The words 'reform' and 'prosperity' dont seem to go together very well, because reforms are usually met with a lot of opposition and resistance. So reformers go through hardship, and Martin Luther went through a lot of hardships, but in the end the gospel prevailed. Hezekiah, the king of Judah in todays passage, also undertook one of the boldest reforms in Judahs history, and the Bible says he 'prospered wherever he went.' How was Hezekiah able to reform and still be prosperous? In todays message, well consider what it takes to be prosperous wherever you go.
First, mothers of faith are important.
Hezekiahs mothers name was Abijah, short for 'Abijah,' which means 'The LORD is my father.' His father, Zechariah, meant 'The LORD remembers.' They were a family of faith, even though Ahaz had done more evil than all the kings of northern Israel. Ahaz wanted to preserve his family name by passing his children through the fire as an idol for his children. Killing your children for the sake of your children in the service of the idol of Molech is not true love, and no one can stop him because he is so zealous that he listens to no one. Hezekiah could have grown up with such a frightening and cruel father and become accustomed to the normality of evil, but because of his mothers discernment and tearful prayer, he was able to restore the nation instead of falling into a grief of hurt and resentment. The author of Kings focuses his attention on the kings of Southern Judah because no matter how evil and bad Ahaz is, the Davidic line, the Jesus line of Southern Judah, is important. And while Northern Israel mentions the paternal line every time the throne changes hands in a coup, Southern Judah records the maternal line. Jews only count you as Jewish if your maternal line is clear. Hezekiah, by his mothers faith, said, The Lord has strengthened me. Jehovah is my strength, he was prepared as a son who could reform. This structure of the holy army coming out from under the evil father and the most evil king, Manasseh, coming out from under the best holy man, Hezekiah, illustrates the principle of faith alone saving. Of course, there are other models, such as saints under saints and evil kings under evil kings, but the most important thing is to let go of stereotypes and just have faith, trusting that the Lord will strengthen us.
Second, we need to remove the deeply rooted idols.
What Hezekiah does honestly, like David, is that he removes the high places, breaks down the main statue, and takes a picture of Asherah. He removes the high places themselves, and even the brass serpent that Moses had made, and smashes it into pieces of brass. God takes notice of this removal of a deeply rooted idol that had been passed down from generation to generation.We, too, have our own deeply rooted idols in our personal and family lives that need to be removed, broken, torn, and smashed to pieces, but this is impossible except by the special grace of God.The only way to break the addiction is in the ranch, for ones wickedness can only be seen in a community of sinners. The first step in repairing the gates of the temple is to open the hearts that have been closed, which I do in community.
Third, When we rely on Jehovah and unite, he is with us.
Removing thousands of years of deeply ingrained idolatry would have been a difficult task for even the most powerful king, so Hezekiah gathered his people, starting with Levi the priest, and clung to the LORD, because he had no one else on his side. We often look in vain for a savior when we have a problem, and its a blessing to be in the midst of fear, anxiety, and worry. It is a powerful expression of your commitment that God will not leave you. A person who is united to God strives to keep the commandments and do what the Word says, so they value the Word and community. Hezekiah was blessed with prosperity, which led to his success in the Reformation domestically and prosperity abroad. Prosperity is not about eating well and living well on this earth, but it is the blessing of salvation that Jesus Christ accomplished and the Holy Spirit applies to each of us. May you, too, receive this blessing of prosperity wherever you go.
The community confession is from Mr. Kwon, who preached yesterday morning.
Through my upbringing teacher, I realized that QT is reading the Bible, and I have been doing it every day since then. Although there were many hardships, I worshiped with tears and excitement from the day I came to the church, and because I loved the worship and the word, I read the text of it countless times, and then I realized that I was not reading the Bible, but the word was reading me and talking to me.As I began to see reality through the mirror of the Word, the Lord began to speak to me in suffering, and my life of loneliness, infidelity, divorce, and reunion began to be interpreted. I came to the community and reunited in faith, but even though I was struggling with my husbands violence and my daughters schizophrenic son running away, I was so happy and excited about the Word that I thought, God is my father, will he be happy if I am beaten to death!
I began to see the blessings hidden behind the hardships, and I thought of the Lord, who must have been more anxious than I was, thinking, What if that child doesnt recognize me, this is not the only hardship Im facing. And when I realized the Word at every bump, the Lord rejoiced, saying, Youve figured it out, and I was happy that the whole universe was taking care of me. Everyone, if you live with this kind of heart, you can become a hardy saint by relying on the Lord and uniting with him, and you will be prosperous wherever you go because God is with you.
The mothers faith is the key to a life of 'abundance wherever you go.' Because of it, you remove deep-rooted idols. When we rely on the Lord in difficult situations day by day and unite as beetle saints, we believe that we will be prosperous wherever we go.
