Good morning, brothers and sisters.
For those of you who don't know me, my name is Tyler.
! I'm one of the lay elders.
And it's a joy for me to bring you God's word this morning.
And with that, let's go to the Lord in prayer, and then we'll dive in together.
Father in heaven, what a comfort it is that you use vessels of weakness to accomplish your glorious purposes.
And Father, you spoke through Balaam's donkey, so surely you can speak through me this morning to your people.
And Father, I pray that my words would not be plausible words of wisdom, but your spirit would come in demonstration of your power.
Father, we lift this time to you.
Open our eyes to see wondrous things in your word, Father.
Would you be glorified in Jesus' name?
Amen.
Perhaps, one of the most common questions today is not whether Christianity is true, but is it good?
Is Christianity good for the world?
Is Christianity on the wrong side of history?
One person who thought so was the 4th century Roman Emperor Julian.
He hated Christianity.
Despite growing up in a Christian family, serving as an officer in the church and able to quote scripture, he threw off the faith.
And hence, he became known as Julian the Apostate.
And he didn't just want to throw Christianity off himself.
He wanted to throw it off of Rome.
Believing Christianity would lead to society's ruin,
He sought to reverse the clock on the spread of Christianity.
To return Rome to its prior glory.
The return to the Roman tradition.
The paganism.
The rituals.
The temples.
To Hercules, the ideal of the heroic man.
But it was not to be so.
Despite his rejection, Christianity triumphed.
At the end of his life, fatally wounded in battle, it is said, he gathered up a handful of dust.
And he raised his fist to the heavens.
And he cried out,
O Galilean, thou hast conquered.
The Galilean had won.
And sadly for him, Christianity continued to spread.
And this sentiment about Christianity is not confined to Roman emperors from long ago.
But it is the air we breathe today.
One poet seizes on Julian's last words and wrote these haunting words.
Thou hast conquered, O pale Galilean, and the world has grown gray from thy breath.
Jesus is portrayed as ghostly, ghastly, gray, and pale.
And because of him, the world is now gray, joyless, stale.
Oppressing the human spirit.
Christianity represents the wrong turn in history.
Christianity.
This is common currency in the neighborhood and workplaces.
Christianity is a cosmic killjoy.
What a tragic mischaracterization.
Even more tragic is that it's even plausible in the first place.
As we open up this chapter in Chronicles, we see something very, very different.
We catch a vision of what life could be like if we lived under this Galilean's reign.
And this chapter is like the Netflix show, Stranger Things, but in reverse.
It's the opposite.
It's completely different.
When the upside-down world of God's kingdom breaks into the world, it doesn't produce darkness and decay and demogorgons.
No, it's full of joy, energetic praise, and generosity.
So let me invite you to turn to 2 Chronicles 29 as we see God's kingdom breaking forth into the world.
And you can find that on page 353 of the Pew Bible.
And it would be helpful for you to open up your Bibles.
And if you're not familiar with the Bible, the big numbers are the chapter numbers.
Smaller numbers are the verse numbers.
And the main point of this passage is that God will raise up Hezekiah to spark a reformation for the joy of his people.
And we'll look at this section in three parts.
Point number one will be the character of Hezekiah.
Point number two, the command for God's people to clean house.
And point number three, the Christian joy that is the result.
So let's pick up in verse 1, chapter 29, 2 Chronicles.
God's Word says this,
Hezekiah began to reign when he was 25 years old.
And he reigned 29 years in Jerusalem.
His mother's name was Abijah, the daughter of Zechariah.
And he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, according to all that David his father had done.
In the first year of his reign, in the first month, he opened up the doors of the house of the Lord and repaired them.
He brought in the priests and the Levites and assembled them in the square in the east and said to them,
Hear me, Levites, now consecrate yourselves and consecrate the house of the Lord, the God of your fathers,
and carry out the filth from the holy place.
For our fathers have been unfaithful and have done what was evil in the sight of the Lord our God.
They have forsaken him and have turned away their faces from the habitation of the Lord and turned their backs.
They also shut the doors of the vestibule and put out the lamps,
and have not burned incense or offered burnt offerings in the holy place to the God of Israel.
Therefore the wrath of the Lord came on Judah and Jerusalem,
and he has made them an object of horror, of astonishment, and of hissing, as you see with your own eyes.
For behold, our fathers have fallen by the sword,
and our sons and our daughters and our wives are in captivity for this.
Now it is in my heart to make a covenant with the Lord,
the God of Israel,
in order that his fierce anger may turn away from us.
My sons, do not be negligent,
for the Lord has chosen you to stand in his presence,
to minister to him, and to be his ministers, and make offerings to him.
We'll stop there.
So, so far we've seen mostly bad kings, total failures.
Hezekiah is an exception.
He's not a perfect king, but he is a good one.
And verse 2 sets the stage for a spiritual reformation that will take place.
And he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord,
according to all that David his father had done.
God is raising up Hezekiah, and God will get all the credit.
Look down at verse 36.
Hezekiah and all the people rejoiced,
because God was the one who provided for the people.
Out of darkness, light begins to shine.
God will use Hezekiah to revive his people.
And Hezekiah, in many ways, is a portrait and a model.
To tell you something of his importance,
the chronicler gives him more airtime than any other king in the entire book.
Four chapters.
And coming out of the last chapter,
we saw his father, Ahaz, was a bad dude.
He had a PhD in idolatry.
But by God's grace,
Hezekiah was not condemned to follow the pattern of his father.
Well, how did he learn God and his word?
Well, we're not told directly,
but it's probably from the influence of his mother.
Look down at verse 1.
Abijah.
Her name literally means,
my father is the Lord.
God would use this woman's influence
to shape her son, Hezekiah.
So mothers, be encouraged.
Even if there's not a father in the house
who's a good spiritual role model for your children.
You may feel small,
but a small pebble can produce
a ripple effect far and wide.
So trust your labors to him.
Abijah's labors are unseen by us.
We don't know much about her,
but God saw her.
And God honors those who honor him.
Her name is here forever.
And the contrast between her son
and his father is night and day.
Ahaz, remember, shuttered the temple.
Darkness spreads over the land.
You see that in verse 7.
They shut the door of the enterway to the temple.
They put out the lamps.
The light of the world is now put under a basket.
The doors are shut.
The people were kept out from worship
under the old covenant.
Not only that, remember,
Ahaz defiled and desecrated God's house.
His evil was legendary.
He was the first Judean king
to sacrifice his son
in a pagan ritual.
He paraded idols in the city.
I wonder how Hezekiah's mother felt about that.
Probably wasn't an easy upbringing for him.
But now, God raised him up.
And Hezekiah is like lightning flashing
across the cold, gray sky.
Look at verse 3.
In the first year of his reign,
in the first month,
he opened the doors of the house.
The moment he gets in power,
no delay,
he immediately gets to work
to reverse the damage his father had done.
Now, this wisdom
is not coming from where you'd expect it.
He is 25 years old.
And this work of renewal
is not coming from the older generation,
but the younger.
It's one of the examples in history
where the younger generation
is calling the older generation
back to biblical faithfulness.
He's not a thermometer
basing his priorities
on the weather of the day.
No, he was a thermostat
and he burned with zeal
for God's glory.
To give you a sense of his zeal,
in 2 Kings 18,
if you turn back there,
we're told that the people
sank into a deep idolatry.
And you'll see in verse 4 of that chapter,
the people had erected a shrine
to the brass serpent
that Moses had made.
Remember that brass serpent in Numbers?
Moses lifted it high up in the air
and all who looked to it
would live.
But as is so often the case,
this relic became an object of worship.
The people began to pray
and began to offer incense to it.
The bronze figure was treated
as a piece of magic,
a talisman.
And so what does Hezekiah do?
He would have none of it.
He takes the very serpent,
a relic of antiquity,
he destroys it.
He smashes it to pieces,
grinds it to a powder.
And the author of 2 Kings
commends him for it
because he is obeying the law of Moses
in Deuteronomy chapter 12
to tear the altars down,
smash them,
burn them up,
wipe them out from every place.
Show no mercy to idolatry.
In a few chapters,
we'll see Hezekiah,
a tiny king in a tiny kingdom,
defied a world emperor.
He had the courage
not to surrender to Assyria.
And he held fast
to the God of Israel
and the word.
His prayer went up
and God's help
powerfully came down.
You know, in fact,
Hezekiah is such a good king,
according to Orthodox Jewish tradition,
I had the opportunity
to speak to an Orthodox Jew
as I was preparing for the sermon.
For a minute,
some Jews thought
He was the Messiah.
This is the guy.
He's the worthy successor
of King David,
the one who's going to restore
the entire kingdom.
He almost made it to the end,
but it was not to be so.
Like all of us,
he had clay feet.
He stumbled later in life.
As the old adage goes,
the best of men
are men at best.
His love grew cold
and he began to walk around
like a self-righteous peacock.
You know, it seems to me
how rare it is
to see an older saint
with the same zeal
that Hezekiah had
as a young man.
I see it in my own life.
Older saint,
remember when you
were like Hezekiah,
burning for God's glory?
You were like a toy
without an off switch.
You couldn't stop
telling people about Jesus.
Now, granted,
your life in Christ
will look different.
There are different seasons.
Life with young kids,
life caring for an aging spouse
or an aging parent
will look different
than when you were in college.
But isn't it also true
that it is easy
to lose our first love?
We lose a passion
and a zeal for God's name.
The gospel becomes familiar.
We stop learning.
We no longer courageously
confront idolatry.
We're more likely
to fall into theological compromise.
Older saint,
let me encourage you
to spend some time
with younger Christians.
Christians who have a zeal
for God's glory
and His name in this world.
The younger generation
need your wisdom,
but you need them as well.
You need their burning zeal
and pray that God
would stir your affections
for Him once again.
Look at the one
who is greater than Hezekiah
who said,
zeal for your house
has consumed me.
And look at Hezekiah's zeal
in this chapter.
At verse 6,
he is honest.
Our fathers
have been unfaithful
and have done
what was evil
in the sight of the Lord,
our God.
He repeats that again
in verse 19.
He, that is,
Ahaz's father,
was faithless.
That is a specific word
packed with meaning.
A word that would have been
ringing in people's ears.
Unfaithful.
Broken covenant vows.
Adultery.
Rejecting the love
that God had shown to them.
And their faithlessness
is why in verse 8 to 9
they are now under
God's covenant curses.
Objects of wrath,
of horror,
astonishment,
of hissing.
They're living in a nightmare
because of their disobedience.
But after looking back
in verse 10,
he looks forward.
And he expresses
true repentance.
It is in my heart
to make a covenant
with the Lord.
He expresses a solemn oath
to put right
what is wrong.
And this leader
uses his authority
for the good of his people.
He addresses the Levites
as his sons.
He has affection
for the people of Israel.
Now to be in covenant
with God
is a profound thing.
It's weighty.
It's serious.
It's the opposite
of the modern notion
of being spiritual
but not religious.
When people say
they're spiritual
and not religious,
what they mean is
I want to have a relationship
but no outside authority.
No thank you.
I'll take the relationship
but I don't want anyone else
to tell me what I need to do
or what I need to believe.
God is whoever I want him to be.
A formless life force.
My inner sense
of subjective beauty.
But in the scriptures
all true personal relationships
with God
are covenantal.
It's the only kind
of relationship
with God there is.
So covenants
are unique blends
of law
and love.
I submit to you God
not out of duty
but of delight.
You know the word covenant
doesn't really capture
the meaning.
The word love in it
would be a much better word
to describe this kind
of relationship.
A deep and abiding commitment
to put ourselves
under God's authority
out of love.
I give you everything
God because I love you.
The closest approximation
is the covenant of marriage.
Right?
Each side saying
I give you everything
and I look for your good
because out of love.
And because Hezekiah
loves God
he is seeking
to fix what is wrong.
So what needs
to be fixed?
Well point number one
is the character
of Hezekiah.
Point number two
is the command
for God's people
to clean house.
Now in verses 4 to 19
Hezekiah will begin
to put what is wrong.
He calls the priests
and the Levites
to a special task
to restore temple worship
by consecrating
and cleansing
the temple.
Look down at verse 5.
He says,
Hear me Levites
now consecrate yourselves
and consecrate
the house of the Lord
the God of your fathers
and carry out the filth
from the holy place.
So he gathers the Levites
in verses 12 to 14.
Let's pick up in verse 15
through 19 as well.
They gathered their brothers
and consecrated themselves
and went in
as the king had commanded
by the word
of the Lord
to cleanse the house
of the Lord.
The priests went into
the innermost part
of the house
of the Lord
to cleanse it
and they brought out
all the uncleanness
that they found
in the temple of the Lord
into the court
of the house
of the Lord.
And the Levites
took it
and carried it out
to the brook Kidron.
They began to consecrate
on the first day
of the first month
and on the eighth day
of the month
they came to the vestibule
of the Lord.
Then for eight days
they consecrated
the house of the Lord.
And on the sixteenth day
of the first month
they finished.
Then they went into
Hezekiah the king
and said,
We have cleansed
all the house
of the Lord,
the altar of burnt offering
and all its utensils
and the table
for the showbread
and all its utensils.
All the utensils
that King Ahaz
discarded in his reign
when he was faithless
we have made ready
and consecrated
and behold
they are before
the altar
of the Lord.
To restore the temple
God commands the priest
to cleanse
and consecrate
the house of the Lord.
You see that
in verses 5 and 15.
Now what is consecration?
To consecrate
means to put
a reserve sticker
on an object
for God's special use.
And it might be hard
to wrap our minds
around this
in the 21st century
but this process
was vital.
for anything
and everything
in the temple.
And what was so special
about the temple
that caused the need
to consecrate
everything?
Well,
wasn't the beautiful
design of the architecture?
No.
Under the old covenant
the temple
is where God dwelt.
One thing
have I desired
to be
in the house
of the Lord.
The temple
was a meeting place
between God
and His people.
The temple
was the heartbeat
of Israel's faith.
The temple
is where God
was to be approached.
He was to be approached
above the mercy seat
on His throne.
The one and only
true God,
the God who speaks,
the God who has
no rivals,
who demands
that there be
no other gods
before Him,
who is personal,
who hears
His people's prayers.
this God
was to be approached
in the temple.
And because God
is holy,
the temple
needed to be holy.
Now holiness
means God
is totally separate
from His creation.
God is light
and in Him
there is
no darkness.
And to illustrate
this for His people,
God commanded
that when they built
the temple
that there would be
two cherubim
statues
to be placed
in the innermost
part of the temple.
And these statues
had their wings
spread over their eyes.
So even the cherubim,
heavenly creatures
without sin,
could not look
directly upon the king
in His incomprehensible,
all-consuming holiness.
And at the center
of the temple
in the Holy of Holies
was the Ark.
And in the Ark
was the Ten Commandments,
God's law.
And God's law
uniquely reflected
God's character
of holiness.
God is good,
just,
and righteous
in every single way.
And His law
reflected that.
And because God
is holy,
the temple
was to be holy,
set apart,
consecrated.
And so to that end,
you have the process
of consecration.
And consecration
consists of a few parts
as we see here.
First is the cleansing,
then the consecrating,
and then third,
the sacrificing.
So first,
let's look at the cleansing
in verse 5.
In verse 5,
we see the problem,
don't we?
There is now filth
inside the holy place.
God is dwelling
in a garbage dump,
a junkyard
filled with idols.
And verse 17
shows the extent
of the filth.
Because how long
did it take
to clean out the garbage?
garbage.
You see,
it took 16 days.
On the 16th day,
they finally cleaned
out all the garbage
in the holy place.
Friend,
imagine the amount
of garbage
that needed
to be hauled out.
This was a storage closet
filled with trash.
The temple
is in a shocking
state of neglect.
neglect.
But you know,
the condition
of the temple
mirrored the spiritual
condition of the people.
While preparing
the sermon,
I had a conversation
with a college friend.
He's a pastor
of a local church plant
in Massachusetts.
and his congregation
had been praying
and looking
for a meeting place.
And a building
was offered
by a dying congregation.
And one side
of the building
was in complete
disrepair.
Mold,
water damage,
leaky roof,
filled with junk,
you name it.
He said,
you know,
it's probably
going to be cheaper
to knock the whole
thing down.
Why doesn't God
just knock the whole
thing down here?
Well,
we might do that
to a building,
but friend,
God is committed
to his people.
His faithfulness
to his promises
is the skeleton
that prevents
the whole structure
from collapsing
onto itself.
Now,
in the new covenant,
we don't worship
in a place,
but through a person,
through Christ Jesus.
But he is still
faithful to his promises,
brother and sister.
And after the cleansing,
there's the consecration.
Now,
as we see in this chapter,
there's a moral consecration
and there's a ritual
consecration.
You see that
the ritual consecration
with a process
of consecrating
the objects.
For example,
the altar in verse 17.
In verse 18,
the utensils,
the table,
the showbread,
everything had to be
consecrated.
Nothing was off limits.
People,
places,
and things.
Everything that came
into contact
with God
must be set apart
and consecrated.
Now,
brothers and sisters,
we don't consecrate
ourselves
through rituals
any longer.
But as we heard earlier,
we are to be set apart.
You know,
in fact,
the word saint,
which is used
to describe
all true Christians,
is derived
from the word
one who is set apart.
But by virtue
of being in Christ,
every Christian
has been consecrated,
has been set apart
for God's special use.
And being a Christian
is not just showing up
once a week
to a worship service.
It's not just a good habit.
It's not a way
to instill morals
into your children.
No,
to be a Christian
is to be completely
set apart
for God's special use.
And God now calls
our entire life
to be put on the altar
for His praise.
In the New Covenant,
we give ourselves,
we give all of it.
So this charge,
the Levites,
to cleanse
and to consecrate
applies to you,
brother and sister.
Church,
what are you
but a royal priesthood?
You see,
while Israel
had a priesthood,
church,
you are a priesthood.
1 Peter 1.9,
as we read earlier,
says this,
but you are
a chosen race,
a royal priesthood,
a holy nation,
a people
for His own possession.
This is the priesthood
of all believers.
So,
brother and sister,
where are we
impoverished
as a people?
We're consecrated
once for all,
but we need to put
our whole life
onto the altar
and remove the garbage.
Where do we need
to cleanse
and consecrate
our lives
in service to God?
We know
Orthodox theology
does not guarantee
true worship.
We know this.
And as a church,
it's easy to play
the comparison game,
isn't it?
You know,
you see the church
over there
teaching the prosperity gospel
who have compromised
on Christian ethics.
And we say,
well,
at least we're not
like that church.
But,
friend,
we must bring
the whole of our lives
under God's word.
So,
where do we need
to be consecrated?
You know,
perhaps
in an increasingly
angry
and hostile world,
do we find
ourselves like that?
The controversy meter
always going
from 1 to 11
overnight,
always outraged,
viewing others
with suspicion.
Friends,
2 Timothy 1,
verse 7,
Paul writes,
God has not given us
a spirit of fear,
but of power,
love,
and self-control.
Perhaps
for some of us,
we are so consumed
in looking at our devices,
checking social media,
checking the news,
checking our emails.
We want to be efficient.
And so,
we can be in the same room
with someone else,
but be a world apart.
Robbing you of fellowship
with other Christians.
Robbing you parents
of spending time
with your children
and instructing them.
Spending what little time
God has given you
with them.
Not giving them
your undivided attention.
We need to take off
our dirty clothes
and put on
resurrection attire
that God has given us.
Paul writes to the church
in Colossus,
in chapter 3,
he writes,
put to death,
therefore,
what is earthly in you,
sexual immorality,
impurity,
passion,
evil desire,
and covetousness,
which is idolatry.
Church,
put that all away.
Cleanse the garbage
out from the holy place.
Brothers and sisters,
immerse,
we must bring everything
to God.
Immersing ourselves
in the scripture,
we cry out to God,
let us not be conformed
to this age.
We pray,
would your word
transform us?
Show us your good,
pleasing,
and acceptable will,
oh God.
Show us what is acceptable
in your sight.
We're constantly praying,
Lord,
make us more like Jesus.
Friend,
if we want to have
the true joy
this chapter we'll speak of,
we cannot skip this step.
However,
before we can stand
as a priest before God
and rejoicing,
there's an additional cleansing
that needs to take place
because we need to be
cleansed from our guilt
because there's a cleansing,
the consecrating,
there's also the sacrificing
in verse 20.
So once the temple is ready,
Hezekiah doesn't sit around
wondering what he's going
to do next.
He rose early,
and he hastens
to perform the sacrifices.
It's as if Hezekiah is saying,
I delivered to you
what was of first importance
in verses 28 to 24.
Look down,
it reads,
Then Hezekiah the king
rose early
and gathered the officials
of the city
and went up to the house
of the Lord.
And they brought seven bulls
and seven rams,
seven lambs,
and seven male goats
for a sin offering
for the kingdom
and for the sanctuary
and for Judah.
And he commanded the priests,
the sons of Aaron,
to offer them
on the altar of the Lord.
So they slaughtered the bulls
and the priests received
the blood
and threw it against the altar.
And they slaughtered the lambs
and their blood
was thrown against the altar.
Then the goats
for the sin offerings
were brought to the king
and the assembly
and they laid their hands
on them.
And the priests slaughtered them
and made a sin offering
with their blood
on the altar
to make atonement
for all Israel.
For the king commanded
that the burnt offering
and the sin offering
should be made
for all Israel.
Now what in the world
does this mean?
I mean the priests
are like butchers
cutting up bulls
and goats and lambs.
This seems like
a foreign language.
But there is a certain grammar
of the Levitical world.
And if you were to go back
to Leviticus,
you would discover
that King Hezekiah
is carefully following
the instructions
that God gave
through Moses.
There is a sin offering
in verses 21 and following
and that highlights
matters of sin
and atonement.
Our need for our sin
to be covered
before a thrice holy God.
There is a burnt offering
in verses 27 to 28
highlighting matters
of wholehearted service
to God.
There is a peace offering
in verse 35
if you look down
and it highlights
their fellowship
with one another.
And finally,
there is a drink offering
in verse 35
highlighting this was
not a duty
but a delight,
a joy in making
the sacrifices to God.
And each of these
are picked up
in the New Testament
to describe
the church's worship.
For example,
Paul would say
his life
is a drink offering
to the church
at Philippi
highlighting his joy
in serving them.
The burnt offerings
are picked up
in Romans chapter 12
verse 1
as Paul instructs us
to put our whole lives
on the altar
as a pleasing sacrifice
before God.
But the priority here
is the sin offering.
This is of first importance.
You see that in verse 21.
Hezekiah rises early
and that's the first thing
he does.
He gives it special attention.
Why?
Well, in verse 24
it says it results
in atonement for Israel.
Okay, what is sin
and why do we need
atonement?
You know,
in our modern society
sin is a word
that we don't like to use.
But we tend to be
very quick
in recognizing it
in others.
When it comes to ourselves
we think,
I just made a mistake.
My bad.
That's not me.
No one's perfect, right?
But we want God
to care about sin
out there.
I mean,
Holocaust
and terrorists.
The worst of the worst.
But we don't want God
to care about the sin
in our own lives.
In our own hearts.
But friend,
you cannot have it both ways.
According to scripture,
sin is rebellion.
A crime,
an offense.
Crossing a forbidden boundary.
And verse 8
is very clear.
It provokes
God's
white hot
anger
and wrath.
God will punish
sin.
He will make the people
objects of horror,
of astonishment,
of hissing.
If that is
the disease,
the sin offering
is the cure.
Because you see,
the sin offering
is a picture
of the gospel,
is it not?
So the gospel says
God made
you
and I.
And because
he made you,
he has authority
over you
and I.
You and I
were meant to live
lives of honor
and praise.
Our lives
were meant to be
a temple.
Serving him
all of our days.
But the sad
reality is this,
that we pursue
the profane.
We pursue
the filthy.
And God
sees it.
He sees our sin.
He sees our wickedness.
We've been
unfaithful
and false.
You know,
he knows
what you and I do
when no one is around.
There's no
private browser
to keep God
from seeing
your thoughts
and your minds.
He doesn't need
your passcode
to get inside
your phone.
And how you
feel about that,
friend,
how you feel
about God
knowing everything
tells you
something about
what you already
know about yourself.
Does not your
conscience tell you
that you need
a mediator
before a holy God,
a priest,
and a sacrifice?
One to stand
before you
in this thrice
holy God.
But friend,
the sin offering
is a picture
of that great
love
that God
has shown us.
Because God
provides
a substitute,
one who takes
on the punishment
that we deserve.
Here we see
a shadow
of this substitute,
a goat,
in verse 23.
Now we know,
friends,
that these animals
cannot actually
bring about
the forgiveness
of sins.
In Hebrews 10,
the writer says,
it is impossible
for the blood
of bulls and goats
to take away sins.
No,
this sacrifice
foreshadowed
a greater one.
You see,
the Father
in His great love
sent Jesus,
fully God
and fully man,
as the sin-bearing
offering,
a substitute,
a sacrifice.
You see,
we are faithless
and false,
but friend,
He is the one
who is called
faithful and true.
He is the blessed God
who forever belongs
in mortality
and glory.
And unlike Hezekiah,
He lives the perfect
life of obedience
to the very end.
And He uses
His authority
for the glory of God
and the good
of His people
because He voluntarily
lays down His life.
And the God man's flesh
was cut open,
blood poured out.
To what ends?
Well,
He accomplishes
what verse 24
calls atonement.
God's wrath
being turned away.
He took it on Himself.
God's wrath
was assuaged
because of the substitutes.
There was a price
to be paid.
Jesus paid it.
There was a cup
of God's wrath
to drink,
friend,
and He drank it
to the dregs.
For who?
We see,
for all who would
lay their hands
on Him.
You see the special
significance
of the laying on
of hands
in verse 23.
You see,
the hand isn't merely
placed onto the sacrifice.
No,
the Israelite
was to lean
on the head
and apply pressure.
What does that mean?
Well,
it's understood
as a transfer
of guilt.
It's identification,
putting your weight
upon the sacrifice.
The same is true today.
Your hands of faith
and trust
must be placed
upon the perfect sacrifice.
Oh, friends,
a weak faith
can still rest
on the perfect sacrifice.
But you must
apply your pressure,
your weight
on the sacrifice.
And He came
for those
who have put
their weight
upon Him.
And on the third day,
He rose
from the dead.
He now lives
to be our
great high priest
making intercession
for His people.
See,
Jesus finished
what Hezekiah started.
The door
of God's presence
is opened
wide
and all
are welcome.
And friend,
why would you
give your heart
to another?
This is the one
who offers
true forgiveness
and freedom
by grace
and unearned gift.
He gave it all
to us
and so, friend,
we give it all
back to Him
in worship.
And what effect
does this produce?
Well,
point number three
is Christian joy
and generosity.
A bunch of prodigals
begin to praise
loudly and joyously
and exuberantly.
Let's read verses
25 and 30 together.
He,
that is Hezekiah,
stationed the Levites
in the house
of the Lord
with cymbals
and harps
and lyres
according to the
commandment of David
and of Gad,
the king's overseer
and of Nathan,
the prophet.
For the commandment
was from the Lord
through His prophets.
The Levites stood
with the instruments
of David
and the priests
with the trumpets.
And then Hezekiah
commanded that the
burnt offering
be offered on the altar.
And when the burnt
offering began,
the song of the Lord
began also.
And the trumpets
accompanied by the
instruments of David,
king of Israel.
The whole assembly
worshipped,
and the singers
sang,
and the trumpeters
sounded.
All this continued
until the burnt
offering was finished.
And when the offering
was finished,
the king and all
who were present
with him
bowed themselves
and worshipped.
And Hezekiah,
the king,
and the officials
commanded the Levites
to sing praises
to the Lord
with the words
of David
and of Asaph,
the seer.
And they sang
praises
with gladness.
And they bowed
down and worshipped.
You know,
there are certain
places where
bitterness and anger
are just out of place.
A wedding is one.
Another is
skipping down
the street.
Have you ever
tried to skip
down the street
while you're angry?
You know,
it just doesn't
go together.
You need a little
bit of joy
when you're skipping.
Worship is like that.
You need
just a little
bit of joy
when you're
in the presence
of God
in worship.
And when there's
true worship,
there's complete
joy.
Verse 25,
the cymbals,
the harps,
the lyres are playing.
Verse 26,
the trumpets
are blasting.
Verse 28,
there is unity.
The whole assembly
is worshipping
with one voice.
The singers
are singing.
Someone definitely
is clapping their hands
in this assembly.
But look at
the end of verse 30.
They sang praises
with gladness.
This is like
a field of flowers
after wintertime
receiving the beams
of the sun
and they're blossoming.
Their hearts
and their minds
are enraptured.
They're caught up
in the greatness
of God.
And their joy
is expressed
in music.
Friend,
do you know
that God loves music?
He loves
energetic music.
Music that you
can dance to.
Psalm 150.
Praise him
with the trumpet sound.
Praise him
with the lute
and harp.
And get this.
Praise him
with the tambourine
and the dance.
Church,
praise God
with your dance moves.
He loves music
that you can dance to.
Energetic music.
He loves jazz
and orchestral music.
He loves the joy
that radiates
from Bach.
The joy's
heavenly anthem
of Handel's
Hallelujah Chorus
and the Messiah.
He loves the
passionate poetic
preaching of Christian
hip-hop.
He loves vocal music.
Singing to the Lord
a new song.
God,
you are my exceeding
joy.
He might love
other music,
but that's the kind
of music I like.
He doesn't,
of course,
God doesn't love
every music.
He doesn't love music
that lies about him.
But for he loves
all music
that reflects
the glory
and majesty
of his great name.
Music that is
a Philippians 4.8
product.
Something that's true
and lovely
and commendable.
But no,
this was not
a free-for-all.
You know,
people running around
the sanctuary
running wild.
Look at their
physical postures
in verse 29.
They worship
by bowing down.
They're kneeling.
We glory in God
even as we tremble
before his greatness.
That's a picture
of reverence.
You know,
many divorce
sound theology
and spiritual experience.
But what God
has joined together,
let no one separate.
True doctrine
and doxology
are inseparable lovers.
But notice
something very important.
Some of the people
missed out
on this joyous assembly.
Look down
at verse 34
at the end.
Some of the priests
were absent.
They didn't
consecrate themselves
and they were absent
from this joyous occasion.
Friend,
joy comes
in the obedience
to God.
I'm going to repeat that.
Joy comes
in the obedience
to God.
You see here,
joy comes
during the burnt offering.
In other words,
joy comes out
when you're
wholeheartedly
serving God.
Joy comes
when your time,
your talents,
your influence.
All of it
is in wholehearted
service to God.
Oh, friends,
brothers and sisters,
consecrate
everything
to Him.
God's
is a living
fountain
of joy.
If your life
is governed
by God,
living under
God's rule,
under God's reign,
that is a complete
life
of joy.
joy.
You know,
how many people
have comfort
and convenience
at their fingertips
but have not
for one second
felt true,
actual joy?
Friend,
this is a bread
that will feed
a perishing world.
Friend,
let us not water
down the truth,
give the world
what they want
and dress up
in religious terminology.
No,
joy comes
in obedience
to God's commands.
friends.
Friend,
this joy is held
out to you today.
This joy is only
available in the gospel,
living your life
in wholehearted
obedience to Him.
He doesn't want
your lips.
He doesn't want
your actions.
He wants your hearts,
my friends.
And joy is not
just an emotion.
It is a joy
that is available
in dark places,
no matter
their circumstance.
The Bible says
there is always
a reason
to be rejoicing.
The ascended Christ
says,
I will be with you
always.
There is more joy
in His presence
than all the world
has to offer.
We rejoice
a little now,
but Jesus says,
I tell you,
your joy then
will be full.
Full joy,
all sorrows
removed.
And the greatest
sadness for us
is that we have
hardships,
the biggest trials
that we're away
from our beloved.
Paul says
to live is Christ
and to die is gain.
It is far better
to be with Him.
And not just joy,
but generosity.
In verse 34,
there's a picture
of overflowing
generosity
in their offerings.
Out of thanksgiving,
they gave
more than enough.
Isn't this the witness
of Christians
throughout the ages?
Overflowing
generosity.
Hospitals,
orphanages,
taking care of the sick
and the lepers.
Friend,
this is the history
of this church.
Overflowing generosity.
And you know what?
The more we give,
that's the paradox
of the kingdom,
the more we have.
Didn't Jesus say,
give your life to me
and you will gain it?
Friend,
is this what the world sees?
Is this the impression
that non-Christians
get of the church?
of a group of people
with one voice
singing,
hearts liberated,
free to give everything away
because we have
this treasure
in jars of clay.
Oh, friend,
this is not a pale
Galilean
that creates
a stale life.
This Galilean
sends his spirit
to give life.
He is a divine
defibrillator
that brings something dead
and gives it
new life
to be truly alive.
His spirit
animates his artists
and his musicians
to sing his praise.
And being a Christian
does not mean
you lose
your humanity.
It is, in fact,
the best way
to be human.
The second century
pastor,
Irenaeus,
says this,
the glory of God
is a human
that is fully alive
and that life
consists in
beholding God.
What he's saying
is that
true freedom
is when we
behold God
in the face
of Jesus Christ.
That helps us
to be fully alive.
Now, one illustration
you can think about
this is
Kobe Bryant,
the basketball player.
You know,
Mamba mentality.
I don't know if you've
read about Kobe Bryant.
Think about
his life.
He was completely
mastered by the game
of basketball.
And if that were true
of me,
if I disciplined
my body
in my mind,
unwavering commitment,
relentless,
and wholehearted
service to God,
if I give myself
to learn to dribble
and pass
and shoot,
soon,
every move
on the basketball
court will become
effortless.
At that point,
who's the freest
person on the court?
I know what some
of you are thinking,
that's a really
realistic illustration,
Tyler,
after I've seen
you play basketball.
You would be
the freest person
on the courts
if you disciplined
your body.
Aaron is saying,
behold Jesus
in his glory,
and if he becomes
your master,
and you give your
life to all,
you give your life
for him,
he,
you become
more free.
We fail,
and we will fail,
but we are secure,
brother and sister.
You are a dearly
beloved child of God,
so please your Father
in all things.
let him be the
master of your life.
To conclude,
you know,
it's a practice of mine
when I go to a wedding,
and the bride
begins her procession.
All eyes are on
the bride.
What I love to do
is I like to turn around
and look in the groom's eyes.
I love to see the joy
as the groom recognizes
his bride.
Friend,
do you look at Jesus
like that?
Can you say
with the hymnal,
the hymnal,
my Jesus,
I love thee.
I know thou art mine.
For thee,
all the follies
of sin
I resign.
My gracious
redeemer,
my savior,
thou art.
If ever
I love thee,
my Jesus
tis now.
Let's pray.
Father in heaven,
Lord,
we pray that we
would put our whole life
to you
in obedience.
God,
you are sufficient
for our joy.
God,
would you visit us
again?
Revive
your people
so that we would live
lives for your honor
and praise.
We pray this
in Jesus' name.
Amen.