The Book of 2 Kings

0:11 Well, this week we read through the book of 2 Kings, and I hope you are still loving, I mean, just loving your time alone with God in His Word. and I hope that it's affecting the way you live and the way that you think. I mean, when I was reading the beginning of 2 Kings, I mean, it just messes with my mind a little bit. Honestly, I was a little bit confused because I'm going, God, these guys live such extraordinary lives. When I look at Elijah and I look at Elisha, I mean, just the miracles. I mean, think about it. And it's like this story in passing almost of Elijah and these people coming to him, these groups of 50. 50 soldiers come to him and he just calls down fire from heaven and consumes them. And so then another 50 soldiers are sent to him.

1:04 And again, he calls down fire from heaven and consumes those 50 people. Then the third group comes and goes, Please, please, we heard what you did with the last two groups. Don't do that to us. Like, that's a human being there, so connected to God, that there's that kind of power available to him. And then you read in James that Elijah was a man just like us. He had a nature just like ours. But he prayed earnestly. So I'm looking at the power of his prayers, and then comes the stories of Elijah, who parts the Jordan, who sees these chariots of fire coming down to take Elijah away. He purifies the water. Remember the drinking water that everyone would have died from, but he purifies it. Then those kids start cursing him in chapter 2 and calling him bald head.

2:09 and he curses them and these two bears come out and eat all of the kids. Okay, this is wild, wild stuff. And then you've got the widow's oil that he causes the oil to just multiply to where she's making all his money off it to keep herself alive. And then he blesses that Shunammite woman with pregnancy. And then when her son dies, he raises a boy from the dead. these are not small things you got the story of the stew you've got oh I love the story of Naaman the leper where he heals the leper and what he says is he comes back behold I know there is no God in all the earth but in Israel okay i mean isn't that the goal you want to do something so powerful that the people see it and go okay now i know that the only true god is that one of israel the only true god is yahweh that's it that's it i i saw that kind of power you have the story where um elisha's servant is is freaked out because the army that is coming and And then, again, look at what happens.

3:38 Elisha prayed in verse 17 of chapter 6 and said, O Lord, please open his eyes that he may see. So the Lord opened the eyes of the young man and he saw. And behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. And when the Syrians came down against him, Elisha prayed to the Lord and says, please strike this people with blindness. So he struck them with blindness in accordance to the prayer of Elisha. Okay, listen to this stuff. These are people. These are people like you. Everyone that's listening, you, me, these are human beings, Elijah and Elisha. And here Elisha is praying, saying, God, open the eyes of my servant. And suddenly the servant sees this whole world, this whole existence.

4:32 of these horses and these chariots of fire. Like, what is that? And then he says to God, God, would you please strike this army with blindness? And then God does it. He strikes these people with blindness. I mean, this type of power. And then you go, man, it doesn't make sense that this is just Old Testament. I mean, as we keep reading the scriptures, it's not like God changes. He's the same yesterday, today, forever. And I understand he does different things in different periods of time. But you've got to look at the scriptures and go, God, there's no way I should be living an ordinary life. That does not cause people to go, okay, now I know that there's no God in all the earth but in Israel.

5:30 No, no, it's some sort of supernatural power. And then now with the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, I mean, when you read the New Testament, it talks about those early days where everyone was feeling this sense of awe. Why? Because there was power. And again, I am not saying that I'm going to raise people from the dead. I'm not saying that God wants us all to call down fire from heaven and consume these people. I understand that was a unique period in time. However, there ought to be power. He said you would receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you'll be my witnesses. There's something about that power and we have to have faith in that power. And I believe that's why James just reminded, look, Elijah was just a man. And you know what?

6:26 Elisha was just a man. And there's a power when we pray. I mean, you see it later again in, like with Hezekiah. Again, and okay, in Hezekiah, you don't see him calling down fire from heaven in the same way or whatever else. But again, his prayer life. Look at his prayer. And it's a beautiful prayer showing his heart.

6:55 Hezekiah chapter 19, verse 15. Look at his prayer. Hezekiah prayed before the Lord and said, O Lord, the God of Israel, enthroned above the cherubim, you are the God, you alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth, you have made heaven and earth. incline your ear oh lord and hear open your eyes oh lord and see and hear the words of Sinatra which he has sent to mock the living God in verse 19 so now oh lord our God save us please from his hand that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you oh lord are God alone then you have the answer to that prayer in verse 33 he shall not come into the city declares the Lord, for I will defend the city to save it for my own sake and for the sake of my servant David. And that night the angel of the Lord went out and struck down 185,000 in the camp of the Assyrians.

7:59 So you have King Hezekiah who's living this godly life and pursuing God and seeking God, and his army comes and he goes, okay, Lord, I want you to show that you're the only true God. do something supernatural show us your power so people know that you're the only true God and God hears his prayers is okay I'm going to defend this city for my own sake for the sake of my servant David and then the angel of the Lord strikes down 185,000 of these soldiers see that's the power of our prayers and then then more personally with Hezekiah at the end of his life when he realizes, look, I'm going to die, but he doesn't want to die. He says in verse 2, Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord saying, now, O Lord, please remember how I've walked before you in faithfulness and with a whole heart and have done what is good in your sight. And Hezekiah wept bitterly. Listen to that prayer. He goes, Lord, please just remember Remember how I walked before you in faithfulness and with a whole heart.

9:15 And I have done what is good in your sight. He's saying, God, remember me. Look at my life. I've sought to live faithfully to you. And then God says in verse 5, I've heard your prayer. I've seen your tears. Behold, I will heal you. that's the God we pray to that's the God we pray to who's gracious merciful and here has Hezekiah is crying out to the Lord and God says I hear you I heard your prayer I've seen your tears I will heal you it's powerful powerful stuff and then you have a king like Josiah I mean Josiah's life is so convicting he becomes king at when he's eight years old and it says in you know Josiah was eight when he began to reign he reigned 31 years in Jerusalem verse two and he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord and walked in all the way of David his father and he did not turn aside to the right or to the left but the beautiful thing about Josiah is gosh the way that he acted upon his convictions I mean it's just the whole of chapter 23 I don't read the whole thing I mean you should go back and read it okay highlights you know verse Verse 4, you know, he brought out of the temple of the Lord all the vessels made for Baal, for Asherah, for all the host of heaven.

11:03 He burned them outside Jerusalem in the fields of the Kidron and carried their ashes to Bethel. And he deposed the priests. So he's doing things. Verse 6, he brought out the Asherah from the house of the Lord outside Jerusalem to the brook Kidron. He burned it at the brook and beat it to dust and cast the dust upon the graves of the common people. He broke down the houses of the male cult prostitutes who were in the house of the Lord, where the women wove hangings for the Asherah. He brought all the priests out of the cities of Judah and defiled the high places where the priests had made offerings from Geba to Beersheba. And he broke down the high places of the gates that were at the entrance of Joshua. Verse 10, he defiled Topheth, which is in the valley of the son of Hinnom, that no one might burn his son or daughter as an offering to Molech. And he removed the horses that the kings of Judah had dedicated to the sun at the entrance.

11:59 I mean, just on and on and on. He burns the chariots with fire. He breaks down the altars. He grinds everything to dust. I mean, he's just cleaning house. It's just one thing after another. He's just destroying, destroying, destroying. I mean, you've got to understand, he's disrupting a whole civilization. He's disrupting the way everyone is living and going, no this is what God wants why all because he heard the word of the Lord he heard the word of the Lord and and he says you know what I I've seen what the law says I see what the covenants are you remember when he just tore his robes because he he heard the word of the Lord and said we're not obeying him we're doing so many things wrong and he starts changing it see many of us we hear the word of God. We go, gosh, I'm doing so many things. But do we follow through like Josiah? Where it's just boom, boom, boom. So I'm going to get rid of this. I'm going to get rid of this. I'm going to get rid of this. I'm going to destroy this. Continues, verse 24. Moreover, Josiah put away the mediums and the necromancers and the household gods and the idols and all the abominations that were seen in the land of Judah and Jerusalem, that he might establish the words of the law that were written in the book of Hilkiah the priest found in the house of the Lord.

13:21 Before him there was no king like him, who turned to the Lord with all his heart, and with all his soul, and with all his might, according to all the law of Moses. Nor did any like him arise after him. you guys these stories are not just stories for us to read and go wow josiah was cool wow hezekiah was cool wow look at elijah look at elijah no it's for us to look at ourselves and that this is why we want everyone alone with the word of god so you read these things and you look at the word not what everyone tells you that well that's not for today well you know, you can't expect great things about yourself. You know what? God calls you to some small, it's just, no, you read the word of God and go, no, there were a few individuals here and there, like Josiah. Josiah saw the word of the Lord. He heard the word of the Lord, and that's all it took. He goes, I'm changing everything. I'm changing everything. And God says about him and there was no other king like Josiah. Why? Because he heard the word of the Lord and he just started changing everything. That's what we're supposed to do with our lives.

14:51 That's why we want you alone with the scriptures. So you're not listening to outside voices. you're not just going with the norm so you could be like a Josiah who hears the word of God and does something about it so you look at Elijah and Elisha and their examples and go you know what that's the same God that I pray to the God who healed Hezekiah the God who healed through Elisha and Elijah the God who parts the water the God who raises the dead that's who I pray to.

15:30 Look at his word. Look what you need to repent of and then start making those changes. I mean the book of 2 Kings is also a very sad book because in it you see the exile of Israel and Judah and here are these people that didn't believe but for a while there there were a few individuals who heard the word of the Lord and they obeyed, they listened, they believed. And our prayer is that through the reading of his scripture, God would raise up more people like that, who amidst all the disbelief in our world, they hold fast to the word of God, they hold fast to God.