Proverbs 25:4
“Take away the dross from the silver, and there shall come forth a vessel for the finer.”
Several years ago I had the privilege of going to a refinery to see the smelting process for gold. The process was very interesting to someone who had never seen how they refined gold. They took a bucket of what looked like dirt and put it on a sifter, and what remained after they shook it was the larger chunks of what looked like little rocks. They then took what remained and put it in a furnace that had extreme heat. The heat revealed the real gold. You could see the gold and the dross separate from each other so that when it came out of the fire the gold was collected to be sold and the dross was thrown away.
Ezra 5:1
“Then the prophets, Haggai the prophet, and Zechariah the son of Iddo, prophesied unto the Jews that were in Judah and Jerusalem in the name of the God of Israel, even unto them.”
Every time I read this passage of Scripture, my heart is stirred because of the power that preaching had on the rebuilding of the temple. Most of my life has been about traveling and preaching in churches to help stir God’s people for revival. It is very evident that preaching was the key to the building of the temple and the wall. When you read the Book of Ezra, you see there were four results of preaching that you need in your life if you are going to live the successful Christian life.
Proverbs 23:15
“My son, if thine heart be wise, my heart shall rejoice, even mine.”
Every parent’s desire and concern for their child is that they turn out to be a wise person. Parents hope that their children are listening to their instruction and look for signs that they understand what they were taught. Trying to discern if your child has a wise heart is easily perceived if you know what you are looking for.
2 Chronicles 33:22
“But he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, as
did Manasseh his father: for Amon sacrificed unto all the carved images
which Manasseh his father had made, and served them;”
The verse above is a sad commentary of Amon. Amon chose to follow
the wrong example that his father set in sacrificing to carved images.
This wasn't the only example that Amon had to follow because Manasseh
got right with God and removed the strange gods and idols out of the
temple. Amon saw what the LORD did to his father when he sacrificed to
the false gods, and he also saw how God was intreated for his father
after his prayer of repentance. Sadly, instead of choosing the right
positions and actions of his father, he chose to follow the wrong
example of his father’s weakness.
2 Chronicles 31:20
“And thus did Hezekiah throughout all Judah, and wrought that which was good and right and truth before the LORD his God.”
If I told you that I have a guide that it would always help you to
make the right decisions, you would do anything to get your hands on
that guide if you had a heart for God. There are many Christians who
want to do right, but they face situations where they oftentimes don't
know what to do. The verse above is that guide. You can see that there
were three prerequisites that Hezekiah followed in determining his
actions.
2 Chronicles 23:11
“Then they brought out the king's son, and put upon him the crown, and gave him the testimony, and made him king. And Jehoiada and his sons anointed him, and said, God save the king.”
Before they ever put the crown on Joash’s head, several levels of protection had to be set up to protect him from Athaliah who wanted him dead. Jehoiada the priest understood that it was God’s will for Joash to keep the throne in Judah, so he risked his life and set up several levels of protection to keep this young child safe until the time that he was capable of ruling on the throne of Judah.
2 Chronicles 15:3
“Now for a long season Israel hath been without the true God, and without a teaching priest, and without law.”
Many of the troubles experienced in life are self-inflicted. Yes, we have troubles that come because of others, but many of our troubles could be averted if we didn't inflict them upon ourselves. The amazing part about self-inflicted troubles is that they are all a result of bad decisions. If we avoided bad decisions, we could avoid self-inflicted troubles.
2 Chronicles 10:4
“Thy father made our yoke grievous: now therefore ease thou somewhat the grievous servitude of thy father, and his heavy yoke that he put upon us, and we will serve thee.”
Everything has a pattern or mold that is used to replicate what was originally produced. When I was a young boy, I remember taking a mold that made plaster ornaments and pouring the ingredients into it. It was important that we took care of those molds because they were the pattern by which we made the ornaments we desired. If we broke the mold, we no longer were able to replicate what we wanted.
2 Chronicles 6:9
“Notwithstanding thou shalt not build the house; but thy son which shall come forth out of thy loins, he shall build the house for my name.”
In a world that is so concerned with building a legacy, it is sad that very few people are concerned with building a spiritual legacy. I am not talking about a legacy where others talk about you after you are gone, but building a legacy where your children carry on how you lived for God and do greater works for Him after you are gone. If there is any type of legacy you should try to build, it should be a spiritual legacy.
1 Thessalonians 5:12-13
“And we beseech you, brethren, to know them which labour among
you, and are over you in the Lord, and admonish you; And to esteem them
very highly in love for their work's sake. And be at peace among
yourselves.”
Throughout time, there has always been two extremes taken regarding
honoring people. There is one extreme that doesn't want to honor any
person because they believe all honor goes to God. They are right to the
degree that God deserves the credit for everything, but to never honor
people goes against scriptural principles.