2 Chronicles 32:6-22

6 He appointed military officers over the people and assembled them before him in the square at the city gate. Then Hezekiah encouraged them by saying: 7 “Be strong and courageous! Don’t be afraid or discouraged because of the king of Assyria or his mighty army, for there is a power far greater on our side! 8 He may have a great army, but they are merely men. We have the Lord our God to help us and to fight our battles for us!” Hezekiah’s words greatly encouraged the people. 9 While King Sennacherib of Assyria was still besieging the town of Lachish, he sent his officers to Jerusalem with this message for Hezekiah and all the people in the city: 10 “This is what King Sennacherib of Assyria says: What are you trusting in that makes you think you can survive my siege of Jerusalem? 11 Hezekiah has said, ‘The Lord our God will rescue us from the king of Assyria.’ Surely Hezekiah is misleading you, sentencing you to death by famine and thirst! 12 Don’t you realize that Hezekiah is the very person who destroyed all the Lord’s shrines and altars? He commanded Judah and Jerusalem to worship only at the altar at the Temple and to offer sacrifices on it alone. 13 “Surely you must realize what I and the other kings of Assyria before me have done to all the people of the earth! Were any of the gods of those nations able to rescue their people from my power? 14 Which of their gods was able to rescue its people from the destructive power of my predecessors? What makes you think your God can rescue you from me? 15 Don’t let Hezekiah deceive you! Don’t let him fool you like this! I say it again—no god of any nation or kingdom has ever yet been able to rescue his people from me or my ancestors. How much less will your God rescue you from my power!” 16 And Sennacherib’s officers further mocked the Lord God and his servant Hezekiah, heaping insult upon insult. 17 The king also sent letters scorning the Lord, the God of Israel. He wrote, “Just as the gods of all the other nations failed to rescue their people from my power, so the God of Hezekiah will also fail.” 18 The Assyrian officials who brought the letters shouted this in Hebrew to the people gathered on the walls of the city, trying to terrify them so it would be easier to capture the city. 19 These officers talked about the God of Jerusalem as though he were one of the pagan gods, made by human hands. 20 Then King Hezekiah and the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz cried out in prayer to God in heaven. 21 And the Lord sent an angel who destroyed the Assyrian army with all its commanders and officers. So Sennacherib was forced to return home in disgrace to his own land. And when he entered the temple of his god, some of his own sons killed him there with a sword. 22 That is how the Lord rescued Hezekiah and the people of Jerusalem from King Sennacherib of Assyria and from all the others who threatened them. So there was peace throughout the land.

Where will you turn when trouble comes and what will you cling to in crisis will determine whether you experience peace or panic? As we have already seen Hezekiah kept his focus on the One who is faithful, the One who never fails. Last time we saw the first of three practical things that Hezekiah did which provide a pattern for us today. First put your house in order and second:

• Get your heart in order

The number one emotion that gets expressed in every crisis is fear. Fear causes us to flee or freeze. Fear wants to take charge and be in control, it wants to run and rule our life. But fear always runs us into the ground, because it runs over us and ruins relationship. Yet often what we fear is not reality, its simply our emotional response to what we think we know. There is an acrostic for fear that through the years has helped me to navigate through the fog that fear produces, FEAR – False Evidence Appearing Real. What fear does is to keep us captive. Often the media will break with some sensational story that seems to sweep through our society, generating a plague of panic. Back in 2009 when the story about swine flu broke and reports of a possible pandemic started to surface it created mass panic. Emergency rooms were flooded with people suffering from false symptoms, the real culprit for many turned out to be fear not flu.  Now this is not a bash on media but we need to remember that there is a sinister side to their story telling, what we could call the shadow mission of media.  That shadow mission is to sell, to keep us interested and coming back. Fear gets our attention and this is the same tactic that King Sennacherib used during Hezekiah’s day. He sent a letter to the people inside the walls of Jerusalem, he tried to publish panic by telling them how frail and feeble they were compared to him. He reminded them that nobody else’s god had been great enough to stand up to him. He broadcasted his message of fear attacking what they believed, because belief affects behavior. If they freak out and focus on the fear chances are they would not fight. So he had his soldiers try to scare them by yelling over the wall in Hebrew. His plan was simple use psychological warfare to create panic, because if you disseminate fear you will divide and conquer. So how did Hezekiah respond to this message designed to dismay, demoralize and drench the people in doubt?  “He appointed military officers over the people and assembled them before him in the square at the city gate. Then Hezekiah encouraged them by saying: 7 “Be strong and courageous! Don’t be afraid or discouraged because of the king of Assyria or his mighty army, for there is a power far greater on our side! 8 He may have a great army, but they are merely men. We have the Lord our God to help us and to fight our battles for us!” Hezekiah’s words greatly encouraged the people.” 2 Chronicles 32:6-8. Hezekiah turned to truth; he found his security in a Savior that scripture reminded him was stronger than Sennacherib. He told the people to be courageous and not to cower for their God was in control. This was a call to put their faith in God the Father and not in the flesh.  We need to remember to listen to voice of truth, the voice that reminds us that we are not the victims we are the victorious. Why would we listen to the rubbish when we have a Redeemer that has already won the war?  As Hezekiah calls the people to assemble he surrounds them with the words: “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or discouraged because of the king of Assyria and the vast army with him, for there is a greater power with us than with him. With him is only the arm of flesh, but with us is the LORD our God to help us and to fight our battles.” And the people gained confidence from what Hezekiah the king of Judah said.”  This is more than just circling the wagons to preserve and protect, these are words that focus our faith that point us to a power greater than any problem. Hezekiah chose to voice the victory before the battle ever began. Sennacherib did everything in his power to discourage the people, but Hezekiah countered with courage. When the enemy taunts you turn to truth, stand on scripture and be steadfast. What wise people do in those times of uncertainty is listen to the Lord and limit the voices of influence. They determine who they will and will not listen to, they stick to what they do know instead of speculating on what they don’t. When fear falls and covers your country as a Christian you end up living in favorable times because there is no better time to live our faith than when others are living in fear. A crisis tends to crush the things that bring comfort and cause people to cry out to God. When everything that they trust in is swallowed up in tragedy they tend to turn to God. Fearful times can be fruitful times when we walk out the Word in front of a world that is frozen in fear. We should be a people of faith not fear because even though we don’t know what tomorrow holds, we do know who holds tomorrow. We need to get our house and heart in order and then:

• Humble yourself before heaven

“Then King Hezekiah and the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz cried out in prayer to God in heaven” 2 Chronicles 32:20. Instead of focusing on the fear they focused on the Father. They looked past this heathen king to a higher authority in heaven. Hezekiah did what he knew he was called to do and then he rested in what God would do. Hezekiah was busy with the defenses but the offence he left to God. He trusted God to do what only God could do, bring peace. Hezekiah wasn’t afraid to cry out to God in the crisis and this was not some popcorn prayer at the last minute no it was purposeful and powerful.  Philippians 4:6-7 tells us: “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” This is a promise based on faith not a formula where we are called to:

Present – This means that we need to reveal not just our request but what is driving it. We need to wrestle in prayer and go beyond the request to the motives behind the request, not just what you want, but why you want it. It’s easy in the crisis to put your trust in the answer, that new job, a raise, the restoration of a relationship, rather than trusting in God.

Guard – This means to watch over, God guards over our heart and minds, yet often if we will admit it we act like what we really want is for Him to guard our request instead of our heart. We often forgo peace because we care more about guarding our request than our heart. We have to surrender more than just our wants, we have to surrender our will and say “not my will, your will be done.” Is that the point of your prayers? We need to pray, not just until the answer comes, or the circumstances change, or until things go our way but until our faith rests in God and not the request, until our trust changes and we are focused solely on the Father. This is when we experience peace, when we find that we are okay not because the world changed but because our hearts changed. Peace comes not from the absence of problems, but because of the presence of God. So whatever it was that you wrote down the other day is that what you are trusting in or do you believe that you will be okay even if it is never resolved? Where is your trust, is it in the answer or in the Almighty?

2 Chronicles 32:1-5

1 After Hezekiah had faithfully carried out this work, King Sennacherib of Assyria invaded Judah. He laid siege to the fortified towns, giving orders for his army to break through their walls. 2 When Hezekiah realized that Sennacherib also intended to attack Jerusalem, 3 he consulted with his officials and military advisers, and they decided to stop the flow of the springs outside the city. 4 They organized a huge work crew to stop the flow of the springs, cutting off the brook that ran through the fields. For they said, “Why should the kings of Assyria come here and find plenty of water?” 5 Then Hezekiah worked hard at repairing all the broken sections of the wall, erecting towers, and constructing a second wall outside the first. He also reinforced the supporting terraces[a] in the City of David and manufactured large numbers of weapons and shields.

We live in uncertain times and there are a lot of things that can create panic in our hearts and cause us to focus on fear. Right now before you read any further I’m going to ask you to take the time to write down your fears, those uncertainties that work you over with worry. Now that you have name your fear I want to remind you that you are not alone, you are not the first person to face problems and want to panic.   We have a tendency to forget the pressures and problems that previous generations of people have had to face. The Bible is a book written to and about people who lived in uncertain times. Moses was called to the mission of leading people out of slavery, David faced Goliath, Peter stood and preached to the crowds on Pentecost. All of these people lived through times of great uncertainty. So how do we face these trying times of uncertainty?  We have to remember that life is uncertain, but God is not, that no matter what happens, we have a King that is in control. As the song “I Know Who Holds Tomorrow” says: Many things about tomorrow I don’t seem to understand but I know who holds tomorrow and I know who holds my hand. We don’t know what tomorrow holds, but we know who holds tomorrow. In 2 Chronicles 32 we come across a man who had to face fearful and uncertain times and figure out how do I handle the hard things that came at him in these trying times. In 722 Assyria wiped out the Northern Kingdom of Israel who had turned from trusting God to serving sin. Then in 715 BC Hezekiah became king of Judah, the southern kingdom, when he was just 25 years old. He married the daughter of a prophet named Zechariah, talk about marrying the preachers kid, and one of his close friend was Isaiah. When he became king the country was in chaos, Judah had been led away from God in every way imaginable. They were worshipping false gods up on the hills, out in the open for all to see. These were a people who had fallen into spiritual prostitution, who no longer worshipped, obeyed, or even acknowledged God. As a result the whole country was falling apart, craving and caving to the carnal, focusing on the feel good instead of their heavenly Father.  So when Hezekiah became king he chose to confront the chaos and clean house and for over a decade he faithfully continued. In 2 Chronicles 29-31 we see story after story of how Hezekiah boldly brought God back to the center of their country. He used his position of power to bring purity and peace, challenging his culture of corruption and transforming it with God’s truth. So much so that it says it was a transformation like nothing ever seen since David was king three hundred years earlier. It is here that we would love to linger and even live, but this success is not where the story stops. No chapter 32 introduces us to an invading army, after all that Hezekiah had so faithfully done, Sennacherib king of Assyria shows up and lays siege. Even though for over a decade Hezekiah has done everything right, trouble still turns up. This is where we may be tempted to turn and say “But God, I don’t understand, I was doing everything right so why did you let this happen to me?” Why is it that we seem to think that if we follow the Father and do what is right we won’t have to deal with difficulties and that somehow our problems will all be gone never to return again? Hezekiah’s response reminds us of the truth that just because we trust in God and do what is right does not guarantee us a problem free life. So rather than shaking his fist at God, blaming and pouting because somehow God is not playing fair he chooses to face the fear head on. We need to remember that the presence of problems doesn’t necessarily point to a lack of living for the Lord and it certainly doesn’t diminish His power. It is here that we see our first lesson, that in times of uncertainty, we still have responsibility to respond rightly. When uncertainty show up there are still things that we are responsible for. Suppose you saw a farmer sitting on his tractor, pouting and you asked him what was wrong? Well He responds I’m mad at God because the harvest isn’t what I thought it would be. As you look out into the fields you see nothing growing so you start to ask some questions. What happened was it drought, no we got plenty of rain. Is the soil not fertile? No they tested it and its fine and that is why I am so mad at God. I’ve got good soil nice rain so I should have had a good harvest. Well is it the seed you planted? What seed he reply’s, I didn’t plant any. At this point you would be thinking what an idiot, I mean if you don’t sow any seed how can you expect a harvest? You see Hezekiah responded to these times of uncertainty by planting some seeds. He chose to do three practical things that provide a pattern for us today. Today we will deal with the first one:

• Put your house in order.

To get his house in order Hezekiah did three things, he blocked off the bad, mended the broken, and bolstered the weak. He took a personal inventory of where things were at and then got down to business so his house would be in order. What were the things that you wrote down earlier, the uncertainties in your life? I want you to take these thoughts and apply them to the issues of your life. First Hezekiah blocked off the bad, he noted the springs outside the walls of the city and thought “why would I let the enemy have access to anything that would cause them to linger, why would I give them a foothold and strengthening their resolve.” What are the springs in your life that could supply and strengthen the enemies advancing on your position through the habits, attitudes and patterns of your thinking? It could be that you are facing a time of financial uncertainty, yet you choose to keep chasing after a lifestyle that is not sustainable. What if you chose to live within your means? What if you stopped the flow of wants and dammed up the desires of more? When it comes to those relationships that have a tendency to pull and push you away from purity, what if you were bold and block out their influence. Or spiritual you may find that your busyness leaves no time for being with God, so what if you chose to block out some time to spend in His presence? In short we need to stop doing the things that cause the enemy to make camp outside our city. Next he mended the broken, he working hard to repair those sections of the wall that had been damaged. At one point these parts of the wall were once strong and in good repair but time and trials had taken their toll. We too have gaps in our wall, things that might once have been healthy but are now battered and broken. It could be the communication in your marriage, or trust in a relationship. It could be your physical body or even a bank account. What it says here is that they worked hard, it’s not easy but it is necessary. What is it that is broken in your life, what is it that really needs your time and attention? Next he bolstered the weak, he not only reinforced the supporting terraces but he built another wall outside the first. There are areas in our life right now that may seem fine but what if the enemy concentrated all of his effort on that particular point, he might just break through. So we need to stop being lax and instead take a look at what we need to reinforce. What are your potential weak points? Where are you vulnerable? Don’t procrastinate and wait until the storm hits, prepare, be proactive, put your house in order. Where do you need to blocked off the bad, mended the broken and bolstered the weak areas in your life?