Our God of a Second Chance
2 Chronicles 33:1-16
I was doing some research this week on people who paid a pretty big price to be successful in life.
For instance, Colonel Sanders of Kentucky Fried Chicken fame was bankrupt at sixty-five years old. He went over a thousand times to different places and gave his recipe to different restaurants and asked if he could promote and cook his chicken. And it wasn’t until he was over sixty-five years old that he opened his very first restaurant. One thousand and nine different times that he had failed.
Thomas Edison, the famous inventor, said, “I haven’t made ten thousand mistakes. I’ve just done experiments ten thousand times to prove there’s a better way.”
Michael Jordan, one of the greatest basketball players ever, was once cut from his high school team. Jordan did not quit. Soon after he played at the University of North Carolina and became a star college player. Then he played for the Chicago Bulls, creating an armful of titles. He got his success through hard work after failure.
As Jordan puts it, “I have missed more than nine thousand shots in my career. I have lost almost three hundred games. On twenty-six occasions I have been entrusted to take the game-winning shot, and I missed. I have failed over, and over, and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.”
We do need to hear of examples of people not giving up so we might not lose hope by seeing the tenacity of others.
I talk to many people throughout the week, and I’ll ask how they’re doing. Often, they will say, “I’m just hanging on.” But you know, sometimes you have to let go. I’m telling you, sometimes you’ve just got to let go, and you’ve just got to give up because hanging in there can get pretty uncomfortable.
This is not a message about someone who never gave up that we would be inspired to tenaciously forge on. But the message is a look at the life of a king who knew what was right but spent the better part of his life searching for a better way. King Manasseh wasted a large portion of his life doing everything he could to try to ignore God.
2 Chronicles 33:1(a) NLT
1(a) Manasseh was twelve years old when he became king,
His father, Hezekiah, was famous and extremely wealthy. (This sounds like a good thing, but not for all children.) He started his reign at twelve years old (that sounds scary all by itself). Twelve years old is one year before the wise old age of thirteen.
The first sign your child is a teenager is that their vocabulary shrinks to two words, “I know…” For ten to twelve years, we tell our kids how, when, and where to do everything, as if we know it all. But we do have experience in a few things that they have not yet dealt with, but we act like we know it all sometimes.
Teenagers are not afraid to test boundaries or create a whole different set of boundaries.
Just in case you didn’t know, teenagers are usually a lot bigger than toddlers. If a toddler lays on the ground screaming and kicking because they do not want to go where you want them to, you can pick them up and tuck them into the crook of your arm like a football, and go on your merry way. (Not so with a teenager.)
King Hezekiah (Manasseh’s father) brought reform to Israel rebuilding, re-instating, re-directing the people back to God. Hezekiah was not perfect, but Manasseh did see the heart of his father, he did truly have a heart for God.
2 Chronicles 33:1(b) NLT
1(b) and he reigned in Jerusalem fifty-five years.
Take a moment and think of the damage that a president of the United States of America can do to the moral, ethical standards of our country in a term in the White House. Most of our presidents have taken four to eight years to purposefully redirect the direction of our country.
Just imagine what a man can do in a fifty-five-year term of leadership with nearly an unlimited amount of wealth, believing to be indestructible and a “know-it-all.”
This morning we are going to break the text into three sections.
1). Manasseh’s Ruin
2). Manasseh’s Repentance
3). Manasseh’s Response
Manasseh’s Ruin (verses 2-11)
Here’s my definition of the word “ruin” – a slow, painful quest to run from God while seeking to fill a void in your heart only God can fill.
2 Chronicles 33:2 NLT
2 He did what was evil in the LORD's sight, following the detestable practices of the pagan nations that the LORD had driven from the land ahead of the Israelites.
His father led the people back to God, but Manasseh chose to follow the pagan nations instead. Remember, he is a teenager. (“I know.” “I have a better way.” “I’ve got this.”) He knew the right way at an early age but purposefully chose the wrong way. He was influenced by others rather than being an influencer, following the detestable practices of the pagan nations.
Leaders carry a huge responsibility on how they lead and the direction they lead. Employers, parents, grandparents, you are leaders responsible for setting the direction of others. Manasseh purposefully brought back destructive behavior into his life that God once removed.
I didn’t have a very exciting salvation experience when I got saved. I was sitting on a lumber pile, on a dirt lot in Santee (San Diego County). There were these two guys on the job that were talking to me, and praying with me, and witnessing to me, and speaking to me, and helping me, and loving on me for months, and months, and months. And one day, they just got me where I was ready to listen. And I sat down, they explained how to surrender my life to the Lord, and they read through this Four Spiritual Law tract with me, and I declined. I said, “I’m out. I’m not doing that.”
A couple of hours later, I found myself hiding behind some sagebrush out on that job site, reading that tract, and giving my life to the Lord.
Six months later I backslid pretty hard. I wish I could say I went back to my old ways, but between us – it was ten times worse than it ever was. It was the darkest, most destructive time of my life until I recommitted my life to the Lord. I’ve recommitted my life to the Lord many times since then, too.
2 Chronicles 33:3(a) NLT
3(a) He rebuilt the pagan shrines his father, Hezekiah, had broken down. He constructed altars for the images of Baal and set up Asherah poles.
Please take a moment and look at the similarities of Manasseh’s ruin to someone else you might know today.
“Idolatry” – putting any person, place, or thing in the place where only God belongs. We have all fallen to the little “g” gods in our lives. A relentless quest for items of worth (things), accomplishments, power, wealth.
“Baal” – false god believed to be in control of all of nature and humans. Many different images to chose from to relate to your needs (today we call this overbearing and controlling behavior).
“Asherah” – worship of sex and fertility, ritualist prostitution. In one way or another, I have seen this take out more men than any other vice.
Manasseh not only went down a dark road, but he also seduced the nation and drug them with him. There is no such thing as a personal sin – our actions and behavior radically affect those near to us.
2 Chronicles 33:3(b) NLT
3(b) He also bowed before all the powers of the heavens and worshiped them.
The sun, moon, and stars are a daily reminder of God’s power, control, consistency, and handiwork every day – all day and night.
Deuteronomy 4:19 NLT
19 And when you look up into the sky and see the sun, moon, and stars--all the forces of heaven--don't be seduced into worshiping them. The LORD your God gave them to all the peoples of the earth.
2 Chronicles 33:4 NLT
4 He built pagan altars in the Temple of the LORD, the place where the LORD had said, "My name will remain in Jerusalem forever."
This is an effort to remove God and the truths of God from your heart by numbing or drowning out what we know to be true. Attempting to replace Jesus as Lord of your life can be very costly. It is exasperating to try to take your life back from God after you gave it to him. If you have once truly surrendered your life to Christ, he took that commitment seriously. You have a permanent place that the Holy Spirit lives inside you forever. The question is, how much real estate does the Lord own in your heart and life? (You cannot do a refi or apply for a repo.)
2 Chronicles 33:5 NLT
5 He built these altars for all the powers of the heavens in both courtyards of the LORD's Temple.
Running from the presence of God, trying to remove or replace him by busying ourselves is another sign we are trying to drown out the influence God wants to make in our lives.
How does a teenager end up in rehab at eighteen years old?
How does a grown man end up in prison?
The common thread for both answers to the questions is this. Neither the teenager nor the grown man woke up one day saying, “I think I am going to destroy my life today so I can go to rehab (or to prison).” It starts by allowing small amounts of compromise into our lives, testing the waters, testing/creating new boundaries – much like the teenager.
2 Chronicles 33:6 NLT
6 Manasseh also sacrificed his own sons in the fire in the valley of Ben-Hinnom. He practiced sorcery, divination, and witchcraft, and he consulted with mediums and psychics. He did much that was evil in the LORD's sight, arousing his anger.
… sacrificed his own sons in the fire… Without true repentance, the dark path only gets darker. Manasseh selfishly fell so far as to give up his sons to be sacrificed by fire to the false god Molech.
He practiced sorcery… mind-altering enchantment.
divination, hissing, or whispering in his ear by those to be known to forthtell.
Anxious/worry is tantamount to fortune-telling. I have a little bit of information, and I play it out or change the circumstances about things that are in the future, in my head over and over. I struggle with this. But I take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ, to cast down every argument that exalts itself above the knowledge of Christ. It’s a battle.
witchcraft, black magic, the occult.
he consulted with mediums and psychics. Seeking advice among the dead for direction falsely believed to have a superhuman knowledge.
This is what it looks like either in the mirror or someone else you know hopelessly looking for truth and meaning in life without God.
Manasseh is a great example of someone trying everything to hide or numb himself from God one small choice at a time, heading in the exact opposite direction, going into a deeper and darker place every day. “Ruin.”
2 Chronicles 33:7 NLT
7 Manasseh even took a carved idol he had made and set it up in God's Temple, the very place where God had told David and his son Solomon: "My name will be honored forever in this Temple and in Jerusalem--the city I have chosen from among all the tribes of Israel.
After coming up empty, unfulfilled, believing no one else could help, and nearing his all-time low, his last-ditch effort is to believe (I’ve got this). I will make my own god – that will work for me and I can do what I want.
2 Chronicles 33:8 NLT
8 If the Israelites will be careful to obey my commands--all the laws, decrees, and regulations given through Moses--I will not send them into exile from this land that I set aside for your ancestors."
Here is a picture of God’s mercy and faithfulness right in the middle of the spiral-down, giving all of us a chance to turn back and repent, turn the other direction to God.
God’s mercy is always available in our ruin.
2 Chronicles 33:9-10 NLT
9 But Manasseh led the people of Judah and Jerusalem to do even more evil than the pagan nations that the LORD had destroyed when the people of Israel entered the land.
10 The LORD spoke to Manasseh and his people, but they ignored all his warnings.
Another decision was made personally by Manasseh and his people. The decision was they ignored all his warnings. Every man for themself. Each person is ultimately responsible for their own decisions. Manasseh was leading the people in the wrong direction; the people could have turned back to God on their own.
God extended his mercy to all. We are all accountable to God as individuals.
2 Chronicles 33:11 NLT
11 So the LORD sent the commanders of the Assyrian armies, and they took Manasseh prisoner. They put a ring through his nose, bound him in bronze chains, and led him away to Babylon.
God’s mercy again is shown to Manasseh by God sending the Assyrian commanders to capture him. But in reality, God saved him from himself.
Manasseh’s Repentance (verses 12-13)
2 Chronicles 33:12 NLT
12 But while in deep distress, Manasseh sought the LORD his God and sincerely humbled himself before the God of his ancestors.
Manasseh sought the Lord, meaning he turned the other direction to God. He sought the Lord after realizing everything else was empty and without purpose.
He sincerely humbled himself before God. I have made an absolute mess of my life – Lord please save me. I admit I do not “got” this!
Here is a beautiful picture of the title of today’s message, Our God of a Second Chance.
2 Chronicles 33:13(a) NLT
13(a) And when he prayed, the LORD listened to him and was moved by his request. So the LORD brought Manasseh back to Jerusalem and to his kingdom.
This is a picture of God’s love and God’s grace. Unconditional love. Grace is unmerited favor.
2 Chronicles 33:13(b) NLT
13(b)Then Manasseh finally realized that the LORD alone is God!
After dabbling, and that’s where it all starts for all of us, it led to destructive excess in just about everything the world had to offer. Looking to fill a void in his life only God can fill, Manasseh realized that it was truly God that he desired and needed.
Manasseh’s Response (verses 14-16)
2 Chronicles 33:14 NLT
14 After this Manasseh rebuilt the outer wall of the City of David, from west of the Gihon Spring in the Kidron Valley to the Fish Gate and continuing around the hill of Ophel. He built the wall very high. And he stationed his military officers in all of the fortified towns of Judah.
Sincerely turning to God and giving your heart to God, brings radical change on the inside first, and then “fruit” to confirm it. He went from leading and seducing, murdering the people, dragging them to his own ruins to protecting, caring, and establishing a safe, peaceful place for the people now that he has made peace with God.
Having a right standing with God truly changes the way we care and treat others.
2 Chronicles 33:15 NLT
15 Manasseh also removed the foreign gods and the idol from the LORD's Temple. He tore down all the altars he had built on the hill where the Temple stood and all the altars that were in Jerusalem, and he dumped them outside the city.
With a new heart for God, for the first time, Manasseh begins to lead the people he is responsible for back to a personal relationship with God. He created an environment for them to seek the only true God. Manasseh removed the vices and distractions from his life and made a public stand by throwing it all outside the city.
2 Chronicles 33:16 NLT
16 Then he restored the altar of the LORD and sacrificed peace offerings and thanksgiving offerings on it. He also encouraged the people of Judah to worship the LORD, the God of Israel.
True repentance brings true change.
2 Corinthians 7:10 NLT
10 For the kind of sorrow God wants us to experience leads us away from sin and results in salvation. There's no regret for that kind of sorrow. But worldly sorrow, which lacks repentance, results in spiritual death.
I want to give you an opportunity today to turn back to God and surrender your life to Christ by leading you in prayer. The Bible says now is the appointed time, today is the day of salvation.
Romans 3:23 NLT
23 For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God's glorious standard.
You and I are the everyone.
Romans 5:8 NLT
8 But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.
You and I are the us.
John 3:16 KJV
16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
You and I are the whosever in this verse.
I invite you to pray with me, and mean it from your heart.
Lord, I know that I’m a sinner. I also know that you died for those sins. God, please, forgive me. Thank you for saving me. Please fill me with your Holy Spirit so that I can walk in the newness of life from this day forward all the days of my life. I ask this in Jesus’ name, amen.
For instance, Colonel Sanders of Kentucky Fried Chicken fame was bankrupt at sixty-five years old. He went over a thousand times to different places and gave his recipe to different restaurants and asked if he could promote and cook his chicken. And it wasn’t until he was over sixty-five years old that he opened his very first restaurant. One thousand and nine different times that he had failed.
Thomas Edison, the famous inventor, said, “I haven’t made ten thousand mistakes. I’ve just done experiments ten thousand times to prove there’s a better way.”
Michael Jordan, one of the greatest basketball players ever, was once cut from his high school team. Jordan did not quit. Soon after he played at the University of North Carolina and became a star college player. Then he played for the Chicago Bulls, creating an armful of titles. He got his success through hard work after failure.
As Jordan puts it, “I have missed more than nine thousand shots in my career. I have lost almost three hundred games. On twenty-six occasions I have been entrusted to take the game-winning shot, and I missed. I have failed over, and over, and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.”
We do need to hear of examples of people not giving up so we might not lose hope by seeing the tenacity of others.
I talk to many people throughout the week, and I’ll ask how they’re doing. Often, they will say, “I’m just hanging on.” But you know, sometimes you have to let go. I’m telling you, sometimes you’ve just got to let go, and you’ve just got to give up because hanging in there can get pretty uncomfortable.
This is not a message about someone who never gave up that we would be inspired to tenaciously forge on. But the message is a look at the life of a king who knew what was right but spent the better part of his life searching for a better way. King Manasseh wasted a large portion of his life doing everything he could to try to ignore God.
2 Chronicles 33:1(a) NLT
1(a) Manasseh was twelve years old when he became king,
His father, Hezekiah, was famous and extremely wealthy. (This sounds like a good thing, but not for all children.) He started his reign at twelve years old (that sounds scary all by itself). Twelve years old is one year before the wise old age of thirteen.
The first sign your child is a teenager is that their vocabulary shrinks to two words, “I know…” For ten to twelve years, we tell our kids how, when, and where to do everything, as if we know it all. But we do have experience in a few things that they have not yet dealt with, but we act like we know it all sometimes.
Teenagers are not afraid to test boundaries or create a whole different set of boundaries.
Just in case you didn’t know, teenagers are usually a lot bigger than toddlers. If a toddler lays on the ground screaming and kicking because they do not want to go where you want them to, you can pick them up and tuck them into the crook of your arm like a football, and go on your merry way. (Not so with a teenager.)
King Hezekiah (Manasseh’s father) brought reform to Israel rebuilding, re-instating, re-directing the people back to God. Hezekiah was not perfect, but Manasseh did see the heart of his father, he did truly have a heart for God.
2 Chronicles 33:1(b) NLT
1(b) and he reigned in Jerusalem fifty-five years.
Take a moment and think of the damage that a president of the United States of America can do to the moral, ethical standards of our country in a term in the White House. Most of our presidents have taken four to eight years to purposefully redirect the direction of our country.
Just imagine what a man can do in a fifty-five-year term of leadership with nearly an unlimited amount of wealth, believing to be indestructible and a “know-it-all.”
This morning we are going to break the text into three sections.
1). Manasseh’s Ruin
2). Manasseh’s Repentance
3). Manasseh’s Response
Manasseh’s Ruin (verses 2-11)
Here’s my definition of the word “ruin” – a slow, painful quest to run from God while seeking to fill a void in your heart only God can fill.
2 Chronicles 33:2 NLT
2 He did what was evil in the LORD's sight, following the detestable practices of the pagan nations that the LORD had driven from the land ahead of the Israelites.
His father led the people back to God, but Manasseh chose to follow the pagan nations instead. Remember, he is a teenager. (“I know.” “I have a better way.” “I’ve got this.”) He knew the right way at an early age but purposefully chose the wrong way. He was influenced by others rather than being an influencer, following the detestable practices of the pagan nations.
Leaders carry a huge responsibility on how they lead and the direction they lead. Employers, parents, grandparents, you are leaders responsible for setting the direction of others. Manasseh purposefully brought back destructive behavior into his life that God once removed.
I didn’t have a very exciting salvation experience when I got saved. I was sitting on a lumber pile, on a dirt lot in Santee (San Diego County). There were these two guys on the job that were talking to me, and praying with me, and witnessing to me, and speaking to me, and helping me, and loving on me for months, and months, and months. And one day, they just got me where I was ready to listen. And I sat down, they explained how to surrender my life to the Lord, and they read through this Four Spiritual Law tract with me, and I declined. I said, “I’m out. I’m not doing that.”
A couple of hours later, I found myself hiding behind some sagebrush out on that job site, reading that tract, and giving my life to the Lord.
Six months later I backslid pretty hard. I wish I could say I went back to my old ways, but between us – it was ten times worse than it ever was. It was the darkest, most destructive time of my life until I recommitted my life to the Lord. I’ve recommitted my life to the Lord many times since then, too.
2 Chronicles 33:3(a) NLT
3(a) He rebuilt the pagan shrines his father, Hezekiah, had broken down. He constructed altars for the images of Baal and set up Asherah poles.
Please take a moment and look at the similarities of Manasseh’s ruin to someone else you might know today.
“Idolatry” – putting any person, place, or thing in the place where only God belongs. We have all fallen to the little “g” gods in our lives. A relentless quest for items of worth (things), accomplishments, power, wealth.
“Baal” – false god believed to be in control of all of nature and humans. Many different images to chose from to relate to your needs (today we call this overbearing and controlling behavior).
“Asherah” – worship of sex and fertility, ritualist prostitution. In one way or another, I have seen this take out more men than any other vice.
Manasseh not only went down a dark road, but he also seduced the nation and drug them with him. There is no such thing as a personal sin – our actions and behavior radically affect those near to us.
2 Chronicles 33:3(b) NLT
3(b) He also bowed before all the powers of the heavens and worshiped them.
The sun, moon, and stars are a daily reminder of God’s power, control, consistency, and handiwork every day – all day and night.
Deuteronomy 4:19 NLT
19 And when you look up into the sky and see the sun, moon, and stars--all the forces of heaven--don't be seduced into worshiping them. The LORD your God gave them to all the peoples of the earth.
2 Chronicles 33:4 NLT
4 He built pagan altars in the Temple of the LORD, the place where the LORD had said, "My name will remain in Jerusalem forever."
This is an effort to remove God and the truths of God from your heart by numbing or drowning out what we know to be true. Attempting to replace Jesus as Lord of your life can be very costly. It is exasperating to try to take your life back from God after you gave it to him. If you have once truly surrendered your life to Christ, he took that commitment seriously. You have a permanent place that the Holy Spirit lives inside you forever. The question is, how much real estate does the Lord own in your heart and life? (You cannot do a refi or apply for a repo.)
2 Chronicles 33:5 NLT
5 He built these altars for all the powers of the heavens in both courtyards of the LORD's Temple.
Running from the presence of God, trying to remove or replace him by busying ourselves is another sign we are trying to drown out the influence God wants to make in our lives.
How does a teenager end up in rehab at eighteen years old?
How does a grown man end up in prison?
The common thread for both answers to the questions is this. Neither the teenager nor the grown man woke up one day saying, “I think I am going to destroy my life today so I can go to rehab (or to prison).” It starts by allowing small amounts of compromise into our lives, testing the waters, testing/creating new boundaries – much like the teenager.
2 Chronicles 33:6 NLT
6 Manasseh also sacrificed his own sons in the fire in the valley of Ben-Hinnom. He practiced sorcery, divination, and witchcraft, and he consulted with mediums and psychics. He did much that was evil in the LORD's sight, arousing his anger.
… sacrificed his own sons in the fire… Without true repentance, the dark path only gets darker. Manasseh selfishly fell so far as to give up his sons to be sacrificed by fire to the false god Molech.
He practiced sorcery… mind-altering enchantment.
divination, hissing, or whispering in his ear by those to be known to forthtell.
Anxious/worry is tantamount to fortune-telling. I have a little bit of information, and I play it out or change the circumstances about things that are in the future, in my head over and over. I struggle with this. But I take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ, to cast down every argument that exalts itself above the knowledge of Christ. It’s a battle.
witchcraft, black magic, the occult.
he consulted with mediums and psychics. Seeking advice among the dead for direction falsely believed to have a superhuman knowledge.
This is what it looks like either in the mirror or someone else you know hopelessly looking for truth and meaning in life without God.
Manasseh is a great example of someone trying everything to hide or numb himself from God one small choice at a time, heading in the exact opposite direction, going into a deeper and darker place every day. “Ruin.”
2 Chronicles 33:7 NLT
7 Manasseh even took a carved idol he had made and set it up in God's Temple, the very place where God had told David and his son Solomon: "My name will be honored forever in this Temple and in Jerusalem--the city I have chosen from among all the tribes of Israel.
After coming up empty, unfulfilled, believing no one else could help, and nearing his all-time low, his last-ditch effort is to believe (I’ve got this). I will make my own god – that will work for me and I can do what I want.
2 Chronicles 33:8 NLT
8 If the Israelites will be careful to obey my commands--all the laws, decrees, and regulations given through Moses--I will not send them into exile from this land that I set aside for your ancestors."
Here is a picture of God’s mercy and faithfulness right in the middle of the spiral-down, giving all of us a chance to turn back and repent, turn the other direction to God.
God’s mercy is always available in our ruin.
2 Chronicles 33:9-10 NLT
9 But Manasseh led the people of Judah and Jerusalem to do even more evil than the pagan nations that the LORD had destroyed when the people of Israel entered the land.
10 The LORD spoke to Manasseh and his people, but they ignored all his warnings.
Another decision was made personally by Manasseh and his people. The decision was they ignored all his warnings. Every man for themself. Each person is ultimately responsible for their own decisions. Manasseh was leading the people in the wrong direction; the people could have turned back to God on their own.
God extended his mercy to all. We are all accountable to God as individuals.
2 Chronicles 33:11 NLT
11 So the LORD sent the commanders of the Assyrian armies, and they took Manasseh prisoner. They put a ring through his nose, bound him in bronze chains, and led him away to Babylon.
God’s mercy again is shown to Manasseh by God sending the Assyrian commanders to capture him. But in reality, God saved him from himself.
Manasseh’s Repentance (verses 12-13)
2 Chronicles 33:12 NLT
12 But while in deep distress, Manasseh sought the LORD his God and sincerely humbled himself before the God of his ancestors.
Manasseh sought the Lord, meaning he turned the other direction to God. He sought the Lord after realizing everything else was empty and without purpose.
He sincerely humbled himself before God. I have made an absolute mess of my life – Lord please save me. I admit I do not “got” this!
Here is a beautiful picture of the title of today’s message, Our God of a Second Chance.
2 Chronicles 33:13(a) NLT
13(a) And when he prayed, the LORD listened to him and was moved by his request. So the LORD brought Manasseh back to Jerusalem and to his kingdom.
This is a picture of God’s love and God’s grace. Unconditional love. Grace is unmerited favor.
2 Chronicles 33:13(b) NLT
13(b)Then Manasseh finally realized that the LORD alone is God!
After dabbling, and that’s where it all starts for all of us, it led to destructive excess in just about everything the world had to offer. Looking to fill a void in his life only God can fill, Manasseh realized that it was truly God that he desired and needed.
Manasseh’s Response (verses 14-16)
2 Chronicles 33:14 NLT
14 After this Manasseh rebuilt the outer wall of the City of David, from west of the Gihon Spring in the Kidron Valley to the Fish Gate and continuing around the hill of Ophel. He built the wall very high. And he stationed his military officers in all of the fortified towns of Judah.
Sincerely turning to God and giving your heart to God, brings radical change on the inside first, and then “fruit” to confirm it. He went from leading and seducing, murdering the people, dragging them to his own ruins to protecting, caring, and establishing a safe, peaceful place for the people now that he has made peace with God.
Having a right standing with God truly changes the way we care and treat others.
2 Chronicles 33:15 NLT
15 Manasseh also removed the foreign gods and the idol from the LORD's Temple. He tore down all the altars he had built on the hill where the Temple stood and all the altars that were in Jerusalem, and he dumped them outside the city.
With a new heart for God, for the first time, Manasseh begins to lead the people he is responsible for back to a personal relationship with God. He created an environment for them to seek the only true God. Manasseh removed the vices and distractions from his life and made a public stand by throwing it all outside the city.
2 Chronicles 33:16 NLT
16 Then he restored the altar of the LORD and sacrificed peace offerings and thanksgiving offerings on it. He also encouraged the people of Judah to worship the LORD, the God of Israel.
True repentance brings true change.
2 Corinthians 7:10 NLT
10 For the kind of sorrow God wants us to experience leads us away from sin and results in salvation. There's no regret for that kind of sorrow. But worldly sorrow, which lacks repentance, results in spiritual death.
I want to give you an opportunity today to turn back to God and surrender your life to Christ by leading you in prayer. The Bible says now is the appointed time, today is the day of salvation.
Romans 3:23 NLT
23 For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God's glorious standard.
You and I are the everyone.
Romans 5:8 NLT
8 But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.
You and I are the us.
John 3:16 KJV
16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
You and I are the whosever in this verse.
I invite you to pray with me, and mean it from your heart.
Lord, I know that I’m a sinner. I also know that you died for those sins. God, please, forgive me. Thank you for saving me. Please fill me with your Holy Spirit so that I can walk in the newness of life from this day forward all the days of my life. I ask this in Jesus’ name, amen.