Let Confidence Carry It - Bro Caleb Roadcap 4-19-2026

Certainly thankful to be here this morning. You can be

turning to Second Kings looking at chapter eighteen. Amen, do

miss our pastor greatly, as has already been said, so

so excited.

For him to be back.

I'd much rather I told him this morning, I said, Pastor,

I'd much rather be hearing you this morning, Amen, Second Kings,

Chapter eighteen. I do want to say, I'm thankful for

this opportunity. It truly is an honor, and we take

it very seriously. I'm also thankful for any giving here

this morning, Amen, Second Kings, Chapter eighteen. We're gonna be

skipping down through here a little bit a few verses,

beginning verse number one. Now, it came to pass in

the third year of Hoshea, son of Ela, king of Israel,

that Hazekiah, the son of a Has, king of Judah,

began to reign. Twenty and five years old was he

when he began to reign, And he reigned twenty and

nine years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Abbi, the

daughter of Zachariyah. And he did that which was right

and the side of the Lord, according to all that

David his father did. Dropping down to verse number five,

he's trusting the Lord God of Israel, so that after

him was none like him among all the among all

the kings of Judah, nor any that were before him.

For he clave to the Lord his God, and departed

not from following him, but kept his commandments which the

Lord commanded Moses, dropping to verse nineteen, and Rabshaka said,

unto them, speaking now to Hezekiah, thus saith the great King,

the King of Assyria, What confidence is this? Wherein thou trustest,

dropping down to verse number twenty nine. Thus say the king,

Let not Hezekiah deceive you, for he shall not be

able to deliver you out of his hand. Neither let

Hezekiah make you trust in the Lord, saying, the Lord

will surely deliver us, for this city shall not be

delivered unto that, for this city shall not be delivered

into the hand of the King of Assyria down at

thirty six. But the people held their peace and answered

him not a word, for the king come. The King's

commandment was saying, answer him not last verse over in

chapter nineteen, verse number fourteen, it says in Hezekiah received

a letter of the hand of the messengers and read it,

and Hezeki went up into the house of the Lord

and spread it before the Lord. Amen, I asked for

the saints of God to help help pray this morning,

and if the Lord will help us, I want to

pray this morning. Don't let confidence carry it if somebody,

if we can get a hold of that today, if

we can let confidence carry it. Amen, would you pray

with us this morning?

God? We ask for your help. We asked for your spirit.

Let this.

God, I pray that you touch.

Why didn't you do with this guy that you can

ashramed God to say the words that you have us

to say, God, we need you this morning.

How do we need you?

Hallelujah, hallelujah this morning?

If the Lord would help us.

We want to talk about King Hezekiah and his notable

confidence in God. Many of us would would probably think,

if we're just reading this this passage right here for

the first time, we would think that such a faithful

and obedient man, such a man that would love God.

The Bible says he trusted in God, he did right,

he did like David had done. You would think that

his his father would have been amazing. Right, somebody who

feared God as well, a somebody who showed him and

pointed out the things of God and the law of God. However,

this was not the case. Truly, unfortunately this was not

the case. Now Hezekiah's family reigned over the Southern Kingdom.

When the when the nation of Visuals split, you had

the Northern Kingdom and their capital would have been Syria,

and you had the Southern Kingdom, the nation of Judah,

that which had been promised to David. And that this

so Hezekiah his family reigned over Judah.

Amen. Hezekiah's father, we spoke of him.

His name was ah Has, And truly he was a

wicked man, and he done evil in the side of

the Lord. Some of the things he did a has

He built altars and offered inceignse to pagan gods. Many

other kings had done this, but he went further, and

he imposed child sacrifice, which was clearly an abomination and

something that God had despised vehemently.

Amen.

The Bible says that this this father, a Has. He

also cut up the vessels from the House of the Lord. Right,

he destroyed them, in other words, and he shut up

the doors of the House of the Lord. He closed

the temples so that people could no longer enter therein

and offer sacrifice to God the way that God had

demanded and commanded from the people. So both the Northern

and the Southern kingdoms they had practiced idolatry.

There's the history there.

There's the many prophets during this time that that speak

of the older sister and the younger sister, and their

idolatrous and adulterous ways, and how they went against God

and his commandments.

Amen.

Many things were prophesied. However, neither neither tribe the people

would follow after the wicked kings, and they would fall

to idolatry, right, and they they never truly wanted to

turn to God. It's important to note here as as

I was reading Uh, I told Dad yesterday, I was like, man,

this is it's kind of some of this is a

little confusing. I'm getting a little bit frustrated the way

that the story here is broken up between second king

second chronicles. There's parts in Isaiah, and it just there's

a lot going on, a lot of contacts context, a

lot of a lot of perspectives that we get here,

and that's that's awesome. But I sorting through all that

and from what I understand. There it's proposed that there

was a cod ragin between a Has and his son

has a kaiah meaning a Has was setting him up

so that when he he would pass away, that his

son would rain. So there are some things here when

you when you go back and you read this, some

things look like it happened twice, but really it's it

happened when the when they were recording what happened for

a Has, and then they begin recording for his son

as well as a separate king. Just just throwing that

out there, because there's a there's a lot there and

it's good.

I loved it. But a man So there's a proposed.

Co raign or co regency, and we'd read here A big,

big important context here this morning is that Assyria, the

king of Assyria, they had came up before and they

they took siege of the Northern Kingdom there and they

took captive Samaria.

Amen.

So Judah had began under AHAs they began they were

paying for protection from other countries they were paying tributes

to that Assyria wouldn't come and take them as well.

Amen.

And something very important here Assyria when they took captive

those from the northern kingdoms. They sent in others from

other lands to occupy Samaria. And they did this, and

then they scattered the Israelites so that they couldn't unify,

They couldn't revolt, They couldn't. It wasn't as easy because

they were dispersed throughout Assyria, and they sent others to

occupy Samaria. And we're gonna get in this a little

bit later, but that is where we get the Samaritans,

and we know the Jews they ended up hating the

Samaritans because they were mixed, and this is where that

mix began. To talk about that in there later, if.

God would help us so.

But then we get to Hezekiah, right, Hezekiah takes full control,

and it says it immediately in his first year of reign,

he begins to undo all that his father had done.

Mind you, Hezekiah, he was older, he had seen the

practices of his father. He knew the practices of his father.

But he says, like, this is not the way that

Judah needs to go.

Amen.

So he tears down the altars and the idols that

his father had put up, and he goes and he

reopens the temple, and he reinstates temple worship.

He then goes on.

Second Chronicles tells as he goes on to proclaim at

time of nationwide repentance and consecration, that the people would

devote themselves back to God and the holy things of God.

Hezekiah also rebelled against the Assyrians and all that his

father had done.

Amen.

In verse number seven, it said, and the Lord was

with him, and he prospered whithersoever he went forth, and

he rebelled against the king of Assyria and served him

not Amen.

Another thing that he did.

Was once he had rebuilt the temp or opened the

temple back up, I should say, he went in and

he proclaimed that the passover should take place. And those

that were in Judah, they finally it had been a

long time since they had really observed God and in

those ways.

And so he reinstated those things.

And the people came and they were happy, and they were,

you know, turning back to God, and they were excited

in that moment, and things seem okay, Things seem fine

right until we get here to chapter eighteen. The King

of Assyria comes up against the defense cities of Judah.

They come to take they come to take over they

want to take over. They want to come in right,

Judah had quit paying their tributes, they quit paying their

their protection money, if you would, so they Assyria comes

up and says, okay, well we'll just.

Take over now to avoid conflict.

King Hezekiah does say, I've offended, so I will resume paying.

I'll keep praying paying name your price, right. But this

time this wasn't enough for Assyria. And Assyria comes up

against them Verse nineteen. We have Rabska, the spokesman, if

you will, for the king of Assyria. And he comes

and we're very familiar with this story. This is nothing

new to us today. But he speaks to the people

in their language, or he speaks to the messengers for

King Hezekhin. And he does it in a way so

that all those around right, all of the people there

thereby that would have heard it, that they can understand.

And he speaks on behalf of the king of Assyria

and their their Their motive here is to to get

word to the king, but also to intimidate the people

of Judah. And in here he poses questions about what

what their king had done. These people are now celebrating God.

They're they're living more fully in accordance to his plan.

And now the king of Assyria and Rabshek he comes

and he says, well, he toret you were doing okay,

but he tore down your altars. You were doing okay

until he came, and he tore down your idols. And

he casts out on God's ability to protect them. He says,

the gods of the other nations have not been able

to protect them, and so they they begin to insult

God and blasphem God and his ability, and then ultimately

they make the threat to take away the people of

Judah as they had done to the Northern kingdom.

Amen. Here this morning, we're when we get into is.

Hezekiah's response to his concern showed confidence in God.

Amen.

While other kings, we've read so many times how the

other kings would go and they would make alliances with Egypt,

they would make alliances with other other countries in order

to protect themselves.

But God told them not to. He said, not to

be unequally yoked.

He told them to keep their faith in Him and

that he would be their protector.

Amen. Amen.

So Hezekiah set his face towards God. Chapter nineteen, Verses

one and two and it came to pass when King

Hezekiah heard it, he ran his clothes and covered himself

with sackcloth, and went into the house of the Lord.

And he sent Eliah Kim, which was over the household,

and Shebnah the scribe, and the elders of the priests

covered with sackcloth, to Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amos.

So King Hezekiah, he sets himself, he purposes it within

himself that he's gonna pray, and he's gonna on behalf

of the kingdom.

Amen.

And he sends messengers to the prophet. It's good that

we have a prophet of God who can help us pray,

and that we can trust that the word that he

has is from the Lord. Amen, when we find ourselves

in these times and needs.

Amen.

Hezekiah's acts were those of humble concern, not out of

worry and doubt.

Amen.

Second Chronicles points out here it says, Amen, and he

sent captains of war over the people and gathered them

together to him in the street of the gate of

the city, and spake comfortably to them, saying, be strong

and courageous, be not afraid nor dismayed. For the king

of Assyria nor all the multitude that is with him,

For there be more with us than with him, for

him with him as an arm of flesh. But with

us is the Lord our God to help us and

to fight our battles. And the people rested themselves upon

the words of Hezekiah, the King of Judah.

Amen. Now he may have been concerned. There was a

true concern.

They were coming, They were attacking the defense cities, right,

and they were even I believe in one place it

says that they were gaining occupation, if you would so,

there is a concern. But Hezekiah does not begin to

worry and to doubt and to distrust the Lord his God. No,

he says to be strong and courageous, a commandment that's

found throughout all the Bible. He comforts the people, and

he takes his requests to God. This morning, Amen, Philippians.

For six and seven.

It talks about be careful for nothing.

Right, don't worry about anything, but in everything by prayer.

That means addressing God, addressing the Man of God and supplication. Right,

make your petitions, bring your petitions to God. Be persistent

in your petitions with thanksgiving. I believe, Brother Nathaniel has

already talked about that. This morning, let your request be

made note unto God and the peace of God, which

passeth all understanding, shall keep your heart and minds through

Christ Jesus. I know, Judah, you might feel surrounded, you

might feel like they've taken a little bit from you already.

And I know that you've seen your sister kingdom fall.

But don't but just keep your hope in God.

Amen. Don't lose hope in God.

Keep your faith in God, and don't lose confidence in Him.

Amen. That is able to keep you. Hallelujah, Halley Loujah.

We could just encourage somebody this morning to keep your

confidence in the Lord.

Halley Loujah.

Pastor preached on ugly unbelief and the ugly spirit of unbelief.

And I went back and I looked at that because

it kept coming to mind. And he likened the spirit

of unbelief in that sermon to a serpent, right, a nasty, slimy,

slithery serpent.

Amen.

And he talked about the serpent that tempted Eve and

posed questions such as Rabsheka did here, Amen, And that's

what the spirit of Rabshaka would want to do to

us today.

Right.

He wants to cast doubt, and he wants to cast questions,

and he does it in.

A language that's familiar to us.

He hits us in a place that it hits home,

and it's concerns that we have. And he poses his

questions and his doubts, and they would slip in. And

he does it in a way where we would be

most vulnerable.

Amen.

But Hebrews three and twelve, the verse that Pastor used

in that sermon. It warns us that take heed, brethren,

lest there be in any of you an evil heart

of unbelief.

In departing from the Living God.

Truly, Ramshak and the king of Assyria, they wanted the

people of Judah to depart from the ways of their

king and to make their allegiance and their alliance, and

to make it easier for Assyria to come in.

Amen.

And truly the devil, he wants us to begin to

doubt and distrust God. Amen, And just let up a

little bit and let up enough, Amen, so that he

has part control and that leads to full control.

Amen.

Hebrews eleven and six tells us that but without faith,

it is impossible to please him. For the he that

cometh to God must believe that he is, and that

He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

Amen.

Hezekiah came, the people of God came. Isaiah came before

the Lord. They brought this knee before the Lord. And

they were those men of God. They diligently sought the Lord.

And in their seeking they believed that God could do

what they were asking him to do.

Amen.

Again, like the like the previous they didn't make alliances,

like the previous kings, they didn't run to Egypt. Rav

Sheeka put in there, He's like, what are you gonna

do lean upon Egypt to read? That would splinter in

your hand because it'll come back to bite you. And

and and that's in there. But King Hezekiah he he.

Didn't pay no mind. He took it to the Lord. Amen.

King Hezekiah put his confidence in God with fullness of faith,

and he began to diligently seek for his intervention.

So then the prophet Isaiah. Amen.

The Prophet Isaiah begins to entreat for them, and he

seeks the Lord. And the Prophet Isaiah, here's a word

from the Lord concerning the Assyrians.

Amen.

They and it says, behold, I will send a blast

upon him, and he shall hear a rumor and shall

return to his own land, and I will cause him

to fall by the sword in his own land. So

Rabshka returned and found the king of Assyria warring against Libna,

for he had heard that there was that he was

departed from Lakeish.

Amen.

So Isaiah prophesies a word. The word of the Lord

comes to pass, and things seem okay, right. But Rabshaka

and the King of Assyria they're not happy.

Right.

They go back and they're like, okay, well, yeah, we

had to go back for we had a pull back

for a time.

We had a pullback for for a little bit here. Amen.

But they send word again saying, don't be deceived by

your God, right you you trust in him, but don't

be deceived.

And that again.

They cite their victories against other pagan lands, and basically

they rehash what they've already said, and they're basically saying

we'll be back.

They're saying we'll be back. Amen.

So Hezekiah this time he receives it by form. Rabshaka says,

tell the king this time Hezekiah receives it by a letter.

Second chronicles, it talks about letters. There's many letters that

he may have received. And and Hezekiah's response, Amen, we've

heard maybe a couple of sermons so at our lifetime

preached on this. Hezekiah's response is that he takes this

letter and he brings it to God. He goes into

the house of the Lord and he lays it before

the Lord.

Amen.

Once again we see not a man of worry, but

a man of concern. We see not a man of distrust,

but confidence and faith in his God.

Amen.

So Hezekiah comes, he brings he goes to the house

the Lord. He brings a letter before the Lord and

spreads it before the Lord, and he prays unto the

Lord God.

Amen. He brings it before him in prayer.

And can I say this morning, Hezekiah's prayer was not

filled with words of doubt, distrust or worry. There's many

people who they take things to prayer and their prayer is, Oh, God,

I don't know how you can do this. They say, God,

I don't see a way around. And that's true. We

may not see how, Amen, but we cannot. We have

to be very careful saying that we don't see how

he can Amen, because God is always able.

Amen. So it's not distrust, it's not worthy.

Rather, it's an he has assurance in God's ability, and

he's requested, God, Lord, you've done this before, would you

do it again for your people in Judah.

Amen.

His prayer also, I want to point out it did

not focus on the preservation of his own skin nowhere

in the prayer that I read in Second Kings or Isaiah,

or I believe in second Chronicles that might be there

as well. I don't recall reading where he says, oh

God save me, Oh God save my person, Oh God,

don't let harm come unto me?

Right.

But rather he his prayer is that God's total supremacy

would be revealed, that it would be showing that God

is a God of war, that God is able to

protect his people without the allegiance and the alliance and

the reliance on other people.

Amen.

And that was his prayer, that God's that God his

power would ultimately be revealed to Assyria.

Amen. So once again the word of the Lord comes

forth through.

Isaiah this second time, and Isaiah prophesies and there's a

there's a long prophecy there about how Judah would shake

their head out of Assyria, and how the king would

ultimately die, and they're in second kings.

We find in this chapter.

Before the end of the chapter, everything that Isaiah speaks

comes to pass.

Amen, Haighelujah.

So Isaiah's response though to the Syrian threat, it proves

a proverb that the Israelites had in the fear of

the Lord is strong confidence, and his children shall have

a place of refuge. Amen, the fear of the Lord

is strong confidence. When we talk about the fear of

the Lord, and we hear messages and lessons taught on

the fear of the Lord, where we're taught to obey

God and reverence God and do all that He would,

you know, have command us to do. Right now, the

people when I spoke to us about Assyria coming into

a Samaria, and they they put their people in uh

Or they sent people from other nations in to occupy

the land. There's a there's a part there where God is.

God is displeased, and it says he sent lions to

destroy some of them and the people there from these

other countries.

These these lions come from the Lord and.

They call out to Assyria and they say, hey, we

don't know in which manner, in what manner we ought

to walk before God, because it's it's evident he's displeased

with us, and we're tired of this. Basically, so Assyria

they send back a priest in order to teach the

people and tell the people about God right and how

they should walk before God. And it says there that

they they they feared God enough to serve him a

little bit. They walked in a few of his ordinances.

They did a few things so that God's God's wrath

would pull back a little bit. But they still clave

to their idols, They still clave to the way that

they wanted to do things.

Amen. They still held on to their pagan practices. Right.

This is not complete or total fear of the Lord,

and it is not total confidence in the Lord.

Amen.

Can I say Hezekiah's confidence was a covering and not

a costume.

Amen, And I'd love to explain that to us. Amen.

His confidence was a covering, a shield of faith. When

you go into war, Amen, the shield of faith. It's

not a sign of weakness, it's not a sign of surrender,

it's not a sign of retreat. But rather, the shield

is a covering that would quinge the fiery darts of

the wicked.

Amen.

He Hezekiah has set captains of war.

Amen.

He set them out, and then he encouraged the people,

don't be afraid. God is with us. Don't don't run,

don't hide, but take courage.

Amen.

On the other hand, a costume, a costume, would be

a costume of compromise, which is what we see the Samaritans.

If you would the people that came to occupy Samaria,

they would put on a costume of compromise.

Amen.

It would appear strong. A had a costume of compromise

because he appeared strong, he appeared to make a deal

with the devil. If you would, Isaiah talked about making

an agreement with death.

A has said, Oh, well, we'll pay you, We'll pay

you tribute.

Oh look at me, I've protected my country, I protected

my nation. No, this is a costume of compromise. This

is not confidence in the Lord like it is meant

to be done.

Amen.

And people today they wear this costume of compromise. And

all the while they're trusting themselves. They're trusting in their

own wealth, their own intellect. Right, they make deals with

people all the while to keep themselves afloat, they make

spiritual deals and they go here or there, and they say, oh,

I'm believing God, I'm trusting God. I feel like God

has done this, And all the while they know that

their confidence is really just a cloak of compromise.

Amen.

We must beware also that our confidence remain in the Lord.

There was a time later on towards the end where

the Bible says that Hezekiah's heart was lifted up.

Amen.

Because when our confidence becomes self centered and self focused,

and we begin to think.

Oh, well.

I did something right, this becomes pride. May our confidence

and put that in there. Amen, that our confidence not

become pride. Amen, But that to remain a trust and

a hope firmly set in the Lord. We're familiar with

Hezekia towards the end of his life. How he he

you know, he got the illness and Isaiah comes in

and says, say your house in order, this is under death.

And Hezekiah sets his face to the Lord, and God

spares his life. He gets the instant healing, his life

is extended. We read about that there Amen, his heart,

that thankfully he humbled himself.

Amen.

And remembered who it was that delivered him and helped

his people. Amen here this morning, Matthew Henry. In these verses,

he's quoted by saying, man's extremity is God's opportunity, meaning

where man's power ends, where man's efforts in, where man

can no longer do anything about it.

King has a kid art.

He set his men out, He done what he could,

but there was just too many coming against him. Where

man's extremity ends, That's where God's opportunity begins. God is

always able, He's more than able. Amen, Brother Jesse, if

you'd come around, hallelujah.

Just let confidence carry it.

Last week in the sunny schoo lesson, we spoke to

the youth and young adult class and we talked about

the structure of prayer as well as our attitude and

manner with which we addressed God. And during that time,

during my study, I felt compelled to point out the

difference here between concern and hurry in that lesson, And

then when I did, it just stuck with me all

all this week, all last week, and I found it

coming up so many times in my life throughout the week,

like it was like a word of knowledge. I guess

for myself, for you know that God had placed in

my heart. And what we told the class there was

that worry. The difference between worry and concern. Worry will

lead to distrust, doubt, the absence of faith.

We read it already right. Those that would please God

have to have faith in him. Amen.

Meanwhile, concern because we have concerns in life. There are

things that come against us, there are things that we

have need of, and we there are viable concerns that

we will have in life. But the response instead of

distrust is diligence and prayer and supplication.

Believe in God that He's able to do all that

we have need of. Amen.

What was Hezekiah's secret? Hezekiah secret said, And thus did

Hezekiah throughout all Judah and that which was good and

right and truth before the Lord his God. And in

every work that he began, in the service of the

House of God, and in the law and in his

commandments to seek his God.

He did it with all his heart and prospered.

What I want to point out is those people that

would become the Samaritans, they did it halfway. Hezekiah prospered

because he did it with all his heart. There's a

part in a has Hezekia's father his life where he

goes and and he sees I believe it's a temple

or some some pagan temple in Damascus, and he sees

the people worshiping, and he sees the altar, and he's

he's infatuated with this altar and he's just he for

some reason, he's just drawn to it. And he says,

he says in there, he says, well, their gods have

seemed to protect them, so I.

Will bring I will bring this back.

And I believe that is when he closes the temple

a man and a has is basically saying, well, I've

I've suffered, and I've had to pay tribute, and why

is it God hasn't done it? God hasn't done it

for me. The difference between a Haas and has Akiah

is that has Akiah did it with all his heart.

He served the Lord with all his heart, because a

has was already letting, you know, idolatry and all those

things come in, and he wasn't serving the Lord with

the perfect heart.

Amen.

So this morning, I just simply want to encourage someone

to be confident in the Lord's your God.

Amen, whether it's now, whether it's in the future.

If you have a rabshake in your ear, be it

an imp from the devil, or be it somebody in

your life.

Amen.

That's whispering those doubt Amen, and coming against you.

Amen.

I also want to warn us against the dangers of

pride and the dangers of unbelief.

Amen. We're gonna all stand here this morning.

Psalms twenty seven, that says the Lord is my Light

and my salvation. Whom shall I fear? The Lord is

the strength of my life. Of whom shall I be afraid?

When the wicked, even mine enemy and my foes came

up pull me to eat up my flesh, they stumbled

and fell. Though in hoe should have camp against me,

my heart shall not fear the war should rise against me.

In this will I be confident. Amen.

One thing have I desired of the Lord, And that

will I seek after that I may dwell in the

house of the Lord all the days of my life,

to behold the beauty of the Lord.

And to inquire in his temple.

For in the time of trouble he shall hide me

in his revilion, in the secret place of his tabernacle.

Shall he hide me, he shall set me upon a rock. Amen.

God is our refuge, God is our strength. Here this

morning has come to the altars. Here where does your

confidence lie?

Amen?

The another psalmist said some would put their trust in

chariots and others and horses.

We said it this morning.

People today put their trust in their intellect, their wealth,

their health.

Amen.

But these things are temporal and they're not sufficient to

meet the demand, to meet the attacks of the enemy.

Amen. Our confidence must be in God. Amen. You can

build up your most holy faith.

You can have your faith made strong, Amen, and made

better through praying in the Holy Ghost.

So I just ask each.

One this morning that whatever it is, or whatever would

come in the near future, that you would just carry.

It with confidence.

Let confidence carry all that you have need of this morning.

God bless you.