2 Kings 19 (Part 1) Bible Study (Isaiah Reassures Hezekiah/Sennacherib Defies the Lord) | Pastor Daniel Batarseh

Let's turn to our Bibles now in Second Kings chapter 19.

2 Kings 19 · chapter mention

And as you turn there, I want to ask you, what do you do when

you're caught in a dilemma that seems to have no way out, when

you are confronted with a circumstance that does not

provide any visible door to escape?

Does the Word of God provide any kind of counsel, wisdom for the

most righteous Christ honoring and profitable outcome for

suffocating threats or dead end situations?

I'm here to tell you from the beginning it does.

And what we have before us in this chapter is a blueprint

given to us by the Holy Spirit through the example of Hezekiah

that shows us how each of us in this place can receive divine

intervention. I'm talking about heavenly

invasions in our lives for a variety of predicaments that are

outside of our control. And so being here tonight, I can

guarantee you this, that you will have your faith built up,

that your heart will be prepared for those cloudy days, that you

will hopefully know what to do when you are surprised by an

attack. And if we remember, hopefully

from last week, we concluded with Hezekiah's three

representatives returning to the king with torn clothes and the

awful report of a serious, blasphemous intimidation.

And Hezekiah in this new chapter is going to give us a play by

play of how we can respond to things that overwhelm us, not

things that we've created for ourselves necessarily, though

this still works for such situations, but for anything,

but for really anything, especially those things that we

did not expect. And this obstacle, though it is

unique to this man, provides principles that are timeless.

Hezekiah's actions are driven by convictions that you and I can

share and possess and live by. And with that, expect the same

kind of results if we implement them by faith.

And so we're not going to complete this chapter, but I

want us to look at Second Kings 19 verses 1 to 13.

2 Kings 19:1–13

But we'll read in one sitting the 1st 7 verses.

Let's do that. 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 a like him who was over the household, and Shebna

the secretary, and the senior priest, covered with sackcloth

to the prophet Isaiah, the son of Amos.

They said to him. Thus says Hezekiah, this day is

a day of distress, of rebuke, and a 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

heard all the words of the Rapsheke, whom his master, the

king of Assyria, has sent to mock the living God, and will

rebuke the words of 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 servants 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.

O righteous Father, we believe with all of our hearts that we

are handling the very oracles of God.

We tremble at Your word. This is Your book.

We believe that, but we need Your help to understand it, and

we need Your help for it to burn in our hearts.

And so, Lord, the same grace that you gave to your disciples

in Luke 24, where you open their minds to understand the

Scriptures. We pray that Your sweet guidance

would be felt tonight as we look at every verse with

intentionality and great hunger. So Lord, we submit every faculty

of our beings and we trust that You will reward us in Your word.

In Jesus name we pray. Amen.

It's no surprise that Hezekiah imitates the grief and the

sorrow of his servants concerning the ordeal that

surrounds them. And we can take comfort to know

that we have liberty to feel the weight of such things of a

situation that may overwhelm us with honesty and in integrity.

However, Hezekiah in this moment teaches us something very vital

that we should never allow our emotions to dictate or to

paralyze us from making the necessary steps to discovering a

solution. So although he rends his

garments here, he does not stay in that state.

He actually picks himself up and as a reflex, almost

instinctively, he makes his way toward the House of the Lord.

Now, it would be wrong to assume that Hezekiah, in his

desperation, went into the holy place or the most Holy Place.

Those areas were designated for the priest alone.

What he did do, though, was enter into the courts, the

courts of the temple that were available for any worshipper.

And here's the wisdom of Hezekiah's initial steps in

response to this news that was devastating, life threatening.

He planted himself in an atmosphere of faith.

When his faith was challenged, he planted himself in an

atmosphere of faith. And that place is so obvious,

the House of God. Even in the old covenant, we

learned that something powerful happens within the walls of

God's dwelling place. And what we see over and over

again by way of promise and example is that when we enter

and when we participate in the corporate gathering, we receive

either an awakening or a strengthening for our faith.

And I wonder when I was reading this the other day, I wonder if

the words of the psalmist Asaph came through in Hezekiah's mind,

because Asaph, Psalm, Psalm 73, presents his own personal crisis

of faith, but it also tells us the turn around, where it went

from misery to revelation of hope.

And something that's offering to you and me.

Look at Psalm 7316 and 17. This is very famous, very well

known to us. But when I thought how to

understand this, it seemed to me a wearisome task, until I went

into the sanctuary of God. Then I discern their end, that

precious word. Until something happened to

Asaph's faith the moment he stepped foot into the courts of

God. And the same thing happens with

Hezekiah. Understand this, both in the old

and in the New Covenant, the Lord designed His dwelling place

to be a channel of clarity and confidence for His struggling

people. Listen, where you are sitting

tonight carries the power for doubts to dissolve.

Where you are tonight and where you go every Sunday has so much

potency, so much promise for things that try to sabotage our

hope and our vigor and our joy and to reverse it at the place

our feet on a solid rock within a a small time frame of just

being exposed to where God calls us to be as His people can do

wonders. So I want you to tuck this truth

deep in your soul for times like this.

Like Hezekiah, though, yes again, his predicaments are very

peculiar, but the idea of being surrounded, as we just saying,

do not discount for a moment the rich remedy of standing with

God's people and singing the truths of God, of sitting under

the washing of God's Word as it is expounded and as it is

preached and as it is taught, even when it is read.

Do not dismiss what can take place as you park your weary

soul in the midst of the sweet fellowship of Spirit filled

believers. It absolutely breaks my heart

when I look at Christians who do not consider the gift of the

church for the hurting. Now, we studied the Old

Testament and in great detail. I believe there are a lot of

differences between the Tabernacle and the Temple.

Does anybody remember the names of the two pillars that were

placed at the porch of the Temple of Solomon?

Because we studied this in First Kings.

If you know what, you can say it out loud.

Two names for these two pillars. One was you can say it louder.

Oh, I know. People whisper because they're

worried. Well, let's turn there.

First King 7/21, because this is what Hezekiah would have been

confronted with when he entered the courts of God.

First king 7/21, he set up the pillars at the vestibule of the

Temple. He set up the pillar on the

South and called its name Jakin. And he set up the pillar on the

north and called its name Boaz. And on the tops of the pillars

were Lily work. Thus the work of the pillars was

finished. So we have Jacob and Boaz.

Jacob means he will establish and most believe that Boaz

implies in him is strength. And so this is designed by God.

These pillars are testifying of God's faithfulness in one

establishing His house and sustaining the temple along with

the dynasty of David. That's what the people would

have been confronted with as they walked in the shadows of

those pillars. God is faithful.

He created this place, He will maintain this place, and He will

be faithful. But I believe there's a personal

application that as these worshippers made their way into

this place, they would have also understood that true

fortification comes from God experience in God within the

House of God. There's a level of impartation

that can only be realized there. You know, as I was just speaking

from my heart to the Lord before the Bible study, another passage

came to mind. And again, it's another famous

one. But sometimes with these

familiar Psalms, we, we miss the the application.

So you don't have to turn that. But listen, Psalm 92 and verse

12 and 13, we read about the righteous flourishing,

flourishing like a palm tree and growing like the cedar of

Lebanon and flourishing in the courts of God.

So in Psalm 9212 and 13 you have the word flourish appearing

twice, but there's something in between.

If we're going to flourish, we have to be planted in the House

of the Lord. That's what it says in those two

verses. The righteous will flourish like

the palm tree. The righteous will flourish in

the courts of our God. But in between the flourishing

there is the requirement of us being planted where God calls us

to be planted. I'm afraid people do not know

great heights in their faith because they don't have the

discipline or the conviction to live in God's house.

Being planted mean that's where your roots are, that that's

where you get life, that's where you get your nutrients.

And so for those who have a light attitude towards God, how

God's house, they will not know the fragrance and the

flourishing that can come from there alone.

Well, let's now come back to our main text and look at verse 2

because this is not the only thing that Hezekiah did.

This particular trial would require more spiritual

reinforcement. So in verse 2 it says that he

sent a like him who is over the household and Shebna the

secretary and the senior priest covered with sackcloth to the

prophet Isaiah. So the next thing that this man

does is he sends a message to this nobleman of God.

And while gathering publicly with the priest and fellow

worshippers was valuable, having a personal confident was just as

essential. Now you hear that?

You think that's common sense. Unfortunately, it's not so

common. Unfortunately, many believers

lack the wisdom of choosing the right counselors in their lives.

They often gravitate towards ill informed advisors, but not

Hezekiah. Hezekiah makes the choice to go

to a man who walked with God. Here's my question for you.

Was this, was this something that Hezekiah did immediately

when learning that he was surrounded by Syria or is this

an afterthought? Any idea?

Think about last week's study that Hezekiah have a lapse of

faith in Second Kings 18. He did one, we know that he

entertained partnership with the nation of Egypt, which went

against what Isaiah preached about in his very book.

Woe to those who go down to Egypt.

Secondly, what it What did Hezekiah do to try to appease

Assyria? Anybody remember?

It had to do with the House of God.

He didn't go to the House of God to see God.

He stripped the gold from the doors.

He took the treasures from God's house and he laid it at the feet

of this enemy of God. Better late than never, sure.

But before we read Hezekiah humbling himself and coming to

this man who had a special relationship with the Lord,

That's why he says in his inquiry, it may be that the Lord

your God. He's not saying that Isaiah's

God is not his God. He's just acknowledging that

Isaiah has a special relationship with God.

But before he does this, he trusted in the flesh.

Before he does this, who knows what kind of advice he received

from others? And it makes us wonder.

It raises the question, how many problems could this man have

avoided if he had gone to Isaiah first?

And here's my question for you. Can you identify someone, a man

or a woman, who clearly walks with the Lord, offering sound

counsel because their life overflows with the wisdom of

God? And if you can identify such a

person, let me ask you this. Is your relationship to them

something that is reliant upon you getting yourself in trouble?

Do you seek counsel and correction and instruction after

only after you find yourself in a mess?

Or is it a pre emptive conviction?

Is this something that you look for before you make any

significant decisions? Learn from this man's example.

Yes, it's better late than never, but he could have avoided

many issues if he had just believed that in the in the

counsel of many there is safety. So now he reaches out to the

prophet. But what does he ask of the

prophet? Look at verse 4 at the end of

it. Therefore, lift up your prayer

for the remnant that is left. There are times in life where

the most needed thing is biblically grounded practical

advice. There are some people who just

need to be told what to do and not have to really pray about

it. There's some people who pray to

the degree where they disobey. Prayer does not replace

practical obedience. But there are also other times

where a situation demands something of you, where the only

thing and the only thing you can do is pray.

This is one of those situations. But Hezekiah was not just a man

who prayed. He was a man who believed in the

power of others praying for him. Do we?

I've learned something in my study of God's Word that

righteous men and women of God not only pray, they covet the

prayers of others. You see here with Hezekiah, he

asked Isaiah to partner with him in this way, and you see it

throughout the New Testament, notably with the apostle Paul in

2nd Corinthians 111. He tells the Corinthian Church

of all the churches, come on the Corinthian church, so you must

also help us by prayer. Then he goes on to say, so that

many will give thanks on our behalf for the blessing granted

us through the prayers of many. It is generally agreed upon that

the Corinthian church is one of the most troubled assemblies in

Paul's day. They had a lot of problems.

I actually think if any of us walked into the Corinthian

church today, we would think you guys aren't believers.

There's no way. Imagine, imagine a majority of a

church that doubted the resurrection.

That's what we're talking about here.

And that's just one slice of the problem that was going on in

this congregation. But listen, as imperfect as they

were, the apostle still asked them to intercede on his behalf.

That's staggering to me. Because he's not just saying

this to be courteous. He's not.

He's not saying this to seem humble.

He actually believed that even with struggling Christians who

genuinely pray, they can touch God.

Think about this. Be moved with this, that you

have one of the greatest Christians who've ever lived, a

giant in the faith, requesting a bunch of troubled Christians to

help him in prayer, sincerely believing that through their

prayers heaven will send help. And so, so many things come to

my mind when I meditate on this. God will honor even the prayers

of such weak Saints. We just take the time to bend

the knee, call out to him and ask, Lord, you must do something

for our brother Paul. You must do something for our

church. Paul had this understanding, and

he shares it with us so that we can believe the same thing.

But listen, you cannot arrive to this conviction unless you're

first convinced of something deeper.

Do you know why so many people don't pray?

Can I tell you why I'm talking about Christians?

Nevermind the world. You know why so many Christians

don't pray? Because they don't believe how

weak they are. They don't understand just how

needy they are if there's going to be anything lasting and

genuine to come through in their lives or in their situations or

in their ministries, or whatever it may be.

We see it with Hezekiah. Did we miss it?

Go back to Second Kings 19 and look at the end of verse 3.

Let's just read the whole verse 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.

That's just a parabolic way of saying we're at our wit's end.

There is nothing left within ourselves to produce any good

results. Anything valuable, anything that

will deliver us from this crisis, we have no more

strength. We need something outside of

ourselves to bring a solution. Weak people pray, and I'm not

talking about weakness in in terms of falling into sin, A

revelation of your absolute dependency on a good and

powerful God. And this mighty man of God

understood that. And so he asked this prophet to

pray. And what I find so glorious

about this truth is that this appeal is not strictly about his

own preservation. Look at verse 4 again.

He mentions God three times, does he not?

It may be that the Lord your God then Scroll down.

The king of Assyria has sent to mock the living God and again

and we'll rebuke the words that the Lord your God.

What is this man consumed with the glory of God, the glory of

God. I say I'm asking you to part of

me in prayer because God's name is at stake here and not just

God's glory, but look at the last part of verse 4.

Therefore, lift up your prayer for the remnant that is left.

This is how this verse convicted me.

How much of my praying is motivated for God's glory and

the good of others. That's what I thought.

There is nothing wrong and asking God to come through for

us personally, but we got to broaden our understanding of

what prayer can do. We got to understand what it is,

what are the ingredients that invites greater testimonies of

answer prayer in our lives. And one of them certainly is for

the glory of God. And surely the Lord will honor a

person who has enough love for a precious St. to say God.

I'm praying for the remaining remnant.

Hezekiah inspires me. And so yes, he goes to the House

of God, but he also goes to a man of God, a friend, and he

believes that as they both pray, God will do something.

Now look at this. Hezekiah is immediately rewarded

for his faith in verse 5, 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 servants of the king of Assyria

have reviled me. So Isaiah was ready with a

prophecy. That's not to say that he

disregards the call to prayer. Next week we're going to see

that both Isaiah and Hezekiah are going to pray.

They're going to pray. But the the purpose of this

section is to show how God wanted to provide immediate

relief to his Servant, and he does so on the basis of his

word. He he wields and presents them

His precious word. Thus says the Lord.

Yes, I'm aware that this is a personalized declaration, but

there's something about this peculiar prophecy that can

comfort us as well. I understand that this is unique

to the story and to this man, but what's the essence of the

message? What is Isaiah saying to

Hezekiah? The main thing is God is fully

aware of the evils committed by your enemies.

In fact, if you read back, Hezekiah admits that he's

doubting. Look again.

Look at verse 4. It may be that the Lord your God

heard all the words of the rapture.

So what was the concern of Hezekiah?

I hope God really heard what we heard.

Isn't it freeing to know that you can come into God's presence

stumbling in doubt with imperfect faith and He'll still

answer you? Because the very approach, the

very act of prayer is a demonstration of faith in

itself. So God will honor that.

So here, imagine, here's here's the guy saying it may be that

God hurt. I'm hoping that God heard.

I'm hoping he saw what we saw and the Lord reassures him.

I did hear it. I heard the words of the

servants of the king of Syria, the words that reviled me.

What's the take away from this? I believe 1 main take away is

that there is a flood of peace awaiting those who believe that

God sees and knows absolutely everything taking place in your

life, especially the source of your pain and turmoil.

In fact, that is one of the introductory revelations of the

nature and character of God that the Scripture provides us.

Do we remember what Hagar called the name of the Lord when she

was visited by the Angel of the Lord in the wilderness?

The God who sees? But there's something deeper in

that message. Go to Genesis 16.

When I was looking at this, it made me so excited to do a study

in the book of Genesis. We will do so very, very soon.

I think. Genesis 16.

Look at verse 13, this is when Hagar was mistreated by Sarai

and she flees into the wilderness and the Angel of the

Lord, a pre Incarnate manifestation of Christ comforts

her with a promise and this is how she reacts.

And Genesis 16 verse 13 So she called the name of the Lord who

Genesis 16:13

spoke to her. You are a God of seeing, for she

said truly here I have seen Him who looks after me.

Therefore the well was called Beer Lahai Royi.

It lies between Kadesh and Bered.

And before I say anything, I find it so encouraging that the

first theophany, which is a manifestation of God in a very

tangible way, the first manifestation of God for a woman

in the Bible is here. This is the first time a woman

experiences God in such a way. And why that should move us is

because who Hagar is, she's a servant.

She she's not in direct covenant with God like Abraham and his

wife were. In fact, they were mistreated by

those who had this covenant with God.

And yet the Lord honors Hagar with a special experience and a

promise, even though in our estimation she is unworthy.

She she's not a likely candidate to know this and to experience

this. And this so moved this woman

that there's a well where it happened and she names it.

She she, she creates this monumental thing and she calls

it beer. Lahoy Roy, meaning what it

means. You are a God of seeing, and

this was not just a personal reference for her.

It was a public, public testimony so that if anybody

would come to this well and realize its name, it would be

associated with a refreshment of a deep well filled with crisp

water. You are a God of seeing.

And this monument for public testimony worked.

Does anybody know the next time that this name, the name of this

well, appears in the Bible? It only appears a total of three

times. This is the first one.

Any idea when it appears next? It's in Genesis.

Somebody said it, I think Isaac go to Genesis in chapter 24.

This is when the servant of Abraham looks for a wife for his

master's son Isaac, and Rebecca's on her way to her new

husband. And we read this in Genesis 2461

and 62. Then Rebecca and her young woman

arose and rode on the camels and followed the man.

Thus the servant took Rebecca and went his way.

Now Isaac had returned from Beer Lahai Roy and was dwelling in

the Nugget. Why do we need to know that

Isaac was at this? Well, now we don't have concrete

evidence. Can I tell you what I believe?

I believe he wanted to plant himself by the revelation that

God is the one who sees. Why do you need to find comfort

in that truth? I think you find the answer in

verse 67. Then Isaac brought her into the

10th of Sarah, his mother, and took Rebecca, and she became his

wife and he loved her. So Isaac was comforted after his

mother's death. This man was struggling with the

loss of his mother, and I believe that he was at the well

that was named. You are the God of seeing.

To just receive that truth for his own hurt, his own grief.

Isn't it amazing that where Hagar names us well, God

provides an answer beforehand. And mending her heart, How did

He do it? He appeared to her in a very

real and powerful supernatural way.

Now fast, for the next time this well is brought up, you have

Isaac. And we learned that he was

struggling with the loss of his mother.

And could it be that the Lord who saw comforted Isaac not with

a theophany, but with a wife, a companion, a new relationship?

Now let me give you the third time it is mentioned.

It's also with Isaac very nearby.

Come to Genesis 25, verse 11. After the death of Abraham, God

Genesis 25:11

blessed Isaac his son and Isaac settled at Beer Lahai Roy.

So why does he go back to the well again?

Because now he loses his dad and I believe Isaac needed to return

to that truth. You are the God of seeing.

So collecting these these three unique references, is it

coincidental that each time the name you are the God who sees

you are the God of seeing appears in in relation to

relational pain? With Hagar, it was the hurt and

betrayal of those that brought her into their home and and and

because of their lack of faith set her up only for her to

experience the brunt and the rejection of the whole thing

abandoned. And then you come to Isaac and

the loss of both his parents is in connection with this well

that carries this revelation, the peace that comes with the

knowledge. God sees me and he doesn't look

upon me with indifference with with just it's not just his

omniscience that's an operation here.

He he sees with his heart. He sees with the preparation of

bringing a solution to bring some kind of relief to you.

So how much do you believe that that as you're trying to manage

the suffering, God sees and he doesn't leave us there.

He's ready to do something to rescue us, to bring us some kind

of level of hope and and sanity. That's what we see with Isaiah's

message to Hezekiah. God knows you're not in this

thing alone. He is aware and not not just

aware. He is your partner and He is

going to bring a solution. That's what he says in verse

seven of our main tax. Behold, I will put a spirit in

him so that he shall hear a room and return to his own land, and

I will make him fall by the sword in his own land.

We'll see that next week, but let's complete the study

together with the last five verses here.

Once Hezekiah received this promise of victory, everything

began to shift in a new direction.

Look at verse 8. Let's read it down to verse 13.

The rapture could return and found the king of Assyria

fighting against Libna, for he heard that the king had left

Lahish. Now the king heard concerning

Tirhaka, king of Kush. Behold, he set out to fight

against you. So he sent messages again to

Hezekiah, saying, Thus shall you speak to Hezekiah, king of

Judah. Do not let your God, in whom you

trust, deceive you by promising that Jerusalem will not be given

into the hand of the king of Assyria.

Behold, you have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to

all the lands, devoting them to destruction.

And shall you be delivered? Have the gods of the nations

deliver them? The nations that my father's

destroyed, Gozen, Haran, Rezaf, and the people of Eden who are

in Telesar. Where's the king of Hamath, the

king of Arpad, the king of the city of Sepharbaim, the king of

Hina, or the king of Eva? So what's happening here?

This is so important to to note, we read that the Rap Shakur

returns. He's reunited with the king of

Assyria because of a new scrimmage that takes place at

Libna. So this is another city of

Judah, right? Originally they were there at

Lahish, and now something happens at a new city.

So they go there and the Rap Shakur, the spokesperson for the

Kingdom of Assyria, joins the king.

And at the same time, they received news that the king of

Kush, a foreign enemy, is approaching the Assyrians, ready

to fight them. So the Rap Shaka, now in

desperation as a last ditch effort, sends a message to

Hezekiah in Jerusalem saying it's time to surrender.

It's this final attack to try to get them to give up.

But here's what's different. The Rap Shaka is not nearby to

speak with his voice. He sends a letter.

How do we know that? Look at the beginning of verse

14. Hezekiah received the letter

from the hand of the messengers and read it.

So now it comes in the mail. And there are a couple of

important insights regarding this that can help us understand

how the enemy operates. Remember last week we looked at

how the enemy wars against our minds and, and the seven lies,

at least seven of the lies of the father of lies that we

should expect. So we're we're here again, we're

looking at how Satan works. And one way that we know he

works is that if he can't keep you from being exposed to God's

word like you are here tonight, if he can't keep you from

receiving God's word, he is ready to assault you after you

receive it. Notice the timing of Seneca reps

threats. It came shortly after the

comforting ministry of the prophet Isaiah, the message of

victory that was guaranteed. And almost immediately, Hezekiah

receives another voice saying, don't believe it.

It's not going to happen. Come on.

Look at look at this and look at that.

And so he is revisited with the same lies that we looked at last

week. And here's what you have to

understand. I see so many Christians, they

miss this in the same way that the king of Assyria did not

easily give up to discourage and lie to the servant of God.

You and I should be ready always for the same kind of approach

and at the same time the same relentlessness to stand up

against those lies. So people who struggle, they

come, they're like, you know, I barely have any strength to even

show my face anywhere, but I'll do it.

So they come to the House of God and they walk out and go, well,

that didn't really do much for me.

They call the man of God. They call a friend who's a woman

of God. And they and they receive prayer

and nothing seems to change right away.

So what do they do? They just give in.

They just surrender. They just wallow.

Is that what we see Hezekiah doing even though there's a

second attempt from the king of Assyria?

No, look again at verse 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.

Almost a copy paste of what we read earlier.

So he is attacked again. And what did you do?

All right, fine, I'm going. I'm going to the House of the

Lord again. He's assaulted again.

His faith is being challenging. What did you do?

I'm going to pray again. I'm going to keep my head in the

word. I'm going to, I'm going to still

fellowship with the Saints. I'm not just going to give up.

This is a war. Scripture tells us we're

wrestling against these things. And so be reminded that Satan

will not give up. Why do you give up so easily?

This man's a wonderful example not to give up.

Here's the second thing. Although the goal of Snack Reb

was the same, his method slightly changed.

Remember the first time he amplified his voice and he spoke

in the language of the citizens of Jerusalem, the people of

Judah. I'm here for you.

You're all coming with me to Syria.

Now he's at a distance, so he sends a letter.

The enemy is very creative and he has different methods of

messing with us, different avenues, different means,

different servants, and so there are times where Satan will

inspire and implant a lie directly into your heart.

Do you know, do I know how I know he can do that?

I may not explain, be able to explain how that works.

All I know is that it happens. Let me give you a New Testament

example. Look at John 13 verse 2.

John 13:2

This is in the upper Room discourse, at least in

preparation for it in John 13. Two, what do we read during

supper when the devil had already put it into the heart of

Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, to betray him?

Now you read later on this chapter that Satan entered into

Judas. So this is not the devil working

in Judas's heart because he abided in Judas.

No, that would come later. This, I believe, is evidence

that Satan can put things in our hearts, and the way we make room

for that is through sin, disobedience, sometimes fear,

unbelief. There are footholds that we can

give to. Satan is not what we read in

Ephesians that we should not go to bed before the sun comes down

in our anger, lest we give a foothold to the devil.

So one of the ways where Satan can meddle with us is directly

the mechanics of that. I may not be able to explain.

I just see that it's possible sometimes Satan can lie to us

and discourage us through other people, people that we know and

people that we don't know. Can anybody provide evidence for

that in the New Testament? Good.

I heard it. Peter and Jesus, Matthew 1623.

Get behind me. What Satan?

And why was Peter in that moment a tool for Satan?

Because his mind was set on the things of men and not on the

things of God. His thinking was not in

alignment with the truth, so Satan could take advantage of

that. And how was Satan going to try

to get to the Son of God through one of his closest friends?

I wouldn't use as an excuse for you to call people Satan, by the

way. Be very slow to do that.

Satan can also use seemingly innocent, even charming things

to persuade us. I think of Genesis 31, the

serpent being the craftiest of all the animals approached Eve.

There are so many Christians who lack discernment.

They don't even understand how the things that they entertain,

the things that they keep as pets, and I'm not talking about

actual pets, entertainment, things that they allow here and

then here, and they are being discipled into unbelief.

They are being aroused to sin, failing to understand that the

Prince of the power of the air is in charge of this evil world,

and he is clever enough to use clever things to clutch us and

to create fogginess in our thinking and to weaken us in our

fight against his lies. Despite all the weapons that the

enemy may wield, we possess 1 weapon that defends against them

all, the written word of the living God.

And even in this very battle, what do we see?

A clash of two messages. One message from God who says

I'm going to give you victory, Hezekiah, and a message from the

enemy who says don't believe him.

Which one will Hezekiah believe? That is really the essence of

spiritual warfare, by the way. Every single day you and I have

to muster up the strength, and the strength is really given by

God if we receive it from Him humbly.

But we try to find the strength in God to believe Him.

It really boils down to that, right?

Why do people sin? Because they believe the lie of

that temptation. Why do people sin?

Because in that moment where they give in to that temptation,

they don't believe God. They believe this will satisfy

me, where God says no, this will hurt you.

They believe that this will prosper me.

When God says no, this will poison you.

They believe that this will bring purpose to me.

When God says no, this will deform you.

And so the essence of spiritual warfare on a daily basis is

choosing to believe God. That's how we know victory.

And when you and I say no to lies, whether it's in the form

of a temptation for a lust or to fear, when we choose to believe

God, that's one step of V1 step closer to knowing all that God

has for us and to being the ones who have Satan underneath our

feet. Well, I think this is a good

place to pause before we continue.

Will we choose to believe God? Is there anything in your life

where you are not trusting God? Lay your unbelief.

Lay the lies that have bombarded you all week, all month, maybe

even all year. Lay them at the feet of the

Lord, as you now find yourself in the House of the Lord.

Spread it before God. And even if your faith is not

complete, trust that your very act of surrender is enough to

move God to move on your behalf. Finally, let's ask God to help

us believe that He sees everything.

We tend to believe that for our accountability.

No, let's believe that for our good.

Believe it for your comfort. Believe it for your future,

believe it for your pain. Lord, tonight we've heard your

voice so loud and clear. Help us believe every part of

it. We pray for any discouragement,

any overpowering temptation. Any recurring lie seems to never

be able to go away. We asked by your divine

intervention that today would be the turning point and that the

struggling one tonight would have the same testimony as Asaph

until I went to the sanctuary of God and discern their end.

Lastly, Lord, we asked for Maranatha Bible Church that

whenever these doors are opened and people choose to come in,

they would know greater clarity and confidence and that we would

have your perspective imparted for our predicaments.

And it's it's very possible, Lord, that as we even walk out

of here, the enemy is waiting to cause us to doubt.

So even though we may not feel the inspiration that we sense in

this very moment tonight or even tomorrow morning, help us not

give up and go to war and show up here on Sunday and stay on

our knees and make those phone calls until we overcome.

We worship you tonight. We say thank you for this Bible

study. In Jesus name we pray, Amen.

Let's stand, let's worship the living God together.

He sees us, He knows us. I

want to offer you maybe a tip to recalibrate your prayer life.

A tip that's helped me since I first came to Christ.

We've all been there where you try to be intentional to pray

and you're instead visited by a mental reminder of your laundry

and the things that you got to do and maybe situations and

instead of praying about them, you're just thinking about them.

In those times I I stop and I sometimes even will say this out

loud. I am talking to Jesus Christ of

Nazareth who walked this earth 2000 years ago, died, was

buried, rose from the grave and is seated at the right hand of

God and promised me that if I ask anything in his name, He not

only hears me but will answer me.

Jesus Christ sees me in this very moment and it never fails

to help me get back into real praying.

And I can tell you over a cup of coffee about the times we're

leaving that kind of a room, that kind of a moment in my car

or a long walk where he showed me.

I, I heard you and I see you and it's no different for you.

So we're going to end this time tonight.

But after hearing all that, I'll be remiss not to make an

invitation. If you need a miracle from God,

if you need somebody to partner with you in prayer for anything,

I'm here. Nothing spectacular, no

spectacle, just simple prayer between two siblings in Christ

to believe in all powerful God, to help you where you might feel

surrounded. Amen.

Well, we thank you for the study.

We thank you that we don't just study these truths, we can live

and experience them. We pray that we would be a

people of the book, not just in knowledge, but with testimonies

of how what we've studied we can also experience and say it's

true, it's true, it's true. Lord, go with us.

We set you before us and you're our right hand.

Therefore, we will not be shaken and we pray for your protection

over every baptism candidate for this Sunday.

We pray for your name to be exalted this upcoming Sunday and

that there will be great praise and honor for your name.

We love you and we we are privileged to serve you.

In Jesus name we pray, Amen.