, that required of course the troops that were building this fortified city, to go north to defend, and thus they were able to move into this city of Ramah that was being built, take the timbers and stones, and build a couple of cities for Judah. Successful strategy. He’s probably feeling very smug, very proud, able to take care of himself, and to save Judah from this threat of the nation of Israel.
But at that time Hanani [the prophet] the seer came to Asa the king of Judah, and he said unto him, Because you have relied on the king of Syria, and not relied on Jehovah thy God, therefore is the host of the king of Syria escaped out of your hand. Were not the Ethiopians and the Lubims a huge host, with very many chariots and horsemen? yet, because you relied on Jehovah, he delivered them into your hand (16:7-8).
So Asa is being rebuked by the prophet of God. Even though the strategy was successful, the prophet of God is rebuking him, for relying upon the arm of flesh, rather than relying upon the Lord. Relying upon the mutual defense paths, upon the treaties. The prophet reminds him that when he first came into the kingdom, in the earlier years, he faced, and the nation faced a much greater threat. When the Ethiopians, and the Lubims with a million men, three hundred chariots, twelve thousand horsemen, had come against them. “But because you relied upon the Lord, the Lord gave you the victory over them. Now you’ve relied upon the flesh, your clever strategies, and you haven’t trusted in the Lord.”
There is always a danger of prosperity and there’s always a danger of success, and there’s always the danger of developing military strength, and military might. And, the danger is that of trusting in the arm of the flesh, rather than trusting in the Lord. That idea and that feeling that, “I can handle it. I can do it”. I have found in my own personal life, that the Lord wants to give me victory over the areas where my flesh dominates. The Lord will show to me an area of my flesh, that He wants brought to the cross. The areas where there’s still much Chuck Smith, and He wants that to be taken care of. And, when the Lord shows me these areas, my general tendency is, “Well Lord, I understand that’s got to go. That is not like you. I haven’t really realized that before, but thank you for revealing it, and Lord, I’ll take care of it. I’ll have it whipped by next Saturday.” And I only get worse! I try, and I struggle, and I count ten, and I go through all of the routines you know, to try to bring that area of the flesh under control. After a long struggle, and defeat, then I cry, “Oh Lord help me! Lord, I can’t do it. Lord, I need your help”. The Lord then takes over.
Now a lot of times, I make a mistake at this point, as the Lord begins to take over, and begins to free me, I often make the mistake of saying, “I knew I could!”. So, He lets me fall back, and struggle again for awhile, until I come to that place saying, “Lord I just can’t do it. Lord it’s not in me, Lord please help me!”. Paul the apostle went through this experience in his walk. He describes it in the seventh chapter of the book of Romans, where there seemed to be a perverse law that was working within him, that whenever he would do good, evil was present with him. So that the good that he would, he did not do, and that which he would not allow, he was doing. He went through this struggle until he finally cried, “Oh wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me from this body of flesh?”. In his cry for deliverance from without, he found the answer, and the Lord delivered, through the power of the Spirit, Romans, chapter eight.
Now you would think that, that would be a once in a lifetime kind of experience. “I’ve learned my lesson! I can’t do it, but the Lord is able. Blessed be the name of the Lord!” So the Lord shows me then, another area of the flesh, and I say, “Oh Lord, I really learned the last time how to do these things. I can handle this one now.” And, again I struggle, and I experience the defeat. I experience my own weakness. I need to come where Paul came, to the realization that, “I know in me, that is in my flesh, there dwelleth no good thing”. God has one edict for my flesh, and that’s the cross. “Know ye not that the old man was crucified with Christ, that the body of sin might be katargeo, put out of business.” I have been crucified with Christ, and God has the one edict for my flesh, and that’s, bring it to the cross, and by the Spirit, mortify the deeds of the flesh, that I might live. But somehow I am a slow-learner in this realm. It seems that every time that I’m facing a situation, my first inclination is to try to do it myself. Then to experience the failure of myself, crying unto the Lord, and finding that He can do what I could not do. He has done for me so many wonderful things, has worked in my life in such wonderful ways.
Now when I see that it was God that did it, and I realize I couldn’t do it, I then, don’t go around bragging on what I have done. All I can do is give glory and give credit to God for what He has done. So it eliminates boasting. I can’t boast in what I am, or what I have done. It was the Lord that has worked in me, after my total failure. Thus I can only give the glory to God, for the victories that He has wrought in my life, in the areas of the flesh.
The second effect of this, realizing that it is the Lord, that I could not do it myself, I failed, but the Lord came through and helped me, the second effect of that is, I then cannot judge someone else who has the same problem in their flesh. I can’t turn up my nose and say, “I don’t know how they can just continue doing that!”. I do know how they can continue doing that, you see, I continued until the Lord took over, and delivered me, and helped me. I tried, I cried, I struggled, I vowed, I promised, but all to no avail until the Spirit of God moved in, and gave me His strength and His victory. So it keeps me from being judgmental on the weaknesses of others. Because I know that apart from the help of God, you just can’t do it. Maybe that’s why God just lets me keep going through these experiences. So that it keeps reminding me that our body, the body of flesh, is rotten to the core. There’s only one thing for it, crucify it, bring it to the cross, and reckon yourself to be dead with Christ, that you might be alive unto God through the Spirit.
Asa, in the beginning of his career, recognizing that he was not sufficient, to face the huge host of the Ethiopians, called unto the Lord, put himself on the Lord’s side, received the help of the Lord. God brought him victory.
Now, strong, rich, powerful, the threat comes from the northern kingdom of Israel, and he uses strategies, military alliances, his wealth to buy him out of the problem. And, the prophet of God rebukes him, for having begun in the Spirit, he is now going to try to be made perfect in the flesh. He’s gonna resort to the flesh, and this is always a dangerous trend. Whenever you fall back into the area of the flesh, the human wisdom, the human strategies, rather than trusting in the Lord, you’re putting yourself in a dangerous position. So the prophet of God comes out.
Now, when he came back from victory over the Ethiopians, the prophet of God met him, and he received the prophet of God. The prophet said, “The Lord is with you, while you’ll be with him; if you seek Him, He’ll be found of you; if you forsake Him, He’ll forsake you.” “Oh, honor the prophet, praise the Lord, glory, let’s have a revival!” You know. Now the prophet of God comes to him once again, he’s been victorious once more. The troops have gone out, they’ve dismantled this fortified city of Ramah, they’ve built a couple of cities. The king of Israel has his hands full with Benhadad up in the north. But the prophet comes out again, and this time, the prophet rebukes him for relying upon his own strategies, rather than relying upon the Lord. And, Asa this time, rather than receiving the word of the prophet, verse ten…
He was angry with the seer, and he put him in prison; he was in a rage with him because of this. And he began to oppress some of the people at the same time (16:10).
Now you wonder, having begun so well, how could these changes transpire? This is however, the heart of the message, and I’m going to go back now to verse nine, which we deliberately jumped. I want to go back, because the heart of the message of the prophet gives us an insight into God, into prayer, and into how God gives, that revolutionized my own prayer life, when I discovered it.
In verse nine this seer Hanani said…
For the eyes of Jehovah run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew himself strong in the behalf of those whose heart is perfect towards him. [And then the prophet said,] Because you’ve done this: from now on [man] you’re gonna have trouble, you have done a foolish thing and as the result for the rest of your life you’re gonna be troubled (16:9).
“Having trusted in the flesh, trusting in the arm of the flesh, the Lord will just let you paddle your own boat from here on, and it’s gonna be tough.” But the principle of how God gives. With man, there probably are three basic kind of givers, with varieties in each category.
If we were the kind of church that went out to solicit funds, and thank God we’re not! But, if we were, and in building our new gymnasium to meet the needs of the young people within the congregation, to have a facility where the people can gather and can have recreation. A multi-purpose kind of a facility that is going to serve many purposes for the church. If we were going to go to the community to solicit funds for the building of this gymnasium, and let me make it clear, we’re not. We already have the money in the bank. We’re not gonna even dun you for anything. God’s already provided, as He always has. But if we were going to you know, print up these fancy brochures, and then go out into the community to solicit community support, go to the neighboring stores, and all, and point out some of the problems that we’re having with juveniles in this area, kids really don’t have much recreation. We’re gonna have this glorious facility, the kids can come in, in the afternoon, and they’ll have supervised recreation, and it’ll you know, keep them off the streets, and it’ll be, you know… You go and you have this whole program, the brochure, the need and so forth, and what it’s gonna do. You go to the business community. You would find that there would be first of all, those men that you would approach, and you would tell them all about the proposed plans, and they would listen to you perhaps a little reluctantly at first, they don’t really want to be bothered, but as you sell the program, you’ve really got a, a excellent program, and you’ve got good salesmanship. As they listen, they become interested, and finally they say, “Well that’s great! I think that is a splendid idea. I would like to have a part of it”. Of course, you tell them that if they want to give a check, you’ll have a reporter there from the newspaper, and he’ll take a picture and they can get their name, and their store’s name, “We’ll take it in front of your store here, where we can get the sign you know. And, it’ll be news and people will know that you’re interested in community projects. Of course your competitor down the street has given a thousand dollars, and so, you know…”. You give them the ol’ business, so the guy writes out his check. He’s been sold.
The second basic category is the person that as soon as he is aware of the need, and you’ve made him aware. All you have to do is just say, “Hey, we’ve got a need. We need a gymnasium. Kids are running on the streets. They need supervised play, and so forth, and so we planned this”, and all, and he says, “Oh that’s great!”. He writes out the check. You don’t have to really sell him, you just have to inform him of the need that is there, and he’s ready to contribute.
But there is a third type of giver. The man who maybe grew up on the streets. Who got into a lot of trouble when he was a kid. There wasn’t any recreation. There wasn’t anything planned for him within the community, and thus he began to devise his own means of entertainment, and it wasn’t always good. Spent a few of his early years in juvenile hall, but now that he’s grown and matured, he’s become successful in business, he’s become very wealthy. He has more than he needs for himself, and he sees these kids that are in the same condition that he was in when he was a kid. He thinks, “My it would be wonderful if there was some kind of a recreational program for these young people. It would be so great if they had someplace where they could go, and they could be supervised in their recreation. They could have something that would really build character into them. So he starts looking around to see what is being done, or what can be done. As he is looking around, he comes across your plans. He’s excited! What you’re planning to do is what he has wanted to do! This is something that he can really get behind, and so you get a check in the mail. Totally unsolicited. Handsome, healthy check to help in your project. He’s been looking for a place to invest his funds that would take care of this situation that he can see existing among the young people.
Now of these three types of givers, which do you think comes closest to God, as God gives to us? To listen to a lot of our prayers, you’d say, “Number one”. Give Him a good sales pitch. My early life of prayer was just that. Sales pitches. “Now Lord, you can’t lose on this one! Because if you’ll do this for me, this is what I’m gonna do for you. You just help me get this little three window, 36 Ford black coupe, with the twin spots, and the twin antennas and all, and Lord, every Sunday, I’ll go around and pick up my friends, and take em to church. How can you lose?” Course I also envisioned myself driving past Santa Ana High, with those Smitty mufflers and just sort of letting off on them, and let em bark you know, five days a week. “But Sunday Lord, it’ll be your little chariot, taking kids to church. How can you lose God?” Well, evidently He saw how He could. I never did get it! Ha, ha, ha! But it was, oh I’ll tell ya, my prayer life, it was, it was a real sales pitch! I used to feel that I had to somehow convince God of the validity of the thing that I was desiring. My prayers were just that. Sales pitches, trying to urge, force, cajole God into seeing it my way. Pressure tactics. Like the little Catholic boy who was praying for the bike, nothing was forthcoming. The bike didn’t come, and he kept praying. Finally, he went in and got the statue of Mary, and he says, “Do you want to ever see your mother again?” My prayers were something like that! Try to force God to do it our way.
There are others who think of God as giving like the second basic kind of giver. Prayer time, is information time. I’m informing God of all of my needs, and surely as soon as God knows my problems, and my needs, He’ll come through. So I spend my prayer time as information time. Informing God of my needs. But it is interesting that Jesus said, “Your Father knows what you need before you ever ask Him”. He really doesn’t need to be informed of my needs.
In reality this scripture points out that God gives more like the third person in our illustration. “For the eyes of the Lord are going to and fro throughout the entire earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose hearts are perfect towards Him.” What does that say? God is looking for a place to invest His resources! God is wanting to do a work. He is just looking for people who are in harmony with that which He wants to do, in order that He might channel through them, His resources.
I think that we make a mistake many times, in trying to direct the flow of the Spirit. We build the channels, and we say, “Okay Lord, now flow through this channel”, and we are out there directing the channels, so that we can direct the flow of God’s Spirit. We get out and we develop our programs, and our whole strategies, and we say, “Now God, bless this program”. And our prayer meetings are all, “Bless the program that we’ve got all devised here Lord. Make this program successful”. I think that it would be to our advantage, and far wiser, rather than to try to redirect the flow of the Spirit, is to find out where the Spirit is flowing, and get in the flow of the Spirit. Basically, God is looking for people who are in the flow. People are doing what He wants done. People are in harmony with His purposes, and His will, and when God finds such, then He uses them, to channel His resources through them. Your life becomes rich, and blessed, because God just continues to flow through you, the resources, the infinite resources. Because you are doing what God wants done. Your heart, perfect towards Him. Doing the things that God desires to do, and to get done upon the earth, then your life becomes just a channel, and it just is a continual flow. It’s glorious! It’s glorious!
You don’t have to get out and, and trust in the arm of flesh. You don’t have to get out and beg people for finances. You don’t have to get on TV and say, “Please send us your money!”. Because, you’re not trusting in the flesh, or the arm of the flesh, you’re trusting in the eternal God, and you’re in the flow of what God wants done. Thus, He has been looking for someone who would be in this flow, heart perfect towards Him. God is looking for such people. “The eyes of the Lord go to and fro throughout the entire earth, to show Himself strong on the behalf of those whose hearts are perfect towards Him.”
So the key is just get your heart in harmony with God’s heart. Your life in harmony with God’s purpose, and God’s will, and your life will become, just blessed, enriched. As God, then begins to channel through you, His resources. Tremendous message to Asa. But, he wasn’t ready to receive it. His fleshly stratagem worked. He was proud of what he had done, and he wasn’t ready for the rebuke of God. Thus, he was in a rage, because he had been told that he had done a very foolish thing. “From the result of it, you’re gonna have problems from here on out. As long as you’re trusting in the flesh, you’re gonna have problems. As long as you’re trying to work things out in the flesh, you’re gonna have problems.” Angry, in a rage, he ordered Hanani in prison, and he began then to oppress some of the people.
And, behold, the acts of Asa, the first and the last, lo, are they not written in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel. And Asa in the thirty ninth year of his reign was diseased in his feet, until his disease was exceeding great: yet in his disease he sought not to the Lord, but to the physicians. And he slept with his fathers, and died in the forty first year of his reign (16:11-13).
Now the inference of the text, is that had he sought the Lord, it is quite possible that the Lord would’ve healed him. But he continued to rely upon the arm of the flesh, rather than to rely upon the Lord. He had established a pattern of looking to the flesh, and fleshly means for help, rather than looking to God. It is always sad, when a person that has begun in the Spirit, like the foolish Galatians, seek to be perfected in the flesh.
They buried him in his own sepulchre, which he had made for himself in the city of David, and laid him in the bed which was filled with sweet odours and with divers kind of spices that were prepared by the apothecaries art: and they made a very great burning for him (16:14).

Chapter 17
So it brings us to the ascension of Jehoshaphat as the king in chapter seventeen. The son of Asa.
Jehoshaphat his son reigned in his stead, and he strengthened himself against Israel. [The northern kingdom.] And he placed forces in all of the fenced cities of Judah, he set garrisons in the land of Judah, and in the cities of Ephraim, which Asa [had taken] his father had taken (17:1-2).
So he, coming to the throne, he began to again, fortify himself, especially against the northern kingdom.
And the Lord was with Jehoshaphat, because he walked in the first ways of his father [Like Asa did in the beginning. He went back to those first ways. You know it is interesting that so often the first ways, are the best. You remember when Jesus was addressing Himself in the book of Revelation to the church at Ephesus, He said, “You’ve got a lot of works, you’ve got a lot of things going for you, you’ve got discernment and these other things, but I have this against you, you have left your first love. Remember from whence you are fallen, and repent and return and do thy first works over. Or else I will remove the candlestick out of it’s place”. Which of course was the presence of Christ within the church. “I’ll take my presence away from you.” But, again they were being called back to the first love.
Jeremiah said, “Stand in the ways and see”. In other words, stop, look, look, look at your life, evaluate. And he said, “And then ask for the old paths, wherein is the good way, and you will find rest for your souls”. It is so tragic, that in so many cases, like that of Galatia, where people have begun in the Spirit. Denominations have begun in the Spirit, churches have begun in the Spirit, but as they grow strong, and powerful, and big, they then seek to be perfected in the flesh. “We don’t have to trust in the Lord anymore. Thank God we can trust in our organizational abilities, or we can trust in our bank accounts, or we can trust in our giant trust funds that we have set up, and we don’t have to trust the Lord anymore.” That is a sad and tragic day for any church. Having begun in the Spirit, where we then seek to be perfected in the flesh. So the Lord, and it seems to be a constant kind of a problem for people in relating to God. They begin the relationship in the Spirit, they begin it in the excitement of the Spirit. “Like Israel”, God said, “I remember the first love there in the wilderness when you were writing on your tents, ‘Holiness unto the Lord’, and you were so excited about your love for me. What did I do wrong that you should turn your back and your heart against me?” But that is the sad tragedy of patterns that seem to be perennial patterns. Having begun trusting in the Lord, having been made strong by the Lord, then trusting then in that strength that you now have. Being made rich by the Lord, now trusting in the riches that you have, rather than to continue to trust in the Lord. So Jehoshaphat evidently was a keen and astute observer of his father, and he went back to the first ways of his father, in walking with the Lord,] and he sought not unto Baalim (17:3);
The gods of the Canaanites.
But he sought the Lord the God of his father, and walked in his commandments, and not after the northern kingdom of Israel. Therefore the Lord established the kingdom in his hand; and all of Judah brought to Jehoshaphat their presents; and he had riches and honor in abundance (17:4-5).
“If you seek the Lord, He will be found of you. The Lord is with you, while you be with Him.” And so it was.
And his heart was lifted up in the ways of the Lord: moreover he took away the high places and the Ashorems out of Judah. [More spiritual reform.] And in the third year of his reign he sent to the princes, even to Bengali, and Obadiah, and Zechariah, and to Nathaniel, and to Michaiah, to teach in the cities of Judah. And he sent with them the Levites, Shemaiah, and Nethaniah, and Zebadiah, and Asahel, [And these other names which don’t mean anything to you, or to me.] And they taught in Judah, and had the book of the law of the Lord with them, and he went about throughout all the cities of Judah, and taught the people (17:6-9).
Tremendous! Not only is he walking with the Lord, not only has he gotten rid of the false gods and so forth, you’ve gotta replace it you see. Because people innately are gonna worship something. It’s just in the nature of man. And so teach them about God, that they might worship God in spirit and in truth. So he went around taking the law, sent these Levites around, sent these men around, to teach the people the ways of the Lord. How to walk in the path of the Lord. Very wise and prudent move.
And the fear of the Lord [The result of the teaching of the scripture. “The fear of the Lord”,] fell upon all of the kingdoms of the land that were round about Judah, so that they made no war against Jehoshaphat (17:10).
He taught the people, they became strong in the things of the Lord, and thus the nations round about respected what they were, and what God had done. None of them would attack. He had peace as the result of this strong spiritual movement. Being spiritually fortified. “The Lord is with you, while you’ll be with Him.” He followed this, and was experiencing a period of peace.
And some of the Philistines [even, the perennial enemy] brought Jehoshaphat presents, and tribute silver; and the Arabs brought him flocks, seven thousand seven hundred rams, and seven thousand seven hundred he goats. And Jehoshaphat waxed great exceedingly; and he built in Judah castles, and cities of store. [Or warehouses.] And he had much business in the cities of Judah: and the men of war, mighty men of valour, were in Jerusalem. And the numbers according to their fathers: Of Judah, the captains of thousands; was Adnah the chief, and with him he had three hundred thousand mighty men of valour. Next to him was Jehohanan the captain, and two hundred and eighty thousand men. And next to him was Amasiah the son of Zichri, who willingly offered himself unto the Lord; and with him there were two hundred thousand mighty men of valour. Then from the tribe of Benjamin; there was Eliada a mighty man of valour, and with him armed men with bow and shield two hundred thousand. And next to him was Jehozabad, and with him a hundred and eighty thousand ready and prepared for the war. And these waited on the king, besides those whom the king put in the fenced cities throughout all of Judah (17:11-19).
So again we see that relationship with God. Trusting in God. Teaching the people the ways of God, brought him the place of strength and peace, success and prosperity, security. In Psalm one, David said, “Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful. But whose delight is in the law of the Lord.” He sent the men around to teach the people the law of the Lord. “Whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law does he meditate day and night. For he shall be like a tree that’s planted by the rivers of water. Bringing forth its fruit in its season. His leaf also shall not wither, and whatever he does will prosper.”
Put God first in your life. Seek the Lord first in your life. Seek to walk in the ways of the Lord. And if you seek the Lord, He will be found of you. You will be blessed, and you will experience the strength of the Lord, you’ll experience the help of the Lord, you’ll experience the peace of the Lord, and the blessings of the Lord upon your life. God is looking for people whose hearts are perfect towards Him. May God help us to be those people, in order that God might be able to do the things that He’s wanting to do. May we be open, and sensitive, and obedient.
We certainly want to thank the Lord for the blessings of this day. What a work of God’s Spirit, we’ve been privileged to see! Just the joy, and the blessing of being in that place where God is working, and having the privilege of seeing the work of God.
Now as you go, may you continue to seek the Lord. May you be open to the things of the Spirit, and may the Spirit bring you into harmony with the purposes of God. That this week, God might be able to use your life in the accomplishing of His purposes, as you walk with a heart that is perfect towards Him. May your life be enriched in all things in Christ Jesus. May you grow up and mature into that person that He wants you to be, to the measure, the stature, the fullness of the image of Christ, and may Christ dwell in your hearts through faith. May the Spirit continue His work of bringing you into conformity with the image of Jesus, for His glory.

Edited & Highlighted from “The Word For Today” Transcription, Pastor Chuck Smith, Tape #7135
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