Sermon Tone Analysis

Wednesday night we looked at the difference that one person’s faith can make for a city; a family; a circle of friends.

Hezekiah was a man who “stood in the gap” between his generation and God, and because of his faith God worked salvation in his generation.

Wednesday night we looked at the difference that one person’s faith can make for a city; a family; a circle of friends.

Hezekiah was a man who “stood in the gap” between his generation and God, and because of his faith God worked salvation in his generation.

In so doing he gave us a picture of Jesus, who was the ultimate “stand in the gap” person for us… and I told you that God intends for you to be that for someone else.

Your faith, your obedience becomes the means by which God pours salvation out in your community.

Why don’t we experience more outpouring of the Spirit?

Awakening happens when God’s people . . .

clean out the junk from their lives

When we harbor secret sins; things in our heart and lives we know aren’t right, we keep our community from the presence of God.

Nothing grieves and drives out presence of the Holy Spirit like harbored, unconfessed sin in the church.

Sin destroys our sense of, and hunger for, God’s presence.

Nothing grieves and drives out presence of the Holy Spirit like harbored, unconfessed sin in the church.

Sin destroys our sense of, and hunger for, God’s presence.

recenter themselves on Scripture

Scripture is the life of the church.

We put it everywhere.

Remove the centrality of Scripture from the church, and we die.

Remove the centrality of Scripture from your life, your marriage, your family, your job, and it will die.

Cling to it; savor it; plumb its depths.

So saturate yourself in it that everything that comes out of your mind and heart are Scripture.

recenter themselves on the Gospel

When we grow cold spiritually it is because we have “forgotten” that we were cleansed from our first sins.

“Forgotten.”

That doesn’t mean we don’t know that it happened, just that it’s not real and fresh to us.

For you to experience personal awakening, you usually don’t need to learn some new precept; you need to become more intimate with how great a salvation God has given you in Jesus.

Are you cold spiritually?

Ask God to open your eyes to the enormity of what you have in Christ; what manner of love the Father has bestowed on you.

The gospel is like a well.

You don’t find better water by widening the well, but by plunging deeper into it.

devote themselves to intercessory prayer

Prayer doesn’t bring the awakening; prayer is the awakening.

give extravagantly

Their generosity not only restored the Temple, it blessed their neighbors—foreigners, those who didn’t belong to Israel.

Eureka, we “stand in the gap.”

Awakening will not happen in our city when they become less wicked, or when our politicians finally get it right, or when our party passes some policy; it will happen when we devote ourselves to these things.

The Scripture doesn’t present God as unwilling; it doesn’t present the world as too sinful; it presents us as unwilling to put ourselves in that “stand in the gap” position of faith and generosity!

Hezekiah was that in his generation.

So what happened next, after Hezekiah led them in that revival?

It’s really interesting, and really instructive for us.

Some of the stars went on to become great directors, like Tom Hanks and Robert Redford.

Tom Cruise became a scientologist and a type-­‐A weirdo.

Sometimes what they did was totally random… One guy, I can’t remember whom… got out of the movies and started to a dry-­‐ cleaning business.

(Ralph Macchio, the Karate Kid, started a hair removal business: Wax On, Wax Off.)

Hezekiah’s life shows us the potential our lives can have—both for good and bad.

• Arnold Schwarzenegger became the governator;

• And Nicolas Cage, of course, went on to become the greatest actor of our generation

Well, what happened “next” with Hezekiah?

It’s really interesting, and really instructive for us… because how Hezekiah’s life turns out after a great start, shows us the potential our lives can have—both for good and bad.

Let’s get started.

records the story of the greatest battle that never happened.

Sennacherib was the wicked king of Assyria.

Assyria, which he ruled, was also really terrible place, a place so bad that, according to Veggie Tales, people slapped each other with fishes…

Sennacherib had gone on a mini world conquest and conquered over 46 city-states and kingdoms.

In he brings about a quarter million troops to Jerusalem and camps outside their walls.

The entire population of Jerusalem that time was about 10,000 and Hezekiah’s mounted soldiers were less than 2000.

250,000 vs. 2,000.

Sennacherib sends a smack talking letter to Hezekiah and the people of Jerusalem that said,

“[19:10] Do not let your God in whom you trust deceive you by promising that Jerusalem will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.

[11] Behold, you have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all lands, devoting them to destruction.

And shall you be delivered?

[12] Have the gods of the other nations delivered them?”

Then he sent messengers to the people: “Don’t let Hezekiah fool you, telling you your God will deliver you.

I am 46-­‐0.

You’re going to be 47.”

Then he sent messengers to the people:

2 Chronicles “Don’t let Hezekiah fool you, telling you your God will deliver you.

I am 46-­‐0.

You’re going to be 47.”

2 Chronicles 32: “Don’t let Hezekiah fool you, telling you your God will deliver you.

I am 46-­‐0.

You’re going to be 47.”

“Don’t let Hezekiah fool you, telling you your God will deliver you.

I am 46-­0.

You’re going to be 47.”

Well, God heard his prayer, and God sent the prophet Isaiah to tell Hezekiah:

2 Kings [32] “Thus says the LORD concerning the king of Assyria: He shall not come into this city or even shoot an arrow at it… [34] By the way that he came he shall return.

[35] For I will defend this city to save it, for my own sake and for the sake of my servant David...” (19:32–34)

While Israel was sleeping; without a single casualty on their side.

Sennacherib’s record dropped to 46–1 with this one being a total shut out.

[32] “Thus says the LORD concerning the king of Assyria: He shall not come into this city or even shoot an arrow at it… [34] By the way that he came he shall return.

[35] For I will defend this city to save it, for my own sake and for the sake of my servant David...” (19:32–34)

[35] That night the angel of the LORD went out and struck down 185,000 in the camp of the Assyrians.

While Israel was sleeping; without a single casualty on their side.

Sennacherib’s record just dropped to 46–1 with this one being a total shut out.

And when

1 See .

Finkelstein, Israel; Silberman, Neil Asher (2001).

The Bible Unearthed: Archaeology's New Vision of Ancient Israel and the Origin of Its Sacred Texts.

Simon and Schuster.

Archaeologists have uncovered Sennacherib’s palace in Nineveh, and they found a wall where Sennacherib had inscribed all his victories.

He lists out the cities he conquered and details about each conquest.

When it comes to Jerusalem it says he had Hezekiah trapped like a bird in a cage.

Strangely, though, he never says what happened after that, which he does with all the other cities he conquered.

You History Channel nerds will find this interesting: Archaeologists have uncovered Sennacherib’s palace in Nineveh, and they found a wall where Sennacherib had inscribed all his victories.

He lists out the cities he conquered and details about each conquest.

When it comes to Jerusalem all it says that he had Hezekiah trapped “like a bird in a cage.”

Strangely, though, he never says what happened after that, which he does with all the other cities he conquered.

In a book called What If? military historian William McNeill called this “the most important battle that never happened.”

Had Sennacherib been victorious, McNeill says, Judah would have been destroyed, and there would have been no continuing nation; no Israel for Jesus to be born into; therefore no church; human history would have been fundamentally altered and you and I wouldn’t be sitting here today.