good morning church family and ministry friends I'm Pastor Steven Brooks and welcome today to our online Internet church service I am so happy that you're here and I invite you to grab your Bibles and join me today as we open up the word of God and the Holy Spirit brings the Word of God into its living reality that it actually is praise God it's the Living Word this is our daily bread this is the food that we live by which is God's Word now today let's take our Bibles and go to the book of 2nd chronicles chapter 1 and we're going to spend some time today in this book of 2nd chronicles let's turn the chapter 1 let's drop down to verse 7 and we're going to receive the tithes and offerings we're gonna bring them into the storehouse of God but let me just give you a couple of scriptures from chapter 1 that will really help you with your money and with your finances 2nd chronicles chapter 1 verse 7 on that night God appeared to Solomon and said to him ask what shall I give you now I I know that we've read the story we know what he's going to ask for but I would still have to think that if the Lord Jesus appeared in a vision to many of God's people and said what do you want I'll take your order right now anything you ask you know I'm God I have the ability to cash to check what is it you want I think a lot of people would ask for money even though they know the story about Solomon he's gonna ask for wisdom and for knowledge I think even still having read the story and heard of it in church and ministers teach on it I think still probably 95 percent of Christians would still ask for money why why would they do that when they know that Solomon went a different route and ended up with all the money they they just still don't understand the power of God's wisdom that God's wisdom which is the wisdom that is above all wisdom is so amazing that if you have wisdom the wisdom of God you're gonna get you're gonna get everything else but I think even still having said that and you know this having been taught not just by myself by other good ministers I still think most Christians would ask God for money if Jesus appeared to them and said what is it what do you want just like he did the Salomon well let's talk about this for a few minutes verse 10 here's the response now give me wisdom and knowledge he said a few things before that just to basically in a sense acknowledged the Lord's coming his appreciation for that and just for the opportunity to have this special moment then he goes into his answer to the Lord now give me wisdom and knowledge because after all if he's going to ask you what is it you want you need to have a response because he's presenting it to you it'd be rude to say don't Lord I don't need anything that's just a bunch of false humility sometimes you see that the church is well but when you do have the Lord asking you a question particularly wanting to give you something there does need to be a you know an honest response from our heart Solomon says now give me wisdom and knowledge that I may go out and come in before this people for for who can judge this great people of yours well if you had to lead a couple of million people that's definitely something that you would want then God said to Solomon because this was in your heart and you have not asked riches or wealth or honour or the life of your enemies nor have you asked a long life but have asked wisdom and knowledge for yourself that you may judge my people over whom I have made you King wisdom and knowledge are granted to you and I will give you riches and wealth and honor such as none of the kings have had who were before you nor shall any after you have the like well we know that out of this vision experience he had with the Lord that you know it's just the very next moment when he's reigning this king and you know when people say well you know how do we know he really got something well they was proven within within just you know like a few hours of waking up after this encounter with the Lord through up through a dream a vision at night because right after that you have the two harlots that came before Solomon to get judgment because you know they were both to sleep at night and basically one rolled over on the child and killed the child and then there was the swap and then it's like who does - who does the baby really belong to because we're hearing two different stories here and the wisdom of Solomon was displayed right there in front of the people and when they saw his answer when they saw what he did that proved who was the real mother well they're like well he's got it he's got wisdom so you really need to go after the wisdom of God because it will help you in that that's an understatement but it will help you dramatically with your money you can make a good income you can have a lot of money coming in a strong income stream you could even have money coming in from multiple streams but still have a mess because just of a lack of wisdom of how to appropriate the money how to make proper application with what's given to you you need the wisdom of God not just to see prosperity generated but to also see it preserved in the sea it multiplied to see it properly steward so I want to encourage you to go after the wisdom of God even in the New Testament when you see the prayers of Paul which are prayers that are inspired by the Holy Spirit which is why you can still pray them today for yourself and for others but the really the greatest prayer is Ephesians chapter one and it is a prayer that God the Father would give to us the spirit of what wisdom that's the first thing and the first prayer mentioned in the epistles but the first thing that comes up is that we would receive the spirit of wisdom and revelation revelation being the pulling back of a veil in the knowledge of him who is him Jesus so the number one prayer from a New Testament perspective starts out with Heavenly Father I pray that you would give unto me the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Jesus Wow what in other words what would Jesus do with the money if the money were in his hands how would Jesus spend it how would he save it how would he type how would he sow seed how would he give offerings because he just got it right every single time and if you'll tie into his wisdom you'll start getting it right every single time as well so you know pursue the Lord for wisdom and when because you know he's not going to give you what you can't handle I know the lottery system out there doesn't tell you that and I know the world doesn't tell you that the world just tells you just just get it and then figure out what to do with it no no business operates that on principles like that mm-hmm you have to know what you're doing no gigantic corporation is going to elect a new CEO who doesn't know where to take the company to have a plan for how to get to company into that place of greater prosperity no no no corporation rewards anybody like that God doesn't reward anybody like that the lottery system is a fraudulent system I think I think when States and I know our state does North Carolina has an has a state lottery I think when a state does that they're actually abusing their own people I think it's awful because you're preying on the ignorance of people you're preying on the unenlightened mental and I wish states wouldn't do that but you know they're they're taking advantage of people's ignorance for those that are foolish enough to engage in such a rigged system rigged against them but you know that people do things like that because they don't know God they don't even if they're Christians they don't know the power of the Covenant so they're just trying anything to get ahead and if you will walk in the wisdom of God which is very contrary to the wisdom of the world you will begin to tap into an unshakable source and that source is gone and every blessing originates from him and flows from him if you tie into him now you're on solid ground regardless of the recession's and the market swings the up-and-down cycles of the economy that it's that it goes through God will help you to stay on top every single time but stop and think about the wisdom of God just for a moment when Isaac was facing a situation when there was famine in the land Isaac with the wisdom of God went out and so during times of famine what the Philistines do the Philistines representing the knowledge of the world the wisdom of the world and the world's way of doing things they laughed at him the probably thought he lost his mind but there laughter turned to jealousy when they saw the tremendous harvest that God gave him literally a hundred fold and suddenly they're not laughing but don't expect the Philistines to understand it don't expect the world to understand the wisdom of God its veiled from them just as the gospel is veiled from them and so our job is to preach the gospel to them and as people come in to the gospel they get saved they're born again then as they continue to seek the Lord the Lord begins to unlock the covenant to those talking about the Covenant of prosperity the Covenant that gets you into the blessings of God he begins to unveil it to those who are hungry and who seek him with all of their hearts praise the Lord forever but the wisdom of God is very contrary in many ways to what the world does so while we're in the world we're not of the world we're operating on a higher higher standard we're operating on a higher system actually it's much higher it's designed for eternity praise the Lord and all of this knowledge in God in Christ begins at the point of salvation so if you don't know the Lord Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior you need to ask him to come into your heart right now wash your sins away and receive him by faith as your Lord and Savior and you begin to get on the true blessing path that leads to heaven glory to God and for those of you that are already in Christ don't play the gimmicks don't play all the things out there that are really only profiting those who are pushing all the you know all the trinkets of the world and all that you know whether it's the lottery system or whether it's you know some kind of penny stock you know I heard Christians are they talking about a any stock which I thought was silly then I found out which stop stop they're talking about and of course it would have it would have it would happen to be a cannabis stock so here here's the desperate Christians who won't work the Covenant so they're over here messing with the penny stock and the one you know you shouldn't be messing with junk like that unless the Holy Spirit told you to but is that's really junk you know no serious investors are going to touch stuff like that but of all the stocks they're putting their money in there they're investing in the marijuana why that they just don't know the Covenant so they're just desperate they're trying all kinds of crazy crazy hairbrained schemes to get money the last thing you'll see believers doing the last thing you'll see believers doing who play the lottery and are just trying to get rich through whatever it takes to do it the last thing you'll ever see them do is so in the time of famine they'll agree with the world that's crazy and that's why they're blocked that's why they don't ever step into the rich blessings they're just always messing around with the Philistine stuff praise God my friends I want to encourage you get on God's system begins with salvation but then the salvation salvation ties you into the eternal life of Christ there's two sides of Jesus there's the person of Jesus that creates your peace but there are the principles of Jesus that's what creates your prosperity and you can be saved and on your way to heaven and be broke or be suffering financially or never have enough money or have some but it's just you know you know you're swimming in the shallow end of the pool but really the way you get into the rich blessing is you work his principles because it's his principles that create your prosperity praise the Lord okay so jump into the deep end of the pool today be a tiger and sow seed as the Holy Spirit leads you to do so praise God hallelujah the tide by the way that for those that may not know is 10 percent of all the money of all the wealth that would come into your life yeah even if you sold something at the garage sale god says a tenth of that is mine praise God so honored the Lord and you'll start going up and you'll start also seeing how how you don't need all of the junk of the world you don't need to do Harebrained Schemes you don't need to do wild crazy ideas just work the Covenant work the Covenant and God will start lifting you up all right so let's bring the tithes and offerings now into the storehouse of God so that the gospel may be preached into the four corners of the world hallelujah if you're mailing your tithes and offerings in please send them to Steven Brooks international peel box seven one seven Moravian falls North Carolina our zip code is two eight six five four if you want to bring the Tison offerings in online it's very secure it's encrypted giving you can do so day or night please visit the ministry website Steven Brooks org there is a link on the home page called ties and offerings sow and reap and you can give you can go right there and give right now and it will come directly into the ministry storehouse and we will use it to continue to preach the good news of Jesus that he saves he delivers he heals he blesses we'll continue to preach the gospel all around the world thank you for your partnership with this ministry and thank you also for bringing your tithes into the storehouse because that is God's system and we choose to obey and follow his kingdom principles now let me pray for you Heavenly Father bless your people I thank you that they are tithers they are givers and I thank you that you unveiled the covenant of prosperity to them and they they walk in it and father I thank you that they are blessed give them the best jobs give them the best work give them bonuses give them increases give them favor give them inheritances father God let prosperity come to them in multiple streams we thank you Father God and I thank you that they're faithful to tithe off every every dollar every euro every whatever whatever it might be peso or one their shekel that comes into their life we thank you Father God that they were quick to bring the tithes into the storehouse and your people are blessed now father we thank you that we thank you your father I think your your people are so blessed they can't even I did it just it's just all over them we give you praise in the name of Jesus and today around the world we say as a church family we saved a men praise God alright let's stay today in the book of second Chronicles let's move over to chapter 32 let's talk about good King Hezekiah a good king not a perfect King but III would call him an excellent King he was better than good he was exceptional he had a couple of flaws though that hindered him from not only his own life his own walk with the Lord going to a higher level but really as a king he had the ability to lift the nation into a higher level did he do good yes could greater manifestations of God's glory have been seen yes and so that's what we're going for we don't we don't want to just go halfway up Mount Zion we want to go all the way up to Mount Zion we we don't just want to say hey I I speak in tongues now I got filled with the spirit I've maxed out the spiritual experience no you haven't you're just getting you're just getting started because the the baptism of the Holy Spirit relates to Pentecost and you see that that was you know that was something that took place while they were still in the wilderness but you must cross the Jordan that is the Crucified life and then you must go into the land that God has for you but you must possess it you must inherit it and that's the walk of faith and you must you must eventually do what David did get to Zion and capture it praise God so we don't want to we don't want to stop halfway up the mountain we want to go all the way to the top we want to fulfill and do all that God has called us to do praise God we are today in second chronicles chapter 32 let's pray Heavenly Father as we're in your word as we are disciples and students of your word let your Holy Spirit come now and unveil the scriptures to us let him teach by the anointing that he brings that there just be do fresh anointing upon this message today so that we can take it father today and apply it to our lives and not repeat the mistake that Hezekiah made twice so father I just think you'd I'm prophesying over your people father that they're going to get it right from the first go and we just give you praise we think you that you're the god of the second chance and if the second chances need it we'll certainly get it right then but we just think your father you're helping us you are really helping us and we yield to the leading of your spirit and to the guidance of your word we give you praise in Jesus name thank you so much Heavenly Father for your Holy Spirit in the name of Jesus amen please shout and say Amen we're in second chronicles we're in chapter 32 and today let's go down to let this is so good there's so much in here that's so good let's go to verse 24 in those days Hezekiah was sick and near death and he prayed to the Lord and he spoke to him and gave him a sign well there's there's more to the story let me just bring you up to speed a little bit the nation of Israel had been under siege King Cinna cherub has sent his mighty army into the Land of Israel not the land of Palestine don't don't please don't ever call Israel Palestine that's an insult to any knowledgeable Jewish person if you want to lose favor in the eyes of an Israeli Jew well then call called Israel Palestine but please call it by its biblical name and please call it by what God calls it he calls it the nation of Israel that's that land belongs to the Jews that land is the nation of Israel okay so King Senate chair invades Israel with this mighty army he begins to decimate all the cities in all the towns he captures them he plungers them he puts the people to the sword he's getting closer and closer to Jerusalem every other major city has fallen or has fallen and he gets all the way to Mount Scopus which is right there in Jerusalem it sits on the Mount of Olives and from the Mount of Olives you can see the city of Jerusalem laid out and you know he's just like I've got you and I'm just like I've taken all these other cities of Israel at all of the other cities of the Middle East he said I'm taking Jerusalem and nothing's going to stop me his ambassador began to mock and blaspheme God before the the children of Israel there in the city of Jerusalem and King Hezekiah was like woo our backs are against the wall god you're gonna have to do a miracle because he looks like he's unstoppable not only that he's a bigmouth he's an arrogant this this guy is like where did he learn to talk like that from Goliath I mean this guy is just full of the devil but Hezekiah had some good help and my friends is always good to have a prophet in your corner by the way I'm in your corner and I'm prophesying over your life that you will succeed and you will not fail and you will rise to the top and that you are blessed to be a blessing well King Hezekiah had a heavyweight in the corner named Isaiah the prophet and it was Isaiah praying and prophesying and praying and prophesying that got Israel through a very dark hour and he said the Prophet said that big mouth arrogant King who was actually an instrument in the hands of God but his overstepped the boundaries that God intended for him do you see seeing King so Tara was just a discipline rod that God was using to discipline his rebellious and disobedient people but king china king sent a cherub just went overboard and went past the the realm of discipline and got into the area of just really humiliating God's people that God was very angry about that and so Isaiah said God's gonna do with him and God's gonna strike him down God's gonna cut him down he's gonna deal with Sennacherib's arrogant hearts and he and Isaiah prophesied although he's close he's not even gonna shoot an arrow against this city he's gonna be turned back in shame and well that was a wild prophecy but it came to pass because it was the true word of the Lord the story is that God sent one angel not to not a whole army he said one angel and that one angel went out there to the Assyrian camp and killed 185 thousand of the best of their soldiers that wasn't their whole army that was just the best of them and just that Abel's angel just cut them all down and so when all the other soldiers woke up and saw that most of their comrades were dead especially all the leaders and the strongest men that you know they were just like there's no way we can fight against Jerusalem now and so they turned around they went back and Senate Aaron went back in total shame humiliated with his head down and not only that when he got back and some time later was worshiping in his own temple back in his home country which would have been in Iraq when he got back his own sons murdered him there in the temple of the false god that he had put his faith and trust in so my friends God's done a lot already for Hezekiah and Hezekiah has also received a miracle healing because he got sick he had a boil that was so severe in bad that I believe it created also blood poisoning in his body and he you know he's just on death's edge and so the prophet Isaiah came and said put your house in order you are going to die and he turned around and walked out but before the Prophet could even get out of the court area of the palace Hezekiah was in there just saying God you know Lord I've done my best to live for you and serve you and we've gone through a lot together and you delivered me from sanitarium and now Lord that I you know we have this you know breathing room and this freedom I don't want to die I really want to live for you and uh you know what God said it because you cried out to me and you've you know you've turned your eyes towards me he said I'm gonna give you 15 more years and so before Isaiah could even get out of the Kings Court the word the word of the Lord the prophetic word came to the prophet and he turned right back around and told told the king thus says the Lord basically you shall live you're going to live and he gave him a supernatural he'll portion a remedy I'm not saying you know put a lump of figs on your you know cut or your wound it might not turn out too good that was a supernatural word of wisdom for a healing remedy it was blessed of the Lord the next thing you know the Kings back on his feet so God has done a lot for King Hezekiah I think it's very important that you understand that in the light of what is about to unfold now praise God verse 25 but Hezekiah did not repay according to the favor shown him what's the favor well here's the favor hey King Hezekiah you should be dead you should you should be grateful for what the Lord did matter of fact you should hold a national celebration of just worship and praise and why don't we just get a bunch of singers and Prazeres together and just thank God that you're not dead and in the ground and that your soul would have gone to paradise but you know your life would have been over but well King why don't you praise God and thank God for what he did Wow you really should have been more thankful and appreciative for how God delivered to you from Senator that's not a small thing but everybody else is biting the dust and you got delivered guts in an angel hey this is special stuff of God's doing for you and you're on death's bed and God raised you up why would you be prideful well he did not return the wonderful favor by showing kindness and appreciation and proclaiming the goodness of the Lord and it says for his heart was lifted up really really you actually think those figs that lump of figs they put on the boil do you think that actually healed you you actually think maybe all those soldiers 185,000 of them died maybe they had a maybe they all had a heart attack I mean come on give the glory to the Lord he's bailed you out he's done a whole lot for you how couldn't you have your heart now lift it up with such pride now that you've escaped these you know duplicate difficulties shouldn't you be more appreciative well he did not repay according to the favor shown him yes this heart was lifted up there for Wrath was looming over him / Judah and Jerusalem what the Kings ungratefulness was about to get him in a big mess worse than anything he's faced before and it's also now looming over Jerusalem and Judah because of your the King your decisions are going to affect other people that is the responsibility that we face as leaders the verse 26 he did the right thing hey if you ever make a wrong exit just get back on the freeway as fast as you can and that's what he did verse 26 then Hezekiah humbled himself for the pride of his heart I'm glad today that I'm not speaking to anybody that has an issue with pride who pastor Stephen don't lie on the internet okay I'm just playing around it's easy to slip into it King David prayed Lord let not the foot of pride come against me watch out because when the blessing is going and you know God's fighting your battles and angels are doing great things don't start thinking that's you because maybe you're so good or something like that God's blessing upon your life be appreciative be thankful but stay low stay low I remember reading about one minister a pastor Duma in South Africa how God used him to raise a young girl I think she was 17 years old she had been dead for four days and everybody in the community knew she was dead she was well loved but she died and the Lord told him go raise her up and he goes in the power of the Spirit in the anointing of the Spirit and raises her from the dead and when the news of that went through the community it stunned the community and suddenly now now there's journalists and newspapers all showing up from all over the place and the Lord told him he said don't even talk to the newspapers just disappear for a while just go lay down for a while and stay humble because the enemy is going to be very very upset of what took place because it's gonna bring a lot of glory to me so you just go stay low profile for a while and make sure that you stay very humble and he did that he was a very humble man and God did mighty miracles for him so Hezekiah is doing the right thing he hummed himself for the pride of his heart he and the inhabitants of Jerusalem I believe I believe Jerusalem was a very arrogant city full of arrogant prideful people that's remember also what it says in Proverbs pride pride comes before a destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall so if you're walking in pride or arrogance you're gonna get cut down if there's just no question about it pride comes before a destruction and a haughty arrogant spirit comes before a fall so we want to be people that walk in humility he and they had happened in Jerusalem they humbled himself so that the wrath of the Lord did not come upon them in the days of Hezekiah the Lord also knew that although he had delivered his people there's still a lot of rebellion there's still people worshiping at the high places there's still people messing around with their idols and their you know their idolatry and just not getting fully cleansed from all these areas of defilement but nevertheless King Hezekiah he's doing the best he can to serve the Lord there is a remnant that is actually on fire for God so God God's blessing them and you know things are going in the right direction now you know if they made a mistake hey get it get it right with God and so he did he got lifted up in pride realized he was about to get chop suey and he humbled himself okay alright okay so now you're good to go gods gods you in the Lord everything's okay between you and the Lord let's let's endeavor to make sure though that doesn't happen again well another opportunity it's going to come the enemy is going to test him again let's find out what takes place verse 27 Hezekiah had very great riches and honor also the blessings flowing absolutely the blessing of the Lord is flowing Hezekiah has humbled himself the blessing of the Lord makes rich and he adds no sorrow with it so the blessing is there and it's it's producing in very very tangible ways Hezekiah had very great riches I like that not just riches but very great riches and honor and he made himself Treasuries for silver for gold for precious stones for spices for shields and for all kinds of desirable items moreover he provided cities for himself and possessions of flocks and herds and abundance for God had given him very much property so we also see that property was one of the areas of the financial blessing that was upon his life and may that also be something that you are led into by the Holy Spirit which would be the ability to acquire property hallelujah this same Hezekiah also stopped the water outlet of upper Gihon and brought the water by tunnel to the west side of the city of David Hezekiah prospered in all his works so he's involved in unique architectural engineering feats those are still discussed today if you go to Israel go to Jerusalem go to this ancient city of David you can see that they have now uncovered that well and that that water channel and you could actually walk up it and walk through it for quite a distance now verse 31 however got regarding the ambassadors of the princes of Babylon now watch this whom they sent to him to inquire about the wonder that was done in the land all right so what has happened in Israel has become such a phenomena that it's gone international and the newspapers are talking about it the reporters are very curious about it they're getting their tickets to travel in to do documentaries about the Wonder in the land and so it's gone all the way to modern-day Iraq it's gone to Babylon and the king of Babylon has heard about the wonder in the Land of Israel and he's sending his his princess he's sending his sons he's sending a special envoy a delegation all the way to Israel why they want to inquire about the wonder that was done in the land may God through the Lord Jesus Christ in you make your life a wonder that cannot be hidden now this word wonder in the in the Hebrew is the word mofette and it means it means miracles and wonders of beauty and splendor is a Hebrew word mofette spelled mo wph eth it's a word that means miracles and wonders of beauty and splendor and the outsiders that Gentiles had heard about the wonder that was done in the land may your life be so dedicated to the Lord may your life be so blessed by God that your life becomes a wonder hallelujah may may people look at you and say while it's like God has done a wonder in your life and then may they inquire about the wonder that has been done in your land or in your life when people see God moving it brings inquiries from other believers it brings inquiries from the Gentiles from the unbelievers from the outsiders you must be prepared to give the right response praise the Lord now regarding the ambassadors of the princes of Babylon whom they sent to him to Hezekiah to inquire about the wonder that was done in your life in the land God withdrew from him in order to test him that he might know all that was in his heart praise God well I know that there's probably a few that are probably thinking a pastor Stephen this God really tests his people well first of all we know he does he tests individuals he contested a ssin but let's talk about God tisha and individual God here withdrew from Hezekiah in order to test him how did you get out of high school how did you graduate from high school you graduate it because you passed quite a few tests covering various subjects and you just kept taking tests you kept passing them until eventually you graduate it that's how you got out by passing tests those of you that attended college and you graduate it you got your degree your diploma how did you how did you get out of college or your your bachelor's your masters perhaps your doctorate how did you do that you did that by passing tests they were not going to give you that piece of paper that is perhaps framed on your wall unless you did what passed numerous tests and you just kept passing tests passing various tests until eventually you passed enough of them and they said you fulfilled the requirements and you now get the Diploma congratulations and the honors there the awards and the empowerment that goes with that the favor the acknowledgement that goes with that now this also carries on into your career field perhaps you want to be a doctor maybe you want to be a brain surgeon how do you get into that that room that very special place were you actually open up a person's head their brain and begin to operate on their brain you have to pass a lot of tests you just can't walk in there as an office and say you know what I want to do this oh well you just go right here we have an open surgery lab over here for those that just want to give it a shot you just go right in there and who's gonna be the patient well you'll find somebody who's willing to be your guinea pig and we'll just let you start slicing and dicing no it doesn't work like that why nobody's nobody's gonna ever go for something like that nobody's gonna say yeah I'll volunteer cut me open and just start poking and probing and get me fixed up no you'll come out a vegetable or your dye beer on this operating table how do you get to a place like that where you're where you are authorized to do that you have to pass a whole bunch of tests medical class and just on and on it goes it's the same in every occupational field you know if you're a pilot and you see that you know that beautiful 777 or 787 sitting there Airbus 380 or whatever it might be or you know a fighter jet corporate you know aviation and you want to fly the left seat how you know how you going to end up in that left seat you're going to do it by passing a lot of tests well you know you can't just say hey you know give me a shot I think I think I can fly it I had some flight simulation videos that I played on my personal computer on my laptop back at my house let me fly it no they're never gonna let you fly you have to be authorized to fly it you have to be certified you have to have type recognition in that aircraft and it takes a lot of study a lot of study before you get in the place where you're authorized to do that because why you've passed the test and if you don't pass the test you're not gonna be allowed to move forward in that field of occupation it's the same in every area you have to pass test he passed he passed other tests in life but when it came time for very special areas of blessing the first big test he failed because being delivered from Senate Arabs army which it's like going up against a football team that had a record of a hundred and zero they've never ever lost before and they're coming up against you as a very small team and you don't have a chance in the world well Hezekiah steam defeated the you know superhuman team they defeated them and yet Hezekiah didn't didn't take it to heart of what God had done for him and he just got lifted up in pride and then his here's a guy about ready to die and God you know he calls out the God and God gives him 15 more years and he still doesn't show any appreciation and he gets lifted up in pride and doesn't give any glory to the Lord so he totally flopped when he got on the big playing field he totally he totally missed it well he repented he got right with God now the blessings flowing but here comes test number two I believe that if he would have gotten this test right he could have taken the nation of Israel into into realms were only David in Solomon took it because he was touching it he was on the fringe of greatness and he already had international fame but he look there's always a higher level and God wanted to get him there but you have to be you have to be real solid in the Lord to walk in those places praise God now let's watch what took place it says that that when they came the envoys came to enquire about the wonder that was done in the land God withdrew from him God withdrew no anointing what I'm talking about like a tangible anointing no tangible presence no angel feathers falling down no supernatural phenomena taking place what do you do then ok now you must operate by principle you must obey biblical principles this is what gets you there this is what sustains you all the other stuff is icing on the cake and God will give you the icing and he'll give it on your cake thick and not the cheap what's that cheap icing sometimes these like supermarkets put on the top of the cake because it's real cheap it's just like it's just like a bunch of sugar water but nobody wants that cheap icing you want the buttercream icing that's the best of prosperity I've seen less that's the way God puts it on he puts on the thick buttercream icing and it tastes you know vastly different from that cheap stuff pray used to Loren okay so let's look at what took place here they're wanting to inquire about the wonder that was done in the land hmm they're going to be talking to him one-on-one they show up the conversation begins and now they want to talk about the wonder in the land first of all we need to cover that what was the wonder that was done in the land it's a package deal it was a package deal the number one thing that they had heard about was this incredible flow of prosperity just just money flowing in in Hezekiah kingdom like crazy it's like a successful corporation other corporations going to look at that and they're gonna they're going to discuss in their boardroom what are they doing we're in the same field we're selling the same product why are they so successful how are they doing so well what is it that they're doing that we're not doing because everybody wants to follow a successful leader everybody wants to rub shoulders with the winner with the champion so they had heard about all of this phenomenal prosperity hezekiah with great riches and he's got so he has so much precious metals he's got to make storehouses for all of his silver and gold and and precious stones of diamonds and emeralds and and onyx and sapphires and spices back in that day pepper was the big thing if you had pepper you were the hot Sun the pepper was very very rare so they have pepper and these various wonderful spices that made your food taste good oh he had it all in shields and all kinds of desirable items you would say the Rolls Royces and the Bentley's and the you know all just he had everything he had everything storehouses for all of his harvests so they are incoming the envoys are coming to inquire about the Wonder in your land in the land and there they want to they want you to explain to them how is this prosperity flowing so fluently in your life don't expect them to understand it when you say it's the blessing of the Lord because they don't understand that but let me tell you this you sure enough had better tell it don't you act like you're so smart that it's your smartness or your IQ that's generating all this you better tell them it's the blessing of the Lord well pastor Stephen they're just a bunch of unsaved people they're not going to understand that that's not the point the point is you better be giving credit and glory to the Lord or else you were to find yourself having flunked that means failed horribly a very very important test God's standing back withdrawing his presence watching talking you know a Holy Trinity council meeting Father Son Holy Spirit with the Angels there and they're there watching and there thank you no wonder what he's going to do is you going to get it right this time oh my goodness because God wants to bless you and take you to a higher level don't think just because you got a new car that you've reached the apex of a prosperity God can take you a lot farther than a new car or maybe you got your house paid off you got out of debt that God could take you way beyond those levels of blessing there are different levels of blessing God wants to move you out there into the deep blue Pacific water of deep blessing hallelujah so they came to talk about the wonder in the land the wonder in the land was primarily for parts of a mega blessing a package deal that God was doing in Hezekiah is life number one the heavy flow of prosperity number two and this was a big one for the Babylonians this was the sundial going back 10 degrees when Isaiah said your your you're gonna have 15 more years add it to your life and God says I'm gonna give you a sign he'll give you a sign do you want the sundial to go backwards or forward and the king said well to go forward that's kind of an easy thing in other words something could happen maybe some type of us you know time acceleration or something like that but hey everybody knows you can't get in a time machine and go back in time oh really yeah so he says he said let God make the sundial go backwards and God God took it back hmm can you time travel is it possible to time travel mm-hmm I I don't in to that one time I had no idea there was an astrophysicist sitting in the meeting he and his wife are both astrophysicists with PhDs in physics and I started getting into that and when I was done they said they said Pastor Steven this is the kind of teaching we need in the scientific community he said you're unraveling secrets of the universe well it wasn't me was the Holy Spirit I just started talking about those things but you can't you can't kind of travel but only in the spirit you can go back in the spirit whew glory to God but you can't go back naturally God can do some things with natural science but it's gonna take me a while to unpack that so let me just say this the Babylonians love stuff they were a heavy heavy into astronomy and into the study of the straw the stock nut straws but the Stars and you know what we would call the modern day zodiac and really the the origins of the zodiac go back to an entire panorama of the presentation of the becoming Messiah you know you get that got all mixed up with Greek mythology and you know all of these false zodiac signs but there are original meanings of what we if we could use the word zodiac and the Babylon Babylonians just they just absolutely ate that up that was an area of their expected expertise they were a highly developed in certain areas of math and so they knew they knew the day that that time had stopped at Sun had gone backwards they they they were oh you better believe they're aware of that and so that was a big thing with them and so the envoys are wanting to also inquire about that wonder see this was a package deal the Wonder in the land this wild prosperity that you're experiencing Hezekiah the the sundial going back 10 degrees they were very very curious about the wonder that was wrought in the land and they had also heard that he was on the edge of death and they're like hey what happened you know what we had heard you know that you're just practically dead the next thing we know what we're you know we're hearing use that you you've recovered so what's going on how is this happening please explain this to us well God raised me up well pastor Steven if you say that nobody's gonna believe that well you sure better tell them God heals your body God does a miracle for you doesn't matter if they understand it you bet you better tell them that Jesus did it for you you should not be giving glory to the doctor when you know the doctors couldn't do it not that we thank God for the doctors he tried to pamper you and take care of you and they pumped you full of morphine to make you as comfortable as you could while you were dying but when jesus heals you you sure better open your mouth and proclaim that was Jesus that did it hmm hmm well they're wanting to talk about that never forget what the healing evangelist Raymond T Ritchey said he said that divine healing is the dinner bell for the lost and so that their the loss their the heathens their that their the Babylonians and I mean even in the New Testament the Babylonian culture or the system that operates in the earth is still identified as a 666 system ridden by the you know the dog the harlots in red and the mark of the beast and all of that stuff this John the Revelator began to unveil Wow hallelujah well hey but divine healing yeah the Babylonians have an interest in that what unbeliever who's sick doesn't have an interest in a God who can heal what a marvelous opportunity for Hezekiah to lay it on them a bunch of total pagans showing up on his turf in his court what an opportunity to just unload heavy validated signs and wonders that everybody knows that a real and genuine and just presented to these men and overwhelm these men with the goodness of the true and living God who is the source of all of these wonderful things that they're hearing about and are actually you know seen with their own eyes hmm praise the Lord but Hezekiah is trying to he's trying to be the cool cat he's pulling back he's trying to hang cool with them and he gets in the flesh and he doesn't even he doesn't even get into this stream of the glory he doesn't even he just gets into the flesh and he doesn't give the glory to the Lord now by the way the the sign the wonder that was done in the land and I believe God can do all of these things in your land a package deal you know they're they're also they're amazed that let me say it like this they're amazed that the Israeli football team beat the juggernaut the Unconquered ball in defeatable team with the world's best players with the world's at that time number one army on the face of the earth gigantic army that nobody has ever beaten before and this little bitty group wins well we we know it's a supernatural victory how can you take credit for something that God did God sent the angel the angel light out the the armies of Senate Aaron now we must admit that there was some fierce prayer going on I mean has a Hezekiah sprain that went when the Kings praying you know something serious Isaiah heavyweight prophet he's praying I mean he's praying hard and the remnant is praying because the remnant smart enough to know go to Israel God she was he go to Jerusalem because everybody else got to get destroyed so they're there in Jerusalem but I tell you what they're praying there in Jerusalem and so God delivered them and that they should they should have enough insight to know God has answered our prayers but he's the one that answered he's the one that did it now let's give him all the glory and so the Babylonians are also just like hey you know you guys are they you're the champions now and everybody's afraid of you nobody's gonna like even throw a rocket you you guys are like lethal you're toxic for warfare nobody wants to come against you and most likely most likely there was probably a a covenant that was talked about in other words this be a lies because you know we're strong you're strong by the way the Babylonians hated the Assyrians so that why the Assyrians had conquered them and had suppressed them brutally and now now Babylon is getting their feet back and they're like hey let's just come together so we can push Babylon completely out of here excuse me the Assyrians completely out of here whose headquarters was in the city of Nineveh southern Iraq well you know what here's the thing also I think Hezekiah was was missing Hezekiah you don't need the Babylonians hey where were the Babylonians when you're about to get crushed by Cinna cherub and his army wherever they ad oh they didn't help you out they didn't do anything for you so why why don't you think you need them now why would you even entertain a possible merger what are they gonna add to you you you don't you don't need to merge with them if anything they need what you have they need what you have what is it that you have Jehovah God Jehovah God hallelujah let me say this the glory of the Lord is going to be seen upon the church it's going to be seen upon the people of God that means is going to be seen upon you and there's gonna come a place where there are unsolvable problems in the world and the only people with the solution are going to be the people of God the church the glory of the Lord upon you it doesn't mean it certainly doesn't mean that we're arrogant it doesn't mean that we're proud 'fl no we'll be the most humble people on the face of the earth but we'll also be very confident in our God because it is our God who is blessing us and that that is illuminating us in a world that is rife with sin let me say this anytime there's sin please listen to me if you're an unbeliever and you don't know who to serve any time there sin I'm shouting this around the world anytime there's sin there's going to be heaps and heaps of sickness and disease so if you want to live in sexual immorality if you want to venture into areas of sexual sin that God said no it's wrong and you think well I'm gonna do it anyhow you I hope you've got a good doctor you're going to need one and if you wonder into some areas where you get some of the diseases that medical science can't cure just know that's not that's not the blessing of the Lord that it is a product of the curse that comes with with sin and anytime there's a lot of sin you'll find sickness and disease all over the place it may look like a whole lot of fun is going on wait till the party's over and you go to the doctor and you get the checkup and you're like oh that's I got a nasty went yep you sure did if you want to find healing you'll find it only in the Lord Jesus Christ who is the only way back to God the Father he is the mediator the only one who is the immediate urbe tween God and man and if you want to get your life right with God and you want to get your sins washed away so that you can be restored back into her right relationship with God Jesus Christ is the only way called upon his name right now and receive him as your Lord and Savior praise God hallelujah thank you Lord Jesus well my friends the Lord withdrew while these ambassadors from Babylon talked with Hezekiah he got he got hot shot got back into the hot shot mode got back into the air get mode and just showed off in the flesh showed him everything showed him all of his vaults or all of his money and there they're sitting there smacking their chops and they're thinking oh wow and they're probably they're probably conversing later amongst each other saying hey the Israel's too strong right now for us to take him out Hezekiah he's already an old guy he's only got 50 more years just let him die so soon as he's dead he's not gonna have a strong leader who's gonna come after him and he didn't he had a very rebellious son so let's just hang out for 15 years and we've seen all of the spoil and soon as he's off the scene hit him and hit him hard and take everything they've got let's even take some of his sons and let's even castrate some of them and make them eunuchs in our court Oh Hezekiah what were you doing why didn't you give the glory to the Lord why didn't you have the wisdom to guard and conceal areas of the blessing that they have no right to look into they can see from a distance that you're blessed you don't need to start opening up your you don't say hey this is Fort Knox come on in take a look take pictures and hey you want to just run the numbers and count the bars that's absolute total foolishness and as soon as they left soon as they left here comes the profit sometimes when a profit shows up it's time to smile you're gonna get the word of the Lord it's going to release uh blessing but if the profit shows up and he's not smiling you failed the test I hate to tell that to you no I don't want to be the guy that takes your paper and gets out here in America we get out the red ink the red pen and we write F look Lord forbid that we actually write the percentage and we put like yeah you know twenty eight you failed it so bad you whoa lord have mercy hmm well it was it wasn't good the Prophet said you blew it basically and see when a prophet is under anointing like that he can release a blessing that can lift you into the next level or you can frustrate God frustrate the anointing that's on the Prophet thus frustrate the Prophet and he the word he gives you as a word that's not good and it won't lift you it just basically says well you blew it I've got I've got it I've got a you know that's kind of like Chinese food like a sweet sour pork is sweet and sour at the same time it's sour it's sour hey Hezekiah there's major wrath now hanging over Israel be over over Jerusalem in Judea because what you've done it's sweet because it's not going to happen in your lifetime and Hezekiah said oh it's a good word it's not going to happen in my lifetime at least in my lifetime there's peace there's piece of safety let's have a party this is more than just this this is more than just like hey let's have some fun let's have let's get into the glory let's get into the miracles let's get into the healing let's get into the deep walk with God let's get into face and face encounters with the rezident Resik resurrected Christ let's get out of the shallow water let's have some heavy weight blessing let's do things right when God pulls us up and God blesses us let's give him all the glory let's also walk in wisdom and know that there's certain things that they don't need to know one of the great mistakes Billy Graham said that he made was inviting all of the journalists to his house can you believe that Billy Graham the world's greatest evangelist opened his house to a bunch of heathen journalists who mocked God don't know God don't serve God and don't believe in God he invites them to his house and they're all that his house and out of the kindness of his heart he says ask me any questions you want I just want to give you an open door and open my heart to you and open my house to you and he answered every question they had and they all smiled and they all wrote and they all took pictures and they all record it and they left and he thought that was wonderful we had a wonderful time and now they'll understand that we really love them and we want to see their hearts receive Christ and they'll know that we're just good people that we love them a few days later all all the reporters came out with their articles and they slandered him they degraded him they made him look like he's some kind of a crazy person and it hit hit him hard and it took him a while behind the scenes to recover from that and he said it was through I'm smelling frankincense there's a real anointing what I'm what I'm sharing he realized then that there are some people no matter what you tell them how much you love them and how much you try to get that across they're just not going to receive it so in light of that and now him knowing that it doesn't you you you need to have carefully guarded sources you need to have sources and you need to have certain things of your life of your ministry and your personal life that are protected and guarded and doesn't anybody belong in your bedroom or the camera doesn't any outsider belong it there's some people don't even belong in your house it's don't even open your door for them praise God must look much less show them your your bedroom your kitchen door I mean Hezekiah showed up everything Hezekiah said what you went straight to the king what did you show him I showed him everything there wasn't anything in my kingdom that I didn't show them hmm okay you failed the test you failed the test you you you you're good guy and God actually loves you but you felt the test and such blessing could have been released my friends in this hour in this time we need to get it right hallelujah hallelujah its son of the world's business how much money you make started there why do they want to know how is that going to help them if you tell them hmm praise God thank you Lord Jesus after all they're certainly not revealing their secrets to you are they nope they hide all kinds of stuff praise God so like Jesus said a heart that is wise as a serpent but at the same time you're you're wise as a serpent but you're harmless as a dove you really do love people you're sweet to people and you're humble and you love people but there's a lot of stuff that Hezekiah showed them absolutely he should have never shown them they're just making an inventory or future plunder Wow hmm Lord we give you praise we give you praise today Lord we give you praise God wants to make your life a wonder he wants to do it so that he initiates curiosity among people who hear about you and want to know about the quote secret of your success so envoys show up hey how's it working what's really going on here well how is all of this stuff working so beautiful in your life Oh faster Steven they're not gonna understand them and they're not gonna understand if I tell them God did it who cares they understand it tell him anyhow maybe one day it'll sink in if they hear it enough but one thing's for sure you better not touch one bit of the credit for it you really need to give all the glory to God for it because it's all flowing from him it's originating from him he is the source of the blessing yes he works through people but it's God it's God giving you favor in the eyes of those people that is causing that flow he is the source of the stream or the river of blessing don't reveal there's some of your blessings you're not supposed to reveal why it's not going to spire those on the outside it's only gonna make them jealous sonken inspired them it's going to irritate them actually with jealousy so while there is an element there it's a balance of the Holy Spirit there is a place where yes the Lord can show you off and don't ever apologize for God's blessing in your life but I think the balance is is that you have to be humble don't ever be arrogant because now you're in trouble and if you're arrogant the devil can hit you you can get in there because there's an open door so you're not going to apologize for God's blessings but just stay humble something very interesting also if you're humble I really believe this that if you're humble there's certain types of persecution you can actually avoid why you just fly it you fly beneath it it's like a stealth it's like a stealth fighter plane they can certain types of radar cannot pick it up it bounces off of the stealth plane because of the angles of it and because of the type of material that that plane is coated with and so the enemy can't even really pick you up and doesn't mean you can fully escape maybe persecution or you know criticism but I think there are certain types of persecution that we can avoid if we just stay humble because they can't even see us glory to God they come they show up to persecute you but you're so humble you've already left praise God hallelujah that's something that the Holy Spirit helps us with praise the Lord Lord we give you glory and honor today we give you praise I want to pray for you because God wants to make your life a wonder that you are lit up with such brilliance of God that others know it and they see it and that's what that word wonder really means they came to see the wonder that was done in the land again the word wonder the Hebrew word mow path and it means miracles and wonders of beauty and splendor now I see God doing miracles and wonders of beauty and splendor in your life whoo get ready get ready it's got a draw it's gonna draw attention but just give the Lord the glory give the Lord glory add a person one time asked me about my vehicle I had a view a vehicle I'm in a different vehicle now but I had a vehicle that was so unique it was the only one within my zip code it was the only one within my County I think there were maybe only like two in the whole state then I was the first one to get one and because I got it so early and it was so there was it was a limited edition it took I don't know I didn't I didn't see another one for maybe six or eight months maybe even a year before another one began to show up and it anywhere I drove it it was just it was a conversation starter and one one time I went to go fill it up with gas any time I would fill it up for gas almost it was like guys particularly which would come and talk and asked me what you know what model was was it did I modify it or did it come stock like that because it was a hot vehicle and this one man said wow that was he said that's an incredible incredible vehicle you've got he said did you do those modifications or did it did it come from the factory like that I said this one actually came from the factory with all of these upgrades which is why it's tied in so well they they they harmonize didn't synced it just right you know you can add aftermarket stuff then it looks cheesy or stupid but because it was done by the by the factory I mean it was everything was dialed in he said it's a beautiful vehicle I said I said thank you I said the Lord Jesus blessed me with this vehicle he said I don't want to hear that and he turned around and walked away but but see here's the thing he at least heard it and that's why I'm driving something like that why I'll tell people about it hallelujah hallelujah well pastor Stephen III I don't want I don't want to ever have anybody say anything bad against me hmm kind of let you in a little secret some of them are already talking about you you just don't know it you just don't know it did you so so you might as well go ahead and live for the Lord because there are already people talking about you anyhow because you're never ever going to be able to please everybody nobody can't nobody on the face of the earth can please everybody so you might as well just go ahead and live for the Lord make up your mind be resolute don't be wishy-washy like King Hezekiah a great guy but he did not ever get to the top of the apex of where God wanted him to get to great potential but he didn't make it was he a good king yes did he see some great miracles yes but he could you could have seen a lot more so I'm just prophesying over you you're gonna pass the test you're gonna give God the glory for right where you're at right now and you're gonna go higher and when you get higher don't think oh that's it now I've reached it I would probably suggest there's still major levels that God would want to get you into so just keep climbing with the Lord give him all the glory and passed that test I need to let you know I need to I feel like I feel like a school supervisor I need to let you know there's a test coming up please be aware spiritually of it and when the envoys show up start inquiring please make sure you know what to do give them all the glory excuse me give God all the glory also at the same time don't over tell don't some things about your life are supposed to be hidden they don't need to know that they don't need that they're not worthy or deserving of knowing that and if you do reveal that you could you could get slimed don't don't don't let certain people into your house who are going to mock the nice paintings you have on the wall just because there are oral painting and they don't have one and they thank all food yeah who do you think you are with oil paintings well if that's what attitude you have you can't come into my house praise the Lord because I have nice oil paintings some of them have been prophetically given to me some of them have been bought and they were well worth the price hallelujah they're all paintings by the way that glorified the Lord praise God but you you want to be very careful who you give close intimate access to don't let the wrong people in there don't let Babylon into your heart mmm you're just not gonna find you're not gonna find good symbolism their imagery with anything associated with Babylon don't let it into the close areas of your heart or your house or your life your ministry or your church or your family mmm God we give you praise O God we give you plate praise please lift your hands Heavenly Father I speak blessing supernatural protection over your people there's a time to be quiet may they know that there's a time to talk but also not to talk too much may they know that as if an angel were putting his finger over their lips with the International symbol of be silent don't don't talk too much thank you Father when the Babylonian envoys show up made that wisdom of the just be given to your people not to talk too much to give you praise to give you to say look what the Lord has done but but not too maybe reveal some things that are guarded sources that God wants father that you want guarded father now release release that wisdom and strength that even the Apostle Paul asked his partners pray that I would have boldness something something that can we could be so cowardly oh god if you don't strengthen us so father let us be strong strengthen your people with boldness in the name of Jesus in the name of Jesus that person asking you that question about your blessing maybe they're not asking to grill you maybe they're maybe they're not asking to - maybe try to set you up to try to like put you down maybe they're asking because they're a fellow Christian and they want to hear testimony and the last thing that they want to hear you is you apologizing for it hallelujah be ready to give a defense for the for your faith in the gospel and for the goodness of God in your life glory to God now father we seal this prayer protection thank you we thank you thank you test preparation test preparation you're almost ready for your test and that's when you put away your notes and that's when God withdraws his presence and you operate on principle be strong because you got to get promoted to a new level in the name of Jesus amen we must take communion together it's very important please grab some unleavened bread and some grape juice let us take communion together if you're a believer in Christ please I want to invite you to celebrate communion with me today as we proclaim the Lord's death until he comes as we proclaim the power of the Cross and the identity of who we are in Christ through the crucified Life losing our lives that we may find it we celebrate the Lord Jesus our resurrected Savior father we bless the bread and the juice we consecrate it and sanctify it through this prayer faith this is now the body of Jesus and the sacred blood of Jesus Father we thank you for his body we thank you for his promises that all of his promises are yes and amen father let us be ready that a study studies study to show ourselves approved to a workman that does not need to be ashamed rightly dividing the word of truth and father God let us pass every test it may come our way we thank you for grace we ask you for strength in the name of Jesus amen and amen let's receive pray you Scott pray used to Lord you'll know what to do the Holy Spirit will help you you'll know what to do you're going to know what to do you're going to pass the test father we thank you for the blood of Jesus we thank you for forgiveness of all sins if there's particularly father god to any pride or arrogance that would need to be addressed today and in the lives of those that would be watching let there just be repentance right now and father let the blood flow cleansing washing but some of you God's had a lot of mercy and he's actually spared you from certain things hitting you because you love him and he's been very merciful to you but you need to walk in humility you need to walk in humility because if you're persistent and pride the enemy it's gonna get a shot through at you he's gonna get a fiery arrow through eventually so walk in great humility and enjoy the great blessings of God so father we thank you that your mercies are new every morning we receive forgiveness of sins we receive cleansing from all unrighteousness and we give you praise Father for the holy blood of Jesus we receive it now in his glorious beautiful name amen let us drink together praise the Lord blessed be the name of the Lord before we conclude today's message let me remind you some good news our pure gold television program which so many of you sowed into is now airing it's on the is in the it's supernatural network the is n of course is run under the the wonderful ministry of my dear friend Sid Roth you can watch it on youtube or you could watch it there at it's supernatural because it's live it's 24 hours a day the network is and my program airs on Thursday every Thursday in airs at 4:30 in the morning it airs at 12:30 lunchtime and it airs at 8:30 in the evening those are all Eastern times again 4:30 Eastern Time in the morning 12:30 p.m. noontime Eastern and 8:30 at night Eastern Time all on Thursday three times on Thursday you can go and watch the programs you can be blessed you can be built up and so we thank God that the pure gold program is moving forward and expanding and the gospel is being preached thank you for being a part of that I hope you enjoy the show and my friends be blessed today you're going to pass the test you are going to the next level praise God