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Amen. Thank you for that, Brother Mike. Let's take our Bibles together this morning and go to the book of 2 Chronicles, chapter number 31, is where we'll find our text. 2 Chronicles 31. We'll begin reading the 31st chapter. We'll continue our reading into the 32nd chapter here in just a moment. And what a week it has been here in our country, certainly as we think about what happened there in the South and some of the storms and some of the havoc and devastation it left. Of course, we experienced a little bit of that, but we're a little bit better prepared, I suppose. A little bit more used to it, maybe, which is a good thing. And they gave me an opportunity to actually do some sled riding with my kids this week. And I'm feeling it today. If the message is a little shorter than normal, you'll know why. Because I don't know that I have the stamina that I normally have. We were actually out yesterday, my son and I, and we had gone to a hill, just the two of us. And nobody else was there. It was an inside secret. I know of a place. If you want to see me after the service, I can tell you where to go. Not a soul to be found. And we're going up and down the hill. And on our way up, one of the times, he's in front of me by a few feet, which was normal because he's a little faster up the hill than I am. And he said, Dad, you're 41 years old, right? Said, yeah, I am. And he said, and mom is. And I won't tell you what he said mom was, but he was right. He had her age as well. And then he says, just matter of fact, he says, well, you guys both have at least six years left. And so I want you to pray that with the remaining six years of my life that God would use me to accomplish whatever he would have us to accomplish. And I think he was prophetic because I felt like my life was going to end a few of those runs down the hill. But we're here today and we're grateful for it. Would you stand with me if you found your place there in 2 Chronicles chapter 31? And I'm going to dismiss all of our children, sixth grade and younger, they can go. to the Fellowship Hall, Brother Bill Marks is here, and he's gonna be sharing with them today, doing some magic, and they'll have a great time. And I neglected to mention this, but what a great job that young Titus and his mom did in the offertory, what a blessing that is, and see mom and son playing together, and some of the talent that our children have, and that certainly is a blessing. 2 Chronicles chapter 31 is where we'll find, begin our text this morning, we'll begin reading in verse number 20. The Bible says, And thus did Hezekiah throughout all Judah, and wrought that which was good, and right, and truth before the Lord his God. And in every work that he began in the service of the house of God, and in the law, and in the commandments to seek his God, he did it with all his heart, and prospered. Now notice verse number one of chapter 32. After these things. and the establishment thereof. Sennacherib king of Assyria came, and entered into Judah, and encamped against the fence cities, and thought to win them for himself." The title of the message comes out of the very first verse of chapter 32. We find those first three words, after these things. After what things? Well, all of the things that Hezekiah had done in the beginning of his kingdom. Things that were pleasing in God's sight. Things that were right. Things that were good. After Hezekiah had done all of these things, the Bible says in that moment came an enemy. The Assyrians led by a man by the name of Sennacherib. And we're going to discuss this concept because many of you, I pray that as we've begun this new year, many of you have determined to do the right thing, to go forward for God, to grow spiritually. You're going to discover a truth that is unmistakable in this text, but also in life. And that is when we, when we make those steps and when we begin to determine to go in the right way after those things happen, you can expect. You can expect the attacks of the devil, of the world, of the flesh, all of those things coming against us to get us off the track that we believe God would have us to be on. And so, Hezekiah learned that, and we're going to see how he dealt with that. I pray that God would help us to do the same. Father, we thank You for Your Word. and how you speak to our hearts as we read it. I pray that you'd help me now as I attempt to teach and preach the things that you have taught me this week as we've studied over this passage and we've looked at this text and the life of this man by the name of King Hezekiah. Lord, would you be pleased to bless our gathering and our time together this morning, we pray in Jesus' name, amen. Thank you, you may be seated. The Bible tells us that Hezekiah was 25 years old when he began to reign in Jerusalem as the king of the nation of Judah. We learn of that in 2 Chronicles 29. The Bible tells us that Hezekiah's reign lasted for 29 years. Almost 30 years he sat on the throne of Judah. The Bible tells us that he did that which was right in the sight of the Lord God. according to 2 Chronicles 29 and verse number 2. Whereas, interestingly enough, the previous king, a man by the name of Ahaz, had not done that which is right. In fact, Ahaz would have been the father to Hezekiah. And Ahaz, actually in his reign and during his kingdom, the Bible tells us that Ahaz had actually gone so far as to close the temple and is to take the vessels that were used in the worship of God out of the temple, and he had sent them as a gift to the Assyrians and to the king of Assyria in order to buy his favor and to buy his blessing. This is Hezekiah's father, and this is the type of environment that Hezekiah comes into or finds himself in as he becomes the king. The Bible tells us that Hezekiah's dad, Ahaz, according to 2 Chronicles 28 and verse number one, was a wicked man. and that he was a worshipper of Baal. And so the idea, the concept of closing the temple and removing the goods, the vessels that would have been used in the worship of God really would have been a very light thing for him to do because he didn't believe in the God of heaven and because he was a worshipper of Baal. And yet here is his son, Hezekiah, and he comes to the throne. And as we begin reading in 2 Chronicles 29 all the way through to 2 Chronicles 32, we find step after step of Hezekiah doing the right thing, doing a good thing, doing a blessed thing in God's sight. For instance, in his first year as king, Hezekiah reopened the doors to the temple. and to the house of God, and he repaired them according to 2 Chronicles 29 and verse number 3. The Bible also tells us that Hezekiah in the first year restored the priests and Levites to their positions of leading the people to worship. We learn of that in verses 4 to 11 of 2 Chronicles chapter number 29. And so obviously when the temple was closed and when people were no longer going in to worship God, the priests and the Levites were sort of out of a job. And they had to do other things to provide for themselves and meet the needs of their family. And so when Hezekiah came to the throne and he reopened the temple, then all of a sudden there was a need for priests and Levites to be there and to help the folks as they came in and to worship the Lord. Notice the Bible says the first thing they did was they began to clean and to cleanse the temple after years of neglect and abuse under King Ahaz. And then after that was done, Hezekiah went into the temple and the Bible says that he offered 28 sacrifices of four sets of seven sacrifices. The Bible tells us he offered. He offered seven bullocks, seven rams, seven lambs and seven goats for a sin offering. We read of that in 2 Chronicles 29 and verse number 21. And then the Bible tells us that music was again heard in the temple as they began to worship the Lord using song. We read of that in 2 Chronicles 29 beginning in verse 25. Prayer was reintroduced into the temple and thanksgiving was once again offered. Verses 25 all the way through verse number 31 of 2 Chronicles 29, you'll rediscover again the worship and the prayer and the music and the thanksgiving that was given. And then the Bible tells us that Hezekiah went a step further, and that he sent messengers throughout both Israel and Judah, and he invited the people to join him by observing the Passover together in Jerusalem. We learn of that in 2 Chronicles chapter number 30. You see, in the years of Solomon, they worshiped all together. The entire kingdom was united. But you know as well as I do that when Solomon left the throne, and he left it to his son Rehoboam, that the kingdom was divided. And you have the northern tribes, those are the ten northern tribes of Israel, that was known as Israel. And then you have the southern tribe of Judah. And so they had not observed or worshipped and observed the Passover Since the time of Solomon, many hundreds of years had gone by since they had done this. And Hezekiah said, it's good for us to come together. It's good for us to observe this Passover. And you'll find that as they sent the messengers throughout Israel, that they were met predominantly with mocking and scorn. that they really were not well received. They had no desire to go to Jerusalem and to observe the Passover there. Israel had gone its own way and really was wholly given to idolatry. And by this point in time, Israel had been carried off into captivity at the hands of the Assyrians themselves. And so there really wasn't a great response, but a few came. And the Bible says that those who did come, that they humbled themselves to do so. We see that, look with me in chapter 30, verse number 11. Nevertheless, divers of Asher and Manasseh and of Zebulun humbled themselves and came to Jerusalem. And I just want to pause here and say that true worship, listen, always requires humility as we humble ourselves and recognize, listen, He is greater and He is worthy of our praise. You know what? He's worthy of our sacrifice. You know, the truth of the matter is, is that you could be other places here today. You don't have to be here. You could be in the warmth of your home. You could be doing something else, maybe something that pleases you and that pleases your flesh or yourself. But here's the point. You sacrifice to come to church. Why? Because what you're saying to God is you're worthy of this. You're greater than I am. Therefore, the first day of the week, I give it over to you. And I observe the worship of your holy name on that first day of the week. And so as we humble ourselves and recognize he is greater and he is worthy of our praise, of our sacrifice, he's worthy of our time. The Bible tells us in 2 Chronicles 30 and verse number 26, that after this first Passover that was observed in hundreds of years, the Bible tells us that there was great joy in Jerusalem. And at the end of the Passover, listen, there was such great joy that they, again, they had not observed this in so many years, but here's what they did. They then went throughout all of Judah and they destroyed the idols that were there. And they destroyed the groves and the high places that had been used in the worship of false gods. We read of that. in 2 Chronicles 31 and verse number 1. And then the final thing that we see as steps, progressive steps, that Hezekiah was leading his people in is that they began to tithe again. And they began to give financially to the Lord's work. We read of that in 2 Chronicles 31 verses 4, 5, and 6. In fact, listen, in fact they gave so much that they were able to repair the foundation of the temple and they were able to do whatever other work that needed to be done in the temple so long as their heart desired because God's people gave and gave so overwhelmingly and so abundantly that there were again extra funds left for all of these projects. So as we read beginning in chapter 29 and into chapter 30 and into chapter 31, we look at Hezekiah and we look at his kingdom and we think to ourselves, my, what an unusual man. And certainly the Lord's blessing in his hand had to have been upon his people. And we would all agree, wouldn't we? We would all agree that the reign of Hezekiah was off to a great start. And you might think, we might think that from here on out would be smooth sailing. The hard work had already been done, the steps that were necessary, that needed to be taken in order to get God's people moving again in the right direction and to do away with the idols and no doubt the priests that were involved in the pagan worship, to do away with those things, that had to be the hard work. And now all of that's behind him and so now Hezekiah can just enjoy his time in his office. However, the 32nd chapter begins with, to me, what is a startling reality. And that reality is this, that the good things that Hezekiah had done did not insulate him against the enemy's attack. But I would say in some respects, they were an invitation to the enemy's attack. You see, we all operate under this thought or this idea that if I'll just begin to do the right thing, well, then everything will fall into place. Some of you, you look at your life on a yearly basis towards the end of the year and you think to yourself, okay, what do I need to do to get things going in the right direction and to be pleasing in God's sight? And what are some things that I've grown lax in or perhaps I've grown weak or weary in or fatigued in? and I'm gonna begin to restart those things, and when I do, then God's gonna pour out His abundant blessings upon me, and life is going to be good, and I'm going to find peace and satisfaction and joy again. We operate under that subconscious idea that the only thing that is missing is for me to do the right thing, and when I do, everything should be fine, everything should fall into place. And yet we find in our text that after Hezekiah had done the right thing over and over and over again, things, listen, that were according to God's law, things that were according to God's commandment, there's no doubt God is pleased even with what he's doing. And yet the Bible says after these things, after what things? After all the good that Hezekiah had done. Then comes the enemy. Then comes Sennacherib. Then comes the formidable opponent of Assyria. You know, again, there is an element that we all must deal with in life. And that element causes us to want to give up, to want to throw in the towel when we try to do the right thing and we feel like we're doing the right thing, and yet the enemy still comes against us, perhaps even to a greater extent than we could possibly have imagined. You know, you're not alone in this. In fact, we discover not only in the life of Hezekiah this concept, but we also discover it in the life of one of the psalmists. There's a man by the name of Asaph who wrote many of the psalms, and he wrote an interesting psalm, Psalm 73. I won't have you turn there, but I'd encourage you to read it at some point in time. Because in that psalm, he wrestles with some of the same frustrations and some of the same difficulties that you and I wrestle with. And that is this, that Asaph, as he looked around at his life and his world, he had a complaint against God. And here was his complaint. His complaint was, Lord, I'm looking at all of these wicked people that are doing the wrong thing, that are pleasing their flesh and are going against your word and against your will and against your way, and I find them to be prospering and enjoying life and everything seems to be wonderful. And he's frustrated with that. You can imagine why. In fact, he even goes so far as to say this in verse number 13. Verily, I have cleansed my heart in vain. You know what he says? He says, Lord, he says, I have tried to be pure and right and holy. I tried to clean up my life and to do the right thing, and it has been worthless. It has been empty. It has been vain. It has not accomplished anything whatsoever that I've desired for it to accomplish. Perhaps, perhaps you've been there before. You look around and you see a world that is wicked and evil, and they seem to be having so much fun, and they seem to be prospering. And then you look at yourself, and you look at other people that are trying to do right, and there's struggles, and there's medical issues, and there's financial troubles, and issues at work, and marital issues, and issues in the home with their children. And you think to yourself, Lord, why? Why is it that we've tried to do all of these good things and all of these right things, and it just seems to invite further attacks and greater attacks by the enemy into our lives? And is there, is there anything that we can do to stop it? Perhaps you've determined this year to grow and to develop spiritually. And maybe as you set out on that path, you've discovered this troubling and frustrating reality. And that reality is this, that the more right that you try to do, the more good things that you try to do, only leads to increased attacks and efforts by the enemy to get you off track. To deter you from doing the right things that God has led you to do. I want us to examine Hezekiah today. And I want us to see a man, I want us to see a man who in the midst of doing that which is right, understood this concept. Just because I'm doing right doesn't mean that the enemy is not going to come against me. And he put some things in place in his life that helped him tremendously and helped his kingdom. And I want to encourage us to do the same. Notice, first of all, we discover in our text his awareness. We see his awareness. Would you look with me in verse number 1? It says, So we see this awareness that Hezekiah has of the adversary, of the enemy that is coming. He recognizes and understands why he's there. Notice, we see that he was aware, first of all, of the advancing adversary. He was aware of the advancing adversary. Sennacherib was the king of Assyria. And Hezekiah, we've already said this, Hezekiah's dad had spent his whole time as king trying to please the Assyrians because they were a formidable foe. He was afraid of them. He had seen what they had done to his neighbors to the north. He had seen what they had done to the 10 tribes of Israel. And he thought to himself, I don't want to be them. I don't want my kingdom to end and for my people to be carried into captivity. And so rather than trust in the Lord, the Bible says that he took the vessels out of the temple and he sent them up to the king of Assyria. He said, here, you have these so that we can buy favor from you. So we don't have to worry about you coming after us or coming against us. And so that was the king. That was the dad of Hezekiah. And yet when Hezekiah came to the throne, he said, no more, no more. We're not sending any more gifts up to Assyria. We're not trying to placate them or satisfy them. We're not trying to please them. We're not holding their hand anymore. We're going to trust in God and we're going to do the right thing. Don't you understand that Hezekiah recognized by taking this step, I am going to draw the wrath of Sennacherib. I am going to draw the ire and the frustration of Assyria. And it is highly likely that they will eventually come down here and they will eventually try to take back that which they have lost by me being king and by me saying we're not going that route anymore. And so Hezekiah, listen, he was aware He was aware of the adversary and he was aware that the adversary was coming. And I'm afraid that so many times in our lives, we dwell under this idea that, you know, by doing the right thing, I'm going to be fine and the enemy's just going to move on and he's going to find somebody else to attack. And yet understand this, that when you draw back and you quit paying to play the game, so to speak, and you get out of that activity, understand the devil is going to come after you harder than he's ever come. He is not going to leave you alone. He is going to attack and He is going to do everything in His power to get you off track. And yet so many of us, so many of us sometimes dwell in this alternate idea or reality that, hey, I'm fine, I'm good. but not Hezekiah. Hezekiah was aware, the Bible says, and when he saw that Sennacherib was come, he was anticipating this. He was aware that this was a very real possibility, but notice not only was he aware of the advancing adversary, but he was aware of the adversary's intentions. Look at what the Bible says. It says, he saw that Sennacherib was come and that he was purposed to fight. He understood the purpose Sennacherib intended. that he was there to fight. He was there to take Jerusalem and Judah, just as his people had previously taken Samaria and Israel. And understand that Hezekiah knew that they were up against a serious threat from the Assyrians. He recognized all of these things. And he recognized, hey, listen, we're not as big, and we're not as strong as they are in a physical sense, that they have better weapons, and they have better chariots, and they perhaps have more people. He understood all of these things. He recognized that he was in for a fight. You know, the Bible speaks of the wiles of the devil. It talks about that. It says that God's people, we have a need to put on the whole armor of God. The word wiles, it just means that the devil is tricky, that he's cunning, and that he's very good at what he does. And yet we, sometimes as God's people, we go through life and we sometimes forget that the devil is out there and that the devil is wily and that he is tricky and that he's very good at what he does. The Bible tells us in that same chapter of Ephesians, chapter six, in verse number 16, the Bible tells us that the devil, listen, he is throwing in your direction, he is throwing in my direction something that is referred to as fiery darts in this passage of Scripture. Fiery darts. In other words, you and I, we get up and we go about our day and may God help us to understand and to realize that our adversary is tricky. He's good at what he does. May God help us to understand that not only is he tricky and good at what he does, but he holds in his hand, he holds fiery darts and he's not afraid to use them. In fact, he's eager to use them. He wants to throw them at our direction and he wants to destroy our lives. The Bible doesn't stop there. We go forward and we find ourselves in 1 Peter chapter 5 and verse number 8, and we're given another word picture as to just what the devil is like and how ferocious he is. And the Bible tells us in 1 Peter 5, 8, that the adversary of the devil is a roaring lion walking about, seeking whom he may devour. I remember years and years ago, I was working on a bus route, and I remember, you know, when you're working on a bus route, you're knocking on doors, and you're going in different places, and you're not always aware, as you enter into people's property, what kind of animals they might have. And I remember, I remember that I had walked into a yard, I'd run, you know, did one of those things with the fence, you know, just kind of jangled the fence a little bit. If there's an animal, usually they come running. and I jangled the fence a little bit and nothing and so I kind of walked in and as soon as I did, a large dog came running around the corner. And he ran in my direction and he put his two front legs right up on my shoulders and he looked me right in the face. And I looked at him and I thought to myself, I don't want to be here. at all. This is not good, this is not fun, this is not enjoyable. A couple of years later, I was on bus visitation and I was doing the same thing and I knocked on the door and I heard footsteps coming in my direction. The door was, the door was, the main door was open, the storm door was closed, but there were the, where the, where the mesh would have been for the screen, and it was gone. And I thought, I'm a little vulnerable here, but I'll be all right. And so I'm knocking on the door, and I'm waiting. And that other experience is already in my mind. And I'm thinking to myself, you know, that dog rose up to meet me, and I hear these footsteps coming. And so I started to back up a little bit. And all of a sudden, I saw a dog jump literally through where the screen should have been in my direction. I started back plodding, tripped over something in the yard, fell down on my back, only to discover the dog was a chihuahua. Oh, how humiliating that was, you know, and embarrassing as I'm licking my wounds, you know, and getting up and thinking to myself, what an idiot I am. But you know, the truth of the matter is, I'll take any dog in Northeast Ohio as opposed to a roaring lion. You know, a dog, listen, a dog might wanna bite you and take a piece of your flesh. Listen, a roaring lion wants to consume you. The Bible says, listen, our enemy is not a German shepherd or a pit bull. Our enemy is not a chihuahua, our enemy is a roaring lion, who's walking, listen, he's walking to and fro in this world, and he is looking, listen, he is looking for you in a moment in which you're weak, and he's looking to consume you, to devour you. How foolish it is for us to be unaware of the fact that every day as we're living here in this life, we have an enemy who is after us. who is tricky, who has fiery darts, who wants to devour us. And so we see here that Hezekiah was aware. He was aware of his enemy. But notice, secondly, he was prepared. We see, secondly, his preparedness. We learn of that in verses 3 through 6. The Bible tells us, first of all, that he prepared through good counsel. He prepared through good counsel. Would you look at verse number 3? The Bible says he took counsel with his princes and his mighty men. So they understood, listen, the enemy's coming, and when he gets here, we want to be ready, and we want to be prepared. And so he sat down with his men, and they had discussions, they had conversations. What do you suppose ought to be done? And I want to just tell you that the Bible is very clear that counsel, listen, finding and discovering good counsel is a good thing for you to do. You know, it requires us to humble ourselves a bit to get counsel, doesn't it? When we go to someone and we say, listen, I'm faced with this decision, I don't know what to do. Here's what we're telling them. We're telling them, I'm not wise enough to have figured this thing out yet. And that's a vulnerable place for us to be. It's a place that we don't like to be. It essentially is saying to the person we're seeking counsel from, you know, I have more confidence in you and what you would do in this situation than I do in myself. And most people struggle with that. Here's the king, listen, the king of Judah. He's the king, he's the top guy. And yet, and yet he was humble enough to say, hey, listen, men, come near here. Here's what's going to happen. We've quit playing this game with Assyria. We're no longer supporting them. We're no longer giving gifts to them. And we can assume that at some point they're going to come and they're going to do battle with us. What should we do, men, so that we can be prepared and so that we can be ready? How long has it been since you sat down with someone and you had a conversation with them like that? Hey, listen, I've begun to do the right thing and take the right steps, and I'm assuming that at some point the devil's gonna come my way, my flesh is gonna come my way, the world is gonna come my way, and I wanna be ready when they do. What can I do? How long's it been since you developed someone that you could have an accountability partner with? How long's it been since you've developed a relationship with someone where they can speak good, godly counsel into your life? Hezekiah did that. It's one of the keys that helped him is that he prepared through good counsel. But notice, secondly, the Bible says he prepared by strengthening himself. Listen, these are things I believe that he was doing prior to Sennacherib coming so that he could be ready when Sennacherib came. Would you look in verse number five, the Bible says, and he strengthened himself. Let me ask you this question. What are you doing right now to strengthen yourself while you're enjoying relative peace? You know, you've made some decisions to serve the Lord and to please the Lord, and maybe there's a lag time, maybe there's a bit of a delay between the decision that was made and the devil advancing even harder and heavier into your life. So what are you doing right now to prepare yourself for that? Notice some of the things that Hezekiah and his people did as he sought good counsel. Here's some things they recommended and here's some things that he did. Notice verse number three. The Bible says he diverted the water supply into the city. Look what it says in verse three. It says he took counsel with his princes and his mighty men to stop the waters of the fountains which were without the city and they did help him. So there was gathered much people together who stopped all the fountains and the brook that ran through the midst of the land saying, why should the kings of Assyria come and find much water? Did you know that if you go to Israel today, you go to the Holy Land today, you can actually walk through the very tunnels that Hezekiah and his people dug? It's still called that to this day. It's called Hezekiah's Tunnel. It's underneath the city of David, which is just outside the walled city that you see at oftentimes many pictures, the beautiful walled city where you see the Dome of the Rock. And just past that is the city of David. And underneath that, we've walked those tunnels before. These are the tunnels that Hezekiah and his people dug. And here's what they did. They said, listen, we know that Sennacherib is coming. And in those days, because of walled cities, oftentimes the most effective form of warfare was to besiege a city. In other words, to set up an encampment around the city so that no one could leave and nothing could come in. And here's what they decided. They said, listen, in those days, we're not going to be unprepared. We're going to have water. And they diverted the water supply outside the city through tunnels into the city. And they shut up the water supply outside of the city. And they did the same with the brooks. And their thinking is found in verse number four. And that is this. Why should we allow the king of Assyria to come and have all the water that his heart could possibly desire? You see, they took some practical steps. They did some things that made sense and were just common sense type matters. But not only did they do that, but they repaired the walls and towers of the city, according to verse number five. By doing so, the Bible says that God says this Hezekiah, that He strengthened Himself by making sure that the walls were rebuilt and the city was not so easily penetrated when the enemy arrived. The Bible tells us, number three, that He led them to make darts and shields. We see that in verse number five. You see it? See, every army needs an offensive weapon and they need something that's defensive that will protect them. And that's what they spent their time doing. They made darts that could be used to throw in the enemy's direction. And they understood the enemy's coming with darts. We better be ready with shields. And so they spent time preparing themselves for the enemy to come. Notice, fourthly, he organized his army. We see that in verse number six. And he set captains of war over the people and gathered them together to him in the street of the gate of the city and spake comfortably to them. See, Hezekiah understood the importance of an organized army. He sent captains over his people to get them organized and to develop a battle plan and a strategy for when the enemy came. You see the wisdom here of Hezekiah? Hezekiah is doing all the right things that he's supposed to be doing, and yet he's aware. By doing this, I'm not insulating myself from the enemy's attack, but in reality, I'm inviting the enemy to come in. But he's prepared. He's taking some practical steps. Number one, he's seeking the counsel of people that he trusts. Number two, he's doing practical things that will help his people and him and his city and his kingdom to be prepared when the enemy does arrive. And I propose that you and I do similarly. Perhaps right now life is pretty good. You're doing well, and that includes you doing the right thing. Now is the time, listen, to begin strengthening yourself. To be aware, listen, the enemy is coming at some point, and when he does, I'm going to be prepared. Finally and lastly, we notice his faithfulness in verses six to eight. Through faith, he accomplishes three things. Number one, through faith, he encourages his people. Would you look in verse number six? The Bible says that he spake comfortably to his people, saying, Be strong and courageous. Be not afraid nor dismayed for the king of Syria, nor for all the multitude that is with him. And don't you suppose as he's looking at his men and he's saying, hey guys, be strong and be courageous. Don't you suppose there's probably an element in which he's saying, hey, Hezekiah, you be strong and courageous too. He realizes that the enemy is a serious threat. And yet the Bible says he speaks comfortably to his people. Have you ever been there in a place where you're scared as anybody, and yet you realize, hey, listen, we've got to rise up. We've got to face this challenge. We have no choice but to go forward in whatever situation we find ourselves in. We see that through faith, he encouraged his people. He spake comfortably to them. He calmed them, listen, by speaking words of comfort. He promoted a message of strength and courage, and he urged his people, don't be afraid. Notice secondly, through faith he saw what others could not see. Would you look with me in verse number seven? He says, be strong and courageous, be not afraid. Now look at the end of the verse. For there be more with us than with him. Now I don't suppose, I don't suppose that he was speaking literally. In fact, I know he wasn't speaking literally. Because the Assyrians were a great empire. Judah was really sort of a small city with not a whole lot of territory, not a whole lot of land, and really not a whole lot of people. It was just one tribe. They had one city that was predominant, the city of Jerusalem. And yet he looked at his people, and with a serious look on his face, without a hint that he's kidding around or he's joking, he said, there be more with us than with him. Now you have to think that his people might have pressed him on that. How can you say such a thing? The Assyrians are the greatest superpower in the world at this point in time. The Assyrians have already taken our neighbors to the north, and there were 10 tribes there. We're only one tribe. How do you suppose that they that be with us are more than they that be with him? Here's how he was able to do it. He saw that. He saw something that no one else could see through the eyes of faith. You know, he's not the first person that said similarly and that saw similarly. The Bible tells us in 2 Kings chapter number six that there was a prophet by the name of Elisha. Most of you know the story. Elisha was a prophet to the nation of Israel, to the northern tribes, to the kings that sat in Samaria. And Elisha was living his life, and the Syrians at this point in time was a different enemy, not the same as the Assyrians, but the Syrians had come against Israel and Elisha because he walked with God, and because God is able to do supernatural things, Elisha could tell the king, hey, listen, the Syrians are gonna camp over here. And they would be there and they would know it before the Syrians even got there. That happened several times before the king of Syria said, now hold on a minute, something's going on here. What's the deal? These people know where we're going to be long before we ever even get there. One of his aides came to him and said, you know, there's a man of God in the nation of Israel. His name is Elisha. Here's where he lives. I suppose you should probably go get him. He's the one that is telling the king where you're going to be. The city that Elisha was living in was the city of Dothan. The Bible says that one morning, Dothan was lying asleep, and when they began to rise and began to wake up, they looked outside the walls of their city, and they saw that the army of the Syrians had gathered, and they were completely surrounded. When Elisha's servant woke up, his heart was filled with fear. He was intimidated. He was scared. And he said to his master, he said, Elisha, how is it that you're so calm? How is it that you're not afraid? And here's what Elisha said. He said in 2 Kings 6 and verse number 16, fear not. For they that be with us are more than they that be with them. And then he prayed a prayer and he said, Lord, would you open the eyes of my servant so that he can see? The Bible says at that moment his eyes were open. And we're not talking about physical, we're talking about in a spiritual sense. The Bible says that he could see, listen, all around the city. Between them and the army of the Syrians was an army full of flaming chariots. And they were protected that day. Why? Who did that? Hezekiah here, a little bit later, Hezekiah looks at the approaching enemy, and by faith, he says, hold on a minute. He says, let's not be afraid, because they that be with us are more than they that be with him. Can I tell you that we're reminded of the same truth throughout Scripture? The Bible says in Isaiah 54, 17, no weapon formed against thee shall prosper. In every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and the righteousness is of me, saith the Lord. I love Jeremiah 20, 11, but the Lord is with me as a mighty terrible one. Therefore, my persecutors shall stumble, and they shall not prevail. They shall be greatly ashamed, for they shall not prosper. Their everlasting confusion shall never be forgotten. And of course, Romans 8, 31. What shall we say then to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? Look at the statement of faith that Hezekiah makes in verse number eight. With him, with Sennacherib, with Assyria is an arm of flesh, but with us is the Lord our God to help us. Final thing that I wanna show you today is that through faith, he impacted his generation. Would you look at the end of verse number eight? The Bible says, and the people rested themselves upon the words of Hezekiah, king of Judah. You'll discover as you read through the remainder of this story, the children of Israel, listen, the kingdom of Judah did not even have to lift a sword, that an angel of God smote the entire army, wiped them out, 185,000 of them. And Sennacherib walked back to Assyria alone. God did that. God did that. Understand, listen, after these things, after what things? After Hezekiah had done all the right things, the enemy still came. And you'll find the same thing to be true in your life. If you've determined to grow this year and move ahead spiritually, understand, listen, the devil will come after you harder than ever. I say rather than be discouraged or frustrated, I think we should follow the pattern that was set by Hezekiah, which is awareness, preparedness, and then faithfulness. And can I say this finally? Listen, life is hard, no matter how you live it. I discovered that to be true, and I suppose you have as well. What I mean by that is this. Living right is hard, but there's no regrets there. Living wrong, it's hard, but there are regrets. regardless of how you live. See, some people are sitting here going, well, if that's the case, if I'm gonna do the right thing, and I'm gonna struggle, and the enemy's still gonna come, well, I'm just gonna do the wrong thing. Well, you'll still find that life is hard, and you'll be a lot of regrets. But if you determine from here on out, I'm gonna live right, and I know the enemy's gonna come, and it's gonna be hard, but there'll be no regrets, and God will take up for me. In those moments, you'll discover some of the greatest blessings that you can possibly imagine. Our heads are bowed, and our eyes are closed for just a moment.
After These Things
ID del sermone | 221211633117516 |
Durata | 39:27 |
Data | |
Categoria | Servizio domenicale |
Testo della Bibbia | 2 Cronache 32:1 |
Lingua | inglese |
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