Where do you t u r n when the bottom drops out?

#803 Quincinera YearApril 26, 2015

Where do you go when all Hell(o) breaks loose?

• The story of King Hezekiah is a great illustration in living faith for us this morning.

• Hezekiah’s story is so relevant and meaningful it is written in three different books of the Bible. (In Hebrew literature, repetition is an important device to signify importance.)

Gary Inrig

• “The Bible makes clear that Christians live in a spiritual warzone. We face 3 relentless enemies-the world, the flesh and the devil. They all oppose us but not in the same way. The world attacks our hearts, seducing us to conformity. Satan attacks our mind, driving us to doubt. The flesh attacks our wills, luring us to indulgence. As long as we are on earth, we will face their opposition to a God-honoring life.”

What’s your bio in heaven?

• II Kings 18:5-6 “Hezekiah trusted in the LORD, the God of Israel. There was no one like him among all the kings of Judah, either before him or after him. He held fast to the LORD and did not cease to follow Him; he kept the commands the LORD had given Moses.”

King Hezekiah Isaiah 36-37

• Went to the Temple-“take me to church!”• Prayed to God• Called for the Prophet Isaiah

Asked for godly counsel: do you have a “go to” who has a living faith in Jesus Christ? A voice in your life who speaks to and hears from God?

“Christian, don’t be paranoid but…”

• “An average view of the Christian life is that it means deliverance from trouble; it is deliverance in trouble, which is a very different thing.”-Oswald Chambers

• Are you regular in the House of the LORD? Is your voice a regular sound in God’s ear? Are you Walking in His Way? When is the last time you joined your pastors in prayer for others on Monday evening?

God might be getting your living faith ready for when all hell-o breaks loose!

• Isaiah 38 Hezekiah is sick, to the point of death. This happened when he was 39 years old, the prime of his life, before the Assyrian threat.

• READ: Isaiah 38:1-8

Where do you turn when all health breaks loose?

• “Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the LORD…” 38:2

• Do you have the confidence to ask God for your deliverance?

• Do you know how to weep bitterly? “And Hezekiah wept bitterly.”

Now it’s personal!

• There is a public concern in Is. 36-37. God’s people are being threatened. “…O LORD our God, deliver us…” 37:20

• But first, there’s a personal crisis in Is. 38. “I am troubled; O Lord, come to my aid.”

Personal relationship with God

As much as I covet your investment in the life of LFLM, your personal relationship with Almighty God is most important.• How’s your relationship with Him?

Does He know your name? Your voice? can He count your tears? It could be a matter of life and death.

See a prophet moonwalk

• “The word of the LORD came to Isaiah: “Go and tell Hezekiah, ‘This is what the LORD, the God of your father David, says: I have heard your prayer and seen your tears; I will add 15 years to your life.” Isaiah 38:4-5

Physical, emotional, mental, spiritual healing!

• Wounds: from scab to scar“This is the LORD’s sign to you that the LORD will do what he has promised: I will make the shadow cast by the sun go back the ten steps it has gone down on the stairway of Ahaz.” Isaiah 38:7-8I spell miracle “M-i-r-a-n-d-a.”

“I have freed you from the prisons your father has built”-James Riles

• Is it possible for God to “turn back time” when we turn to Him? “I will make the shadow cast by the sun go back the ten steps it has gone down on the stairway of Ahaz.” 38:8

• God can turn back the hands of time and you can retrace the steps your father/mother took.”

Pastoral Counsel: Where to Go, Where to Turn

• God

Where NOT to turn!

• Isaiah 36-39 Beware of the enemy called “Me.”

• Self-interest• Unwise alliances• Foolish reliances• Self preservation• Old devices