God's Formula For Prosperity

FORMULA FOR PROSPERITY

02/18/01

INTRODUCTION

TEXT: 2 Kings 18:1-8

Transition: Look at 3 things Hezekiah determined that brought prosperity to his life.

I. MAKE A DETERMINATION TO WORSHIP

A. He determined to do right in the sight of the Lord (v.3)

Historical background:

1. Ahaz evil

2. Only 3 other kings compared to David:

Josiah, Jehosaphat & Asa

B. He determined to worship the Lord in spirit and truth (v.4)

HISTORY BACKGROUND:

1. Reopened the temple (2 Chron. 29-31)

2. Reinstituted Passover (extended 7 days)

3. Revival ensued

4. Sought to bring Israel together in unity to

worship

C. Comparison to Us & Church vs. Hezekiah

1. If we desire to have the Lord with us, we

must determine to do right in the sigh of

the Lord. No matter what the world

thinks.

2. “Seeker-friendly” vs. “God-seeker”

3. Examine our worship - Moses’ brass serpent

which once the Lord had used to bring

salvation to the Israelites had become a

stumbling block.

TRANSITION: We’ve talked about the first part of our formula for prosperity in the Lord which is making a determination to worship Him first and foremost and secondly we

must....

II. MAKE A DETERMINATION TO TRUST (v. 5)

A. Hezekiah Trusted the Lord

1. to the point that he made an impression

on the world around him.

2. Hezekiah wasn’t “problem free” either

3. He knew where to turn to when things got

tough (2 Ki. 19:14-16)

B. Compare our Trust to Hezekiah’s

1. Christians shouldn’t have problems - bah

humbug!

2. John 16:33 “33“These things I have spoken to

you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the

world you have tribulation, but take courage; I

have overcome the world.”

3. Who do we turn to when the going gets

rough?

READ: Luke 8:22-25

Sea of Galilee, which is actually a lake large enough to look like a Sea.

Disciples, some of whom were seasoned sailors, were terrified. They had weathered many storms, but they were convinced on this occasion that they were finished.

Jesus slept. They were irritated, and finally awakened Jesus. They told Him, "We’re going to drown!"

We all, like the disciples face storms during our lives.

C. The first is simply....storms happen.

Living on the Gulf Coast we know that when Hurricane Season comes we have the potential for a major storm to come and wreck havoc at any time. The same goes for our lives....we have times when the circumstances seem out of control or at least to a stage that we don’t know how we are going to be able to handle it.

B. The second fact about storms is how we handle them.

ILLUSTRATION: Get Greg to come up and let me lean on him. 2 Ways - One I look like I’m putting my weight on him the 2nd way I really lean on him risking his moving away and me falling

1. Some of us are “masters” at handling

storms, others don’t handle them so well.

2. Many times the outlook of the disciples

toward their circumstances are the same as ours. They were initially:

frightened, panic stricken,

thinking only of themselves and of what seemed to be imminent death.

3. Inwardly, they were as troubled as the

sea.

C. We can choose to allow God to mold us. BITTER or BETTER??

ILLUSTRATION: Toothpaste in a tube. Battle with Liver Disease

1. My first reaction when I face a storm has

been just like those disciples, start bailing

as fast as I can. Not much results, just

tired and still bailing.

ILLUSTRATION:

Weathering a storm out in the middle of an ocean and see the immensity of the waves and how insignificant your vessel is compared to them, you can have moments of fear grip you.

2. We forget we are not alone, their answer

was right there in the boat

3. Was Jesus really asleep or if he had

possibly been awakened just enough by

the crashing of the waves to lay there to

see just how long it would take?

4. While the text cannot convey the tone of

voice of the disciples....

initially perturbed with Jesus?

whoever spoke to Jesus spoke with

irritation in his voice?

someone may well have shaken Him to

arouse Him, and probably

not too gently?

initial attitude toward Jesus was agitation.

5. Jesus can handle our frustrations, our

anger, our fears, our questions. Just

because we have those feelings doesn’t

mean we’ve lost our trust somewhere

along the way.

6. Jesus is available during the storms

7. Jesus desires us to trust him; He is

ABOVE the storm. He can see the

WHOLE picture. (Prov. 3:5-6) Trust in

the Lord with all your heart and lean not

on your own understanding....

TRANSITION: So our formula for prosperity with the Lord is based on 3 things our determination to worship, our determination to trust and finally we must ......