Faith Against All Odds

Back in November, when we did our Thanksgiving meal,

I was sitting during the service while others were sharing

about what they were thankful for that year.

And I was really thinking, and I should have said it then, but I didn't,

so I'm going to say it now.

Over the years, I've been thinking about how,

and I'm not sure when it exactly happened,

but at this point, I realize what a loving church family that I have here

and how you've become my family.

And I love you so much.

And my last church, many of you know parts of my story,

and some of you don't, but we went through a very difficult time,

went through some great conflict and division,

and it really left me scarred and left me hurt a little bit.

And I have healed over the years by being here,

by individuals loving me and my family.

And I just thank you for that.

And I just wanted you to know that because, you know,

I feel so close to you and you as my church family today.

If you have your Bibles, I'd like to ask you to look with me,

if you would, at 2 Kings.

We're going to be looking at a couple different verses in 2 Kings.

We're going to start there, what you see on the board, in chapter 18.

But we'll be looking at a couple verses in chapter 17,

and we'll be looking at some in chapter 19 as well.

I will have them on the board in just a moment,

but I always encourage you to look those up in your Bibles as well

and read along in the Scripture.

That gives you an opportunity to make sure that what we have there really is what's in the Word.

It also keeps you bringing your Bibles, carrying your Bibles, using your Bibles.

I hate to hear churches today that the people have basically quit carrying their Bibles with them

and quit studying it for themselves.

But never take anyone's Word.

Never take my Word.

Never take Fred's Word if it doesn't align with the Word of God

because that is ultimately superior and supreme.

But we're going to be looking in 2 Kings chapter 18, verses 17 through 25.

2 Kings 18:17–25

The king of Assyria sent his supreme commander,

his chief officer and his field commander with a large army

from Lachish to King Hezekiah at Jerusalem.

They came up to Jerusalem and stopped at the aqueduct of the upper pool

on the road to the washerman's field.

They called for the king.

And Elikim, son of Hilkiah, the palace administrator,

Shebna, the secretary, and Joah, son of Asaph, the recorder, went out to them.

The field commander said to them,

Tell Hezekiah, this is what the great king, the king of Assyria, says.

On what are you basing this confidence of yours?

You say you have strategy and military strength, but you speak only empty words.

On whom are you depending that you rebel against me?

Look now, you are depending on Egypt, that splintered reed of a staff,

which pierces a man's hand and wounds him if he leans on it.

Such is Pharaoh, king of Egypt, to all who depend on him.

And if you say to me, we are depending on the Lord our God,

isn't he the one whose high places and altars has Akiah removed,

saying to Judah in Jerusalem,

You must worship before this altar in Jerusalem.

Come now, make a bargain with my master, the king of Assyria.

I will give you 2,000 horses if you can put riders on them.

How can you repulse one officer of the least of my master's officials,

even though you are depending on Egypt for chariots and horsemen?

Furthermore, have I come to attack and destroy this place without word from the Lord?

The Lord Himself told me to march against this country and destroy it.

Let's call the Lord in prayer.

Father, we thank you for this day,

this opportunity to be together as the body of Christ.

And I pray that as we study your word today,

I pray that it is not my words that are heard,

but it's the Holy Spirit speaking through your word

to each and every heart here today.

And I pray that this is a message that will uplift,

that will encourage,

and give us faith and hope to enter into a new year,

holding tightly to your hand

and going forth with confidence that you will be with us as you have in the past.

And we praise you and we thank you, Lord, in Jesus' name.

Amen.

This morning we're going to see that King Hezekiah,

that was the king of Judah,

found himself in a very difficult position.

You know, Judah had found themselves besieged,

I should say Jerusalem,

because the Assyrians had invaded the southern kingdom

and had already conquered all of the fortified cities of Judah,

say Jerusalem.

And now they've surrounded Jerusalem

and they've besieged it.

At this time, the Assyrian army

was the largest and most powerful army,

certainly of the world.

And they had already conquered the northern kingdom,

which the northern kingdom of Israel consisted of 10 of the 12 tribes of Israel.

And therefore, the southern kingdom was much smaller,

consisting of only two of the 12 tribes of Israel.

And Assyria has already conquered the larger tribe,

or the kingdom.

And therefore, you can see the position,

or the predicament,

that King Hezekiah finds himself in

at this particular time,

where the Assyrians have surrounded Jerusalem

and have besieged them,

and basically have given them very little choice,

either surrender to the Assyrians,

or to be destroyed,

and certainly annihilated.

And so what would King Hezekiah do?

Would he trust in the Lord

to deliver Judah from the hands of the Assyrians?

Now when we think about that,

he's going to trust the Lord,

but the Lord raised up the Assyrians

to defeat and destroy the northern kingdom.

And so King Hezekiah, though,

was not like the other kings of Israel or Judah.

He had submitted himself to the Lord.

But would he trust God to deliver them?

And if God did not do that,

if God failed to deliver them,

then they risk being annihilated.

They risked being destroyed

and even exiled like other nations.

Or could King Hezekiah

decide to simply surrender to the Assyrians?

They would be exported to other lands,

but at least they would live,

and they wouldn't be destroyed.

In that day and time,

when a conquering nation or military

conquered a people,

they would export them.

They would take the leading people

of that society or civilization,

they'd take the skilled,

they'd take the educated,

they would take the important,

maybe royal families,

and important individuals,

and they would move them

and settle them into another land,

maybe where they had already conquered.

And eventually,

those people groups would mix.

And people say the northern kingdom

would lose their identity altogether.

And that's what has happened

to the northern kingdom.

The Assyrians came in,

conquered them,

put fish hooks in their mouths,

and led them out,

and settled them in lands

that they had already conquered.

But the northern kingdom

has lost its identity.

To us,

the northern kingdom

doesn't exist anymore.

And from this point forward,

all references to Israel,

even today,

is really a reference

to the two tribes

that made up the southern kingdom,

or Judah.

But verse 7 tells us

that the Lord allowed that to happen.

Why?

Because of the sin

of the northern kingdom.

They had allowed themselves

to abandon their faith in the Lord,

and had gotten far away

from keeping the covenant

that God had made with Abraham.

And they were worshiping other gods.

And so,

God raised up the Assyrians

to come in

and to conquer them

and to lead them away.

So,

what would King Hezekiah do

in this situation?

Would he trust in the Lord,

or would he surrender

to the Assyrians

and allow his people

to be deported

and maybe completely lose

their identity?

Often,

the struggles

that we face

in life today,

maybe they're not

to the magnitude

of what King Hezekiah

found himself facing,

but often,

the struggles

that we face

in our lives today

often seem

bigger than ourselves.

They seem greater

than our abilities

maybe to handle.

You know,

what are some of the struggles

that you may have been facing?

Maybe health issues,

financial issues,

marital issues,

maybe struggling

with a wayward child,

maybe job issues.

We face many different challenges

and struggles

in our lives today,

and many of those

seem to be greater

than our own abilities

to be able to handle.

However,

what I want us to see today

as we study

this situation

that Hezekiah finds himself in,

that if we will focus

upon the Lord

and His ability,

then we will have faith

and confidence

that He will see us

through these times,

that the Lord

will be with us

in those moments.

My secretary

at my last church

had a little cartoon

beside her desk

that I always enjoyed seeing.

It said,

instead of focusing

upon how big

the storm is,

tell the storm

how big your God is,

and it's focusing

on the Lord

and God's ability

to see us

through those storms

of life,

see us through

those difficulties

and those hardships.

And I think that

if we will go

into the new year,

2018,

and whatever challenges

we face,

whatever difficulties

we encounter,

whatever struggles

stand before us,

keep our faith

in the Lord,

that He will deliver us

through those times.

He will deliver us

through those circumstances

and He will use

those circumstances

to bring glory

and honor to Him.

Sometimes God uses

those circumstances

in our lives

to help us

to grow in our faith

or to bring us

in a nearer

relationship with Him.

Do you remember Paul

in the New Testament?

And he had a thorn

in the flesh.

What was the purpose

of that?

Why did God

allow that

into his life?

It was because

he was getting

puffed up with pride.

He had experienced

things that no one

else had experienced

in his relationship

with God.

And God was using him

in mighty

and miraculous ways

and he was in danger

of being puffed up

with pride

and arrogance

and so God

brought a thorn

into his flesh

that we're not sure

what exactly

what it was

but we do know

that he used it

to humble Paul

bringing back

to his knees

and back into

that relationship

with him.

Sometimes God

allows those things

to happen in our lives.

You know after we

receive Jesus Christ

as our Lord

and our Savior

sometimes we think

that's the end

and we just sit back

and we wait now

for God to come

and take us to heaven

right?

But what is God's

purpose for our lives

once we've received

Jesus as our Lord

and Savior?

The one thing

that he desires

to do in every one

of our lives

is to mold us

and shape us

into the image

of Jesus Christ.

The Holy Spirit

comes to live

within us

and he begins

working

and molding

and shaping us

to become

in the image

of Christ.

And if it takes

difficulties,

if it takes

hardships,

if it takes

struggles,

he will not

hesitate to put us

through those things

because his ultimate

goal is not

our happiness

but his ultimate

goal is us

being in the image

of Jesus Christ.

And sometimes

some of us

are hard-headed

and stubborn

and wayward

and sometimes

God has to use

those things

to humble us

and to bring us

to a point

where we're

depending on him,

leaning on him

and surrendering

to areas

in our lives

where he's

trying to mold

and shape us

into the image

of Christ.

But what struggles

are you facing

today?

What challenges

have you endured

recently

that you do not

believe God

can handle?

Is there anything

in your life

that's too big

for God?

you know,

Romans 8.28

tells us

that all things

work for the good

of those who

love the Lord.

It doesn't say

God caused

everything,

but it says

God is working

in every situation

and every circumstance

bringing about

the good

of those who

love the Lord.

Also,

Luke 1.37

says,

for nothing

is impossible

with God.

what challenges,

what struggles,

what hardships

then are you

facing or will

you face in your

life that is

greater than

God's ability

to handle?

I know of none.

I know at times

the Lord may bring

us to the edge

where we think

we cannot handle

another thing,

but we have to

look back at the

times in our lives

where God has

already brought us

through and be

reminded of the

things that God

has done in our

lives and look

back and see how

He has been

working in our

lives and bringing

us to where we

are even now and

trust and have

faith that despite

our understanding

that God is still

working in those

situations and

circumstances in our

lives, helping us

to grow in our

faith, grow in our

character, grow in

our endurance, even

preparing us maybe

for future works

that He would have

us to do and

ultimately He's

working to bring

glory and honor

among Himself.

You know, Israel

had been led into

the promised land

by Joshua back in

Deuteronomy and

God had clearly

instructed them in

Deuteronomy 28 that

if they were faithful

and they were

obedient to His

commands, He would

always bless them.

But that wasn't the

full message, was it?

What else did He go

on to tell them?

He said that if you

fail to be obedient,

if you fail to be

faithful, then what?

He said, I will curse

you.

Unfortunately, the

northern kingdom forgot

that second part of

that message.

Really, they forgot

the first part as

well.

And they had moved

far away from being

faithful and obedient

to the Lord.

They had abandoned

the faith of the

God of Abraham

and the God of

Moses who had led

them out of Egypt.

And they had begun

to worship other

gods and they had

become, you know,

trying to be more

like the nations

around them and

worshiping the gods

that the nations

around them had,

were worshiping.

And as a loving

God will, God didn't

just punish them

immediately.

What did He do?

He sent prophets.

He sent the prophets

to them with words

of warning and

message for them to

return to being

faithful to the God

of Abraham, the one

true and only God,

to return to being

faithful and obedient

to the covenant that

God had made with

them and He would

bless them once again.

But the Jews were

very hard-headed and

stubborn and they

refused to listen to

the prophets.

The northern kingdom

had gotten so wicked

and so vile that they

did something that we

can't even begin to

imagine today.

And that was they

were, they got into

child sacrifices.

They would take their

own children and burn

them on altars to

false gods.

And so God raised up

the Assyrian nation

and He led them to

conquer the northern

kingdom of Israel.

Look at chapter 17

verses 3 through 8.

Salmanazar, king of

Assyria, came up to

attack Hoswe who had

been Salmanazar's

vassal and had paid

him tribute.

But the king of Assyria

discovered that Hoswe was

a traitor for he had

sent envoys to

Saul, king of Egypt,

and he no longer paid

tribute to the king of

Assyria as he had done

year by year.

Therefore Salmanazar seized

him and put him in

prison.

The king of Assyria

invaded the entire land,

marched against Samaria

and laid siege to it for

three years.

In the ninth year of

Hoswe, the king of Assyria

captured Samaria and

deported the Israelites

to Assyria.

He settled them in

Halah, in Gozan, on the

harbor river, and in the

towns of the Medes.

All this took place

because the Israelites

had sinned against the

Lord their God who had

brought them up out of

Egypt from under the

power of Pharaoh, king

of Egypt.

They worshipped other

gods and followed the

practices of the nations

the Lord had driven out

before them as well as

the practices that the

kings of Israel had

introduced.

You know, the northern

kingdom had forgotten

the covenant that God

had made with them and

as a result, God punished

them and destroyed them.

And during this same

time frame, king Hezekiah,

king of Judah, the

southern kingdom.

You know, Hezekiah's

father was a very evil

king and he did many

wrong things in the eyes

of the Lord.

And yet Hezekiah was not

like his father.

The scriptures tell us

that there were no other

kings from the time of

David on that were like

Hezekiah.

He honored God and

actually tore down the

Asherah poles and the

places of false worship

throughout the land.

He did everything within

his power as king to lead

his nation back to

honoring, you know, the

one true God and to

being faithful to him.

And as a result, God

honored him and God

blessed him and he was

successful in all that

he did.

It was his faith in the

Lord that led him then

to quit paying, you know,

tribute to the king of

Assyria.

He trusted in the Lord and

he refused to pay that

price anymore.

However, when he failed to

pay the price the Assyrians

had set before him, then the

Assyrians invaded back in to

Judah, conquered all the

fortified cities and now

have besieged Jerusalem.

You know, this reminds us

that our faith at times cost

us something.

At times, our faith in the

Lord comes at a price.

And I mention that because so

often we take a stand for the

Lord and we think, well,

everything should be perfect,

well, and good, and yet we

run into even greater

difficulties.

We're at war.

We're in a spiritual battle.

I believe right now the

United States is in a

spiritual battle for the soul

of this nation.

And there will be times when

we take a stand for God that

we may suffer consequences of

that.

But we do it in justice to

ourselves as well as others

when we say that if I accept

Christ and I do what he tells

me to do, I'll never have any

problems in life.

It'll be a walk in the park and

everything will be well and

good.

And those of you that have been

Christians for any length of

time at all know that's not

true.

We will face challenges.

We will face difficulties.

We will face hardships.

But our faith in God is not

that if we follow him, he'll

handle everything and we'll

never have a struggle in our

life, is it?

So what is our faith supposed

to be in?

Our faith should be that when

we give our life to the Lord,

we put our life in his hands

and we trust him to take our

life and do with us what he

will to bring glory and honor

to his name, to bring about

his will and to advance the

kingdom.

And sometimes that may be

going through difficulties.

Sometimes that may be

hardships.

I personally think the world

needs to see that we're

willing to worship God, Jesus

Christ, if he doesn't do

anything for us.

We don't need to be like the

people of the New Testament who

follow Jesus around just because

he fed the hungry or raised, you

know, the dead or healed the

sick, many of them follow just

to see what he would do for

them.

We need to follow Christ because

of what he's already done for

us upon the cross and for that

and that alone.

If he never does another thing in

my life and I live a miserable,

wretched life due to hardships,

not due to sin, but due to just

struggles I face, then praise be to

the Lord Jesus Christ because of

what he's already done for me.

Oftentimes I hear people say we're

in the safest place when we're in

the center of God's will.

I want to share with you today

that's not true.

Ask Jesus.

Was Jesus in the center of God's

will when he went to the cross?

That wasn't the safe place.

Ask many of our missionaries who

serve in dangerous places today.

Ask many believers.

I was reading a story in Voice of

the Martyrs just the other day

where they wouldn't say somewhere

in Asia.

Believers have to have church in

their cars and they have to drive

around while they do a church

service, which you can see there's

only going to be two, three, four of

them in a car.

But that's the only place that they

can meet that they don't fear being

heard or, you know, people coming in

and killing them for their faith.

A few years back, my wife and my

daughter Ashley were looking at going

to Honduras.

And Ashley was only 12 at the time.

And they were set to leave at something

like 3 o'clock in the morning.

Well, at 9 o'clock that night, the team

leader calls me and he says, we need to

have a meeting at the church in an hour.

So I said, okay.

And I went up there with my wife and

daughter.

They said, Honduras has had a coup and

they've run the president out of the

country and there's rioting, you know,

and conflict and we don't know whether

we should go or not.

And I was thinking there were several

teenagers going on that trip and I

thought there's no way parents are

going to let their teenagers go on a

trip like that to a third world country

who is experiencing a coup and having

rioting and fighting going on.

But when I got up there to my great

surprise, you know, all of them were

like, oh, let's go.

You can send my kids.

You're in the safest place when you're

in the center of God's will.

And I said, that is not true.

I said, it is not true at all.

And they're like, well, you're just

afraid to let your wife and daughter go.

I said, I'm letting them make that

decision and I will let them do what

they feel the Lord leads them to do.

But I also shared with them what you

have to do is if you feel God's leading

you to go, then go.

Put your life in God's hands and trust

that whatever happens, whether you live

or die, whether you're attacked, put in

jail or you suffer, you're in God's hands

and you're trusting that he's using those

circumstances to fulfill his will and to

bring glory and honor unto himself.

You know, mission teams, we need to

understand that.

When you go on a mission trip, there's

no guarantee that something bad won't

happen.

And I mention that because the first time

it does go wrong, I don't want to

stand in back going, well, we trusted

God.

Why did God allow that to happen?

Sometimes God uses circumstances and

situations like that to accomplish his

will.

We don't understand.

We may not even like it.

But when we go, whether it's on a

mission trip or across the street, we put

our life in God's hands and we trust

God.

We trust that he will use us to fulfill

his will and his purposes in our life.

We trust that he's using our lives and

the situations and the circumstances that

we find ourselves in to bring glory unto

himself and to advance the kingdom of

God.

Hezekiah sent a message to the king of

Assyria stating that he had sinned against

him.

And if they would withdraw, then Judah

would pay them the price that they had

asked.

This is the one little blemish on Hezekiah's

record here is that he stepped back and

instead of having complete faith and trust in

the Lord, he agreed to pay the price.

And so he went throughout the land.

He took all the silver and gold he could find,

including that which was in the temple, and he

gave it to the king of Assyria.

However, what happens?

The Assyrian king doesn't do what he said he

would do.

He did not withdraw, but rather he besieged

Jerusalem.

And so Hezekiah finds himself in a very awkward

crisis here with a fundamental question that is

still as true today as it was then.

That question is, what do you believe about God?

Not what you say, but what do you really believe down in your

heart about God?

Is God worthy to be trusted?

Can He really fulfill His promises that He has given us today in His

word?

Do we really believe that?

If Hezekiah trusted in the Lord and the Lord wasn't able to deliver

them, then Judah would have been conquered by the Assyrians and

destroyed.

But Hezekiah, being the man of God that he was, he went to Isaiah, the

prophet, to seek, you know, His word and His advice.

Look over in chapter 19, verses 5 through 7, and we will see the

message here.

When King Hezekiah's officials came to Isaiah, Isaiah said to them,

Tell your master this is what the Lord says.

Do not be afraid of what you have heard, those words with which the

underling of the king of Assyria have blasphemed me.

Listen, I am going to put a spirit in him that when he hears a certain

report, he will return to his own country, and there I will have him cut down

with the sword.

You know, Isaiah told King Hezekiah not to fear the king of Assyria because

God would send him home and then would have him struck down with the sword.

But then Isaiah, he goes to the temple and he cries out unto the Lord on his own,

which is a really, really good example for us to follow.

When we're facing times when we're seeking wisdom, seeking, you know, direction,

facing challenges, it's a good thing to go to spiritual leaders or spiritually mature

individuals that we trust and go to them asking them for advice, even praying with them.

But then go directly to God ourselves.

Don't necessarily just take the word of others, but learn to go to God ourselves and seek God's

direction and seek God's wisdom in our own life.

Well, the Lord heard Hezekiah's prayer and he responded once again through Isaiah.

Flip over again, chapter 19, look down at verse 32 through 36.

Therefore, this is what the Lord says concerning the king of Assyria.

He will not enter this city or shoot an arrow here.

He will not come before it was shield or build a siege ramp against it.

By the way that He came, He will return.

He will not enter this city, declares the Lord.

I will defend this city and save it for my sake and for the sake of David, my servant.

That night, the angel of the Lord went out and put to death 185,000 men in the Assyrian

camp.

When the people got up the next morning, there were all the dead bodies.

So Sennacherib, king of Assyria, broke camp and withdrew.

He returned to Nineveh and he stayed there.

You know, until recently, it wasn't believed by non-Christians that Nineveh even existed.

You know, there were archaeologists and others who doubted the stories of the Bible and that

Nineveh even existed.

But recently, and I think this is amazing, the more scientists and the more archaeologists

discover, the more they prove the Word of God to be true.

And it hasn't been long ago that they found evidence that Nineveh really did exist.

Now, I couldn't find it, but Jim Gilstrap told me when he was in seminary that his professors

shared with them that, you know, in the archaeological finds of Nineveh that they had recordings

of the Assyrian army losing 185,000 soldiers in one night.

How is that possible, certainly in that day and time, other than the Lord?

The Lord certainly delivered them in a manner that no one could have even imagined, that no

one else could have done it in the way God did it.

And God often does that in our lives.

Why?

He does it so that He receives the glory, doesn't He?

He receives the praise.

Not Judah.

You know, Judah didn't go out and fight a battle.

The battle was won without even one single arrow being shot in that day and time.

You know, no one has ever lived without having problems or crisis to arise in their life.

We see throughout scriptures men, good, faithful men like Hezekiah facing great challenges.

It can be hard for us to understand why God allows these things to take place in our lives.

It can be hard to understand, especially in the midst of them, why God allows them to happen.

But as we look back, especially once we've gotten through a struggle or a hardship or a difficulty,

and we look back, I hope we can see the hand of God that was always there, always in the midst of that struggle,

always in the midst of that difficulty, right there alongside of us.

You know, we may not always be protected from difficulties and hardships,

but God has said He will never leave us nor forsake us,

that He will be there with us in the midst of all of those.

As we stand here on the very last day of the year 2017,

and we look back,

you remember challenges or struggles that you faced throughout the year?

Can you look back now

and see how God's hand was in the midst of that all along?

You might not have been able to see it in the moment,

but maybe now that we've come through that,

we can see it.

You may be in a challenge or a struggle or a difficulty, hardship right now,

and you may not be able to see the hand of God.

But wait until we get out of it and look back.

We will be able to see it.

And so, if you're in the midst of that right now,

just hold on to God.

Have faith and trust in Him.

And accept His answer.

Accept how He's working in your life

to bring about His purposes,

to bring about His will,

to bring about the advance of the kingdom of God.

And I hope that as we look back on 2017,

and we can see the hand of God in our lives.

Maybe we didn't go through any struggles.

Maybe we had a great year,

and it was all happiness and bliss.

But I hope we see the hand of God in that as well.

And as we face a new year,

2018,

may it not strike fear in our hearts

to face a new year,

because we don't know what this new year will hold for us.

May we go into that new year

holding the hand of God,

allowing Him to hold us completely in His arms if necessary.

But go forward in faith.

Go forward in trust.

Go forward in belief

that God is going to be with us in those moments.

Those difficulties that are beyond our abilities.

He's going to go forward with us.

And that He's going to take our lives.

It may not all be perfect happiness and joy,

but we're going to trust

that God's going to take our lives.

Excuse me.

He's going to use us

to bring about His purpose, His will,

and to bring glory to His name.

Or He may be working in us,

preparing us for a work

that He still has for us to do.

He may be strengthening our faith,

strengthening our character,

and helping us to become more and more

like Jesus in our life.

King Hezekiah faced what the world

would say was a hopeless situation.

Some may have said he was crazy

to trust in the Lord,

but he went to God,

heard the word of the Lord,

trusted the Lord would see him through,

and was willing to accept the consequences

if he didn't,

but he trusted and believed that he would,

and God did.

God did exactly what He said He would do.

As we go into 2018,

not only do we trust that God will use us

and be there with us,

but we can trust His word.

We can know that He is faithful

and that He will be faithful to the word of God,

and so may we not only be a people of faith,

but may we also go into 2018

striving to walk closer to the Lord

this year than we've ever been.

Maybe we strive to know His word better

than we've ever known it before,

and to obey it,

and to apply it to our lives.

Let's go to the Lord in prayer.

Father, we just thank You so much

for Your word.

We thank You for examples throughout Scripture

like King Hezekiah,

that He shows us an example of a man

trusting in You,

and You honoring that faith and that trust

and delivering him and Judah

from an army that was far superior to them.

And I pray that as we enter into 2018,

I pray that we can have faith and trust in You,

but that we will also be an honorable people

who obey Your word,

who study Your word,

and apply Your word to our lives,

and that You will use us

throughout our families,

throughout our community,

throughout our state and beyond,

to allow the light of Christ

to shine through us

and others to see You

and come to know You

as their Lord and Savior as well.

And it's in Your holy name we pray.

Amen.