[0:00] I want to extend a very warm welcome to everybody this evening on behalf of Stormy Fleet Church and trust that we will all know God's blessing as we gather together around the Word.
[0:12] And we're going to begin by singing from Psalm number 11. And this is from Sing Psalms. And we're going to sing from verse 4 to verse 7. The Lord is in his holy place.
[0:24] The Lord is on his heavenly throne. His eyes observe the human race. And in his sight each one is known. The Lord examines all the just.
[0:34] The righteous ones he proves and tests. But all those who love wickedness and violence his soul detests. Upon the wicked he will reign as fiery coals and sulphur hot.
[0:46] A scorching wind will beat in them. Such punishment will be their lot. For God the Lord is righteous still. In righteousness he takes delight. They alone will see his face.
[0:58] Who are in heart and life upright. Psalm 41. Psalm 11. From verse 4 to verse 7. The Lord is in his holy place.
[1:09] The Lord is in his holy place. The Lord is on his heavenly throne.
[1:26] His eyes observe the human race. And in his sight each one is known.
[1:45] The Lord examines all the just. The righteous ones he proves and tests.
[2:02] But all those who love wickedness and violence. And violence his soul detests.
[2:20] Upon the wicked he will reign. His fiery coals and sulphur hot.
[2:37] A scorching wind will beat on them. Such punishment will be their lot.
[2:55] For God the Lord is righteous still. In righteousness he takes delight.
[3:12] And they alone will see his face. You are in heart and life upright.
[3:29] Let us now bow in prayer. O Lord our gracious God. We give thanks that you are in your holy place. And that you look down upon this earth.
[3:42] But not only that you look down upon the earth. But that you are involved in this earth that you have made. And we read about what your word tells us. Emmanuel God with us.
[3:53] And this is really quite remarkable. When we realise the holiness of God. That cannot bear or tolerate. Or even countenance or look upon sin.
[4:04] And yet we find that the Son of God. The Lord Jesus Christ. Has been made a sin bearer. And we marvel at this great truth. And we are amazed at the wonder and the graciousness of God.
[4:19] We give thanks for your plans and your purposes. And we give thanks for your wisdom. Which is beyond anything that we could ever think or devise. The way of salvation is really something that is altogether awesome and wonderful.
[4:34] We give thanks for the faith Lord. That lays hold upon who you are and what you have done. Sometimes we feel that faith is strong.
[4:45] Sometimes we feel that our Christian hold upon you is vibrant and powerful. And other times we feel weak and feeble and frail.
[4:57] Sometimes Satan comes with all his temptations to cast doubts upon the whole way of salvation. upon who you are. Just as he said at the very beginning to Adam and to Eve.
[5:11] Have God said, did God say? And sometimes he whispers this into our ears as well. We have to confess Lord that there are times that fears and doubts and worries begin to invade our thoughts.
[5:26] And so we pray Lord for deliverance from all these things that come in and upon us. We have to confess Lord that we are feeble, that we are weak.
[5:37] We are so prone to sin. We are so prone to waywardness. We are so prone to losing the right way. Our footsteps do not hold to your path in the way that they should. But we give thanks Lord that there is a desire to follow you.
[5:53] And when there is a desire to follow the Lord and to walk in his ways, we know that that desire has been created by yourself. That desire has been implanted in our hearts.
[6:04] And it is an evidence of the fact that there is a new life. Because the old life does not want to follow the Lord. The old life wants to follow self and to be in control of life and to be master of one's own destiny.
[6:20] And so we pray Lord for when there is a willing desire that you will rule and reign within our heart. And we pray that that might be true for every single one of us.
[6:31] That you will be king and Lord in our heart and in our life. We pray that you will bless us this evening as we come under your word. And help us Lord to realize that your word is there for us.
[6:44] That we might derive benefit from it. That we might learn from it. And as we come to historical parts of your truth. May we realize that as has been said, history is his story.
[6:56] And that it has pleased you to record certain things. In order that we may learn from it. And we pray that we will learn from it. Help us Lord never to be dismissive of your word.
[7:07] Help us Lord never to think of ourselves as above your word. That we don't need to hear it again. That we know it already. That is a sure way of heading to a fall.
[7:18] Help us then Lord to be attentive to your truth. And to be careful in our way and in our walk. We ask that you will be with all our loved ones. Our homes, our families and all whom we love.
[7:30] And although there are so many restrictions. That confine us so that we are not able to do or to meet in the way that we used to. We pray oh Lord that you will be with all whom we love.
[7:42] And that you will guard and keep every home and every family. Near and far. We give thanks that near and far doesn't matter with you. Because you are in the same place all the time with everybody.
[7:56] And so we pray that your blessing will be upon each and every one. We pray to bless us as a congregation. We pray that you will bless us in our homes and families.
[8:08] We pray with those who are sick and laid aside. We pray for the elderly and those who are struggling. Those Lord who are struggling. Maybe with the years having gone.
[8:19] The advanced years where there is weakness of body. And frailty of mind. We pray for those Lord who are maybe in a stage of life.
[8:29] Where they are beginning to lose their understanding. And maybe suffering through different forms of dementia. Or Alzheimer's. Very difficult for those who suffer from that.
[8:41] And also those who are seeking to help them and to care for them. And so we pray that in all these different situations and circumstances. That your grace will be known.
[8:53] And that your love will be shown. We pray Lord for all who mourn. And those who are heavy in heart. Those Lord who have experienced pain and sorrow in life.
[9:05] We pray Lord that you will heal the broken hearted. And that you will lift up this downcast spirit. And that you will dry the tears from off the eyes.
[9:17] And that you will heal the heart that is broken. O Lord our God we pray that you will do in and for us far and beyond what you could ask or think. Lord we pray for our leaders and all in authority over us.
[9:31] We pray for that those who have the rule over us may realize that you ultimately have the rule over them. And that one day they are answerable to you. For how they have lived and administered and worked for you in this world.
[9:46] Lord what a responsibility is placed upon shoulders. Help us to realize that we are all answerable to the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Help us to remember that one day we all have to appear before the judgment seat of Christ.
[10:01] In order that we may receive the things done in the body whether good or bad. And help us then Lord to shield and shelter in Christ. Because he is our only hope and stay.
[10:13] Our only refuge in that day. And so we pray that we will not face Jesus Christ as a stranger. But as a friend. That we will face him as the bridegroom.
[10:24] And not as somebody who is to hear these fearful words. Depart from me for I never knew you. O Lord our God. We pray that everybody who is listening in to this service tonight.
[10:37] Will in time know the voice of the living God. And will hear the voice of the living God. In a way that their souls will live.
[10:48] And so we pray that you will bless us nationally. And in the face of this pandemic. And that gradually bit by bit. That the corner will be turned. And that we will see the effect of the vaccine.
[11:00] With diminishing numbers of those testing positive. And those becoming ill from it. And those being hospitalized. And we remember all those who are.
[11:13] Who have. All the families that have experienced death as a result of it. Remember all the other illnesses. That often have to have to take a back seat. And where treatments have been put on hold.
[11:26] And where surgery has been put on hold. And we pray Lord that these things may indeed. Be brought back into place very soon. So that people will receive what they need.
[11:38] We ask now that you will be with us. That you will guard us. And keep us. And guide us. And bless our NHS. And all our carers. And we pray your blessing upon all.
[11:48] Who are keeping the. As it were. The very arteries of society going. For so many different areas. Remember all those who. Even in our own island.
[11:59] Have been affected. By this illness. And we commit them to your care and keeping. Bless us then we pray. Cleanse us from our sin. In Jesus name we ask all. Amen.
[12:12] Last week. Just a wee word to the young folk. Last week I was. I went up to the castle grounds. With little Joshua. Who's now about two and a half.
[12:23] There about. And he loves the castle grounds. But. They went up. I went round. To the front of the castle.
[12:34] And what a wonderful job they have. Made there. The wall. In front of the castle. Is stunning. And there's little bits that have been tarred.
[12:46] And bits where grass has been laying. And there are other areas. And there's a beautiful. At either end. As it were of the castle.
[12:57] At the front. There's a big circular. Part. And so beautifully set out. And there's this very very fine gravel on it.
[13:09] So. I was there with Joshua. And I. To get out of the phone. On my phone. To take some. A few pictures. Because you're looking down. I was doing two or three photos of the castle. And just the layout of everything.
[13:20] So beautiful. And then you look down to the. To the harbour. And it's. You've got great view. There of Stornoway. So as I was doing that.
[13:31] I heard this. Noise. From behind me. And there's this. We were standing in this very fine. Coloured gravel. That's been beautifully put in place.
[13:42] There's a couple of workmen. Just a wee bit over. I think they were just checking something. Because most of the work there. Seems to have been done. And he was shoveling. Through the gravel. And he was obviously enjoying.
[13:54] The noise it was making. But what a mess he was making. Because he was shoveling it this way. And that way. And I said to him. No, no, no, no, no. And he was enjoying himself.
[14:06] Because recently. We had been down at the beach. When the weather was. Was quite good. Went down one day. And he was enjoying making. Marks in the sand. With his feet.
[14:17] And making all kinds of shapes. And he was trying to do the same. In the gravel. And he was enjoying the noise. It was making the shoveling. I said.
[14:27] No, no, no, no. You can't do that. And I had to go down on my hands. And he said. I'm trying to smooth it all out. And I was thinking. These workmen would be looking over there. And saying.
[14:38] What little hooligan is that? But the thing was. He didn't realise. That he was making a terrible mess. Of something that was so beautiful. So I was trying to smooth it all out.
[14:49] I was thinking. No, no. You're not allowed to do that. And he was fine with that. So away we went. And I smoothed it out again. You know. It got me thinking. And I thought. You know.
[15:01] God made this world absolutely beautiful. And over everything he said. That it was good. And then he made. This man and woman. And he said.
[15:12] Very good. But you know what happened. Just like. Little Joshua there. Started to make a mess. Of something that was very beautiful.
[15:25] And he didn't think it was a mess. As far as he was concerned. He was enjoying himself. You know. The sad thing is. We. Have made an absolute mess.
[15:37] Of the beauty. Of what God has made. We're making a mess of the world. That God has made. And we've made such a mess of ourselves. Because of sin.
[15:50] And even although we may sometimes think. What we're doing is right. God is looking down. And he's saying. What a mess. You are made of everything. That I made.
[16:01] So beautifully. And that is why God has sent his son. The Lord Jesus Christ. Into this world. To sort out the mess. That we have made.
[16:13] Because we can't sort it ourselves. It's only Jesus that can sort it. And what we have to do. Is to ask the Lord. To help us to see.
[16:25] The mess. That we're making of our own lives. Which is called. Our sin. Because if we don't see that. We won't ask him for help. We won't ask him for forgiveness.
[16:36] We won't ask him to clean our hearts. To clean up the mess. We have to see first. That there is a mess. And so. Your prayer and my prayer.
[16:47] Must be to the Lord. Lord. Help me to see the mess. That sin has made. In my life. And at the same time. Help me Lord. To see.
[16:58] Jesus. Who has come. To deal. With the mess. And with the sin. In my life. And to make it all clean. Again. That's what Jesus does.
[17:09] That's what Jesus loves to do. So you. Ask the Lord. To help you. To see. What you need. And to see Jesus. Who will help you.
[17:21] And you know. If we trust in Jesus. The Lord promises. That the end of the day. He's going to take us home. With himself. And he tells us. In his word. That there's going to be. New heavens.
[17:31] And a new earth. Where everything again. Is going to be beautiful. And there'll never. Ever. Ever. Again. Be a mess. And we will all.
[17:41] Live. Forever. In the peace. And in the joy. And in the love. Of Jesus. Forever. And ever. Isn't that wonderful?
[17:53] That's what. The gospel. Is all about. And I hope and pray. That you. Today. Tonight. Will know this Jesus. As your very own.
[18:04] We're going to. Read God's word now. And it's in 2nd Kings. 2nd Kings. And chapter. 19. As soon as King Hezekiah heard it.
[18:17] He tore his clothes. And covered himself with sackcloth. And went into the house of the Lord. And he sent Eliakim. Who was over the household. And Shebna the secretary. And the senior priests.
[18:29] Covered with sackcloth. To the prophet Isaiah. The son of Amos. They said to him. Thus says Hezekiah. This day is a day of distress.
[18:39] Of rebuke. And of disgrace. Children have come. To the point of birth. And there is no strength. To bring them forth. It may be. That the Lord your God.
[18:50] Heard. All the words. Of Rabshakeh. Whom his master. The king of Assyria. Has sent. To mock the living God. And will rebuke. The words. That the Lord your God.
[19:00] Has heard. Therefore lift up your prayer. For the remnant. That is left. When the servants. Of King Hezekiah. Came to Isaiah. Isaiah said to them.
[19:11] Say to your master. Thus says the Lord. Do not be afraid. Because of the words. That you have heard. With which the servant. Of the king of Assyria.
[19:21] Have revived me. Behold. I will put a spirit in him. So that he shall hear a rumor. And return to his own land. And I will make him fall. By the sword. In his own land.
[19:33] Rabshakeh. Returned. And found the king of Assyria. Fighting against Libna. For he heard. That the king had left Lachish. Now the king heard. Concerning. Terahak.
[19:46] King of Cush. Behold. He has set out. To fight against you. So he sent messengers. Again to Hezekiah. Saying. Thus shall you speak. To Hezekiah.
[19:56] King of Judah. Do not let your God. In whom you trust. Deceive you. By promising. That Jerusalem. Will not be given. Into the hand. Of the king of Assyria. Behold.
[20:08] You have heard. What the king of Assyria. Has done. To all the lands. Devoting them. To destruction. And shall you be delivered. Have the gods. Of the nations. Delivered them.
[20:19] The nations. That my father. Destroyed. Gozan. Haran. Reseth. And the people of Eden. Who were in Tel Aser. Where is the king of Hamath. The king of Arpad.
[20:31] The king of the city. Of Sevarim. The king of Hina. Of the kings of Iba. Hezekiah received the letter. From the hand of the messenger.
[20:41] And read it. And Hezekiah went up. To the house of the Lord. And spread it before the Lord. And Hezekiah prayed. Before the Lord. And said. O Lord. The God of Israel.
[20:53] Enthroned above the Jehubim. You are the God. You alone. Of all the kings. Of the earth. You have made heaven. And the earth. Incline your ear.
[21:03] O Lord. And hear. Open your eyes. O Lord. And see. And hear the words. Of Sennacherib. Which he has sent. To mock. The living God. Truly O Lord.
[21:14] The kings of Assyria. Have laid waste. The nations. And their lands. And have cast their gods. Into the fire. For they were not gods. But the work of men's hands. Wood and stone.
[21:25] Therefore they were destroyed. So now O Lord. O God. Save us. Please. From the hand. That all the kingdoms. Of the earth. May know. That you O Lord.
[21:36] Are God alone. Then Isaiah. The son of Amos. Sent to Hezekiah. Saying. Thus says the Lord. The God of Israel. Your prayer to me. About Sennacherib.
[21:47] King of Assyria. I have heard. This is a word. That the Lord. Has spoken. Concerning him. She despises you. She scorns you. The virgin daughter. Of Zion.
[21:58] She wags her head. Behind you. The daughter. Of Jerusalem. Whom have you. Mocked. And reviled. Against whom. Have you raised. Your voice. And lifted your eyes.
[22:08] To the heights. Against the Holy One. Of Israel. By your messengers. You have mocked the Lord. And you have said. With my many chariots. I have gone up.
[22:18] To the heights. Of the mountains. Into the far recesses. Of Lebanon. I felled. Its tallest cedars. Its choicest cypresses. I entered. Its furthest lodging place.
[22:30] In its most fruitful forest. I dug wells. And drank foreign waters. I dried up. With the soul. Of my fruit. All the streams. Of Egypt. Have you not heard.
[22:41] That Eddie termed it. Long ago. I planned from days of old. What now I bring to pass. That you should turn fortified. Cities into heaps of ruins.
[22:52] While the inhabitants. Shorn or strengthened. Is made and confounded. And have become like the plants of the field. And like tender grass. Like grass on the housetops.
[23:03] Blighted before it is grown. But I know you are sitting down. And you are going out. And coming in. And you are raging against me. Because you have raged against me.
[23:14] And your complacency has come into my ears. I will put my hook in your nose. And my bit in your mouth. And I will turn you back on the way by which you came. And this shall be the sign for you.
[23:26] This year. Eat what grows of itself. And in the second year. What springs are the same. Then in the third year. Sow and reap and plant vineyards.
[23:37] And eat their fruit. And the surviving remnant of the house of Judah. Shall again take root downwards. And bear fruit upwards. For out of Jerusalem shall go a remnant.
[23:48] And out of Mount Zion. A band of survivors. The seal of the Lord will do this. Therefore thus says the Lord concerning the king of Assyria. He will not come into this city.
[24:01] Or should an arrow there. Or come before it with a shield. Or cast up a siege mound against it. By the way that he came. By the same way he shall return.
[24:11] He shall not come into this city. Declares the Lord. For I will defend this city to save it. For my own sake. And for the sake of my servant David. That night the angel of the Lord went out.
[24:24] And struck down 185,000 in the camp of Assyria. And when people rose early in the morning. Behold they were all dead bodies. Then Sennacherib king of Assyria departed.
[24:37] And went home. And lived in Nineveh. And as he was worshipping in the house of Nisroch his God. And Adramelech and Shahr. And Shahr his son struck him down with a sword.
[24:50] And he escaped into the land of Ararat. And Eserhadon his son reigned in his place. Amen. And may God bless to us. The reading of this chapter of his holy word.
[25:03] Now I want us this evening to consider from verse 14. Hezekiah received the letter from the hand of the messenger. And read it. And Hezekiah went out to the house of the Lord.
[25:15] And spread it before the Lord. And Hezekiah prayed before the Lord. And said, O Lord the God of Israel. Enthroned above the cherubim. You are the God.
[25:25] You alone of all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth. Inclinere O Lord and hear. Open your eyes O Lord and see.
[25:36] And hear the words of Sennacherib. Which he has sent to mock the living God. Truly O Lord. The kings of Assyria. Have laid waste the nations and their lands. And have cast their gods into the fire.
[25:49] But they were not gods. But the work of men's hands. Wood and stone. Therefore they were destroyed. So now O Lord O God. Save us please. From the hand.
[26:01] That all the kingdoms of the earth may know. That you O Lord. Are God alone. Question is. How do you react when trouble comes your way?
[26:14] It's a very important question. Something that we have to ask ourselves. As Christians. We often think that. It's the automatic reaction. That when trouble comes into people's lives.
[26:26] That they will turn to the Lord. But. Sadly we know that that is not the case. That there are many many people. And trouble has come into their lives.
[26:37] And God is not on their radar. And they have absolutely no intention. Of turning toward the living and through God. But for others. The day that.
[26:48] Trouble and difficulties came into their lives. It was the day. When they began. To turn to the living and through God. And maybe many of you tonight.
[26:59] Who listen. Can you think back to. A period in your own life. Where something happened. Or. Some events happened. Or. When your life was. Turned round.
[27:10] So to speak. And it was through that. That you began. Or maybe for the first time. To really. Inquire. To seek after the living and through God. And whether it's trouble or not.
[27:22] I hope tonight. That if you haven't already. Been seeking the living and through God. That you will begin. So to do. Now for this king. Hezekiah. We find that.
[27:33] Trouble has come upon him. Big style. Hezekiah was a good king. In fact. The bible will show us. That Hezekiah was the best king. That Judah had.
[27:44] Remember how Israel split. Into two. The northern part. Of Israel. And then there was the southern part. Of Judah. And Hezekiah.
[27:55] Was termed the best king. That Judah actually had. He was a man. Who. Made tremendous reforms. And restored. The faith.
[28:06] Restored. The worship of God. As the key worship. Within the land. Broke down. So many of the authors. And images. To false gods. He was a man. Who was single minded.
[28:18] In his pursuit of God. But. As is often the case. Or as is always the case. Hezekiah had his weakness. And. Or maybe his weaknesses.
[28:30] And as you read through. The life of Hezekiah. As we find it. In Kings. And in Chronicles. It would appear. That pride. Was an area. In his life. That he was prone.
[28:42] To sinning in. And of course. Pride. As we. As often been termed. The mother. Of all sin. And so we have to be. To be very careful. And Satan. Of course.
[28:53] Who knows us. Inside out. God. Is the master. Of getting us. In our weak points. He knows. Where we're. Where we're liable. To fall. He knows.
[29:03] What we're about. He's always watching. And waiting. He's there. Just ready to pounce. And he'll get us. And you know. He's also very good. At getting us. When we're down.
[29:14] When we're tired. When we're weak. When we're sick. You know. We're more open. To his temptations. We're more open. To these things.
[29:25] But he also gets us. Sometimes. When we're. Over confident. And when we're. Maybe feeling self-reliant. Again. We're in a very dangerous place. But it's not just.
[29:36] In our weak points. That he gets us. He can also get us. In our strong points. We must always. Be on the guard. Against him. So. Here is this. Here is this man. Hezekiah.
[29:48] As we say. He's a really. Good man. But as we said. He made us mistakes. And one of the. The important things. That we learn. From the life of Hezekiah.
[29:59] Is that he learned. From us mistakes. And that again. Is key. To our development. Of growth as Christians. That we learn from our mistakes. No Christian. Goes through this life.
[30:10] Without making mistakes. We make them repeatedly. But you know. It's good. That we have teachable spirits. And that we learn. From the mistakes. And that we go to the Lord. And say. Lord.
[30:20] Please help me here. I know what I've done. I've seen what I've done here. I know the wrong. That I have done. Lord. Help me to learn from this. And God will help us.
[30:30] To learn. From and through these things. Now there were times. That Hezekiah really got it wrong. For instance. There were times. When he turned to Egypt.
[30:41] For help. Rather than to the living. And through God. There were times. When he listened. To the advice. Of godless counselors. And advisors. Rather than listening.
[30:52] To the advice. Of the living. And through God. And you know. There are times. That we can be like that. As well in life. And it might be possible. That you. Today. Or tonight.
[31:03] That you. As you look at your life. And you say. You know. It's not the word of God. That I'm taking my advice from. I'm not walking. In all my ways. According to God's word. I'm listening to the word.
[31:14] I'm listening to people. I'm taking my advice. From my own heart. I'm doing what I want. But let me tell you. That is not the way to go. Might go well for a while.
[31:25] But guaranteed. It won't go well continually. And there will come a time. When the Lord will say. To his people. Who are going down a road. Like that. What are you doing here? Just like Elijah.
[31:36] He said. What are you doing here Elijah? Remember when Elijah ran away. What are you doing Elijah? And God will sometimes come to us. When we've taken the wrong path.
[31:46] And when we've closed our ears. To his word. And when we've gone according. To our own heart. Or even the influence of the world. Or the influence of others. God said. What are you doing? You're going the wrong way.
[31:58] You're doing. You're going in the wrong direction. And that's how it was. For Hezekiah. And there were periods. Where he went. Completely in the wrong direction.
[32:10] And Hezekiah. Ended up. Compromising. You know. When you begin. To mix it with the world. And you begin to embrace. Some of the world.
[32:21] Into your. Into your thinking. And into your way. You know what else. Going to inevitably. Almost happen. Is that you're going to end up compromising. It's going to be very difficult.
[32:34] Now I'm not saying for one moment. That we're not involved with the world. And engage with the world. And be part of the world. We can't. We couldn't live otherwise. But. We have to. Stick to our Christian principles.
[32:46] Sometimes that's going to be hard. And often. The world. Say. Oh come on. You need a bit of slack. Get a bit of slack. You need to compromise. A wee bit. You know.
[32:57] The moment you begin to compromise. The world is never satisfied. With a little compromise. It'll keep at you. And at you. And at you. And at you. Once you give.
[33:07] It'll want more. And more. And more. And more. And Hezekiah found that. Because the first time. Sennacherib came up against. And invaded. Jerusalem and Judah.
[33:22] Hezekiah. Just said to Sennacherib. Oh I've done wrong. Whatever you impose upon me. I will give. And Sennacherib said okay. And he demanded.
[33:33] So much wealth. From Hezekiah. So much gold. That Hezekiah took all the gold. That he had. Do you know what he started doing in the end. Stripping the gold off the doors of the temple.
[33:45] In order to give. Sennacherib. The king of Assyria. What he wanted. See the moment you begin to compromise. The world is never satisfied. It'll want more.
[33:56] And more. And more. And it'll strip you down. And down. And down. And down. But the good thing. With regard to. Hezekiah is. That he learned.
[34:07] From his mistake. Because. Here's. Another. Sennacherib. Is again invading. And Hezekiah. Has learned. From his mistakes. Because it must.
[34:19] You know this. Can you imagine this man of God. Who. Restored. The worship of God. Who was single minded. In his pursuit. Of restoring. The worship of God. Stripping.
[34:30] The gold. Of the temple doors. To give to this man. Who hated God. Who mocked God. Who held the God of heaven and earth. In absolute derision.
[34:42] And Hezekiah. Is having to give him the gold. From the temple. You know this. I'm sure Hezekiah. Had many a sleepless night. And I could imagine. Hezekiah saying to the Lord.
[34:53] Lord. Oh please give me another chance. If something like that. Ever happens again. Jesus. I guarantee you Lord. I won't compromise. Maybe you've been down that road.
[35:05] Maybe not as extreme. As with Hezekiah. But you've been down that road. And you know the hurt. That it has caused you. You know it's hurt the Lord. It hurts the Lord's people.
[35:15] Who might be involved. It hurts you as well. Well Hezekiah learnt. Because. The king. Sennacherib is back again. With this mighty Assyrian army.
[35:27] An army that struck terror. In all the nations of the world. For this period. Assyria was the dominant nation. The dominant force in the world.
[35:39] They were a cruel. They were a ferocious nation. And history shows us. They were incredibly cruel. And so they struck terror into all the nations.
[35:55] And so this nation has invaded again.
[36:11] And is holding Judah in a siege. And so Hezekiah. This time is determined.
[36:23] That he's not going to give in. That he's not going to yield. He's not going to compromise at all. And so he's going to stand firm. And he's putting all his trust in the Lord.
[36:34] And Brahm Shachai. Who's a spokesman for Sennacherib. Comes and he says to the people of Judah. Listen. Don't listen to Hezekiah. Because let me tell you.
[36:47] There is not a God anywhere. That can deliver out of our hands. There is not an nation anywhere. That has stood up to us. We have destroyed everywhere. And we will destroy you.
[36:59] Unless you give in. Don't listen to Hezekiah. And so. The Assyrians were trying to undermine. The confidence of the people.
[37:10] And so it was a hard time for Hezekiah. And he was doing. Sennacherib was doing all of his power. Not only to undermine. Hezekiah.
[37:24] With regard to. His influence on the people. But he was getting at Hezekiah as well. And he's saying to Hezekiah. When you're doing trusting in the Lord. No one's not going to help you.
[37:36] And Sennacherib is mocking the God of heaven and earth. And you know. It would have been very easy. At this particular point. For. Hezekiah to think.
[37:49] Because this is how Satan worked. You know. Satan would be in on this. And Satan. Satan comes first of all. He comes very often. As a cunning serpent. And when that doesn't work.
[37:59] He often comes as a roaring lion. But he would have been coming to. To Hezekiah and say. Ah. What has God actually done for you? Right.
[38:10] Think about it. What did you do? You destroyed all the altars. And all the images. To false gods. You established the worship of the living.
[38:22] And through God. Throughout the length. And the breadth of the land. You even took. The brazen serpent. That had. That Moses had. Constructed in the wilderness.
[38:32] Remember how they looked. To the brazen serpent. As Moses lifted up the serpent. In the wilderness. Well. The people had actually started. To worship that serpent. Hezekiah took it.
[38:43] And smashed it to bits. In order to stop the people. Worshiping. Anyone. Or anything. Except the living and through God. So Satan would be saying to Esekiah. Look at all you did.
[38:53] For God. What has he done for you now? Nothing. He is leaving you. All on your own. And here you are.
[39:05] Defenseless. Against this mighty nation. That have annihilated. Every other nation. That's God for you. And you know. It might be possible.
[39:17] That that's the way you are. That's where you are tonight. And Satan is having a field day. With you as well. And he is whispering in you. And he is saying. What has God done for you? It's like.
[39:27] In Psalm 73. Remember the psalmist. He is facing these problems. And he is saying. You know. It's in vain. That I have served the Lord. And so he was in a mask down.
[39:39] Or Satan had got him. And he was looking in envy. At the godless. But maybe tonight. That's where you are. And you are looking. And you know people. And they don't have any thought of God.
[39:50] In their heart or life at all. And everything is not going swimmingly well. You are looking at your own life. And it is nothing but problems and trials. And Satan is saying.
[40:01] What have you got out of serving. The living and through God. So that's where. That is where. Hezekiah was at this particular moment.
[40:13] And Satan wants us to down tools. He wants us to give up. He wants to undermine. The living God within our lives. He wants the church to down tools.
[40:24] Because we are all serving God in different ways. And he wants us to stop serving God. If you are a believer tonight. You are serving God. Wherever God has put you. He has given you something to do.
[40:35] You have an ability and a gift. That maybe nobody else has. You can reach people that nobody else can. Satan wants you to down tools. Imagine if all the Christians in the world.
[40:46] Down tools. There will be no work for God being done. So God doesn't allow that. And so. We find that Hezekiah.
[40:59] Hezekiah here is in a. A really difficult place. And we find that Hezekiah. Cries to the Lord. That's what he does. And a letter has come.
[41:11] A letter has been sent. And been brought. By. From the. The. The. The. The. From. Sennacherib. To. Hezekiah.
[41:22] And this letter is saying. Listen. You're finished. And what does Hezekiah do? He goes to the house of God. And he spreads the letter. Before. The God of heaven and earth.
[41:34] I love that. And he's saying. Lord. Look. This is. This is how it is. There is nothing. That I can do. I am helpless. Against this great might. But.
[41:45] Lord. I'm looking to. You. And see as Hezekiah. Praise. And this is what I love. About his prayer. Hezekiah prayed. Verse 15. Before the Lord.
[41:56] Oh Lord. The God of Israel. Enthroned above the cherubim. You are the God. You are alone. Of all the kingdoms. Of the earth. You are made.
[42:07] Heaven and earth. God. What is Hezekiah doing? Well as he's praying. He's seeing the majesty. The glory. The power. The authority. The control of God.
[42:21] The God who made. The heaven and the earth. That's who I'm praying to. God. And you know. When you and I pray. And have this sense. Of the greatness. Of the majesty. And the glory.
[42:32] And the dominion. And the authority of God. Over everything. And if our focus is upon the living and true God. Then the troubles.
[42:42] And the issues. And the enemies. Become less. And less. And less. And the enemies. And that's what would be happening to Hezekiah. At this moment. And yes.
[42:53] These nations. They're terrible. Verse. This nation is terrible. Verse 17. Truly O Lord. The kings of Assyria. Have laid waste the nations on their lands.
[43:05] And he says. They've cast their gods. Into the fire. But they weren't real gods at all. And this is what I love. He then says. In verse 16.
[43:16] Incline your ear. O Lord. And hear. Open your eyes. O Lord. And see. And hear the words of Sennacherib. Which he has sent to mock the living God. Lord.
[43:28] Will you hear his mocking words? And will you come in power. Demonstrating. Who you are. Because that leads us into what he is saying in verse 19.
[43:39] So now O Lord. O God. Save us please. From the hand. That. This is what. This is the key. That all the kingdoms of the earth may know. That you.
[43:51] O Lord. Are God alone. Isn't that great? Lord. See when you answer this. When you answer my prayer. Please.
[44:01] Please. Lord. Do it in such a way. That all the nations will know. That you are the living and through God. That you are far greater than this nation. That has struck terror into all the other nations.
[44:15] And you know. When you and I pray. We should have a sense of that in our prayers. Lord. Lord. Demonstrate your power. Demonstrate your glory.
[44:26] In the answer. To my prayer. May your glory be seen. So that people will take note. That people will see. That you are God of heaven.
[44:37] You know. The Lord loves when we come to him. Pray like that. Of course. We then have to leave the answer. Of how God will answer the prayer. But he will. He will. When our prayer is based upon the glory of God.
[44:50] And the demonstrating. Demonstrating the power and glory of God. Then God will answer. And God answered wonderfully. In the case of Hezekiah. And we see there at verse 20.
[45:04] We see Isaiah. The prophet Isaiah. The son of Amos. Said. Was sent to Hezekiah. Thus says the Lord. The God of Israel. Your prayer to me.
[45:14] About Sennacherib. King of Assyria. I have heard. And then in verse 32. He says. Therefore thus says the Lord. Concerning the king of Assyria.
[45:25] He shall not come into the city. Or shoot an arrow there. Or come before it with a shield. Or cast up a siege mound against it.
[45:36] By the way he came. By the same way. Shall he return. For I shall defend this city to save it. For my own sake. And for the sake of my servant David.
[45:48] Isn't that wonderful? He's not going to even shoot an arrow. Here's this mighty king. He's been busy mocking the God of heaven and earth. And he's mocking God.
[46:00] What God will save? Nobody can save from me. And the God of heaven and earth is saying. You know. You're not even going to shoot one arrow. Against my city. You know.
[46:12] We should take encouragement from this. And realize that. Yes. We're surrounded by enemies. Just like Hezekiah was. We are surrounded by those who hate God.
[46:22] We're living in an age where so many people hate God. And there is an ever growing movement against the Christian faith. To try and obliterate it. And to silence it.
[46:33] And to have it hidden away in a corner. You can't mock the God of heaven and earth. Because there will come a time when he will display his authority and his rule and his might.
[46:47] He's not going to even allow Sinahur to even shoot one arrow against the city. And you know. What I love is if we went to Chronicles.
[46:58] And we pick up the same. This same episode. It tells us here. That when Hezekiah got this news. He encouraged the people. And this is what He said to the people. There are more with us than with them.
[47:11] With Him. That is with Sinahurib. Is an arm of flesh. Yeah. He's powerful. But it's just an arm of flesh. With us is the Lord our God to help us.
[47:22] And to fight our battles. And you know. The people do confidence from Hezekiah. And you know. It's wonderful when God's people encourage one another.
[47:34] You make it your business to encourage one another in the faith. Particularly in the day that we're living in. We need encouragement. So it's important that we encourage one another in the faith.
[47:44] And then we see what happens. God took over. Of course God was there all the time. God was always in control. But He began to demonstrate His power. And see what happened.
[47:56] God sent an angel. 185,000 soldiers were stuck dead. In the morning Sinahurib. All He saw.
[48:07] Was His whole army went out. You can't mock the God of heaven and earth. The God wasn't finished with Sinahurib. You know.
[48:18] Sinahurib should have thought. Just like King Nebuchadnezzar. I've never seen power and authority. The God of heaven and earth. It's not like any other God. I must worship Him. That's what Nebuchadnezzar did.
[48:30] Not Sinahurib. He went back home. Where do we find Him? We find Him in the house of His God and idol. But He suffers the most painful death.
[48:44] A death full of shame, indignity, hurt. He's murdered by two of His sons. Can you think of a worse death than that? Two of your sons killing you?
[48:56] That's what it is to mock God. It's a fearful thing. And unless the mockers of God repent. There will come a day when He will come in judgment.
[49:08] God doesn't come straight away. But one day He will come. One day He will come to mark iniquity. God marks iniquity in one of two places.
[49:19] Either upon the sinner. Or else on the sinner's substitute, Jesus Christ. What about you tonight? Is God going to mark iniquity on you?
[49:30] On me? Or is He going to mark it upon Jesus in our place? There are only the two options. But I pray that there will be Jesus who will be standing in for you.
[49:44] And that He takes your sin upon Himself. And that you will know God's, whatever your situation is tonight, that you will know God's deliverance. That you will know His help. That you will trust in Him in the same way as Hezekiah.
[49:58] Troubles, the troubles that afflict the just in number may be. But yet at length, out of them all, God has set them free. That's what happens.
[50:12] Keep on trusting the Lord. Let's pray. Lord, O God, we pray to bless us. We give thanks for our time together. Do us good, we pray. And forgive us our sin in Jesus' name.
[50:23] Amen. Let us conclude our service singing from Psalm 27. The end we're going to sing Psalm, Psalm 27. And we're going to sing from the beginning, from verses 1 to 4.
[50:37] Psalm 27. Psalm 27. The Lord's my Savior and my light. Who shall make me dismayed? The Lord's the stronghold of my life. Why should I be afraid? When evildoers threaten me to take my life away?
[50:51] My adversaries and my foes will stumble in that day. Although an army hems me in, my heart will feel no dread. The war against me should arise.
[51:02] I will lift up my head. So on. Psalm 27. The Lord's my Savior and my light. The Lord's my Savior and my light.
[51:18] Who will make me dismayed? The Lord's the stronghold of my life.
[51:30] Why should I be afraid? Why should I be afraid? When evildoers threaten me to take my life away?
[51:48] My adversaries and my foes will stumble in that day.
[52:01] Although an army hems me in, my heart will feel no dread.
[52:13] Though war against me should arise. I will lift up my head.
[52:26] One thing I'll be before the Lord. And this I'll seek always.
[52:40] That I may come within God's hands. And dwell there all my days.
[52:54] Now may the grace, mercy and peace of God, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, rest and abide upon each one of you now and forevermore. Amen. Thank you very much for tuning in again tonight.
[53:07] And may the Lord bless you and prosper you and keep you all safe throughout this week. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.
[53:18] Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.
[53:29] Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.