 Let's open up our Bibles tonight to 2 Kings. We'll be looking at chapter 18 tonight. And so I just kind of felt led to share a little bit from 2 Kings chapter 18 tonight with you guys. So it's a blessing to be here. It's always privileged to come and to share here with the body at Chino Valley and I think the last time I was here was just a couple of weeks back on a Sunday night and I had shared with you guys that I always feel like I'm at home when I come here. It's like the second family apart from the body at Living Way. So so what I want to do tonight is I want to kind of just take some time and share with you guys from what I believe the Lord has been showing me in a time of study in the study of the Kings and one of the things that I think is important as we kind of look at this is it kind of gives us a little bit of an understanding as to you know where we are in our own personal lives and even more so just a challenge and a call for us to to trust the Lord and to live for him and to wait upon him. And so tonight that's what I hope I can do here as I share with you guys just to encourage you guys in your faith in your walk with the Lord. And that's typically what we're to do when we minister the word of God is to just impart encouragement and and to a degree a little bit of challenge you know and that we kind of consider where we are take inventory of our heart and kind of just say okay Lord you know here's my life and and just stretch me and do more with me all that would bring you glory and bring you honor and bring you praise and so what I've been doing over a period of time is I've been studying the lives of the Kings in first and second Kings and have just been really just blown away by the sovereignty of God and just God's hand upon his people and all that God has done through the lives of these various Kings as he clearly is just leading his people. When we come here to second Kings we come to the tail end really of the time of the Kings and oftentimes we kind of look at the Old Testament and I'm like an Old Testament like you know buff I like to read the Old Testament that's just my thing I love it and I actually teach through the Old Testament on Sunday mornings at our church I just love it and so one of the things I told the congregation just not too long ago as I says you know you guys are history students. I was just sitting in my devotions in the morning before my a Sunday morning message and I just I'm reading through all this and I says this is history. I says you guys are coming on Sunday morning to hear history. Who does that? But it's the Word of God so it's so encouraging. So I just want to kind of take you guys a little bit on that adventure also as we look here at second Kings. So let's go before the Lord in a word of prayer and let's just ask the Lord to speak to us to reveal himself to us. So Father we just come before you and Lord tonight we ask that you God would speak to us that you would reveal to us more and more of who you are and what you desire for our lives and Lord I pray that as we as we open up your word I pray that we would open up our hearts and So we want to hear from you. We want to know you more So speak Lord. Your servants are listening. In Jesus name we pray. Amen. So Hezekiah Hezekiah when you look in scripture was probably one of the greatest kings of the southern kingdom and When we kind of start talking about northern and southern kingdom. Here's here's the history side I just got to throw it in there when you're looking at the life of Hezekiah in chapter 18 and second Kings Where the northern kingdom is already gone And what I mean by that is remember when you look at the story of Solomon you guys all know that you know Solomon was Son to David who took over after David had passed away Remember that and Solomon reigned for a period of time over the nation of Israel as a whole Well when Solomon died the kingdom divided and It was no longer Israel as a whole But it was now the southern and northern kingdom Remember that there in about you know chapters 10 and 11 and 12 of first Kings You'll find where now the division of the kingdom started and the reason why the kingdom was divided after Solomon's death was because that was the heart of the people and Remember that the Lord had spoke a word to a man by the name of Jeroboam and Jeroboam actually was a servant to Solomon he he actually served Solomon and he was a man who was known to be one who was in the position of Leadership in the army of Solomon. He was an advisor to Solomon. He was well respected and the Lord had clearly Told him that when Solomon died that he would give him a portion of The children of Israel in that he would inherit about ten of the tribes and the Lord promised him a dynasty And the only other person that God had promised that same type of dynasty to Was David in second Samuel chapter 7? Well, we know that rather than Trusting in the promises of the Lord Remember Jeroboam fled because Solomon was upset that the Lord had made this covenant with him And so he started to look for him now Solomon wasn't a fighter. Okay, his dad was Solomon wasn't he was a lover. We know that right he had six thousand wives. So they say so anyways He wasn't going to do that into Jeroboam while Solomon's now off the scene Rehoboam Solomon's son steps into power. That was a typical thing the father would die the son would come into power and Jeroboam comes back and he takes those ten tribes that the Lord said he would give him and the kingdoms divided and So now as you start to read from that point on you start to see now all the kings who ruled in The northern kingdom which were the ones that were under Jeroboam at the time and the southern kingdom Those who are the ones that stayed with Rehoboam now? You begin to see when Rehoboam died another king came into power when Jeroboam died another king came into power when you come to 2nd Kings Chapter 18 we've already went through Multitudes of kings on both sides now. Here's the thing in the southern kingdom Majority pretty much all the kings were good kings. There was a couple of them that were bad kings But on the northern kingdom every single one of them were bad kings There was not one good king at all whatsoever And so at this point in time throughout this time of the kings and remember that this was a period of time that That God was kind of taking his people through because remember before You know they wanted a king they demanded a king and prior to to them having kings It was the time where they had judges remember that and and and because you know This is how the Lord delegated this very thing the first prophet Israel ever had was Samuel and so Samuel was used by God to bring in the first king of Israel and he did that with Saul And so this was a time now where this time of the kings is kind of ending So we have a long history that is already transpired But here's what's interesting the northern kingdom as We know it in scripture from the time of first kings chapter 12 has always been called Israel The southern kingdom has always been called Judah Well, what's interesting here is the southern the northern kingdom is gone completely gone Remember when you look at you know chapter 17 and you begin to read the entire chapter you'll you'll find out that that the northern kingdom has Actually been wiped out it has become what is known as an Assyrian province one of the greatest empires apart from Egypt in this day was the Assyrian Empire and I have to give you all this history because it's very important Okay, you can't miss this Now even though they weren't a time of kings and so on and so forth ruling them The people of Israel on both sides on the southern kingdom and northern kingdom had one problem and their problem was idols and Though the southern kingdom was predominantly known for the real worship, okay for the real worship What's interesting is that when you consider all of this you find something that I think is so fascinating about this and I'll get into that a little bit later But here's what's happening is that where the northern kingdom failed they failed to truly keep their eyes on the Lord which led to their captivity by the Assyrian Empire and So right now in chapter 18 There's no more northern kingdom and Remember when Jeroboam first became king rather than Causing the people to turn to the Lord He caused the people to worship idols And remember what he did was The people had to go to the southern kingdom Because that's where the temple of the Lord was and remember according to the book of Leviticus The Lord was very clear that there were three fees three times a year that the children of Israel had to go up and they had a Offer up their worship and their sacrifices and so on and so forth and what Jeroboam said was he says You know if they go to the southern kingdom if they go to Judah, they're gonna like it there Because that's where the temple of the Lord is and they're gonna want to worship there and then they're gonna come back And they're gonna want to kill me and they're gonna hate me nobody ever told him that But this is what he thought in his own mind. So he says I'll make some alters for them to worship here And he made two golden calves One is far south in Bethel Right on the southern border before they'd get there up into Judah into the southern kingdom and the other one is far north In Dan if you go to Israel today, you go to the reserve that is called tell Dan You still see Jeroboam's altar there today And what he told the people was listen It's too much for you to go To Judah It's too far for you to go here is your God who led you out of Egypt And worship here and then he says the feasts and the Sabbaths he created his own that rivaled what God had given to his people What happened was at that time some of the priests said this guy's crazy. We're out of here So some priests fled from the northern kingdom to the southern kingdom and they remained in the southern kingdom and worshiped The true worship and all those that stayed in the northern kingdom were considered idolaters from that day forward and they never got away from it And that's what led to their captivity So now that the northern kingdom is gone here in Hezekiah's day and Hezekiah now is king in Judah The Bible says in verse 1 chapter 18 your attention, please It says now it came to pass in the third year of Hoshia the son of Elah the king of Israel That Hezekiah the son of Ahaz king of Judah began to reign now. Here's what's interesting about all this guy's listen Idolatry wiped out the northern kingdom Okay, the southern kingdom saw what idolatry can do Anytime they would look in the northern kingdom's direction It was gone The Assyrian army was on the border of the northern border right there by the southern by the southern kingdom And so here what they saw was this Assyrian Empire there and Their brethren Gone taken captive the Bible says that when the Assyrian Empire that came in what they did Was they removed the children of Israel as a matter of fact what they did was they took them out of there And as they conquered the land they made it a province of Assyria Remember that one of the things they did when they captured it. They removed the people from there as a matter of fact As you read a little bit further it begins to talk in verse 24 of chapter 17 It says in the king of Assyria brought people from Babylon Kutah Ava Hamad and from Sapraveem and placed them in the cities of Samaria Instead of the children of Israel and that's a whole another message Because remember you know how it says there's Samaria Now you guys are starting to get an understanding of the whole story with Jesus at the woman at the at the well You remember when she told Jesus you would you speaking to me as Samaritan made like a big issue about him even talking to her Because remember the Samaritan people didn't exist Remember Samaria was made the capital of the Northern Kingdom The people of Samaria were not produced until the Northern Kingdom was taken captive And so these Gentiles from Babylon and from Avon from Hamad and from Sapraveem intermingled With Jews that were in the Northern Kingdom and they produced a race of people that were called the Samaritans That's why the Jews had such a disdain for them and remember what she said Well, our father say this is the place this is the place of worship and and Jesus says you worship what you do not know I'm just gonna blow your guys's mind. Then I'll get back to the passage When you read in chapter 17 as you read a little bit further Remember they brought listen seven gods into the land of Israel Assyria did and Made it in Assyrian Empire Remember the woman at the well When Jesus went and stopped and stood with her he made a big thing about it when he was there He even told the disciples I I have food that you don't know of and He was talking about getting the gospel and taking it there to the people of Samaria and revival broke out Did it not why didn't revival break out before there were too many idols a Syria took over seven of them to be exact you guys ready for this Remember when Jesus started talking to the woman and he says go and get your husband and she says well, you know, I'm not married He says that is true He says you've been married five times and the one that you're living with now is not your husband And we know the application many people throw in there right well Jesus was the seventh man that she came in contact with and so he made her complete Get it and now she was right in her mind because she came in contact with Jesus a savior of the world the Mashiach of Israel Right remember that but Jesus came and fulfilled because the woman was a picture of the entire people of Samaria who had given themselves in spiritual idolatry to various gods and Jesus in one encounter wiped out all the seven false gods that were brought into the land the picture is beautiful Jesus brings revival and revival is an act of the heart and Hezekiah is the one who's going to bring revival to Judah You see Samaria is gone as we know it just right here in history And this is why it's so important to look at this and guys listen Look at what Hezekiah does his dad was a crazy man As a matter of fact when you read chapter 16 of second Kings The Bible talks about his father his father's name was a has and the Bible says there that a has Did what was evil in the sight of the Lord as a matter of fact It said a has was the worst king that Judah had there was none as worse as him You know what else it says about a has out of all the kings in Judah Every single one of them it says and they did what was right in the sight of the Lord You know what it says about a has and he did not do what was right in the sight of the Lord And guess what it says and he walked in the ways of the kings of the north That means that he was an idolatry and Remember guys. He was very very very wicked man now remember who? His father was he was a good guy Jotham and remember who Jotham's father was Azariah the man that we know by the name of Uzziah Isaiah was a prophet in this day He was prophesying as a matter of fact when you get in to the next chapter in chapter 19 You'll find for the first time Isaiah being mentioned for the first time and there he had already been ministering for 40 years But look what Hezekiah does Hezekiah probably they're probably thinking this guy's gonna be just as bad as his dad But the Bible says here in verse 2 he was 25 years old when he became king and he reigned 29 years in Jerusalem his mother's name was Abbey or Abigail the daughter of Zachariah look at verse 3 I love this and he did what was right in the sight of the Lord according to all that his father David had done Now notice that it calls his father David and what it really means is that you know here? Hezekiah is one of the descendants on the throne Where David received a promise and a covenant from the Lord remember in 2nd Samuel chapter 7 the Lord made this promise to David and said if your descendants honor my word keep my Commandments and walk in my ways there will always be a descendant of yours on the throne We know eventually that led to who Jesus Okay, so Hezekiah is on that same lineage now take note of this guys that I think it's so important It's saying here that Hezekiah used David as an example rather than his father David is the great example for the kings of Judah to follow Now Hezekiah now has to do some things here that was probably different than any of the other kings as you read all The kings in Judah and you can do your own study read through it trust me you will love it if you like history You'll love 1st and 2nd Kings But see when you read 2nd Kings and you read the life of Hezekiah notice that chapters 18 chapters 19 and chapter 20 are all dedicated to the life of Hezekiah as a matter of fact not only are these three chapters, but in 2nd Chronicles in chapter 29 30 31 and 32 are all dedicated to the life of Hezekiah as a matter of fact you'll find also in the book of the prophet Isaiah chapter 36 37 and 38 and 39 all focus on the life of Hezekiah Isn't it interesting that we hardly hear much about Hezekiah right so as I start looking at these kings I'm like this guy. He's the man Check it out. The Bible says here and he did what was right in the sight of the Lord according to all that his father David had done He removed the high places and broke the sacred pillars and cut down wooden images and broken pieces the bronze serpent that Moses had made Wow, did you guys know that they were worshiping the bronze serpent that Moses had made? They had been worshiping it up until this point you could put this in your notes and put it in in your Bible for that matter They had been worshiping this bronze serpent for 800 years Now you get my point when I said Israel had a problem with idols, right? You remember when they came out of Egypt remember what Joshua told him he says Throw your idols away Joshua was now taking them into the promised land Moses took him as far as he could take him and Joshua says listen you guys came out of Egypt You guys brought these idol throw these idols away take them out of your cupboards and they were hiding them everywhere And what they would do is when God wouldn't answer their prayer. They would right away resort to praying to these little idols Now let me give you guys just an idea because when you look at the story of Hezekiah I guess we can say the theme could be revival But let me tell you something about revival This is a word that's being thrown around today quite a bit and and here's the thing I'm not no expert on revival, but what I do know is that revival is an act of the heart You can't create revival There is no Emotional type of thing that you can do that can stir revival revival starts in an individual's heart and As a matter of fact when you consider revival remember the word revival means to bring back to life That which is dead or that which has stopped growing. I Don't know about you guys. We're so focused on home waiting for the revival of the last days. What are you talking about? As if this is just going to happen out of nowhere Revival starts with you it starts with me it starts with our own heart You see the Bible says very clearly here if we kind of consider all of this guys look there are three things That produce revival in the heart of the individual The northern kingdom didn't want revival. They wanted idols now. They're gone As a kaya has a different perspective three things need to take place you ready for this jot it down if you're taking notes The first thing that needs to happen for revival is you have to have the right heart revival is an act of the heart Jot that down. You have to have the right heart The second thing you need to have is you have to have the right worship You see when you read about worship in the scriptures It's not this 20 to 30 minutes set that takes place before the Bible study starts on Sundays and Wednesdays That's a part of it But worship is a lifestyle How you live on a day-to-day shows who you worship? Worship is a lifestyle So you have to have the right worship here's the third thing Third thing for revival to start guys listen. You have to have the right God You see they worshiped a lot of gods. Oh They prayed to all kinds of gods and listen. There is no other God except the Lord God I mean obviously that's what the Shema is right here. Oh Israel the Lord your God The Lord your God is one of course there was no other God beside him and All these gods in scripture all these gods that we read about the the gods of various foreign kings and lands guys listen These were all just etiologies in the minds of the people They were only as strong as the people made them in their mind. They never existed There's not this you know bunch of gods in the heavens there and they're all battling it out and God wiped them all out No, none of them exists. It's only God and God alone but anything that we Exalt higher than Christ in our life becomes your God and notice something here If you don't have the right heart the right worship the right God, you'll never see revival Some of us Perhaps tonight. I don't know But maybe I'll say this in general the body of Christ there are some in the body of Christ That need revival in their walk with the Lord Because it's dead they need revival in their devotional life Because it's dead it stopped growing they need revival in prayer they need revival in the word For some they need revival in their marriage You see guys listen we can go to conference after conference and retreat after retreat I'm not opposed to any of those I encourage our body to go and get involved because I do too But those are not the things that bring revival Revival is an act of the heart You know what Hezekiah did that his father didn't do Hezekiah did what was right in the sight of the Lord That's what it says in verse 3 jot this down in your notes The first thing that Hezekiah did in order for revival to take place in Judah after seeing the demise of the northern kingdom What he did was he did what was right in the sight of the Lord? That's what he did Notice that it says that there and then the Bible says here He removed the high places and broke the sacred pillars and cut down the wooden Image and broken pieces the bronze serpent that Moses had made the second thing he did was he removed the high places He removed the altars and the idols you want revival. What are the things that could be idols or altars in your life? What are the things that perhaps maybe the Lord has been putting his finger on and saying listen this has to stop Sometimes God makes us aware of the things that we're putting a little bit more attention on That he's not getting but you see Hezekiah knew in his heart What would bring revival now check this out guys the Bible right away jumps into verse 5 and it says he trusted in the Lord God of Israel So that after him was none like him among all the kings of Judah nor who were be for him But let me kind of read something to you guys. I just want to give you guys. I think I think you guys will appreciate this Let me read to you guys what happened in verse 4. Okay, remember I told you from second chronicles when you start to read the life of Hezekiah in Chapters 29 and 30 and 31 and 32 you get more detail as to what he did I'm going to read to you everything that should be in verse 4 and aftervert. You ready for this Okay, listen to this The Bible says this then King Hezekiah Rows up early gathered the rulers of the city went up to the house of the Lord and brought seven bulls seven rams This is what he did in verse 4. I you know when you read verse chapter 29 And you go from verses 3 all the way down to you know verse 19 It's just pretty much what he was doing in verse 4, but check this out. Remember what his dad did His dad closed the doors to the temple and he paid tribute to the king of Assyria Hezekiah just opened the doors of the temple and The Bible says here that he gathered all the house and they brought seven bulls seven rams seven lambs male goats For a sin offering for the kingdom for the sanctuary and for Judah Then he commanded the priests the sons of Aaron to offer them on the altar of the Lord So they killed the bulls and the priests received the blood and this sprinkled it on the altar Likewise, they killed the rams and sprinkled the blood on the altar They also killed the lands and sprinkled the blood on the altar Then they brought out the male goats for the sin offering before the king and the assembly and they laid their hands on them And the priests killed them and they presented their blood on the altar as a sin offering to make atonement for all Israel Notice that it says Israel now Because it became one now after the northern kingdom was wiped out Remember there were those from the northern kingdom that came at the start of idolatry happening there This is now the remnant that is spoken about in scripture because the southern kingdom is the only one that's left and Look at what happens here. It says here They made atonement for all of Israel for the king commanded that they the burnt offering the sin offering be made for all Israel and he stationed the Levites in the house of the Lord with symbols and with strained instruments and with harps according to the Commandment of David of Gad the king seer and Nathan the prophet for thus was the commandment of the Lord by his prophets The Levites stood with instruments of David and the priests of the trumpet Then Hezekiah commanded them to offer burnt offerings on the altar And when the burnt offering began the song of the Lord also began with the trumpet and with instruments of king David king of Israel all the assembly worship the singer saying the trumpet tears sounded all This continued until the burnt offering was finished guys listen the people begin to Worship the Lord and he gathered all the leaders and God everybody in one accord now listen guys Here's what's so amazing about this the reason why the people were able to come and worship this way was because listen The distraction was moved out the way They never worshiped like this before Because the people found comfort in the altars and the high places That existed before Hezekiah became king Hezekiah becomes king Wipes them out and says listen we need to go to the house of the Lord and we need a worship and What he's doing now as he's teaching them here is the right worship This is how we're to worship the Lord God of Israel and he restored the worship of the Lord there And what began to happen was guys the people as you read further on in the chapter were so blessed and then what did he do? He took it a step further You know what he did he began to invite all the surrounding people In Judah and said listen you guys should all get on board with this as a matter of fact The Bible says in chapter 30 here in second Chronicles that he sent letters out to all those in Ephraim and the NASA that they Should come up to the house of the Lord to Jerusalem listen to keep the pass over of the Lord God of Israel now Here's what's interesting. Look at what Hezekiah is doing. You guys will see why we're reading so much listen in verse 6 of chapter 30 it says then the runners went throughout all Israel and Judah and with letters from the kings and his leaders and spoke according to the command of the king children of Israel Returned to the Lord God of Israel or Abraham Isaac and Israel Then he will return to the remnant of you who have escaped from the hand of the kings of Assyria And do not be like your fathers and your brethren who trespassed against the Lord God of their fathers So that he gave them up to desolation as you see Now do not be stiff-necked as your fathers were but yield yourselves to the Lord and enter his sanctuary Which he has sanctified forever and serve the Lord your God with the fierceness of it that the fierceness of his wrath may turn away From you for if you return to the Lord your brethren your children will be treated with compassion by those who lead them captive So that they may come back to this land for the Lord your God is gracious and merciful and will not turn his face From you if you return to him notice that this was Hezekiah's address to all those as he's addressing them. What is he saying? Let's come to a time of repentance Let's turn back to the Lord the altars are gone The high places are gone the doors in the temple are open the Levites are back in there And they're offering up the worship and they're offering up the sacrifices and the blood of the sacrifice Has hit the altars once again and all he's doing is he's saying guys It's time to come back the distractions are gone So what are you gonna do? The sad thing is some rejected But here's a good thing Listen to this The Bible says in verse 23 of the same chapter that we were just in it says then the whole assembly Agreed to keep the feast another seven days and they kept it another seven days with gladness That means at the time of their feasting had come to finish and when they came to stop The people said we don't want to stop We want to continue now as you read chapters 29 and 30 you'll find out three things happened pretty amazing Notice that nobody here of the leaders of Israel or Judah for that matter rejected they obeyed Every single one of them obeyed when revival is an act of the heart Obedience is never an issue You obey It's never an issue You know what else is amazing when you read these two chapters here in second Chronicles the people had no problem giving When revival is an act of the heart Giving is never an issue now. I'm not talking about ties and offerings No, no, here he goes talking about money It's not being set up, you know, you're like they didn't pick up offering yet. What's he gonna do? You know, no, don't worry about that But it's not only ties and offerings I think we get this all the way we've the way we've messed things up, you know It's like we think when we talk about giving in the in in the church right away people think money, but we're talking about giving of ourselves There was no problem None whatsoever Third thing we see here is that the people wanted to worship longer and guess what their worship extended Seven days more when revival is an act of the heart worship is never an issue You know today we live in such a time where everything becomes so you know get in get out You know and and you know and we got to do it like that if not you're gonna you're gonna lose people You know, it's like what happened What happened to the church? What happened to the people that just wanted to sit at the feet of Jesus? It's a kaya saying guys listen When revival is an act of the heart When you have the right heart the right worship the right God Obedience is never an issue giving is never an issue Worshiping is never an issue. We just do it Because our hearts are so consumed with the living God Now look at this for a moment all that Just happened in verse four. Let's go back to chapter 18 of second Kings. That's pretty crazy, huh? This it is trust me. I get all into this stuff, man But you see when I'm reading this I'm just like man This is crazy and then I'm like the look at here It says here that he removed the serpent that Moses that that blew me away. I said what how is that thing still around? Yeah, I thought that was done with you know I went back to the book of numbers and I'm looking at that story and I'm just like it never said that they held On to it. I was blown away by that. I'm like them people are crazy But isn't it interesting? How they took that which was supposed to bless them and they made it an idol That was an interesting thing for me as I stopped and I says how many things Do we say is of the Lord and it really isn't it's become an idol in our life and we've been worshiping in our entire Christian walk That's why there's no breakthrough. I don't understand How people walk away. I don't understand how you could stop reading your word. I don't understand how you could stop praying I don't understand how fellowship and going to churches like you know, we gotta go to church again. It's like, you know guys listen What happened? They started worshiping this thing. You remember what Jesus said really the whole purpose was it remember when he said in John chapter 5 he says, you know just like the serpent that Moses Lifted he says if I be lifted up I'll draw all men under me. That was the whole picture of it They were they were complaining remember that? Yeah, you know in the next thing, you know in there complaining all of a sudden These snakes they started getting them. I was like, oh Lord you did it You you did good back then, you know, it's like they couldn't get away with anything and the next thing You know when they realized these serpents are of the Lord they started to cry out to the Lord You know Moses like oh man, you know, they're getting bit left and right, you know and the Lord says make a serpent make a bronze serpent You see bronze is the Medal of Judgment and what did he say make it of the evil that's attacking them So when evil is judged you will be saved and That's why when they looked upon the evil being judged they were spared in the book of numbers and Jesus said if I be lifted up him being lifted up was evil being judged and now we are Saved that was the whole picture of it very simple, but they were like oh we got to worship this thing Oh, we got a bow down. I don't know what type of noise they made maybe hissing. I don't know like a snake I don't know what they did but either way they Worshiped it and they treated it and revered it as a God and they took the very thing that gave them life and Corrupted it and so the Bible says here that he removed the altars and he removed the idols look at verse 5 very quickly He trusted in the Lord God of Israel So that after him was an unlike him among all the kings The third thing that Hezekiah did was he trusted in the Lord notice that He trusted in the Lord Hezekiah had a right heart remember it says he did what was right in the side of the Lord. He had a right heart Hezekiah removed the altars and the idols Hezekiah trusted in the Lord and the Bible says there was no other king like him look at verse 6 for he held fast to the Lord He did not depart from following the Lord What was it that Hezekiah followed notice what it says here but kept his Commandments which the Lord commanded Moses what did he hold fast to? the word of God he had a right heart he Removed the altars and the idols he trusted in the Lord and he held fast To the Lord the word of the Lord notice that and Then the fifth thing that Hezekiah did look at what it says in verse 7 then the Lord was with him He prospered wherever he went Hezekiah prospered Let me kind of give you guys a you know because there's not enough time But just you know I can I can just go for days and break this thing down But check this out. Look at what it says here in this verse. You guys are gonna like this. I know you will You guys are students of the word. I know you guys got a great pastor great Bible teacher The Lord was with him listen He prospered wherever he went and he rebelled against the king of Assyria and did not serve him You know that's interesting Because in you know just as we read a little bit further. He's gonna reach out to the king of Assyria and say I'm sorry I sinned against you tell me what I need to pay you and I'll pay you that was one of the weaknesses in Hezekiah's ministry But when it says here that he rebelled remember that his father a has paid tribute He became a tributary to the king of Assyria and began to pay money to him And remember he took all the gold in the silver from the house of the Lord and gave it to the king of Assyria And he made Judah a vassal to Assyria They became subject to him well when Hezekiah came and he removed the altars and all this and when Payday came for Assyria Hezekiah was I even you're not in and the Bible says that he prospered Judah had some very difficult days. They had the Assyrian Empire on their border already crossing over and remember as you read a Little bit further you're gonna see that Assyria had already started to conquer some of the cities in Judah They were already making their way across And it blows my mind With the Assyrian Empire on his heels listen a very large Empire that he just saw wipe out the entire Northern Kingdom and some of the people rejecting as the letter went out. No, we're not we're not gonna go listen Here's what's interesting Hezekiah was not moved by his circumstances. He prospered So when someone says well, you know, I'm not growing because of him or because of her I'm not growing because of them. That's not biblical If a man can prosper in a day like this And trust me you can prosper anywhere if you're in the Lord Nothing or no one should get in the way of your growth in the Lord. You know that I Can only blame my lack of growth on me Hezekiah was not moved by the circumstances around him. I love that and look at he prospered And I love verse 8 check this out He subdued the Philistines as far as Gaza and its territory from watchtower to fortified city Hezekiah was a victor Hezekiah trusted in the Lord guys That's what he did and God Prospered him and the battles that he fought he won You know here just kind of let's kind of just revisit this here guys listen first thing that he did he did what? He did what was right in the side of the Lord. He had the right heart correct Second thing that we saw Hezekiah do was he removed the altars and the idols That's what you're gonna do immediately if your heart is right with the Lord You're gonna stop sinning you're gonna stop doing the things that separate you from the Lord And some people tell me how do I stop sinning? I tell him fall in love with Jesus Because you're not in love with him When you love him you will not associate yourself with the things that hurt him He removed the altars in the idols Third thing he did was he trusted in the Lord. Amen Fourth thing he did was he held fast to the word of the Lord The fifth thing he did was he prospered and The sixth thing he did was he was a victor everywhere. He went guys check this out I just got to throw this in there because it's kind of cool. Okay See Gaza here guys listen was the southern most city of the Philistines What does that have to do with anything? Has a lot to do With Hezekiah in revival breaking out in Judah because when revival is an act of the heart You'll always get the enemy's attention This city Gaza here was right on the border where the Assyrian Empire was and Guess what? After verse 8 you're gonna begin to see as you read further now Assyria crosses over the northern border and comes into the southern border and starts wiping out cities left and right Whenever revival is an act of the heart. It will always be tested But Hezekiah stands his ground Resorts to prayer and he seeks the Lord and God delivers him God delivers him There's more to this message that I know would bless you guys, but just consider this Acknowledging in your heart tonight I need revival Revival is not something you can create It's an act of the heart. It's an act of the heart is my heart doing what is right in the sight of the Lord and if it is You'll know Because you're disassociating yourself with the things that break the heart of the Lord But there are so many things that get in the way For our lives to experience this revival that God so desires for us to experience no revival It's not something that happens in a church service down the street revival is an act of the heart And when your heart is ready to receive Trust me everything around you It's like some people say I feel like I got saved all over again That's because they're experiencing revival. I don't know about you guys, but I desire that more than anything I Desire revival and you know what when I was studying this and I was reading I was like man This is crazy all kinds of stuff. I was like man. This is good and then I said Lord. I want this And it's like I heard the Lord tell me you want that yes, then I want your heart all of it You see guys listen People Get excited about Jesus when your life is excited about Jesus It's too many Christians, you know like oh, you know just You know I'm talking about I need some of them. It's like oh, they're a believer. Oh, okay cool. And then when you get to talking to them It's like all they're doing is complaining and you know, I hate my job. I hate my life. I hate my wife I hate my kids. It's like and I'm just looking at him like are you or what's going on with you? You know, you know, and then it's like, you know, and I just I love the Lord and you know I'm reading this and I'm just like this doesn't make sense man How could you hate all these and you look what are you talking about? You don't know the Lord If you're talking like that Something happened and it wasn't that God lost his power But that the Spirit is not at work. It's that perhaps maybe you can become Like those who have consumed themselves with too many idols And they don't know who they're serving But I'll tell you what Christ is all we need Tonight that's it. That's all we have to do is just say Lord, you know, you know that old-school song heart of worship That's a classic man, but that is the truth An act of the heart God's desire for you and I guys listen is for us not to get caught up with things that separate us from him His desire is to prosper you Is to bless you We have a lot of older people in our fellowship and and and uh, you know mature Believers we call the seniors ministry the season to saints. They're seasoned and they're saints and it's like hey You know, they're cool man. I don't like to say old because I always get you know Told something after service anyways the older crowd, you know, the more mature crowd But you know, I'm always blessed by them Then I go up to them and I tell them listen And I ask this question I tell them where where do you feel you stopped growing? And every single one of them tells me in everything Just because I've been walking with the Lord longer than you've been alive pastor Dave Doesn't mean that I don't stop growing and I don't struggle with things And I don't wrestle with things. You know how humiliating that is It humbles me. It's like man, I'm thinking like I got to go on this long lord, you know But what that shows me is this Is that God desires to continue to grow us and mature us and Bring us to that place because you want to know what none of us sitting here tonight have been perfected That day will come according to 1st John chapter 3 verse 2 where it says we don't know what we are becoming But when we behold him we know we're going to be just like him That hasn't happened for any of us But it's a day that all of us are looking to amen How many of you tonight would be honest in your heart and say, you know what? I desire revival. I want revival. I need revival lord. I needed in my devotion. I needed in my prayer I needed in my walk. I needed in my life lord I got to come back to that place and trust me revival is an act of the heart and guys It ain't gonna happen because we've had some exciting service It's gonna happen when you set your heart to do what is right before the lord like hezekiah did And you remove those things that have been hindering revival in your life And then you begin to trust in the lord in areas that you stop trusting him for And then you begin to hold fast to the word of god and not the wisdom of man And you'll begin to prosper And any battle that comes your way you will be the victor I don't know about you, but every time I hear the word revival I think to myself lord, I want that heart I need it If that's you tonight, I'm just going to ask you a simple question not bowing head raising You know, I just want you. Hey pastor. Dave. That's me. I want you just to stand to your feet I want to pray with you tonight if that's you anybody in this place And if you're sitting there and you feel that tugging at your heart, that's the holy spirit and he's saying You better get it now Listen guys, there are many things that can consume our life many things Like hezekiah, man You guys go home take the time to read the story of hezekiah. You're going to be blown away with this guy And when the enemy try to challenge listen now you guys walk away. This is the thing I talked about this some time back and I you know, and I says, you know now the revival is going to be challenged It always happens Hezekiah became discouraged And the serious sent a commander to speak to him and he told him your god is not going to help you He started to tell the people in juda. Don't listen to hezekiah. He's going to send you to hell He's going to ruin you. You're going to die Your god is not going to deliver you. You know what he started to say What about all these other people and all these other kingdoms that assyria wiped out? Where are their gods? Did their gods deliver them? No, and your god is not going to deliver you either And I love what isiah said. Oh my goodness. This is what he said. He said this in chapter 90 I love this part here. I love what look at what he says So the servants of king hezekiah came to isiah and isiah said to them Thus you shall say to your master thus says the lord do not be afraid I love this look at the next couple of words Do not be afraid Of the words which you have heard You know what he's saying? They're just words Why are you afraid of words? They're just words You know the thing that takes us out so many times Are words Somebody needs to hear this tonight They're just words Don't let that be the thing that gets in the way of what god is doing in your life