TGP: Faithful to the Lord

Introduction:

Q. You probably go to certain people when you’re looking for certain things. Who are you following for the best music?

Q. Who are you following for the latest trends?

Q. Who are you following for the most fun?

We know who to follow for these things

We have a choice in who we follow

Main Point We don’t have to walk in the sinful paths of those who walked before us

Context:

Most kings were evil

Today: two bright spots in Judah’s line

Hezekiah

15th king in the line of David

Son of Ahaz, a very wicked king

His actions led to Judah falling to Babylon (he even closed the temple)

Hezekiah walked another way

Judah didn’t fall, on account of Hezekiah’s faithfulness

The kings after Hezekiah were wicked, until his great-grandson Josiah took over at the age of 8.

2 Kings 23:25 ESV

25 Before him there was no king like him, who turned to the Lord with all his heart and with all his soul and with all his might, according to all the Law of Moses, nor did any like him arise after him.

They chose a better path

Even though Judah eventually fell, their faithfulness marked Israel forever.

Main Point We don’t have to walk in the sinful paths of those who walked before us.

The Question:

How do we avoid walking in the sinful paths of those who walked before us?

Return to worship

Read 1 Kings 18:1-6.

The king acts from conviction and pure confidence in the Lord

Acts like this caused upheaval

Q. Do you think we have a right to blame some of our mistakes on the bad examples who came before us?

Their decisions do affect us

Their consequences can spill over

But they don’t define us

They are not an excuse

Hezekiah chose another way

You are responsible for your choices now

Q. Why do you think Hezekiah destroyed everything connected to Idolatry? When do we need to do this too?

The paths were cut off so that they could walk a new path\

We must destroy our objects of worship

An app

A relationship

A place

Anything that distracts from wholehearted worship

Q. How do we give our worship to the wrong things (v.4)-even good things?

The snake

Something that was used to heal them

Put above God over time

How does this happen for us?

Church activities

Praise from doing right

The feeling we get in a worship service

Giving our worship to worship itself

Object of worship = idol

Main Point We don’t have to walk in the sinful paths of those who walked before us.

The Question:

How do we avoid walking in the sinful paths of those who walked before us?

Return to worship

Return to truth

Read 2 Kings 22:1-2., 8-11

Read 2 Kings 23:1-3, 21-23.

Josiah delays judgement

Hezekiah = the 2nd David, Josiah = the 2nd Moses

God uses unlikely people in an unlikely time

The found book:

Probably Deuteronomy

Probably disappeared under the reign of Manasseh

Q. What was Josiah’s reaction to hearing the word? How did it spark change?

Torn clothes (act of grief and repentance)

Ordered the reading

Covenant renewal

Spilled over onto the people

God’s word: living and active (Heb 4:12)

It reminds us of God’s character and His promises

Reading it should motivate us to remain faithful to Him

Q. Why do you think we’re able to read and hear God’s word and not be changed?

These people: Deeply into Idolatry

Hearing sparked renewal

Reminder of God’s promises

We take the Bible for granted

We avoid accountability

Devote yourself to discipline, and it will change you

Q. Read John 1:1-4. What connections can you make between John calling Jesus “the Word” and the passage in 2 Kings?

Restored relationship after hearing the law

Encountering “the Word” Changes us

He lived the Word perfectly and showed us how to live too.

Christ Connection

God used Hezekiah and Josiah to lead the people back to Him, but they were not perfect kings. Jesus is the righteous King of kings who brings us to God by paying for our sin penalty and giving us His righteousness.

Wrap-Up

Both kings stopped a generational cycle of evil disobedience. Is there a cycle you need to stop? How can you?

Maybe we’ve had bad examples

They are sinners just like us

Maybe you’ve watched what happened to them

You aren’t defined by anyone else’s choices.

Your life can tell a new story.

Walk another way (no excuses)

Serve Jesus

You’ll never regret breaking a sinful pattern

PRAY