Reformed

Good morning If you have your bibles open up to 2 Kings 23:1-20. The Series as a whole is title Josiah a man of Reform, and the title today is Reformed.

If you haven’t been with us or listened online the last few weeks i would encourage to do so. Because during our study we have seen a great transformation in the life of King Josiah

Also for those who may be joining online we are thankful for you, but i would encourage you to come worship with us in person. The church is made to gather together in person. We understand we live in unique times, and sickness happens, but the Lord calls us to worship together. We have a place for your whole family here at Agape. I would encourage you to come in person if you can.

Two weeks ago we began to lay the foundations of the study seeing that Josiah was a man of God.

Seeing that he was King after God’s heart. And being a king after God’s heart he walked the narrow path not turning to right nor the left. But also he destroyed Idols along the way. A man truly seeking God.

Last week we learned that King Josiah had a proper response to the word of God, and that response brought him peace despite the judgment that was to come. Last week we briefly covered some of this text, but today we see a more full response from Josiah.

Last we focused on making a response, and this week in the the text Josiah shows you what that response is. Repeat

read 2 kings 23:1-20

Main Idea: A Reformed person is commited and changed.

If we had to say a few things about Josiah it would be two things. He was commited and he was changed. Two things that I long for personally, and for this church. A reformed person is commited and changed.

If you are going to write down this morning or make note of few things or look in your bulletin i would want you to take note that reform takes commitment.

Reform takes commitment

Coming off the heels of his response. Josiah wants to make a public statement. So he gathers some important people for this statement that was going to be made. He took the elders of Judah, and Jerusalem to house of God, they were joined by many others as well. It was a great gathering of many people.

Last week we talked about him making this covenant and that the people of God did the same, but I wanted to take time to go back and to focus on the commitment that Josiah and the people had.

This commitment was spurred by the reading of Gods word. In verse 2 it talks about him reading all the words of the book of the Covenant. Most people agree that this is referring to the first five books of the bible. Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy. And after reading these words the king wanted to make a commitment. Not only to God, but to all the people of Israel.

In verse 3 he did so. he stood by the pillar and made a covenant a commitment. The pillar was a place that would be high up a raised platform where others could see him make this commitment. And his covenant and commitment came with the promise to follow God, but as we discussed during our study this following of God was not just some weak following. It was a following of God from a committed person.

It was a promise to keep the commandments of God, to keep his testimonies and to keep his statues. But in such a way that he did so with all his heart, all his soul, to perform the words of this covenant that were written in this book. He wanted to be sold out of God, and his response was joined by all of the people who Josiah brought to the temple. Amazing transformation, not only of Josiah, but the nation as a whole.

Because they decided to collectively as a whole follow God. But in order to follow God they had to first make the commitment.

and this commitment brought about change.

Being reformed brings change.

So Josiahs response, brought peace, spared him from judgement, drove him to commitment, and now driving him to change.

The change he was bringing was to rid Israel of everything that did not honor the Lord and honestly that was a major task, but his commitment motivated him to make that change possible.

The first thing he did was clean up the house of God. See the house of God was not being used for proper worship. The text says here that the Priest, and the second order priests, and the keepers of the threshold were tasks to remove the idols in the place of worship.

Now it appears the idols that dominated the temple were those related to the cannanite religion which scholars believe were practiced during the time before Josiah came to power.

These God’s worshiped in the temple were fertility Gods. You see two in the text Baal and Asherah, In the canninite religion Baal is the son of Asherah. Asherah is the mother of seventy deities including Baal, and these false gods were replacing the one true God In his house. And Josiah was going to destroy these idols.

Like we have already learned about Josiah he deals with idols in a way that most of us dont. He doesn’t give them the opportunity to be revived he destroys them.

And in the case of the temple gods he burned them, not in the temple but outside of Jerusalem in the fields of Kidron. The Kidron was located in the lower valley. After they burned them he took them to Bethel.

And whats significant about Bethel is that is was associated with apostate worship, and he wanted to take the ashes there.

Not only did he take care of the physical idols, but removed those who made sacrificed to the false Gods. These were not levities, but priests that were never worshiping the one true God. These priests sacrificed to more than just the fertility Gods they worshiped the sun, moon, and even the stars, yet Josiah disposed of them all.

He continues to bring out these false gods by bringing out them out of the temple burning them and beating them into dust and spreading there ashes. And he spread the ashes on the common peoples graves, and whats significant about these was it was the common people who were worshiping these false gods. Proving that these gods had no power over the dead.

and he doesn't end there He breaks down the houses of these male cult prostitutes that were in the house of the Lord. and also destroys the clothes that these women are making for these false idols.

He’s cleaning up the temple. Cleaning up the house of God. But he doesn’t end at the temple. He is going into the land to bring change.

The text says starting in verse 8 that he brings out all the priests out of the cities of Judah. And in doing so he defiles all these additional places so that these false gods could not be worshiped anymore.

Even after tearing down idol after idol he continues to change Israel.

After he goes to the high places, he breaks down the high places of the gates, but this time he comes alone while the priests ate unleavened break.

Then he difiled Topheth. ( Topheth was known for loud drumming) It was a place where they would offer child sacrifices to Moleth. ( they had these large fire pits where they sacrificed children a terrible place indeed ) He destroyed these places.

He continued by remodeling the entrance of the temple. See the temple reserved for the lord had images of false gods on it. One Scholar says there were Horses that were used in the worship of the sun god (Shamash); in Mesopotamia the emblem of the sun god rode a horse-drawn chariot on festal days. The small decorated cult stand from Taʿanach (in the southern corner of the Jezreel Valley) features a flying sun as one of the depictions of deity. Beneath the sun is an animal identified as a horse. One of the registers is an empty space between two sphinxes, which may indicate that this stand depicts the invisible Yahweh. And he removed those things that did not honor God.

He continued removing all the alters on the roof, and courts that the previous kings had made. And he pulled them down and broke them into pieces and cast them into dusk and threw them into the fire. Very intense imagery.

and if you thought the king was done he wasn’t he continued. Even the great soloman brought idols into the place where God was supposed to be worshiped. Soloman had brought in gods from all over the world and Josiah was going to rid Israel of them, and thats what he did.

Josiah teaches us that idols are to be destroyed so they dont come back. It doesn't matter who brings them in both good people and bad if it doesn't honor God destroy it, and put in its proper place like Josiah did with its idols over and over again.

He full-filled what one man promised. See in 1 Kings 13:2 “2 And the man cried against the altar by the word of the Lord and said, “O altar, altar, thus says the Lord: ‘Behold, a son shall be born to the house of David, Josiah by name, and he shall sacrifice on you the priests of the high places who make offerings on you, and human bones shall be burned on you.’ ”” Josiah did not stop his purification of Israel.

But he paused a moment from his destruction of the idols to look at a monument that he didn’t destroy of a man of God who predicted that Josiah would do the things he did. He left it alone and said let no man destroy it.

Finally we see the end of Josiahs destruction of the idols ,but with clear language of what he had accomplished. Listen to 2 Kings 23:19-20 “19 And Josiah removed all the shrines also of the high places that were in the cities of Samaria, which kings of Israel had made, provoking the Lord to anger. He did to them according to all that he had done at Bethel. 20 And he sacrificed all the priests of the high places who were there, on the altars, and burned human bones on them. Then he returned to Jerusalem.”

Josiah removed all the shines that angered the Lord, and he got rid of priests who worshiped these false gods.

All because he was commited, and that commitment brought change. But what about us. Living in different times, yet with many of the same issues.

We have in the study been about progression, especially when it comes to Josiah and his pursuit of the God. Christians should be the same way.

For us it starts with are we truly commited to God. That starts first with a relationship with Christ. If you are not a born again believer then you are not commited God. You wont have Godly change in your life. Commitment comes from repenting of your sin, and trusting in Christ alone for salvation. You can’t be commited to God in any other way if you dont first have a relationship with him. Then you can be like Josiah and the people of Israel worshiping the Lord by hearing his word and loving him with all your heart, soul, fighting to live our the truths of scripture.

You must be commited to a local church. Israel collectively turned away from there sin together. The local church is a great place to do that very thing. We fight sin and worship God together. We grow together if you are a believer in Christ God gifts you in a way to serve the local church. And when you are not present with the body you are greatly missed by us each and every week. I know things happen, but our priorities should try to be here each and every week. Be commited to the local church in serving, giving, inviting, and loving one another. Remember one of our core values in to encourage one another and being here is a great encouragement to me and the church body as a whole. we love when our people come to church it fills me with joy to see each and every one of you every week.

We must be commited to change. Collectively and personally. This is a change for godliness. Church if we are honest we look to much like the world. To much like our idols, to much like those who don’t follow Christ. I look to much like those things, so my response to the word of God should be to get rid of things in my life that do not honor God. And if we do a self evaluation of ourselves there are so many things.

Notice what Josiah did in the text, he cleared out the house of God, and he cleared out the land around him.

I first want to ask is there anything this church needs to do that is replacing our worship of God. Is our time spent here honoring the mission of God and this church. See the church isn't like a country club its a place of gathered saints who’s aim is to worship our Lord of Savior and serve one another. Our we spending our time worshiping God properly.

Are we doing anything in this church that does not honor God. Have we made idols in places were the Lord should be lifted high! This includes our finances, our gifts or anything else that happens in the church are we being good stewards of what he has given us. We are undergoing a massive change where this place can be welcoming and inviting for our people, and our guests, if there is anything that doesn’t honor God lets keep it out of this place. We want to be a place that only worships the Lord and points people to him.

Now here is the big one for us personally I believe. Are we consistently removing idols a few weeks ago we talked about this, but its worth noting again . we have so many idols that take our time from the Lord. Are you prepared to be like Josiah sacrificing all your all your idols to clear the way of worshiping God. would you be prepared to make that kind of commitment to the Lord.

If you have a iphone its interesting because each and every week you get a report of what you do on your device each and every day. What interesting is the numbers are probably higher than you think, and it blows my own mind to see where my time goes each and every day. Because if I wanted to be like Josiah and follow the Lord with all my heart, and soul i could easily start by putting my phone away. Church imagine if we just put our phone away and started maybe 30 min a day in the word more. I imagine we would see great change personally and in the church.

For us who have an iphone it might mean we delete an app or cut out a tv show so we can spend time with the Lord and our church family.

3 and half hours a week we meet together and according to my phone and probably yours to i spend that much time on social media this week.

But I know if I take that commitment to God, and his church seriously than I need to be prepared to to take the steps like King Josiah and rid my self of idols and be changed.

Church I want to challenge you this week to make a list of things that you believe take up your time and take you away from God. I want you to share it on your fridge right it down so you can see it, share with a friend challenge someone else in this church asking them do you have idols in your life that are keeping you from following God, and this isn’t a thing where we cant have fun and enjoy the things God has given us.

But let it be a true examination of your time, and if you notice a pattern of things that do not align with the proper worship of God done be afraid to destroy those things, because your relationship with God has greater value than your idols.

Ask yourself are you commited to God? Do you have a saving relationship with Jesus Christ, see because being truly reformed only comes from a relationship with Christ. The change does not happen until that first occurs.

Are you commited to the local church. Do you have a place were you regularly gather with born again believers who’s aim is to worship the lord. If you dont I would love for this to be the place where you make your church home.

Are you being changed by the destroying of your idols, and the pursuit of Christ.

I heard this quote from another pastor this week. He said, Change your diet and it will change your appetite. Feast upon Christ and fast from sinful indulgence. Your hunger for Christ will increase and your desire for sin will fade.

and I believe that if you are fully commited to Christ and his church your appetite is going to change. Be commited seek change, lets do this together.

Church I will be down here this morning if you have a response to make. If you dont know Christ by faith alone and want to this morning come talk to me, if you have a desire to join this church, or be baptized or need prayer respond in any way the Lord leads you.