Set Thine House in Order

[0:00] 2 Kings 20 verse 1.

[0:13] The prophet Isaiah comes to Hezekiah.! In those days was Hezekiah sick unto death,! and the prophet Isaiah the son of Amos came to him, and said unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Set thine house in order, for thou shalt die and not live.

[0:35] Thus saith the LORD, Set thine house in order, for thou shalt die and not live. Hezekiah was a great king in Israel, facing death, as all of us will.

[0:53] And the prophet Isaiah says to this man, Hezekiah, Set thine house in order, for thou shalt die and not live. The Bible says we all should prepare for that day, for that moment, for that time, that is appointed to every one of us.

[1:13] As the word tells us in Hebrews 9, an appointment has been made, an appointment has been set on God's calendar, an appointment with death.

[1:25] One day God will call us to our appointment with death. How did Hezekiah deal with this news that he was about to die? He asked for more time.

[1:37] He wanted more time. And God granted him more time. Hezekiah was not ready. How did Paul face the impending death that was to face him?

[1:53] In 2 Timothy 4, verse 6, he says, For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand. Paul was ready.

[2:04] Paul was ready to go. He was ready and waiting. Notice the command in this verse that we read, Set thine house in order.

[2:16] Set thine house in order. Now, Julie and I are going on a trip this week ahead. I'm looking forward to some time off work and off the routine.

[2:28] And we're planning on a trip. I'm not going very far. But my usual routine when we're going on a trip is just grab a few of the necessary bits and pieces out of the drawers and just throw them in the bag.

[2:41] But Julie is much more methodical and much more organised than I am. And she plans everything to the infinite detail.

[2:59] What about you? When you're planning to go on a trip, there's a thousand and one things to think of, isn't there? So many things to remember. And you get there and think, Oh, I forgot that.

[3:10] You know, you remember those things that you should have included. It's best to set things in order before you leave. And it's the same with life on earth, isn't it?

[3:21] Set things in order before you leave. Just as it takes planning and time and effort to plan that holiday, that trip away, the things that you need to take, just as you need to plan for retirement and other events of life, there's a need to set things in order.

[3:40] What if we fail to plan for death? You know, you might have your will or your estate all organised, but we're talking about much more than such practical things.

[3:56] As Amos 4 verse 12 in part says, Prepare to meet thy God. Friends, today, every one of us will die. Unless the Lord comes, meantime, we must prepare for eternity.

[4:13] Where will we spend eternity? It is time to set thine house in order. Set your house in order, for we will die and not live.

[4:26] God calls us to order. The word of God is filled with order. We see how Noah made the ark according to the pattern. You know, the temple, the tabernacle was made according to the pattern.

[4:41] God calls us to order. Order is a hallmark of God's design, of God's will. And the opposite of order, disorder, is what happens when we lose sight of God's plan.

[4:54] As in the period of the judges, where it says that people were doing what was right in their own eyes. Doing what was right in their own eyes.

[5:05] Without a divine order, we see a state of confusion and disorder. We see that in our nation today. We see that in our nation, in our communities today.

[5:19] And it's a sign, it's a mark of the last days. As we read in 2 Timothy 3 verses 1 to 9, you can check that for yourselves. The lawlessness of the last days, of people disobedient to parents, of the breakdown, of the building blocks of what makes a society run smoothly, and of civil order.

[5:44] Order or disorder, which will it be for you? My plea for you today is set your house in order. We see order.

[5:57] It's a hallmark of God's working, of God's design in so many ways. For example, order in creation. We see the design of God as the order of His creation.

[6:11] We see it is orderly. God's creation, it's by design. It's by design. God's creation is incredibly vast. It's astounding, amazing, the facts of creation.

[6:26] It's been said there are more stars than all of the grains of sand on the earth. That's staggering stuff, isn't it? Just to consider that one fact.

[6:39] Right now, you may feel like you're sitting still in that scene. But you're actually moving. You're moving and moving fast.

[6:51] You're moving fast. Depending on where you are sitting on this globe, you could be spinning through space at just over 1,000 miles per hour.

[7:02] That's amazing, isn't it? To think that that is happening. And it's been worked out that people on the equator move the fastest, while someone standing on the north or south pole would be perfectly still.

[7:16] as the earth is spinning at such a huge velocity. And the earth isn't just spinning, it's also moving around the sun. At 67,000 miles per hour or nearly 108,000 kilometers per hour, the earth is spinning and also moving around the sun.

[7:41] Creation. It shows us God's order. It's amazing just the facts and figures that we could relate. Just some. The oceans cover some 70% of the earth's surface yet humans have only explored about 5%, 5% of the oceans.

[8:02] So 95% of the planet's vast seas have never been seen. Who knows what there will yet be to find.

[8:12] those things that are yet to be found, yet to be discovered. Think of yourself now as that amazing specimen of a human being that you are here today.

[8:30] Each one of you is such an amazing creation of God. If you're an adult of average weight, here is what you accomplish in 24 hours, in one span of time, in one 24 hour span of time, your heart beats 103,689 times.

[8:54] Your blood travels 217,369,792 kilometres. That's a big distance, isn't it?

[9:06] 270-odd million kilometres your blood travels. You breathe 23,000 odd times. You inhale 12.5 cubic metres of air.

[9:17] You eat 1.5 kilos of food. You drink 2.75 litres. You lose 0.4 kilos. Mind you, you probably put some on to make up for that.

[9:30] You speak 4,800 words, including some unnecessary ones. 48, sorry, I'll say that again. I think I said that wrong again.

[9:41] Sorry, I'll say it again. You speak 4,800 words. That's a lot of words, isn't it? You move 750 muscles. Your nails grow, your hair grows, all of these particular millimetres or fractions of millimetres, and you exercise 7 million brain cells.

[10:02] Who's feeling tired? All of those things going on. You exercise 7 million brain cells. Surely we can say, oh God, I will praise you for I am wonderfully made.

[10:20] Wonderfully made. God's design. It's an engineering masterpiece. I wonder the order, the organisation, the intricate detail that each one of we are as human beings.

[10:34] And order makes us function. Order pervades the cosmos. Everything that God has created is in perfect order. He creates an order of the universe, the order of the planets around the sun, of the order to life.

[10:50] It's just an amazing balance. And then as we extend into the furthest reaches of space, we see the order of the heavens. As the earth is just that proper distance from the sun, to maintain the right surface temperature, suitable for life.

[11:08] The earth's tilt and rotation is perfectly designed for the seasons of life. As Jeremiah 10 verse 12 says, He hath made the earth by his power, he hath established the world by his wisdom, and hath stretched out the heavens by his discretion.

[11:29] He has made the earth by his power. He stretched it out the heavens. It functions like clockwork, like clockwork. And how in contrast does man compare?

[11:42] It's a fact that man has yet to be able to build a clock that keeps time as perfectly as God's creation does.

[11:57] Man has yet to build a clock to keep time as perfectly as the stars and the planets in their movements. We have to adjust atomic clocks in order for them to stay in time with the universe.

[12:14] The universe is in perfect order. Perfect order. And then as we take the microscope and examine the most minute parts of the world in which we live, we see the same truth of the infinite, perfect order that is in the microcosm as well as the macrocosm.

[12:36] Just as God has meant it to be, there is one exception in God's perfect creation. There is one exception exception and that is man.

[12:50] He doesn't want to follow God's order. He doesn't want to obey God's order. He wants to rebel because of sin. He wants to go his way.

[13:03] He wants to do that which is right in his own eyes. It's the essence of sin and disorder as we see as Satan fell and as man followed suit in rebellion.

[13:15] how we desperately need to come into order, to come into God's design for us, his order. We see God's design as we've spoken in creation.

[13:30] We see God's design for order in creation. Secondly, we see God's design for order in the church. God has an order for the church.

[13:43] In 1 Timothy 3, 15, Paul writes to Timothy, how thou mayest know how thou orderst to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.

[14:02] God's church is meant to have an order to it, as a pillar, as the ground of truth, as the house of God. Of course, we're not talking about this physical structure in which we meet, but that house, that structure, that construction of the living stones that each of us are today.

[14:23] And God has created an order that we can come together to operate, to be organised! under the direction of the Word of God, to be that body of Christ, the called out ones.

[14:36] Disorder leads to confusion. And God has ordained that His church have a godly order, a godly scriptural order. As we see, Titus 1 verse 5, Paul says to Titus that thou shouldest set in order the things that are wanting, and ordained elders in every city.

[15:04] We see that Paul ordained elders as ministry, there's need for a strong eldership, for a strong authority, not an under the thumb kind of dictatorial, tyrannical kind of order, but an authority that comes from our Lord, as we're in mutual submission to one another, as we find where there's occasion, need for strong direction, and strong discipline.

[15:34] The Word of God tells us in Titus 1, 10-11, are some whose mouths must be stopped. That's strong language, isn't it? Some whose mouths must be stopped, but some who will sow discord and disorder.

[15:50] God's church is meant to have an order. It's a good thing for a church to be orderly, as we see that our Lord's design is that his church be a house of prayer, that it be a house of worship, that there be a godly worship there, that the members of the church should have a care for one another, that we should love, that we should forbear, that we should forgive and care for one another, that the church should be a training ground for good soldiers of Christ, a disciplined army.

[16:29] It takes order for such a thing. The church of God should preach the whole counsel of God, not curry favour, not hold back from speaking it forth with authority, as God tells us to, thus saying the Lord, the Word of God, with authority, not some feel-good message of psychology or positive thinking, but the Word of God.

[16:56] That is what we need today, a word of repentance, of faith, of truth. And we see God's divine order is necessary and called for from His church.

[17:11] An order in worship, so that there's an orderliness in the worship of the church, in the singing, that there's an exhorting one another, and even in the singing, there's an admonishing one another, there's a truth to what we sing and how we sing.

[17:27] An order in its participation, so there's a godly sense, as we gather, an order in the ordinances of the Lord's supper, as we partake it together in faithfulness, an order in its giving, as we give in grace.

[17:47] Upon the first day of the week, let every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him. An order in the giving, an order in the ministry, as a servant spirit would be that, which would prevail in the ministry of the church, as each one of us can minister one to the other, and operate those gifts and callings that every one of us have, as we called and gifted by God, not as hirelings who do not meet the biblical qualifications, it's very important that we meet the scriptural requirements for the order, and that the order of the church is not some structure of man-made hierarchies, of denominational controls, but that every church is self-governing, accountable directly to the Lord Jesus Christ, that we are accountable to the living word of God, not some man-made kind of invention, or a design, but God's order, that's what we need to have in the church, it's the only standard that we can trust is

[18:59] God's order, so we see God's design in his order in creation, in his order in the church, and thirdly we see God's order in the home, God created marriage, it is by design, God's created the home, he's created an order for the home, God has designed the roles of men and of women, he has designed and created manhood, womanhood, parenthood, God has designed the home, and he's designed a order there, a headship there, a rightful order, Malachi 4 verse 6 tells that the Lord shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children and the heart of the children to their fathers, there's a wonderful blessing that comes in the godly home, as Christian parents have that privilege and responsibility of raising their children to instruct them and to guide them in the

[20:03] Lord and when order is missing, when order is absent, there is an unrueling nature to the children, when order breaks down, we lose respect, we lose authority in the home, in the family and society at large, but it starts in the home, God's order in the home, God's plan is order, our Lord is the one who designed marriage and he defines it, God defines marriage, not government or men, God defines marriage and he has ordered it and sanctified it, the institution, the holy institution of marriage and he has made the sanctity of the marriage bond, the home and the family, it is the building block of civil society, it is God's design, God's design, what a precious and beautiful picture it is of our

[21:07] Lord's relationship with his very people, God's design, marriage, that there be a leaving of parents and a cleaving together, this word cleave has got the sense of a clinging to someone, with affection and loyalty, the marriage bond, it is the glue that holds families together, it is God's design and God's order, of course we know, sadly we know, through the sinfulness of man, sometimes marriages go through all kinds of turmoil, as a faithful Christian, do what you can, do what you can, God knows that sometimes sinful man will do what is wrong and will not follow God's design, but our Lord has designed, if we see that ultimate model, that ultimate model is for healthy homes, homes where families honour him and glorify him and follow his pattern, where there's that essential order in families, where the man takes the lead, where the woman lets the man take the lead, where the man is to provide and protect and guide the home, and if he's not saved, pray for him that he will be saved, pray for him, that there is an order to the home that is based on love and grace, an order, a rightful responsibility, an authority that's founded upon

[22:40] God's word, order in creation, order in the church, order in the family, and fourthly, order in the life, order in the life, the opposite of order is disorder, Satan loves disorder, he loves to create commotion and confusion as the word tells us that God is not the author of confusion, we know who is, he is the author of chaos and confusion, the enemy of our soul, the one who motivates man to walk disorderly, disorderly, because strife and division and so seeds of discord, order is required in the life, we read of those in 2 Thessalonians 3 verse 11, we hear that there are some which walk among you disorderly, disorderly, working not at all, but are busy bodies, there are some that our

[23:40] Lord rebukes as disorderly, we need to take stop of our own lives, how are our lives, are our lives in order or out of order, the some you see, the way they live, they're like a car, careering along, with a drunken driver at the wheel, disordered by sin and disobedience, what does Isaiah say to Hezekiah, set thine house in order, set your house in order, Paul was ready, he was willing to embrace death as a martyr, he said in 2 Corinthians 5, we are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord, what would happen for you if you knew the date of your death ahead of time, you know, Hezekiah, he got 15 more years, he had a bit more time to get things sorted, mind you, we don't really know what he did, it could be that he still bumbled along and made a mess of it, but the prophet Isaiah told Hezekiah that he would die and we should be prepared likewise, we should be prepared because it is important that we set our house in order, why is it important, because the death rate is 100%, 100%, one death or one birth, 153,000 people die every day, 6,400 die every hour, 107 deaths every minute, a person dies every 1.78 seconds, and it is appointed unto men once to die, but after that, the judgment,

[25:41] Hebrews 9, 27, friends, we need to set our house, our life, in order to be prepared for that day that is surely coming, set your house in order, prepare your soul for heaven, if it were to be that you knew the day of your death, how would you live life differently, could it be that some of you are lost today, it is a possibility, that there is someone lost in this room here now, this very day, this very night, set your house in order, thus say it, the Lord, these are serious words, set your house in order, take an account, take a stop of where you're at today, those eternal realities that we all need to grapple with, read your

[26:45] Bible, read your Bible as a good investment of your time, the most important reading material that we can give time for, to consider eternal realities, set your house in order, fellowship, make it a priority, there's so many pursuits we can fritter away our time with, let's face it, especially in this time poor world that we live, there's so many things that can just snatch the time away, time robbers, when we miss fellowship, we miss eternal truths, we miss eternal blessings, we miss eternal benefits, come early and stay late, so you can fellowship, fellowship together, set your house in order, settle things with others, now, we can live life keeping accounts on other people, people, you know,

[27:59] I know there's numbers of people that have done me wrong, and, you know, we can try to keep score and let it fester and let it sour us and make us bitter and twist it, or we could just let it go, let it go, and maybe there's people that have done you wrong, maybe you've done some others wrong, let's fess up today, set your house in order, maybe there's issues with others that are yet to be sorted, misunderstandings yet to be resolved, maybe they'll never be resolved, but you can play your part in those hurts, those hurts that you maybe unknowingly have caused, if there's someone hurt from your actions, make it right, make it right, make that, clear that conscience of whatever it is that may still be something you're holding on to, in Romans 12, 18 it says, if it is possible, as much as life in you, live peaceably with all men, 100% of men, live peaceably with them, if at all possible, as much as life in you, settle things, settle things that need settling, get rid of those hard feelings, those resentments, those chips on your shoulder, forgive one another,

[29:31] Ephesians 4, let all bitterness, all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamor, and evil speaking, and almost all of that bad stuff, let it all be put away from you, with all malice, and be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as Christ, God, for Christ's sake, hath forgiven you.

[30:06] Tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God, for Christ's sake, hath forgiven you. Now, wouldn't it be true that others would be happy to forgive you if they knew you would be buried in a few days?

[30:28] So, why not forgive them now? Why not forgive them now? Forbearing one another, Colossians 3, 13, forbearing one another and forgiving one another.

[30:39] If any man have a quarrel against any, even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye. If any man have a quarrel against any, forgiving, forbearing, forgive, forgive as Christ forgave you, so also do ye.

[31:00] And above all these things, put on charity, put on love as the bond of perfectness. Set your house in order.

[31:11] Set it in order. Set it in order. Consider eternal things, treasures in heaven. Consider eternal truths of fellowship, of service, of the word, of prayer, of praise, of worship.

[31:31] Set your house in order. Consider those eternal things that really matter. Hezekiah prayed to God and he was given 15 more years.

[31:42] He was given more time so he could set his house in order. What would you do if you knew you only had one more week? One more week. It could be true.

[31:55] It could be true this day, this very day, that you've only got one week to live. One week to live. One week to make things right with God, your maker.

[32:07] To make things right with man, that you have wronged. Or perhaps, who have wronged you, yet you've never said, you've never extended your love to them again because of what they did to you.

[32:24] Why not do it now? Do it now. Do it tonight. Tonight. Tonight. Do it now. Stop putting it off. If there's things that you have not put right, put it right tonight.

[32:37] Make that call. Make that call. Get it right. Get it sorted. Don't hang on to it any longer. Let them know that you love them. Let them know that you forgive them.

[32:49] Let them know that you hold no grudges against them. That you love them. Love them as Christ loved you. Forgive them as Christ forgave you. And maybe you might think in your heart of hearts, they're the wrongs that have done the wrong.

[33:08] They're the ones that have wronged me. I'm the innocent party in all of this. It doesn't matter. It doesn't matter. It doesn't matter whether you're the innocent party.

[33:19] It doesn't matter whether they've done you the most dastardly of deeds. You can still extend grace as he extends grace to us. Set your house in order.

[33:30] Set it in order. Now, if you were to do so, you would be better prepared for death. You'd be better prepared for eternity and you'd be better prepared for living now anyway.

[33:47] And even if you were to give something that you think, well, they're the ones that have done me wrong, even then, it would be better to make that step now anyway and decide to do that now, even if you have a hundred more years to live before you die.

[34:09] If you would do these things, if you knew you would die, why not do them if you knew you were to live? It's an even better reason. The testimony of your life would shine even brighter if you were to take that step.

[34:24] Set your house in order. Friends, we've seen the order of God. God has got an order, a plan, a design, it's perfect in creation, in the macrocosm of the universe, in the microcosm of the most fundamental cells of life.

[34:41] God's order in creation. We see God's order in the family. We see God's order in the church and we see God's order in our lives.

[34:56] But we must set our house in order. We must take those definite, concrete steps to prepare to meet thy God, to honour him with our life, to want to live lives that are ordered and in accord with his design, to resolve to forgive one another, to resolve to settle things with others, to resolve to put eternity first, to put our lives in accord with his plan.

[35:31] And friends, tonight, much of what I've been addressing has been to believers. I'm not taking it for granted that everyone here tonight is saved.

[35:43] I'm not taking it for granted that every person here today knows for sure that they're heaven-bound. You can do all the self-help and all the self-improvement courses under the sun and become an expert in Dale Carnegie and know all of the you might be an expert Amway salesman because you've just got that personality that glows and you're such a nice person to be around, but you're hell-bound without Christ.

[36:14] You're hell-bound without Christ today. If you're not saved, if you don't know, but you know that you know the Saviour, then you are going to hell. And set your house in order.

[36:25] Set your house in order today. Don't put it off another moment. Friends, if you're lost, you can be found. If you are blind, you can see. There is hope while you still have breath in this body of yours to trust him and breathe out a prayer.

[36:41] Lord, save me. Lord, I believe. Help thou mine unbelief. Lord, save me. Help me. Save me. Confess him as Lord.

[36:51] Believe on him in your heart that he has died, buried and risen for you, for your sin. Call upon the name of the Lord and you shall be saved.

[37:04] Let us pray. Let us pray.