Subject: A Proper Response to Crisis
Text: Isaiah 38:1-8
Isa 38:1 “About that time Hezekiah became deathly ill, and the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz went to visit him. He gave the king this message: “This is what the Lord says: ‘Set your affairs in order, for you are going to die. You will not recover from this illness.’” 2 When Hezekiah heard this, he turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord, 3 “Remember, O Lord, how I have always been faithful to you and have served you single-mindedly, always doing what pleases you.” Then he broke down and wept bitterly. 4 Then this message came to Isaiah from the Lord: 5 “Go back to Hezekiah and tell him, ‘This is what the Lord, the God of your ancestor David, says: I have heard your prayer and seen your tears. I will add fifteen years to your life, 6 and I will rescue you and this city from the king of Assyria. Yes, I will defend this city. 7 “‘And this is the sign from the Lord to prove that he will do as he promised: 8 I will cause the sun’s shadow to move ten steps backward on the sundial[a] of Ahaz!’” So the shadow on the sundial moved backward ten steps.”
Introduction: Ecclesiastes 3:1-6 “For everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven. 2 A time to be born and a time to die. A time to plant and a time to harvest. 3 A time to kill and a time to heal. A time to tear down and a time to build up. 4 A time to cry and a time to laugh. A time to grieve and a time to dance. 5 A time to scatter stones and a time to gather stones. A time to embrace and a time to turn away. 6 A time to search and a time to quit searching. A time to keep and a time to throw away. 7 A time to tear and a time to mend. A time to be quiet and a time to speak. 8 A time to love and a time to hate. A time for war and a time for peace.”
We have assurance that life is filled with times and seasons of change, often we are caught by surprise. Have you ever been caught by surprise in a crisis? Believers caught in crisis may be a difficult subject to address because of todays’ social climate. With so many Gospels being preached, many followers of Christ seem confused about how to respond to crisis and how to act when life takes an unexpected turn. Some believe godly living, sound faith and positive thinking will exempt them from all the trials of life. Yet, in our text, Hezekiah, a godly king of Judah and Jerusalem finds himself in a dilemma. Isaiah, his scribe, and friend comes with an unexpected message. The prophet Isaiah for many years had approached the kings of Judah with the word of God, proclaiming God’s call to repentance, God’s promise of protection and God’s promise of future blessings. The nation was encouraged to seek God’s forgiveness and be spared from judgment. Much of Isaiah prophecies were rejected, now the prophet received a new message for the king and the nation. Although Isaiah pronounced judgment, he knew that holy love, devoted zeal and sincere repentance would restore God’s mercy and blessing.
In response to the prophet, King Hezekiah and his people turned to God with repentance, and uprightness. God intervened by saying that the nation of Assyria would not be allowed to invade Jerusalem. The pending invasion was a crisis of danger! When the nation of Judah seemed without hope, Isaiah became their intercessor like Moses, the prophet of old, and God granted deliverance to Judah and Jerusalem. Hezekiah was a great and good king, who followed in the way of great-grand father King Uzziah. Hezekiah abolished idolatry, and even destroyed the brazen serpent which Moses had built. He brought about a great reformation during his reign of Judah.
Hezekiah’s trouble began when he refused to pay the tribute which his father had paid and rebelled against the king of Assyria. The enemies of life will not allow you to leave without a fight. Whenever you are trying to break the yoke of bondage, addiction, poverty, expect a fight! Hezekiah’s act of rebellion led to the invasion of Judah by Sennacherib and his army. The Assyrian army took 40 cities of Judah and now were besieging the Holy city, Jerusalem itself. Finally, Hezekiah yielded to the demands of the Assyrian king and agreed to pay him 300 talents of Silver and 30 talents of Gold. Sennacherib dealt treacherously with Hezekiah and chose to invade Judah again two years later.
Even before the situation with Sennacherib had been settle, Hezekiah had become very ill. In his weaken condition, Hezekiah received this unsettling message from God’s prophet, Isaiah. Isa 38:1 “In those days was Hezekiah sick unto death. And Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz came unto him, and said unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Set thine house in order: for thou shalt die, and not live."
Although Hezekiah was highly favored of God, he was not exempt from sickness and disease. Hezekiah finds himself sick unto death in the middle of his years. His father died at 38 and now he is only 40 years old. Death is the common lot of all, regardless of age. Isaiah brought a pertinent message, “set your house in order.” This text reminds us that it is our duty to prepare for death, before it approaches, to provide for it, by a settling all our worldly affairs, and more especially by receiving Christ by faith, dying daily to our sinful fleshly desires, resisting the attraction of the world, and laying aside every weigh and sin that will pull us off course. The day of our departure will come and maybe sooner than we think. There are some lessons we can learn as we see how saintly King Hezekiah responds to the crisis in his life. Since time, seasons and change comes to all don’t surprised.
1. Don’t Give Up because Crisis Come to All. Life is risky and crisis come to all. “A man that born of woman has a few days and they are full of trouble. Job said, “in the midst of life, we are in death.” Trouble comes to all. Crisis are used by God and Satan. Satan comes to steal, kill, and destroy our hope and faith. Satan tempts uses crisis to discourage us to give up. Don’t give up, keep trusting in a loving God. God uses trials to perfect us. God allows crisis because we need them to grow. None of us grow during seasons of ease. We all like seasons of ease and enjoy those seasons, but we grow and mature through difficult seasons. Change is necessary.
Jas 1:2-4 “My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; 3 Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. 4 But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.”
Instead of giving up during difficult seasons, count it all joy! Believers are in a relationship with a loving, kind, and caring Heavenly Father who knows all about us. I enjoy my Spring, take advantage of my Summers, expect my Falls, but I prepare for my Winters. So, don’t give up because crisis comes to all. It rains on the just and the unjust!
2. Expect God to Send A Word in Crisis. God does not abandon us in crisis. Crisis should cause us to expect to hear from God. Hezekiah on his sickbed was expecting to hear from God. Isaiah, God’s messenger of Good news was already on his way. In this case God sends Hezekiah a word concerning his death. It is wonderful to see like Isaiah speaking clearly for God. Isaiah only said what God said. I am amazed at how Hezekiah received it. His only word to the prophet was thank you! There is no need to get angry with the messenger because you don’t like the messenger. It’s God’s message. You don’t get upset with the mailman because don’t like the letter. We should not expect to receive anything from the prophet other than what the prophet has received from the Lord. We must welcome God’s word whether it be pleasing or not. God will not abandon his people in a crisis and God will send us a word.
2Ti 3:16, 17 “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.” In seasons of crisis, expect God to send us His message. How sad it is, that so many have abandon the Church assembly, the place where God sends a personal word for the person of the local assembly. In crisis, you need a tailor-made word for your life. Hezekiah needed a word from the God he knew, from the prophet he knew about the condition he was in. That’s why God said, forsake not to assemble yourselves together and do it more often as the day grow darker. Don’t give up and expect God to send a word.
3. Take Advantage of Your Opportunities In Crisis. In every situation, there are opportunities. Sickness, affliction, sorrow, grief, and temptation are difficult, but prayer can bring great relief. Prayer eases the heart as pour out our needs and desires to God. Prayer will bring comfort in every crisis, and joy and peace in the hour of death. It is a great consolation when our conscience bears us witness that we have walked upright before God. It is a blessing when our heart is open, full of godly sincerity, conduct is righteous, and lifestyle is pleasing to God. We have an assurance that God will hear our prayer. Not only that, but God also regards every tear which falls from the eye of his children. He will give them the garments of praise for the spirit of heaviness. Prayer guarantees us “Divine Intervention!” Crisis may prevent from fight or flight, but we can pray even in a trap. Don’t give up because crisis comes to all. Expect God to send you a Word in your crisis. Take advantage of your opportunity to pray In your crisis. You can go to God with confidence. 1Jo 5:14-15 “And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us: And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him.”
4. Expect God to Reward Your Efforts. Isa 38:4-8 “Go, and say to Hezekiah, Thus saith the LORD, the God of David thy father, I have heard thy prayer, I have seen thy tears: behold, I will add unto thy days fifteen years. 6 And I will deliver thee and this city out of the hand of the king of Assyria: and I will defend this city. 7 And this shall be a sign unto thee from the LORD, that the LORD will do this thing that he hath spoken; 8 Behold, I will bring again the shadow of the degrees, which is gone down in the sun dial of Ahaz, ten degrees backward. So the sun returned ten degrees, by which degrees it was gone down.”
God knows how to make you perfect and complete, wanting nothing. Hezekiah is praying that God would spare his life, Yet God rewards his efforts by sending prosperity to Zion. God did more than Hezekiah asked. Hezekiah’s received the restoration of his health, deliverance for his city, and peace for his people. Finally, God gave him a miracle of confirmation and assurance. Hezekiah’s faith was rewarded. God will reward our efforts too. Hezekiah did not make any demands of God. He did not elect to tell God what to do or how to do it. He prayed and left it in the hands of a loving God. God can be trusted in our crisis. His hands are good hands!
2Ch 16:9a “For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him.”
1Pe 3:12 “For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open unto their prayers: but the face of the Lord is against them that do evil. 13 And who is he that will harm you, if ye be followers of that which is good?
Crisis may prevent you from fighting or fleeing, but there is something you can do. There is a proper response in crisis for the believer. Don’t give up because crisis comes to all. Expect God to send you a Word of instruction in your crisis. Take advantage of your opportunity to pray, talk to God for yourself In crisis. Finally, go to God with confidence, expecting your efforts to be rewarded. God will do more than you ask, think, or imagine! Hezekiah received 15 more years of good health, deliverance for the city of Jerusalem, and peace and prosperity for his people. Finally, God gave him a miracle of confirmation and assurance. Hezekiah’s efforts was rewarded. God will reward our efforts too.
