Hezekiah: when the sky is falling

2 Chronicles: 32

Disaster was eminent for them. They could have said the sky is falling. Everything seems dark and hopeless.

When everybody invite you to take your Bibles this morning to second Chronicles, chapter 32 second Chronicles in the old Testament. If you open your mouth right to the middle, you’ll hit the book of Psalms. Usually go a couple of doors to the left and you’ll come to the book of first and second Chronicles.

Second Chronicles, 32. We’re continuing a series we’ve been in the last few weeks entitled, still speaking. It’s a biographical series on different biblical characters. And today we’re looking at a King that really is a, uh, Uh, uh, follows parallel tracks with the individual I talked about last week, whose name was Josiah?

These were the two godly Kings of Judah. We’re going to read that in a moment, but first I’d like to pray and then we’re going to get into our study together. Lord, we come this morning and this beautiful sunny Sunday morning, Lord, we thank you that your mercies are new every morning. Great is your faithfulness.

As Jeremiah said, Lord, as we come, we pray that you would teach us some, your word. May we learn from the life of this man? May we be reminded of your character, your faithfulness, your presence with us in, in times of challenge, even as was true in this historic moment, we’re looking at here in this passage in jesus’ name.

Amen. We are going to be looking at second Chronicles, 32 in a couple of minutes before we get there, just by way of introduction. I want to remind you of a story that many of you have probably heard or some version of, uh, some people talk about it. The old English version, which is Henny penny, the other is chicken.

Little, both are talking about an individual, a chicken who was in a field. And while she was out there, uh, an acorn fell from an acorn or an Oak tree on the head. And immediately she determined that the sky was falling. And so she’s in a panic. She said, I need to tell the King. So she, she goes and on her journey to the King’s place, uh, she comes across a series of individuals.

First. She comes across a rooster and she. It describes to him. He says, where are you going? She said, I’m going to tell the King, the sky is going, Oh my goodness. So he goes, along next, she comes, uh, to a, to a duck. Then she comes to a goose and then she comes to a, a Turkey and they all join her in the trip.

They’re going to tell the King how the sky is falling a disastrous happening and in their panic stricken state, they go. And then they come to the Fox and the Fox. Um, ask them where they’re going. They tell them where they’re going. And then the Fox has a creative alternative for them and their create and their Fox as well.

There’s actually a shortcut to the Kings, a house, and it happens to be right through here and he leads them to their burrow. And one by one, starting with the Turkey, who’s the baby Vegas. They go down in. And if you have read the story, which I won’t. Describe, um, you find out that not all children’s stories are happy stories and down in the borough, the demise of each of these characters takes place except for the chicken herself who just before she’s about to go and she’s last in line.

She remembers, Oh, wait, it’s egg laying time. I need to get back to my nest. So she leaves and, and chicken little or Henny penny, depending on the name is the only one that avoids. The disaster that the true disaster that awaits are there in the foxes borough, the moral of the story is that the is, is the danger of inciting panic, which can result in opportunists doing genuine harm.

The idea is we tend to be panicked about the wrong thing, and we end up in. More destructive circumstances were 16 days from the next presidential election, right? It has become a Henny penny season. For many, if the opposing candidate is elected, the country is. Irrevocably doomed. In many people’s perspective, I was interested to read a couple of days ago, Bruce Springsteen said it this way.

If so, and so wins. And now half of you will be on your phone to figure out which one he said that about. If so-and-so wins the presidential election, I’ll be on the next plane to Australia that day. Well, there are people on both sides of the election. That are predicting absolute disaster for our nation.

If the other candidate wins, one can assume that the day after the election, there will be a very significant percentage of our population that will be going around with their own version of the sky is falling, but God will still be on his throne. God will still be working the sovereign plan. Who’s focused.

Is not the kingdom of the United States of America. It will be the kingdom of Christ. He will still be working at justice. He has been doing for all the centuries, since Jesus was on earth, building his kingdom among the kingdoms of the earth. Now maybe it may say, well, it seems like you’re minimizing the significance of the election.

I’m not, I’m not, I don’t mean to. I think we all should vote. I think you should vote. You should vote. You should con conscience. It is part of our responsibility to be as good citizens who we are called to be as citizens of jesus’ kingdom to vote. But whatever results you awaken to on November 4th, the sky will not be falling for God’s purposes and the development of God’s kingdom.

Some of you are also dealing with personal crises, maybe in your marriage, maybe with your kids, maybe in your employment, maybe in relationship troubles or health crisis. It feels like the sky is falling disaster and darkness seem imminent and unavoidable. But the moral of the story of chicken little Henny penny is that we do more harm to ourselves and to others.

When we lose perspective of what is true, the Fox is there to be the devouring enemy delighting to pounce upon our overreaction. The fear driven. The panicked. Our enemy is  and our enemy is justice ominous, justice dangerous. And certainly just as cruel ancient Israel, ancient Jerusalem was facing a similar unsettling time.

Disaster was eminent for them. They could have said the sky is falling. Everything seems dark and hopeless. And they’re King who served in city of Jerusalem ruling over the Southern kingdom of the two tribes of, of the divided kingdom. As I mentioned last week, there were 10 Northern tribes called Israel.

Now there were two Northern Southern tribes called Judah and their King was King, has a Kaia, one of the two most godly Kings of all the line of the Kings that followed David. And in the actions and responses of Hezekiah, we learn how to respond to those moments. And also the tension of those moments when it feels like the sky is falling.

So I’d like to read this passage, I’m going to read verses one through 12 of second Chronicles, 32, after all that has a Kaia had. So faithfully done. So Nick rib King of Assyria came and invaded Judah. He laid siege to the fortified cities thinking to conquer them for himself. When Hezekiah saw that Sennacherib had come and that he intended to make war on Jerusalem, he consulted with his officials and military staff about blocking off the water from the Springs outside the city.

And they helped him a large force of men assembled and they blocked all the Springs in the streams that load through the land. Why should the Kings of Assyria come and find plenty of water? They said, then he worked hard repairing all the broken sections of the wall and building towers on it. He built another wall outside that one and reinforced the supporting terraces of the city of David.

He also made large numbers of weapons and shields. He appointed military officers over the people and assembled them before him in the city square in the city gate and encouraged them with these words. Be strong and courageous do not be afraid or discouraged because of the King of a Siri 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 gain confidence from what has the Kiah, the King of Judah said later when Sennacherib King of a Siri and all his forces were laying seeds to Lake Kish. He sent his offices to Jerusalem with this message for Hezekiah King of Judah.

And for all the people of Judah who were there, this is what Sinec rib King of his serious says on. What are you basing your confidence that you remain in Jerusalem under siege? When Hezekiah says the Lord, our God will save us from the hand of the King of his Syria. He is misleading. You. To let you die of hunger and thirst did not Hezekiah himself removed this God’s high places and altar saying to Judah and Jerusalem, you must worship before one altar and burn sacrifices on it.

Let’s pray together. Lord become now

and try to place ourselves in a historic moment. That certainly was one of. Potentially fearful, fearful consequences. God, pray that we can learn from the responses of your people. Most of all, that we can learn about you and your willingness to be with us in those times of trouble and moments when the sky does seem to be falling.

Teach us Lord. I pray in Jesus name. Amen. Simple outline this morning. Two things I want to highlight when it feels like the sky is falling. First of all, it brings questions in verses in these passage. We’re looking at this morning, we find it brings difficult questions. Um, in these verses Sinec rib is.

The King of the Syria. And here’s really what the historic moment is about. The nation of Assyria was a terrifying, uh, nation. It was the most violent vicious of all of the ancient empires, uh, during, for centuries during biblical history, certainly in all the BC years, they were the most violent, they were the most fear inducing, uh, their, their famous practice when they captured enemy soldiers.

Uh, was not to immediately execute them. They would, they, they were famous for taking stakes that they were drive deep into the ground and they would point a point, a point on it, them to Razor’s edge. And then they would take the opposing soldiers and plop them on it. So their body weight would slowly.

Sink down into the steak and they would die. It was just a horrible, excruciating death that took hours sometimes days. And there was nothing I could do it just as their body weight sunk onto this, this thing. And they were tied to this, this pole and the, they were, they were fearsome people and they had been victorious.

Um, during the days of Sinec rib. The Northern kingdom of Israel, all those 10 tribes had fallen to a Syria. They’d been utterly vanquished by the Assyrians. Now Sinec rib is moving his troops South and in these last couple of years has been infiltrating one city after another. We know from historical records, uh, of the Assyrians themselves by, by, uh, stone scripts that have come down.

That at this moment, when he is about to come against Jerusalem, he has in his own words already conquered 46 walled villages or cities of Judah, not counting Israel. And the most recent one he’s fighting against is a city called Lake Kish, which was actually the second largest city in Judah. And after he leaves there, he’s saying you’re next.

And that’s the message that he’s sending at this moment to Jerusalem. I’m coming to take down the capital city as he does this in verse 10, he raises the first difficult question that is often faced by all of us when we feel that the sky is. And the question he basically says is how big is your God? I mean, he’s not nearly as big as you think he is.

Here’s what he says in verse 10 then says, submit snake, rib King of Syria. And he sends this through his, his, his representatives on what are you trusting sting that you endure this in Jerusalem. When you say the Lord, our God will deliver us. Don’t you know what I and my fathers have done to all the peoples of other lands.

Were the gods of their nations on of those lands at all, able to deliver their lands out of my hand, verse 14, who among all the gods of those nations, that my father is devoted to destruction was able to deliver his people from my hand that your God should be able to deliver you. From my hand. He said, what makes you think you’re, God’s going to be any different from anybody else’s no one has been able to defeat us.

And matter of fact, your God. What’s the utterly incapable of being able to stop my father. His father was named Sargon from totally vanquishing, your other tribes, your other nation of the Northern kingdom. And they claim to worship Jehovah as well. And the question he is, he is he’s raising his, when we can initially dismiss.

Without really thinking and say, well, this is just a stupid question. I mean, of course, God is different from any of these false gods, the bales and the Ash to Ross and the Ashira poles and all of the and all these other Molex, these other pagan gods gods, the true and the living God and, and, and what they need to just respond is, well, the omnipotent, all powerful.

God is the one that’s gonna fight for us. And of course that was true. But it’s also true. He’s going to fight for us. It’s also true that he is present with us and to look at the people of Israel and think, well, of course, they’re going to believe and not be fearful in this moment when the sky seems to be falling, but then we have to accept the fact that we are, we struggle with fear when things are going South for you.

When it seems like circumstances seem indomitable when your ex seems to be doing just fine, without any regard to God, when your kids turn their back on the faith, when your competitors in the business culture. Seem to get away with every devious trick in the book. When you just look at life circumstances and you just feel beat up because there don’t seem to be any wins.

God, when you see no hope, no way out, no turning, no revival, no wins, no victory. Then you can begin to wonder how big is God? How, how, how involved you’ll see really is God now. And if you sat down and you say, well, of course I know he’s big enough. And man, I believe he’s the creator. He keeps the universe in order, but, but easy, really big enough in my world because.

I don’t see the wins. I don’t see the, the, the red seas opening. So the first question is, can God really win in this season of chaos and uncertainty in your world? But there’s another question that he raises that’s even harder. And that’s the question. How active will God be? How much is God really?

Fighting for you. Notice what he says in verse 12, and you need to understand of new, a little theology. He hit, he had gotten just enough theology of, of, of ancient Israel and of the true faith of, of God to cause a distortion of it. So here’s what he says in verse 12. Isn’t your King has a Kiah misleading.

You. In order that he may give you overtime die by famine and by thirst, when he tells you the Lord, our God will deliver us from the hand of the King of Assyria. Hasn’t this same Hezekiah taken away is this God’s high places and his altars and commanded Judah and Jerusalem before one, you shall worship and on it, you shall burn your sacrifice.

Now. Sennacherib is accurate in what has the Kaia had done? He actually had purchased is Jerusalem of all of the high places of, of the, the, the statues. Excuse me, the, yeah, the statues, the images, the idols. And he actually had attempted to purify. The worship of Jehovah as the one God and Senate grubs looking at that.

And he doesn’t understand enough of the faith of Israel, but he’s distorting in it, but he’s seeding things. He’s doing what the enemy always does in her mind. He seeding questions and he’s saying, are you sure that Jehovah God is going to help you? Are you sure he’s on your side? I mean, looking and I’m sure there will lots of people in Israel, as a matter of fact, I’m positive of this because before has the Kaia came on the scene, the faith of Israel was replete with, with other a, a syncretist or, or a blended worship with these other idols.

And after Hezekiah has gone, they’re going to restore that. So there were a lot of people that were questioning what has the Kaia done? And so you have this questioning and they say it, how do you know God’s going to help you? I mean, I mean, how can you be sure. Now, who of us has not struggled with those questions?

When the sky is falling, you say, okay, you want to theological answer. God can do anything. God is mighty. God, God does majestic things. But it’s God going to do for me is God going to be strong for me, there’s all kinds of seeds and Hezekiah. Hezekiah is promising us that God will help us Willy what if God is not as much for us as the King is indicated.

Maybe we’ve displeased God enough, that he really isn’t going to be for us. Maybe Sonic ribs got some, some real stuff here. Maybe he got God is less interested in Jerusalem than we thought. I mean, look at Israel, they’ve been taken down. Look at these other 46 small things and city States, why didn’t he stop the Assyrians before now?

Questions questions, questions come when hard things come. And the other aspect is it’s not only difficult questions. It’s continual questions in verse 16 and 17. We’re told a little bit about the historical moment that’s taking place, and I’m going to just summarize it for time this morning. But in those verses.

And also as we go to second Kings chapter 19, which gives a parallel passage and gives more historical context, that’s not included here. Here’s what’s actually happened. Sennacherib has come South with his armies and they have been taking one Judy Judean city after another. And they’re now at the second largest one, as I mentioned, Lake Kish.

And while he’s there, he sends the first message over in, up through verse 12. And he says, you know, this guys, he’s given you a bill of goods. Uh, you better surrender. Uh, that’s why he has his ambassadors actually speak to the people. He doesn’t just speak to the King. They’re yelling this out to the people that to seed their minds with fear.

He sends the representatives. The next thing that happens before Sennacherib comes to Jerusalem, the Egyptians actually come, we read about this in second Kings 19, the Egyptians come to help, uh, has the Kiah, so they have come trying to think which way are they becoming from the West to help. And Sennacherib sends them packing.

So now they’re the hope for aid for Jerusalem has now been obliterated and they’ve gone back. They’ve been defeated. And now the third thing happens. Another communication comes to Hezekiah this time in the form of a letter and snacker up says, you thought you thought you were going to get a, a get bailed out.

Now I’m coming. And at that moment, army surrounds the city of Jerusalem. But the reason I mentioned all that is to say this, this was something that went on for weeks, perhaps months. It’s one thing to be confronted with questions when, when things are hard and then all of a sudden you get out of it.

What’s hard is when the questions linger, right? I mean, I really do believe that there are seasons in our life. I look at them as there are, life is a long book and even the journey of faith is a long book and there are chapters. Some of those chapters are really hard chapters. Some of those chapters are things we really would never have believed would be a part of our life journey.

But what’s hard is when those chapters linger and they’re long and you don’t understand why God who so big, doesn’t just deal with it. Some of you will feel that way on November 4th. How could this have happened? How could it have gone this way? Whatever way that is.

There are questions that come when we feel the sky is falling. So how are we to then respond? And this is the latter part of the sermon. When it feels like the sky is falling, it requires a response of faith. I want you to look at this with me. In in, in these verses. Now I’m looking at this whole section, I’m just going to highlight certain statements back in verse one, we find that faith is founded in surrender.

The remarkable statement. It says here, it starts this whole passage of these, of the Syrians coming. And it starts with this statement. It says after all he had, so faithfully done, let’s talk about Hezekiah. Snacker rib shows up with the Assyrian army. And it’s an interesting way to entree into this. And it’s looking back to chapters 29 to 31, where, where Hezekiah has seemed to be a remarkably faithful godly man.

And after all of this. He is confronted with the onslaught of the Assyrians. Now in chapter 29 to 31, this amazing thing says the Kiah did. He had restored the work of the priest who had basically been put out of business. The, the, the country had almost gone secular. He reinstated the sacrifices, the worship services.

He rebuilt the entire national calendar around the feasts of Israel that included, uh, two eight day festivals where people didn’t work and just came and celebrated the nature of God. I mean, he literally changed the national calendar of the culture. He also himself. Devoted significant portions of his own financial estate to the work of God and taught the people to begin tithing, to begin sacrificially giving.

This was a man who tart longed to God and the first and most important question when feeling imminent danger or calamity in our lives is. Is my heart really yielded to the Lord. Am I ready? Or am I now being called to submit to my life to God in a deepened way in this midst of, of the sky is falling moment and it’s striking how he starts off.

He said, God had prepared, has a Kiah as of had allowed God to have the center place in his life. And so he was ready when calamity came. Everything. I’m going to say about responding by faith to our circumstances is founded on this reality. There must be surrendered to the purpose of God. That may be that we need to personally embrace Jesus Christ as savior if we have not done.

So that is the foundational place for us to enter into relationship with God. It’s why Jesus came to our world. But it also may mean that God is saying in this season where you are feel the sky is calling. He’s not asking you to work it out or figure it out or be, or be more, uh, controlling contrary. He is saying, this is a moment when you need it to just surrender and say, Lord, I’m going to stop fighting.

And when I start trying to fill it, figure this out, I want to be, I want to be in the place where Hezekiah started as all this took place. I want my heart to be yielded to you. The second thing we find is that faith faces reality. It’s striking in verse two and three. It talks about, uh, when Hezekiah saw that Sennacherib meant to attack Jerusalem.

One of the things that is very typical in our lives of faith. When life feels out of control when life feels overwhelming is to not think, uh, our culture is masterful at this. We can be fill our entire lives, can be filled with outward input that just keep us going. I mean, we can, we can, we can be busy at our jobs and we can immediately go and have other.

Uh, entertainment, which actually the word amusement is R which means no muse means think, uh, we, we just turn off, we vege. We don’t really process what we’re, what we’re struggling with, what’s going on. And we don’t know why we’re, we’re developing these ulcers or we’re causing the people around us to get ulcers, uh, by our responses.

But because we don’t take time to say what’s going on, what am I dealing with? What am I struggling with? Well, Nehemiah took time to see Nehemiah. My Hezekiah took time to see I’ve mentioned this before. It’s, it’s a practice that God led me to do many years ago. It’s what I call a worry list. Uh, I have never done a worry list where I wanted to do it, but I have always been glad after I did it.

Worry list is just saying, you know, this, I just feel life right now. Just feels like a bunch of gnats flying around my head. And I don’t know what’s going on. I can’t, I can’t deal with it. I can’t think of it. I just need to, I just need to work. I just need to plunge. I need to put my head down, keep going.

That will not resolve your worry. You’ll bury it, but it’s still there. It will eat you up. It will still control you. So what’s a worry list. A worry list begins with this. Terrorizing first step, which is you just say, okay, I’m going to write down every single thing that I think I might be worried about.

And if you’re like me, you may start with four or five, but you’ll end up with 30. You just big things, little things, big things, little thing, you just start writing them down. You take that list. Once you have first faced your reality, which is not fun. Right? And then you begin one by one to offer those things to God, and then you offer them with Thanksgiving.

But the first thing is faith faces reality. Secondly, third faith takes practical steps verses four. And following talk about some of the things that has a Kaia did. I mean, he built new shields and all that stuff. He had a couple of years after they had started taking these city States in, in Judah for him to prepare.

But the most important thing he did was. He took the guy, hon string and his spring. And if you look at it, if you think of Jerusalem this way and on sort of a circle and on the, on the Eastern side, there was a spring there in the Kidron Valley where Jesus went and prayed. And in that Valley was a spring and clear water that sprung up a natural spring.

And it was a major water source for Israel. It was outside the city walls. So what has the Kaia did. Is he actually in, and if I I’ve never been to Israel, but one of the things that I most want to see is actually Hezekiah’s tunnel. It’s a tunnel that is 1800 feet long and it ran from the Northern part outside of the city all the way.

And it goes, and it goes immediately underground. They diverted this spring. So there was no water on the surface. And it went, they, they put it in a, in a, in a, like a cave who duck underground that ran all the way under the city walls, 1800 feet down. It was flowing on a, on a, a moderate, downhill slope into the Southern part of the city where they got their primary water source.

He did it. So they had water during the siege and also the enemies would not have water outside the city. And it’s still the air. It’s a major. A visitor site to tourists that go to Jerusalem, he did practical things. He diverted the water this way and, and faith doesn’t mean that we just totally let go.

Let God, there are practical things he will lead us to do. You may be concerned about the election. You should vote. That is a practical way that we participate. If you have cancer, you get medical treatments. If you have family issues, you get counseling and seek reconciliation. There are practical things we do in faith does not, does not avoid taking those steps.

At times, it will compel us to take courageous steps. The fourth thing that is involved in Faith’s response to when the sky is falling is. Faith finds strength in God. Verse five says this has a Kiah worked hard repeating, repairing the walls. Literally the word worked hard is literally in the Hebrew. He S he strengthened himself in repairing the walls.

The word strengthen here, I believe is talking about inner strength. He had his spirit strengthen. It’s a statement often use in the old Testament. One of my favorite passage, the old Testament is first Samuel chapter 30, where it talks about David. Uh, David had had, was living. He’d been flee fleeing from King Saul who was trying to kill him.

And he’d gone out in the wilderness and a ragtag group of guys had joined around him about 300 men with their families. Eventually a lot of them were outcast and, and he’s living out there. And at one point, he and the men are gone. And while they’re gone, this group of, of nomads, basically desert, uh, robbers called Amalekites that came in on camels and they, and they captured all of their families and all, everything they own and took it.

All their wives, all their kids are gone. And when they get back to the camp and they find that their wives and their children have been taken by these guys who were known as, as, as, uh, regularly sold people into slavery and they think this is our family, my family’s gone. It says the David’s followers talked about stoning him.

I mean, just what you want in your loyal followers. They were so ticked off. They were so upset. They were so scared. They needed a, uh, somebody to blame a scapegoat. So, so maybe we should just kill David and then it makes this remarkable statement. In first, Samuel 30, it says David found strength and literally strengthened himself in the Lord.

His God. That’s what it’s talking about with Hezekiah. He strengthened himself. He found in the Lord a strength that he did not have in himself. He drew near to God. Now, sometimes God does in our lives, what he will do in Hezekiah’s life, in using other people to help us do that. When Hezekiah gets the letter from and after this time, period has been waiting and waiting and hoping the Egyptians are going to deliver them and they fail.

And now the letter comes and snacker have surrounded the city then and Hezekiah got the letter and here’s what he did. He sent word to the prophet, Isaiah, and he said, man, would you just come and pray with me? Would you just hang with me? I know the Lord and I know I, but I need support. I need somebody else to be with me.

He pulled others in to pray with him. I think faith often is strengthened as we allow other people to come into our lives and pray with us and be with us faith. Fifth fifthly enables you to strengthen others. After this has a Kaia gathered the people in the city square, and he says to them, basically, don’t be afraid.

That’s a very message. Isaiah actually told Hezekiah and the people gain confidence from the words of Hezekiah, the word gain confidence means they leaned into him. They actually leaned on his faith. They depended on his faith. Marion. And I were gone three days in the latter part of this week and we were staying down at the shore.

And while we were there, we got together with a couple from our church, uh, who were a part of our first 2020 of us and Bruce and peg shell. And just spend an Eva a beautiful evening together. It reminded me. Of the very early days of our church ministry, we were church planners and there had come a moment in the church planning where I had, I had tried to pour my life into a couple of guys.

One was, um, a guide led to Christ. He was a. A prominent businessman. And, and I just saw this guy was going to be the guy that’s going to build a ministry on. He was, he was successful. He was, his story was incredible of how God had led him to faith. And one day I was meeting with him and we met weekly for Bible study and he just said, you know, Mark, I’m so grateful for everything you’ve done and how you’ve brought me to genuine faith in Christ.

But. You know, my background is much more liturgical in style and I’m just more comfortable. And so he was gentle, yeah. Telling me that they were leaving. He and his wife, our church. And at that same time, another man that I had, uh, he was older and another, who was my peer. And at that time I was late twenties.

My peer. Uh, another guy that I’d been meeting with weekly, it was also, he announced that they were going to leave. There just wasn’t anything for their kids. And, and I, I was just crushed. I mean, I was so tired. I was so discouraged and there were two guys in our church named Bruce and Alan. One of them was this guy, Bruce shell.

And I just said, look, um, can I get with you guys for breakfast? And, uh, And we got together for breakfast and I don’t even remember how much I shared with them. I just needed to lean into somebody else. I just needed to have somebody else help carry the, the, and I don’t remember one word they said to me, I don’t remember.

I’m sure they said something that was wise and brilliant, but for me it was just leaning into. Their faith. And this is part doing the journey. If you’re in a state where you feel the sky is falling, you’re not made to carry it alone. And maybe God will use. You in this season towards others that can lean into your faith.

It’s striking to me that Hezekiah calls for Isaiah and Isaiah comes to him and says, Hezekiah, don’t fear. God’s with you. Then the next thing you know, is has the Kiah is out with the people of Israel. And he’s saying, Hey, don’t fear God’s with us, but he often does it horizontally to support it. Each other, the last thing we find is faith practices.

Continual calling, you see this in verse 20 through 22 as Hezekiah and Isaiah continue. You need to cry out to God. It actually, one of the passages talks about how in a parallel passage, in the old Testament where Hezekiah took the letter from Sinec rib, laid it out and then knelt down in front of it and, and just basically offered it to God, God, here it is.

Here’s the deal. We have a group of pastors that meet for prayer, uh, regularly weekly from, uh, from the area, mostly senior pastors from our area. We meet here at our building. And one of the things we talk about all the time is from first Peter chapter five, where he says cast your cares on the Lord for, he cares for you, cast your anxieties on the Lord for, he cares for you.

We have an option. It’s the same option you have. You can cast, or you can carry, you can carry your cares. You can carry your worries. You can carry your concerns or you can cast them. And first Peter five five says this in verse seven, it says humble yourselves under God’s mighty hand. And then the part is.

Is this by casting your cares. In other words, proud people try to carry their care. Our part in humbling ourselves is giving them to God to put this whole sermon together, go back to the point. We’ve start by acknowledging what we’re worried about. And then we say, Lord, here’s my 30 things. That are plaguing me right now.

And just one by one Lord, I don’t want to carry this is why I haven’t been able to think about it’s why I don’t want to, I don’t want to name the NATS, but I’m going to take them one by one and I’m just going to cast them.

It may feel this morning, the sky is falling is sky’s not falling. The danger of only seeing the problems and the dangers is it opens you up. To the greater danger to the Fox, to the one, wanting to devour your faith and lead you to despair has a Kaia stands as a, as a simple example for us, he had plenty of reasons to feel the sky is falling.

They were surrounded by danger, and yet he turned to God. He got faith from a friend that helped him. He was then able to encourage others with that faith. He dealt with the questions that unvariable invariably, come when we are in a season of the sky is falling, but he responded with faith. So can we, Lord, we come to you this morning.

We live in a, an unsettled day. For many of us maybe as unsettled a season, as we’ve ever seen, certainly nationally

Lord, we know you who is the same yesterday, today and forever, who is the ancient of days, who is the most high God above all things and all circumstances. And so Lord help us to. Lean into you help us to own what we’re struggling with and then father, to believe you to be present in our troubles and glorify yourself in them.

Lord, it is our prayer that your name would be hallowed, that your name would be shown to be great in our faith, in our trust. In our simply doing what you ask us and command us to do to not carry our worries, but to cast them in Jesus name. Amen. Now go in peace to love and serve and enjoy the Lord.