The Lord Strengthens - Part 3
Notes
Transcript
This Present Life
This Present Life
The stories of Hezekiah speak to us today in so many ways. We seem to face similar challenges when it comes to following God. Will we trust? Will we obey? This present life will contain peaceful moments but also moments of testing, loss, and pain. Some may assume that God is only concerned about eternity and not the present. God revealed through Isaiah that we have Immanuel - God with us in this present life. And Jesus Christ is the fulfillment of that promise. Even when it seems like we are about to lose everything, God is present to save us and show His sovereign power over our present circumstances. We have salvation for this present life, and we also have a future expectation of salvation in eternity with God.
1 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. 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.
4 And the Rabshakeh said to them, “Say to Hezekiah, ‘Thus says the great king, the king of Assyria: On what do you rest this trust of yours? 5 Do you think that mere words are strategy and power for war? In whom do you now trust, that you have rebelled against me? 6 Behold, you are trusting in Egypt, that broken reed of a staff, which will pierce the hand of any man who leans on it. Such is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all who trust in him. 7 But if you say to me, “We trust in the Lord our God,” is it not he whose high places and altars Hezekiah has removed, saying to Judah and to Jerusalem, “You shall worship before this altar”? 8 Come now, make a wager with my master the king of Assyria: I will give you two thousand horses, if you are able on your part to set riders on them. 9 How then can you repulse a single captain among the least of my master’s servants, when you trust in Egypt for chariots and for horsemen? 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.” ’ ”
The first and second years of King Hezekiah were marked by great reform and revival. But Assyria continued to be a challenge for Judah. The kings of Assyria sought to expand their empire. Halfway through Hezekiah’s reign, Assyria once again threatened Judah. King Sennacherib invaded and captured some of the cities of Judah. He ultimately wanted to capture Jerusalem. Hezekiah found himself cornered and had to make tough decisions. So what do you do when the enemy is defeating your life? King Hezekiah chose to trust in the Lord.
Assyria’s Threat
Assyria’s Threat
When King Sennacherib of Assyria attacked Judah, he successfully captured a great majority of the cities. And King Hezekiah was forced to pay tribute to Assyria 2 Kings 18:14-15. He took much of the wealth from the temple to appease Sennacherib. The action seemed to work for a short while, but the King of Assyria wanted to capture Jerusalem. So Hezekiah prepared for an attack by cutting off the water supply for Assyria and gathering weapons 2 Chronicles 32:1-5. But Instead of attacking, Sennacherib sought to arrange a surrender for Jerusalem. While attacking the nearby city of Lachish, he sent an officer with a large army to intimidate Jerusalem to surrender.
The Field Commander of Assyria (Rabshakeh) delivered a message intended to make Hezekiah loose trust in God. The Rabshakeh gave his message at a familiar location. Earlier during King Ahaz's reign, Isaiah delivered a message of trust at the same location, Isaiah 7:3. The issue is the same. Will you trust God or rely on the power of other nations? Three times the messenger declared to the people to not trust the words of Hezekiah.
Do not listen to Hezekiah. For thus says the king of Assyria: Make your peace with me and come out to me. Then each one of you will eat of his own vine, and each one of his own fig tree, and each one of you will drink the water of his own cistern, until I come and take you away to a land like your own land, a land of grain and wine, a land of bread and vineyards. Beware lest Hezekiah mislead you by saying, “The Lord will deliver us.” Has any of the gods of the nations delivered his land out of the hand of the king of Assyria? Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim? Have they delivered Samaria out of my hand? Who among all the gods of these lands have delivered their lands out of my hand, that the Lord should deliver Jerusalem out of my hand?’ ”
The words of King Sennacherib were filled with great pride. He thought himself to be greater than the gods of the nations he conquered. And he assumed that the God of Israel was just like the others. He ultimately set himself to be greater than God. Those who place themselves against or above God will be humbled. But those who humble themselves to seek God will be lifted up.
The Unavoidable Testing of Our Faith
The Unavoidable Testing of Our Faith
Why do we experience trials? We will experience trials because it is part of living in a sinful world. God allows it to be part of our experience yet, He is so great that He uses these experiences to produce maturity in us. We should be cautious to distinguish between God testing us and the consequences of our sinful or foolish choices. They are not the same, yet even then, God can redeem or use all things for His glory.
God historically allowed His people to experience difficulty to see how much they truly trust the Lord.
Abraham is tested Genesis 22:1
Israel is tested Deuteronomy 8:2
And you shall remember the whole way that the Lord your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, that he might humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep his commandments or not.
Believers are tested 1 Peter 1:6-7
In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
We ought not to fear times of testing, nor should we seek to run away from them. We are to keep our focus on God and recognize the temporary aspect of the various trials. They will last forever. They can serve a purpose that makes our faith, more precious than gold, will be refined and give glory to God.
Hezekiah and all of Jerusalem were forced to make the choice to continue to trust God or give in to the demands of Assyria. Hezekiah did not give up his trust in God. Even though he lost the fortified cities and had to give tribute to Assyria, he continued to hope in God's faithfulness and power.
And he set combat commanders over the people and gathered them together to him in the square at the gate of the city and spoke encouragingly to them, saying, “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or dismayed before the king of Assyria and all the horde that is with him, for there are more with us than with him. With him is an arm of flesh, but with us is the Lord our God, to help us and to fight our battles.” And the people took confidence from the words of Hezekiah king of Judah.
Hezekiah was willing to let God have the last word. He declared that God was with them. He recognized that God outranked and outnumbered the power of Assyria. He recognized that God would help and fight the battle.
What do you do when you are stuck?
What do you do when you are stuck?
Isaiah 37:1–7 (ESV)
As soon as King Hezekiah heard it, he tore his clothes and covered himself with sackcloth and went into the house of the Lord. 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. 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. It may be that the Lord your God will hear the words of the Rabshakeh, whom his master the king of Assyria has sent to mock the living God, and will rebuke the words that the Lord your God has heard; therefore lift up your prayer for the remnant that is left.’ ”
When the servants of King Hezekiah came to Isaiah, Isaiah said to them, “Say to your master, ‘Thus says the Lord: Do not be afraid because of the words that you have heard, with which the young men of the king of Assyria have reviled me. Behold, I will put a spirit in him, so that he shall hear a rumor and return to his own land, and I will make him fall by the sword in his own land.’ ”
When Hezekiah found himself in the midst of trouble, he humbled himself and went into the house of the Lord. In the first years of his reign, he called all the people in the North and South to come to House of the Lord. Now He follows his advice and enters the House of the Lord with humility. Hezekiah intercedes once more for the people. Notice how he prayed in faith.Isaiah sent a word of encouragement. In response, Hezekiah prayed a prayer of faith and trust in God. His prayer reminds us of the great vision that Isaiah received in Isaiah 6:1-5. Listen to his prayer.
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.”
The Challenge of Faith
The Challenge of Faith
Hezekiah's prayer reminds us how we can place our faith in God during times of testing. Trusting God does not always align with our natural instinct but we need to allow God’s truth guide our thinking.
Acknowledge that God is still on the throne
Acknowledge the mighty acts of God in the past
Acknowledge the situation as an opportunity for God to receive the glory
God responds to Hezekiah
God responds to Hezekiah
33 “Therefore thus says the Lord concerning the king of Assyria: He shall not come into this city or shoot an arrow there or come before it with a shield or cast up a siege mound against it. 34 By the way that he came, by the same he shall return, and he shall not come into this city, declares the Lord. 35 For I will defend this city to save it, for my own sake and for the sake of my servant David.”
36 And the angel of the Lord went out and struck down 185,000 in the camp of the Assyrians. And when people arose early in the morning, behold, these were all dead bodies. 37 Then Sennacherib king of Assyria departed and returned home and lived at Nineveh. 38 And as he was worshiping in the house of Nisroch his god, Adrammelech and Sharezer, his sons, struck him down with the sword. And after they escaped into the land of Ararat, Esarhaddon his son reigned in his place.
What an amazing act of God! This event is not just a story in the Bible, but a historical fact. Historical records do not say why Sennacherib stopped short of capturing Jerusalem, but the Word of God reminds us that the Lord fought the battle for Judah without raising a weapon, but simply trusting in God.
Letting the Word of God take root
Letting the Word of God take root
We need to remember the Word of God in times of testing and trials. In it, we are told to trust God and humble ourselves. We are reminded that He is the only way, truth, and life. But God’s Word can be a challenge to hold on to during certain times. Consider the parable of Jesus concerning the Sower and the Seed.
Jesus taught his disciples that the Word of God can be given freely but it will be recevied differently. The soil of shallow roots and the soil of weeds show an openness to receiving God's truth, but some fall away or let the Word of God be choked in their life. The heart that does not allow God's word take root will often give up trusting in God because of trials and persecution. And likewise the absence of problems and the presence of riches and a worldly focus will also prevent the Word of God from taking root. We must not let our circumstances control how we hold fast to God’s Word. We must hold on in all circumstances.
Trust in God
Trust in God
Your current life may be filled with challenges. I know many of you have felt the impact of unemployment, staying at home, loss of things and time. And some have experienced the loss of loved ones. I want to encourage you to let the word of God dwell in your heart. Your faith will be tested and you must chose to continue to let God’s Word work in you. God’s word will produce fruit in you as you submit to God in obedience.
The challenge for Israel, as well as for Christians, is to entrust our lives to God fully when it doesn’t make sense to keep trusting. When life brings challenges, it will reveal what is in our hearts. Our faith is tested through trials and suffering. Will we continue to trust in God for all things? When life is going so well, will we neglect the presence of God and doing His will?
Trust will often require us to do something contrary to our natural human inclination. Trusting in God will often require us to wait and let Him accomplish things we can not. And never forget that God's plan is always better than ours. Never let the enemy win because you are willing to stop trusting in God. It may seem that all the fortified cities are lost but God is still able to change our trial into a historical victory that we can tell the next generation. God may allow trials, but He is good all the time and can turn trials into victories.
A Pirate Story
A Pirate Story
In 1978, cancer was discovered in Ron Hamilton’s left eye. Many people in his circumstance would be emotionally devastated and cave in, yield to self-pity or even leave the faith. Although Ron and his wife Shelly never fully understood why God allowed him to go through this ordeal, they committed everything to God’s gracious hand and let His will be done. He said,
Hearing a doctor say I had cancer and may die was a very sobering experience. Many people would see the loss of my eye and the need for wearing a patch as a great trial. But I see it as one of the greatest blessings of my life. It reminds me that God teaches us the greatest lessons in the deepest valleys.
Immediately after the loss of his eye due to cancer, Ron Hamilton penned a song based on Philippians 4:4, which says
Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice.
He also read the Book of Job to understand why God allowed Christians to suffer. In Job 23:10, it says
But he knows the way that I take: when he has tested me, I shall come forth as gold.
We are further reminded in James 1:2-4 and 1 Peter 1:7
My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing. (James 1:2-4)
That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ: (1 Peter 1:7)
In the case of Ron Hamilton, one of the outcomes of the loss of his eye was the writing of this much-loved hymn, which has ministered to and blessed the lives of many.
https://nlbpc.org/web/posts/2544/
O Rejoice in the Lord
God never moves without purpose or plan
When trying His servant and molding a man.
Give thanks to the LORD though your testing seems long;
In darkness He giveth a song.
I could not see through the shadows ahead;
So I looked at the cross of my Savior instead.
I bowed to the will of the Master that day;
Then peace came and tears fled away.
Now I can see testing comes from above;
God strengthens His children and purges in love.
My Father knows best, and I trust in His care;
Through purging more fruit I will bear.
O Rejoice in the LORD
He makes no mistake,
He knoweth the end of each path that I take,
For when I am tried
And purified,
I shall come forth as gold.
CCLI Song # 2052
Ron Hamilton
© 1978 Majesty Music, Inc.
For use solely with the SongSelect® Terms of Use. All rights reserved. www.ccli.com
CCLI License # 1209749
Watch his testimony here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mnq096XedJs