Folks, we're in 2 Kings, chapter 16. 2 Kings, chapter 16. This is God's Word. In the 17th year of Pekah, son of Ramallah, Ahaz, son of Jotham, king of Judah, began to reign. Ahaz was 20 years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem 16 years. Unlike David, his father, he did not do what was right in the eyes of the Lord, his God. He walked in the ways of the kings of Israel and even sacrificed his son in the fire, following the detestable ways of the nations the Lord had driven out before the Israelites. He offered sacrifices and burned incense at the high places, on the hilltops, and under every spreading tree. Then Rezan, king of Aram, and Pekah, son of Ramallah, king of Israel, marched right up to fight against Jerusalem and besieged Ahaz. But they could not overpower him. At that time, Rezan, king of Aram, recovered Eloth for Aram by driving out the men of Judah. Edomites then moved into Eloth and have lived there to this day. Ahaz sent messengers to say to Tiglath-Pileser, king of Assyria, I am your servant and vassal. Come up and save me out of the hand of the king of Aram and of the king of Israel who are attacking me. And Ahaz took the silver and gold found in the temple of the Lord and in the treasuries of the royal palace and sent it as a gift to the king of Assyria. The king of Assyria complied by attacking Damascus and capturing it. He deported its inhabitants to Kerr and put Rezin to death. Then King Ahaz went to Damascus to meet Tiglath-Pileser, king of Assyria. He saw an altar in Damascus and sent to Uriah the priest a sketch of the altar with detailed plans for its construction. So Uriah the priest built an altar in accordance with the plans that King Ahaz had sent from Damascus and finished it before King Ahaz returned. When the king came back from Damascus and saw the altar, he approached it and presented offerings on it. He offered up his burnt offering and grain offering, poured out his drink offering, and sprinkled the blood of his fellowship offerings on the altar. The bronze altar that stood before the Lord, he brought from the front of the temple, from between the new altar and the temple of the Lord, and put it on the north side of the new altar. King Ahaz then gave these orders to Uriah the priest. On the large new altar, Offer the morning burnt offering and the evening grain offering, the king's burnt offering and his grain offering, and the burnt offering of all the people of the land, and their grain offering and their drink offering. Sprinkle on the altar all the blood of the burnt offerings and sacrifices. But I will use the bronze altar for seeking guidance." And Uriah the priest did just as King Ahaz had ordered. King Ahaz took away the side panels and removed the basins from the movable stands. He removed the sea from the bronze bulls that supported it and set it on a stone base. He took away the Sabbath canopy that had been built at the temple and removed the royal entryway outside the temple of the Lord in deference to the king of Assyria. As for the other events of the reign of Ahaz and what he did, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Judah. And Ahaz rested with his fathers and was buried with them in the city of David. And Hezekiah his son succeeded him as king." May God add His blessing to this reading from this holy and inspired Word. Folks, just a couple of main points out of this passage this morning. The first is that you can have a dad who does what's right and it doesn't guarantee you will. I mean, this was the son of a king who had not been great, but he'd been good. He didn't get rid of all the evil stuff that was going on in the country, but for the most part, this guy's father walked in the ways of the Lord. Again, his dad wasn't 100% committed, but he was, compared to the others, doing pretty well. But this fellow comes along, He doesn't trust in God. And he doesn't obey God. And he not only doesn't do the good stuff, he engages in a whole bunch of horrible stuff. And when pressure comes in, and he's going through a hard time, rather than turning back to the Lord, he turns to pagans and gets worse. That's really sad. I can't stop there, however. I've got to give you a preview of what's coming. He has a son who is more like the grandfather. Because just because your father does good doesn't mean that you'll do good. But just because your dad is bad doesn't mean you have to be. You see, every single one of us is accountable for our own decisions. And while we're influenced by those who go before us, the examples that we see, the things we experience growing up, that doesn't determine who we are. It's certainly an influence. It certainly has an impact. But you aren't your dad or your mom. You're you. And you do not have to make the same mistakes that others have made before you. My wife and I were first married. We worked at a children's home in Mississippi. I won't mention any names. But I will tell you that there was a boy who lived in our house. who just had a remarkable capacity for doing the wrong thing. He just seemed to have a knack for it. Really stupid stuff. And it turned out this boy was an orphan. He'd lost his father, who had died in an accident. His father took a break while at work and decided he was, his father was doing roofing. And he decided to take a break and grab a bite to eat. And in the process, he lost his footing, fell off the roof, and choked to death on his food. Now, that's really sad. But it also fit completely with the pattern of this kid's life. You understand? Instead of doing what he's supposed to be doing, he's going to try and sneak in and do something else. And he ends up messing up. He and one of his buddies decided to steal a car from the house parent in the next house from ours. That guy ran the farm and foolishly used to leave his keys in the ignition so that if he had to run out to the farm in the hurry, he didn't have to look for his keys. They were always in the ignition. He'd just run, get in his car, start it up, and take off. Well, this boy and another boy who lived in our home decided that they would steal Mr. Jim's car. Not this Mr. Jim, the other Mr. Jim. Only problem is they weren't big enough to look over the steering wheel. So one of them got up on the seat to steer and the other one got down on the floor to do the pedals. Okay, if there's a disconnect between the person who's steering and the person doing the pedals, that's a recipe for disaster. Mr. Jim heard his car start up in the middle of the night, and faster than those boys could get it into reverse and start backing up, he was in the driveway with his gun pointed at whoever was stealing his car. Rather than repent, they decided to gun it in reverse. It did not end well. Now, why do I tell you that story? Because when I looked at that little kid, I thought, he's going to end up just like his daddy. But here's the thing. He didn't have to. He didn't have to. You can learn from other people's mistakes and say, I want to do this, not that. Or you can be a chip off the old block. Now, if dad's a blockhead, I don't recommend being a chip off the old block. Understand? Every single person in here has got a different story Everybody in here's got a different background, but I'll tell you this You need to decide that you're gonna follow Jesus no matter what anybody else does You're gonna follow Jesus no matter what your parents do you're gonna follow Jesus no matter what your children do you're gonna follow Jesus You're not going to try and fit in with everybody around you so that, well, I want to get along with my family. I don't want to seem like I'm holier than thou. Let me tell you, I want to be as holy as possible. Is that understood? I mean, what do you want to be, less holy than thou, or just about equally unholy? I mean, what's the goal? The goal is to be conformed to the likeness of Christ. Now, here was a guy who became king and lived a pathetic life. And he went from bad to worse, even though his father had been a pretty good king. But this guy, instead of learning from his dad and doing even better, decided he was going to be like the neighbors to the north. They were a bigger kingdom. And the stupid thing was, they were a kingdom that if you remember the previous chapter, they'd been taken off prisoner to the king of Assyria. It wasn't like it worked out well for them. But here he is leading his people in doing the same stuff that got their northern neighbors carried off by the Assyrians. So rather than saying, ooh, I don't want to end up like them, we better really be careful to serve God. Instead, he was like, wow, well, maybe the Assyrians are the ones I need to look to. Maybe they're the ones who are really the dominant power, and so I need to put my trust in them. And that's what he did. When trouble came and he started experiencing attacks from his neighbors, He turns to the king of Assyria for help. Now again, look at the end of the previous chapter and we'll see where his trouble was coming from. Verse 37 of chapter 15 says, in those days the Lord began to send Rezan king of Aram and Pekah son of Ramallah against Judah. That's where his trouble was coming from. God was sending him trouble. And so instead of turning to God and saying, I am so sorry. I've been doing wrong. Please forgive me. Help me to do what's right. Instead, he turns to the king of Assyria, Tiglath-Pileser, and says, I'll be a Pileser-Pileser. It's a corny joke. But he's like, you know, I really admire, this guy is the dominant powerful power, he's the superpower in the world, and I want to be on his good side. And so he raids not only the royal treasury, but the temple treasury, and takes things that had been devoted to God, and he gives them to a pagan king. If you think that that which is devoted to God is yours to take back and do something else with, you are mistaken. That is a huge miscalculation. But that's not all he did. When the king of Assyria came through for him and delivered him from his enemies, and the king did do that, by the way, You might say, looking at a very short-term story, that it worked. It did in the short term. It didn't in the long term. Just a quick question. Is Tiglath Pileser around today? He's dead and gone. Is God around today? You better believe it. God is alive and moving, doing marvelous things all over the world. He's got the whole world in his hands. So who would it be smart to get in good with, Tiglath Polisor or God? I mean, don't be an idiot. To side with God's enemy against God is crazy. It's absolutely insane, and it's what people do all the time. Because they know what God says, but they're afraid these people over here will not like that if they do that. They know what they should do according to God's word, but they don't want to be unpopular. They don't want to be uncomfortable. I'm telling you right now, the biggest mistake you can ever make is decide against God. not because God is mean and vindictive, but because God is infinitely wise, infinitely powerful, and loves you more than you can imagine. And when you turn against his wise, gracious, loving plan in order to do something else that you think is going to bring you short-term gain, you are making an enormous mistake. I mean, it's not just a wicked thing you're doing. It is monumentally stupid. You understand that? It's just nuts. Why in the world, when God loves you and wants to bless you, would you say, no, I really think it's more important what these people think? Why? It really doesn't matter what those people think. It really doesn't matter. What matters is what God says. living in the light of his favor. So he goes up to thank Tiglath-Pileser. He makes a journey in order to say, thank you so much. I really appreciate your rescuing me. That was really cool the way you did that. And you swept in there, and you killed Rezin, and you sent the other guy packing. That was really cool. And Tiglath-Pileser takes him to a pagan worship service. And he sees these really cool stone altars. And he says, oh, we have got to have one of those. Now, here's the thing. Everybody everywhere in the world knows there's something greater than we are. There's something really huge and powerful and transcendent. Even the atheists know that in their heart of hearts. It's hardwired into us. You can't escape from the fact that there is something greater. There is a first cause. Things had to come from somewhere. Nothing comes from nothing. But how are we to contact that great being? How are we to relate to him? Some of you have heard me tell the story of when I showed up for a Sunday school class. badly behaved, and they needed a new Sunday school teacher. And so I showed up before they got there. They'd never met me. I didn't normally go to that church, but I knew the guy who was in charge of the education program. So I showed up, and I'm waiting in the Sunday school class when they come in. And the kids come in, and they see me. And instead of going, hi, good morning, I'm Mr. Jim, I just sat there. I just looked at them. And so this really spooked them, right? Because they're like, who is this guy? Why isn't anyone introducing him? And why isn't he introducing himself? This is weird. Is that our teacher? I don't know. I can't tell. I was in college at the time. So I'm just sitting there. And the kids come in. And let me tell you, instead of talking and playing and all this, they just shut down. They got absolutely quiet. And they came in one after another. They'd kind of look at each other. And I'm just sitting there just looking at them. And when the number of kids I'd been told to expect had shown up and gotten in the room, I stood up and I said, who am I? What kind of introduction is that? You're supposed to, my name is Jim. Can we all say Jim? I didn't do that. I said, who am I? And one of the kids was bold enough to venture, we don't know. And I said, well, who do you think I am? Are you the teacher? Teacher, question mark. Any other ideas? Well, gradually, after they'd expressed various ideas, you know, what's my name? How should we know? Well, what do you think my name is? A couple of suggestions offered. Most of the kids just basically didn't know. I let them try and do their own analysis of who I was based on what they could see. Any pagan living out in the far corners of a jungle somewhere can tell certain things about the fact that there is a God, and we know he's powerful, and we know he's, if they have any philosophical bent, eternal, whatever their word for that is. They can discern certain things about God from the creation. It's evident when you look at the stars, when you look at biology, when you look at yourself, you learn some things about what kind of being must have created all of this. But unless God reveals himself in a personal way, we're ultimately not going to know who he is. And the Bible is God's revelation of himself pointing to the person of Jesus Christ. And that was where I went with the lesson that day with those kids. But here's what I want you to understand. Tons of people who call themselves Christians have never really understood that concept. And to them, religion, Christianity, church, whatever you want to call it, is ultimately a series of things we do that we grew up doing, that we feel comfortable with, that we like. Some people are like, oh, well, that's the way my family's always been in this church. My grandpa started this church, or my great uncle was the first pastor, or whatever. And so this is just the way we've always done it. We've been like this. And then there are other people who are like, oh, no, I grew up like this, but I found this other group, and I like them better, and so I'm over there. And basically, it's all about what I want to meet my needs, and that's how I deal with God. There was a commentary on the book of Romans in which the rather famous supposedly evangelical pastor said, I know that the text seems to indicate that God chooses who will go to heaven and who will go to hell, but I could never worship a God like that. I mean, the Bible seems to be saying this, but I find that emotionally repugnant. So I could never worship a God like that. I'm going to engage in idolatry myself and still keep my credentials as an evangelical leader. Oh, that's sad. That's really bad. Let me just tell you something. We don't get to decide who God is and how he is to be worshipped. God is who he is, and he tells us how to worship. And God had designed the furnishings and the layout of the worship center and said, this is how you're to build it. This is what it's looked like. He gave them the measurements. I mean, the whole thing, he told Moses, this is what it's supposed to be like. And then when they obeyed God, God manifested his presence and his glory among them. Now, this king comes along, sees what the pagans are doing, and says, I like that better. And so he sends word to Uriah the priest, build me an altar like this. And Uriah had it done before he got back home. How's that for compliance? Well, Uriah knew he's the king. Well, Uriah, guess what, buddy? Here's a word to priests everywhere. You better be working for God. Wonder how the history might have been different if Uriah had said to the king, the furnishings of the temple were designed by God, and I'm here to serve him. Well, he might have been killed. Wouldn't that have been grand? What a wonderful way to die. If you die because of obedience to God, your reward is tremendous. But if you think, oh, well, I know God says this, but the king says this, so I got to do what the king says. Back in the 1980s, I was involved with some civil disobedience in Atlanta, Georgia. I actually got arrested and put in jail. Had to spend the night there. Because I was praying in a public place in accordance with the freedom of assembly and freedom of speech and freedom of religion, some stuff. found in the Constitution. But anyway, I was exercising my rights as a US citizen, and therefore I was hauled off to jail by the Atlanta police, who were in the process of trying to make sure that no one interfered with something that they'd been told was in the Constitution, and that is a woman's right to abortion. And so in order to protect a woman's right to kill her child, they wanted to make sure that we didn't make it uncomfortable for women who were trying to get into the place where they were going to kill their children by being out on the sidewalk praying, which is where we were. So I got hauled off to jail. And in the midst of that, one of America's most famous preachers issued a statement that he had promised me he would not issue, saying that, basically, we have to obey the laws. We have to obey the laws. Now, before he issued that statement, I'd had a personal conversation with him in which he assured me he would not issue that statement because God had told him he must not issue that statement. But apparently, other people influenced him more strongly than God, who had already told him he must not issue the statement. And he issued the statement saying that if the government tells us we can't pray on the sidewalk, we just can't pray on the sidewalk. You have to obey the government. And so I asked his executive pastor, because he would no longer talk to me, I asked the executive pastor, what if the government tells you that you cannot preach the gospel within, oh, let's say, a mile of the state capitol, which would have made it a little tough for this church. And he said, well, you know, as long as we can still preach the gospel. I said, really? Well, what if they tell you you can't preach the gospel? And he said, well, I see what you're saying. But I think we had to issue the statement that we did because we have to be sure that people understand that they must obey the law. And I said, well, what if the law is telling you that you must do something that God says you mustn't do or that you can't do something that God says you must do? And he said, I don't think there's any point in our having this discussion. Let me tell you something. There's a very important point in our having this discussion and in our talking about this today. Uriah was told by the king to do something that was direct disobedience to God. And Uriah the priest obeyed the king rather than God. When those who were in leadership In religious circles, in churches, in ministries, think that obedience to the government trumps obedience to God? They are no longer in Christian ministry. They are in show business. They are slaves to the state. And Uriah is a classic example of what is wrong with the mindset of many in the church and in ministries today. If the government says, you've got to do this, and it doesn't violate what God says, OK. I don't like that, but we'll be subject to the government. The government says, you've got to do this. Well, that's inconvenient, but it doesn't violate anything that God says, so we're going to go ahead and do that. But when you keep on doing what the government says, the government thinks that They're the boss. And the Bible does tell us we're supposed to be subject to rulers and authorities, because after all, they too answer to God. But when the government tells you, you've got to do this, and you're in the habit of doing this, and you stop even considering whether or not that's what God says we should do, and you do stuff that God says you shouldn't do, or you fail to do stuff that God says you should do because you want to be obedient to the government, you are no longer working for God. You're no longer in ministry. Is that clear? There are a whole lot of people in show business today calling themselves reverend. And some of them make a whole lot of money. But every single one of us is going to answer to God. Every single one of us is going to answer to God. Some of you are just kids, and you sit here and you say, well, I don't see what this has to do with me. I don't have my own ministry, and I'm not a priest. Every single one of you. is going to face decisions in your life over and over again where you have to decide, am I going to serve God or am I going to serve man? Am I going to do what people think is good or am I going to do what God says he wants? The altar in the temple was replaced, but I want you to see they took the bronze altar in obedience to the king. They put it in a less honorable place, a place that God had said it wasn't supposed to be. And he says, but I'm still going to use that one when I need guidance. The sacrifices that are supposed to be offered on the bronze altar, you offer them on the stone altar now. But when I need to connect with God, I'm going to go over to the bronze altar. This is no longer worship. This is now witchcraft. You know the big difference between witchcraft and worship? True worship is when you say, you are God, and I will serve you. Witchcraft is when you try and manipulate God and get what you want from him and a whole lot of Christian books Have basically a witchcraft mindset You do these things and God has to do this Okay Here's what you do to get your prayers answered Do this do this do this do this and then you got a handle with which you can manipulate God. Let me tell you That's not Christianity That's not biblical. God is God. And our job is not to manipulate him. Our job is to do what he commands. Do not think for a minute that it is somehow wise, insightful, and spiritual to find the techniques by which you can get God to do your will. Who is on the throne? If God is on the throne, we better be concerned about doing His will, not trying to get God to do our will. And the problem with so much of why people do what they do... Let me just ask you a few diagnostic questions here that I have to ask myself. Are you having your quiet time because you love God and you love his word and you want to learn all you can and it's great to be spiritually fed? Or are you having your quiet time because you think if you have your quiet time on a regular basis, then you can get goodies from God? Okay. I want God to be on my side, so I'm going to do all the stuff I've been taught to do, all those spiritual disciplines. I want to be sure and do them because I want to have God on my side so that when I need something, I can go to God and he'll be saying, oh, you're the good child. If you're doing what you're doing because you love God, that's great. That's as it should be. If you're doing what you're doing because you want to try and manipulate God, that's pathetic. And I have to guard against that in my own life. I'm not telling you, shame on you, bad, bad, bad people. I'm saying, I have to guard against that because if the devil can't keep me from having my quiet time, he'll try and get me to have my quiet time for the wrong reasons. You understand? He'll try and, he's a judo expert, okay? Keeping him from it didn't work. Let's try and make him think that he's doing such a good job that now God owes him big time, okay? Hey God, good morning, it's Jim Wood, you remember me. Been doing pretty good, haven't I? Have you noticed how much I've been reading? Pathetic! God doesn't love me because I'm having my quiet time, God loves me because he chose to love me. Before the foundation of the world, I was chosen in Christ Jesus. He redeemed me. When I was dead in trespasses and sins, He made me alive in Christ Jesus. I'm not loved because I have my quiet time. But I ought to have my quiet time because I love Him. And I love Him because He first loved me. Don't try to manipulate God. This wicked king said to Uriah, I will use, verse 15, I will use the bronze altar for seeking guidance. And Uriah the priest did just as King Ahaz had ordered. Please understand, real Christianity is not about getting God to do your thing. Real worship is not about finding what it takes to manipulate the creator of the universe. Real worship is about knowing that God is God and surrendering everything to him. Romans 12 tells us that in light of God's mercy, we're to offer our bodies as living sacrifices, holy and acceptable to God. This is your reasonable service. This is intelligent worship. This is what it looks like. You give everything to Him. That's what we're supposed to do. It's a response to who He is and what He's done. That's real worship. This guy was trying to be politically correct. There is actually a controversy going on right now in Bible translation circles. Groups that have for a long time been faithful in carefully translating the Word of God into the languages of various people around the world are now struggling with strong pressures to modify what the original language says so as not to offend certain people, groups, and cultures and world religions. I know that the language here is this, but that really doesn't work well with these people. If we could just modify it this way, there'd be a whole lot higher level of acceptance on the part of the people. Well, let me tell you something else. According to scripture, if you take the cross out, It'd be even more acceptable to more people. OK? Because the cross is really offensive to a lot of folks. As a matter of fact, I think if we just snip out that part where Jesus says, no one comes to the Father except by me, that turns a lot of people off, especially in our culture. Sounds way too exclusive. Let me tell you something. God's word does not change. And if you try and say that God said this when what he said was this, you're a liar. And all liars are going to end up in hell according to God's word. That's another thing you can take to the bank. God promised it. So, if we're going to worship, we've got to obey. We've got to realize that the revelation God has given us does not change. Do we need to be culturally aware? Absolutely. Do we need to expect that most people are going to travel the broad way instead of the narrow way? Well, if we believe Jesus, we do. Do we need to try and broaden the way so that we can fit more people on it? No, because the way doesn't change. Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Him. And He is God. He is God. So we better get used to it. Because it's not going to change forever and ever. Amen.