Permission to Rebel

A mother came inside after gardening and found a big hole in the middle of the pie she had made earlier that morning. She found a gooey spoon lying in the sink and crumbs all over the floor.

She went to find her son. “David,” she said, “you promised me that you wouldn’t touch the pie I made. And I promised you that if you did touch the pie, I would spank you.”

A look of relief came over David. “Now that I’ve broken my promise,” he said, “I think it would be all right for you to break yours, too.”

We’ve all made promises and I think it’s safe to say that we’ve all broken promises.

Today we are going to look at a story of a true hero who broke a promise. He’s a man named Hezekiah. Hezekiah was one of the very few kings of Judah who according to 2 Chronicles 31:20 did what was right and good.

2 Chronicles 31:20 CEV

20 Everything Hezekiah did while he was king of Judah, including what he did for the temple in Jerusalem, was right and good. He was a successful king, because he obeyed the Lord God with all his heart.

He was actually the son of a wicked man. His dad, King Ahaz, was a real piece of work. He allowed pagan altars, idols, and all sorts of depravity Judah. For example, do you remember the bronze serpent from Numbers 21? Moses was leading the people in the desert and folks started getting bitten by snakes! Well, the Lord told Moses to hang a bronze snake on a pole, and if people looked to that snake on the pole that they would be healed. It was pretty cool because it was really prophetically depicting how Jesus on the Cross brought healing to everyone who looks to Him.

Well, years and years had passed and wicked King Ahaz was allowing people to worship the bronze snake!

When our hero, Hezekiah, took over at the age of 25, he broke that snake in half and told people to stop worshipping stupid things and to start worshipping the God of their ancestors. Basically, Hezekiah cleaned house. And God blessed him!

But, Hezekiah had a problem. The Assyrians, the most powerful nation in the world, were taking aim at Israel, and threatening to take aim at Judah!

It wasn’t a new threat. Hezekiah’s dad, Ahaz had the same problem. Ahaz was dealing with the problem by paying the King of Assyria large sums of money to leave them alone.

Hezekiah, in the process of cleaning house, questioned why they were paying their enemy. Actually, he really didn’t like paying them so he did something CRAZY.

Now, before I tell you the whole story I want to tell you what I want you to learn:

Like Hezekiah, you have the potential to be a hero because you’re facing the same things he was facing. Maybe not a massive army, but you have an enemy. That enemy wants you to compromise. He wants you to stay in your comfort zone and never live up to God’s potential for your life. You’re going to have to make daily decisions as to who you’re going to serve: God or the Enemy.

You might be on the ropes of life today, but you’re going to see that one move or touch from God can change everything. Today I want you to experience a touch from the Almighty. The same God in the story we are going to read is the same God here today. He’s available and looking for those who are willing to trust Him.

Back to our main man for today. What did he do that made him so cool?

He broke the promise made by his father to the Assyrian King.

Break the Promise

2 Kings 18:7 CEV

7 The Lord helped Hezekiah, so he was successful in everything he did. He even rebelled against the king of Assyria, refusing to be his servant.

He was a rebel! I think God likes rebels. In fact, I’m sure of it!

This one is clear if you’re a Christian: you should be a rebel against the world. Not legitimate earthly authorities or the created earth, but rather everything in the world that is hostile, rebellious, and opposed to God.

If you’re a Christian, Jesus said that you are not of this world

John 17:16 CEV

16 They don’t belong to this world, and neither do I.

This means that this world is not your ultimate authority or home. Instead, the world should be a place where you are living as God’s ambassadors in a way that loves Him and loves others, and telling as many people as you can about the good news of the gospel.

That’s what Christian rebellion should look like! Every time you make a decision to honor God in your job, relationship, money management, words, purity, or any other area of life, you are being a righteous rebel.

Being a rebel against the world doesn’t mean that you have to turn into some sort of monk or nun and never associate with sinners. Instead it means that you should stand out from the sinful patterns of the world by showing it how God has changed you.

Romans 12:2 CEV

2 Don’t be like the people of this world, but let God change the way you think. Then you will know how to do everything that is good and pleasing to him.

This was Hezekiah. He was saying, God is greater than our enemies and he had the power and authority to stop paying them off.

God liked his rebellion, the bible tells us that God blessed him!

There’s a problem with promise breakers. Even if it’s for the right cause, it can disrupt things. People can get mad.

When you start living for Christ, the plain truth is that some people aren’t going to be happy. They don’t want to see you living on fire for Jesus. They will allow themselves to be used as a tool for the enemy of your soul.

When you live as a rebel for the Lord you can expect opposition.

And we see that happen to Hezekiah. For 13 years Hezekiah had not paid the Assyrian King and it painted a big ol’ target on the kingdom of Judah.

The Assyrian king, Sennacherib was capturing all the cities in Judah. So, our hero, in fear, came up with a plan.

Let me tell you something important:

Fear does not produce Wisdom

When you are afraid it’s hard to think clearly.

Maybe it’s too soon to remind you of what I feel will go down in history as the “great toilet paper shortage!” People were so afraid of a virus that for some reason they thought if they didn’t buy 4000 roles of toilet paper that they wouldn’t be able to survive! Fear made the TP manufacturers millions of dollars.

People don’t always make the best choices when they are afraid. This is what Hezekiah did:

2 Kings 18:14 CEV

14 Hezekiah sent this message to Sennacherib, who was in the town of Lachish: “I know I am guilty of rebellion. But I will pay you whatever you want, if you stop your attack.” Sennacherib told Hezekiah to pay about eleven tons of silver and almost a ton of gold.

After 13 years of righteous God anointed rebellion, he caved because he was afraid. He asked the enemy to have mercy. The problem was that Hezekiah didn’t have that much silver and gold in the bank.

Here’s what he did to get it paid:

2 Kings 18:15–16 CEV

15 So Hezekiah collected all the silver from the Lord’s temple and the royal treasury. 16 He even stripped the gold that he had used to cover the doors and doorposts in the temple. He gave it all to Sennacherib.

Our hero cowardly stripped the scared temple of God. Not his finest moment.

Before we get too judgy we need to thing about our story.

Have you ever started out strong with the Lord but over time you find yourself compromising? Have you even found yourself slipping back into your old way of living. Maybe you stopped praying, worshipping, reading, coming to church, giving your tithe and offering, or any other thing that takes you farther from God’s will in your life?

We’ve all be there before. Here’s the problem of backsliding. It makes your testimony weak. How can you stand up and and give a testimony in church about how christians have victory over alcohol and you’ve got a bottle of whiskey in your purse? It makes your testimony weak!

Hezekiah became weak in the eyes of his enemy because he begged for mercy.

Did his compromise work? Did the Assyrian King leave him alone after he gave him all the wealth?

NO! Why?

Compromise NEVER Works

This is a biblical truth we need to understand. You can’t serve two masters in your life. Don’t take it from me, take it from our Lord:

Matthew 6:24 NLT

24 “No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and be enslaved to money.

When Jesus was being accused of casting out demons by the power of the devil He revealed this truth again:

Luke 11:17 NIV

17 Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them: “Any kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and a house divided against itself will fall.

Jesus’ argument to the Pharisees was logical: a kingdom that is at cross-purposes with itself will fall. Any household riven by infighting will tear itself apart.

Compromise gives the enemy a foothold in our lives.

Sennacherib saw Hezekiah’s compromise as a sign of weakness and he exploited that weakness. He sent thousands upon thousands of his troops to surround Jerusalem.

Give the world and the flesh an inch, and they will seek a mile. To compromise with evil on one point is to endanger the citadel of our strength for God.

You can’t serve two masters. If you’re going to learn something from Hezekiah’s story you need to learn what Joshua already knew:

Joshua 24:15 CEV

15 But if you don’t want to worship the Lord, then choose right now! Will you worship the same idols your ancestors did? Or since you’re living on land that once belonged to the Amorites, maybe you’ll worship their gods. I won’t. My family and I are going to worship and obey the Lord!

Let’s go back to what the King of Assyria did in response to Hezekiah’s compromise:

2 Kings 18:17 CEV

17 The king of Assyria ordered his three highest military officers to leave Lachish and take a large army to Jerusalem. When they arrived, the officers stood on the road near the cloth makers’ shops along the canal from the upper pool.

Hezekiah had to make a choice. Surrender to the enemy or surrender to God.

It might seem pretty easy, but the Assyrian leaders had some good points.

2 Kings 18:27–32 CEV

27 The Assyrian army commander answered, “My king sent me to speak to everyone, not just to you leaders. These people will soon have to eat their own body waste and drink their own urine! And so will the three of you.” 28 Then, in a voice loud enough for everyone to hear, he shouted in Hebrew: Listen to what the great king of Assyria says! 29 Don’t be fooled by Hezekiah. He can’t save you. 30 Don’t trust him when he tells you that the Lord will protect you from the king of Assyria. 31 Stop listening to Hezekiah! Pay attention to my king. Surrender to him. He will let you keep your own vineyards, fig trees, and cisterns 32 for a while. Then he will come and take you away to a country just like yours, where you can plant vineyards, raise your own grain, and have plenty of olive oil and honey. Believe me, you won’t starve there. Hezekiah claims the Lord will save you. But don’t be fooled by him.

This is how the enemy works. “Follow me and you’ll be just fine.” He tells us that he can give us everything we desire.

Satan even tried to convince Jesus that He could provide an easier path:

Matthew 4:8–9 CEV

8 Finally, the devil took Jesus up on a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms on earth and their power. 9 The devil said to him, “I will give all this to you, if you will bow down and worship me.”

What did Jesus tell him?

Matthew 4:10–11 CEV

10 Jesus answered, “Go away Satan! The Scriptures say: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve only him.’ ” 11 Then the devil left Jesus, and angels came to help him.

You’ve got to get to the place where you can recognize the tactics of the enemy and then cast him away! We have the authority to make him leave!

James 4:7 CEV

7 Surrender to God! Resist the devil, and he will run from you.

The problem is that we tend to run TOO the Devil - we need to chose to make him run!

What did Hezekiah do? He did what Hero’s do:

Hero’s Surrender to God

It seems backwards right? Shouldn’t we say, hero’s fight? Hero’s think up a plan and take action? Well, there’s a time and place for action, but it will never precede surrender to God.

Here’s my absolute favorite part the story. Hezekiah has the news that they were surrounded and hope was all but gone and he did what he should have done in in the beginning: he went to the temple and prayed.

2 Kings 19:14–19 CEV

14 After Hezekiah had read the note from the king of Assyria, he took it to the temple and spread it out for the Lord to see. 15 He prayed: Lord God of Israel, your throne is above the winged creatures. You created the heavens and the earth, and you alone rule the kingdoms of this world. 16 But just look how Sennacherib has insulted you, the living God. 17 It is true, our Lord, that Assyrian kings have turned nations into deserts. 18 They destroyed the idols of wood and stone that the people of those nations had made and worshiped. 19 But you are our Lord and our God! We ask you to keep us safe from the Assyrian king. Then everyone in every kingdom on earth will know that you are the only God.

Do you want to know the key to overcoming things in your life? How to walk in faith instead of fear? To live boldly for the Lord instead of in compromise?

How about this one, Do you want to know how to receive a touch from heaven?

You’ve got to Seek the Lord. When you do you’ll find Him.

Here’s a promises to stand on in your life:

Proverbs 8:17 CEV

17 I love everyone who loves me, and I will be found by all who honestly search.

Deuteronomy 4:29 CEV

29 In all of your troubles, you may finally decide that you want to worship only the Lord. And if you turn back to him and obey him completely, he will again be your God.

Luke 11:9–10 CEV

9 So I tell you to ask and you will receive, search and you will find, knock and the door will be opened for you. 10 Everyone who asks will receive, everyone who searches will find, and the door will be opened for everyone who knocks.

Jeremiah 29:13 CEV

13 You will worship me with all your heart, and I will be with you

Maybe you’ve not felt God in your life for a while. You might need to seek Him more earnestly!

What can we learn from our hero’s prayer?

2 Kings 19:15 CEV

15 He prayed: Lord God of Israel, your throne is above the winged creatures. You created the heavens and the earth, and you alone rule the kingdoms of this world.

God is above everything because He CREATED everything. The king of assyria was subject to the power of God. The enemy is subject to the power of God in your life.

2 Kings 19:19 CEV

19 But you are our Lord and our God! We ask you to keep us safe from the Assyrian king. Then everyone in every kingdom on earth will know that you are the only God.

God allows us to go through things that will bring Glory to Him.

Matthew 5:14–16 CEV

14 You are like light for the whole world. A city built on top of a hill cannot be hidden, 15 and no one would light a lamp and put it under a clay pot. A lamp is placed on a lampstand, where it can give light to everyone in the house. 16 Make your light shine, so that others will see the good that you do and will praise your Father in heaven.

When we surrender to God what happens?

God Hears and Answers

The prophet Isaiah come to Hezekiah after he prayed told him something SUPER important:

2 Kings 19:20 CEV

20 Isaiah went to Hezekiah and told him that the Lord God of Israel had said: Hezekiah, I heard your prayer about King Sennacherib of Assyria.

God hears us too!

1 John 5:15 CEV

15 And if we know that God listens when we pray, we are sure that our prayers have already been answered.

If you and I believed this was true then we would spend so much more time in prayer.

Hero’s pray! Because they aren’t compromised. They are surrendered to the only one who can deliver them.

If you’ve been praying, but nothing seems to change, keep praying! You’ve got to touch heaven!

God will and does answer.

How does our story end?

2 Kings 19:35 CEV

35 That same night the Lord sent an angel to the camp of the Assyrians, and he killed one hundred eighty-five thousand of them. And so the next morning, the camp was full of dead bodies.

Who can stand against Creator God? NO ONE

This is a lesson for us to understand. We need to know that God is Holy, Righteous, and NOT to be trifled with. He is our deliverer, but only if we are on His side!

Hezekiah was not perfect. In fact, He made massive mistakes. He was a flawed person, but he did something that each of us can do too - he repented. He turned back to God and God had mercy.

Hezekiah cried out to God.

God is always ready to work, so that it may be clearly seen that the work is of God, and that we may glorify Him. Prayer is the mightiest weapon ever put within the reach of man.

I want to give you permission to rebel today. Hezekiah was most successful when he was a rebel.