Glimpses of Glory God Delivers

Series: Isaiah

Speaker: Steve Jeffrey

Date: 28th May 2023

00:00:00 --> 00:00:04 It would be great if you could go to the St Paul's app, open it.
00:00:04 --> 00:00:07 You'll see three main points as we look through today's passage.
00:00:07 --> 00:00:10 The focus of faith, the response of faith, and the life of faith.
00:00:12 --> 00:00:13 Let's pray.
00:00:13 --> 00:00:18 Father God, we ask that you would help us to see you as glorious and as gracious.
00:00:19 --> 00:00:26 We pray that you would give us insight into our own faith and who it is that we are ultimately trusting where our faith lies.
00:00:26 --> 00:00:33 How much of it is relying upon ourselves and how much of it is completely sold out, dependent upon you.
00:00:33 --> 00:00:40 Give us insight and particularly, Lord, that you would change our hearts, that we would see ourselves as we truly are and that we would trust in you.
00:00:41 --> 00:00:41 Amen.
00:00:43 --> 00:00:50 So first of all, the focus of faith in chapter 36, it opens with the Assyrian army, not just breathing down the necks, but actually the very gates of Jerusalem.
00:00:50 --> 00:01:00 What Isaiah does not include in this retelling of the story, which you could also go to two kings and see the same information,
00:01:01 --> 00:01:13 is that King Hezekiah of Judah has already attempted to buy off the Assyrian army by presenting him with treasures that he took from the temple in Jerusalem.
00:01:13 --> 00:01:22 That is, what Hezekiah has already attempted to do is to buy off the king of Assyria by robbing God from the treasury of the temple.
00:01:24 --> 00:01:29 Sennacherib is the king of Assyria, the terrifying king of the nation of Assyria.
00:01:30 --> 00:01:38 We are told here that he is in this moment in Lachish, which is 45 kilometers southwest of Jerusalem.
00:01:38 --> 00:01:40 That's where he is.
00:01:41 --> 00:02:01 Archaeologists in the past discovered a pit in Lachish that is one hole with approximately 1 corpses in it attributed to Sennacherib and his conquest of Lachish on his way to Jerusalem.
00:02:01 --> 00:02:14 And so from there, when he is there obliterating that town, he sends a message, he sends a delegation to King Hezekiah in Jerusalem and says,
00:02:14 --> 00:02:16 Guys, it's your turn next.
00:02:16 --> 00:02:17 We're coming for you.
00:02:17 --> 00:02:36 We are told in verse 2 that a meeting of the delegation from the two leaders, two nations, happens at the aqueduct of the upper pool on the road to the Launderer's Field.
00:02:36 --> 00:02:39 And you go, why do we need to know that where it is?
00:02:39 --> 00:02:41 It's because we've already been here before.
00:02:42 --> 00:02:43 That's why we need to know that.
00:02:43 --> 00:02:53 We were here in chapter 7 of Isaiah, exact same place, the aqueduct of the upper pool on the road to Launderer's Field.
00:02:53 --> 00:03:04 This is where Isaiah the prophet had met with King Ahaz, Hezekiah's father, back in chapter 7.
00:03:04 --> 00:03:22 And in that moment, in chapter 7, God had offered to rescue King Ahaz from the threat that he was currently under from the nation of Aram and the northern tribes of Israel.
00:03:23 --> 00:03:26 What did Ahaz do in chapter 7?
00:03:27 --> 00:03:29 Did he turn to God in trust?
00:03:29 --> 00:03:35 No, he made a political alliance with Assyria.
00:03:37 --> 00:03:42 And now Assyria is about to destroy Jerusalem as well.
00:03:44 --> 00:03:52 And the question is, as you come to verse 2, will Hezekiah make the same mistake as his father and go for another political alliance?
00:03:52 --> 00:03:58 Or will he trust in God for his security and deliverance?
00:03:59 --> 00:04:06 In fact, the issue is right there in verse 4 on who is it that Hezekiah trusts.
00:04:07 --> 00:04:10 This is what the great king, the king of Assyria says,
00:04:10 --> 00:04:14 On what are you basing this confidence of yours?
00:04:14 --> 00:04:17 You say you have counsel and might for war,
00:04:18 --> 00:04:21 but you speak only empty words.
00:04:21 --> 00:04:27 On whom are you depending that you rebel against me?
00:04:29 --> 00:04:38 What value is there, Hezekiah, in you trusting in your God who doesn't offer you a battle fleet?
00:04:38 --> 00:04:43 There's no intercontinental ballistic missiles in your arsenal.
00:04:43 --> 00:04:49 You don't have fighter jets parked for the air force in the back of Jerusalem there somewhere.
00:04:49 --> 00:04:53 All you have, Hezekiah, is mere words.
00:04:53 --> 00:04:54 Literally is what that means.
00:04:55 --> 00:04:56 Mere words.
00:04:56 --> 00:04:57 Empty words.
00:04:57 --> 00:04:58 Just words.
00:04:58 --> 00:04:58 That's all you've got.
00:04:58 --> 00:05:09 And what follows from the Assyrian commander in the delegation is a masterpiece of military propaganda.
00:05:10 --> 00:05:13 And he makes two points really in this speech.
00:05:13 --> 00:05:15 The first is don't trust in Egypt.
00:05:15 --> 00:05:19 That has already proven to be true because they've made an alliance with Egypt.
00:05:20 --> 00:05:21 And Egypt hasn't turned up.
00:05:21 --> 00:05:22 So that was pretty stupid.
00:05:23 --> 00:05:24 So don't trust in them.
00:05:24 --> 00:05:25 It's only going to end in tears.
00:05:25 --> 00:05:26 In fact, it already is.
00:05:26 --> 00:05:32 The second point he makes is really the heart of the speech.
00:05:33 --> 00:05:40 He says, don't be deceived into trusting in God either.
00:05:41 --> 00:05:43 Don't trust in God either.
00:05:44 --> 00:05:47 And there's really two points to that speech.
00:05:47 --> 00:05:54 First of all, he says, don't forget Hezekiah has already removed all the high places.
00:05:54 --> 00:06:06 You know, from the perspective of the field commander is actually you shouldn't trust in God because Hezekiah has ticked off God by demolishing all the worship places.
00:06:07 --> 00:06:12 He sees it purely from the perspective of you're actually not worshiping God enough.
00:06:12 --> 00:06:18 God's not on your side at all because you failed him in some kind of way.
00:06:18 --> 00:06:25 Of course, what he doesn't realize is that Hezekiah has done exactly the right thing by removing all the high places of the false gods.
00:06:25 --> 00:06:30 But in verse 13, he says, here's the words of the great king, the king of Assyria.
00:06:30 --> 00:06:31 This is what the king says.
00:06:31 --> 00:06:34 Do not let Hezekiah deceive you.
00:06:35 --> 00:06:36 He cannot deliver you.
00:06:37 --> 00:06:43 Do not let Hezekiah persuade you to trust in the Lord when he says the Lord will surely deliver us.
00:06:43 --> 00:06:46 This city will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.
00:06:46 --> 00:06:48 Don't trust Egypt.
00:06:49 --> 00:06:50 Don't trust your God.
00:06:50 --> 00:06:53 Who then should you trust?
00:06:53 --> 00:06:54 Verse 16.
00:06:55 --> 00:06:58 This is what the great king of Assyria says.
00:06:59 --> 00:07:01 Make peace with me.
00:07:03 --> 00:07:05 Trust in me.
00:07:05 --> 00:07:14 Then each of you will eat fruit from your own vine and fig tree and drink water from your own cistern.
00:07:14 --> 00:07:19 Until I come and take you to the land like your own.
00:07:19 --> 00:07:21 A land of grain and new wine.
00:07:21 --> 00:07:23 A land of bread and vineyards.
00:07:23 --> 00:07:38 Sennacherib, through his delegation here, is offering Judah the exact same salvation that God has already offered them.
00:07:40 --> 00:07:41 In Egypt.
00:07:41 --> 00:07:47 Put your trust in me and I will take you to the promised land of land flowing with milk and honey.
00:07:47 --> 00:07:51 With vineyards and everything that you could imagine.
00:07:51 --> 00:07:55 And so Sennacherib comes in through his delegation and says,
00:07:55 --> 00:07:56 Don't trust in your God.
00:07:56 --> 00:07:57 Trust in me.
00:07:57 --> 00:07:58 I can deliver it for you.
00:08:01 --> 00:08:12 Come and I will take you to the promised land of mansions and a solid career and influential friends with a big superannuation account.
00:08:13 --> 00:08:18 Trust in me and I will deliver the great life where you can have your ski holidays.
00:08:18 --> 00:08:23 Where you can sun yourself on tropical islands.
00:08:23 --> 00:08:26 Come to me and you'll eat the choices of food.
00:08:26 --> 00:08:27 The wagyu steak.
00:08:28 --> 00:08:30 And come to me and I will offer it to you.
00:08:31 --> 00:08:31 The good life.
00:08:36 --> 00:08:41 The Syrian commander here uses the word trust seven times in his speech.
00:08:41 --> 00:08:45 It's the key issue.
00:08:45 --> 00:08:52 And in this context, the word means to throw oneself down on one's faith.
00:08:52 --> 00:08:55 To lie extended on the ground.
00:08:55 --> 00:08:59 It means deep, deep and entire dependence.
00:08:59 --> 00:09:00 It means coming to an end of yourself.
00:09:00 --> 00:09:06 In other words, come to Sennacherib.
00:09:07 --> 00:09:12 Total submission to him and he will give it all to you.
00:09:13 --> 00:09:14 He'll give it all to you.
00:09:14 --> 00:09:16 Just bow before me.
00:09:16 --> 00:09:22 Of course, ultimately, that leads to some form of a slavery, doesn't it?
00:09:27 --> 00:09:34 And so the question is, is King Hezekiah so crazy that he would confront such a great army with mere words?
00:09:34 --> 00:09:42 Why doesn't he just trottle off and just submit himself to Sennacherib and have the good life?
00:09:44 --> 00:09:47 Is faith in the promise of God and the gospel enough?
00:09:48 --> 00:09:49 Is God's word enough?
00:09:50 --> 00:09:53 Does it contain everything necessary in life and salvation?
00:09:53 --> 00:09:58 That's the question of the first 39 chapters of Isaiah.
00:09:59 --> 00:10:02 And the answer to that question, it depends on who you think God is.
00:10:02 --> 00:10:09 If you think he's just another version of Sennacherib, just a greater one, then no, he's not.
00:10:11 --> 00:10:16 The answer on who God is, we get that in Hezekiah's prayer in chapter 37.
00:10:17 --> 00:10:19 Chapter 37, verse 16.
00:10:21 --> 00:10:27 Firstly, we read that this God that he trusts in is the almighty God.
00:10:27 --> 00:10:34 You know, Sennacherib might be the great king of Assyria, but this is the almighty God.
00:10:34 --> 00:10:36 There is no limitations to his power.
00:10:36 --> 00:10:43 The Lord Almighty is the Lord of hosts, which means that he has an angelic army at his disposal.
00:10:43 --> 00:10:46 Again, in verse 16, we see, secondly, that he is the only God.
00:10:46 --> 00:10:54 He is not just one king amongst the member of kings of the universe around the world, sorry, at the time.
00:10:56 --> 00:10:58 He is the only God.
00:10:59 --> 00:11:06 Unlike every other deity in the world at its time, Hezekiah's God is not a national God.
00:11:06 --> 00:11:13 He's not like one of the gods of the nations that Sennacherib has already destroyed.
00:11:14 --> 00:11:17 He's the God over all the kingdoms of the earth.
00:11:19 --> 00:11:27 Even we see at the end of chapter 37, Sennacherib's own God could not save him from the hand of almighty God.
00:11:27 --> 00:11:32 Thirdly, and again, in verse 16, he is the living God.
00:11:33 --> 00:11:36 Hezekiah's God is the one who made the heaven and the earth.
00:11:36 --> 00:11:37 Other gods are made.
00:11:39 --> 00:11:43 Assyria has defeated all these other gods of all these other nations, verse 19.
00:11:43 --> 00:11:45 But it tells us they're not gods at all.
00:11:45 --> 00:11:48 They're only wood and stone fashioned by human hands.
00:11:48 --> 00:11:49 They're nothing but idols.
00:11:49 --> 00:12:00 But fourthly, unlike Sennacherib, the almighty, the great king of Assyria,
00:12:01 --> 00:12:03 Hezekiah's God is a merciful God.
00:12:04 --> 00:12:05 Verse 16 again.
00:12:06 --> 00:12:13 We read that this Lord, this God, his God, is enthroned between the cherubim.
00:12:13 --> 00:12:25 This is more than a claim that this God is in heaven surrounded by angels.
00:12:25 --> 00:12:30 This is a very specific location we are told here is between the cherubim.
00:12:31 --> 00:12:32 Between the cherubim.
00:12:33 --> 00:12:38 The ark of the covenant in the temple had two cherubims sitting on top of it.
00:12:38 --> 00:12:43 And the ark contained the word of God, God's word, his presence amongst his people.
00:12:44 --> 00:12:51 And the ark shared the same dimensions as the footstool of the royal throne.
00:12:53 --> 00:12:55 In the palace of Jerusalem.
00:12:57 --> 00:13:04 In other words, what it's saying here is that God's throne where he ruled the nations was in heaven
00:13:04 --> 00:13:07 and his presence in the world was his footstool.
00:13:08 --> 00:13:12 We see that, in fact, at the end of Isaiah chapter 36.
00:13:14 --> 00:13:15 66, sorry.
00:13:16 --> 00:13:17 At the end of Isaiah.
00:13:18 --> 00:13:19 That the earth is his footstool.
00:13:20 --> 00:13:22 In other words, it's his presence.
00:13:22 --> 00:13:27 The ark of the covenant is his presence in the world.
00:13:27 --> 00:13:32 His word is his presence in his world and how he rules and navigates his world.
00:13:32 --> 00:13:34 But between the cherubim.
00:13:35 --> 00:13:40 Between the cherubim was not only the place of divine rule.
00:13:40 --> 00:13:42 It was also the place of divine mercy.
00:13:43 --> 00:13:45 Because in Exodus 35 verse 12.
00:13:46 --> 00:13:48 Between the cherubim.
00:13:49 --> 00:13:50 Was the atonement cover.
00:13:50 --> 00:13:55 The place where the atonement for sin was made.
00:13:56 --> 00:13:58 By the high priest.
00:13:58 --> 00:14:01 On the day of atonement for the sins of the nation.
00:14:04 --> 00:14:09 In other words, this God of Hezekiah is not just greater than Sennacherib.
00:14:09 --> 00:14:13 He is also a merciful God.
00:14:14 --> 00:14:16 Who forgives the sins of his people.
00:14:18 --> 00:14:23 So, friends, I want to ask you to think about your own life for the moment.
00:14:24 --> 00:14:26 Think of the things that give you cause for worry and anxiety.
00:14:27 --> 00:14:30 Think of the things that wake up.
00:14:30 --> 00:14:32 That maybe cause you to not sleep.
00:14:32 --> 00:14:33 But also bring you awake in the morning.
00:14:33 --> 00:14:34 The first thought of the day.
00:14:35 --> 00:14:36 Think of the people.
00:14:36 --> 00:14:39 Or the circumstances you fear.
00:14:39 --> 00:14:41 The things you can't control in your life right now.
00:14:41 --> 00:14:43 And you've been trying to control them.
00:14:43 --> 00:14:45 And so anxiety and worry is building up.
00:14:45 --> 00:14:49 Maybe it's people whose acceptance that you crave.
00:14:49 --> 00:14:52 Or it might be people whose rejection that you really fear.
00:14:53 --> 00:14:56 Think of the threats to Christianity and the church in our society.
00:14:56 --> 00:14:58 Or of the nations right now.
00:14:58 --> 00:15:00 Who are persecuting God's people around the world.
00:15:00 --> 00:15:03 In such a way that they can't meet like we're meeting this morning.
00:15:04 --> 00:15:06 Now compare them to the God of the Bible.
00:15:06 --> 00:15:08 The Lord Almighty.
00:15:09 --> 00:15:09 God over all.
00:15:09 --> 00:15:10 The maker of heaven and earth.
00:15:11 --> 00:15:13 The God of atoning mercy.
00:15:15 --> 00:15:19 He and he alone is the antidote to fear.
00:15:21 --> 00:15:24 His perfect and powerful love drives out fear.
00:15:25 --> 00:15:32 And so the question that is posed for Hezekiah right now and for Judah is also our question.
00:15:32 --> 00:15:35 In whom do you trust?
00:15:37 --> 00:15:38 Where do you look?
00:15:40 --> 00:15:41 Where are you looking?
00:15:41 --> 00:15:49 So let's move on to the second point.
00:15:49 --> 00:15:50 The response of faith.
00:15:53 --> 00:15:54 Hezekiah makes his move.
00:15:54 --> 00:15:55 He makes his choice.
00:15:55 --> 00:15:56 He responds in faith.
00:15:56 --> 00:15:58 We see that at the beginning of chapter 37.
00:15:59 --> 00:15:59 Verse 1.
00:15:59 --> 00:16:02 When King Hezekiah heard this, he tore his clothes.
00:16:02 --> 00:16:05 He put on sackcloth and went into the temple of the Lord.
00:16:05 --> 00:16:16 Hezekiah here, what he does here is an act of public self-humiliation.
00:16:16 --> 00:16:22 The king is meant to wear the finest of clothes.
00:16:24 --> 00:16:26 He's meant to maintain his dignity.
00:16:26 --> 00:16:35 And here he rips off those clothes and he covers himself with sackcloth publicly.
00:16:38 --> 00:16:42 But this is not a man wallowing in self-pity.
00:16:42 --> 00:16:47 Because we are told he goes straight to the presence of God in the temple of God.
00:16:47 --> 00:16:48 Goes straight there.
00:16:49 --> 00:16:52 In fact, he goes into the presence where the Ark of the Covenant is.
00:16:52 --> 00:16:53 He goes straight there.
00:16:54 --> 00:16:55 Straight to the temple.
00:16:56 --> 00:17:03 And to his lasting credit in this moment, what we see is that Hezekiah gets real with God.
00:17:04 --> 00:17:10 He understands in this moment that what really matters is not his relationship with Sennacherib,
00:17:11 --> 00:17:12 the king of Assyria.
00:17:13 --> 00:17:15 The great king of Assyria.
00:17:16 --> 00:17:21 What matters is his relationship with the almighty God, the king of heaven.
00:17:21 --> 00:17:22 That's what matters.
00:17:22 --> 00:17:31 We also see in this moment that he sends off his prime minister and his bishops with a message to Isaiah.
00:17:32 --> 00:17:33 Verse 3.
00:17:34 --> 00:17:35 This is the scenario.
00:17:35 --> 00:17:44 This day is a day of distress and rebuke and disgrace.
00:17:47 --> 00:17:53 As when children come to the moment of birth and there is no strength to deliver them.
00:17:53 --> 00:18:04 What that statement is, it's an admission of complete personal failure and powerlessness.
00:18:04 --> 00:18:21 What Hezekiah is acknowledging there is that his alliance with Egypt, his foreign policy has just, all it's done is angered Assyria and it's also brought the Lord's rebuke.
00:18:21 --> 00:18:21 Notice the statement there.
00:18:22 --> 00:18:23 It's disgrace and it's rebuke.
00:18:23 --> 00:18:33 Jerusalem is so hopeless in this moment.
00:18:34 --> 00:18:40 It is compared to a baby whose mother doesn't even have the energy to deliver her.
00:18:41 --> 00:18:44 This baby is about to die.
00:18:45 --> 00:18:46 There's nothing left.
00:18:46 --> 00:18:47 There's no alternatives.
00:18:47 --> 00:18:50 He is helpless.
00:18:51 --> 00:18:51 Judah is helpless.
00:18:52 --> 00:18:57 They are out of options and Hezekiah is personally humiliated.
00:18:58 --> 00:19:02 He has come to an end of himself.
00:19:06 --> 00:19:08 And he finds his deliverance in God alone.
00:19:10 --> 00:19:11 Verse 36.
00:19:12 --> 00:19:13 Right at the end of the chapter.
00:19:14 --> 00:19:15 The deliverance comes.
00:19:15 --> 00:19:21 God secures the victory and rescues his people as he said he would.
00:19:22 --> 00:19:29 Then the angel of the Lord went out and put to death 185 in the Assyrian camp.
00:19:30 --> 00:19:35 And when the people got up the next morning, there were all the dead bodies.
00:19:40 --> 00:19:42 Jerusalem didn't lift a finger.
00:19:45 --> 00:19:47 They didn't even know it happened.
00:19:47 --> 00:19:53 They just simply woke up the next morning and the Assyrian army's been decimated.
00:19:53 --> 00:19:54 That's it.
00:19:54 --> 00:19:55 It was done.
00:19:57 --> 00:20:08 And the chapter ends with Sennacherib himself assassinated by his sons in his temple.
00:20:08 --> 00:20:12 His God could not save him.
00:20:14 --> 00:20:18 His misplaced trust was a deeply misplaced trust.
00:20:19 --> 00:20:25 The enemy of God and his people are defeated.
00:20:25 --> 00:20:26 They're defeated.
00:20:27 --> 00:20:32 It's a spectacular display of divine glory, power and majesty.
00:20:32 --> 00:20:34 And why did it happen?
00:20:36 --> 00:20:37 Why did it happen?
00:20:38 --> 00:20:43 We're given only one clue in these chapters as to why it happened.
00:20:44 --> 00:20:46 Chapter 37 verse 21.
00:20:47 --> 00:20:50 Because you prayed.
00:20:52 --> 00:20:53 Because you prayed.
00:20:53 --> 00:21:02 Hezekiah prays for the victory of God.
00:21:03 --> 00:21:04 That's what he prays for.
00:21:05 --> 00:21:11 And God responds by killing 185 soldiers and rescuing his people miraculously.
00:21:11 --> 00:21:23 Was the content of his prayer, God, I call you now to kill 185 Assyrian soldiers?
00:21:23 --> 00:21:24 Because that will bring the victory.
00:21:27 --> 00:21:29 No, it wasn't at all.
00:21:31 --> 00:21:33 Save us, God, from these people.
00:21:34 --> 00:21:35 What was the content of his prayer?
00:21:35 --> 00:21:36 Verse 4.
00:21:36 --> 00:21:42 It may be that the Lord your God will hear the words of the field commander,
00:21:43 --> 00:21:48 whom his master, the king of Assyria, has sent to ridicule the living God,
00:21:48 --> 00:21:55 and that he will rebuke him for the words the Lord your God has heard.
00:21:57 --> 00:22:03 The essence of his prayer is God pursue your glory.
00:22:06 --> 00:22:07 Pursue your glory.
00:22:09 --> 00:22:11 Your name is being mocked.
00:22:14 --> 00:22:16 Can you put up with that?
00:22:21 --> 00:22:23 If God was to rescue his people,
00:22:24 --> 00:22:28 it will not be because the people deserved it in any way whatsoever.
00:22:28 --> 00:22:31 It's not because Hezekiah deserved it in any way whatsoever.
00:22:31 --> 00:22:35 But because God's honour demands it.
00:22:36 --> 00:22:39 And Hezekiah has got to that point.
00:22:41 --> 00:22:42 A complete end to himself.
00:22:43 --> 00:22:47 Commenting on verse 4, John Oswald in his commentary on Isaiah,
00:22:47 --> 00:22:50 chapters 1 to 39, says this.
00:22:50 --> 00:22:59 This kind of admission of helplessness is frequently a necessity before divine help can be received.
00:23:00 --> 00:23:05 So long as we believe we only need some assistance,
00:23:06 --> 00:23:13 we are still treating ourselves as the lords of the situation.
00:23:13 --> 00:23:19 And that latent pride cuts us off from any help that God would give us.
00:23:19 --> 00:23:28 Only when we have admitted our complete bankruptcy are we able to receive what He has for us.
00:23:28 --> 00:23:32 The response of faith,
00:23:32 --> 00:23:35 the response of faith in God,
00:23:35 --> 00:23:39 is not needing some assistance from God.
00:23:40 --> 00:23:41 You know, God, I've got most of the way there.
00:23:42 --> 00:23:44 You know, look at the good things I do.
00:23:45 --> 00:23:46 Look at the things I've done.
00:23:46 --> 00:23:48 I'm generally a good person.
00:23:48 --> 00:23:51 Don't forget, I go to church and I give money and I help the poor.
00:23:51 --> 00:23:55 I just need a bit extra from you.
00:23:56 --> 00:23:57 It's not some assistance.
00:23:58 --> 00:24:01 It is admitting complete bankruptcy,
00:24:02 --> 00:24:05 complete helplessness.
00:24:09 --> 00:24:11 Hezekiah here has a remarkable,
00:24:12 --> 00:24:16 he is a remarkable example of faith in God despite the circumstances.
00:24:16 --> 00:24:21 He comes to an end in himself and he trusts in nothing,
00:24:21 --> 00:24:25 but God's promise to pursue his glory in the nations.
00:24:27 --> 00:24:28 So just reflect on a moment,
00:24:28 --> 00:24:31 your prayer life in the last week.
00:24:33 --> 00:24:35 Is it like Hezekiah's?
00:24:38 --> 00:24:42 Well, I mean, in the content of your prayers,
00:24:42 --> 00:24:44 particularly think about it if you're not prayed at all.
00:24:46 --> 00:24:48 Because the content of your prayers
00:24:48 --> 00:24:50 or the lack of your prayers
00:24:50 --> 00:24:53 would be an indication as to whether or not
00:24:53 --> 00:24:54 you've completely come to yourself,
00:24:54 --> 00:24:55 end of yourself,
00:24:56 --> 00:24:57 in all things.
00:24:59 --> 00:25:01 Too often I hear in prayers,
00:25:01 --> 00:25:03 and myself as well,
00:25:04 --> 00:25:06 I need your help, God,
00:25:07 --> 00:25:09 just get this thing over the line.
00:25:09 --> 00:25:11 Got a great plan lined up here?
00:25:11 --> 00:25:13 Just tick it over the line for me.
00:25:13 --> 00:25:15 Just push it over the edge so that,
00:25:15 --> 00:25:15 you know,
00:25:15 --> 00:25:18 God, bring glory to yourself by bringing success to my plans.
00:25:20 --> 00:25:22 God, I want you to fix this thing.
00:25:23 --> 00:25:24 Because in my mind,
00:25:24 --> 00:25:25 when you fix that thing,
00:25:26 --> 00:25:28 then you'll be honoured.
00:25:28 --> 00:25:32 That's not what Hezekiah does.
00:25:35 --> 00:25:39 He is a remarkable example of faithfulness in this moment,
00:25:39 --> 00:25:41 of coming to an end of himself
00:25:41 --> 00:25:44 and putting his trust in Almighty God.
00:25:44 --> 00:25:46 And so be like Hezekiah.
00:25:47 --> 00:25:51 See your powerlessness in all situations,
00:25:51 --> 00:25:52 trust the Word of God,
00:25:52 --> 00:25:53 and pray.
00:25:53 --> 00:25:57 This is a case study of faith,
00:25:57 --> 00:25:58 of genuine faith in God,
00:25:59 --> 00:26:01 so have the faith of Hezekiah.
00:26:04 --> 00:26:05 If I left it there,
00:26:06 --> 00:26:08 all I've done is I've just lumbered you
00:26:08 --> 00:26:09 with a bunch of guilt
00:26:09 --> 00:26:12 to pull up your socks and try a lot harder.
00:26:12 --> 00:26:13 Try a lot harder.
00:26:14 --> 00:26:16 And burden you to have more faith.
00:26:19 --> 00:26:23 The central basis of our relationship with God
00:26:23 --> 00:26:28 is not how much our hearts are set on God by faith,
00:26:29 --> 00:26:33 but how unshakably His heart is set on us.
00:26:34 --> 00:26:36 That's the central issue of the Christian walk,
00:26:37 --> 00:26:38 of the walk of faith.
00:26:39 --> 00:26:41 How much His heart is set on us.
00:26:42 --> 00:26:44 And Judah's only hope here
00:26:44 --> 00:26:47 is not the faith of Hezekiah,
00:26:48 --> 00:26:50 but God's heart for His people.
00:26:51 --> 00:26:51 That's it.
00:26:53 --> 00:26:58 And the situation here of Jerusalem
00:26:58 --> 00:26:59 that it's found itself in
00:26:59 --> 00:27:02 points to a much bigger issue
00:27:02 --> 00:27:03 for all of humanity
00:27:03 --> 00:27:05 that the Bible and the Christian faith reveals
00:27:05 --> 00:27:07 that we need deliverance from,
00:27:07 --> 00:27:09 that we are powerless in.
00:27:09 --> 00:27:11 It's so big,
00:27:11 --> 00:27:14 we can do nothing about it at all.
00:27:14 --> 00:27:17 No amount of negotiation with God
00:27:17 --> 00:27:18 can fix this problem.
00:27:18 --> 00:27:22 Ephesians 2 says that every single human need
00:27:22 --> 00:27:24 needs deliverance from sin
00:27:24 --> 00:27:26 and God's wrath.
00:27:26 --> 00:27:27 I'll read it out to you.
00:27:27 --> 00:27:28 As for you,
00:27:28 --> 00:27:30 you were dead in your transgressions and sins
00:27:30 --> 00:27:31 in which you used to live
00:27:31 --> 00:27:33 when you followed the ways of this world
00:27:33 --> 00:27:34 and the rule of the kingdom of the air,
00:27:35 --> 00:27:37 the spirit who is now at work
00:27:37 --> 00:27:38 in those who are disobedient.
00:27:38 --> 00:27:40 All of us
00:27:40 --> 00:27:42 also lived among them at one time,
00:27:43 --> 00:27:45 gratifying the cravings of our flesh
00:27:45 --> 00:27:47 and the following its desires and thoughts.
00:27:47 --> 00:27:48 And like the rest,
00:27:49 --> 00:27:50 we were by nature
00:27:50 --> 00:27:53 deserving of wrath.
00:27:54 --> 00:27:55 What that says there
00:27:55 --> 00:27:57 is that all of humanity
00:27:57 --> 00:28:00 is dead in sin and transgressions
00:28:00 --> 00:28:02 and deserving of God's judgment.
00:28:03 --> 00:28:03 Dead means,
00:28:03 --> 00:28:05 dead people can't help themselves.
00:28:05 --> 00:28:07 We are powerless for our own deliverance.
00:28:07 --> 00:28:11 Every human being,
00:28:12 --> 00:28:13 according to the Bible,
00:28:13 --> 00:28:14 has lived life
00:28:14 --> 00:28:17 doing what the commander of Assyria has done
00:28:17 --> 00:28:19 and it has mocked,
00:28:20 --> 00:28:21 mocked the living God.
00:28:22 --> 00:28:23 Every human being
00:28:23 --> 00:28:26 has done exactly what Sennacherib has done
00:28:26 --> 00:28:28 and sought his own gods
00:28:28 --> 00:28:29 for his salvation.
00:28:30 --> 00:28:31 Every human being.
00:28:32 --> 00:28:34 And Ephesians 2 says
00:28:34 --> 00:28:36 the battle lines are drawn
00:28:36 --> 00:28:38 between us individuals
00:28:38 --> 00:28:39 and the creator God.
00:28:41 --> 00:28:43 And when you put the almighty
00:28:43 --> 00:28:44 and only God,
00:28:44 --> 00:28:45 the creator of all that is,
00:28:45 --> 00:28:45 against you,
00:28:45 --> 00:28:46 the human being,
00:28:47 --> 00:28:49 your powers.
00:28:50 --> 00:28:51 You've got nothing.
00:28:53 --> 00:28:54 We are helpless,
00:28:54 --> 00:28:54 we are hopeless,
00:28:55 --> 00:28:56 we have no power
00:28:56 --> 00:28:57 to rescue ourselves
00:28:57 --> 00:28:57 or deliver ourselves.
00:28:58 --> 00:29:00 We need help.
00:29:01 --> 00:29:03 We need someone to deliver us.
00:29:04 --> 00:29:07 Did you notice that in the text
00:29:07 --> 00:29:08 as it was read through?
00:29:10 --> 00:29:12 The residents of Jerusalem
00:29:12 --> 00:29:13 are on the wall
00:29:13 --> 00:29:14 watching this,
00:29:14 --> 00:29:17 listening to this delegation go out
00:29:17 --> 00:29:21 and they were observers to it all.
00:29:23 --> 00:29:24 Notice as well
00:29:24 --> 00:29:25 that they themselves
00:29:25 --> 00:29:27 did not rip off their clothes
00:29:27 --> 00:29:28 and put on sackcloths.
00:29:30 --> 00:29:31 Hezekiah did.
00:29:31 --> 00:29:35 Notice that they didn't go
00:29:35 --> 00:29:35 to the temple.
00:29:36 --> 00:29:37 Hezekiah did.
00:29:41 --> 00:29:42 In the end,
00:29:42 --> 00:29:43 they were saved
00:29:43 --> 00:29:43 by the intervention
00:29:43 --> 00:29:44 of their king.
00:29:46 --> 00:29:47 That's why they were saved.
00:29:47 --> 00:29:49 Not because they were worthy,
00:29:49 --> 00:29:51 but because of the intervention
00:29:51 --> 00:29:51 of their king.
00:29:52 --> 00:29:54 The king went in
00:29:54 --> 00:29:55 to the place of God
00:29:55 --> 00:29:56 and mediated
00:29:56 --> 00:29:58 on their behalf.
00:29:58 --> 00:30:01 The king humbled himself,
00:30:02 --> 00:30:03 took on sackcloth,
00:30:03 --> 00:30:04 was publicly humiliated.
00:30:06 --> 00:30:07 He emptied himself.
00:30:07 --> 00:30:09 He prayed for the deliverance
00:30:09 --> 00:30:10 of his people
00:30:10 --> 00:30:13 and the people of Jerusalem
00:30:13 --> 00:30:14 did nothing.
00:30:16 --> 00:30:16 Nothing.
00:30:21 --> 00:30:22 It was a,
00:30:22 --> 00:30:23 on Hezekiah's behalf,
00:30:23 --> 00:30:25 it was a spectacular display
00:30:25 --> 00:30:27 of faith
00:30:27 --> 00:30:28 in God.
00:30:37 --> 00:30:38 In that sense,
00:30:38 --> 00:30:39 Hezekiah rebukes us.
00:30:41 --> 00:30:43 But like us,
00:30:43 --> 00:30:44 Hezekiah
00:30:44 --> 00:30:46 had only fleeting moments
00:30:46 --> 00:30:47 of faithfulness.
00:30:48 --> 00:30:50 He'd already tried
00:30:50 --> 00:30:51 to buy off
00:30:51 --> 00:30:51 Assyria.
00:30:52 --> 00:30:53 He'd already
00:30:53 --> 00:30:53 attempted
00:30:53 --> 00:30:57 to align
00:30:57 --> 00:30:57 himself
00:30:57 --> 00:30:58 to Egypt.
00:31:01 --> 00:31:02 And after this,
00:31:03 --> 00:31:04 in the chapters
00:31:04 --> 00:31:05 that follow
00:31:05 --> 00:31:06 in 38
00:31:06 --> 00:31:07 and 39,
00:31:08 --> 00:31:09 especially 39,
00:31:10 --> 00:31:11 he again
00:31:11 --> 00:31:11 gets really
00:31:11 --> 00:31:12 chummy
00:31:12 --> 00:31:13 with Babylon
00:31:13 --> 00:31:13 and makes a deal
00:31:13 --> 00:31:14 with Babylon.
00:31:14 --> 00:31:20 He's a flawed,
00:31:21 --> 00:31:22 flawed king.
00:31:23 --> 00:31:24 So don't be like Hezekiah
00:31:24 --> 00:31:25 because you and I
00:31:25 --> 00:31:26 already are.
00:31:27 --> 00:31:28 We already are
00:31:28 --> 00:31:29 in our faithlessness.
00:31:30 --> 00:31:32 Our faith in God
00:31:32 --> 00:31:32 wavers.
00:31:33 --> 00:31:34 We have our alliances.
00:31:34 --> 00:31:35 We trust in our
00:31:35 --> 00:31:36 superannuation fund.
00:31:36 --> 00:31:36 We trust in our
00:31:36 --> 00:31:37 connections.
00:31:37 --> 00:31:38 We trust in our
00:31:38 --> 00:31:38 psychologists.
00:31:38 --> 00:31:39 We trust in
00:31:39 --> 00:31:40 everything else
00:31:40 --> 00:31:42 except in the
00:31:42 --> 00:31:42 living God
00:31:42 --> 00:31:43 who is more
00:31:43 --> 00:31:43 mighty over all
00:31:43 --> 00:31:44 things.
00:31:45 --> 00:31:46 Even while we
00:31:46 --> 00:31:47 say we trust
00:31:47 --> 00:31:47 in Him.
00:31:50 --> 00:31:51 In chapter
00:31:51 --> 00:31:52 Hezekiah,
00:31:53 --> 00:31:54 what this section
00:31:54 --> 00:31:55 does for us
00:31:55 --> 00:31:56 is that
00:31:56 --> 00:31:57 Hezekiah
00:31:57 --> 00:31:58 points us to
00:31:58 --> 00:31:59 a greater king.
00:32:00 --> 00:32:00 We need
00:32:00 --> 00:32:01 a greater
00:32:01 --> 00:32:02 Hezekiah.
00:32:02 --> 00:32:03 And Hezekiah,
00:32:03 --> 00:32:03 the descendant
00:32:03 --> 00:32:04 of King David,
00:32:05 --> 00:32:05 ultimately
00:32:05 --> 00:32:06 points us to
00:32:06 --> 00:32:07 Jesus Christ,
00:32:07 --> 00:32:08 the greatest
00:32:08 --> 00:32:09 descendant
00:32:09 --> 00:32:10 of King David.
00:32:12 --> 00:32:13 The New Testament
00:32:13 --> 00:32:14 doesn't just tell us
00:32:14 --> 00:32:15 that Jesus Christ
00:32:15 --> 00:32:16 is from the
00:32:16 --> 00:32:17 royal bloodline
00:32:17 --> 00:32:18 of King David
00:32:18 --> 00:32:21 and Hezekiah,
00:32:22 --> 00:32:23 but that Jesus
00:32:23 --> 00:32:24 Christ is divine
00:32:24 --> 00:32:25 Himself.
00:32:26 --> 00:32:27 He's God.
00:32:28 --> 00:32:29 He didn't go,
00:32:29 --> 00:32:29 and Jesus Christ
00:32:29 --> 00:32:30 didn't go into
00:32:30 --> 00:32:32 the presence of
00:32:32 --> 00:32:33 God to mediate
00:32:33 --> 00:32:34 for His people.
00:32:34 --> 00:32:35 He came from
00:32:35 --> 00:32:36 the presence of
00:32:36 --> 00:32:37 God.
00:32:37 --> 00:32:38 to mediate
00:32:38 --> 00:32:39 for His people.
00:32:40 --> 00:32:41 Philippians chapter 2
00:32:41 --> 00:32:41 tells us that
00:32:41 --> 00:32:42 Jesus Christ
00:32:42 --> 00:32:42 did not consider
00:32:42 --> 00:32:44 equality with God
00:32:44 --> 00:32:45 something that He
00:32:45 --> 00:32:46 would use for
00:32:46 --> 00:32:47 His own benefit,
00:32:47 --> 00:32:48 but that He
00:32:48 --> 00:32:49 humbled Himself
00:32:49 --> 00:32:52 and took on
00:32:52 --> 00:32:52 human form.
00:32:54 --> 00:32:54 And when His
00:32:54 --> 00:32:55 ministry finally
00:32:55 --> 00:32:56 went public
00:32:56 --> 00:32:58 after His baptism,
00:32:58 --> 00:32:59 He went into
00:32:59 --> 00:32:59 the wilderness
00:32:59 --> 00:33:01 and He starts
00:33:01 --> 00:33:02 immediately doing
00:33:02 --> 00:33:02 battle with the
00:33:02 --> 00:33:03 enemy of God,
00:33:03 --> 00:33:04 the greatest
00:33:04 --> 00:33:04 enemy of God,
00:33:04 --> 00:33:05 Satan himself.
00:33:05 --> 00:33:07 and Satan
00:33:07 --> 00:33:08 says,
00:33:08 --> 00:33:09 come,
00:33:09 --> 00:33:10 come to me,
00:33:10 --> 00:33:11 follow me,
00:33:11 --> 00:33:12 just bow down
00:33:12 --> 00:33:13 and prostrate
00:33:13 --> 00:33:13 yourself in front
00:33:13 --> 00:33:14 of me,
00:33:14 --> 00:33:14 and I will
00:33:14 --> 00:33:16 give you all
00:33:16 --> 00:33:16 the nations
00:33:16 --> 00:33:17 of the world.
00:33:19 --> 00:33:20 The very thing
00:33:20 --> 00:33:20 that Jesus
00:33:20 --> 00:33:22 has come to
00:33:22 --> 00:33:23 win for God,
00:33:23 --> 00:33:24 Satan says,
00:33:24 --> 00:33:25 you can have it
00:33:25 --> 00:33:25 all,
00:33:25 --> 00:33:27 just align
00:33:27 --> 00:33:28 yourself with
00:33:28 --> 00:33:28 me.
00:33:28 --> 00:33:31 come to an
00:33:31 --> 00:33:31 end of
00:33:31 --> 00:33:31 yourself,
00:33:31 --> 00:33:32 enter yourself
00:33:32 --> 00:33:33 and bow
00:33:33 --> 00:33:34 yourself down
00:33:34 --> 00:33:35 and worship
00:33:35 --> 00:33:35 me.
00:33:42 --> 00:33:43 And what did
00:33:43 --> 00:33:44 Jesus do in
00:33:44 --> 00:33:44 that moment?
00:33:47 --> 00:33:48 He fought
00:33:48 --> 00:33:49 Satan with
00:33:49 --> 00:33:50 mere words.
00:33:52 --> 00:33:52 Not mere
00:33:52 --> 00:33:53 words,
00:33:53 --> 00:33:53 the word of
00:33:53 --> 00:33:54 God.
00:33:54 --> 00:33:57 But the
00:33:57 --> 00:33:57 battle was
00:33:57 --> 00:33:58 ultimately won
00:33:58 --> 00:33:59 when Jesus
00:33:59 --> 00:34:00 went lower
00:34:00 --> 00:34:00 still.
00:34:00 --> 00:34:01 Not just
00:34:01 --> 00:34:01 that He
00:34:01 --> 00:34:01 became a
00:34:01 --> 00:34:02 man,
00:34:02 --> 00:34:02 but He
00:34:02 --> 00:34:03 went lower
00:34:03 --> 00:34:03 still.
00:34:03 --> 00:34:04 It wasn't
00:34:04 --> 00:34:04 just that God
00:34:04 --> 00:34:04 took on
00:34:04 --> 00:34:05 human form,
00:34:05 --> 00:34:05 He went
00:34:05 --> 00:34:06 lower still.
00:34:06 --> 00:34:07 The eternal
00:34:07 --> 00:34:08 God,
00:34:08 --> 00:34:09 the one who
00:34:09 --> 00:34:09 has been
00:34:09 --> 00:34:10 from everlasting
00:34:10 --> 00:34:11 to everlasting,
00:34:11 --> 00:34:11 the one who
00:34:11 --> 00:34:12 never ever had
00:34:12 --> 00:34:13 a beginning,
00:34:14 --> 00:34:15 came to an
00:34:15 --> 00:34:16 end on the
00:34:16 --> 00:34:16 cross.
00:34:20 --> 00:34:21 He went
00:34:21 --> 00:34:21 to death
00:34:21 --> 00:34:22 on a cross
00:34:22 --> 00:34:23 publicly,
00:34:25 --> 00:34:26 the cross,
00:34:26 --> 00:34:27 the crucifixion
00:34:27 --> 00:34:28 of shame
00:34:28 --> 00:34:29 and humiliation
00:34:29 --> 00:34:32 on the
00:34:32 --> 00:34:32 outskirts of
00:34:32 --> 00:34:33 Jerusalem.
00:34:36 --> 00:34:37 Just on the
00:34:37 --> 00:34:37 outskirts of
00:34:37 --> 00:34:38 Jerusalem where
00:34:38 --> 00:34:38 everyone in
00:34:38 --> 00:34:39 Jerusalem could
00:34:39 --> 00:34:39 see.
00:34:43 --> 00:34:44 And He went
00:34:44 --> 00:34:44 to the cross
00:34:44 --> 00:34:45 and He paid
00:34:45 --> 00:34:46 the punishment
00:34:46 --> 00:34:47 for our sin
00:34:47 --> 00:34:48 because we
00:34:48 --> 00:34:49 have robbed
00:34:49 --> 00:34:50 God of His
00:34:50 --> 00:34:51 glory just
00:34:51 --> 00:34:52 like Assyria
00:34:52 --> 00:34:52 is doing
00:34:52 --> 00:34:53 right now.
00:34:57 --> 00:34:58 And in
00:34:58 --> 00:34:58 going to
00:34:58 --> 00:34:59 the cross
00:34:59 --> 00:34:59 He satisfied
00:34:59 --> 00:35:00 God's just
00:35:00 --> 00:35:01 anger.
00:35:01 --> 00:35:02 There's no
00:35:02 --> 00:35:03 more debt
00:35:03 --> 00:35:04 to pay.
00:35:12 --> 00:35:12 God's just
00:35:12 --> 00:35:13 anger was
00:35:13 --> 00:35:14 not poured
00:35:14 --> 00:35:15 out upon us
00:35:15 --> 00:35:16 who deserve
00:35:16 --> 00:35:17 His judgment.
00:35:18 --> 00:35:19 He poured
00:35:19 --> 00:35:19 it out upon
00:35:19 --> 00:35:20 Himself.
00:35:20 --> 00:35:22 God didn't
00:35:22 --> 00:35:23 obliterate
00:35:23 --> 00:35:23 humanity.
00:35:24 --> 00:35:24 He didn't
00:35:24 --> 00:35:24 obliterate
00:35:24 --> 00:35:25 the Roman
00:35:25 --> 00:35:25 Empire.
00:35:26 --> 00:35:26 He didn't
00:35:26 --> 00:35:27 obliterate
00:35:27 --> 00:35:27 everyone.
00:35:28 --> 00:35:29 God
00:35:29 --> 00:35:30 obliterated
00:35:30 --> 00:35:31 Himself on
00:35:31 --> 00:35:31 the cross.
00:35:32 --> 00:35:33 He turned
00:35:33 --> 00:35:33 His anger
00:35:33 --> 00:35:34 upon Himself
00:35:34 --> 00:35:35 to satisfy
00:35:35 --> 00:35:37 His judgment.
00:35:40 --> 00:35:41 He allowed
00:35:41 --> 00:35:41 Himself to
00:35:41 --> 00:35:42 be killed
00:35:42 --> 00:35:44 so that His
00:35:44 --> 00:35:44 enemies could
00:35:44 --> 00:35:45 be His
00:35:45 --> 00:35:45 friends.
00:35:45 --> 00:35:46 God
00:35:46 --> 00:35:47 will
00:35:47 --> 00:35:48 be
00:35:48 --> 00:35:49 saved.
00:35:49 --> 00:35:50 That is
00:35:50 --> 00:35:50 the great
00:35:50 --> 00:35:51 victory that
00:35:51 --> 00:35:51 God has
00:35:51 --> 00:35:52 won for
00:35:52 --> 00:35:52 us.
00:35:54 --> 00:35:54 And in
00:35:54 --> 00:35:54 His
00:35:54 --> 00:35:55 resurrection
00:35:55 --> 00:35:56 Jesus
00:35:56 --> 00:35:56 defeated
00:35:56 --> 00:35:58 death so
00:35:58 --> 00:35:59 that those
00:35:59 --> 00:35:59 who put
00:35:59 --> 00:36:00 their faith
00:36:00 --> 00:36:00 in Him
00:36:00 --> 00:36:01 have
00:36:01 --> 00:36:03 completely
00:36:03 --> 00:36:04 all sin
00:36:04 --> 00:36:05 or failure
00:36:05 --> 00:36:05 removed
00:36:05 --> 00:36:09 and live
00:36:09 --> 00:36:10 forever in
00:36:10 --> 00:36:10 His presence.
00:36:10 --> 00:36:13 So the
00:36:13 --> 00:36:13 two greatest
00:36:13 --> 00:36:14 enemies of
00:36:14 --> 00:36:15 humanity,
00:36:15 --> 00:36:16 sin and
00:36:16 --> 00:36:16 death,
00:36:17 --> 00:36:18 have been
00:36:18 --> 00:36:19 defeated by
00:36:19 --> 00:36:20 Christ on
00:36:20 --> 00:36:21 the cross and
00:36:21 --> 00:36:22 through His
00:36:22 --> 00:36:22 resurrection.
00:36:24 --> 00:36:25 And this is a
00:36:25 --> 00:36:28 victory that
00:36:28 --> 00:36:28 is over
00:36:28 --> 00:36:29 everything that
00:36:29 --> 00:36:29 is broken,
00:36:30 --> 00:36:30 evil, wrong,
00:36:30 --> 00:36:31 corrupt and
00:36:31 --> 00:36:32 unjust in our
00:36:32 --> 00:36:32 world.
00:36:32 --> 00:36:33 It is a total
00:36:33 --> 00:36:33 and universal
00:36:33 --> 00:36:34 victory.
00:36:34 --> 00:36:35 And as
00:36:35 --> 00:36:35 Christians,
00:36:35 --> 00:36:37 we wait
00:36:37 --> 00:36:38 for Jesus
00:36:38 --> 00:36:39 to return
00:36:39 --> 00:36:40 to seal
00:36:40 --> 00:36:41 that final
00:36:41 --> 00:36:41 victory and
00:36:41 --> 00:36:42 take us
00:36:42 --> 00:36:43 into His
00:36:43 --> 00:36:44 land of
00:36:44 --> 00:36:44 plenty
00:36:44 --> 00:36:45 forever.
00:36:46 --> 00:36:46 He's
00:36:46 --> 00:36:47 promised us
00:36:47 --> 00:36:47 that.
00:36:49 --> 00:36:50 And make
00:36:50 --> 00:36:51 no mistake,
00:36:52 --> 00:36:53 you, I
00:36:53 --> 00:36:53 and every
00:36:53 --> 00:36:54 other Christian
00:36:54 --> 00:36:54 throughout
00:36:54 --> 00:36:55 humanity,
00:36:56 --> 00:36:56 we have
00:36:56 --> 00:36:57 not lifted
00:36:57 --> 00:36:58 a single
00:36:58 --> 00:37:00 finger for
00:37:00 --> 00:37:00 that victory
00:37:00 --> 00:37:01 to be ours.
00:37:02 --> 00:37:02 Not a
00:37:02 --> 00:37:03 single finger.
00:37:03 --> 00:37:05 it is
00:37:05 --> 00:37:06 entirely of
00:37:06 --> 00:37:06 His.
00:37:07 --> 00:37:08 Entirely.
00:37:14 --> 00:37:14 So what
00:37:14 --> 00:37:14 does it
00:37:14 --> 00:37:15 mean to
00:37:15 --> 00:37:15 live by
00:37:15 --> 00:37:15 faith?
00:37:16 --> 00:37:17 What are
00:37:17 --> 00:37:17 we to
00:37:17 --> 00:37:17 do?
00:37:19 --> 00:37:20 We are
00:37:20 --> 00:37:20 to look
00:37:20 --> 00:37:21 to Jesus
00:37:21 --> 00:37:21 for our
00:37:21 --> 00:37:21 eternal
00:37:21 --> 00:37:22 deliverance
00:37:22 --> 00:37:23 as Hezekiah
00:37:23 --> 00:37:24 looked to
00:37:24 --> 00:37:24 God in
00:37:24 --> 00:37:25 the temple.
00:37:25 --> 00:37:25 We are
00:37:25 --> 00:37:26 to look
00:37:26 --> 00:37:26 to the
00:37:26 --> 00:37:26 same God
00:37:26 --> 00:37:27 for our
00:37:27 --> 00:37:28 eternal
00:37:28 --> 00:37:28 deliverance.
00:37:28 --> 00:37:28 We are
00:37:28 --> 00:37:29 not to
00:37:29 --> 00:37:29 try harder
00:37:29 --> 00:37:30 to be
00:37:30 --> 00:37:30 like Hezekiah
00:37:30 --> 00:37:31 for our
00:37:31 --> 00:37:31 deliverance.
00:37:32 --> 00:37:32 We look
00:37:32 --> 00:37:32 to the
00:37:32 --> 00:37:33 God that
00:37:33 --> 00:37:33 He
00:37:33 --> 00:37:34 himself
00:37:34 --> 00:37:34 looked
00:37:34 --> 00:37:34 to.
00:37:36 --> 00:37:36 To
00:37:36 --> 00:37:37 quote Tim
00:37:37 --> 00:37:37 Keller
00:37:37 --> 00:37:38 who died
00:37:38 --> 00:37:38 this last
00:37:38 --> 00:37:39 week,
00:37:39 --> 00:37:39 if you
00:37:39 --> 00:37:40 are falling
00:37:40 --> 00:37:41 off a
00:37:41 --> 00:37:41 cliff,
00:37:42 --> 00:37:43 strong
00:37:43 --> 00:37:43 faith in
00:37:43 --> 00:37:44 a weak
00:37:44 --> 00:37:45 branch
00:37:45 --> 00:37:45 is
00:37:45 --> 00:37:46 fatally
00:37:46 --> 00:37:47 inferior
00:37:47 --> 00:37:48 to weak
00:37:48 --> 00:37:49 faith in
00:37:49 --> 00:37:50 a strong
00:37:50 --> 00:37:50 branch.
00:37:53 --> 00:37:54 It's
00:37:54 --> 00:37:55 not the
00:37:55 --> 00:37:56 amount of
00:37:56 --> 00:37:56 your faith
00:37:56 --> 00:37:57 that matters.
00:37:58 --> 00:37:59 It's the
00:37:59 --> 00:37:59 object of
00:37:59 --> 00:38:00 your faith
00:38:00 --> 00:38:01 that matters.
00:38:01 --> 00:38:02 To
00:38:02 --> 00:38:02 continue
00:38:02 --> 00:38:03 your
00:38:03 --> 00:38:03 color.
00:38:03 --> 00:38:04 Salvation
00:38:04 --> 00:38:04 is not
00:38:04 --> 00:38:05 finally
00:38:05 --> 00:38:06 based on
00:38:06 --> 00:38:07 the strength
00:38:07 --> 00:38:07 of your
00:38:07 --> 00:38:07 faith,
00:38:08 --> 00:38:09 but on
00:38:09 --> 00:38:09 the object
00:38:09 --> 00:38:09 of your
00:38:09 --> 00:38:10 faith.
00:38:12 --> 00:38:13 Come to
00:38:13 --> 00:38:13 Jesus and
00:38:13 --> 00:38:13 put your
00:38:13 --> 00:38:13 faith in
00:38:13 --> 00:38:14 him.
00:38:14 --> 00:38:14 Weak
00:38:14 --> 00:38:14 faith is
00:38:14 --> 00:38:15 enough
00:38:15 --> 00:38:16 because he
00:38:16 --> 00:38:16 is a
00:38:16 --> 00:38:16 mighty
00:38:16 --> 00:38:17 deliverer.
00:38:18 --> 00:38:19 Secondly,
00:38:19 --> 00:38:19 what does it
00:38:19 --> 00:38:20 look to
00:38:20 --> 00:38:20 live by
00:38:20 --> 00:38:20 faith day
00:38:20 --> 00:38:21 by day,
00:38:21 --> 00:38:21 trusting
00:38:21 --> 00:38:22 in him?
00:38:23 --> 00:38:23 Hebrews
00:38:23 --> 00:38:24 12,
00:38:25 --> 00:38:25 so if
00:38:25 --> 00:38:26 you're a
00:38:26 --> 00:38:26 Christian,
00:38:26 --> 00:38:26 sit in
00:38:26 --> 00:38:27 the room,
00:38:27 --> 00:38:27 Hebrews
00:38:27 --> 00:38:28 12 tells
00:38:28 --> 00:38:29 us to
00:38:29 --> 00:38:29 look to
00:38:29 --> 00:38:30 Jesus,
00:38:30 --> 00:38:31 the author
00:38:31 --> 00:38:31 and the
00:38:31 --> 00:38:32 perfecter
00:38:32 --> 00:38:32 of our
00:38:32 --> 00:38:32 faith.
00:38:33 --> 00:38:33 He's
00:38:33 --> 00:38:34 done it
00:38:34 --> 00:38:34 all.
00:38:34 --> 00:38:35 He doesn't
00:38:35 --> 00:38:36 just
00:38:36 --> 00:38:38 describe for
00:38:38 --> 00:38:39 us or reveal
00:38:39 --> 00:38:39 to us what
00:38:39 --> 00:38:40 actual faith
00:38:40 --> 00:38:41 is.
00:38:41 --> 00:38:42 He's
00:38:42 --> 00:38:43 completed it
00:38:43 --> 00:38:43 for us.
00:38:45 --> 00:38:45 He's
00:38:45 --> 00:38:46 completed our
00:38:46 --> 00:38:46 faith.
00:38:49 --> 00:38:50 He is the
00:38:50 --> 00:38:51 one, the
00:38:51 --> 00:38:51 glorious and
00:38:51 --> 00:38:52 powerful and
00:38:52 --> 00:38:53 patient and
00:38:53 --> 00:38:53 merciful one
00:38:53 --> 00:38:56 who we are
00:38:56 --> 00:38:56 told is
00:38:56 --> 00:38:57 risen from
00:38:57 --> 00:38:58 the dead
00:38:58 --> 00:38:59 and always
00:38:59 --> 00:39:00 lives to
00:39:00 --> 00:39:01 make intercession
00:39:01 --> 00:39:02 for us.
00:39:02 --> 00:39:03 So not
00:39:03 --> 00:39:03 only has
00:39:03 --> 00:39:04 he made
00:39:04 --> 00:39:05 intercession
00:39:05 --> 00:39:07 mediating
00:39:07 --> 00:39:08 between us
00:39:08 --> 00:39:09 for our
00:39:09 --> 00:39:09 salvation,
00:39:09 --> 00:39:10 he mediates
00:39:10 --> 00:39:11 for us now
00:39:11 --> 00:39:11 in our
00:39:11 --> 00:39:12 faithlessness.
00:39:14 --> 00:39:15 He's in the
00:39:15 --> 00:39:16 throne room
00:39:16 --> 00:39:17 taking my
00:39:17 --> 00:39:18 weak prayers.
00:39:19 --> 00:39:20 Father, what
00:39:20 --> 00:39:20 Steve really
00:39:20 --> 00:39:21 means is
00:39:21 --> 00:39:21 this.
00:39:23 --> 00:39:25 he's
00:39:25 --> 00:39:26 interceding
00:39:26 --> 00:39:26 for me
00:39:26 --> 00:39:28 now in
00:39:28 --> 00:39:28 my faith.
00:39:29 --> 00:39:30 Father, don't
00:39:30 --> 00:39:30 forget he's
00:39:30 --> 00:39:31 with us.
00:39:32 --> 00:39:33 He's one of
00:39:33 --> 00:39:33 ours.
00:39:33 --> 00:39:34 We love
00:39:34 --> 00:39:34 him.
00:39:40 --> 00:39:41 Therefore, I
00:39:41 --> 00:39:42 want to call
00:39:42 --> 00:39:43 you to
00:39:43 --> 00:39:44 confidently,
00:39:44 --> 00:39:45 boldly pray
00:39:45 --> 00:39:45 for the
00:39:45 --> 00:39:46 victory of
00:39:46 --> 00:39:46 God in
00:39:46 --> 00:39:47 your life
00:39:47 --> 00:39:47 and in
00:39:47 --> 00:39:48 this world.
00:39:49 --> 00:39:50 Pray for
00:39:50 --> 00:39:51 his name to
00:39:51 --> 00:39:51 be honoured
00:39:51 --> 00:39:52 by you in
00:39:52 --> 00:39:52 your heart,
00:39:53 --> 00:39:53 in your
00:39:53 --> 00:39:53 mind.
00:39:54 --> 00:39:54 Pray for
00:39:54 --> 00:39:55 his kingdom
00:39:55 --> 00:39:56 to rule
00:39:56 --> 00:39:56 you,
00:39:57 --> 00:39:58 that his
00:39:58 --> 00:39:59 will will
00:39:59 --> 00:39:59 be done
00:39:59 --> 00:40:00 on earth
00:40:00 --> 00:40:01 as it is
00:40:01 --> 00:40:01 in heaven.
00:40:02 --> 00:40:03 Pray that
00:40:03 --> 00:40:03 he would
00:40:03 --> 00:40:04 open the
00:40:04 --> 00:40:05 door to
00:40:05 --> 00:40:06 the gospel.
00:40:07 --> 00:40:07 Pray that
00:40:07 --> 00:40:07 he will
00:40:07 --> 00:40:08 give boldness
00:40:08 --> 00:40:09 to you,
00:40:11 --> 00:40:11 that he
00:40:11 --> 00:40:12 will save
00:40:12 --> 00:40:14 Chatswood
00:40:14 --> 00:40:15 for his
00:40:15 --> 00:40:16 glory.
00:40:19 --> 00:40:20 And as
00:40:20 --> 00:40:20 we do
00:40:20 --> 00:40:20 that as
00:40:20 --> 00:40:21 his people,
00:40:21 --> 00:40:22 remember that
00:40:22 --> 00:40:22 today the
00:40:22 --> 00:40:23 enemies of
00:40:23 --> 00:40:23 the church
00:40:23 --> 00:40:24 of Jesus
00:40:24 --> 00:40:24 Christ,
00:40:25 --> 00:40:25 they're not
00:40:25 --> 00:40:26 political,
00:40:26 --> 00:40:27 they're not
00:40:27 --> 00:40:27 ethnic,
00:40:28 --> 00:40:28 they're not
00:40:28 --> 00:40:29 national.
00:40:32 --> 00:40:33 Ephesians
00:40:33 --> 00:40:34 chapter 6
00:40:34 --> 00:40:35 tells us
00:40:35 --> 00:40:36 that our
00:40:36 --> 00:40:37 struggle is
00:40:37 --> 00:40:38 not against
00:40:38 --> 00:40:39 flesh and
00:40:39 --> 00:40:39 blood,
00:40:40 --> 00:40:40 but against
00:40:40 --> 00:40:41 the rulers
00:40:41 --> 00:40:42 and against
00:40:42 --> 00:40:42 the authorities,
00:40:42 --> 00:40:43 against the
00:40:43 --> 00:40:43 powers of
00:40:43 --> 00:40:44 this dark
00:40:44 --> 00:40:44 world and
00:40:44 --> 00:40:44 against the
00:40:44 --> 00:40:45 spiritual
00:40:45 --> 00:40:45 forces of
00:40:45 --> 00:40:46 evil in
00:40:46 --> 00:40:46 the heavenly
00:40:46 --> 00:40:47 realms.
00:40:47 --> 00:40:50 note as
00:40:50 --> 00:40:51 a disciple
00:40:51 --> 00:40:51 of Jesus
00:40:51 --> 00:40:52 if you
00:40:52 --> 00:40:52 are,
00:40:52 --> 00:40:54 that this
00:40:54 --> 00:40:54 is an
00:40:54 --> 00:40:55 enemy that
00:40:55 --> 00:40:55 is too
00:40:55 --> 00:40:56 great for
00:40:56 --> 00:40:56 you.
00:41:00 --> 00:41:01 And until
00:41:01 --> 00:41:02 our king
00:41:02 --> 00:41:03 comes from
00:41:03 --> 00:41:04 heaven to
00:41:04 --> 00:41:04 bring his
00:41:04 --> 00:41:05 total and
00:41:05 --> 00:41:06 complete renewal
00:41:06 --> 00:41:07 of all
00:41:07 --> 00:41:07 things,
00:41:08 --> 00:41:10 we will
00:41:10 --> 00:41:11 waver
00:41:11 --> 00:41:13 in our
00:41:13 --> 00:41:13 faith.
00:41:13 --> 00:41:16 and note
00:41:16 --> 00:41:16 too that
00:41:16 --> 00:41:17 we don't
00:41:17 --> 00:41:18 desire the
00:41:18 --> 00:41:19 destruction of
00:41:19 --> 00:41:19 a single
00:41:19 --> 00:41:20 human being.
00:41:21 --> 00:41:22 We don't
00:41:22 --> 00:41:23 pray for the
00:41:23 --> 00:41:23 enemies to
00:41:23 --> 00:41:24 be crushed
00:41:24 --> 00:41:25 like Assyria
00:41:25 --> 00:41:26 was crushed.
00:41:28 --> 00:41:29 As
00:41:29 --> 00:41:29 Christians,
00:41:29 --> 00:41:30 we do not
00:41:30 --> 00:41:30 kill our
00:41:30 --> 00:41:31 enemies,
00:41:31 --> 00:41:33 we pray for
00:41:33 --> 00:41:33 our enemies.
00:41:34 --> 00:41:35 We pray that
00:41:35 --> 00:41:36 God would
00:41:36 --> 00:41:37 rule in it,
00:41:37 --> 00:41:37 they would
00:41:37 --> 00:41:37 come to an
00:41:37 --> 00:41:38 end to
00:41:38 --> 00:41:38 themselves and
00:41:38 --> 00:41:39 that God
00:41:39 --> 00:41:39 would rule
00:41:39 --> 00:41:39 in their
00:41:39 --> 00:41:40 life just
00:41:40 --> 00:41:41 as Jesus
00:41:41 --> 00:41:41 taught us
00:41:41 --> 00:41:42 to.
00:41:42 --> 00:41:43 The great
00:41:43 --> 00:41:44 battle today
00:41:44 --> 00:41:45 that God
00:41:45 --> 00:41:45 is fighting,
00:41:45 --> 00:41:46 the miraculous
00:41:46 --> 00:41:47 work that
00:41:47 --> 00:41:47 he's doing
00:41:47 --> 00:41:47 in this
00:41:47 --> 00:41:48 world is
00:41:48 --> 00:41:49 a battle
00:41:49 --> 00:41:49 that's not
00:41:49 --> 00:41:50 fought with
00:41:50 --> 00:41:50 swords,
00:41:51 --> 00:41:51 it's not
00:41:51 --> 00:41:52 fought with
00:41:52 --> 00:41:52 political
00:41:52 --> 00:41:53 force,
00:41:53 --> 00:41:54 it's not
00:41:54 --> 00:41:54 fought with
00:41:54 --> 00:41:55 alliances,
00:41:57 --> 00:41:58 it's fought
00:41:58 --> 00:41:59 with words.
00:42:02 --> 00:42:02 Mere
00:42:02 --> 00:42:02 words,
00:42:03 --> 00:42:03 as the
00:42:03 --> 00:42:04 Assyrian
00:42:04 --> 00:42:04 commander
00:42:04 --> 00:42:05 said,
00:42:05 --> 00:42:06 but more
00:42:06 --> 00:42:06 than mere
00:42:06 --> 00:42:07 words,
00:42:09 --> 00:42:10 but with
00:42:10 --> 00:42:10 the good
00:42:10 --> 00:42:11 news of
00:42:11 --> 00:42:11 the gospel
00:42:11 --> 00:42:11 of Jesus
00:42:11 --> 00:42:12 Christ
00:42:12 --> 00:42:13 crucified
00:42:13 --> 00:42:14 and risen
00:42:14 --> 00:42:15 for our
00:42:15 --> 00:42:15 deliverance
00:42:15 --> 00:42:16 and the
00:42:16 --> 00:42:16 deliverance
00:42:16 --> 00:42:17 of all
00:42:17 --> 00:42:17 people.
00:42:18 --> 00:42:19 It's a
00:42:19 --> 00:42:19 battle that's
00:42:19 --> 00:42:19 fought for
00:42:19 --> 00:42:20 the souls
00:42:20 --> 00:42:20 of all
00:42:20 --> 00:42:21 people,
00:42:21 --> 00:42:22 it is
00:42:22 --> 00:42:23 fought in
00:42:23 --> 00:42:23 the power
00:42:23 --> 00:42:23 of the
00:42:23 --> 00:42:24 Holy Spirit,
00:42:25 --> 00:42:26 it is
00:42:26 --> 00:42:26 fought with
00:42:26 --> 00:42:27 the words
00:42:27 --> 00:42:27 of the
00:42:27 --> 00:42:29 truth
00:42:29 --> 00:42:30 and with
00:42:30 --> 00:42:31 deeds of
00:42:31 --> 00:42:31 love and
00:42:31 --> 00:42:32 justice.
00:42:34 --> 00:42:34 And all
00:42:34 --> 00:42:35 of that,
00:42:35 --> 00:42:36 all of that
00:42:36 --> 00:42:37 is shrouded,
00:42:38 --> 00:42:38 backed up
00:42:38 --> 00:42:42 by prayer
00:42:42 --> 00:42:43 as we
00:42:43 --> 00:42:44 plead for
00:42:44 --> 00:42:45 his glory
00:42:45 --> 00:42:45 and his
00:42:45 --> 00:42:46 grace to
00:42:46 --> 00:42:47 be revealed
00:42:47 --> 00:42:47 to the
00:42:47 --> 00:42:48 nations.
00:42:49 --> 00:42:49 And the
00:42:49 --> 00:42:50 victory will
00:42:50 --> 00:42:51 come and
00:42:51 --> 00:42:51 it will
00:42:51 --> 00:42:52 come through
00:42:52 --> 00:42:53 word and
00:42:53 --> 00:42:53 prayer.
00:42:53 --> 00:43:23 Thank you.