Recovering What’s Lost

Sermon - "Recovering What’s Lost"

{Audio: https://mega.nz/#!PdNhTAaQ!-KqtwlASOwEcUaSpQe6A-vvBat09LSkidDKaAxDsM3w}

The Bible says that Manasseh did evil in the sight of the Lord according to the nations God had kicked out; but then it says something we all need to sit up and pay attention to. It says, “He rebuilt the high places which Hezekiah his father had destroyed” (2 Kings 21:3a).

The sin of Manasseh that eventually caused of the nation of Judah to be taken captive by the Babylonians with Jerusalem and the Temple of God being destroyed wasn’t just following the idolatrous ways of the other nations, it was also his deliberate undoing of what his father, Hezekiah, had taken such pains and time to accomplish for the glory and worship of God. The culmination of this evil effort was the building of altars to false gods in the Temple of the Lord.

Now look at what the Lord reveals concerning the heart of the people at the undoing of God’s holy and righteous standards. “They paid no attention” (2 Kings 21:9a).

It then goes on to say because of the people’s complacency Manasseh was able to seduce the people and the nation to do even more evil than they could ever imagine, more than all the idolatrous and godless nations that surrounded them.

This story has current implications. Today we have seen that our leaders have done the same to America. They have systematically taken away the very foundation upon which our country was founded upon, and that is the Lord God. They have taken prayer and the Bible out of our schools. They have taken the Ten Commandments from out of our courtrooms. They are trying to take “In God We Trust” from off our money, and “One Nation Under God” from out of our pledge. They’ve even taken “Christ” out of “Christmas.” In the name of tolerance they want us to agree with what we consider morally wrong, yet they won’t tolerate our belief in what the Bible says is right.

This story and what we see happening in our country today should be a wake up call for the church. Because we have not only been letting slide God’s moral standards, but also we have been paying little to no attention to the commandments of God’s word. And as a result we have been seduced, which has led our nation into even more and greater evil. We need to take to heart the words of the Lord who said, “Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; who put darkness for light, and light for darkness” (Isaiah 5:20).

So, what can we do? How about following God’s word and return to His ways and revival.

“If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.” (2 Chronicles 7:14 NKJV)

And we need to do it quickly because there isn’t much time left!

Going back to our story, disaster was averted, if only for a short time. After the Manasseh disaster the nation of Judah entered into a time of reformation and revival, and it is all because of Manasseh’s grandson, King Josiah. We find the story in 2 Kings 22:1 thru 23:28.

Josiah swept away all the sins and idolatry of his grandfather. First he restored the temple, and in so doing rediscovered the Book of the Law. After hearing the words, Josiah humbled himself and mourned over his and the nation’s sinful condition.

Next he removed what Manasseh had done. Listen to the words that are used. He “brought out,” “removed,” “tore down,” “put away,” “broke down,” “took away,” and “burned” all the idols, temples, and high places throughout the land.

And because he had humbled himself, wept, and removed the abominations, the calamity was averted for the time, and that there was no king who proceeded or followed who had turned to the Lord so completely.

You see, Josiah had “made a covenant before the Lord” to follow and keep the word of God. But it wasn’t Josiah alone. It took the nation as well. It goes on to say, “And all the people took a stand for the covenant” (2 Kings 23:3).

We need to personally and corporately as the church make a covenant with God to follow His word and through the power of the Holy Spirit remove the idols and those high places in our own lives and in the church.

What I’d like to do is look at what it will take to recover what we have lost, not only what we have lost as a nation, but also what we have lost in our lives. The story I want to share with you comes from the life of King David, and it’s one of my favorite stories from his life that shows not only the consequences of compromise, but also the road back where we can recover all that we have lost, and then some.