Hezekiah’s Faith

What It Takes to Trust In The Lord

2 Kings 18,19

Audio MP3

February 16, 2014 AM

Pastor Craig Ledbetter

Bible Baptist Church, Ballincollig, Cork, Ireland

www.biblebc.com

 

I.       Introduction (Proverbs 3:5)

 

A.    What does it mean to “trust in the Lord”?

 

1.      It is more than just having faith in God – everyone thinks they believe God. Very few know how to TRUST in God!

2.      Trust is faith in action!!!

3.      If you believe God will take care of you, then you will trust THE WAY He takes care of you! Ponder that for a minute!

 

4.      Notice how much we are to trust Him! With all our heart!

5.      Does that mean we will understand what God is doing? NO!

6.      Does it mean that everything that God does will make sense? NO!

 

B.     But trust means that we start taking our faith OUT of the closet, out of our church’s four walls, out from the Bible, and start resting in it as we do whatever God asks of us!

C.    One final question? How will you know that you are actually, fully trusting God?
When you are resting in the WAY that He is working everything out for good!

D.    You will understand what I mean as we learn the Bible this morning!

 

II.    Background (2Kings 18:1-8)

 

A.    Who is this Hezekiah guy?

 

1.      A 25 year old king of Judah, who lived around 700 years before birth of Jesus Christ

2.      It was a hard time economically for Judah in those days

3.      Loads of enemies surrounding their small nation – kind of boxed in

4.      He is an unusual king – not wicked like most of the rest – his daddy was wicked king Ahaz

 

B.     He did RIGHT in God’s sight! No matter what anybody else thought!

 

1.      God rid of all the false religion in his country

2.      Destroyed the idols that had spread all over the cities and countryside

3.      Even destroyed priceless religious relics (Moses’ brazen serpent), because it was an offense to God – no matter how popular it was – because it had become an idol

 

C.    He had one GREAT testimony – “He trusted in the Lord God of Israel” (18:5)

 

1.      THIS is the most important part of Hezekiah’s life

2.      He had great accomplishments in his lifetime

 

a.       Repaired the Temple in Jerusalem

b.      Restored proper worship - He had one of the largest gatherings for worship at the time

c.       He had an aqueduct dug underground for water that ran 1700 feet to bring fresh water into Jerusalem

d.      And he also had a 7 m (21 foot) thick wall built to protect the inner city of Jerusalem

e.       Those are pretty great accomplishments

 

3.      And he had some great failures in his life

 

a.       He got very proud of his accomplishments, and the worship he helped re-establish

b.      Showed off everything to the visiting dignitaries from a far away country called Babylon

c.       Failed with training his son Manasseh, who became one of the most wicked kings ever

d.      Not worried about God’s coming judgment on Judah

e.       Those are some pretty BIG failures

 

4.      But he was noticed by God, not for any of the above, but because he trusted in God!

 

a.       It means he CLAVE, clung to the Lord – afraid to let go – afraid to backslide

b.      KEPT clinging – he wasn’t on and off in his trust

c.       Obeyed God’s commands as written in the Bible – not adjusting them and disregarding the ones he didn’t like

d.      Believed that God was in control, and would work all things out for good

 

D.    The Lord Blessed Hezekiah simply because of that trust!

 

1.      Prospered him – financially and more

2.      Frees him from the empire of the day – Assyria

3.      Gave him victory against the Philistines

4.      Now, that did not mean that God kept him from being tested and experiencing troubles, but it does mean that GOD was blessing him, and not the devil, like in most other kingdoms

 

E.     What we want to look at and learn from this morning is HOW did Hezekiah trust God? Why did he have such a good testimony? And how can all of us have the same testimony!

 

III. Message

 

A.    The Trial of Hezekiah’s Faith (2Kings 18:9-13; 1Peter 1:7)

 

1.      Everyone says they have faith – but you never really know what you have, until it is tested! And believe me, the devil will make sure that it is tested!!!

2.      The king of Assyria (Sennacherib) attacks Judah’s neighbouring kingdom - Samaria (18:9-12) – just to the north

 

a.       Sennacherib was the evil Emperor of that day – king of Assyria, and therefore, king of the world (at least the then known world)

b.      He brings his armies from the north against Samaria, and wipes it off the map! Mows them down like a tractor!

c.       Why would God allow that to happen? The Bible tells us!

 

1)      Not because of a poor army, or because of bad generals

2)      But because of SIN, and disobedience, and PRIDE in the people of Samaria

3)      By the way, the same pride is in every one of us – especially those of you who believe you have NONE! Don’t think about anyone else in this room! Think of your OWN pride!

4)      The Samarians, all of Northern Israel, were too proud to listen to and heed the warnings of God’s prophet Hosea who told them this was coming!

 

d.      Samaria had stood between the Assyrian empire and Judah

e.       And now Samaria was GONE!

 

3.      Sennacherib begins to attack the cities of Judah (18:13,17)

 

a.       3 of Assyria’s best generals were leading the war against Judah

b.      They had a massive army (almost 200,000 soldiers)

c.       Surrounding Jerusalem, the capital, like an iron grip

d.      And they were totally confident they would win. Attitude is 80% of any battle!

e.       Hezekiah and all of Jerusalem thought they were ruined!

f.       Sennacherib’s Attack – Subtle at first – not a frontal all-out assault (18:18-35). Sennacherib first tries to get the city to give up without a fight – by trying to demoralise, discourage God’s people. It works with everyone else

 

1)      He first questions (18:18-24)

 

a)      Who are you all TRUSTING to get you out of this problem? Good question!

 

1.      Probably great wisdom and wise counsel and strong soldiers – mockingly

 

b)      But REALLY! WHO are your TRUSTING (there is that word again)

 

1.      Egypt? He laughs. They are a third world country at that time

2.      The Lord Jehovah? He laughs again, YOUR PUNY GOD?

3.      Just look at all the destruction of the statues and relics would have incurred the wrath of your God

 

2)      He then confuses (18:25)

 

a)      Your God even told me to come and take you all away

b)      Even HE is on our side and not yours

 

3)      He then boasts (18:29,30)

 

a)       “No one can deliver you out of my hand” (wow, where have we heard this before?)

b)      Do not trust Hezekiah – truer words were never spoken!

 

1.      Jer 17:5  Thus saith the LORD; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the LORD.

2.      Psa 118:8  It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man.

 

c)      You are only wasting your time trusting in “Jehovah”

d)     No god has ever stood up against me and won!

e)      Where are those gods now (18:33-35)?

 

1.      Broken, cast down, smashed, in the dust!

2.      That’s where they all are!

 

4)      He set out to demoralise the people – get them to give up without a fight!
ALL ARMIES ATTEMPT TO DO THIS STILL TO TODAY!

5)      Our battles are often more with our moral, our faith, our TRUST than with our enemy!

 

4.      Whatever Hezekiah and the people believed, had now been thoroughly attacked and tested to see if it was for real. Now we will see.

 

B.     The Reaction of Faith (18:36-19:4)

 

1.      How are YOU going to react?...

 

a.       When the battle is bigger than you can handle – most are!

b.      When the enemy is smarter, better prepared to win, than you are?

 

2.      They could NOT fight Rabshakeh and his army head-to-head (in the flesh)

 

a.       No contest!

b.      Completely outnumbered, outgunned

c.       So their fight was going to HAVE to be DIFFERENT!

 

3.      They Held Back – They held their peace (18:36)

 

a.       From arguing with Rabshakeh

b.      They instead ignored him – put him off

 

1)      He was constantly talking, accusing, mocking, blaming, discouraging

2)      Just like the devil does!

 

c.       From panicking – believe me, I am sure they wanted to panic, but they didn’t!

d.      From disobeying the king – they stayed under their God-ordained authority – as imperfect as he was!

 

e.       Exod 14:12  Is not this the word that we did tell thee in Egypt, saying, Let us alone, that we may serve the Egyptians? For it had been better for us to serve the Egyptians, than that we should die in the wilderness.

f.       Exod 14:13  And Moses said unto the people, Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD, which he will shew to you to day: for the Egyptians whom ye have seen to day, ye shall see them again no more for ever.

g.      Exod 14:14  The LORD shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace.

 

4.      They Humbled themselves – this is very important (18:37)!

 

a.       Visibly humbled themselves

b.      Even the king did!

c.       The slightest Pride will STOP any help from God (1Peter 5:5)!

 

5.      They Prayed. Really prayed (19:1 -4)

 

a.       They decided to PRAY!

b.      Our battle with OUR enemy is fought…

 

1)      More in prayer than in person

2)      More on our knees than by our school degrees

3)      More in desperation than in perspiration

4)      More in trust than in weapons

5)      More by surrender than by victory

 

c.       Don’t neglect to bring every burden, all your problems, fears, struggles to God in prayer, asking Him for wisdom for what to do, and for help to get through!

d.      They even got other godly people (Elijah) to pray for them (19:2; Mt 18:19)

e.       They were Honest with themselves and with God - “we have no strength” NO strength!

 

1)      No faking it – no façade to wear in church

2)      The sooner you admit that, the sooner God’s grace will supply all the strength that you need

3)      NOT that we all go around looking run over by a JCB – depressed and defeated

4)      But that we know full well, we are unable for every day!

 

6.      Lastly, they let God decide the outcome (19:4) - REST

 

a.       When you pray, quit deciding how everything HAS to end up

b.      Trust means leaving the results in the hands of God

c.       You have faith that God can do anything… well, then let Him do whatever He thinks right!

d.      Because we KNOW that He only does right

e.       Because we know that He is working everything in our lives out for GOOD

 

7.      THAT IS TRUSTING IN GOD

 

a.       Holding our peace

b.      Humbling ourselves

c.       Praying

d.      And Resting in God’s perfect care!

 

C.    The Absolute Confidence of Faith (19:14-19) – this is what trust looks like!

 

Hezekiah develops absolute trust now. He thought he trusted God, but he has been tested and put into a situation where GOD is all he has, and so he now acts with trust!

Confidence does NOT mean you don’t feel worry, or desperation – but that you just KNOW what to do!

 

1.      He went to God in prayer again – you will go to prayer again and again and again – it is not a once off event!

2.      He laid out the problem before God – I LIKE THIS!

 

a.       Surrounded by an undefeatable army

b.      No way through this

c.       The general Rabshakeh continues to mock God and their trust in Him (19:10-13) – doesn’t let up!

 

3.      He reminded God of who He is – loads of people did that throughout history (reminding himself really)

4.      He asked God to just notice what's going on – God only notices when there is FAITH in action

5.      He accepted that Samaria deserved defeat – accepted that Judah had their own sins to worry about (remember all the idols and false worship that Hezekiah had had to deal with?)

6.      He asked for a miracle

7.      And asked for the right reason (James 4:3)

 

a.       That the whole world would know that Jehovah is the only true God, and is almighty, even against the mighty Assyrian army!

b.      THAT’S WHY we battle, why we fight the GOOD fight, why we PRAY, and trust in the Lord like Hezekiah!!!

 

D.    God’s Answer to Faith (19:20-22,32-37)

 

1.      God answers

 

a.       Who do you think you Assyrians have challenged???

 

1)      Not some stone statue.

2)      Not some false god.

3)      But almighty God who made heaven and earth!

 

b.       “I” (God says) will defend Jerusalem from you (2Peter 2:9) – “I” am all they need!

c.       I will save them – what a promise

d.      And I will do it for MY sake

 

1)      Not because I don’t like you

2)      Not because they are so worthy

3)      But because MY testimony is at stake

 

2.      God acts

 

a.       So God sends out ONE angel – only ONE

b.      And 185,000 Assyrian soldiers died, without a fight by that one angel of God

 

3.      And what about Sennacherib, the undefeatable emperor? Well, he was assassinated by his own two sons!

4.      Hey, don’t mess with the God of Israel – that goes for today as well!

 

IV. Application and Conclusion

 

A.    Is there a difference in just believing in God, and actually TRUSTING Him?
You better believe it!

 

1.      Anybody can believe IN God

2.      Not many TRUST in Him!

 

B.     Is it worth it TRUSTING in God?

 

1.      Abraham proves it

2.      Sarah proves it

3.      Shadrach Meshach and Abednego proved it

4.      The Apostle Paul proves it

5.      Moses proved it

6.      Hezekiah proves it!

 

C.    Your and my faith will be tested and tried – sometimes even by fire!

 

1.      What we believe will be found out if we really believe it or not

2.      Because we only act on what we really believe!

 

D.    Hezekiah faced an unwinnable situation. And he faced it by faith! And he taught us this morning how to trust in the Lord with all our heart, didn’t he?

E.     To trust in the Lord with all your heart means to act on what you believe:

 

1.      Not panic

2.      Not quit on God

3.      Not push your own way

4.      You won’t do any of that if you really believe that God is in control!

5.      But when you “trust” you will…

 

a.       Humble yourself – because you know it is the only way to access victory

b.      Stop talking, and complaining, and giving out about your problem

c.       And you will start praying – like never before – and KEEP praying

d.      And you will rest in God’s care!

 

F.     That is how we need to face every unwinnable situation

G.    NOT believing that everything will turn out like WE want, but that God will always do right

H.    And sometimes, He does amazing things!

I.       But whatever He does, He does it for HIS sake!

J.      He will save you for HIS sake too! If you will let Him! Trust Him! Now!