[0:00] Open your Bibles to Isaiah chapter 38, if you would, and verse 5. What would you do if you had an extra 15 years to live and if you knew that? Well, I am 64 years old, almost 65, and so as I prepared this message, I thought quite a bit.
[0:14] You had 15 to 64, I put me at 79 to 80. So this message just might be my 15-year message, you know? But read with me, if you would, Isaiah chapter 38 and verse 5. Go and say to Hezekiah, Thus saith the Lord, the God of David, thy father.
[0:31] I have heard thy prayer. I have seen thy tears. Behold, I will add unto thy days 15 years. Father, I pray tonight that you would help us to end our lives right.
[0:42] That you would help us to grow and mature and to finish strong. And I'll give you praise and honor and glory for all that you do, Lord. I thank you for your goodness. In Jesus' name, amen.
[0:53] Amen. It's kind of a common theme in the Bible about how people finish. We're a very young church. Most of you are younger than me in the room, except my wife. But most of you, in fact, are looking around to see if anybody but Betty is older than me.
[1:08] Brett. I think Betty's the oldest person in the room. Say amen to that. I love you, baby, but you are old. But anyway, in this story, Hezekiah's been a great guy.
[1:21] He's had a great life and God's really used him and God's really blessed him. And at the end of his days, the Lord gets ready to call it off and he sends a prophet in there to say to him, hey, get your house in order.
[1:32] It's over for you. I don't know how you'd face that. The guy walks in the room and he says, you got a few days here.
[1:42] Close up everything. Close up your bank accounts. Make sure all your inheritance gets where you're going because you're out of here, junior. And Hezekiah starts praying and he says, God, please, I don't want to die yet.
[1:54] In fact, as the enemies are outside the gates and if he's not there and if he's not in leadership, what's going to happen? Maybe he's needed. Maybe he ought to stay. And God graciously grants him 15 years.
[2:07] I think there are two or three truths that we ought to learn here. Number one truth that y'all learned tonight is this. You have a short life. You have a short life.
[2:17] I think everybody in the room, the most scary thing you can possibly hear is like you got cancer. Because when you hear I got cancer, it's like that means you're probably not long for this world.
[2:28] It's a scary thing to hear that said to you. We all are going to live short lives. It may not seem like it to you yet, but it is. The second thing is that God still hears and answers prayer and does great things in people's lives.
[2:40] Hezekiah prays and says, God, I don't want to die yet. And God says, I'll tell you what, I'll give you 15 more years of life. And the third lesson I want you to learn tonight as we go through this two chapters of the Bible is, let's finish right.
[2:53] Because in the end story here, it's a sad ending to a great life. If God asks you to give him reasons he should allow you to keep living, how would you answer?
[3:05] If God asks you to give him reasons you should keep living, how would you answer? Look with me in your Bible at Isaiah chapter 38 and verse 3. Look what he said. Remember now, O Lord, I beseech thee, I beg thee, how I have walked before thee.
[3:21] God, just remember, you know who you're dealing with here. Remember how I have walked before you and I've done so in truth. I've done it with a perfect heart. I hadn't had any other gods in my life. You're the only God I've ever had.
[3:33] And I have done that which is good in your sight. And he started crying. And I just read that passage of scripture and I think if I got the death notice and I want to talk to God and I want to say, now God, you really don't want to take me out of here right now.
[3:46] Remember how I've been living. And so I would say to you, would God agree with your assessment of your own life? Would God agree with you of your assessment of your own life?
[3:57] Look in your Bible at 2 Kings chapter 18 and verse 3 if you would. And he did that which was right in the sight of the Lord. 2 Kings 18, 3. According to all that David, his father, did.
[4:09] 2 Kings chapter 18 and verse 5. He trusted in the Lord God of Israel so that after him was none like him among all the kings. Verse 6. He claimed to the Lord.
[4:19] He departed not from following him. Verse 7. The Lord was with him. Another question for you. Would you honor God with the extra life he gave you if he did give you 15 years?
[4:31] If you were in this situation, if the prophet walked in and you knew it was a message from God, he said, you're going to die now. It's over. And then God said, I'll give you 15 more years. Would you use those years right?
[4:44] Do you have a track record that says you would? Do you have a track record that says you would? I always tell the young people, I know where you'll be in 10 years.
[4:54] All I got to do is look at the last 10. I know which way you're headed. I know how you're flying. I mean, if you're doing right, I got a good idea. If that's the way you're always headed, I'm not saying it's just not some ups and downs and some weaving, but you're going that way.
[5:08] But if we can't figure out where you are, we all have got a pretty good picture. Remember that nothing you have is yours. It all belongs to him. And that includes your life. That includes the air you breathe and the heartbeats that you have.
[5:21] You don't even have control of how long you live. Don't let God's blessings make you focus on yourself. A big lesson in this passage of scripture is that Hezekiah at the end of his life is like blessed beyond blessing.
[5:37] And then God lets him live extra life. And as soon as God gives him extra life, he lets a pagan king come in. And he walks around showing off. Look at all my stuff. Look at who I am. Look at how things are working in my life.
[5:49] And he's kind of bragging about his stuff and his place. And at the end of the story, he's going to lose it all. So go with me back to Isaiah 38.1. Number one, write this down somewhere if you do. We're all going to die.
[6:01] That's the big lesson. We're all going to die. In those days was Hezekiah sick unto death. And Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amos, came unto him and said unto him, Thus saith the Lord, set thine house in order, for thou shalt die and not live.
[6:19] And when a guy like Isaiah walks in your house and gives you that message, that's a pretty strong message. He walks in and says, You are about to die. Now that's clearly taught all through the scriptures, by the way.
[6:31] I may not know that it's this week. I may not know that it's going to be in the next few days. But you and I as Christians ought to learn to number our days and count our existence.
[6:42] So I want to take you to some Bible verses. I really want to challenge you with this. Look if you would at Psalm chapter 31 and verse 15. Psalm 31 and 15. I just want to say to you, you need to understand your life isn't yours.
[6:55] It belongs to God. You need to understand you don't have a lot of it. You need to understand we're all going to die. The Bible says in Psalm 31 and 15, My times are in your hand.
[7:06] God owns my life. And sometimes I flippantly act like it doesn't matter what He thinks. But the truth of the matter is that my life and what happens in my life is in His hands.
[7:20] In Psalm chapter 90 and verse 9, we're all supposed to count our days. We're all supposed to count our days. Psalm chapter 90 and verse 9. For all our days are passed away in thy wrath.
[7:32] We spend our years as a tale that is told. The days of our years are three score and ten. Sixty years. Seventy years. And if by reason of strength they be eighty years.
[7:43] Four score years. It's their strength and labor and sorrow. Soon it will be cut off and we fly away. Who knows the power of thine anger? Even according to thy fear so is thy wrath.
[7:53] So teach us to number our days. That we may apply our hearts to wisdom. Let me show you what I think it means to number our days. You go on vacation and you're going to a place that's exotic.
[8:08] Some place you want to see. You plan that. You know you stand and you say now if we're going to Disney World. We're going to have to do this at this time and this at this time and this time. We're going to hit this place and this place. And we're going to do all these different things.
[8:19] And we're working on it. It's like we only have a limited amount of time here. And we have really got to make this count. Sometimes you come off a vacation. You need a break. Because you worked yourself to death on vacation doing all that stuff.
[8:32] But you and I live like we're going to live forever. And all of us are going to get right with God. And all of us are going to serve God. And all of us are going to put God first someday. But he said to him, teach us to number our days.
[8:46] So I could live my life. So I could apply my heart to wisdom. So I could stop and say, I only have X number of years to live. Whatever I'm going to do for God, I got to get it done. And here's the big thing.
[8:57] Everybody has to learn. We all got to learn this. You don't get much done in a week. You don't get much done in a day, a week, a month, or a year. You don't get much done in a decade. It takes a long time.
[9:09] You got a lifetime. You got to decide now to use what God gave you. The lesson in the Bible is stop and think. You don't have much time to honor God. The Bible says in Psalm chapter 89 and verse 4, Remember how short my time is.
[9:24] This is a verse that we should write down somewhere. 1 Peter chapter 1 and verse 17. You ought to look this one up with me. Look it up in your Bible with me. 1 Peter 1, 17. And if you call on the Father, who without respect of persons judges every man according to, judges according to every man's work.
[9:41] Look at this. Pass the time of your sojourning. Pass the time of your sojourning. Hear in fear. That's King James' word.
[9:51] Sojourning? You might not get that. But here's basically what it means. You're on a trip and you ain't going to be here long. You know, when you show up in that hotel, you're going to be there all week.
[10:06] Brett Johnson's leaving to go to that hotel probably tomorrow. He's leaving every Monday. And Brett's going to go to that hotel. You know, he moves in there. His wife's probably not even with him. He probably realizes, I'm only here temporarily.
[10:18] I'm headed home. He probably's not going to hang a lot of pictures. He's probably not going to move all of his furniture because come Friday or so, he's coming back to the house because it's only a sojourn. It's only a short period of time.
[10:29] And here's what God said to me. He said, Austin, you need to realize you're going to die. And you are only sojourning here. Look at the verse. Pass the time of your sojourning in fear.
[10:41] That fear there's not fear like I'm scared to death. That fear is like respect the time. Respect the time. Pay attention to how much time you got. Use your life wisely.
[10:54] Use your life wisely. Now, how long are you going to live? We read a verse just now that said 70 years. And yet good friends of mine didn't. A church member was here at this very church on a Sunday morning in good health.
[11:08] That afternoon, I drove to, with some guys here from the church, I drove to Texas because we, and we stopped at a church somewhere in I think Mississippi. We were on the way to Philip Basham's granddad's funeral. And I got in the bed.
[11:20] And early in the morning, the phone rings. And somebody in our church that was healthy on Sunday was buried that week. You don't know how long you're going to live. You are temporarily here.
[11:31] You don't know when it's going to be over. How are you using your time? If you had 15 years, how would you use it? The second thing I want us to look at. God, can I get an amen there?
[11:44] Y'all dead, or we just need to go home? How many of you think that's true? Say amen. I don't mean to be morbid. I just mean to be honest. I just mean to be honest. By the way, I started probably in my mid-20s, counting my days.
[11:58] I read these verses. You used to have them old calendars. You know what? Now everything's digital. But I had those old calendars. And I'd get it the first year, and I'd write it in the corner. I've ever wanted them how many days I had left to 70. People walk in my room and say, what's that number right there?
[12:10] I said, that's how long I got left until I'm 70. What's that about? I said, that might be when I'm dead. That's if I'm lucky. Now I'm 64. Lord help me. We're down to single digits just about. Amen.
[12:21] The whole deal is, the whole deal is, pass the time of your short trip here, respecting God and respecting the time. Much of us have already gotten warnings from the Word of God.
[12:35] If you've read the Bible, you know it's true. Second thing, God hears and answers prayer. Look at Isaiah 38, 5, if you would. Go and say to Hezekiah, thus saith the Lord, the God of David, thy father, I have heard thy prayer.
[12:50] You should underline that. I have heard thy prayer. I have seen thy tears. Behold, I will add into thy days 15 years. God heard and answered prayer.
[13:03] Can I get an amen right there? Here's a man who was scared to death. Here's a man who just got the warning. Here's a man that was just told, you have got to pack your bags. It's over. Get in the house.
[13:14] Get everything sorted out. Make sure what you're going to do. I'll give you a couple of days here, but I'm coming to get your soul. You're going to die. And he immediately says, I've got to talk to God about this. Look, if you would, look, if you would in Isaiah chapter 38 and verse 2.
[13:28] Isaiah chapter 38, verse 2. Then Hezekiah turned his face toward the wall and he prayed. He turned his face to the wall and he prayed. He turned his face to the wall to get some privacy. He turned his face to the wall to get away from the crowd.
[13:40] And he boldly laid out his request. In verse 38, chapter 38 and verse 3, he said, God, remember me. Remember what I've done. Remember who I am. Remember how I've walked for you. God, I'm coming to you in prayer, and I don't want to die yet.
[13:54] I don't want to die yet. And God answered. In chapter 38 and verse 4, the word of the Lord came and he said, God has heard your prayer. I just want to say a few things to you about prayer real quickly.
[14:06] God doesn't always answer prayers the way we want them answered. Why doesn't God move? Why doesn't God answer prayer? And sometimes, I think amongst us, prayer falls into a bad reputation.
[14:20] And we kind of get the idea that God doesn't hear and answer prayer. But you'd never get that idea from the word of God. If you read the word of God, you'd believe that God does hear and God does answer prayer. Amen? Now, why doesn't God hear and answer our prayers?
[14:32] The first thing is James chapter 4 and verse 2. And we ought to write that down somewhere. You have not because you ask not. And I don't know if prayer has become a back burner issue with you.
[14:43] I don't know if you no longer go to God in prayer. I know this. If you get scared enough, you'll pray. If it gets bad enough, you'll pray. If things go wrong enough, you'll pray. Oh, Hezekiah turned his head and prayed.
[14:56] Could it be that God isn't working in your life because you're not asking him? Could it be that God would do more? Because God says in this verse right here, I love this verse.
[15:07] I wish you'd look at it. You lust. That means you want stuff. You want stuff. Look at it. You lust. You want stuff, but you don't get it. You kill and desire to have. You're out there in a dog-eat world fighting to get what you want.
[15:19] You kill and desire to have, but you can't obtain it. You fight and you war. Man, I want this. It's what I want. You're trying to do stuff. And he said, but you don't get it. You have not.
[15:30] You're going to ask me. You're all about how big my muscles are. You're all about how big my brain is. How many friends I got. You're not asking me. You're just doing it on your own. God said, why don't you pray and ask me?
[15:42] Can I get an amen right there? Next thing is, though, sometimes he doesn't give it to you because you're asking the wrong stuff. James chapter 4 and verse 3. Look at it. You ask and receive not.
[15:53] You pray and you ask me and I don't give it to you. And here's the reason because you was wanting the wrong stuff back in verse 2. Back in verse 2, he was trying to live in this world. Back in verse 2, he was trying to get more junk for here.
[16:06] Back in verse 2, you aren't passing the sojourn and you're not spending your time wisely thinking about me. You want bigger cars and fancier boats and airplanes and you want all this stuff.
[16:17] He said you have not because you ask not. And sometimes when you do ask, you only ask for junk that I'm not interested in giving you. Look at it. You ask that you may consume it on your lust. This is what I want.
[16:28] But some of us don't pray. And some of us do pray. But we pray like spoiled brats. We're throwing ourselves on the floor and saying, I want that new car. I want that.
[16:38] Oh, God, let that loan go through so I can get that new house. We're doing it the wrong way. And let me show you something. Sometimes God does give you what you want, but it's to your detriment.
[16:51] Did you know that God might just answer your prayer and it'll hurt you? You know that's in the Bible? You got to be careful what you ask him. He's kind of like a granddaddy.
[17:03] I mean, granddaddies are like, I'm just set on yes. They come in the room. They come in my office and they say, can I have some M&Ms? Sure.
[17:14] You know you can. They come and ask something else. Like, yep. Sometimes their mama comes in here and says, what are you doing? Give them candy. I'm about to feed them supper. I said, don't let them come in here. You don't want me to give it to them.
[17:25] Don't let them ask. Because if they ask, and she might say something like, well, you're rotting their teeth. I'm like, that ain't my problem. They ask and I'm giving it to them. Say, man. It's a blessing of being a granddaddy. Your kids come to my office.
[17:36] I tell them little brats. I say, you can have one sucker or two suckers. And some of them get five suckers and run out of the room. And when they come back, they say, I didn't give but two last time. I'm like, even people in their office are like, yes, you did. I'm like, I just let them have it.
[17:48] It's okay. We'll be all right. Do you know God answers prayer like that sometimes? Look at Psalm 106, verse 15. Y'all look it up and mark it, write it down. Psalm 106, verse 15. And he gave them their request.
[18:01] Look at this. He sent leanness to their soul. Now, this is a story about them wandering into wilderness. See, God is by nature so good, so kind, so generous.
[18:14] He pours out grace on top of grace, and he is just good. And they're wandering around in the wilderness. They've been disobedient. They didn't believe him. And he still kept saying, I'll take care of your clothes.
[18:26] I'll take care of your footwear. I'll take care of your health. I'm just going to watch over you. I'll take care of you. And he dropped angel food cake out of the sky every morning for them to eat. Man, angel food. He dropped it out.
[18:38] And they said, we're tired of eating angel food cake. We want some meat. And he said, you don't need the meat. But he gave it to them because they asked. But he sent leanness to their soul.
[18:49] I want to just say to you, according to the word of God, prayer, God hears it. God hears it. Come on. If you believe the Bible, you've got to say amen right there.
[19:00] God hears prayer. God answers prayer. And God meets our needs. Next thing I need you to know, sometimes God knows that what's best for you is for him not to answer that prayer. The way you want it.
[19:12] He knows you're making a mistake. In 2 Corinthians chapter 12 and verse 8, you remember the story. The apostle Paul has an ailment. We're not sure what it is. He has a thorn in the flesh.
[19:22] Some people think it could have been an eye problem. It really doesn't matter what it was. But he went to God and he said, God, I really need help. I want you to take away this ailment. I want you to take away what's wrong in my life, what's hurting me.
[19:33] It makes me uncomfortable. It's a thorn in my flesh. It really bothers me that I've got this problem. I need some help. And God didn't answer him. He waited a while. He said, God, I need you to give it to me.
[19:44] If you know what he said in Philippians chapter 4, he probably said, God, appreciate it. Know you're going to answer me. I've asked and I go ahead and thank you. Thank you. You're going to answer it. He left, waited a while. He said, what, Lord, didn't answer that prayer? So he goes back and said, hey, by the way, I need to remind you.
[19:55] I left a request here at the office the other day. And I asked you if you wouldn't mind taking away my thorn in the flesh. I told you I've been waiting. You hadn't answered it. Just thought I'd remind you. And he walks away. And he waits a while to pass by.
[20:06] And a few days to go by, a few weeks, we don't know how long it was. And he goes back and he said, hey, back again on that first request. I asked it for you once. And now I've asked twice. And it's my third time. And the Lord said, no, you need that one.
[20:18] You need that one. I know it's a thorn in the flesh. I know it's uncomfortable. It makes you weak. And when you're weak, it makes me strong. And so you need that one. Look, if you would, in your Bible at 2 Corinthians chapter 12 and verse 8.
[20:29] He said, for this thing I've assault the Lord thrice, three times, that it might depart from me. And here's what God said. Nope, not doing it. He said, my grace is sufficient for you.
[20:42] My strength is made perfect in weakness. And Paul said, so most gladly, therefore, I will glory in my infirmities that the power of Christ might rest upon me. So I take pleasure in my sicknesses, infirmities, and in my reproaches when people make fun of me.
[20:58] And in my necessities when I'm going hungry, I don't have clothes. And in my persecutions when people are beating me up. And in my distress when I'm frustrated and I can't hardly handle what's going on. For Christ's sake, I'm frustrated and I'm hurting because I figured out something.
[21:12] When I'm weak, I'm strong. And even, you need to know, Paul knows and you need to know, you can't get out of trouble.
[21:24] There is no praying for God to not let you have problems in this life. You're not getting out of trouble. You're not getting a trouble-free life. Not happening.
[21:36] I've got several verses I could show you, but I'm just going to show you one. John chapter 16 and verse 33, Jesus is getting ready to leave. And in John 16, 33, Jesus said, I spoke to you because I want you to be peaceful.
[21:49] I want you to just calm down and understand now. I'll just go ahead and tell you now before it all gets started. In this world, you're going to have tribulation. In this world, you're going to have tribulation. But be a good cheer.
[22:01] I overcome the world. So you and I need to know. You and I need to know. You're not getting out of all the trouble. The fact is, I kind of need trouble.
[22:13] The trouble keeps me on my knees. I kind of need to hurt because I kind of need the need. I need him. When everything goes too good, I don't think I need him. So I need him because of things going on with my children.
[22:25] And I need him to step in. I need him because of things going on in my physical life because I'm hurting here. I need him because of things in my marriage. I need him because of finances. I need him. And the God of heaven is that person saying, I want to be needed.
[22:36] He wants us to pray. Can I get an amen there? He wants us to pray. Go back with me, if you would, to Isaiah chapter 38. Now, I think Isaiah's reason for asking to live wasn't as selfish as we might think.
[22:50] Because we read that story and we're like, what in the world? He's dying and he turns his head to the boss and says, God, please, don't you know who you're dealing with? But look what happens if you would in Isaiah 38, 6.
[23:02] He said, I will deliver you and the city from the hand of the king of Assyria. I will defend this city and this shall be the sign. You know what's happening, don't you?
[23:14] Over and over, the kings and the wicked people are coming to attack. And if the king dies right now and if the country enters in the morning or a civil war fighting over who's going to be the king, they need their king right now.
[23:26] And the king knows that. And the king says, God, I need your help. They're at the gate. They're about to take us out. And Isaiah says, God's going to hear your prayer and God's going to answer you.
[23:38] God's going to hear your prayer. And God's going to answer you. He needed God to save him from the king of Assyria in verse 6. And when God said he would answer, he said, I need a sign.
[23:51] He said, I want you to show me you're going to answer me. And so he said in verse 8, I will bring again the shadow of the degrees which has gone down in the sundial of Ahaz 10 degrees backward. So it was spring forward, fall backwards.
[24:05] The hour came back. Amen. This happened to happen in the fall. You know what ended up happening? The sun, instead of going down, it backed up an hour.
[24:17] The sun backed up. The sun backed up. Now, I know what you're about to say. Do you really believe that? It backed up 10 degrees. I don't know if that's an hour. I just said that part. You know what I think about that? Yeah, it backed up. The Bible says that it happened.
[24:29] You say, I don't think that is possible. Well, the sun didn't move, but he can twist the earth on its axis. He doesn't have a problem doing that. If you understand that, say amen. Hezekiah records what he's thinking when all this happens.
[24:43] In chapter 38 and verse 9, the king of Judah, when he's sick, he writes this down. In verse 10, he says this, The cutting off of my days. Underline that in your Bible.
[24:55] I am deprived of the residue of my years. Somehow, even though God tells us, whenever it comes time to die, we feel cheated.
[25:08] Isn't that amazing? Here he is, at the end of his life, God's been really good to him. And instead of saying, God, I really appreciate it, he says, Yeah, you cut off my days.
[25:18] Like, they're your days. They're not your days. They're not my days. They're his days. Amen. My life is in his hand. He's in charge here. It's not my life. It's his life. I am deprived of the residue.
[25:30] Look, if you would, in chapter 38 and verse 12. It's pretty obvious to me he's heard David's psalms because he said, My age is departed and is removed from me like a shepherd's tent.
[25:42] That's some of that psalms kind of talk. You know, a shepherd sets his tent up here. The sheep eat all this grass. They pick the tent up and move it. They don't stay here long. He said, My life's like a shepherd's tent.
[25:53] Then he said, I have cut off like a weaver. That's another David kind of story. The weaver's going back and forth across there to make that rug. He said, It's been cut. Bam, bam. Life's over.
[26:03] Bam, bam. Life's over. He said, I feel like that's what's happening to me. He ends that verse with, Make an end of me at the end of verse 12. Verse 13. And from the end of it, it says, From day to night, you make an end of me.
[26:16] You mean like, after all I've done, from day to night, you're going to make an end of me? But he does say some things I really want to point out to you. Good night. Time.
[26:26] I should have respected my time more. Just hang on. I will finish up real quick. Look at verse 17. He cast all my sins behind his back.
[26:38] Won't you underline that? He cast all my sins behind his back. Every parent ought to teach their children about life so they'll praise God. In chapter 38 and verse 19, The father to the children shall make known thy truth.
[26:53] The Lord was ready to save me. And this is not as important as it used to be in my youth. I had to deal with charismatics all the time. And they didn't believe in medicine.
[27:05] But in this story, God used medicine. Do you believe God hears and answers prayers? Last thing. He failed to use his life correctly. He ended badly.
[27:16] In chapter 39 and verse 1, he praises God for healing him. In chapter 39 and verse 2, he starts being a show-off. That's what I do sometimes.
[27:29] God's been good to me. And I want to say to you, check out all this stuff. You see my stuff? See my stuff? See my house? See my car? See my wife? See my kids? See all this stuff? I got to see what I've done.
[27:40] See what I've done? See what I've accomplished? Here's my me wall. Here's my selfie. It's all my stuff I've done. That's what he kind of does. Look at what it says. You got your Bible open? Isaiah 39 too? He showed them the house of his precious things.
[27:55] Sometimes I think they're my precious things. Go a little further down. The house of his armor. And all that was found in his treasuries. There was nothing hidden in his house, nor in all his dominion, that Hezekiah didn't show him.
[28:11] So Isaiah sends to ask Hezekiah what he's been saying. Chapter 39 and verse 3, Isaiah sends and says, he said, well, they came from a far country. They came to see me from Babylon. Verse 4.
[28:23] He said, well, what have they seen in your house, Hezekiah? What did you show them in your house, Hezekiah? And Hezekiah said, all that's in my house have they seen.
[28:34] There is nothing among my treasures I have not shown them. Chapter 39, verse 6, He said, verse 6, it says, behold, the days come that all that's in thine house will be carried to Babylon.
[28:50] Verse 7. They will take all of it away, and they'll make your kids eunuchs. That king will be back. He basically asked him to come in the house and see what he needed to steal.
[29:03] The king of Babylon walks in the house and says, hmm, like that, I think I'll take that when I come back. Like that too, I think I'll take that. In fact, as all your kids can be my slaves, I'll be back. Hezekiah accepts what God says.
[29:15] This is one of those verses that you could argue about. It's kind of cruel. Look, if you would, at verse 8. Then said Hezekiah to Isaiah, well, all right, good is the word of the Lord which you've spoken.
[29:28] At least there will be peace and truth in my days, and just my kids are going to be taking away slaves. I could eat, drink, and be merry. I ain't worried that much about my kids. Hard to tell what his attitude is here.
[29:40] Is he accepting that, well, God spoke and I just need to accept it? Or is he saying, I really don't care what happens to the next generation. How are you going to finish? How am I going to finish?
[29:52] I'll worry about that. I want to do right until he takes me home. I read about a famous preacher in Memphis, R.G. Lee, when he lost his mind.
[30:04] When he lost his mind, they'd go in his room and they'd find R.G. Lee and he'd go to the window and he'd open the window and he'd look out across there and he'd go, oh, Memphis! Oh, Memphis! Come to Jesus!
[30:14] He's sitting there at the window and preached to him. He's crazy. He lost his mind, but he just kept on. But I've been plenty of times in a nursing home and heard him cussing and doing stuff that would embarrass him. I want to finish right, don't you?
[30:26] I want to finish right. Doesn't matter what we've done up until now. It matters how we'll end this thing. Doesn't matter how we've done up until now. It matters how we'll end it. We're not serving ourselves and our families and our people.
[30:38] We're serving God. Here's a Hezekiah story. You're going to die and I'm going to die. We're going to die. Number two, God does hear that your prayer.
[30:49] And number three, I need to be concerned about how I'm going to finish this race. Oh, at your funeral, they're all going to talk real nice about you. But when Noah died, the last thing in his story is he got drunk and cursed his grandson.
[31:02] And when Hezekiah dies, they're going to come get his kingdom and steal all of his stuff. And Isaiah is going to write it in a book so we remember that in his pride and braggadocious days, he showed off to a pagan king and lost it all.
[31:15] How am I going to finish? How am I going to finish? Am I going to finish strong? Am I going to finish faithful? I meet preachers sometimes. I don't even go to church anymore.
[31:28] I meet Christians. They just said, I've done enough. I won't be that guy. Make a decision today to pass the time of your sojourning, your trip, your short trip here for Jesus.