Hate Mail”
II Kings 19:9-19 & 32-36
2KI 19:9 Now Sennacherib received a report that Tirhakah, the Cushite king of Egypt, was marching out to fight against him. So he again sent messengers to Hezekiah with this word: 10 "Say to Hezekiah king of Judah: Do not let the god you depend on deceive you when he says, `Jerusalem will not be handed over to the king of Assyria.’ 11 Surely you have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all the countries, destroying them completely. And will you be delivered? 12 Did the gods of the nations that were destroyed by my forefathers deliver them: the gods of Gozan, Haran, Rezeph and the people of Eden who were in Tel Assar? 13 Where is the king of Hamath, the king of Arpad, the king of the city of Sepharvaim, or of Hena or Ivvah?" 14 Hezekiah received the letter from the messengers and read it. Then he went up to the temple of the LORD and spread it out before the LORD. 15 And Hezekiah prayed to the LORD: "O LORD, God of Israel, enthroned between the cherubim, you alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth. 16 Give ear, O LORD, and hear; open your eyes, O LORD, and see; listen to the words Sennacherib has sent to insult the living God. 17 "It is true, O LORD, that the Assyrian kings have laid waste these nations and their lands. 18 They have thrown their gods into the fire and destroyed them, for they were not gods but only wood and stone, fashioned by men’s hands. 19 Now, O LORD our God, deliver us from his hand, so that all kingdoms on earth may know that you alone, O LORD, are God."
2KI 19:32 "Therefore this is what the LORD says concerning the king of Assyria: "He will not enter this city or shoot an arrow here. He will not come before it with shield or build a siege ramp against it. 33 By the way that he came he will return; he will not enter this city, declares the LORD. 34 I will defend this city and save it, for my sake and for the sake of David my servant." 35 That night the angel of the LORD went out and put to death a hundred and eighty-five thousand men in the Assyrian camp. When the people got up the next morning--there were all the dead bodies! 36 So Sennacherib king of Assyria broke camp and withdrew. He returned to Nineveh and stayed there.
INTRODUCTION
• Hezekiah received some really devastating and threatening hate mail from his enemy in this passage
• I want to remind all of us this morning, that we are really no different…the enemy of our souls would like to use whatever means necessary to discourage us as we try to grow in Christ.
• Let’s take a close look at what Hezekiah went through here…I think we will be able to relate to him pretty well:
I. What He RECEIVED {vs 14}
• He received a message from his enemy which could have been very discouraging and very defeating
• What kind of hate mail do we receive from the enemy of our souls?
“You can’t be forgiven” “Things will never change”
“Your prayers are useless” “You’re not good enough”
• I need to remind you that the devil is a liar!
John 8:44 … He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.
II. His RESPONSE {vs 14-19}
1. Where he PROCEEDED (vs 14)
• Immediately, Hezekiah went to the presence of the Lord
• Don’t underestimate the power of being in the presence of God!
In Your PRIVATE Life
In Your PUBLIC Life
2. What he PLACED (vs 14)
• He spread the letters/hate mail out before the Lord
• That is exactly what I am going to give you the opportunity to do this morning…place your “hate mail” before the Lord
1PE 5:6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. 7 Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.
3. When he PRAYED (vs 15-19)
• This was Hezekiah’s line of defense. He prayed a powerful prayer to the Lord.
He mentioned God’s POWER
He mentioned the PROBLEM
He mentioned his POSITION
He mentioned God’s PURPOSE
The Mail Slot
Author Garry Friesen writes: When my friend Reilly told me about his first visit to our church, I learned something about prayer. Reilly says that after the service he lingered, talking to this person and that. When he stepped outside, his four-year-old daughter, Melody, did not come out. By then the building was empty, and the door was locked and could be opened only with a key.
Reilly called through the mail slot in the large oak door, "Melody are you in there?" A small frightened voice answered, "Yes, Daddy." Then Melody put her hand through the mail slot so Daddy could hold it until someone fetched a church key. Melody could not see him, but she knew her father was there, and she was comforted.
Prayer is like a comforting hand through a mail slot. The Father is there listening and comforting even when you can not see him.
III. His RESULTS {vs 32-36}
• The Lord’s WORD (vs 32-34)
Hezekiah was able to receive the Word from God for his situation through the prophet, Isaiah
This morning, you have the Word of the Lord as well:
PHP 4:19 And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.
PHP 4:13 I can do everything through him who gives me strength.
RO 8:37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.
RO 8:38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
JN 10:10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.
JER 29:11 For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. 12 Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. 13 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.
• The Lord’s WORK (vs 35)
• Needless to say, God handled the situation pretty effectively
• I want to remind you that God has His plan and He wants to defeat the enemy handily
• The Lord’s people WON (vs 36)
• The threat the people were told was coming was totally stopped
In his book Sit, Walk, Stand, Watchman Nee describes a preaching mission to an island off the South China coast. There were seven in the ministering group, including a sixteen-year-old new convert whom he calls Brother Wu. The island was fairly large, containing about 6,000 homes. Nee had a contact there, an old schoolmate of his who was headmaster of the village school, but he refused to house the group when he discovered they had come to preach the Gospel. Finally, they found lodging with a Chinese herbalist, who became their first convert. Preaching seemed quite fruitless on the island, and Nee discovered it was because of the dedication of the people there to an idol they called Ta-wang. They were convinced of his power because on the day of his festival and parade each year the weather was always near perfect.
"When is the procession this year?" young Wu asked a group that had gathered to hear them preach.
"It is fixed for January 11th at 8 in the morning," was the reply.
"Then," said the new convert, "I promise you that it will certainly rain on the 11th."
At that there was an outburst of cries from the crowd: "That is enough! We don’t want to hear any more preaching. If there is rain on the 11th, then your God is God!"
Watchman Nee had been elsewhere in the village when this confrontation had taken place. Upon being informed about it, he saw that the situation was serious and called the group to prayer. On the morning of the 11th, there was not a cloud in the sky, but during grace for breakfast, sprinkles began to fall and these were followed by heavy rain. Worshipers of the idol Ta-wang were so upset that they placed it in a sedan chair and carried it outdoors, hoping this would stop the rain. Then the rain increased. After only a short distance, the carriers of the idol stumbled and fell, dropping the idol and fracturing its jaw and left arm.
A number of young people turned to Christ as a result of the rain coming in answer to prayer, but the elders of the village made divination and said that the wrong day had been chosen. The proper day of the procession, they said, should have been the 14th. When Nee and his friends heard this, they again went to prayer, asking for rain on the 14th and for clear days for preaching until then. That afternoon the sky cleared and on the good days that followed there were thirty converts. Of the crucial test day, Nee says: The 14th broke, another perfect day, and we had good meetings. As the evening approached we met again at the appointed hour. We quietly brought the matter to the Lord’s remembrance. Not a minute late, His answer came with torrential rain and floods as before.
The power of the idol over the islanders was broken; the enemy was defeated. Believing prayer had brought a great victory. Conversions followed. And the impact upon the servants of God who had witnessed His power would continue to enrich their Christian service from that time on.
• God wants to give you the victory as well in your situation
RESPONSE
• This morning, give your “hate mail” to the Lord!
• Lay your situations out before the Lord today!
