Under New Management

Face 2 the Wall

Under New Management

2 Chronicles 29

What do you do when you’re back is to the wall?

“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.’” When Hezekiah heard this, he turned his face to the wall and prayed to the LORD,”
‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭38:1-2‬ ‭NLT‬‬

We are looking at the life and decisions of King Hezekiah in the Old Testament.

Last week, we looked at him in contrast to his father, King Ahaz, so that we could set a foundation for our discussion.

We saw that King Hezekiah had a trend of surrendering to God when hard times and hard decisions came his way. 

His father did everything he could to run from God and ended up closing down the temple in Jerusalem because of his bad decisions. 

But there is a new king in town in 2 Chronicles 29...

2 Chronicles 29 New Living Translation (NLT)

Hezekiah Rules in Judah

1 Hezekiah was twenty-five years old when he became the king of Judah, and he reigned in Jerusalem twenty-nine years. His mother was Abijah, the daughter of Zechariah. 2 He did what was pleasing in the Lord’s sight, just as his ancestor David had done.

Today, we are going to look at the very first moments of Hezekiah’s reign in Judah. Starting in verse 3...

Hezekiah Reopens the Temple

3 In the very first month of the first year of his reign, Hezekiah reopened the doors of the Temple of the Lord and repaired them. 4 He summoned the priests and Levites to meet him at the courtyard east of the Temple. 5 He said to them, “Listen to me, you Levites! Purify yourselves, and purify the Temple of the Lord, the God of your ancestors. Remove all the defiled things from the sanctuary. 6 Our ancestors were unfaithful and did what was evil in the sight of the Lord our God. They abandoned the Lord and his dwelling place; they turned their backs on him. 7 They also shut the doors to the Temple’s entry room, and they snuffed out the lamps. They stopped burning incense and presenting burnt offerings at the sanctuary of the God of Israel.

8 “That is why the Lord’s anger has fallen upon Judah and Jerusalem. He has made them an object of dread, horror, and ridicule, as you can see with your own eyes. 9 Because of this, our fathers have been killed in battle, and our sons and daughters and wives have been captured. 10 But now I will make a covenant with the Lord, the God of Israel, so that his fierce anger will turn away from us. 11 My sons, do not neglect your duties any longer! The Lord has chosen you to stand in his presence, to minister to him, and to lead the people in worship and present offerings to him.”

Hezekiah’s very first initiative as king was to reverse what his father, King Ahaz did.

He opened and repaired the doors so that people could come in again.

He reinstated the Levites to clear out and care for the Temple and the worshippers who came in.

Look at verse 7 again...

7 They also shut the doors to the Temple’s entry room, and they snuffed out the lamps. They stopped burning incense and presenting burnt offerings at the sanctuary of the God of Israel.

This verse paints a bleak picture of what the once thriving Temple of God had been reduced to. 

This was the same temple that Solomon dedicated to the Lord with a rare appearance of the Shekinah glory in attendance.

This was the same temple that had been the center of the universe for every Israelite in the kingdom for many years, but now it sits covered in cob-webs and filth. Dark and dank.

What does a dusty, broken down temple have to do with us?

“Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body.”
‭‭1 Corinthians‬ ‭6:19-20‬ ‭NLT‬‬

We are the temple

We bear the responsibility when our lives are in disrepair or suffering from neglect and indifference.

Like King Ahaz, many of us have closed the doors to our relationship with God. Many of us have turned the lights out on that place in our heart that still carries His presence. Still more of us have become indifferent to the fact that we are meant to be living temples, displaying the presence and power of God wherever we go!

How do we reverse the damage that has been done to our temple?

Look at verse 15...

15 These men called together their fellow Levites, and they all purified themselves. Then they began to cleanse the Temple of the Lord, just as the king had commanded. They were careful to follow all the Lord’s instructions in their work. 16 The priests went into the sanctuary of the Temple of the Lord to cleanse it, and they took out to the Temple courtyard all the defiled things they found. From there the Levites carted it all out to the Kidron Valley.

Under New Management

It’s almost like King Hezekiah put a HUGE banner across the front of the temple saying, this temple is “UNDER NEW MANAGEMENT”

The best thing that could happen to Judah happened when the temple came under new management!

The best thing that will ever happen to you is when your heart, your life comes under new management.

There are four things we must do to bring our temple, our lives, under new management and they are found in vs. 11...

Come in (from the outside)

“The Lord has chosen you to stand in his presence…”

The levites and congregation couldn’t stand in His presence until they repaired the doors of the temple.

The doors were broken which made it impossible for anyone to go in or out. Because the doors were broken, it was impossible to stand in the Lord’s presence so the only way they could come in from the outside was if they did two things:

1. Repair the doors
2. Clear the junk out

Think about it...the temple was filled with junk that kept it from fulfilling it’s purpose because the junk took up all the room that the levites and congregation were meant to fill. So the levites began the process of restoring it and clearing it out.

“...Remove all the defiled things from the sanctuary.”

Cardinal sin: Trampling through the house with mud.

• “Now repent of your sins and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped away. Then times of refreshment will come from the presence of the Lord, and he will again send you Jesus, your appointed Messiah. For he must remain in heaven until the time for the final restoration of all things, as God promised long ago through his holy prophets.”
  ‭‭Acts of the Apostles‬ ‭3:19-21‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Look up

...to minister to him

• “Therefore, let us offer through Jesus a continual sacrifice of praise to God, proclaiming our allegiance to his name. And don’t forget to do good and to share with those in need. These are the sacrifices that please God.”
  ‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭13:15-16‬ ‭NLT‬‬
  

Focusing on what God wants causes us to lose our selfishness.

Don't make your faith about you.

Ask yourself whether your faith plan truly ministers to God.

Reach out

“...to lead the people in worship”

How do you worship?

• “David appointed the following Levites to lead the people in worship before the Ark of the LORD —to invoke his blessings, to give thanks, and to praise the LORD, the God of Israel.”
  ‭‭1 Chronicles‬ ‭16:4‬ ‭NLT‬‬
  

Reach out from the inside

• “When I am with those who are weak, I share their weakness, for I want to bring the weak to Christ. Yes, I try to find common ground with everyone, doing everything I can to save some. I do everything to spread the Good News and share in its blessings.”
  ‭‭1 Corinthians‬ ‭9:22-23‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Others should want to honor the God you honor.

Live Face Down

“...and present offerings to him.”

The people’s offerings to God required them worship face down.

They recognized God as their source and their offerings helped them live a life of humility before Him.

This posture of worship is something that we desperately need to practice with our hearts as we come to God.

If you want to avoid a face to the wall experience, keep your face to the ground.

" A clean heart is a free heart."

~Mother Teresa

If you want to bring your life under new management, pray this prayer today...

"Jesus, I need you to come and sweep through my life. Help me clear out the clutter and junk. Heal the brokenness in the temple of my heart and come, live in me. I want to know your presence and feel you near in the place of the distance and awkwardness I feel between us now. I humble myself with my face to the ground so that I won't have to live with my back against the wall anymore. Give me a fresh start, in Jesus name. Amen"

If you prayed that prayer today, I would love to know! Email me at adamsrescue1@gmail.com and let me know what God did in your life today!

Face 2 the Wall

A Tale of Two Kings

2 Chronicles 28-29

What do you do when your back is to the wall?

This story about an ancient king of Judah grabbed my attention...

“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.’” When Hezekiah heard this, he turned his face to the wall and prayed to the LORD,”
‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭38:1-2‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Hezekiah's back was up against the wall until he turned and faced it. When he turned his face to the wall, it served as a sign of surrender and resignation to God. This was a hard pill to swallow, but it wasn't the first time Hezekiah found himself in a tough situation...

Tale of Two Kings

King Hezekiah had a habit of surrendering to God when hard times and hard decisions came his way.

His father, King Ahaz had a habit of running FROM God when trouble came his way.

When a king was walking with God, the nation was blessed.

When a king turned away from God, the nation became vulnerable.

This trend is very clear in scripture and it is evident in our own lives as well.

Facing God causes you to turn your back on your circumstances and situations and we are going to do that by looking today at the tale of two kings.

King=Leadership

We don’t deal with kings (in the traditional sense) a whole lot in the 21st century, but these stories from ancient Israel were written down as leadership lessons for us as followers of Christ. If you intend to lead any group of people, the stories of these ancient Kings (that is recorded in the books of Chronicles and Kings) can be an example of Godly leadership or an example of what NOT to do.

Read these accounts that are recorded in 2 Chronicles...

2 Chronicles‬ ‭26:5‬ ‭NLT‬‬
“Uzziah was sixteen years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem fifty-two years. His mother was Jecoliah from Jerusalem. He did what was pleasing in the LORD’s sight, just as his father, Amaziah, had done.

“Uzziah sought God during the days of Zechariah, who taught him to fear God. And as long as the king sought guidance from the LORD, God gave him success.”
‭‭

‭2 Chronicles‬ ‭27:1-2‬ ‭NLT‬‬

“Jotham was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem sixteen years. His mother was Jerusha, the daughter of Zadok. Jotham did what was pleasing in the LORD’s sight. He did everything his father, Uzziah, had done, except that Jotham did not sin by entering the Temple of the LORD. But the people continued in their corrupt ways.”

Do you see the trend? Now let's look at King Ahaz (Hezekiah's father)

2 Chronicles 28:1-2

“Ahaz was twenty years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem sixteen years. He did not do what was pleasing in the sight of the LORD, as his ancestor David had done. Instead, he followed the example of the kings of Israel. He cast metal images for the worship of Baal.”

King #1- Ahaz: Profile of a terrible king

Ahaz was twenty years old when he succeeded his father, Jotham to the throne of Judea. He was a weak and idolatrous king. He even made his first son walk through the fire of Moloch. His other son, Hezekiah, who was to become king after Ahaz, was saved from the flames of the idol by his mother.

King #2- Hezekiah: Profile of a faithful king

2 Chronicles 29:1-2

“Hezekiah was twenty-five years old when he became the king of Judah, and he reigned in Jerusalem twenty-nine years. His mother was Abijah, the daughter of Zechariah. He did what was pleasing in the LORD’s sight, just as his ancestor David had done.”

Hezekiah fought with the same enemies and dealt with the same cultural decay that his father, Ahaz, did.

The difference is clear, however, when it comes to the way God saw them and the effect that had on the people they led.

“Hezekiah trusted in the LORD, the God of Israel. There was no one like him among all the kings of Judah, either before or after his time. He remained faithful to the LORD in everything, and he carefully obeyed all the commands the LORD had given Moses. So the LORD was with him, and Hezekiah was successful in everything he did. He revolted against the king of Assyria and refused to pay him tribute.”
‭‭2 Kings‬ ‭18:5-7

What made them so different?
Which king are you most like?

Do you lead your own life like Ahaz or Hezekiah?

Are you leading others to blessing or brokenness?

What kind of leader are you?

We all lead in some way. Others are looking at us to lead them. Our kids, our family, our office or coworkers. If you are not leading anyone, perhaps you should start by leading yourself!

Here are three things I see in King Hezekiah's life, leadership and the tale of two kings that can be valuable lessons for us to learn...

Decree 1: Lead by following

He remained faithful to the LORD in everything, and he carefully obeyed all the commands the LORD had given Moses. So the LORD was with him, and Hezekiah was successful in everything he did.

Obedience to God leads to success

Success doesn’t mean Hezekiah never faced a battle...in fact, it means quite the opposite. His reign was filled with conflict . What made it successful was HOW he faced that conflict.

Decree 2: Lead with a mirror in mind

Good leaders are self-aware leaders. Hezekiah was VERY self-aware and his father was just plain self-centered.

Good leaders also understand that the people they lead are a direct reflection of the health (and unhealth) in their own lives.

The best leaders know that the people they are leading will be hurt or helped because of their own personal growth and godliness.

Look at this passage about Ahaz...

“Because of all this, the LORD his God allowed the king of Aram to defeat Ahaz and to exile large numbers of his people to Damascus. The armies of the king of Israel also defeated Ahaz and inflicted many casualties on his army. In a single day Pekah son of Remaliah, Israel’s king, killed 120,000 of Judah’s troops, all of them experienced warriors, because they had abandoned the LORD, the God of their ancestors. Then Zicri, a warrior from Ephraim, killed Maaseiah, the king’s son; Azrikam, the king’s palace commander; and Elkanah, the king’s second-in-command. The armies of Israel captured 200,000 women and children from Judah and seized tremendous amounts of plunder, which they took back to Samaria.

The LORD was humbling Judah because of King Ahaz of Judah, for he had encouraged his people to sin and had been utterly unfaithful to the LORD.”
‭‭2 Chronicles‬ ‭28:5-8, 19‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Are the people you lead being humbled because of your failure to deal with your trash?

Decree 3: Lead by giving up

Good leaders know when and who to surrender to.

Ahaz ended up surrendering to his enemies because he never surrendered to God.

“Because of all this, the LORD his God allowed the king of Aram to defeat Ahaz and to exile large numbers of his people to Damascus.

Hezekiah surrendered to God and didn’t have to surrender to his enemies.

He revolted against the king of Assyria and refused to pay him tribute.”

I wonder if there are any of you who are ready to stop paying tribute to the enemy of your soul?

I wonder if there is someone who is willing to stand up to the enemy their father or mother could never deal with?

What we gain victory over in private, we have authority over in public.

I wonder if there is someone who is willing to fight a spiritual foe in their own life so that their children, family and followers can get victory as well?

Three things to consider:

Does your life show others how you want them to live?

Are you creating a pattern of surrender to God?

How do you respond when your back is to the wall?

Some Assembly Required

SOME ASSEMBLY REQUIRED

Follow His Instructions

July 5th, 2015

1 Kings 17:7-24

Who follows instructions anymore?

Playing a game?- Better follow the rules

Building a house or facility?- Better follow the plans

Building a LEGO DEATH STAR?!? Better follow the instructions...

Building the Avengers Heli-carrier?! Better follow the instructions...

Sure, you can freestyle, but can you build anything really cool?

Making something worthwhile requires instructions

The coolest things you can make with LEGOS require instructions

Even the pros who freestyle amazing sculptures with the little blocks start by following the instructions.

Why do we think that we can just freestyle when it comes to our own life?

Ephesians 2:10

New Living Translation (NLT)

10 For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.

Proverbs 19: 20-21 (NLT)

20 Get all the advice and instruction you can,

   so you will be wise the rest of your life.

21 You can make many plans,

   but the Lord’s purpose will prevail.

BIG IDEA: The most meaningful things we can make out of our lives require God’s instruction!

“I would rather have one God idea than 1,000 good ideas.”

~Mark Batterson

Today, we want to look at a crazy story from the Old Testament to learn what following God’s instruction looks like in real time...turn to 1 Kings 17.

It focuses on a prophet named Elijah and a poor, widow woman & her son

Elijah was a prophet who helped people follow God’s instructions in a time when God’s voice wasn’t speaking to everyone.

Sometimes God used him to challenge the government and religious leaders and sometimes God used him to bless people who needed to experience God’s love and provision.

But we will see that God’s love, provision and instructions don’t always look like we’d expect them to.

1 Kings 17:8-24

New Living Translation (NLT)

The Widow at Zarephath

8 Then the Lord said to Elijah, 9 “Go and live in the village of Zarephath, near the city of Sidon. I have instructed a widow there to feed you.”

10 So he went to Zarephath. As he arrived at the gates of the village, he saw a widow gathering sticks, and he asked her, “Would you please bring me a little water in a cup?” 11 As she was going to get it, he called to her, “Bring me a bite of bread, too.”

The little pieces are just as important as the big pieces.

Elijah was able to observe the widow’s willingness to obey in the small things.

Small acts of obedience show that we are ready for greater things!

12 But she said, “I swear by the Lord your God that I don’t have a single piece of bread in the house. And I have only a handful of flour left in the jar and a little cooking oil in the bottom of the jug. I was just gathering a few sticks to cook this last meal, and then my son and I will die.”

13 But Elijah said to her, “Don’t be afraid! Go ahead and do just what you’ve said, but make a little bread for me first. Then use what’s left to prepare a meal for yourself and your son. 14 For this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: There will always be flour and olive oil left in your containers until the time when the Lord sends rain and the crops grow again!”

15 So she did as Elijah said, and she and Elijah and her family continued to eat for many days. 16 There was always enough flour and olive oil left in the containers, just as the Lord had promised through Elijah.

PRAY

BIG IDEA:

The most meaningful things we can make

Out of our lives require God’s instruction!

STEP #1

Leave your preconceived ideas about how God works behind

Go ahead and do just what you’ve said,

but make a little bread for me first…

(vs.13)

Isaiah 55:8-9

New Living Translation (NLT)

8 “My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the Lord.

   “And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine.

9 For just as the heavens are higher than the earth,

   so my ways are higher than your ways

   and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.

STEP #2

Consider the future blessing that will come from your present sacrifice

For this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says:

There will always be flour and olive oil left in your containers…

(vs. 14)

Seeing God’s plan come to bear on your life will always cost you on the front end, but the reward far outweighs the pain.

UNLIMITED THOUGHT If God is a God of more than enough, then His plan will always bring greater blessings than you are thinking.

God even wants to use your miracle to provide blessings for others.

So she did as Elijah said,

and she and Elijah and her family continued to eat for many days...

(vs. 15)

STEP #3

Stick to the plan!

15 So she did as Elijah said…

(vs. 15)

Stick to the plan until it is completed.

It doesn’t do you any good to follow a few steps 

and then decide to wing it.

17 Some time later the woman’s son became sick. He grew worse and worse, and finally he died. 18 Then she said to Elijah, “O man of God, what have you done to me? Have you come here to point out my sins and kill my son?”

19 But Elijah replied, “Give me your son.” And he took the child’s body from her arms, carried him up the stairs to the room where he was staying, and laid the body on his bed.20 Then Elijah cried out to the Lord, “O Lord my God, why have you brought tragedy to this widow who has opened her home to me, causing her son to die?”

21 And he stretched himself out over the child three times and cried out to the Lord, “O Lord my God, please let this child’s life return to him.” 22 The Lord heard Elijah’s prayer, and the life of the child returned, and he revived! 23 Then Elijah brought him down from the upper room and gave him to his mother. “Look!” he said. “Your son is alive!”

24 Then the woman told Elijah, “Now I know for sure that you are a man of God, and that the Lord truly speaks through you.”

The widow’s obedience and willingness to follow the instructions paved the way for the miracle she needed in her most desperate hour, but it was the prophet who provided the miracle the widow needed to know God was at work in her life.

We are the Elijahs of our day and time and it is our job to stretch ourselves out over the dead places in peoples lives so that they can see God at work in their lives and give Him glory!

MOMENT OF INTERSECTION

Where do you need to leave behind your preconceived ideas of God?

Where can you begin following God’s instructions?

Where do you need to sacrifice so that God can release His future blessings?