How to move from lost to found

Joke

Two hunters got lost in the woods. The first hunter said, "Don't worry. All we have to do is shoot into the air three times, stay where we are, and someone will find us."

So they shot in the air three times, but no one came. After a while, they tried it again; still no response.

Finally the second hunter said, "I suppose we can try again, but it better work this time. We're down to our last three arrows."

If you are lost, how do you get found?

This is the question Hezekiah had to answer when he became king of Judah.

His father Ahaz was wicked. Under Ahaz’ leadership, the people:

Worshipped other gods rather than Creator God.

Practiced all kinds of sexual immorality.

Celebrated homosexuality

Parents killed their babies for the sake of comfort.

Do these things sound familiar. It is amazing how mankind continues to struggle with the same things.

There is plenty of evidence that our country needs to find its way out of the woods.

But what about you? Are you in a situation, where you need to be found?

There is a way to be found, and a way to stay lost. We are going to look at Hezekiah and notice the Bible’s blueprint for moving from lost to found.

A Commitment to know the Bible

How do you go from being a nation who does not follow the Lord to being a nation who does follow the Lord? How do you go from celebrating idol worship and sin to submitting to the One True God. Return to Bible Literacy.

1, 2, 3

There are two things that happen when a nation gets lost…when a church gets lost…or a person gets lost:

They stop desiring God’s word.

They loose their desire to worship with other believers.

Look at what Hezekiah did to fix this problem:

2 Chronicles 29:3–11 CSB

3 In the first year of his reign, in the first month, he opened the doors of the Lord’s temple and repaired them. 4 Then he brought in the priests and Levites and gathered them in the eastern public square. 5 He said to them, “Hear me, Levites. Consecrate yourselves now and consecrate the temple of the Lord, the God of your ancestors. Remove everything impure from the holy place. 6 For our fathers were unfaithful and did what is evil in the sight of the Lord our God. They abandoned him, turned their faces away from the Lord’s dwelling place, and turned their backs on him. 7 They also closed the doors of the portico, extinguished the lamps, did not burn incense, and did not offer burnt offerings in the holy place of the God of Israel. 8 Therefore, the wrath of the Lord was on Judah and Jerusalem, and he made them an object of terror, horror, and mockery, as you see with your own eyes. 9 Our fathers fell by the sword, and our sons, our daughters, and our wives are in captivity because of this. 10 It is in my heart now to make a covenant with the Lord, the God of Israel so that his burning anger may turn away from us. 11 My sons, don’t be negligent now, for the Lord has chosen you to stand in his presence, to serve him, and to be his ministers and burners of incense.”

2 chron 29 3-

In the first month of his reign, Hezekiah returned to Bible Literacy…He obviously had read the Law of Moses (first 5 books of the Bible).

He understood that the previous generation had sinned against the Lord…But that God honored repentance.

God had giving instructions to the people through the Law of Moses on how to receive forgiveness. God had promised to meet with the people above the mercy seat to hear their prayers of repentance. His logical conclusion: the place to start: Stop neglecting the temple.

He ordered the Levites to clean the temple (about a week and a half), and he ordered the Levites to start doing their jobs. vs 11.

Hezekiah’s commitment to Bible Literacy resulted in a fundamental change. The worship of God went from unimportant to the most important.

RESPOND:

After Jesus died on the cross and rose again, we do not have a temple that we must come to in order to offer our blood sacrifices and prayers of repentance. However, let me ask this question: Is the worship of God the most important thing in your life? If not, it could be that the Bible is collecting dust in your home. A commitment to know the Bible results in a desire to worship the Lord with other believers.

Is life out of balance? Have you lost your way? Here is where to start: Commit to know the Bible. Commit to let the Bible change your thinking. Like Hezekiah, for you, the worship of God can become the most important priority of your life.

A Commitment to Obey the Bible

How do you go from being a nation who does not follow the Lord to being a nation who does follow the Lord? How do you go from celebrating idol worship and sin to submitting to the One True God. Return to a commitment to obedience.

Now that the Bible was being read…now that the worship of God was a priority, Hezekiah made this decision: He decided to obey the Law of the Moses.

The Law required the people to celebrate the Passover in the first month on the 14th day. They had missed this day on the calendar…so they determined to hold the Passover in the 2nd month on the 14th day.

The Passover was important…God had made a promise.

A commitment to obey the word of God results in a commitment to repent.

A commitment to obedience always results in evangelism.

Look at what Hezekiah did:

2 Chronicles 30:1–2 CSB

1 Then Hezekiah sent word throughout all Israel and Judah, and he also wrote letters to Ephraim and Manasseh to come to the Lord’s temple in Jerusalem to observe the Passover of the Lord, the God of Israel. 2 For the king and his officials and the entire congregation in Jerusalem decided to observe the Passover of the Lord in the second month,

2 chron

2 Chronicles 30:6–9 CSB

6 So the couriers went throughout Israel and Judah with letters from the hand of the king and his officials, and according to the king’s command, saying, “Israelites, return to the Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel so that he may return to those of you who remain, who have escaped the grasp of the kings of Assyria. 7 Don’t be like your fathers and your brothers who were unfaithful to the Lord, the God of their ancestors so that he made them an object of horror as you yourselves see. 8 Don’t become obstinate now like your fathers did. Give your allegiance to the Lord, and come to his sanctuary that he has consecrated forever. Serve the Lord your God so that he may turn his burning anger away from you, 9 for when you return to the Lord, your brothers and your sons will receive mercy in the presence of their captors and will return to this land. For the Lord your God is gracious and merciful; he will not turn his face away from you if you return to him.”

2 chron 30 6-

A commitment to obey the word of God results in a commitment to repent.

A commitment to obey the word of God results in a commitment to repent.

A commitment to obedience always results in evangelism.

There is one thing the Lord has consistently asked mankind to obey from the beginning: Agree with God about our sin, and ask for repentance.

Notice, however, that Hezekiah didn’t simply go into his bedroom and ask the Lord to forgive him. He sent word to Israel and Judah. He spread the gospel. vs. 9.

A commitment to obedience always includes a call to repentance, not just personally, but communally.

When you make a commitment to obey the word of God, you cannot ignore that Jesus gave us one command, to obey Him personally and help others obey Him. This is who we are at the core as a church…we help each other obey Christ. But we are commanded to help others also.

RESPOND:

What our country needs is for the church of God to commit to obedience and stop at nothing to get the gospel to every person everywhere.

Look at Hezekiah’s message to Israel and Judah:

he said return to the Lord

don’t be obstinate like the last generation

give your allegiance to the Lord.

The Lord is merciful. He will not turn you away if you return to Him.

Come to the Passover…believe the promise of the Messiah…God has promised to bless us.

Some people mocked the message…but some responded…some even came from Israel to repent before the Lord.

3 years later…Israel was destroyed by Assyria

A Commitment to Wisdom

Do you love our country…we have the only message of hope that will improve the state of things.

2 chron

2 Chronicles 29:25–30 CSB

25 Hezekiah stationed the Levites in the Lord’s temple with cymbals, harps, and lyres according to the command of David, Gad the king’s seer, and the prophet Nathan. For the command was from the Lord through his prophets. 26 The Levites stood with the instruments of David, and the priests with the trumpets. 27 Then Hezekiah ordered that the burnt offering be offered on the altar. When the burnt offerings began, the song of the Lord and the trumpets began, accompanied by the instruments of King David of Israel. 28 The whole assembly was worshiping, singing the song, and blowing the trumpets—all this continued until the burnt offering was completed. 29 When the burnt offerings were completed, the king and all those present with him bowed down and worshiped. 30 Then King Hezekiah and the officials told the Levites to sing praise to the Lord in the words of David and of the seer Asaph. So they sang praises with rejoicing and knelt low and worshiped.