Crisis Management

Introduction

Dr. Henry Kissinger, once told the New York Times, “There cannot be a crisis next week. My schedule is already full.”

Humans can survive for just 10 minutes at 300° F (children can only survive a few minutes at 120° F).

Humans can endure barely 30 minutes of exposure to 40° F water.

Humans can survive for up to 7 days without water.

Humans can survive for about 45 days without food.

That’s the crazy thing about a crisis, they come at the worst times - or the best times.

The Crisis

; ; Chron 32

18 In the third year of Hoshea son of Elah, king of Israel, Hezekiah the son of Ahaz, king of Judah, began to reign. 2 He was twenty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Abi the daughter of  And he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, according to all that David his father had done.

Hezekiah was a godly king. He seemed to be doing just about everything right, but instead of receiving a blessing, he received a battle!

2 Chronicles 32:1 ESV

1 After these things and these acts of faithfulness, Sennacherib king of Assyria came and invaded Judah and encamped against the fortified cities, thinking to win them for himself.

Isaiah 36:1-3

36 In the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah, Sennacherib king of Assyria came up against all the fortified cities of Judah and took them. 2 And the king of Assyria sent the Rabshakeh from Lachish to King Hezekiah at Jerusalem, with a great army.

Assyrians - world power - greatest and most advanced military of the day

ruthless

Battle of Lachish well documented outside of the Bible

envoy rides up and demand surrender

city surrounded

Archers covered by shields moved the army closer

earthen siege ramp built

wheeled battering ram up the ramp while other warriors climbed ladders

Assyrians killed everyone - impaled the most important

Be Comforted 1. The Invasion Crisis (Isa. 36:1–37:38; 2 Kings 18–19; 2 Chron. 32)

The Assyrians had ravaged Judah and were now at Lachish, about thirty miles southwest of Jerusalem. According to 2 Kings 18:17, Sennacherib sent three of his most important officers to arrange for Hezekiah’s surrender of the city: Tartan (“Supreme Commander”), Rabsaris (“Chief Officer”), and Rabshakeh (“Field Commander”). These are military titles, not personal names. The three men were met by three of Judah’s leading officials: Eliakim, Shebna (see Isa. 22:15–25), and Joah (36:3).

And he stood by the conduit of the upper pool on the highway to the Washer’s Field. 3 And there came out to him Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, who was over the household, and Shebna the secretary, and Joah the son of Asaph, the recorder.

Be Comforted 1. The Invasion Crisis (Isa. 36:1–37:38; 2 Kings 18–19; 2 Chron. 32)

The place of their meeting is significant, for it is the very place where Isaiah confronted Ahaz, Hezekiah’s father, some thirty years before (7:3). Ahaz had refused to trust the Lord but had instead made a treaty with Assyria (2 Kings 16:5–9), and now the Assyrians were ready to take Jerusalem! Isaiah had warned Ahaz what Assyria would do (Isa. 7:17–25), and his words were now fulfilled.

Rabshakeh used the public setting to employ psychological warfare on the people of Judah. He builds the crisis.

2 Kings 18:1-3

18 In the third year of Hoshea son of Elah, king of Israel, Hezekiah the son of Ahaz, king of Judah, began to reign. 2 He was twenty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Abi the daughter of  And he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, according to all that David his father had done.

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), .

What is the strategy against the king of Assyria?

Hezekiah was a godly king. He seemed to be doing just about everything right, but instead of receiving a blessing, he received a battle!

2 Chronicles 32:1 ESV

1 After these things and these acts of faithfulness, Sennacherib king of Assyria came and invaded Judah and encamped against the fortified cities, thinking to win them for himself.

Don’t trust in Hezekiah.

Isaiah 37:1–3 ESV

1 As soon as King Hezekiah heard it, he tore his clothes and covered himself with sackcloth and went into the house of the Lord. 2 And he sent Eliakim, who was over the household, and Shebna the secretary, and the senior priests, covered with sackcloth, to the prophet Isaiah the son of Amoz. 3 They said to him, “Thus says Hezekiah, ‘This day is a day of distress, of rebuke, and of disgrace; children have come to the point of birth, and there is no strength to bring them forth.

You can’t trust in God.

Isaiah 37:1-4

37 As soon as King Hezekiah heard it, he tore his clothes and covered himself with sackcloth and went into the house of the Lord. 2 And he sent Eliakim, who was over the household, and Shebna the secretary, and the senior priests, covered with sackcloth, to the prophet Isaiah the son of Amoz. 3 They said to him, “Thus says Hezekiah, ‘This day is a day of distress, of rebuke, and of disgrace; children have come to the point of birth, and there is no strength to bring them forth.

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), .

14 Hezekiah received the letter from the hand of the messengers, and read it; and Hezekiah went up to the house of the Lord, and spread it before the Lord. 15 And Hezekiah prayed to the Lord: 16 “O Lord of hosts, God of Israel, enthroned above the cherubim, you are the God, you alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth; you have made heaven and earth. 17 Incline your ear, O Lord, and hear; open your eyes, O Lord, and see; and hear all the words of Sennacherib, which he has sent to mock the living God. 18 Truly, O Lord, the kings of Assyria have laid waste all the nations and their lands, 19 and have cast their gods into the fire. For they were no gods, but the work of men’s hands, wood and stone. Therefore they were destroyed. 20 So now, O Lord our God, save us from his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you alone are the Lord.”

**What do you do when you’re in a crisis?

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), .

How to Manage the Crisis:

Own it (Don’t let it own you). (14a)

Look at how Hezekiah responded to the messengers in v14:

14 Hezekiah received the letter from the hand of the messengers, and read it; and Hezekiah went up to the house of the Lord,

Very ‘matter of fact’

receives a letter “We are going to utterly destroy you and there is nothing you can do to stop it.” - OK, thank you very much. Goodbye.

Hezekiah didn’t freeze, faint, or finagle. He owned it.

In 37:1-4 he felt it.

We live in a very ‘pretty’ and masked society. Some people look like everything is put together when, on the inside, everything is coming apart.

You need to own it to fix it.

Hezekiah owned the crisis, but the crisis didn’t own him.

Generally three responses to a crisis: freeze, faint, or finagle.

Hezekiah didn’t freeze, faint, or finagle. He owned it.

In 37:1-4 he felt it.

How was he able to own it without freaking out?

He remembered and trusted God’s Word (we’ll see it in a moment)

God’s Word is the external truth we need for those internal lies we hear.

When I argue with myself I rarely win. When I allow Gods’ Word to speak to me I never lose.

Some of you may need to stop right there - that’s enough application for today. It’s time to bring your struggles to the light. It’s time to own them.

It’s time to stop listening to the lies:

You’re the only one

There’s no hope

**It’s time to own it because you’re not going to keep it.

14 Hezekiah received the letter from the hand of the messengers, and read it; and Hezekiah went up to the house of the Lord,

He didn’t go to his situation room

He didn’t take a long walk

Worship (Put things into perspective). (14b)

Worship (Put things into perspective).

Worship (Put things into perspective).

There is no better place to work out a crisis than in the presence of God.

Worship corrects perspective.

Worship corrects perspective.

Worship reminds us who God is.

16 “O Lord of hosts, God of Israel, enthroned above the cherubim, you are the God, you alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth; you have made heaven and earth.

Hezekiah’s words in the prayer are not meant to be flowery. They are meant to be theologically pointed and speak directly to his crisis.

Even as he reads a letter from a commander of the Assyrian army he addresses God as ‘Lord of hosts’ - Lord of all the armies of heaven

In preparing how to respond to the king of Assyria, Hezekiah prays to the Heavenly King enthroned alone above all the kingdoms of the earth.

The Creator - drop the mic.

When we see the size of our problem next to the size of our God, our problems may seem big but our God is ALWAYS bigger.

In light of eternal life in the presence and joy of the Creator of your soul, what crisis on this temporary planet could possibly diminish that glory?

This is not to diminish the pain of your crisis, it is meant to expand your understanding of joy in God.

2 Corinthians 4:17 ESV

17 For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison,

1 Corinthians 4:17 ESV

17 That is why I sent you Timothy, my beloved and faithful child in the Lord, to remind you of my ways in Christ, as I teach them everywhere in every church.

This is why we worship. It reorients our hearts, minds, and imaginations to remember the greatness and goodness of our God.

Worship contradicts discouragers.

The field commander employs psychological warfare.

The field commander mocked plan.

Hezekiah can’t rely on Egypt - can’t rely on God

The field commander said they couldn’t trust in God because Hezekiah had removed all the places of worship (Hezekiah had removed the FALSE places of worship)

Isaiah 36:10 ESV

10 Moreover, is it without the Lord that I have come up against this land to destroy it? The Lord said to me, “Go up against this land and destroy it.” ’ ”

10 “Thus shall you speak to Hezekiah king of Judah: ‘Do not let your God in whom you trust deceive you by promising that Jerusalem will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria. 11 Behold, you have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all lands, devoting them to destruction. And shall you be delivered? 12 Have the gods of the nations delivered them, (Insert evil laugh here)

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), .

The enemy tries to get the people to doubt Hezekiah’s abilities, Hezekiah’s plan. Tries to get Hezekiah to doubt himself and doubt God.

There is plenty of noise around Hezekiah, but he simply needs to remain faithful to God.

Being faithful keeps you from being doubtful.

ILLUST - lesson in StuMin about character - one student went to my wife and told her I was having an affair to see if I had built enough character with my wife to disregard the doubt he gave her. My wife did not believe him because the closeness of our relationship diminished the doubt. Could have been a very awkward board meeting!

Sometimes, our Enemy employs psychological warfare.

Didn’t you trust in God last time?

Do you really think you deserve God’s help?

Give it to God (It was His to begin with). (14c)

14 Hezekiah received the letter from the hand of the messengers, and read it; and Hezekiah went up to the house of the Lord, and spread it before the Lord.

God didn’t need help reading it. The letter had already spent more time in front of God that it did in front of Hezekiah.

There was nothing in the letter that would surprise God and nothing that could stop God.

So why spread it out before the Lord? I think it was an act of Hezekiah giving the crisis to God.

We may see this as noble (from this distance of time), but think about how some may have responded:

He did nothing! He unrolled the scroll on the table and just started praying!

Proverbs 3:5–6 ESV

5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. 6 In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.

Hezekiah laid the letter in front of God

How often do you feel it all depends on you? You may even feel that God gave you this crisis. Give it back!!

If you are following His call, He will act!

Pray (Really, pray). (15-20)

Sometimes we face a crisis where all we can do is pray:

ILLUST: A pilot called into the local airport tower one day and said, “Pilot to tower! Pilot to tower! This is flight 2104 and we are four hundred miles from land, eight hundred feet high and running out of fuel. Please instruct, over."

The tower responded, “Tower to pilot! Tower to pilot! Please repeat after me: ‘Our Father who art in heaven…..’” (Rusty & Linda Wright, _500 Clean Jokes_, p. 24.)

Pray worshipfully.

16 “O Lord of hosts, God of Israel, enthroned above the cherubim, you are the God, you alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth; you have made heaven and earth.

Be Comforted 1. The Invasion Crisis (Isa. 36:1–37:38; 2 Kings 18–19; 2 Chron. 32)

(Ps. 46:7, 11

prayer is more about bending our heart toward God than it is about bending God’s will toward ours.

Pray expectantly.

17 Incline your ear, O Lord, and hear; open your eyes, O Lord, and see; and hear all the words of Sennacherib, which he has sent to mock the living God.

verbs are imperative.

why could he pray like that? Because God had promised to see and hear.

Pray honestly.

18 Truly, O Lord, the kings of Assyria have laid waste all the nations and their lands, 19 and have cast their gods into the fire. For they were no gods, but the work of men’s hands, wood and stone. Therefore they were destroyed.

You can be real with God without being rude to God.

Pray specifically.

20 So now, O Lord our God, save us from his hand,

Hezekiah is asking God to directly save them

Pray for God’s glory.

20 So now, O Lord our God, save us from his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you alone are the Lord.”

The prompt for the prayer was for safety; the desire of the prayer was for God’s glory

Conclusion

I don’t know if you are going through a crisis in your life right now, but I know that a crisis in your life can oftentimes lead to a crisis in your faith.

The suffering many feel causes them to question if God is real or if He really loves them .

Own it.

Worship.

Give it to God.

Pray.