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Sermon Notes

Discovering THE Book

Sunday 10 January 2021 Pastor Craig Ledbetter 2 Chronicles 34
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I. Background (2 Chronicles 34:1,2)

A. It is 640 BC

  1. 640 years before the birth of Jesus Christ (what B.C. stands for)
  2. 2,661 years before now

B. An 8 year old boy is anointed as king of a small country in the Middle East called Judah

C. His name is Josiah

  1. 8 year old kings were rare, but not too rare
  2. David started his reign at 30 years (2 Samuel 5:4) - that was normal
  3. Jehoash was 7 when he began to reign (2 Kings 11:21; 2 Chronicles 24:1)
  4. Manasseh was 12 (2 Kings 21:1)
  5. Jehoiachin was 8 years as well (2 Chronicles 36:9)
  6. Jesus began His reign at birth! (Matthew 2:2)

D. He was the son of king Amon, the grandson of king Manasseh, great grandson of a great king named Hezekiah

All were part of a line of kings that started with king David.

E. His World was in Ruins

  1. Josiah has inherited a mess
  2. An evil empire known as the Babylonians were conquering every nation around tiny Judah
  3. They were coming for Jerusalem next
  4. God’s people, the Jewish people, were far away from God - apathetic, idolatrous, wicked living, to the point where people were taking their own children, and burning them alive as sacrifices to false gods in order to have successful harvests and businesses
  5. It had been going downhill for over 100 years, since Hezekiah had reigned

F. This young lad will reign as king for 31 years

II. The General Summary of Josiah’s Life (2 Chronicles 34:2)

A. He did things that were right in God’s eyes

B. That is a good testimony - how will you be remembered?

C. And it was only because of some right influences in his life

D. (And believe me, it was not FakeBook, or Snapchat, or Instagram, or YouTube, or any other of the 500 forms of social media)

III. Turning Points in Josiah’s Life

A. #1 As a young boy, Josiah decided to be like David

  1. He decided he was going to be a follower of God like the greatest king his nation ever had - King David
  2. David wasn’t perfect, but he sought to follow God with all his heart
  3. Josiah made that decision while just a young boy

B. #2 At 16, Josiah began to seek after God personally

  1. Not just following traditions
  2. But personally seeking to know God
  3. This is when faith becomes real - when it becomes personal

C. #3 At 20, Josiah began to purge the land of idolatry

  1. He didn’t just have a personal faith
  2. He put it into action
  3. He began to clean house - getting rid of the false gods that had taken over

D. #4 At 26, Josiah discovered THE BOOK

  1. While repairing the temple, they found a copy of the Law of Moses
  2. The Bible had been lost for generations!
  3. When he heard it read, he tore his clothes in grief
  4. The nation had been so far from God’s Word

IV. Josiah’s Response to God’s Word

A. He was broken by what he heard

B. He led the nation back to God

C. He made a covenant to follow God’s Word

D. He led by example

Conclusion

What will it take for you to rediscover the Bible? Don’t let it gather dust. Let it transform your life like it transformed Josiah’s kingdom.

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