Faith That Fortifies For The Fight
Text: II Chron.32: 8
Intro: Life is full of struggles, difficulties, and problems. Some are bigger than others. But whether the Christian’s trials in life are of the garden variety, or more along the lines of major tragedy, there is but one thing that will overcome them—faith in God.
We must also keep in mind that our enemy, Satan, is always seeking opportunities to defeat us. We must never forget that there is a spiritual battle going on. Satan seeks to destroy us with our trials, while God seeks to develop us with them. The child of God cannot avoid trials. They can however, face those trials in faith toward God, and thwart Satan’s plan to defeat them.
Today we are dealing with one man’s approach to facing serious problems. Hezekiah, King of Judah, rather than letting the enemy put him in fear and frustration, chose to face his dilemma by faith in God. The problem Hezekiah and Judah faced was so enormous that only God could deliver them. And that is where faith comes in. When the problems are bigger than our ability to handle them, that’s our cue to just rely on God.
In this message we will not only see the enormity of Hezekiah’s problem, and how he chose to face it, but we will also see how unwavering faith produced a wonderful victory. One thing becomes clear in this account from God’s Word: God always honors steadfast faith in Him.
Theme: Notice with me:
I. THE THREAT
II Chron.32: 1 “After these things, and the establishment thereof, Sennacherib king of Assyria came, and entered into Judah, and encamped against the fenced cities, and thought to win them for himself.”
A. The King Speedily Commenced Preparation.
1. He stopped the waters.
II Chron.32: 2 “And when Hezekiah saw that Sennacherib, was come, and that he was purposed to fight against Jerusalem,
3 He took counsel with his princes and his mighty men to stop the waters of the fountains which were without the city: and they did help him.
4 So there was gathered much people together, who stopped all the fountains, and the brook that ran through the midst of the land, saying, Why should the kings of Assyria come, and find much water?
NOTE: [1] One of the first things I want you to notice here is that Hezekiah did not simply take a passive stance. He responded to this threat by first doing what he knew to be logical to do. That part didn’t take any faith—just common sense.
In 1937 architect Frank Lloyd Wright built a house for industrialist Hibbard Johnson. One rainy evening Johnson was entertaining distinguished guests for dinner when the roof began to leak. The water seeped through directly above Johnson himself, dripping steadily onto his bald head. Irate, he called Wright in Phoenix, Arizona. “Frank,” he said, “you built this beautiful house for me and we enjoy it very much. But I have told you the roof leaks, and right now I am with some friends and distinguished guests and it is leaking right on top of my head.”
Wright’s reply was heard by all of the guests. “Well, Hib, why don’t you move your chair?”
Today in the Word, Moody Bible Institute, Jan, 1992, p.14.
[2] Hezekiah did what anyone should do when trouble appears imminent—make preparations. The Bible backs up this way of thinking.
Prov.22: 3 “A prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself: but the simple pass on, and are punished.”
[3] Hezekiah also determined not to give the enemy any unnecessary advantages. That’s why he stopped the waters outside the city. We too need to be careful not to give our enemy, Satan, any unnecessary advantages over us.
Rom.13: 14 “But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof.”
II Cor.2: 10 “To whom ye forgive any thing, I forgive also: for if I forgave any thing, to whom I forgave it, for your sakes forgave I it in the person of Christ;
11 Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices.”
2. He strengthened the walls.
II Chron.32: 5 “Also he strengthened himself, and built up all the wall that was broken, and raised it up to the towers, and another wall without, and repaired Millo in the city of David, and made darts and shields in abundance.”
NOTE: We can strengthen our spiritual walls by putting on, and keeping on, the whole armor of God, spoken of in Eph.6: 11-18.
3. He strategized for war.
II Chron.32: 6a “And he set captains of war over the people…”
B. The Enemy Sought To Create Panic.
1. The enemy made light of Hezekiah’s leadership.
II Chron.32: 9 “After this did Sennacherib king of Assyria send his servants to Jerusalem, (but he himself laid siege against Lachish, and all his power with him,) unto Hezekiah king of Judah, and unto all Judah that were at Jerusalem, saying,
10 Thus saith Sennacherib king of Assyria, Whereon do ye trust, that ye abide in the siege in Jerusalem?
11 Doth not Hezekiah persuade you to give over yourselves to die by famine and by thirst, saying, The Lord our God shall deliver us out of the hand of the king of Assyria?
12 Hath not the same Hezekiah taken away his high places and his altars, and commanded Judah and Jerusalem, saying, Ye shall worship before one altar, and burn incense upon it?”
NOTE: [1] The enemy wanted to cause the people to not only doubt Hezekiah’s leadership, but to doubt God’s ability to deliver them. Doubt is a most deadly weapon that Satan uses effectively in a dilemma. If he can get us to doubt God, the battle is already lost.
[2] In verse twelve, Sennacherib, knowing that Hezekiah had instituted religious reforms in Jerusalem, by destroying the idols of his father, seeks to utilize any dissent that remained among the Jews. Division is another deadly weapon in Satan’s arsenal. He believes strongly in the military strategy of “divide and conquer.” Christians need to unite for battle, not divide over petty issues.
2. The enemy boasted of their conquests of other lands.
II Chron.32: 13 “Know ye not what I and my fathers have done unto all the people of other lands? were the gods of the nations of those lands any ways able to deliver their lands out of mine hand?
14 Who was there among all the gods of those nations that my fathers utterly destroyed, that could deliver his people out of mine hand, that your God should be able to deliver you out of mine hand?”
NOTE: This diatribe by the enemy sounds a little like the oft-stated warning of the imaginary Borg, on the series Star Trek: The Next Generation—“Resistance is futile.” That’s precisely what the devil wants us to believe. He wants us to give up before the battle has begun.
Black Bart
Black Bart was a professional thief whose very name struck fear as he terrorized the Wells Fargo stage line. From San Francisco to New York, his name became synonymous with the danger of the frontier.
Between 1875 and 1883 he robbed 29 different stagecoach crews. Amazingly, Bart did it all without firing a shot. Because a hood hid his face, no victim ever saw his face. He never took a hostage and was never trailed by a sheriff. Instead, Black Bart used fear to paralyze his victims. His sinister presence was enough to overwhelm the toughest stagecoach guard.
Today in the Word, August 8, 1992
3. The enemy ridiculed Hezekiah’s Lord.
II Chron.32: 16 “And his servants spake yet more against the Lord God, and against his servant Hezekiah.
17 He wrote also letters to rail on the Lord God of Israel, and to speak against him, saying, As the gods of the nations of other lands have not delivered their people out of mine hand, so shall not the God of Hezekiah deliver his people out of mine hand.
…………………………………………………………………………
19 And they spake against the God of Jerusalem, as against the gods of the people of the earth, which were the work of the hands of man.”
NOTE: [1] One thing the enemy didn’t take into account when spewing forth this ridicule of God, was the fact that the gods of all those other lands were not real gods at all. It was really no surprise that they were unable to deliver them from harm. Satan always tries to minimize God in our minds.
[2] You might be thinking that surely no one in Jerusalem listening to this drivel would really believe it. But just think how easy it is for us to listen to Satan in the midst of a crisis, when he ridicules God for not caring about our situation.
II. THE TRUST
A. Hezekiah Encouraged A Faithful Predisposition.
II Chron.32: 6 “And he set captains of war over the people, and gathered them together to him in the street of the gate of the city, and spake comfortably to them, saying,
7 Be strong and courageous, be not afraid nor dismayed for the king of Assyria, nor for all the multitude that is with him;
8 With him is an arm of flesh; but with us is the Lord our God to help us, and to fight our battles. And the people rested themselves upon the words of Hezekiah king of Judah.”
NOTE: [1] Hezekiah wanted to get his people thinking along the lines of faith toward God before the real trouble came. To this point, they had only received threats.
[2] Hezekiah comforted his people with the fact that the only thing upon which the king of Assyria could rely was human strength. But Judah relied on their heavenly Sovereign.
[3] It often takes much of the Christian’s life just to learn that God really can be trusted.
Trust Him
Trust Him when dark doubts assail thee,
Trust Him when thy strength is small,
Trust Him when to simply trust Him
Seems the hardest thing of all.
Trust Him, He is ever faithful,
Trust Him, for his will is best,
Trust Him, for the heart of Jesus
Is the only place of rest.
Author Unknown
B. Hezekiah Entered Into Fervent Prayer.
II Chron.32: 20 “And for this cause Hezekiah the king, and the prophet Isaiah the son of Amoz, prayed and cried to heaven.”
1. When Hezekiah heard the initial threat, he sought God in prayer.
Isa.37: 1 “And it came to pass, when king Hezekiah heard it, that he rent his clothes, and covered himself with sackcloth, and went into the house of the Lord.” (II Chron.32: 1-16)
2. When Hezekiah received the threatening letter, he prayed.
Isa.37: 14 “And Hezekiah received the letter from the hand of the messengers, and read it: and Hezekiah went up unto the house of the Lord, and spread it before the Lord.
15a And Hezekiah prayed unto the Lord…”
NOTE: Wouldn’t it be wonderful if all God’s children would learn to respond to all their difficulties with humbleness before God, rather than horror and hardness?
III. THE TRIUMPH
A. Hezekiah’s Enemies Were Miraculously Slain.
II Chron.32: 21 “And the Lord sent an angel, which cut off all the mighty men of valour, and the leaders and captains in the camp of the king of Assyria. So he returned with shame of face to his own land. And when he was come into the house of his god, they that came forth of his own bowels slew him there with the sword.”
NOTE: [1] According to Isa.37: 36, prior to the death of Sennacherib, his armies suffered a severe decimation to the tune of 185,000. All of these were killed in one night, by the death angel that God sent through their camp.
[2] It is also noteworthy that the god that Sennacherib boasted to be so powerful as to give him the victory over all the other gods of the lands, wasn’t powerful enough to protect him from his own murderous sons.
[3] There is always victory in Christ, for He cannot lose.
Jesus Is Going to Win
Vernon Grounds tells of an incident that happened while he was in seminary. Since the school had no gymnasium, he and his friends played basketball in a nearby public school.
Nearby, an elderly janitor waited patiently until the seminarians finished playing. Invariably he sat there reading his Bible.
One day my friend asked him what he was reading. The man answered, “The book of Revelation.” Surprised, my friend asked if he understood it. “Oh, yes,” the man assured him. “I understand it.” “What does it mean?” Quietly the janitor answered, “It means that Jesus is gonna win.”
Grounds concludes, “That’s the best commentary I have ever heard on that book. Jesus is going to win. That’s the Biblical mind-set.”
Source unknown
B. Hezekiah’s People Were Marvelously Spared.
II Chron.32: 22 “Thus the Lord saved Hezekiah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem from the hand of Sennacherib the king of Assyria, and from the hand of all other, and guided them on every side.”
C. Hezekiah Became Magnificently Secure.
II Chron.32: 23 “And many brought gifts unto the Lord to Jerusalem, and presents to Hezekiah king of Judah: so that he was magnified in the sight of all nations from thenceforth.”
Theme: Notice with me:
I. THE THREAT
II. THE TRUST
III. THE TRIUMPH
Check out the author’s book, "Meditations of the Heart: Thoughts on the Christian Life" at:
http://www.amazon.com/Meditations-Heart-Thoughts-Christian-Life/dp/1453739238
