Overcoming Doubt, part 1

Going through the kings here of Israel and looking at the different kings.

We've hopefully been following along and your sheet should start looking war by now

! Because we've been on this for a few weeks now.

So if your sheet's looking a little war or if you need another one,

you can let me know and get some new ones out.

But we're down to Hezekiah.

Hezekiah, we saw his, we talked about his father Ahaz a few weeks ago

had really left the kingdom of Judah in a terrible condition.

You know, a very terrible situation politically, economically,

but most important spiritually in a terrible position.

And we see here he was responsible, if you remember, for the closing of the temple.

You know, leading the people to worship the gods of the land

and provoking the Lord to anger against Judah.

You know, we saw how the Edomites and the Philistines captured the cities

and had taken captives along with Assyria.

And Pekah, king of Israel, had come down during his father's reign, Ahaz there,

and oppressed Judah and taken captives and other things.

But in seeking relief, if you remember, his father had sent tribute to the Assyrian king,

resulting in just a different oppressor that was there.

And, you know, we read about that in 2 Kings chapter 16,

2 Kings 16 · chapter mention

where, if you remember, he took the silver and gold that was in the house of the Lord

and the treasure of the king's house and sent it for a present to the king of Assyria.

And what we see here, as you read on down through there,

that we find that he didn't come and help him,

but instead he became a distressor to him, the Bible tells us.

And so Ahaz, we saw, also sought the gods of the land for relief

and shut up the house of God.

And the Bible tells us in 2 Chronicles chapter 28

2 Chronicles 28 · chapter mention

that he provoked the Lord God to anger.

And we see that dynamic taking place.

And we know that things were not much better in the northern kingdom at that time,

as we talked about Hosea that had come and been set up as king

and was taken into captivity.

But that was right there.

We're going to be looking at Hezekiah comes in before that takes place,

but Hezekiah makes a dramatic change in the kingdom.

And the kingdom's going to be totally different than it was under His Father.

There's like a break of just a severity here of direction,

of one that was moving away from God

to one who wanted to desire to move towards God.

And so as we've seen that here tonight,

let's take a look here, 2 Kings chapter 18.

2 Kings 18 · chapter mention

And if you follow along here, in verse 1 it says,

Now it came to pass in the third year of Hosea,

a son of Elah king of Israel,

that Hezekiah the son of Ahaz 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.

And his mother's name also was Abai, the daughter of Zechariah.

And he did that which is right in the sight of the Lord,

according to all that David his father did.

Let's pray.

Heavenly Father, as we take a few moments here tonight,

as we look into the life of Hezekiah,

and Lord, even the things that we can take and to learn

and to understand the importance,

and even to apply into our own lives

and the priorities that he had,

Lord, that you were above all things in his life.

And Lord, we pray that you would help us to see

and to learn and to grow from this example of Hezekiah,

Lord, and we just ask it all in your precious name.

Amen.

You know, we see here that the transition of the kingdom

was pretty abrupt, as we're going to be seeing here tonight,

because at 25 years old, his father dies.

He takes over the kingdom, and remember, Ahaz had done what?

He had turned totally against God.

He had wanted people to worship.

He'd shut down the temple.

He had taken the things out from the temple.

He had taken them apart.

You know, he had dismantled them,

and so they couldn't be used.

He had destroyed things within the temple

and had dismissed all the priests and the Levites.

They had gone back away from the temple

and the house of God.

And what we're going to see here tonight,

the priorities between him and his father

are just total opposites.

Total opposite direction.

The priorities were totally different.

Because it's interesting, because as you look at Ahaz

and you look at Hezekiah,

the one thing you'll learn is they're both very religious.

Remember when we talked about Ahaz,

he was religious about everything except for the things of God.

But we're going to see tonight,

Hezekiah is totally opposite.

He said he wants nothing to do with any other God

but the God of heaven and earth,

the God that created.

That's his sole focus in his life.

And we're going to see this stark contrast

that stands between in the transition of the kingdom,

because even today people think,

well, if I'm just religious, I'm okay.

You know what?

The reality is you can be religious and go to hell.

You can be religious and stand against God.

Because religion condemns people.

You know, when we get caught up in wanting to worship

our own things in our own way,

and we saw that in Ahaz, his father.

He wanted to worship a God of his choosing,

a God the way he wanted to do it,

a God that he had created in his own mind.

You know, oftentimes today people create a God

in their mind that they want to worship.

You know, they create the one that they want

instead of the one that the Bible declares to us,

that is.

And we see here that Hezekiah,

as we look through here,

makes a statement here that very few

in the scripture get,

because we find that he did

and is compared to David in a positive way.

You know, there's only three kings

kings compared to David directly in a positive way.

You know, one of them is Asa.

You find over there in 1 Kings chapter 15,

1 Kings 15 · chapter mention

where it says that Asa did that

which is right in the eyes of the Lord

as David his father did.

Or you have later coming up

in 2 Kings chapter 22,

2 Kings 22 · chapter mention

you have Josiah that is spoken of

that he did that which is right

in the sight of the Lord

and walked in all the ways of David his father

and turned not aside to the right hand

or to the left.

You know, and Hezekiah here,

as we read here in the text,

notice what it tells us in verse 3

of 2 Kings chapter 18.

2 Kings 18 · chapter mention

And he did that which was right

in the sight of the Lord

according to all that David his father did.

Now, the parallel passage here,

if you want to turn over

to 2 Chronicles chapter 29,

2 Chronicles 29 · chapter mention

you'll find here that he tells us

the same thing because 2 Chronicles,

the parallel that we have here,

it tells us when he began to reign.

It says in verse 2,

he did that which was right

in the sight of the Lord

according to all that David his father

had done.

And we're going to see

how did that play out

and what had happened there

along the way.

And we see that these individuals

that are mentioned here

were the good kings of Israel.

But there's many kings

who were either mediocre at best.

There were some that kind of just,

you might say, held their own.

They really weren't dynamic

for one direction or another.

You know?

Then there were some

that was wicked individuals.

We know in the northern kingdom

up at Samaria,

there was never a king

that was not wicked.

The only difference was

is how wicked were they?

You know?

Because that's the reality

that we see.

And surprisingly,

we see something here

because the first thing

that Hezekiah does

is in stark contrast

to his father.

His father shuts down

the house of God.

Look here in 2 Chronicles 29.

Look at verse 3.

He, in the first year of his reign,

in the first month,

did what?

Opened the doors

of the house of the Lord

and repaired them.

In other words,

when you're the first year

in the first month,

you know what that tells us?

It's a high-priority item.

You know?

He already had a plan set

when he came in

to power

that he was going to open

the house of the Lord.

He had set that

at a priority

in his life.

And, you know,

we don't know

why or how

he made these choices.

The Bible doesn't tell us

except for the fact

that he did.

You know,

in spite of the way

his father was,

despite in what was going on

in the kingdom,

we find that Hezekiah,

surprisingly,

you might say,

in the midst

of all this wickedness,

made a commitment

to the Lord

and was contrary

to the influence

of his wicked father.

In other words,

he says,

I don't care

what direction

Dad is going

concerning God,

but I know

what direction

I'm going.

He said,

I'm going to trust

the God

that has declared

who He is

to us,

the one who brought us

out of Egypt,

the one who my forefathers

have served,

the one that set up

David in the kingdom

and Solomon

and saw all those things.

You know,

this ought to be

a good encouragement

to us

because, you know,

sometimes today

we have a philosophy

among us

that says

you're trapped

in what you began as.

You know,

I want you to understand

Hezekiah was trapped

in an evil family.

He was trapped

with a father

who did evil things.

But you know

what the good news is?

When you turn to the Lord,

things can go

a new direction.

Things can change.

You're not with God.

You're not trapped

in the evil influences

around you.

You know,

you can make a difference

in your life

and in others

by choosing

to serve the Lord.

And we notice here

that he didn't let

the evil influence

around him

dictate what he was

going to do.

You know,

when you do it

the first,

when it's the first thing

out of the gate

that he does as a king,

you know he had set

that in his mind.

This is what's going

to happen

when I get authority.

I'm going to set forth,

I'm going to promote

the things of God.

I'm going to establish

those things

that God told us

ought to be happening.

And you know,

we don't know

the details

about how he came

to know

about these things

of the Lord,

but we know

that he was very

particular about them.

As we're going to look

here a little later,

you're going to see

that he knew exactly

what he needed

to have happen.

He had already

studied it out.

Matter of fact,

we find here

as you read this text,

it's interesting

that he gathers

the priests

and the Levites together

and instructs them

on what they ought

to be doing.

He says,

hey,

according to the law

Moses,

this is what

you ought to be doing.

He says,

hey,

this is what's

going to be happening

here, guys.

This is what's

going to take place.

And he sets forth

those things.

And we don't know

where,

but we do know

because the Bible

here mentions

his mother

and his grandfather.

Now,

it's interesting here

because I think

this is possibly

the place

that he got

that influence

because his grandfather

was a man

by the name

of Zechariah.

Now,

in the course

of his life,

you'll find

Zechariah mentioned

a couple of times

because Zechariah,

you'll find

there's a man

by the name

of Zechariah

that advised

King Uzziah

in 2 Chronicles

2 Chronicles 26 · chapter mention

chapter 26

and also served

as a witness

for Isaiah the prophet.

Now,

I want you to understand

Isaiah the prophet

is going to interact

with Hezekiah

here coming up.

In other words,

they're contemporaries

and so if we have

very likely

his grandfather

was an influence

upon him

from his mother's side.

You know,

we don't know,

the Bible doesn't

give us direct connection,

but usually you'll find

that somebody

had to have influence.

Somebody gave him

and directed him

in the truth

and we see here

that he knew

what was needed

as king

and Hezekiah

left no doubt

at the direction

that his reign

was going to take

because what we're

going to begin

looking at here

tonight is the

trajectory of his reign.

You know,

the transition

is stark

but the trajectory

is a good trajectory

in his life

because it began

with him

and it impacted

others.

You know,

when we understand

what's happening here,

notice here in verse 3

of 2 Chronicles

2 Chronicles 29 · chapter mention

chapter 29,

it says,

He in the first year

of his reign

in the first month

opened the doors

of the house

of the Lord

and repaired them

in verse 4

and he brought in

the priests

and the Levites

and gathered them

together in the east street

and said unto them,

hear me,

ye Levites,

sanctify now yourselves

and sanctify the house

of the Lord

of your fathers

and carry forth

the filthiness

out of the holy place.

You know,

I want you to see here

what was his first priority?

He says,

I want to get the temple,

I want to get the house

of God back open

and it needs to be

opened up properly

because I want you

to understand

once we read through this,

Hezekiah understood

that you just don't get

to worship God

on your own terms,

that you don't get

to choose what you

want to do

or how you want

to do it.

We're going to see

what's very particular

of saying we need

to open it up

and we need to

clean it out.

We need to get rid

of the junk

that's inside

so it makes room

for what is supposed

to be there.

He understood

the priority

of this

and notice

what he says

in verse 6,

For our fathers

have trespassed

and done that

which was evil

in the eyes

of the Lord our God

and have forsaken him

and have turned away

their faces

from the habitation

of the Lord

and turned their backs.

Also they have

shut up the doors

of the porch

and put out the lamps

and have not

burned incense

nor offered

burnt offerings

in the holy place

unto the God

of Israel.

Now notice

verse 8,

notice how he correlates

this.

He says this,

Wherefore the wrath

of the Lord

is upon Judah

and Jerusalem

and he hath

delivered them

to trouble

to astonishment

and to hissing

as ye see

with your eyes.

I want you

to understand

what was Hezekiah's

dynamic?

He says,

Hey,

I saw what happened

under my father

how he trusted

in men

and he trusted

in his false gods.

He even kept

changing gods

trying to find one

that was going to work.

If you remember

he went up to Damascus

and found an altar

and brought it back

and said,

This is my new God

I'm going to worship.

And the priest

had built him

the altar.

You know,

one of those things

the priest should have

said,

No,

we're not going to

build you

an altar

to a false god.

But they did

anyways.

These are the

individuals that

Hezekiah is dealing

with and he lines

them up and he says,

Hey guys,

we're in this position

because of the choices

that have been made.

You know,

today we get in positions

because of the choices

that are made.

We can learn

very simply here

that the choices

you make in life

will impact

what happens.

It'll impact

your relationship

with God.

It'll impact

the relationship

of God

with others.

And we see here

that he immediately

has this redirection

and he says,

I want to open

and repair the doors

of the temple

and then he wants

it cleansed.

And notice what he does here.

He tells them

something very clearly.

He says,

in verse 9,

he says,

For lo,

our fathers have fallen

by the sword

and our sons

and our daughters

and our wives

are captives for this.

Now it is in my heart

to make a covenant

with the Lord God

of Israel

that his fierce wrath

may turn away from us.

My sons,

be not now negligent

for the Lord

hath chosen you

to stand before him

to serve him

that ye should

minister unto him

and burn incense.

You know,

who's he speaking to?

He's speaking to the priests

and the Levites

saying,

Hey guys,

you are negligent

in your duty.

You are negligent

in what you're supposed

to do not only

for yourselves

but for others.

He calls them out

very clearly

and he encourages

the priests

as we read through

you'll find

he encourages

the priests

to sanctify

and to set

themselves apart

to the Lord

and to rededication

of their lives

to him.

You know,

it's a great picture

that we see here

because what was

his first command?

Get rid of the rubbish.

You know,

the reality is this

in our life

if we're going to

serve the Lord

the first thing

you need to do

is get rid of

the rubbish

in your life.

Think about this

application

from the New Testament.

Turn over to

1 Corinthians chapter 3

1 Corinthians 3 · chapter mention

because consider

what is told

the church at Corinth

the believers at Corinth

that were having

issues with problems

and filth

in their life

and a rejection

of the things of God

and notice

what he reminds them

of here.

Notice what he says

look down in verse 16.

He tells them this

know ye not

that you're what?

The temple of God

and that the Spirit

of God dwelleth

in you.

If any man defile

the temple of God

him shall God destroy

for the temple

of God is holy

which temple

ye are.

What's he telling them?

He says

don't defile

God's house.

As a believer

if the Holy Spirit

dwells within you

you are

the temple

of the Holy Ghost.

We have to make sure

it's cleaned up.

Look a little later

turn over to chapter 6

in 1 Corinthians.

He makes the application

here very clear.

Notice what it says

it says

flee fornication

every sin

that a man doeth

is without the body

but he that

committeth fornication

sinneth and get his own body.

What know ye not

your body

is what the temple

of the Holy Ghost

which is in you

which you have of God

and ye are not your own

for you are bought

with a price

therefore glorify God

in your body

and in your spirit

which are

God's.

You know in the Old Testament

they had the house

of God

that they went to

in the New Testament

every believer

is a spiritual house

that houses

the Holy Spirit.

You become

the dwelling place

of God

because the Holy Spirit

dwells within

every believer

and he says

you ought to be

cleaned up

you know one of the

things we need to do

what's Paul tell

the church at Corinth

hey clean it up

and get rid of

what's in there.

Clean up the things

that need to be

taken care of

the things you know

you ought to do.

You know as you read

through here

we'll find that

he commits them

to this

and notice

what he tells them

in verse 13

back in 2nd Chronicles

chapter 29

he says

the sons of

the sons of

Ispah

and Shemar

and Jael

and the sons of

Asp

and Zechariah

and Mattiah

and the sons of

Heman

and Jael

and Shimei

and all the sons

of Jedeth

and Shemaiah

and Uziel

and they gathered

their brethren

and sanctified themselves

and came according

to the commandment

of the king

by the word of the Lord

to cleanse the house

of the Lord

and the priest

went into the inner part

of the house

of the Lord

to cleanse it

and brought out

all the uncleanness

that they found

in the temple

of the Lord

into the court

of the house

of the Lord

and the Levites

took it

and carried it abroad

into the brook

Kidron

now they began

the first day

of the first month

to sanctify

now that gives us

a little more information

because earlier

it told us what

Hezekiah did what

in his first year

in the first month

but these guys

now are saying

they started on what day

the first day

you talk about

a priority

did Hezekiah

have a priority set

when he came

into authority

said day one

you know

this is what's

going to happen

this is how things

are going to go

now notice

in the first day

of the first month

to sanctify

and on the eighth day

of the month

came they

to the porch

of the Lord

so they sanctified

the house of the Lord

in eight days

and in the sixteenth

day of the first month

they made an end

and they went in

to Hezekiah the king

and said

we have cleansed

all the house

of the Lord

and the altar

burnt offering

and all the vessels

thereof

and the showbread

table

and all the vessels

thereof

moreover all the

vessels which

King Ahaz

in his reign

did cast away

in his transgression

have we prepared

and sanctified

and behold

they are before

the altar

of the Lord

and Hezekiah

the king

rose early

and gathered

the rulers

of the city

and went up

to the house

of the Lord

and they brought

seven bullocks

and seven rams

and seven lambs

and seven he goats

for a sin offering

for the kingdom

and for the sanctuary

and for Judah

and He commanded

the priests

and the sons

of Aaron

to offer them

on the altar

of the Lord

you know

I want you to see here

He reinstitutes

the things

of the temple

He says

guys

we need to get back

to the things

that God has commanded

us to do

He said

this is what

we need to do

and He commands

them to sanctify

the temple

to sanctify

themselves

and we're going

to see

a little later

here

as we look

through

over in chapter

30

we don't have

time to read

all this

and I encourage

you to go

home and spend

some time

reading through

this

because

I want you

to see

what took

place

because

what's He

do?

He reinstitutes

the Passover

they hadn't

been keeping

the Passover

in years

what's He

do?

He brings

in

He wants

the Passover

to be

remembered

and to be

taken apart

for them

to take part

in

and we find

that He

has a genuine

concern

in this

He has a

concern

for the

things of

God

and it's

interesting

as we read

through this

you'll find

something else

interesting

that when

you had a

concern

for the

things of

God

He had a

concern

for people

that needed

to know

God

because

you'll find

that He

reached out

to the

entire

nation

Israel

had not

wanted to

come to

Jerusalem

since the

days of

Jeroboam

you'll read

in chapter

30 that

He sent

messengers

!

into Israel

and He

said all

those

that were

not taken

captive

come to

Jerusalem

to celebrate

with us

come to

Jerusalem

sanctify

yourself

and come

from the

northern

kingdom

all those

who had

not been

taken away

He says

come

join

in the

celebration

of the

Passover

rejoice

in our

God

He calls

them back

He launches

what you

might say

is a

genuine

revival

for the

nation

He wasn't

just concerned

about Judah

but He was

concerned about

those in

Samaria

He was

concerned about

those that

had been

carried away

into captivity

He was

concerned about

those that

were left

behind

He wanted

and He

wanted them

all to be

able to

come back

and worship

the Lord

His priority

was on

people

He had

a genuine

zeal

for the

Lord

and His

commands

Now let's

look back

to 2 Kings

for a moment

because 2 Kings

summarizes

some of what's

going on here

If you read

through you'll

find that

29, 30

and 31

all cover

the dynamics

of things

there

and we find

here that

look at

verse 5

here of

chapter 18

of 2 Kings

so it

tells us

this

it says

this

that

he trusted

in the

Lord God

of Israel

so that

after him

was none

like him

among all

the kings

of Judah

nor any

that were

before him

for he

claimed to

the Lord

and departed

not from

following him

but kept

his commandments

which the

Lord commanded

Moses

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

now I want

you to see

here he was

not he was

willing to

serve the

Lord he

said I'm

going to

trust God

even if it

goes against

the grain

even if it's

going to stir

things up

you know

I want you

to understand

that we

see here

that it

hadn't been

since the

days of

David and

Solomon that

you had a

king that

stepped out

by faith

and taking

action to

bring the

people back

to the

Lord

you know

he was

intentional

on what

he was

doing

you know

look a little

earlier

look up at

verse 4

because we

find here

notice what

he did

it says

he removed

the high

places

he removed

the high

places

he break

the images

he cut

down the

groves

and he

break in

pieces

the brazen

serpent

that

Moses

had

made

now I

want you

to see

here he

knew this

was not

going to

be

politically

popular

why had

the other

kings not

taken out

some of

the high

places

because it

was going to

stir a

problem with

the people

Hezekiah

was more

concerned about

what God

thought than

what people

thought

he was

willing to

say I'm

going to

do what

God has

told me

to do

and I'm

not concerned

with what

other people

think about

it

if God

has given

an instruction

we're going

to do it

he says

we're going

to trust

the Lord

through it

now I want

you to

understand

I don't

believe he

was

you might

say mean

about it

but he

just said

this is

what's

going to

happen

he's

the king

it's the

authority

that he

had

and he

said we're

going to

serve the

Lord

this is

the direction

this is

the trajectory

we're

going

we're

no longer

going to

serve the

gods of

the land

and the

gods that

have been

brought in

we're

going to

serve

the

Lord

he said

that's

going to

be the

priority

that's

going to

be the

focus of

what we

do

and he

knew it

wasn't

going to

be popular

to do

those

things

and he

did it

anyways

and you

might say

why did

he do

this

why is

this

important

because

that's

a good

question

to ask

why did

he know

that if

the people

were going

to turn

to God

the high

places

and the

groves

and the

images

had to

be taken

away

because

that's

an important

question

in our

life

too

because

we see

this

principle

even move

into the

New

Testament

because

you know

what happens

sometimes

we don't

have time

or room

for God

because

it's

cluttered

up

with

everything

else

other

things

we want

to give

priority

to

over

the

things

of

God

we see

this

important

principle

because

he knew

there was

a problem

if you

remember

back in

chapter

29

in verse

8

he says

hey

you guys

did all

these

things

and it

brought

the wrath

of the

Lord

upon us

and he

says

if you

want to

get rid

of God's

wrath

you better

understand

what it

takes

to

please

him

to

do

what

God

wants

you

to

do

take a

look

in the

New

Testament

Colossians

Colossians 3 · chapter mention

chapter

3

and we'll

see this

principle

put in

New

Testament

statement

because

remember

we're

the temple

of the

Holy Ghost

as a believer

the Holy

Spirit

dwells

within

you

notice

here

in

Colossians

Colossians 3 · chapter mention

chapter

3

look

at

verse

8

notice

what

the

word

of

God

says

now

but

now

ye

also

do

what

all

these

to

put

them

off

you know

that's

the same

principle

of

putting

them

out

he's

using

the

illustration

like

clothes

you

put

on

here

but

I want

you to

understand

it's

the same

principle

because

we need

to put

off

the

things

that

are

contrary

to

the

things

of

God

to

put

them

off

he says

this

now

put

off

all

these

anger

wrath

malice

blasphemy

filthy

communication

out of

your

mouth

lie

not

one

to

another

seeing

that

you

have

put

off

the

old

man

with

his

deeds

and

notice

this

and

have

put

on

what

the

new

man

which

is

renewed

in

knowledge

after

the

image

of

him

that

created

him

what

Hezekiah

telling

him

to

do

he

says

guys

we

need

to

clean

up

all

these

things

we

need

to

put

off

all

the

gods

you've

been

worshipping

and

put

on

the

truth

of

what

God

has

instructed

us

to

do

to

honor

the

Lord

in

what

we're

doing

he's

telling

them

that

same

picture

to

put

off

those

things

look

over to

Ephesians

Ephesians 4 · chapter mention

chapter

4

for a

moment

Ephesians

Ephesians 4 · chapter mention

chapter

4

tells us

this

same

principle

Paul

tells

the church

at

Ephesus

this

he tells

them

this

that

you

put

off

concerning

the

former

conversation

of

the

old

man

which

is

corrupt

according

to

deceitful

lust

and

be

renewed

in

the

spirit

of

your

mind

that

you

put

on

the

new

man

which

after

God

is

created

in

righteousness

and

true

holiness

now

I want

you to

see

an

important

principle

here

because

remember

he

had

to

clean

out

the

temple

he

had

to

tear

down

the

groves

he

had

to

get

rid

of

the

idols

he

had

to

clean

all

that

up

because

he

had

to

get

rid

of

the

old

to

make

place

for

the

new

one

of

the

principles

you'll

find

in

your

life

if

you're

going

to

put

something

off

that's

wrong

or

that's

against

God

you

better

find

what

God

wants

you

to

put

in

its

place

because

you

know

what

gets

people

in

trouble

they put

things

off

and

it

creates

a

vacuum

and

all

it

does

is

get

filled

with

the

wrong

things

again

if

you're

put

something

off

you need

to be

determined

what

you're

going to

put

on

you

know

what

Hezekiah

said

we

know

we

need

to

put

off

these

things

that

we've

been

worshiping

so

we

can

put

on

the

things

that

God

has

commanded

us

he

said

just

get

rid

of

getting

rid

of

these

you

now

we

find

here