Isaiah 38:1- In those days was Hezekiah sick unto death. And Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz came unto him, and said unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Set thine house in order: for thou shalt die, and not live. 2 Then Hezekiah turned his face toward the wall, and prayed unto the LORD.

To begin with there are a plethora of absolutes and abstracts in the Isaiah 38, the 2 Kings 20:1-11, and the Chronicles 32:24-26, texts And although it seems to be about a dying king’s plea and request for a divine life-line there are other serious issues at work here. According to the Chronologers this important event took place fifteen years before his death in 687 B.C. Also according to Jewish biblical historians, Hezekiah’s sickness and his healing occurred during the same time that he had, had a visit from the Babylonian ambassadors. This was approximately in 702 B.C.

Brothers and sisters Some legitimate questions arise when considering Hezekiah’s sickness.

1. Did the Lord send sickness to discipline Hezekiah ? Well the bible says that maybe yes, and the reason was because Hezekiah compromised with the Assyrians. And in 2022 we can not compromise with the devil and expect that God will not have dire consequences for our disobedience.

2. Was it Hezekiah’s proud arrogance that caused his sickness ? Look at Chronicles 32:24 In those days Hezekiah was sick to the death, and prayed unto the LORD: and he spake unto him, and he gave him a sign. 25 But Hezekiah rendered not again according to the benefit done unto him; for his heart was lifted up: therefore there was wrath upon him, and upon Judah and Jerusalem.26 Notwithstanding Hezekiah humbled himself for the pride of his heart, both he and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that the wrath of the LORD came not upon them in the days of Hezekiah. Folks Pride can bring us DOWN! Sometimes we get complacent in life and pride and arrogance set in and we think we are exempt from trouble but God has a way of showing us that He’s in control and we need Him but He don’t need us.It’s better that we humble our selves under the Mighty hand of God so that God can exalt us in due season.

Then 3rd. Who does God send when it’s such a serious announcement to the king? God sends Isaiah the Priest Isaiah the Prophet. Meaning most times I’m Pastor Allen(most times) But!!! there are occasions when God changes my status from Pastor to Prophet because God wants me to speak prophetically to the congregation, or even regular people I may meet out in the community. The message here in the text is Set Your House In Order. God uses Pastor Isaiah the Prophet to foretell an inevitable outcome . King Hezekiah was sick unto death. And Brothers and sisters, Christian Friends when you’re sick unto death, you know your body better than anybody else, you know within your self the state of your condition even better than what the doctor say about your pain.

King Hezekiah knew that he was gravely ill and that his health situation was critical.

And then what makes matters worse is when Pastor Isaiah, the bona-fide priest for the nation of Israel comes and says “King Hezekiah Get your House in Order, king, Settle your affairs, king, fix your business with the Lord, king, write out your will and last testament because king the Good Lord says that you’re going to die and not live. Whether you’re a believer or not That’s hard to hear! that’s a hard pill to swallow. I noticed in the text that King Hezekiah knew that the message was from God. So he didn’t try to shoot the messenger because of the message. He didn’t argue with the Pastor and say stuff like you just a man like me. God talks to me too. You ain’t the only one God talks to.No No No No Hezekiah didn’t try to evade and avoid or offend Pastor Isaiah No No Hezekiah didn’t go into denial, say stuff like “ooh I know you ain’t talking about me like that.”

Listen to me in 2022 with the Corona Virus with its numerous variances and us having loss loved ones church members members of the community, losing people black and white alike we ought to be asking the ultimate question “Am I in the will of the Lord?” Am I doing what God told me to do? and our theme for the Shiloh Church this year What to do in 22? Are we doing what we’re supposed to be doing. or have we become complacent to life in the westernized civilization of American Life. Are we showing signs like Hezekiah of arrogance and prideful living ? I’m asking the question but you have to answer to God for yourself. I’m sure that Pastor Isaiah the prophet didn’t want to deliver that mail 3x but I’m reminded what the bible says in Ezekiel 33 and verse 1 Again the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, 2 Son of man, speak to the children of thy people, and say unto them, †When I bring the sword upon a land, if the people of the land take a man of their coasts, and set him for their watchman: 3 If when he seeth the sword come upon the land, he blow the trumpet, and warn the people; 4 Then whosoever heareth the sound of the trumpet, and taketh not warning; if the sword come, and take him away, his blood shall be upon his own head. 5 He heard the sound of the trumpet, and took not warning; his blood shall be upon him. But he that taketh warning shall deliver his soul. 6 But if the watchman see the sword come, and blow not the trumpet, and the people be not warned; if the sword come, and take any person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at the watchman’s hand. 7 So thou, O son of man, I have set thee a watchman unto the house of Israel; therefore thou shalt hear the word at my mouth, and warn them from me.

It’s Pastor’s Primary job to hear and have a word from the Lord, not a word from his philosophy or his ideology of his psychology of his sociology or his personal interpretation of the scriptures, but to give a divine truth mixed with personality to the people of God. And the Implications of the text is that the Pastor has to tell it when they want to hear it and tell it more so when they don’t want to hear a word from the Lord. And what needs to happen to the listen is that the Listener needs to develops a self realization of his or her plight after the message from God has been heard!. King Hezekiah after hearing the bad news the bible says He turns his face to the wall and pray.2 Then Hezekiah turned his face toward the wall, and prayed unto the LORD, There ought to be something in your life that moves and motivates you to get down on your knees and pray to God. Sometimes in life we’ve got to pray like we’ve never prayed before. because God hears and answers prayer.

Brothers and sisters Hezekiah had a talk with God and that’s all prayer really is. prayer is our ability to communicate to God what our problems are. Look at Isaiah 38 verse 33 And said, Remember now, O LORD, I beseech thee, how I have walked before thee in truth and with a perfect heart, and have done that which is good in thy sight. And Hezekiah wept sore. At first it seems that Hezekiah is boasting. O Lord, I beseech you, Lord I want you to remember How I have walked in truth, how I’ve walked righteously before you with a perfect heart.3 “LORD, please remember that I have always obeyed you. I have given myself completely to you and have done what you said was right.” Then Hezekiah cried loudly. Hezekiah’s testimony is so strong especially his statement where he says I’ve had a perfect heart. Perfect in the text means that I’m in right standing with God. Then the word heart in the text is the Palalos and it means that I’ve been been been right for a longgggg time. And so, when you put the two words together Perfect and heart It means “Lord I’m in right standing with you and I’ve been doing right with Kingdom Business for a very long time. Hezekiah is informing God that He’s been doing right for a very long time.

And In order to get a better understanding of why king Hezekiah felt like he could rattle off statistics before God is because in Chronicles 6:16-17 Now therefore O Lord God of Israel , keep with your servant David my father that which you promised him, saying, there shall not fail a man in My sight to sit on the throne of Israel, provided your children are careful to walk in My law as you, David, have walked before Me.17 Now then, O Lord, God of Israel, let Your word to Your servant David be verified. This promise was a part of the Lord’s gracious covenant with David and his descendants on the throne in Jerusalem. Brothers and sisters when God promises something to you and your blood line you can remind Him of His covenant and His promise. In 2022 God promised that He’ll never leave us nor forsake us. And because I try my best to do right and live right I can expect God’s promises to keep me.

Type in there “I expect that God’s promises will keep me.”

I prayed to God about my situations and the answer came back to me I will bless Raymond Allen, Sr. While you produce for my Kingdom.” Period. It’s a covenant between me and the Lord and that covenant effects and affects my entire immediate family. The covenant is beyond any sickness, cancer, diabetes, high blood, cholesterol or whatever else comes. Brothers and sisters You have to establish a covenant with God, You need to get a contract with God that can’t be broken. And I guarantee that if you hold up your end to the contract God (Covenant) certainly will never break the His covenant Law. Look at the text Isaiah 38: 4 Then the LORD spoke his word to Isaiah: 5 “Go to Hezekiah and tell him: ‘This is what the LORD, the God of your ancestor David, says: I have heard your prayer and seen your tears. So I will add fifteen years to your life. 6 I will save you and this city from the king of Assyria; I will defend this city. I see several things in theses verses

1. God is Sovereign and He can do what He wants when He wants and to whom ever He wants. And God answered Hezekiah’s prayer. That’s why I always say don’t stop praying 2x. 2. God tells Isaiah to turn around go back and tell Hezekiah I heard your prayer and I have seen your tears. 3. Tell Hezekiah I’m going to make time stand still in verse 8 this is the sign “The sun has made a shadow go down the stairway of Ahaz, but I will make it go back ten steps.’ ” So the shadow made by the sun went back up the ten steps it had gone down. God stopped time dead in its tracks and made time back up like a crawfish. And what we have to understand is that God is not bounded by time because God made time.4. God also fix Hezekiah problem with Sennacherib the king of Assyria because God said and I will defend Israel and the city of Jerusalem. God will answer prayers that we’ve not prayed out loud but have in our spirit man. Our spirit man reaches out to God with utterances that are not audible but in the spirit realm God hear everything!!!

And what make this text so powerful is Hezekiah’s response. Hezekiah shouted at the good news from Pastor Isaiah the Prophet. Pastor Isaiah the Prophet said king Hezekiah I’m going to make a fig sauve and I want you to put this sauve on your boils and God will heal your body. Hezekiah shouted about it and Hezekiah wrote a song about it from verses 10 -20 I said, “I am in the middle of my life. Do I have to go through the gates of death? Will I have the rest of my life taken away from me? away from me?”