WEBVTT 00:00.000 --> 00:04.700 Man, 2 Kings chapter number 19, we're continuing with the story of Hezekiah. 00:04.900 --> 00:09.240 And if you remember last time, we left Hezekiah in a bad situation. 00:09.840 --> 00:15.220 And here's a guy who finally, after so many kings who were just half in, half out, 00:15.600 --> 00:20.000 not really serving God, then you had one just really bad king, Ahaz, 00:20.340 --> 00:22.560 that just completely ruined the nation spiritually. 00:23.200 --> 00:26.840 Hezekiah comes along and is just doing all the right things. 00:26.840 --> 00:31.020 And the Bible is comparing him even to King David and saying, you know, he did 00:31.020 --> 00:34.260 what was right in the sight of the Lord, like David, his father. 00:34.500 --> 00:37.620 And then it even goes on to say that of all the kings of Judah, 00:38.160 --> 00:42.100 there was never one before him or after him that was like him. 00:42.140 --> 00:44.160 He was such a great man of God. 00:44.580 --> 00:46.820 And so he's making all kinds of changes. 00:47.340 --> 00:49.000 He's destroying idolatry. 00:49.460 --> 00:52.940 He's just succeeding and winning and God's blessing him. 00:53.260 --> 00:56.060 But now all of a sudden his faith is really being tested 00:56.060 --> 01:01.540 because after doing all the right things and serving God and just being blessed by God, 01:01.880 --> 01:04.660 all of a sudden now there's this threat of the king of Assyria. 01:05.080 --> 01:08.840 So the Assyrians have already taken over in the northern kingdom 01:08.840 --> 01:13.660 and taken them captive and they want to do the same thing in the southern kingdom of Judah. 01:14.160 --> 01:18.200 And in fact, they've pretty much conquered Hezekiah's entire kingdom. 01:18.700 --> 01:22.480 All of the fence cities have fallen to the king of Assyria. 01:22.480 --> 01:26.020 And now Hezekiah is just holed up in Jerusalem. 01:26.540 --> 01:29.340 And Jerusalem is like the last stand for them. 01:29.780 --> 01:34.040 You know, it's the final part of the kingdom that he still has control over. 01:34.560 --> 01:38.240 And if you remember, they came last week and they're, you know, 01:38.760 --> 01:41.660 surrounding the city and they're talking all kinds of trash 01:41.660 --> 01:45.220 and trying to get the people inside of the walls of Jerusalem 01:45.220 --> 01:48.360 to rebel against Hezekiah so that the city can fall. 01:48.360 --> 01:51.900 Because in ancient times they would besiege these cities 01:51.900 --> 01:56.940 and the idea is that instead of just fighting a full on frontal assault, 01:57.380 --> 02:01.160 they just kind of wait them out, you know, because obviously the defender 02:01.160 --> 02:04.120 inside the walls of the city has the advantage. 02:04.480 --> 02:08.140 And we know that Hezekiah's got different weapons of war and different things 02:08.140 --> 02:10.900 that he could use to repel a direct invasion. 02:11.360 --> 02:14.460 So what they'll do instead is they'll just camp around the city 02:14.460 --> 02:20.540 and just shut it off to where food and water and supplies can't get in. 02:20.780 --> 02:23.220 And then after just months and months and months, 02:23.420 --> 02:25.860 and then the people inside are getting frustrated, 02:26.260 --> 02:28.600 they're getting stir crazy, they're running out of food 02:28.600 --> 02:31.720 that eventually hopefully they'll fight each other, 02:32.220 --> 02:35.180 somebody will want to surrender, somebody will open the gate to the enemy. 02:35.480 --> 02:38.460 And that's what's going on in chapter 19 here. 02:38.520 --> 02:42.020 It says in verse one, it came to pass when King Hezekiah heard it, 02:43.060 --> 02:47.320 that he rent his clothes and covered himself with sackcloth 02:47.320 --> 02:49.260 and went into the house of the Lord. 02:49.660 --> 02:51.980 And he sent Eliachim, which was over the household, 02:52.160 --> 02:55.660 and Shevna the scribe and the elders of the priests covered with sackcloth 02:55.660 --> 02:57.980 to Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amos. 02:58.080 --> 03:01.760 The first thing I want to point out is that when you're in a crisis like this 03:01.760 --> 03:05.340 where your faith is being tested and you're looking at life and you're saying, 03:05.400 --> 03:06.700 God, this doesn't make any sense. 03:06.880 --> 03:08.020 You know, I did the right things. 03:08.200 --> 03:11.000 I kept the commandments and you were blessing me. 03:11.000 --> 03:14.480 And then all of a sudden, why is everything going down the drain 03:14.480 --> 03:17.960 in those kinds of times of crisis and tribulation? 03:18.540 --> 03:20.300 Go to church, right? 03:20.380 --> 03:21.720 He goes to the house of God. 03:22.080 --> 03:25.220 And a lot of times when we're in those difficult times, 03:25.300 --> 03:27.600 we don't want to go to church because we might just feel like 03:27.600 --> 03:32.120 kind of recluting ourselves and just kind of getting away from everybody 03:32.680 --> 03:34.520 and just not wanting to talk to people. 03:34.640 --> 03:35.640 We don't want to see anybody. 03:36.100 --> 03:38.800 But in reality, that's what we need is to go to church, 03:38.800 --> 03:41.420 even if we don't feel like it, even if we're ashamed, 03:41.620 --> 03:43.720 even if we want to just go hide somewhere. 03:44.220 --> 03:46.120 You know, when you're going through difficult times, 03:46.240 --> 03:49.040 you've got to go to church, okay? 03:49.240 --> 03:52.080 That's when you need church more than ever 03:52.080 --> 03:54.120 is when you're in those times of crisis. 03:54.380 --> 03:55.960 And so just drag yourself to church. 03:56.100 --> 03:58.320 And look, sometimes you feel like going to church 03:58.320 --> 03:59.160 and sometimes you don't. 03:59.660 --> 04:01.040 Yeah, I'm not going to get up here and just say, 04:01.060 --> 04:02.860 man, I just always feel like going to church. 04:03.180 --> 04:04.760 I just always feel like going soul winning. 04:05.000 --> 04:06.920 I just love reading my Bible every single day. 04:06.920 --> 04:08.620 You know, there are a lot of days like that, 04:08.700 --> 04:10.820 but then there are other times when you're discouraged, 04:11.060 --> 04:12.200 you're frustrated, you're down, 04:12.540 --> 04:14.500 and you just drag yourself to church. 04:14.800 --> 04:16.560 And especially when things are going bad, 04:16.760 --> 04:18.320 don't withdraw from church. 04:18.420 --> 04:19.280 That's a bad idea. 04:19.960 --> 04:21.260 Okay, you need the fellowship. 04:21.740 --> 04:24.720 And I can't even count how many times I was in a bad mood. 04:25.020 --> 04:26.020 I was doing poorly. 04:26.200 --> 04:27.460 And then I showed up at church 04:27.460 --> 04:29.240 and it turned things around for me. 04:29.460 --> 04:30.880 Singing the hymns, the preaching, 04:31.460 --> 04:33.480 the fellowship can really turn things around. 04:33.780 --> 04:35.620 And so in a time of crisis, 04:35.620 --> 04:38.260 Hezekiah goes to the house of the Lord. 04:38.920 --> 04:40.260 So he's handling this the right way. 04:40.940 --> 04:45.100 Verse number two, he sends to Isaiah the prophet, 04:45.320 --> 04:46.000 the son of Amos. 04:46.200 --> 04:48.740 So he's seeking advice and counsel 04:48.740 --> 04:51.920 from a man of God, not from this world. 04:52.200 --> 04:54.080 He's not looking for worldly, 04:54.440 --> 04:56.400 unsaved people, backslidden people, 04:57.040 --> 04:58.540 the philosophers of this world 04:58.540 --> 05:00.680 to tell him how to handle this. 05:00.920 --> 05:01.880 He's going to church. 05:02.300 --> 05:03.500 He's going to the man of God. 05:03.500 --> 05:06.200 He's leaning into spiritual things. 05:06.460 --> 05:08.140 Even though his faith is being tested, 05:08.320 --> 05:10.020 he is still keeping his faith in the Lord. 05:10.560 --> 05:12.340 Look at verse number three, they said unto him, 05:13.080 --> 05:14.340 Thus saith Hezekiah, 05:14.960 --> 05:17.640 This day is a day of trouble and of rebuke 05:17.640 --> 05:18.660 and blasphemy, 05:19.060 --> 05:20.900 for the children are come to the birth 05:20.900 --> 05:23.760 and there is not strength to bring forth. 05:23.860 --> 05:25.040 So this is how Hezekiah feels. 05:25.580 --> 05:27.520 He's like, man, we're at the birth 05:27.520 --> 05:29.440 and it's like there's just not strength 05:29.440 --> 05:30.600 to give birth. 05:31.240 --> 05:33.140 Now I think this is such a great illustration 05:33.500 --> 05:35.900 of the trials and tribulations that we go through 05:35.900 --> 05:37.460 is this thing of childbirth. 05:37.700 --> 05:39.400 Let's go to John chapter 16. 05:39.520 --> 05:42.080 We're going to come back here to Second Kings. 05:43.320 --> 05:45.500 But if you think about childbirth, 05:45.880 --> 05:50.040 women are really going through a lot of pain, 05:50.700 --> 05:51.580 a lot of suffering, 05:52.240 --> 05:54.680 but not only that, they're also risking their lives, 05:55.020 --> 05:56.420 especially in the ancient world. 05:56.580 --> 05:57.800 I mean, even today, 05:57.840 --> 05:59.100 they're still risking their lives 05:59.100 --> 06:01.780 because obviously this is very hard 06:01.780 --> 06:03.180 on the human body to give birth. 06:03.500 --> 06:07.340 And it can often take women right up to the brink 06:07.900 --> 06:08.900 even of death. 06:09.340 --> 06:12.120 And so many women almost bleed to death 06:12.120 --> 06:13.800 or have other complications 06:13.800 --> 06:15.340 that can be scary and difficult. 06:16.020 --> 06:17.960 And the interesting thing about childbirth, 06:18.100 --> 06:21.740 and obviously I haven't experienced it, 06:21.800 --> 06:25.560 but I've been very close to it 12 different times. 06:25.740 --> 06:27.040 And so I've been right there 06:27.040 --> 06:29.020 when my wife gave birth, 06:29.320 --> 06:30.860 12 times she gave birth. 06:30.860 --> 06:33.480 I believe it's nine times at home 06:33.480 --> 06:35.280 and three times at the hospital. 06:36.060 --> 06:37.980 And so I pretty much have seen it all. 06:38.680 --> 06:42.380 I think maybe like 10 out of 12 of those were no drugs. 06:42.920 --> 06:43.980 And then the other two, 06:44.220 --> 06:45.880 she had some painkillers involved. 06:46.300 --> 06:48.660 But so I've kind of seen the whole gamut 06:48.660 --> 06:49.680 of this thing of birth. 06:49.880 --> 06:51.540 And the thing that always stands out to me 06:51.540 --> 06:53.540 is just how my wife, 06:53.680 --> 06:54.480 when she's giving birth, 06:54.720 --> 06:57.220 is just in such utter despair. 06:57.680 --> 06:59.200 I mean, she's so sad. 06:59.200 --> 07:01.380 She's so just in pain 07:01.380 --> 07:03.820 and just sorrowing and struggling 07:03.820 --> 07:05.800 and just wanting it to be over. 07:05.980 --> 07:08.220 And I mean, she's just emotionally pushed 07:08.220 --> 07:09.580 to the very edge, 07:09.680 --> 07:12.020 to the very brink of sanity. 07:12.540 --> 07:13.780 And then she gives birth 07:13.780 --> 07:14.680 and it's just like, 07:14.840 --> 07:16.060 you just flip a light switch 07:16.060 --> 07:17.440 and just everything's fine. 07:18.100 --> 07:19.460 And it's always like this 07:19.460 --> 07:20.760 where as soon as she gives birth, 07:21.160 --> 07:22.340 it's just everything's fine. 07:22.460 --> 07:23.600 The whole atmosphere will change. 07:23.920 --> 07:24.920 You know, you're in this room 07:24.920 --> 07:26.260 and she's laboring. 07:26.420 --> 07:27.840 It's just hours and hours 07:27.840 --> 07:29.000 of just struggle 07:29.000 --> 07:30.960 and pain and heartache. 07:31.260 --> 07:31.960 And then it's just like, 07:32.340 --> 07:32.680 yay! 07:33.340 --> 07:33.820 You know, it just, 07:34.120 --> 07:35.760 it just changes like that. 07:36.060 --> 07:36.980 And the attitude 07:36.980 --> 07:38.580 and the atmosphere totally changes. 07:38.700 --> 07:39.700 And that's the illustration 07:39.700 --> 07:41.460 that the Bible is using here. 07:41.540 --> 07:42.520 Look down if you would 07:42.520 --> 07:43.920 at John chapter 16, 07:44.380 --> 07:45.900 verse number 20. 07:46.080 --> 07:46.240 It says, 07:57.000 --> 07:58.440 And of course, this is leading up 07:58.440 --> 08:00.200 to the crucifixion of Christ. 08:00.520 --> 08:02.020 And obviously this is going to be 08:02.540 --> 08:04.120 extremely difficult for Jesus. 08:04.660 --> 08:06.560 He's the one actually going through it. 08:06.740 --> 08:08.020 But even for the disciples, 08:08.280 --> 08:10.020 this is kind of a test of their faith 08:10.020 --> 08:11.700 because they don't really understand 08:11.700 --> 08:13.960 the whole concept of the death, 08:14.080 --> 08:15.200 burial and resurrection 08:15.200 --> 08:18.100 like they're going to understand it later. 08:18.640 --> 08:20.940 And they don't quite get it yet. 08:21.240 --> 08:22.940 And so as they're going through this, 08:23.020 --> 08:24.320 they're a little bit confused, 08:24.920 --> 08:25.780 perplexed, confounded. 08:26.120 --> 08:27.080 I mean, think about Peter. 08:27.500 --> 08:28.640 He's pulling out a sword 08:28.640 --> 08:29.660 in the Garden of Gethsemane. 08:29.740 --> 08:30.740 Like, hey, do we need to fight 08:30.740 --> 08:31.560 these guys off? 08:31.580 --> 08:31.960 Or what? 08:32.760 --> 08:34.000 You know, and then obviously 08:34.000 --> 08:35.300 he's denying Christ. 08:35.760 --> 08:37.680 He's going out and weeping bitterly. 08:37.920 --> 08:39.360 So it's a time of confusion. 08:39.980 --> 08:41.320 Their faith is being tested. 08:41.640 --> 08:42.380 And then if you remember 08:42.380 --> 08:43.220 the two disciples 08:43.220 --> 08:44.580 that are on the road to Emmaus, 08:45.260 --> 08:46.840 they're upset because they're saying, 08:46.980 --> 08:49.560 you know, Jesus of Nazareth died. 08:49.800 --> 08:50.780 And it's like we thought 08:50.780 --> 08:52.200 this guy was the Messiah. 08:52.420 --> 08:53.640 We thought this was the one. 08:53.820 --> 08:54.900 And now he died. 08:55.140 --> 08:56.580 But then we have people telling us 08:56.580 --> 08:57.900 that they went to the tomb 08:57.900 --> 08:58.960 and the tomb was empty 08:58.960 --> 09:00.640 and that he rose again. 09:01.060 --> 09:01.860 And but they didn't. 09:01.920 --> 09:03.260 And then he kind of rebukes them 09:03.260 --> 09:04.160 and says, man, why are you guys 09:04.160 --> 09:06.700 so slow to believe what the Bible 09:06.700 --> 09:08.300 says to understand the scripture? 09:08.640 --> 09:09.800 And then Jesus, of course, 09:09.880 --> 09:10.940 explains it to them. 09:11.100 --> 09:12.260 They didn't know it was Jesus. 09:12.360 --> 09:13.620 But isn't the book of Luke 09:13.620 --> 09:14.900 on the road to Emmaus 09:14.900 --> 09:16.340 with the two disciples and so forth? 09:17.400 --> 09:18.180 So if you think about 09:18.180 --> 09:20.740 the crucifixion of Christ, 09:21.440 --> 09:24.400 this is a sorrowful morning experience, 09:24.440 --> 09:25.360 but the sorrow is going to be 09:25.360 --> 09:26.280 turned into joy 09:26.280 --> 09:28.260 when Jesus rises from the dead 09:28.260 --> 09:30.340 and the victory is there. 09:30.680 --> 09:31.460 Look at verse 21. 09:31.680 --> 09:32.740 It says, a woman 09:32.740 --> 09:34.180 when she is in travail 09:34.180 --> 09:35.640 hath sorrow. 09:36.140 --> 09:37.540 And travail means labor. 09:38.180 --> 09:40.120 Because her hour is come, 09:40.620 --> 09:42.720 but as soon as she is delivered 09:42.720 --> 09:43.480 of the child, 09:43.820 --> 09:45.860 she remembereth no more the anguish 09:45.860 --> 09:47.580 for the joy that a man 09:47.580 --> 09:48.560 is born into the world. 09:49.040 --> 09:50.700 And ye now therefore have sorrow, 09:51.200 --> 09:52.560 but I will see you again 09:52.560 --> 09:53.820 and your heart shall rejoice 09:54.480 --> 09:56.480 and your joy no man 09:56.480 --> 09:57.840 takeeth from you. 09:57.940 --> 09:59.780 And so this is kind of the same thing 09:59.780 --> 10:01.540 that Hezekiah is saying. 10:01.720 --> 10:02.160 You know, it's like 10:02.160 --> 10:04.240 we're in this darkest hour. 10:04.520 --> 10:05.920 We're going through this horrible, 10:06.140 --> 10:08.300 painful, sorrowful experience. 10:08.480 --> 10:09.520 And look, he believes 10:09.520 --> 10:10.240 that there's light 10:10.240 --> 10:11.000 at the end of the tunnel. 10:11.000 --> 10:13.300 He believes that God can deliver him. 10:13.380 --> 10:14.300 And he's saying, you know, 10:14.360 --> 10:15.640 it's like we're in labor 10:16.040 --> 10:17.760 and it's like we're at the birth 10:17.760 --> 10:18.900 and it's just like 10:18.900 --> 10:20.500 there's just no strength to bring forth. 10:20.660 --> 10:22.400 And so he's feeling like 10:22.400 --> 10:24.020 this is going to be a miscarriage. 10:24.060 --> 10:26.160 This is going to be a stillborn baby. 10:26.360 --> 10:29.140 And obviously that's not going to turn into joy, right? 10:29.280 --> 10:30.460 If a woman goes through labor 10:30.460 --> 10:32.240 and she's going through all that pain 10:32.240 --> 10:32.600 and everything, 10:32.600 --> 10:34.160 just to give birth 10:34.160 --> 10:35.460 to a stillborn baby, 10:35.660 --> 10:37.020 that's not going to be joy. 10:37.200 --> 10:37.940 Yay, it's over. 10:38.080 --> 10:39.060 No, it's going to be sad. 10:39.200 --> 10:39.840 It's going to be mourning. 10:39.840 --> 10:41.260 And so Hezekiah, 10:41.680 --> 10:43.080 although he has faith in the Lord, 10:43.480 --> 10:44.180 he's worried. 10:44.600 --> 10:45.300 You know, he's like, man, 10:45.600 --> 10:48.200 I just don't think that we have what it takes 10:48.200 --> 10:50.160 to get across the finish line here. 10:50.320 --> 10:53.120 We're at mile 25 of the marathon here 10:53.120 --> 10:55.580 and there's just no more gas left in the tank. 10:55.840 --> 10:57.040 God, you've got to help us. 10:57.180 --> 10:58.020 God, and the thing is, 10:58.280 --> 10:59.560 God steps in 10:59.560 --> 11:00.960 and helps us out 11:00.960 --> 11:02.560 when we run out of steam. 11:03.320 --> 11:05.020 You know, we are often pushed 11:05.020 --> 11:06.440 to our absolute limits, 11:06.440 --> 11:07.880 just like a woman giving birth 11:07.880 --> 11:10.420 is pretty much pushed to her physical limits. 11:10.840 --> 11:13.180 And we will often be pushed to our limits. 11:13.540 --> 11:15.180 And the Apostle Paul talks about this 11:15.180 --> 11:17.200 in 2 Corinthians chapter 1 11:17.200 --> 11:19.280 about them just being troubled 11:19.280 --> 11:20.320 and afflicted 11:20.320 --> 11:22.540 and just pushed over the limit, 11:22.680 --> 11:23.600 beyond the limit. 11:23.680 --> 11:25.340 And they're just despairing of life 11:25.340 --> 11:27.980 and they're just taken to the absolute brink. 11:28.500 --> 11:30.740 And God will often bring us 11:30.740 --> 11:32.360 to our absolute limit. 11:32.860 --> 11:34.080 And then He comes through 11:34.080 --> 11:35.140 for us at the last minute, 11:35.400 --> 11:35.700 you know, 11:35.800 --> 11:36.540 and then He comes through 11:36.540 --> 11:37.440 just like here. 11:37.440 --> 11:40.140 The whole country has fallen to Assyria. 11:40.520 --> 11:42.880 One last city is holding out. 11:43.240 --> 11:43.960 They're surrounded 11:44.460 --> 11:46.720 and the morale is going to be low 11:46.720 --> 11:47.800 and they're struggling. 11:48.520 --> 11:49.980 And Hezekiah is like, 11:50.040 --> 11:51.860 man, it's like we're at the birth, 11:52.200 --> 11:53.780 but there's just no strength 11:53.780 --> 11:54.960 to give birth. 11:55.920 --> 11:57.220 You know, and obviously, 11:57.460 --> 11:59.060 I've seen my wife get to this point too 11:59.060 --> 11:59.720 when she's in labor 11:59.720 --> 12:01.140 where she basically just feels like 12:01.140 --> 12:02.360 I just can't do this anymore. 12:02.880 --> 12:03.880 And it's just like, 12:03.900 --> 12:05.420 well, you don't really have a choice. 12:06.200 --> 12:07.860 You know, and that's one of the things 12:07.860 --> 12:08.900 that my wife has said 12:08.900 --> 12:10.980 like retrospectively looking back 12:10.980 --> 12:12.120 on childbirth 12:12.120 --> 12:13.560 is that one of the hardest things 12:13.560 --> 12:14.100 about it 12:14.100 --> 12:16.100 is that there's kind of just no way out. 12:16.300 --> 12:16.640 It's like, 12:16.780 --> 12:17.840 it's do or die. 12:18.300 --> 12:18.500 It's just, 12:18.680 --> 12:19.440 it's forward. 12:19.760 --> 12:21.200 You just have to just do it. 12:21.560 --> 12:23.120 And there's no easy way out. 12:23.260 --> 12:24.160 You know, you could sit there and say, 12:24.400 --> 12:25.740 oh, I can just get a C-section. 12:25.920 --> 12:27.060 Well, that's not easy either. 12:27.640 --> 12:28.260 You know, that's just 12:28.260 --> 12:30.040 another kind of difficult, 12:30.540 --> 12:31.880 another kind of suffering. 12:32.080 --> 12:33.420 It's never going to be easy 12:33.420 --> 12:34.140 to have a baby. 12:34.140 --> 12:35.480 You know, it's just, 12:35.560 --> 12:36.700 there's always going to be a challenge 12:36.700 --> 12:37.860 associated with it. 12:38.140 --> 12:38.660 And so, 12:39.100 --> 12:40.860 he is just at the brink. 12:41.020 --> 12:41.760 He's at the limit. 12:41.980 --> 12:43.240 He doesn't feel like he has what it takes. 12:43.320 --> 12:44.760 That's where he needs God to step in 12:44.760 --> 12:45.720 and help him out. 12:45.800 --> 12:46.040 And you know, 12:46.180 --> 12:47.320 the Christian life's the same way. 12:47.600 --> 12:48.620 Let's say you get to a point 12:48.620 --> 12:49.080 where you're just like, 12:49.240 --> 12:50.340 I just can't do it anymore. 12:50.820 --> 12:51.320 You know, 12:51.400 --> 12:52.440 and that's what my wife has said 12:52.440 --> 12:53.300 to me in labor before. 12:53.420 --> 12:54.700 Like, I just can't do it anymore, right? 12:55.080 --> 12:55.580 But it's like, 12:55.760 --> 12:56.980 yeah, but you can. 12:58.040 --> 12:58.880 You're going to. 12:59.180 --> 13:00.680 There's just no other way. 13:00.820 --> 13:02.120 You just have to go forward. 13:02.440 --> 13:03.780 And that's the way the Christian life is. 13:03.780 --> 13:05.020 Sometimes in the Christian life, 13:05.100 --> 13:05.440 we're just like, 13:05.480 --> 13:06.620 man, I just can't do this anymore. 13:07.100 --> 13:08.080 But then what do you do? 13:08.200 --> 13:09.580 You just put one foot in front of another. 13:10.120 --> 13:10.820 You just say, 13:10.860 --> 13:12.440 okay, I can do one more day. 13:12.960 --> 13:14.380 I can do one more hour. 13:14.620 --> 13:15.740 And you just keep going, 13:16.120 --> 13:18.120 push through one foot in front of another. 13:18.700 --> 13:20.840 And that's what we see here with Hezekiah. 13:21.400 --> 13:21.800 He says, 13:21.880 --> 13:23.400 man, we just don't have the strength. 13:23.540 --> 13:24.280 Look at verse four. 13:24.800 --> 13:25.640 It may be 13:26.180 --> 13:28.800 the Lord thy God will hear all the words 13:28.800 --> 13:29.920 of Rapschakie, 13:30.200 --> 13:31.160 whom the king of Assyria, 13:31.240 --> 13:31.600 his master, 13:31.600 --> 13:33.400 sent to reproach the living God 13:33.400 --> 13:35.180 and will reprove the words 13:35.180 --> 13:36.880 which the Lord thy God has heard. 13:37.380 --> 13:38.840 Wherefore, lift up thy prayer 13:38.840 --> 13:40.580 for the remnant that are left. 13:40.820 --> 13:42.060 So the servants of King Hezekiah 13:42.060 --> 13:43.140 came to Isaiah. 13:43.300 --> 13:44.620 So that's the message that he sends 13:44.620 --> 13:45.660 to Isaiah the prophet, 13:45.840 --> 13:47.060 the author of the book of Isaiah. 13:47.560 --> 13:48.380 He says, look, man, 13:48.540 --> 13:49.480 you need to pray to God. 13:49.600 --> 13:51.120 Maybe God's going to listen to you 13:51.120 --> 13:52.020 because we just, 13:52.040 --> 13:53.240 we just don't have the power. 13:53.340 --> 13:54.160 We just don't have the strength. 13:54.320 --> 13:55.440 I just don't know what to do anymore. 13:56.780 --> 13:57.880 And Isaiah seven of them, 13:57.960 --> 13:58.400 verse six, 13:58.780 --> 14:00.080 does show you say to your master, 14:00.280 --> 14:01.040 does say at the Lord, 14:01.040 --> 14:03.460 be not afraid of the words 14:03.460 --> 14:04.520 which thou has heard 14:05.280 --> 14:06.880 with which the servants of the king 14:06.880 --> 14:08.440 of Assyria have blasphemed me. 14:08.760 --> 14:11.580 Behold, I will send a blast upon him 14:11.580 --> 14:13.600 and he shall hear a rumor 14:13.600 --> 14:15.820 and shall return to his own land 14:15.820 --> 14:17.320 and I will cause him to fall 14:17.320 --> 14:18.540 by the sword in his own land. 14:18.620 --> 14:19.420 Now when the Bible says 14:19.420 --> 14:21.480 he's going to send a blast upon him, 14:21.840 --> 14:24.240 this is like a gust of wind. 14:24.560 --> 14:26.920 This is like a blast of air. 14:27.340 --> 14:29.120 And if you've ever felt 14:29.120 --> 14:31.040 a strong gust of wind, 14:31.340 --> 14:31.400 you know, 14:31.440 --> 14:33.740 it could be a pretty powerful force of nature. 14:33.980 --> 14:35.900 I remember one time I was getting gas 14:35.900 --> 14:39.260 at a gas station in Palm Springs, California. 14:39.660 --> 14:40.820 And it was so windy 14:40.820 --> 14:42.440 and that's a very windy area. 14:42.660 --> 14:43.880 That's why they have all those windmills there. 14:44.180 --> 14:45.220 And I was getting gas 14:45.220 --> 14:47.980 and literally I was almost just knocked over. 14:48.280 --> 14:49.400 I'm just standing there 14:49.400 --> 14:51.000 and it just like boom 14:51.000 --> 14:53.340 and it just almost threw me to the ground 14:53.340 --> 14:55.560 just pumping gas in Palm Springs. 14:55.800 --> 14:57.080 But when we went up to the top 14:57.080 --> 14:58.620 of Mount Humphreys one time, 14:59.120 --> 15:01.380 on an extreme windy day, 15:02.100 --> 15:05.300 it did knock us down repeatedly many times. 15:05.580 --> 15:06.960 And I remember one of the guys 15:06.960 --> 15:07.880 from our church was there 15:07.880 --> 15:10.320 and he got knocked over with a gust of wind 15:10.320 --> 15:12.080 and then he stands up 15:12.080 --> 15:13.660 and he had like blood coming out of his mouth 15:13.660 --> 15:16.400 because he had just been thrown to the ground 15:16.400 --> 15:18.340 and got a bloody lip 15:18.340 --> 15:19.900 just from how hard he was thrown down 15:19.900 --> 15:20.720 just by the wind, 15:21.180 --> 15:22.160 just by air. 15:22.740 --> 15:23.060 Okay. 15:23.520 --> 15:24.260 And here's the thing. 15:24.600 --> 15:27.260 God obviously can just puff 15:27.260 --> 15:28.880 with the breath of his nostrils 15:28.880 --> 15:31.660 and he can knock us down whenever he wants. 15:31.720 --> 15:32.700 He can knock you down. 15:32.800 --> 15:33.940 He can knock down the enemy. 15:34.460 --> 15:36.200 I mean, he has all power 15:36.200 --> 15:38.220 to just make things happen like that. 15:38.340 --> 15:39.380 And so he says, 15:39.460 --> 15:41.440 I'm going to blow upon him. 15:41.560 --> 15:43.420 I'm going to send a gust of air upon him. 15:43.520 --> 15:45.100 I'm going to send a blast upon him. 15:45.520 --> 15:46.960 And he's going to hear a rumor. 15:47.400 --> 15:49.080 He's going to return to his own land 15:49.080 --> 15:51.400 and I will cause him to fall 15:51.400 --> 15:52.440 by the sword in his own land. 15:52.500 --> 15:54.760 That's talking about him personally. 15:55.100 --> 15:56.160 The king of Assyria 15:56.160 --> 15:58.100 is going to be personally punished 15:58.100 --> 16:00.100 for blaspheming the Lord. 16:00.340 --> 16:01.000 Not only that, 16:01.260 --> 16:03.160 God is also going to destroy his army 16:03.160 --> 16:03.900 as well, 16:04.000 --> 16:05.680 as we're going to see later on in the chapter. 16:06.720 --> 16:07.720 But it says in verse 8, 16:07.960 --> 16:08.940 So Rapschakie returned 16:09.460 --> 16:11.200 and found the king of Assyria 16:11.200 --> 16:12.480 warring against Libna 16:12.480 --> 16:13.880 for he had heard that he was 16:13.880 --> 16:14.700 departed from Lakers. 16:14.920 --> 16:16.440 So although Rapschakie, 16:16.820 --> 16:19.060 the leader departs from Jerusalem, 16:19.920 --> 16:21.020 besieged is still there. 16:21.340 --> 16:22.400 The troops are still there. 16:22.840 --> 16:23.940 They're still besieged. 16:24.040 --> 16:24.920 They're still in trouble. 16:25.080 --> 16:27.120 But the leader has to go 16:27.120 --> 16:28.140 deal with something else 16:28.140 --> 16:29.660 because the king of Assyria 16:29.660 --> 16:31.360 is fighting multiple battles 16:31.360 --> 16:32.200 in different places. 16:32.620 --> 16:34.280 He's got all kinds of wars going on. 16:34.680 --> 16:35.680 It says in verse 9, 16:36.220 --> 16:37.080 and when he heard, say, 16:37.960 --> 16:38.840 of Tirhaca, 16:39.360 --> 16:40.620 king of Ethiopia, 16:41.640 --> 16:42.060 behold, 16:42.320 --> 16:44.100 he has come out to fight against thee. 16:44.320 --> 16:45.560 He sent messengers again 16:45.560 --> 16:46.460 unto Hezekiah. 16:46.880 --> 16:48.720 So again, Ethiopia at this time 16:48.720 --> 16:50.820 was a powerful nation. 16:50.960 --> 16:51.900 It was a powerful kingdom 16:51.900 --> 16:53.060 in the world at that time. 16:53.460 --> 16:54.560 There's another story 16:54.560 --> 16:55.460 where it talks about 16:55.460 --> 16:58.080 like 2 million Ethiopian troops 16:58.080 --> 16:59.000 coming and invading 16:59.000 --> 17:00.860 in the regions of Judah 17:01.340 --> 17:02.560 and that Levant region. 17:02.840 --> 17:03.780 And so, you know, 17:03.840 --> 17:05.620 the Ethiopians are a pretty serious enemy 17:05.620 --> 17:07.140 where even the Assyrian king 17:07.140 --> 17:08.840 who Assyria is the big, 17:08.940 --> 17:10.800 powerful superpower at that time, 17:11.220 --> 17:11.520 you know, 17:11.780 --> 17:12.940 it's a threat 17:12.940 --> 17:14.860 when the Ethiopians come up at you 17:14.860 --> 17:16.440 because that was a powerful kingdom 17:16.440 --> 17:17.100 at the time. 17:17.680 --> 17:19.180 And so he hears that. 17:19.340 --> 17:20.900 So then he sends messengers 17:20.900 --> 17:23.000 to Hezekiah in verse 10. 17:23.260 --> 17:24.620 Thus shall he speak to Hezekiah, 17:24.620 --> 17:25.480 king of Judah, saying, 17:25.960 --> 17:28.220 Let not thy God in whom thou trustest 17:28.220 --> 17:29.380 deceive thee, saying, 17:29.880 --> 17:31.660 Jerusalem shall not be delivered 17:31.660 --> 17:33.280 into the hand of the king of Assyria. 17:33.600 --> 17:34.140 What's he saying? 17:34.320 --> 17:34.460 He's saying, 17:34.620 --> 17:36.460 look, just because I'm tied up 17:36.460 --> 17:37.700 over here in Lake Isht, 17:37.720 --> 17:38.880 and just because I'm tied up 17:38.880 --> 17:39.960 with the Ethiopians, 17:40.280 --> 17:41.040 I don't want you to think 17:41.040 --> 17:42.220 that you guys are off the hook. 17:42.580 --> 17:44.720 Don't think that God's going to deliver you. 17:45.080 --> 17:47.960 I am still going to destroy Jerusalem. 17:48.600 --> 17:50.240 He says in verse number 12, 17:50.680 --> 17:52.960 Have the gods of the nations 17:52.960 --> 17:55.180 delivered them, which my fathers have 17:55.180 --> 17:56.380 destroyed as Gozan, 17:56.760 --> 17:58.320 and Heron, and Rezeb, 17:58.420 --> 17:59.360 and the children of Eden, 17:59.720 --> 18:00.740 which were in Telacer? 18:01.220 --> 18:02.720 Where's the king of Hamath, 18:02.840 --> 18:03.860 and the king of Arpad, 18:04.200 --> 18:05.740 and the king of the city of Cepharvah, 18:06.080 --> 18:06.700 of Hina, 18:07.100 --> 18:07.660 and Iba? 18:07.940 --> 18:08.240 He's saying, 18:08.380 --> 18:10.540 Look, your God is no different 18:10.540 --> 18:12.120 than all these other gods. 18:12.260 --> 18:13.260 And that's what the atheists 18:13.260 --> 18:14.480 of this world will say, right? 18:14.760 --> 18:15.780 Hey, what's the difference 18:15.780 --> 18:18.340 between your God and the Muslim God, 18:18.840 --> 18:20.840 or the God of these people over here, 18:21.060 --> 18:22.020 or these Hindus, 18:22.640 --> 18:24.640 or these Pagans over here? 18:25.220 --> 18:27.760 And of course, God of the Bible 18:27.760 --> 18:28.700 is the true God, 18:28.860 --> 18:29.600 the living God, 18:30.040 --> 18:30.620 the real God. 18:31.820 --> 18:33.420 And so a lot of times, 18:34.440 --> 18:35.920 doubts will creep in 18:35.920 --> 18:37.580 and the devil will come at us 18:37.580 --> 18:38.960 and try to get us to think, 18:39.160 --> 18:40.220 Hey, God's not real. 18:40.760 --> 18:42.200 God's not going to help you. 18:42.680 --> 18:43.960 You got to just take things 18:43.960 --> 18:44.880 into your own hands. 18:45.020 --> 18:46.000 You got to do it yourself. 18:46.500 --> 18:48.340 God's not going to go to bat for you. 18:48.740 --> 18:49.160 He's a band. 18:49.280 --> 18:50.500 You did all the right things 18:50.500 --> 18:51.720 that you're holed up in Jerusalem 18:52.240 --> 18:53.400 and the king of Assyria 18:53.400 --> 18:54.620 isn't going to back down. 18:54.780 --> 18:55.380 But here's the thing. 18:55.500 --> 18:57.360 You know, Hezekiah is seeing 18:57.360 --> 18:59.380 a little bit of an answer to prayer here 18:59.380 --> 19:00.900 because, you know, 19:00.980 --> 19:02.300 the fact that he's tied up 19:02.300 --> 19:04.220 with the king of Ethiopia 19:04.740 --> 19:07.200 and the fact that he's fighting over here, 19:07.700 --> 19:08.120 you know, 19:08.260 --> 19:09.900 it's kind of like a little bit 19:09.900 --> 19:11.180 of a partial fulfillment 19:11.180 --> 19:12.980 where maybe Hezekiah can see, 19:13.080 --> 19:15.640 okay, God's working a little bit, 19:16.240 --> 19:16.540 right? 19:16.700 --> 19:18.320 God's doing something here. 19:18.460 --> 19:19.760 And so that's encouraging 19:19.760 --> 19:20.680 for Hezekiah. 19:21.000 --> 19:22.360 So then basically the devil 19:22.360 --> 19:23.780 wants to basically come out and say, 19:24.040 --> 19:24.780 no, no, no, no, don't, 19:24.820 --> 19:25.140 you know, 19:25.180 --> 19:27.400 don't look at this little small victory here. 19:27.660 --> 19:29.340 Don't look at this little blessing here. 19:29.600 --> 19:30.360 That's nothing. 19:30.820 --> 19:32.260 It's just an illusion. 19:32.540 --> 19:33.620 You're still going to get destroyed. 19:33.760 --> 19:34.440 But here's the thing. 19:34.740 --> 19:34.920 You know, 19:34.980 --> 19:35.880 we want to do the opposite 19:35.880 --> 19:37.100 of what the king of Assyria 19:37.100 --> 19:37.900 is telling us to do. 19:38.140 --> 19:39.920 When God does something small 19:39.920 --> 19:40.620 in our lives, 19:40.860 --> 19:42.400 when God does throw us a bone, 19:42.400 --> 19:43.980 when God does help us out 19:43.980 --> 19:45.120 a little bit in our time of trouble, 19:45.360 --> 19:45.540 you know, 19:45.600 --> 19:46.280 we need to stop 19:46.280 --> 19:47.360 and recognize that 19:47.360 --> 19:48.120 and be grateful 19:48.120 --> 19:48.920 and say, 19:48.920 --> 19:49.000 hey, 19:49.520 --> 19:50.740 this is the beginning. 19:51.020 --> 19:52.340 God's going to do more. 19:52.840 --> 19:53.080 But here, 19:53.200 --> 19:54.960 God's already starting to help me out. 19:55.180 --> 19:56.720 He's starting to go to bat for me. 19:56.980 --> 19:58.480 And so I can push through. 19:58.700 --> 19:59.520 I can get through this. 20:00.280 --> 20:00.400 You know, 20:00.440 --> 20:02.520 we got to look at those little victories in life 20:02.520 --> 20:04.260 and we got to savor them 20:04.260 --> 20:06.440 and give God the glory for those things 20:06.440 --> 20:07.000 and realize, 20:07.160 --> 20:08.480 okay, God gave us a little bit. 20:08.600 --> 20:09.280 He's going to give us more. 20:09.580 --> 20:10.700 He's going to take care of us more. 20:10.920 --> 20:13.080 We've just got to hang in there 20:13.080 --> 20:14.340 and get through it. 20:16.140 --> 20:16.540 So 20:17.280 --> 20:18.560 it says in verse 14, 20:18.560 --> 20:20.040 Hezekiah received the letter 20:20.040 --> 20:22.260 of the hand of the messengers and read it 20:22.260 --> 20:23.480 and Hezekiah went up 20:23.480 --> 20:24.920 into the house of the Lord 20:24.920 --> 20:26.240 and spread it before the Lord. 20:26.820 --> 20:27.180 So again, 20:27.480 --> 20:28.360 time of crisis. 20:29.020 --> 20:31.300 Hezekiah leans into the house of God, 20:31.740 --> 20:32.820 leans into church, 20:33.380 --> 20:34.880 and then he brings the letter 20:35.400 --> 20:37.200 and the letters attacking Hezekiah. 20:37.400 --> 20:38.040 But really, 20:38.340 --> 20:39.440 it's an attack on God 20:39.440 --> 20:40.600 at the end of the day saying, 20:40.880 --> 20:41.140 hey, 20:41.280 --> 20:43.840 God's just like the God of our pad. 20:43.940 --> 20:44.860 He's just like the God 20:44.860 --> 20:46.380 of the city of Seafarvayim. 20:46.540 --> 20:47.320 He's no different. 20:47.320 --> 20:50.000 And so he lays the letter out in front of God 20:50.000 --> 20:50.780 and says, okay, God, 20:50.900 --> 20:51.540 look, this letter, 20:51.960 --> 20:53.000 it's not really about me. 20:53.060 --> 20:53.620 It's about you. 20:55.600 --> 20:57.620 And he's asking God to go to bat for him. 20:58.080 --> 21:00.080 So he lays out the letter before the Lord. 21:00.160 --> 21:00.680 And by the way, 21:01.020 --> 21:03.520 the persecution that we will experience as Christians, 21:04.000 --> 21:04.940 don't take it personally 21:05.620 --> 21:06.940 because it's not about you. 21:07.080 --> 21:07.700 It's not about me. 21:07.840 --> 21:08.620 It's about the Lord. 21:08.920 --> 21:10.060 What they're really mad about 21:10.060 --> 21:10.960 is the Word of God. 21:11.900 --> 21:13.760 It's not that they just don't like 21:13.760 --> 21:15.820 my personality or your personality 21:15.820 --> 21:16.960 because here's the thing. 21:16.960 --> 21:19.340 I could have a totally different personality 21:19.340 --> 21:21.300 and say all the same things 21:21.300 --> 21:22.960 and I would get all the same persecution. 21:23.300 --> 21:24.240 Here's the proof. 21:24.600 --> 21:26.540 Look at other preacher friends of mine 21:26.540 --> 21:28.200 that are dramatically different, 21:28.300 --> 21:29.880 that have very different personalities, 21:30.240 --> 21:31.340 very different styles, 21:31.720 --> 21:32.860 very different presentations. 21:33.420 --> 21:35.680 And yet by teaching the same doctrines, 21:35.780 --> 21:37.360 they get the same flack. 21:37.500 --> 21:38.700 They get the same attacks 21:39.360 --> 21:42.140 because all that will live godly in Christ Jesus 21:42.140 --> 21:43.200 shall suffer persecution. 21:43.860 --> 21:46.860 And so it's not a personality thing 21:47.500 --> 21:48.720 don't take it personally. 21:49.360 --> 21:51.260 It's just that there is a war 21:51.260 --> 21:52.280 between good and evil. 21:52.880 --> 21:54.740 And so it's not that Hezekiah 21:55.360 --> 21:56.360 is the problem. 21:56.580 --> 21:59.180 It's just that they're really just mad at the Lord. 21:59.660 --> 22:01.360 They want to take the place of God. 22:01.560 --> 22:02.240 They want to have, 22:02.300 --> 22:04.000 you know, all the power and everything, 22:04.240 --> 22:05.300 the Assyrian empire that is. 22:06.040 --> 22:07.240 And so it says here 22:07.760 --> 22:09.440 that he lays it out before the Lord. 22:09.860 --> 22:10.700 And in verse 15, 22:10.920 --> 22:12.380 Hezekiah prayed before the Lord and said, 22:12.560 --> 22:13.660 Oh Lord God of Israel, 22:14.260 --> 22:15.920 which dwells between the cherry-bimps, 22:15.920 --> 22:17.700 thou art the God, 22:18.140 --> 22:21.920 even thou alone of all the kingdoms of the earth. 22:21.920 --> 22:22.760 So it's not like, well, 22:22.860 --> 22:23.760 the God of Jerusalem 22:23.760 --> 22:25.860 versus the God of Cepharvahem, 22:26.060 --> 22:27.200 it's like, no, no, there's just God. 22:27.980 --> 22:28.920 There is only one God. 22:29.040 --> 22:30.160 He's the God of the whole earth. 22:31.080 --> 22:33.240 Thou art the God, even thou alone 22:33.240 --> 22:35.040 of all the kingdoms of the earth. 22:35.480 --> 22:36.640 Thou hast made heaven and earth. 22:37.360 --> 22:38.660 Lord, bow down thine ear 22:38.660 --> 22:41.800 and hear open, Lord, thine eyes and see, 22:42.000 --> 22:44.020 and hear the words of Sennacherib, 22:44.020 --> 22:47.180 which hath sent him to approach the living God. 22:48.200 --> 22:49.440 And by the way, you know, 22:49.460 --> 22:50.460 I've talked about this before, 22:50.840 --> 22:52.720 but as you study the Old Testament, 22:52.920 --> 22:54.320 there are so many times 22:54.320 --> 22:55.860 that the Old Testament claims 22:55.860 --> 22:58.200 that God is the only God, 22:58.640 --> 23:00.380 that he's the only true God. 23:00.820 --> 23:02.740 Before him there was no God formed. 23:03.160 --> 23:05.920 Neither shall there be any God after him, right? 23:06.240 --> 23:08.180 He alone is God. 23:08.640 --> 23:10.520 And that there is no other God. 23:10.680 --> 23:11.900 And that he's the creator of the world. 23:12.040 --> 23:13.700 All the gods of the nations are idols. 23:14.480 --> 23:15.540 They're just images, 23:15.880 --> 23:17.360 but the Lord made the heavens. 23:18.260 --> 23:19.440 And also the Old Testament 23:19.440 --> 23:20.760 frequently makes the claim 23:20.760 --> 23:23.240 that the whole earth is going to be filled 23:23.240 --> 23:24.900 with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord 23:24.900 --> 23:26.020 as the waters cover the sea. 23:26.980 --> 23:28.040 Now, here's the thing about this, 23:28.180 --> 23:30.560 is that not every religion in the ancient world 23:30.560 --> 23:31.460 is making these claims. 23:32.340 --> 23:33.540 You know, in the ancient world, 23:33.660 --> 23:36.420 the vast majority of their gods 23:36.420 --> 23:38.100 are just regional gods, 23:38.380 --> 23:40.240 and none of them is really claiming 23:40.240 --> 23:42.060 to be the creator of the whole earth 23:42.060 --> 23:43.080 or the God of the whole world. 23:43.080 --> 23:45.160 You look at all the gods of Greek mythology, 23:45.900 --> 23:46.900 Roman mythology, 23:47.340 --> 23:49.260 none of them is the creator of the universe. 23:49.780 --> 23:50.820 They're all limited. 23:51.540 --> 23:52.600 They're all regional. 23:53.400 --> 23:54.860 They're not omniscient, 23:55.940 --> 23:57.400 omnipresent, omnipotent gods. 23:57.900 --> 23:59.160 And it's interesting that, you know, 23:59.220 --> 24:00.480 the God of the Hebrews 24:01.080 --> 24:03.420 is the one God who's making this claim 24:03.420 --> 24:05.900 that he is the God of the whole earth. 24:06.220 --> 24:07.520 Every other God is fake. 24:08.020 --> 24:10.360 He is the only true God. 24:10.580 --> 24:11.300 He's the creator. 24:11.300 --> 24:12.580 And that ultimately, 24:12.800 --> 24:14.640 he's going to dominate the entire planet 24:14.640 --> 24:17.460 and that the whole world is going to know him. 24:17.800 --> 24:19.260 And you're not even going to have to tell 24:19.260 --> 24:19.980 people about him 24:19.980 --> 24:22.080 because the whole world is going to know who he is. 24:22.380 --> 24:23.500 And then isn't it interesting 24:23.500 --> 24:25.440 we fast forward to 2026? 24:25.980 --> 24:26.860 And in many ways, 24:26.980 --> 24:28.040 this has already been fulfilled 24:28.040 --> 24:29.440 because obviously, 24:29.660 --> 24:30.840 the God of the Hebrews 24:31.380 --> 24:34.040 is now known on every continent, 24:34.280 --> 24:35.680 every country of this world, 24:36.020 --> 24:37.560 right, all over the planet, 24:37.920 --> 24:39.840 millions and millions and millions 24:39.840 --> 24:41.920 of people are worshiping the true God, 24:42.080 --> 24:42.720 the God of the Bible, 24:43.520 --> 24:44.140 you know, 24:44.260 --> 24:46.840 with out of 8 billion people on this planet, 24:47.260 --> 24:50.380 2.3 billion of them claim to be Christians. 24:50.640 --> 24:52.280 Obviously, I'm not saying that they're all saved, 24:52.780 --> 24:54.180 but as far as just claiming 24:54.180 --> 24:55.240 the name of Jesus Christ, 24:55.340 --> 24:57.820 you got 2.3 billion people. 24:57.940 --> 25:00.020 Then you have 1.6 billion people 25:00.020 --> 25:01.980 who are basically saying like, 25:02.240 --> 25:04.260 well, we believe that the Old Testament 25:04.260 --> 25:05.040 God's real, 25:05.380 --> 25:06.680 we believe Jesus is real, 25:06.880 --> 25:07.920 but, you know, 25:07.920 --> 25:11.000 it's all about Muhammad and Islam and whatever, 25:11.080 --> 25:13.220 but they're still claiming to be 25:13.220 --> 25:14.820 somehow picking up the torch 25:14.820 --> 25:16.420 from this Old Testament God 25:16.960 --> 25:19.160 and even from Jesus Christ himself. 25:19.960 --> 25:21.240 Obviously, they're a fraud, 25:21.520 --> 25:22.140 they're liars, 25:22.220 --> 25:23.120 they're false prophets, 25:23.320 --> 25:25.220 but that's like half the planet, 25:25.400 --> 25:26.140 if you think about it, 25:26.140 --> 25:28.200 that's just a professing Christian or Muslim. 25:28.560 --> 25:29.340 And then, you know, 25:29.400 --> 25:30.360 the other half of the planet 25:30.360 --> 25:31.680 has still heard of him, 25:31.960 --> 25:32.320 you know, 25:32.440 --> 25:33.380 they know who he is, 25:33.840 --> 25:34.740 the Bibles, 25:35.020 --> 25:35.460 everywhere, 25:35.900 --> 25:37.000 it's in every language, 25:37.000 --> 25:38.360 it's in every country, 25:38.860 --> 25:40.120 it's all over this planet. 25:40.760 --> 25:41.200 So, you know, 25:41.400 --> 25:42.720 it's like there's these really 25:43.320 --> 25:44.620 big claims being made 25:44.620 --> 25:45.320 in the Old Testament 25:45.320 --> 25:47.080 and then you see that they have come true 25:47.080 --> 25:48.880 and that we've seen the fulfillment 25:48.880 --> 25:50.320 where the earth is full 25:50.320 --> 25:51.940 of the knowledge of the glory of the Lord 25:51.940 --> 25:53.080 through Jesus Christ, 25:53.320 --> 25:54.060 the whole world 25:54.600 --> 25:56.340 now knows the God of the Bible 25:56.340 --> 25:57.280 through Christ. 25:57.560 --> 25:59.060 And in the millennium, 25:59.100 --> 26:00.240 this is going to be fulfilled 26:00.240 --> 26:02.840 in an even more literal and dramatic way 26:02.840 --> 26:04.960 during the actual millennial reign of Christ. 26:05.120 --> 26:06.420 But even in 2026, 26:06.420 --> 26:08.480 we can already see how this book, 26:08.660 --> 26:09.540 Second Kings, 26:09.940 --> 26:10.320 which, you know, 26:10.340 --> 26:11.220 this book is written like 26:11.220 --> 26:14.260 probably approximately 2500 years ago, 26:15.400 --> 26:16.620 2500 years ago, 26:16.680 --> 26:17.280 this book saying, 26:17.380 --> 26:19.320 hey, this is the only God, 26:19.700 --> 26:20.480 the true God, 26:20.720 --> 26:21.300 the right God, 26:21.420 --> 26:22.680 these other gods are fake, 26:22.900 --> 26:23.780 they're pieces of wood, 26:23.980 --> 26:24.400 they're metal, 26:24.520 --> 26:24.920 they're stone, 26:25.180 --> 26:26.880 and here we are 2500 years later 26:26.880 --> 26:27.640 and of course, 26:27.720 --> 26:28.480 the God of the Bible 26:29.080 --> 26:30.700 dominates the entire earth. 26:30.840 --> 26:32.320 And if there's one God 26:32.320 --> 26:33.400 that we believe in 26:33.400 --> 26:35.440 that even the atheists would say 26:35.440 --> 26:36.760 is their biggest enemy 26:36.760 --> 26:37.960 is the God of the Bible, 26:38.820 --> 26:39.380 you know, 26:39.480 --> 26:40.680 because he's the true God, amen? 26:42.140 --> 26:43.320 And so, you know, 26:43.340 --> 26:44.880 don't let atheists come at you like, 26:45.000 --> 26:45.700 what's the difference 26:45.700 --> 26:46.700 between your God 26:46.700 --> 26:47.220 and these other, 26:47.320 --> 26:47.600 it's like, 26:47.900 --> 26:48.760 well, first of all, 26:48.920 --> 26:49.880 that's exactly what 26:49.880 --> 26:51.800 somebody's saying 2500 years ago 26:52.320 --> 26:52.940 in the story. 26:53.080 --> 26:54.340 There's nothing new under the sun. 26:54.820 --> 26:55.640 What's the difference 26:55.640 --> 26:56.820 between the God of Jerusalem 26:56.820 --> 26:57.920 and the God of Arpad? 26:58.540 --> 26:59.560 Well, the difference is 26:59.560 --> 27:00.720 that one of them is right 27:00.720 --> 27:01.540 and one of them is wrong. 27:01.780 --> 27:02.480 One of them is real 27:02.480 --> 27:03.220 and the other was fake. 27:03.580 --> 27:04.260 That's the difference. 27:04.860 --> 27:05.480 And also, 27:05.740 --> 27:07.540 no gods of the ancient world 27:07.540 --> 27:08.460 made these claims. 27:08.920 --> 27:09.700 So it's not like 27:09.700 --> 27:10.940 a hundred different gods 27:10.940 --> 27:12.180 said they're the only God 27:12.180 --> 27:13.320 and then one of them 27:13.320 --> 27:14.240 got super popular 27:14.240 --> 27:15.540 and it just happened to be 27:15.540 --> 27:16.560 Jehovah God. 27:16.880 --> 27:17.160 No, no, no, 27:17.160 --> 27:17.980 there's only one God 27:17.980 --> 27:18.960 making these claims 27:18.960 --> 27:21.100 and he's the one who ends up 27:21.100 --> 27:21.760 becoming 27:21.760 --> 27:22.900 because he's real, 27:23.280 --> 27:24.760 because the Bible's true, 27:25.040 --> 27:26.900 because God really exists, 27:27.060 --> 27:28.040 because in the beginning 27:28.040 --> 27:28.940 he created the heaven 27:28.940 --> 27:29.340 and the earth 27:29.340 --> 27:30.800 and he's the one true God. 27:31.320 --> 27:32.720 And so it says here, 27:33.280 --> 27:35.520 Lord, bow down thine ear, 27:35.620 --> 27:36.240 verse 16, 27:36.800 --> 27:38.640 and hear, open, Lord, 27:38.780 --> 27:39.880 thine eyes and see, 27:40.020 --> 27:41.720 and hear the words of Sennacherib 27:41.720 --> 27:43.420 which had sent them 27:43.420 --> 27:44.440 to reproach the living God, 27:44.560 --> 27:45.040 verse 17, 27:45.560 --> 27:46.320 of a truth, Lord, 27:46.460 --> 27:47.500 the kings of Assyria 27:47.500 --> 27:48.980 have destroyed the nations 27:48.980 --> 27:49.740 and their lands 27:49.740 --> 27:51.640 and have cast their gods 27:51.640 --> 27:52.300 into the fire, 27:52.600 --> 27:54.100 for they were no gods, 27:54.380 --> 27:55.740 but the work of men's hands 27:55.740 --> 27:56.900 would and stowed, 27:57.340 --> 27:58.640 therefore they've destroyed them. 27:58.920 --> 27:59.420 Now therefore, 27:59.500 --> 28:00.100 O Lord, our God, 28:00.200 --> 28:00.640 I beseech thee, 28:01.080 --> 28:01.960 save thou us 28:01.960 --> 28:02.860 out of his hand 28:02.860 --> 28:04.540 that all the kingdoms of the earth 28:04.540 --> 28:05.240 may know 28:05.240 --> 28:08.700 that thou art the Lord God, 28:09.120 --> 28:10.840 even thou only. 28:10.980 --> 28:11.420 And of course, 28:11.520 --> 28:13.580 that is what we now know today 28:13.580 --> 28:14.700 in 2026, 28:15.160 --> 28:15.940 but, you know, 28:16.100 --> 28:16.480 he's saying, 28:16.560 --> 28:16.880 look, man, 28:16.920 --> 28:17.900 we've got to show the world, 28:18.440 --> 28:19.380 answer prayer, Lord, 28:19.880 --> 28:20.860 show yourself mighty, 28:21.120 --> 28:21.940 defend Jerusalem 28:21.940 --> 28:23.280 so that we can see 28:23.280 --> 28:24.620 that there's a true God 28:24.620 --> 28:25.260 in the earth 28:25.260 --> 28:26.440 and that these other gods 28:26.440 --> 28:27.020 are bogus. 28:27.460 --> 28:28.120 Verse 20, 28:28.280 --> 28:28.700 then Isaiah, 28:28.820 --> 28:29.420 the son of Amos, 28:29.660 --> 28:30.580 sent to Hezekiah saying, 28:30.980 --> 28:32.660 thus sayeth the Lord God of Israel. 28:32.820 --> 28:33.600 So here's the answer 28:33.600 --> 28:34.440 to his prayer. 28:35.380 --> 28:36.340 Thou which thou hast prayed 28:36.340 --> 28:36.960 to me against 28:36.960 --> 28:37.600 Sennacherib, 28:37.680 --> 28:38.320 king of Assyria, 28:38.440 --> 28:38.960 I have heard. 28:39.700 --> 28:40.500 This is the word 28:40.500 --> 28:40.980 that the Lord 28:40.980 --> 28:42.080 has spoken concerning him. 28:42.640 --> 28:43.100 The virgin, 28:43.340 --> 28:44.080 the daughter of Zion, 28:44.300 --> 28:45.340 has despised thee 28:45.340 --> 28:47.000 and laughed thee to scorn. 28:47.360 --> 28:48.440 The daughter of Jerusalem 28:48.440 --> 28:49.960 hath shaken her head at thee. 28:50.460 --> 28:51.600 What hast thou reproached 28:51.600 --> 28:52.340 and blasphemed? 28:52.720 --> 28:53.440 And against whom 28:53.440 --> 28:55.000 hast thou exalted thy voice 28:55.000 --> 28:56.200 and lifted up, 28:56.480 --> 28:57.220 thine eyes on high? 28:57.400 --> 28:58.680 Even against the holy one 28:58.680 --> 28:58.940 of Israel, 28:59.040 --> 28:59.220 he's like, 28:59.300 --> 28:59.500 oh, look, 28:59.560 --> 29:00.000 who are you really 29:00.000 --> 29:00.520 making fun of? 29:00.520 --> 29:01.120 You're not making fun 29:01.120 --> 29:01.660 of Hezekiah. 29:02.180 --> 29:02.860 You're making fun 29:02.860 --> 29:03.700 of God Almighty. 29:04.680 --> 29:05.740 That's who you're really 29:06.200 --> 29:06.600 reproaching. 29:07.280 --> 29:07.860 And you know what? 29:08.080 --> 29:09.260 The joke's on you, buddy, 29:09.780 --> 29:10.840 and the daughter of Jerusalem 29:10.840 --> 29:12.060 is laughing at you. 29:13.120 --> 29:13.980 By thy messengers, 29:14.080 --> 29:14.760 verse 23, 29:15.180 --> 29:16.440 thou hast reproached the Lord 29:16.440 --> 29:17.060 and has said, 29:17.380 --> 29:18.040 with the multitude 29:18.040 --> 29:19.040 of my chariots, 29:19.140 --> 29:20.100 I'm come up to the heights 29:20.100 --> 29:20.700 of the mountains, 29:21.040 --> 29:22.160 to the sides of Lebanon, 29:22.360 --> 29:23.100 and will cut down 29:23.100 --> 29:24.120 the tall cedar trees 29:24.120 --> 29:24.580 thereof, 29:24.800 --> 29:25.860 and the choice fir trees 29:25.860 --> 29:26.240 thereof. 29:26.400 --> 29:27.020 And I will enter 29:27.020 --> 29:27.720 into the lodgings 29:27.720 --> 29:28.460 of his borders 29:28.460 --> 29:29.780 and into the forest 29:29.780 --> 29:30.600 of his car mill. 29:30.960 --> 29:32.040 I've digged and drunk 29:32.040 --> 29:32.840 strange waters, 29:33.180 --> 29:34.340 and with the soul of my feet 29:34.340 --> 29:35.240 have I dried up 29:35.240 --> 29:36.840 all the rivers of besieged 29:36.840 --> 29:37.380 places. 29:37.600 --> 29:37.980 So he's saying, 29:38.060 --> 29:38.420 like, man, 29:38.740 --> 29:39.940 look at all the things 29:39.940 --> 29:40.780 that I've accomplished, 29:41.540 --> 29:41.780 you know, 29:41.920 --> 29:42.820 the Assyrian armies 29:42.820 --> 29:43.640 on the move, 29:43.920 --> 29:45.200 and we're just conquering, 29:45.760 --> 29:46.980 and we're redirecting 29:46.980 --> 29:47.900 waterways, 29:48.240 --> 29:48.560 you know, 29:48.620 --> 29:49.220 to cut off 29:49.220 --> 29:50.100 water supplies 29:50.100 --> 29:51.260 from the enemy, 29:51.560 --> 29:52.540 and we're just 29:52.540 --> 29:53.520 treading our foot 29:53.520 --> 29:54.160 on the soil 29:54.160 --> 29:55.020 of all these kingdoms 29:55.020 --> 29:55.620 and lands, 29:55.820 --> 29:56.560 and he's basically 29:56.560 --> 29:57.400 just bragging 29:57.400 --> 29:58.420 about his achievements. 29:59.820 --> 30:01.100 But what God's about to 30:01.100 --> 30:02.080 explain it to him 30:02.080 --> 30:03.400 is that he's the one 30:03.400 --> 30:03.960 who actually 30:04.500 --> 30:05.520 gave those things 30:05.520 --> 30:06.640 into the king of Assyria's 30:06.640 --> 30:06.780 hand, 30:06.940 --> 30:07.960 and that the only reason 30:07.960 --> 30:09.080 that the king of Assyria 30:09.080 --> 30:09.680 is even winning 30:09.680 --> 30:10.580 is because it was 30:10.580 --> 30:11.600 God's will for him to win, 30:11.700 --> 30:12.560 and God's allowing him 30:12.560 --> 30:12.720 to win. 30:12.960 --> 30:13.160 I mean, 30:13.200 --> 30:14.500 why was the king of Assyria 30:14.500 --> 30:15.260 able to defeat 30:15.260 --> 30:15.900 the northern kingdom 30:15.900 --> 30:16.380 of Israel? 30:16.940 --> 30:17.900 Because God wanted 30:17.900 --> 30:18.360 to punish the 30:18.360 --> 30:19.220 northern kingdom of Israel, 30:19.480 --> 30:20.560 and so he's allowing 30:20.560 --> 30:21.720 him to win, 30:21.980 --> 30:22.320 and see, 30:22.360 --> 30:22.740 here's the thing, 30:22.820 --> 30:23.460 a lot of times 30:23.460 --> 30:24.900 the things that we think 30:24.900 --> 30:25.840 that we have achieved 30:25.840 --> 30:26.740 in our lives, 30:27.220 --> 30:28.420 those things are really 30:28.420 --> 30:29.060 done by God, 30:29.060 --> 30:30.180 and we should always 30:30.180 --> 30:30.860 make sure to give 30:30.860 --> 30:31.540 God the glory 30:31.540 --> 30:33.100 for whatever we achieve. 30:33.880 --> 30:34.480 You go out 30:34.480 --> 30:35.380 and make a bunch of money, 30:35.680 --> 30:36.380 you better remember 30:36.380 --> 30:37.360 that it is the Lord 30:37.360 --> 30:38.040 that gives you 30:38.040 --> 30:39.120 the power to get wealth. 30:40.320 --> 30:41.220 You go out 30:41.220 --> 30:41.960 and have a great 30:41.960 --> 30:42.960 soul-winning campaign, 30:43.400 --> 30:44.420 a great mission strip, 30:44.980 --> 30:45.640 you're able to 30:45.640 --> 30:46.500 be used greatly 30:46.500 --> 30:47.360 in the local church, 30:47.580 --> 30:49.020 realize that that is 30:49.020 --> 30:51.120 God that works in you, 30:51.120 --> 30:52.200 both to will 30:52.200 --> 30:52.860 and to do 30:52.860 --> 30:54.080 of his good pleasure, 30:54.680 --> 30:55.680 and whatever successes 30:55.680 --> 30:56.580 that you've had 30:57.260 --> 30:57.760 athletically, 30:58.240 --> 30:58.640 you know what? 30:58.640 --> 30:59.920 God's the one who allowed you 30:59.920 --> 31:00.500 to be healthy, 31:00.840 --> 31:01.640 because let's face it, 31:01.700 --> 31:02.400 anybody who plays 31:02.400 --> 31:03.100 a lot of sports 31:03.100 --> 31:04.960 knows you get hurt a lot, 31:05.260 --> 31:06.520 and the guy who wins 31:06.520 --> 31:07.300 is basically the guy 31:07.300 --> 31:07.980 who didn't get hurt, 31:08.120 --> 31:08.300 you know, 31:08.340 --> 31:09.160 because you can keep training. 31:10.460 --> 31:10.720 You know, 31:10.820 --> 31:11.840 how many athletes 31:11.840 --> 31:12.540 do you know 31:12.540 --> 31:13.580 who are sidelineed 31:13.580 --> 31:14.020 by injuries? 31:15.160 --> 31:15.660 You know, 31:15.860 --> 31:16.980 how many times have you said, 31:17.040 --> 31:17.820 okay, I'm going to train 31:17.820 --> 31:18.460 for a marathon? 31:18.860 --> 31:19.080 You know, 31:19.140 --> 31:19.800 why do you not 31:19.800 --> 31:20.760 get to the finish line? 31:21.420 --> 31:22.880 It's not just a matter of, 31:22.920 --> 31:23.220 oh, 31:23.560 --> 31:24.720 if I show up for training 31:24.720 --> 31:25.200 every day, 31:25.320 --> 31:26.060 I'll run a marathon 31:26.060 --> 31:26.680 in six months 31:26.680 --> 31:27.400 or something like that? 31:27.580 --> 31:28.140 No, because 31:28.140 --> 31:30.360 there are so many injuries 31:30.360 --> 31:31.360 and problems 31:31.360 --> 31:32.280 and things 31:32.280 --> 31:33.040 that stop you 31:33.040 --> 31:33.680 from getting there. 31:34.060 --> 31:34.140 I mean, 31:34.180 --> 31:34.680 it's not like, 31:34.880 --> 31:35.080 well, 31:35.160 --> 31:36.300 everybody who doesn't make it 31:36.300 --> 31:36.840 to the marathon 31:36.840 --> 31:37.520 starting line 31:37.520 --> 31:38.140 is just lazy. 31:38.700 --> 31:38.820 No, 31:38.940 --> 31:39.620 because you could show up, 31:39.680 --> 31:39.820 I mean, 31:39.840 --> 31:40.160 one time 31:40.160 --> 31:40.860 I did the whole 31:40.860 --> 31:41.900 marathon training plan, 31:42.520 --> 31:42.900 went through 31:42.900 --> 31:43.980 the whole training plan, 31:44.380 --> 31:45.140 and you know, 31:45.200 --> 31:45.940 the final week 31:45.940 --> 31:47.220 of the marathon training plan, 31:47.520 --> 31:48.280 you do your final 31:48.280 --> 31:49.280 long training run 31:49.280 --> 31:50.460 is a 20 mile run, 31:50.900 --> 31:51.200 you know, 31:51.260 --> 31:51.960 because the marathon's 31:51.960 --> 31:53.120 26.2 miles, 31:53.480 --> 31:54.680 so the final training run 31:54.680 --> 31:55.420 is 20 miles, 31:55.520 --> 31:55.800 because then 31:55.800 --> 31:56.540 if you recover 31:56.540 --> 31:57.420 and relax from that, 31:57.420 --> 31:58.560 if you can do 20, 31:58.980 --> 31:59.680 on race day, 31:59.780 --> 32:00.740 you can push it to 26. 32:00.980 --> 32:02.180 That's the mentality. 32:02.660 --> 32:04.220 So most marathon training plans 32:04.220 --> 32:06.040 have you do a big final, 32:06.520 --> 32:06.800 you know, 32:06.900 --> 32:07.540 grand finale 32:07.540 --> 32:08.300 training run 32:08.300 --> 32:09.500 of 20 miles, 32:09.620 --> 32:10.420 like three weeks 32:10.420 --> 32:11.140 before the marathon, 32:11.160 --> 32:11.840 and then you rest 32:11.840 --> 32:12.340 for those three weeks. 32:12.620 --> 32:13.860 So I did this training plan, 32:14.340 --> 32:15.420 I do my final 32:15.420 --> 32:16.960 20 mile training run 32:16.960 --> 32:17.760 and it felt good. 32:18.120 --> 32:18.900 I was doing great, 32:19.080 --> 32:19.480 feeling great. 32:19.800 --> 32:20.540 I was so excited, 32:20.680 --> 32:20.960 I'm like, 32:21.040 --> 32:21.900 three weeks from now, 32:22.220 --> 32:22.700 I'm going to run 32:22.700 --> 32:24.200 my very first marathon. 32:24.680 --> 32:25.240 What happened? 32:25.680 --> 32:26.440 A couple days later, 32:26.540 --> 32:26.980 all of a sudden, 32:26.980 --> 32:28.820 I just started getting the sharp pain 32:28.820 --> 32:30.860 on the inside of my ankle. 32:31.080 --> 32:31.920 What in the world? 32:32.380 --> 32:34.600 And it was post tibial tendinitis 32:34.600 --> 32:36.220 and then I look it up online 32:36.220 --> 32:37.140 and it's like, 32:37.280 --> 32:38.840 do not run through the pain. 32:39.340 --> 32:41.140 You're going to do permanent damage 32:41.140 --> 32:42.200 because some things 32:42.200 --> 32:43.080 you kind of push through, 32:43.220 --> 32:44.060 push through the pain. 32:44.260 --> 32:45.040 This was like, 32:45.260 --> 32:45.520 no, 32:45.920 --> 32:46.980 you could do damage 32:47.640 --> 32:48.360 and it's just like, 32:50.560 --> 32:51.760 you know what? 32:52.220 --> 32:54.140 God can just snap his fingers 32:54.140 --> 32:55.260 and just ruin your marathon. 32:55.760 --> 32:56.480 And just, 32:56.480 --> 32:57.020 just oh, 32:57.440 --> 32:58.780 your little post tibial tendon, 32:58.960 --> 32:59.780 I'll just mess with it 32:59.780 --> 33:01.060 and it's over for you. 33:01.480 --> 33:01.680 You know, 33:01.860 --> 33:03.380 so if you do make it to the marathon, 33:03.840 --> 33:04.840 if you do make it 33:04.840 --> 33:05.900 to the basketball game, 33:05.940 --> 33:07.780 if you do make it to the big football game 33:07.780 --> 33:08.760 or the big baseball game, 33:08.820 --> 33:09.020 whatever, 33:09.420 --> 33:09.540 you know, 33:09.600 --> 33:10.560 you got to glorify 33:10.560 --> 33:11.440 and thank God, 33:11.740 --> 33:13.920 God's the one who allowed you to get there 33:14.480 --> 33:15.900 and he prevented the injuries 33:15.900 --> 33:17.400 that so many people get 33:17.400 --> 33:18.440 all the time. 33:19.180 --> 33:20.020 Overuse injuries 33:20.020 --> 33:22.260 or just other dumb little things that happen. 33:22.780 --> 33:23.020 You know, 33:23.240 --> 33:24.280 we are all 33:26.280 --> 33:27.700 responsible for what we do, 33:28.320 --> 33:29.060 but guess what? 33:29.240 --> 33:29.840 At the end of the day, 33:30.000 --> 33:32.020 God can either blow on it 33:32.020 --> 33:33.500 or God can bless it. 33:34.580 --> 33:35.660 And so at the end of the day, 33:35.780 --> 33:36.980 like you got to give praise 33:36.980 --> 33:37.640 and glory to God 33:37.640 --> 33:38.820 for anything you achieve 33:40.040 --> 33:41.460 because God gave you the health. 33:42.180 --> 33:43.220 Well, I'm smart. 33:43.420 --> 33:44.640 Well, God's the one who made you smart. 33:45.760 --> 33:47.080 God's the one who gave you the brains 33:47.080 --> 33:47.740 to be able to do that. 33:47.920 --> 33:48.320 And you know what? 33:48.360 --> 33:49.640 God could snap his fingers 33:49.640 --> 33:51.620 and take away your mental facilities as well 33:52.100 --> 33:53.440 because I've seen a lot of people 33:53.440 --> 33:54.300 lose their minds. 33:54.960 --> 33:56.360 I've seen people go crazy. 33:56.860 --> 33:58.600 You see people as they get older 33:58.600 --> 33:59.640 and they get senile 33:59.640 --> 34:00.920 and they have a stroke 34:00.920 --> 34:01.480 and they have, 34:01.720 --> 34:01.960 you know, 34:02.000 --> 34:02.540 look, 34:03.120 --> 34:04.360 thank God every day 34:04.360 --> 34:05.440 for the health 34:05.440 --> 34:07.200 and the smarts 34:07.200 --> 34:08.040 and whatever else 34:08.040 --> 34:09.700 that allows you to succeed. 34:09.860 --> 34:11.300 And so he's not giving God the glory. 34:11.440 --> 34:11.800 He's just like, 34:12.020 --> 34:13.300 oh, I did all this stuff. 34:13.600 --> 34:14.800 And God's like, 34:14.880 --> 34:16.720 no, I just allowed you to do that 34:16.720 --> 34:17.480 because it was my will. 34:17.640 --> 34:19.180 Let's look at it now. 34:19.360 --> 34:21.960 He says in verse number 25, 34:21.960 --> 34:23.860 Has thou not heard long ago 34:23.860 --> 34:25.160 how I have done it? 34:25.260 --> 34:25.860 God's saying like, 34:25.940 --> 34:27.160 look, you didn't do all that. 34:27.360 --> 34:28.120 I did it. 34:29.060 --> 34:30.040 I've done it. 34:30.360 --> 34:31.420 And of ancient times 34:31.420 --> 34:33.560 that I have formed it. 34:37.360 --> 34:39.500 Now have I brought it to pass 34:39.500 --> 34:40.900 that thou shouldst be 34:40.900 --> 34:42.660 to lay waste-fenced cities 34:42.660 --> 34:44.220 into ruin as heaps. 34:44.520 --> 34:45.860 Therefore their inhabitants 34:45.860 --> 34:46.980 were of small power. 34:47.360 --> 34:49.040 They were dismayed and confounded. 34:49.400 --> 34:51.120 They were as the grass of the field 34:51.120 --> 34:52.640 and as the green herb, 34:52.940 --> 34:54.440 as the grass on the housetops 34:54.440 --> 34:56.180 and as corn blasted 34:56.180 --> 34:57.560 before it be grown up. 34:57.800 --> 34:59.160 But I know thy abode 34:59.160 --> 35:00.520 and thy going out, 35:00.600 --> 35:01.440 my coming in 35:01.440 --> 35:03.320 and thy rage against me. 35:04.500 --> 35:05.160 He's saying, look, 35:05.860 --> 35:07.340 the reason that those cities 35:07.340 --> 35:08.680 were so easy to conquer 35:08.680 --> 35:10.700 is because I wanted you to conquer them. 35:10.780 --> 35:11.580 It was my will. 35:11.980 --> 35:12.500 The reason 35:12.500 --> 35:14.820 that the Northern Kingdom of Israel folded 35:14.820 --> 35:16.400 is because they weren't right with God 35:16.400 --> 35:17.980 and God wanted to punish them. 35:18.300 --> 35:19.140 Judah is different 35:19.140 --> 35:20.960 because Hezekiah is a man of God. 35:21.460 --> 35:22.980 Hezekiah has got his faith in the Lord. 35:23.660 --> 35:24.880 He's not going to be forsaken 35:24.880 --> 35:25.800 like the Northern Kingdom. 35:30.610 --> 35:31.870 And he says, look, man, 35:32.070 --> 35:32.690 I know you. 35:33.630 --> 35:35.190 I know everything about you. 35:35.450 --> 35:37.270 And I know your rage against me. 35:37.550 --> 35:39.030 He's saying to the king of Assyria 35:39.030 --> 35:40.930 that he knows the wickedness of his heart, 35:40.970 --> 35:43.210 that he has rage and anger 35:43.210 --> 35:46.010 and hatred toward the God of the universe. 35:47.990 --> 35:48.950 Verse 28, 35:49.090 --> 35:50.650 because thy rage against me 35:50.650 --> 35:52.150 and thy tumult 35:52.150 --> 35:53.430 is come up into my ears, 35:53.950 --> 35:56.010 therefore I will put my hook 35:56.550 --> 35:57.570 in thy nose 35:57.570 --> 35:59.810 and my bridle in thy lips 35:59.810 --> 36:01.470 and I will turn thee back 36:01.470 --> 36:02.750 by the way which thou camest. 36:03.430 --> 36:05.050 And this shall be a sign unto thee. 36:05.450 --> 36:06.350 You shall eat this year 36:06.350 --> 36:07.750 such things as grow of themselves 36:07.750 --> 36:09.250 and the second year that 36:09.250 --> 36:10.270 which springeth of the same 36:10.270 --> 36:11.510 and in the third year 36:11.510 --> 36:13.850 sow ye and reap and plant vineyards 36:13.850 --> 36:15.490 and eat the fruits thereof. 36:17.250 --> 36:18.790 Now he's talking about, of course, 36:19.030 --> 36:19.530 Judah. 36:19.710 --> 36:21.090 So this can be a little confusing. 36:21.090 --> 36:22.730 He's switching subjects here 36:22.730 --> 36:23.930 because in verse 28, 36:24.110 --> 36:26.390 he's rebuking the king of Assyria. 36:26.670 --> 36:27.950 Now he begins to say, 36:28.050 --> 36:29.790 this is a sign unto you Hezekiah. 36:30.290 --> 36:31.830 You're going to eat the fruit of the land. 36:32.110 --> 36:32.890 You're going to be blessed. 36:33.430 --> 36:34.330 Verse number 30, 36:34.730 --> 36:35.990 and the remnant that has escaped 36:35.990 --> 36:36.890 of the house of Judah 36:36.890 --> 36:39.270 shall yet again take root downward 36:39.270 --> 36:40.790 and bear fruit upward 36:40.790 --> 36:42.050 for out of Jerusalem 36:42.050 --> 36:43.370 shall go forth a remnant 36:43.370 --> 36:45.630 and they that escape out of Mount Zion 36:45.630 --> 36:48.310 the zeal of the Lord of hosts shall do this. 36:48.470 --> 36:49.690 Therefore, thus saith the Lord 36:49.690 --> 36:50.870 concerning the king of Assyria 36:50.870 --> 36:53.710 He shall not come into this city 36:53.710 --> 36:55.850 nor shoot an arrow there 36:55.850 --> 36:58.110 nor come before it with a shield 36:58.110 --> 37:00.390 nor cast a bank against it 37:00.390 --> 37:01.710 by the way that he came 37:01.710 --> 37:03.350 by the same shall he return 37:03.350 --> 37:05.530 and shall not come into this city 37:05.530 --> 37:08.370 saith the Lord for I will defend this city 37:08.370 --> 37:10.230 to save it for my own sake 37:10.230 --> 37:11.750 and for my servant David's sake. 37:11.950 --> 37:14.710 And so he's going to save us. 37:14.930 --> 37:16.870 He's going to preserve us 37:16.870 --> 37:18.050 for his own sake 37:18.050 --> 37:19.950 and for Jesus Christ's sake. 37:20.510 --> 37:22.710 He's going to keep us safe as Christians. 37:23.870 --> 37:25.390 And you know this idea of like, 37:25.710 --> 37:28.950 man, he's not even going to shoot an arrow at it, you know. 37:29.730 --> 37:31.850 God uses this kind of language a lot 37:31.850 --> 37:33.690 just talking about how completely 37:34.230 --> 37:36.890 he can protect and deliver his people 37:36.890 --> 37:39.170 where he talks about in the book of Exodus, 37:39.610 --> 37:41.110 you know, against the children of Israel, 37:41.450 --> 37:43.650 a dog is not even going to move his tongue, 37:43.790 --> 37:44.930 you know, against you. 37:45.210 --> 37:46.810 Or like he says in Luke 21, 37:47.350 --> 37:49.230 you know, a hair of your head 37:49.230 --> 37:50.850 is not even going to perish, right? 37:51.330 --> 37:54.730 And so God is able to fully protect us 37:54.730 --> 37:55.610 and keep us safe. 37:56.030 --> 37:56.970 Safety is of the Lord 37:56.970 --> 37:59.030 and sometimes we'll feel like 37:59.030 --> 38:00.710 we're just about to crash and burn. 38:00.910 --> 38:02.110 We're right there at the brink 38:02.110 --> 38:04.250 and the enemy is storming the gates. 38:04.430 --> 38:05.710 But God is saying, look, 38:06.010 --> 38:08.610 I can fully protect you. 38:08.910 --> 38:10.730 I can keep you totally safe. 38:10.930 --> 38:12.590 At the end of the day, I'm in control. 38:13.150 --> 38:14.370 And you know, if God wants to, 38:14.470 --> 38:15.430 he can make it to where 38:15.430 --> 38:17.930 not even a single arrow gets fired, you know. 38:17.930 --> 38:19.250 And so God has the ability 38:19.250 --> 38:21.950 to totally deliver us 38:21.950 --> 38:22.830 from the enemies. 38:23.030 --> 38:24.510 And if the enemy does come in, 38:25.010 --> 38:25.870 you know, it's because God's 38:25.870 --> 38:26.910 allowing the enemy to come in. 38:26.990 --> 38:28.130 And sometimes God has a reason 38:28.130 --> 38:29.130 why he allows them 38:29.130 --> 38:30.790 to take over the fence cities. 38:31.490 --> 38:32.910 You know, and that's what he just said. 38:33.010 --> 38:34.730 Hey, the reason the king of Assyria 38:34.730 --> 38:36.270 could conquer all these towns 38:36.270 --> 38:37.270 is because I wanted him to. 38:37.990 --> 38:38.530 And you know what? 38:38.630 --> 38:39.410 God has a plan. 38:39.570 --> 38:41.110 We don't always know what God's plan is. 38:41.350 --> 38:42.670 We don't always understand why 38:42.670 --> 38:44.430 things happen the way that they do. 38:44.490 --> 38:45.490 But we just have to trust 38:45.490 --> 38:47.190 that if we follow the Bible 38:47.190 --> 38:49.970 in the end, we're going to be blessed. 38:50.290 --> 38:51.190 We're going to be safe. 38:51.510 --> 38:52.930 Many are the afflictions 38:52.930 --> 38:53.610 of the righteous. 38:53.990 --> 38:55.170 But out of them all, 38:55.430 --> 38:57.130 the Lord delivers him. 38:57.550 --> 38:59.050 He keepeth all his bones. 38:59.410 --> 39:00.750 Not one of them is broken. 39:01.390 --> 39:01.790 Right? 39:01.930 --> 39:02.950 So it's like you feel like, 39:03.290 --> 39:04.890 oh man, I'm taking so much damage. 39:05.170 --> 39:05.950 But at the end of the day, 39:06.050 --> 39:07.110 you know, God can preserve you 39:07.110 --> 39:08.490 from even breaking a single bone. 39:09.270 --> 39:10.590 You know, you can make it through 39:10.590 --> 39:12.590 the trials and tribulations 39:14.070 --> 39:14.470 unscathed. 39:14.610 --> 39:15.350 I mean, look at Job. 39:15.550 --> 39:16.310 I mean, Job went through 39:16.310 --> 39:17.010 horrible things. 39:17.450 --> 39:20.150 But he really took no permanent damage. 39:20.550 --> 39:21.850 You know, he comes through at the end of it. 39:22.110 --> 39:23.090 He's doing better than ever. 39:23.950 --> 39:25.450 You know, and it's like, yeah, 39:25.550 --> 39:27.530 he was covered in horrible skin disease 39:27.930 --> 39:29.670 and he was in excruciating pain. 39:29.970 --> 39:31.450 But in the end, it's all over. 39:31.850 --> 39:32.950 And God delivers him. 39:33.170 --> 39:33.830 You know, you see Jeremiah, 39:34.170 --> 39:35.270 as we preached about this morning, 39:35.910 --> 39:37.230 Jeremiah's down in the muck 39:37.230 --> 39:39.150 in the mire in the filthy outhouse. 39:39.270 --> 39:40.430 And you know, there's all kinds 39:40.430 --> 39:41.550 of disease down there. 39:41.710 --> 39:43.090 And he thought he was going to die. 39:43.390 --> 39:44.810 He thought he was going to starve to death. 39:44.810 --> 39:46.310 He thought he was going to die of thirst. 39:46.790 --> 39:48.270 He could pick up diseases down there. 39:48.390 --> 39:49.110 But you know what? 39:50.030 --> 39:51.710 But did you die though, Jeremiah? 39:52.270 --> 39:53.090 No, you didn't. 39:53.530 --> 39:54.170 You made it. 39:54.770 --> 39:55.430 You survived. 39:55.750 --> 39:58.350 And in the end, when the country 39:58.350 --> 39:59.830 falls to Babylon ultimately, 40:00.950 --> 40:03.750 the captain of the host, Nebizar Adan, 40:03.990 --> 40:05.150 is coming up to Jeremiah 40:05.150 --> 40:07.270 and giving him money and saying, 40:07.590 --> 40:10.050 hey man, the world's your oyster, Jeremiah. 40:10.530 --> 40:12.050 You want to come back with us to Babylon? 40:12.470 --> 40:13.750 You can come with us to Babylon. 40:13.750 --> 40:15.050 We'll set you up in Babylon. 40:15.410 --> 40:16.450 Things are going to be great there. 40:16.650 --> 40:19.070 Or if you want to stay here, you can stay here. 40:19.570 --> 40:20.690 You know, it's up to you. 40:21.050 --> 40:23.350 But in the end, other people are getting smoked. 40:23.790 --> 40:25.530 Other people are getting their eyes poked out 40:25.530 --> 40:28.010 and dying and going into slavery. 40:28.490 --> 40:31.330 And in the end, Jeremiah is a free man. 40:31.550 --> 40:32.970 So it's like the tables turn 40:32.970 --> 40:34.250 because Jeremiah's in prison 40:34.790 --> 40:36.230 and they're all laughing at him 40:36.230 --> 40:38.690 and they're free and he's down sinking in the muck. 40:38.770 --> 40:41.830 But God turns it around to where they're all imprisoned. 40:42.290 --> 40:43.990 They're getting their eyes poked out. 40:44.230 --> 40:45.930 They're getting led off into slavery 40:45.930 --> 40:47.730 and Jeremiah's just a free man. 40:47.850 --> 40:50.030 And Nebizar Adan's just like, all right, you're free to go. 40:50.490 --> 40:51.170 Here's some money. 40:51.510 --> 40:52.810 You know, do what you want, man. 40:53.270 --> 40:53.750 Go to Babylon. 40:54.450 --> 40:55.030 Stay here. 40:56.250 --> 40:56.710 Go to Egypt. 40:57.050 --> 40:58.730 He ends up ultimately going to Egypt. 40:59.470 --> 41:00.830 But that's another story 41:00.830 --> 41:02.010 that shall be told at another time. 41:02.310 --> 41:03.630 Look at verse 35. 41:03.810 --> 41:05.050 We're almost done with the chapter here. 41:05.990 --> 41:08.410 And it came to pass that night 41:08.830 --> 41:10.570 that the angel of the Lord went out 41:10.570 --> 41:12.750 and smote in the camp of the Assyrians 41:13.490 --> 41:15.230 104 score and 5,000. 41:15.570 --> 41:18.050 And when they arose early in the morning, 41:18.210 --> 41:19.470 behold, they were all dead corpses. 41:19.810 --> 41:25.130 So basically just 185,000 men mysteriously die 41:25.730 --> 41:27.290 in the camp of the Assyrians. 41:27.590 --> 41:28.590 You know, and who knows, 41:28.750 --> 41:29.890 they might have just thought, 41:30.110 --> 41:32.910 hey, this is some kind of a disease outbreak. 41:33.090 --> 41:34.750 And maybe God, maybe that's what God did. 41:34.870 --> 41:37.230 Maybe God sent a deadly plague 41:37.230 --> 41:38.930 or a deadly disease that killed them. 41:38.930 --> 41:40.630 Or maybe it's just a supernatural 41:40.630 --> 41:42.110 just killing of people. 41:42.230 --> 41:43.250 But either way, it's supernatural 41:43.250 --> 41:44.470 because either way, 41:44.530 --> 41:46.110 God sent the angel of the Lord, 41:46.290 --> 41:47.970 the death angel to go through 41:47.970 --> 41:51.630 and to just kill 185,000 troops. 41:52.110 --> 41:54.010 And so this is obviously just super 41:54.010 --> 41:56.350 demoralizing to the troops. 41:56.890 --> 42:00.630 And they're obviously completely shocked by this. 42:00.990 --> 42:03.590 And so Sennacherib, the king of Assyria, 42:03.730 --> 42:06.750 departed and went and returned and dwelt in Nineveh. 42:06.750 --> 42:08.690 And so, you know, this isn't what you expect. 42:09.290 --> 42:10.150 I mean, you think like, 42:10.270 --> 42:11.530 there's no way out, I'm surrounded. 42:11.730 --> 42:12.590 There's all these troops. 42:12.870 --> 42:16.430 You don't expect 185,000 troops to just fall over dead. 42:17.350 --> 42:19.450 You know, but God can do anything. 42:19.630 --> 42:21.190 And sometimes God will shock us 42:21.190 --> 42:22.890 with how he delivers us 42:22.890 --> 42:25.810 and what he does in order to fix our situation. 42:26.210 --> 42:28.890 And a lot of times we might just be on the brink 42:28.890 --> 42:31.170 and we're like Hezekiah where we're like, 42:31.190 --> 42:32.670 man, we've come to the birth 42:32.670 --> 42:34.790 and there's just no strength to bring forth. 42:34.790 --> 42:39.730 I just can't do this last few centimeter of dilation. 42:40.150 --> 42:42.810 I just can't get from the seven to the 10 or whatever. 42:43.970 --> 42:44.730 But you know what? 42:44.850 --> 42:45.490 God comes through. 42:45.830 --> 42:46.730 You just got to push through. 42:46.930 --> 42:47.590 You got to hang in there, 42:47.710 --> 42:50.750 just do a couple more contractions and get through it. 42:52.470 --> 42:55.430 So then he gets back and it came to pass, verse 37, 42:55.810 --> 42:58.630 as he was worshiping in the house of Nisrach, his God. 42:58.790 --> 43:00.950 And it's like, have you guys ever heard of Nisrach? 43:01.890 --> 43:03.290 You ever go soul-winning and be like, 43:03.290 --> 43:04.370 hey, do you go to church anywhere? 43:04.590 --> 43:06.770 And somebody's like, hey, I'm a worshiper of Nisrach. 43:07.750 --> 43:10.350 Because here's the thing, these gods of the ancient world, 43:10.450 --> 43:11.030 nobody cares. 43:11.790 --> 43:14.750 How many people have you run into at the door out soul-winning 43:14.750 --> 43:19.330 who are followers of Zeus and Apollo and Thor and Odin? 43:19.770 --> 43:22.750 And they're following Artemis and Athena 43:22.750 --> 43:23.870 and these different things. 43:24.310 --> 43:26.870 How many of them are like, oh, a molek is my God? 43:27.430 --> 43:30.210 You know, Kimosh, actually, you know, 43:30.490 --> 43:33.710 a dramalac and enamelac are my two favorite gods. 43:34.010 --> 43:35.190 You know, you don't run into it. 43:35.710 --> 43:36.090 Why? 43:36.190 --> 43:38.370 Because these gods don't pan out. 43:38.810 --> 43:42.050 These false religions all get destroyed in the long run 43:42.050 --> 43:43.970 and the Word of God endures forever. 43:44.650 --> 43:46.990 You know, there have been other cults and movements 43:46.990 --> 43:49.050 and things and they come and go, 43:49.270 --> 43:50.810 but the Word of God abides forever. 43:51.210 --> 43:53.750 And so he's worshiping his false God Nisrach 43:54.340 --> 43:58.730 and while he's in the process of worshiping a false God, 43:58.850 --> 44:01.490 because he thinks, oh, well, my God's no different 44:01.490 --> 44:05.030 than your God and Jehovah God is just like the gods 44:05.030 --> 44:06.730 of Arpad and so forth, 44:07.250 --> 44:10.490 that while he's worshiping Nisrach as God, 44:10.710 --> 44:13.730 that a dramalac and Shirizer, his sons, 44:14.190 --> 44:16.610 smote him with the sword and they escaped 44:16.610 --> 44:18.030 into the land of Armenia 44:18.690 --> 44:22.150 and Ezar had in his son reigned in his stead. 44:22.150 --> 44:25.170 So he ends up getting murdered by his own children 44:25.730 --> 44:29.390 in the house of his false God, you know? 44:29.490 --> 44:31.930 And so all of his bluster, all of his talk, 44:32.290 --> 44:34.230 what good does it do you when you're dead? 44:34.710 --> 44:36.710 You can't take any of that stuff with you. 44:36.990 --> 44:41.030 All of his exploits, all of the conquering that he's done. 44:41.630 --> 44:44.090 And here's the thing, you know, even in 2026, 44:44.770 --> 44:47.850 you know, we might think about every once in a while, 44:48.150 --> 44:50.450 you might think about someone like Alexander the Great, 44:50.450 --> 44:52.550 you know, but it's like most people, 44:52.770 --> 44:55.310 yeah, they kind of vaguely know who Alexander the Great is, 44:55.350 --> 44:57.610 but it's kind of like, okay, whatever. 44:58.030 --> 44:59.850 And maybe they might think of some other famous, 45:00.490 --> 45:03.130 you know, hey, Julius Caesar or whatever, 45:03.370 --> 45:04.670 you know, they've got a few of these names, 45:04.830 --> 45:06.730 they're mine, but like, unless you're, 45:06.730 --> 45:08.170 unless you're pretty into history, 45:09.110 --> 45:10.830 you're probably not really thinking that much 45:10.830 --> 45:13.590 about Sennacherib as being like, 45:13.750 --> 45:15.750 oh man, Sennacherib is so awesome. 45:15.750 --> 45:18.190 And you know, they talk about how many times a day 45:18.190 --> 45:20.330 men think about the Roman Empire or whatever, 45:20.590 --> 45:22.590 but how many times they think about the Assyrian Empire 45:22.590 --> 45:25.390 and Sennacherib, you know, probably not very often. 45:25.750 --> 45:27.570 And I know some of you guys that are really into 45:27.570 --> 45:28.470 ancient history are just like, 45:28.530 --> 45:29.710 what are you talking about Sennacherib? 45:29.890 --> 45:30.670 It's really important. 45:31.010 --> 45:34.230 Yeah, but I'm saying like the average Joe doesn't care, 45:34.950 --> 45:37.430 you know, and this guy thought he was big stuff, 45:37.510 --> 45:37.910 didn't he? 45:38.370 --> 45:40.750 Oh man, I'm just conquering the whole world 45:40.750 --> 45:42.670 and I'm so powerful and I'm so great. 45:42.930 --> 45:45.030 And you know what, God just smokes his troops 45:45.550 --> 45:47.070 and then he smokes him personally. 45:48.410 --> 45:49.750 And at the end of the day, 45:50.010 --> 45:53.150 I guarantee you that a lot more people know who Hezekiah is 45:53.150 --> 45:56.490 even though Hezekiah from a worldly perspective 45:56.490 --> 45:58.490 is just running a small kingdom. 45:59.130 --> 46:01.290 I mean, what's a bigger kingdom at this time? 46:01.690 --> 46:04.510 Is it the king of Assyria that's like 46:04.510 --> 46:08.410 in the process of conquering a huge part of the world 46:09.150 --> 46:13.050 or this little kingdom of Judah that's down to one city, 46:13.750 --> 46:15.630 one walled city, just Jerusalem. 46:15.630 --> 46:18.330 But here's the thing, if we fast forward to 2026, 46:18.830 --> 46:20.130 we know who Hezekiah is. 46:20.510 --> 46:22.070 We know who Isaiah the prophet is. 46:22.570 --> 46:23.670 We know who Judah is. 46:24.050 --> 46:26.010 More people could tell you more about Judah 46:26.010 --> 46:28.070 and Hezekiah and Isaiah 46:28.070 --> 46:30.510 than could tell you about Rapschakie 46:30.510 --> 46:32.950 and Sennacherib and the Assyrian Empire. 46:33.810 --> 46:36.090 And so little as much when God is in it. 46:37.150 --> 46:39.490 You know, it's like, oh, that's a small church over there. 46:39.710 --> 46:41.850 Yeah, but a small church could do great things for God. 46:43.290 --> 46:45.510 You know, oh, but look at this much bigger church 46:45.510 --> 46:47.670 a Assyria community church over here. 46:48.030 --> 46:48.970 Yeah, but here's the thing, 46:49.630 --> 46:51.030 down the road, they're not going to matter 46:51.030 --> 46:52.230 because they're not real. 46:53.210 --> 46:54.130 You know, the real ones, 46:54.290 --> 46:55.790 it doesn't matter whether they're big or small. 46:56.250 --> 46:58.150 And look, sometimes the real ones do have a big kingdom. 46:58.350 --> 47:00.250 Solomon had a pretty big kingdom and he was for real. 47:01.050 --> 47:02.770 But you know what, a lot of times 47:02.770 --> 47:04.990 it's the little things, the little kingdom, 47:05.250 --> 47:07.970 the little church, the little guy, the little gal 47:07.970 --> 47:09.910 that can be used greatly by God. 47:10.190 --> 47:13.270 And the big important people of 2026, 47:13.270 --> 47:15.790 10, 20, 30 years from now, they're not going to matter. 47:16.710 --> 47:18.250 You know, because at the end of the day, 47:18.590 --> 47:20.470 you got to be on the Lord's side 47:20.910 --> 47:24.130 if you want what you do to last for eternity. 47:25.250 --> 47:27.990 And so Hezekiah has got the Lord on his side. 47:28.270 --> 47:31.830 He was pushed to the absolute limit, the absolute brink. 47:32.190 --> 47:33.890 He's like, man, I'm just at the edge. 47:34.050 --> 47:34.650 I don't know what to do. 47:34.750 --> 47:36.330 I'm just, I'm just going to just go to church. 47:36.990 --> 47:38.810 I'm just going to drag my butt to church 47:39.210 --> 47:41.130 and just I'm just going to take my problem 47:41.130 --> 47:42.690 and just lay it out before the Lord to say, 47:42.690 --> 47:45.410 okay, God, take care of this, God, you got to help me out. 47:46.070 --> 47:48.350 And you know what, God came through for him. 47:49.170 --> 47:51.510 And so if you're at a point in your life 47:51.510 --> 47:54.030 where you served God, you got blessed, 47:54.350 --> 47:55.810 and then now you've had a setback, 47:57.010 --> 47:59.350 major setback to Hezekiah's kingdom is what this is. 47:59.590 --> 48:03.530 When you hit that setback, push through and then God will bless. 48:04.250 --> 48:06.470 And then again, you'll be on top once again. 48:06.950 --> 48:07.950 You'll be doing well once again. 48:08.070 --> 48:09.070 Let's bow our heads and have a word of prayer. 48:09.490 --> 48:11.990 Father, we thank you so much for the example of Hezekiah, 48:11.990 --> 48:13.770 Lord, help us to also have faith. 48:14.330 --> 48:17.930 And when we're going through those times that test our faith 48:18.770 --> 48:21.410 and make it seem like you're not there 48:21.410 --> 48:23.130 or you're not going to bat for us, Lord, 48:23.490 --> 48:25.550 help us to be able to push through those difficult times 48:26.710 --> 48:29.410 and have faith that you're going to come through, Lord, 48:29.630 --> 48:31.270 that weeping may endure for the night, 48:31.370 --> 48:32.630 but joy cometh in the morning. 48:33.590 --> 48:36.450 And Lord God, help us to follow Hezekiah's example 48:36.450 --> 48:40.150 of just being steadfast and leaning into church 48:40.150 --> 48:47.030 and leaning into your word and prayer instead of going to this world 48:47.030 --> 48:48.950 and throwing in the towel, Lord, 48:49.090 --> 48:53.950 help us to lean into our walk with you in difficult times. 48:54.350 --> 48:55.630 And in Christ's name we pray, amen.