BREAKING The CYCLE In A LAND MISLED--V—
2Kings 16:1-4; 18:1-7(16:01-18; 18:01-07, 14-16, 17-18; 19:1-7, 14-20, 35-37)
Overcoming Political Acquiescence
Overcoming The Politics of Spiritual Acquiescence.
Attention:
“America was founded by people who believed that God was their rock of safety. I recognize we must be cautious in claiming that God is on our side, but I think it’s all right to keep asking if we’re on His side.”—Ronald Reagan
•King Ahaz of Judah’s reign was marked/defined by political expediency, acquiescence, & compliance.
•A land defined by those things is misled & to be pitied.
•Why/How should the cycle of misleading be broken?
•18 reasons for breaking the cycle of misleading in our land.
*In a misled land there is much that is Wasted, until that cycle of mismanagement is broken.
Previously, we’ve found that...
The cycle must be broken in a ‘misled’ land, because in it there is Wasted...
1. PRIVILEGE(16:1)
2. RESPONSIBILITY(16:1)
3. YOUTH(16:2)
4. TIME(16:2)
5. CHOICE(16:2)
6. HERITAGE(16:2)
7. DEPENDENCE(16:3-4)
8. CONFIDENCE(16:5)
9. EFFORT(16:6)
10. ALLEGIANCE(16:7)
11. AID(16:8-9)
12. PURPOSE, DIRECTION, & TESTIMONY(16:10-18)
13. TRANSITION(18:1-7)The cycle has potential to break!
14. PROTECTION(18:13-16)
15—The cycle must be broken in a misled land, due to it’s WASTED...
INTIMIDATION(18:17-18)
Explanation:(18:17-18)The cycle is beginning to break!
18:17-18—“Then the king of Assyria sent the Tartan, the Rabsaris, & the Rabshakeh from Lachish, with a great army against Jerusalem, to King Hezekiah. And they went up & came to Jerusalem. When they had come up, they went & stood by the aqueduct from the upper pool, which was on the highway to the Fuller’s Field. And when they had called to the king, Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, who was over the household, Shebna the scribe, & Joah the son of Asaph, the recorder, came out to them.”
The Assyrian king Sennacherib had sent 3 officers to Judah’s King Hezekiah rather than come himself. Sennacherib’s pride would not allow him to initiate an approach to an ‘underling’ like Hezekiah.
However, King Hezekiah boldly returns the favor & does not meet with Sennacherib’s officers face-to-face!
Hezekiah’s actions are a stance of defiance against the most powerful & influential nation of the day(prominent/infamous/formidable), Assyria!
The following are not personal names but rather titles of government/military officials associated with Assyrian hierarchy. These three men are the upper echelon of Assyrian military commanders. The meanings of these titles are somewhat tenuous.
1)“Tartan”—‘Commander-In-Chief’
2)“Rabsaris”—‘Chief Eunuch’ or ‘Chief Courtier’—He would have acted as the official scribe who handled the documentation of the events.
3)“Rabshakeh”—‘Chief Cupbearer’ or ‘Chief Officer’ or ‘Chief of Staff’ or ‘Governor’—This man obviously handled the face-to-face speaking with the enemy(18:19-35).
Illustration:
Consider a time when you were in the right but were ‘intimidated’ by someone’s presence & maybe backed down. You were fearful!
Consider what would have happened if you had spoken up.
Some people are intimidated by the pastor, or by the deacon, or by the committee head. They may see something clearly out of kilter but say nothing. Why?...Intimidation/Fear
Negatively:
Some people are masters of using intimidation to their advantage—intellectual/economic/business & political constituency--Anyone who can be talked into agreeing with them, ‘friends’, or allies.
Positively:
Christian faith is not just to be shared with the unsaved, other Christians learn & are empowered thru our faith!
•Keeps you from saying-doing-thinking something unwise!
Like Hezekiah’s, your faith in Christ Jesus is actually Intimidating to a lost world...That’s why people try to shut you up when you start talking about a personal relationship with Jesus.
Your faith can be so intimidating to the belief of God’s people, that it prayerfully brings them closer to God.
READ YOUR BIBLE, MEDITATE/ruminate upon it & PRAY it!
Application:
?Is there INTIMIDATION that has gone to waste in our/your Land’s Governance?
?Is the Cycle of our Land’s being Misled broken with you?
16—The cycle must be broken in a misled land, due to it’s WASTED...
PATH(19:1-7)
Explanation:(19:1-7)The cycle is breaking!
19:1-7—“And so it was, when King Hezekiah heard it, that he tore his clothes, covered himself with sackcloth, & went into the house of the LORD. Then he sent Eliakim, who was over the household, Shebna the scribe, & the elders of the priests, covered with sackcloth, to Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz. And they said to him, “Thus says Hezekiah: ‘This day is a day of trouble, & rebuke, & blasphemy; for the children have come to birth, but there is no strength to bring them forth. ‘It may be that the LORD your God will hear all the words of the Rabshakeh, whom his master the king of Assyria has sent to reproach the living God, & will rebuke the words which the LORD your God has heard. Therefore lift up your prayer for the remnant that is left.’” So the servants of King Hezekiah came to Isaiah. And Isaiah said to them, “Thus you shall say to your master, ‘Thus says the LORD: “Do not be afraid of the words which you have heard, with which the servants of the king of Assyria have blasphemed Me. “Surely I will send a spirit upon him, & he shall hear a rumor & return to his own land; & I will cause him to fall by the sword in his own land.”’”
Hezekiah took his trouble to the LORD!
King Hezekiah knew that Isaiah was recognized as a prophet of YHWH.
The cycle will be broken when the Lord hears your prayer!
1Jn. 5:13-15—“These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, & that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God. Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him.”
The Lord is waiting for your prayer of surrender to Him.
Argumentation:
Ps. 46:1—<<To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of the sons of Korah. A Song for Alamoth.>>—“God is our refuge & strength, A very present help in trouble.
Lk. 13:3435—Jesus said,—“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets & stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, but you were not willing! See! Your house is left to you desolate; & assuredly, I say to you, you shall not see Me until the time comes when you say, ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!’”
2Sam. 22:17-22—King David wrote of the Lord—“He sent from above, He took me, He drew me out of many waters. He delivered me from my strong enemy, From those who hated me; For they were too strong for me. They confronted me in the day of my calamity, But the LORD was my support. He also brought me out into a broad place; He delivered me because He delighted in me. The LORD rewarded me according to my righteousness; According to the cleanness of my hands He has recompensed me. For I have kept the ways of the LORD, And have not wickedly departed from my God.”
Isa. 8:16-20—“Bind up the testimony, Seal the law among my disciples. And I will wait on the LORD, Who hides His face from the house of Jacob; And I will hope in Him. Here am I & the children whom the LORD has given me! We are for signs & wonders in Israel From the LORD of hosts, Who dwells in Mount Zion. And when they say to you, “Seek those who are mediums & wizards, who whisper & mutter,” should not a people seek their God? Should they seek the dead on behalf of the living? To the law & to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.”
*Mat. 7:13, 14—“Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate & broad is the way that leads to destruction, & there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate & difficult is the way which leads to life, & there are few who find it.”
That gate/way is none other than Jesus Christ!
Illustration:
Some people thrive on adventure—The desire to know What’s—Beyond that forest...In that other town...Past that tree-line...Over that mountain...Across that river...Under that sea...Under that rock...In that cave...Above those clouds, etc./PATH
If we become so dependent upon Artificial Intelligence(AI), there is a strong possibility that it will exclude anything of Christian association/Decisions will be limited to the ‘moralities’ decided by the conveniences & expediencies of fleshly choices/WASTED PATH
Application:
?Is there a PATH that has gone to waste in our/your Land’s Governance?
?Is the Cycle of our Land’s being Misled broken with you?
17—The cycle must be broken in a misled land, due to it’s WASTED...
OPPORTUNITY(19:14-20)
Explanation:(19:14-20)The cycle is broken!
19:14-20—“And Hezekiah received the letter from the hand of the messengers, & read it; & Hezekiah went up to the house of the LORD, & spread it before the LORD. Then Hezekiah prayed before the LORD, & said: “O LORD God of Israel, the One who dwells between the cherubim, You are God, You alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven & earth. Incline Your ear, O LORD, & hear; open Your eyes, O LORD, & see; & hear the words of Sennacherib, which he has sent to reproach the living God. Truly, LORD, the kings of Assyria have laid waste the nations & their lands, & have cast their gods into the fire; for they were not gods, but the work of men’s hands--wood & stone. Therefore they destroyed them. Now therefore, O LORD our God, I pray, save us from his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that You are the LORD God, You alone.” Then Isaiah the son of Amoz sent to Hezekiah, saying, “Thus says the LORD God of Israel: ‘Because you have prayed to Me against Sennacherib king of Assyria, I have heard.’”
The Assyrian representatives returned again to Hezekiah.
They presented Hezekiah with official Assyrian documents & further arrogant words(cf.-18:17, 19-35) to taunt him(19:9-13).
So King Hezekiah spreads out the letters in the Lord’s house & Hezekiah prays!
Prayer is a lost opportunity to those who deny the biblical God’s existence, design, & power for humankind!
Prayer is also a lost opportunity to those Christians who fill their lives with their own fleshly abilities...Who let the ‘thorns & thistles’ of life crowd out & overshadow God’s power(Mat. 13:7, 22)...These are God’s people who sadly never experience God’s power!
Argumentation:
Habakkuk 3:17-19—“Though the fig tree may not blossom, Nor fruit be on the vines; Though the labor of the olive may fail, And the fields yield no food; Though the flock may be cut off from the fold, And there be no herd in the stalls--Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation. The LORD God is my strength; He will make my feet like deer’s feet, And He will make me walk on my high hills. To the Chief Musician. With my stringed instruments.”
Illustration:
Before Hurricane Michael made landfall near Mexico Beach(Oct. 10, 2018), my wife who was out of town preparing to fly overseas, awakened me & told me that Michael had become a category 4 Hurricane & was headed right for me, our two cats & two dogs!/I had an opportunity before me to run or stay/I chose to run!/I spent the time of the hurricane across the Gulf Of Mexico near Starke, FL where we had very little rain & no wind to speak of!/Once the storm had passed, I again took the opportunity to return no worse for wear/OPPORTUNITY—NOT Wasted!
Application:
?Is there OPPORTUNITY that has gone to waste in our/your Land’s Governance?
?Is the Cycle of our Land’s being Misled broken with you?
18—The cycle must be broken in a misled land, due to it’s WASTED...
Spiritual POWER(19:35-37)
Explanation:(19:35-37)YHWH is revealed!
19:35-37—“And it came to pass on a certain night that the angel of the LORD went out, & killed in the camp of the Assyrians one hundred & eighty-five thousand; & when people arose early in the morning, there were the corpses--all dead. So Sennacherib king of Assyria departed & went away, returned home, & remained at Nineveh. Now it came to pass, as he was worshiping in the temple of Nisroch his god, that his sons Adrammelech & Sharezer struck him down with the sword; & they escaped into the land of Ararat. Then Esarhaddon his son reigned in his place.”
This obviously speaks for itself of the power of God/YHWH!
Assyria's army is completely decimated—the very one defended & pompously bragged on by the Rabshakeh(18:19-35).
You may 'brag' on your country(wherever you are from). But your bragging on your nation's might will succumb to the futility of flesh eventually.
It would rather behoove us to 'brag' on Jesus & the Kingdom of God!
“Nisroch”—Kron Nis-rok’—Noun Proper Masc.—Nisroch = "the great eagle”—1) An idol of Nineveh worshipped by Sennacherib; symbolized by the eagle-headed human figure. Strong—of foreign origin; Nisrok, a Babylonian idol. Used 2X.
Argumentation:
1Cor. 10:13—“No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.”
1Jn. 4:2-4—“By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, & every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, & is now already in the world. You are of God, little children, & have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.”
*2Cor. 12:9-10—“And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”
Application:
?Is there Spiritual POWER that has gone to waste in our/your Land’s Governance?
?Is the Cycle of our Land’s being Misled broken with you?
CONCLUSION:
Visualization:
“America was founded by people who believed that God was their rock of safety. I recognize we must be cautious in claiming that God is on our side, but I think it’s all right to keep asking if we’re on His side.”—Ronald Reagan
*Ezek. 22:23-31—“And the word of the LORD came to me, saying, “Son of man, say to her: ‘You are a land that is not cleansed or rained on in the day of indignation.’ “The conspiracy of her prophets in her midst is like a roaring lion tearing the prey; they have devoured people; they have taken treasure & precious things; they have made many widows in her midst. Her priests have violated My law & profaned My holy things; they have not distinguished between the holy & unholy, nor have they made known the difference between the unclean & the clean; & they have hidden their eyes from My Sabbaths, so that I am profaned among them. Her princes in her midst are like wolves tearing the prey, to shed blood, to destroy people, & to get dishonest gain. Her prophets plastered them with untempered mortar, seeing false visions, & divining lies for them, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD,’ when the LORD had not spoken. The people of the land have used oppressions, committed robbery, & mistreated the poor & needy; & they wrongfully oppress the stranger. So I sought for a man among them who would make a wall, & stand in the gap before Me on behalf of the land, that I should not destroy it; but I found no one. Therefore I have poured out My indignation on them; I have consumed them with the fire of My wrath; & I have recompensed their deeds on their own heads,” says the Lord GOD.
Action:
The cycle must be broken in a land misled misled land, due to it’s WASTED...
15. INTIMIDATION(18:17-18)The cycle is beginning to break!
16. PATH(19:1-7)The cycle breaking!
17. OPPORTUNITY(19:14-20)The cycle broken!
18. POWER(19:35-37)YHWH revealed!
1. PRIVILEGE(16:1)
2. RESPONSIBILITY(16:1)
3. YOUTH(16:2)
4. TIME(16:2)
5. CHOICE(16:2)
6. HERITAGE(16:2)
7. DEPENDENCE(16:3-4)
8. CONFIDENCE(16:5)
9. EFFORT(16:6)
10. ALLEGIANCE(16:7)
11. AID(16:8-9)
12. PURPOSE, DIRECTION, & TESTIMONY(16:10-18)
13. TRANSITION(18:1-7)The cycle has potential to break!
14. PROTECTION(18:13-16)
Pt#s 15-18 Presented 07/14/2019am to:
FBC Cbelle
206 SE Ave A(Storrs Ave.)
Carrabelle, FL 32322
