Wednesday, April 27, 2022 Some material taken from Only God by Sam Nobles
He trusted in the Lord, the God of Israel, so that there was none like him among all the kings of Judah after him, nor among those who were before him. For he held fast to the Lord. He did not depart from following him but kept the commandments that the Lord commanded Moses. And the Lord was with him; wherever he went out, he prospered. He rebelled against the king of Assyria and would not serve him. He struck down the Philistines as far as Gaza and its territory, from watchtower to fortified city. 2 Kings 18:5-8
Only God
There are times in life that feel like everything is so messed up that there is no hope at all. Maybe we have made the mess ourselves. Maybe the mess is residual mess from our dysfunctional childhood, which usually makes for a dysfunctional adulthood. Feeling hopeless makes us want to give up completely. It can make us miss our purpose. It can cause us to destroy relationships or ruin our careers. Hopelessness is like falling into a deep, dark hole, with no way out. But God can come in and shine His light of hope in our darkest days. He can turn everything around and make a whole new life possible. Through the life of a king named Hezekiah, we can see what only God can do.
· Only God can raise a great son from the worst father - In the Bible, we have example after example of God bringing hope to hopeless situations. This past Sunday, Pastor Sam preached about Hezekiah. He was the best king Judah ever had, but he came from the worst king Judah ever had. His father was Ahaz. Ahaz was an evil king and he let evil thrive in Judah. He introduced God’s people to false gods, and even sacrificed his own son to one of these false gods! He lost territory, destroyed the economy, and established an alliance with the enemy. He cared nothing about Judah or the people there - even his own family apparently. From every perspective, things looked extremely hopeless in Judah. But after Judah died, his son, Hezekiah, takes the throne. God did some great things through Hezekiah - things that no one thought was possible. Things that only God could do. His own life was a testimony of Gods’ amazing power.
· Only God can bring a great revival from the worst disaster - God used Hezekiah to rebuild and restore Judah. Hezekiah loved God and he worked heartily to undo what his father had done. He destroyed pagan altars, idols, and temples. He restored and reopened the Lord’s temple that his own father had shut down. He brought the Passover back as a national holiday and did so much more. Because of Hezekiah and the changes he made in Judah, revival swept the kingdom. Because of his faithfulness in putting God first in everything he did, Hezekiah prospered.
· Only God can give a great ministry to the most ordinary believer - God often uses the people who seem least likely for His work. Micah was a prophet that ministered in Jerusalem during the reign of both Ahaz and Hezekiah. Can you imagine being a prophet of God during the reign of Ahaz? Think about it: the creator of all things, the One who spoke the universe into existence, called on Micah of Moresheth (an unknown guy from a nowhere town) to deliver His Word to the entire nation of His chosen people - during their darkest days. I think they surely needed to hear what God gave Micah to tell them. God called Moses as he hid in the desert because he had murdered a man. No matter what Moses had done, God had a purpose for him - for His chosen people in another dark time in their history. He called Gideon to lead a military force against Midian, which he believed himself to be completely unfit for. He was not a great military soldier, nor did he come from a military family. He called a teenage girl from a small town to be the mother of the Savior of the World. In every case, God always equips who He calls with exactly what they need. That is something that only God can do.
Where do you need God to bring hope into your life? What situation feels impossible? What mess makes you feel hopeless? Hold fast to Him and never stop following Him. Keep His commands. He is faithful. He is powerful. And if He can bring a great revival to a hopeless kingdom through the son of the most evil king ever, He can resurrect your dead places, redeem your messes, and fulfill His purpose in you and through you.
