Like Father Like Son? Not in Hezekiah’s life!

1. Like Father Like Son? Not in Hezekiah’s life! How to see revival come to your life.

2. Who was Hezekiah? • He was the son of Ahaz, King of Judah. • He reigned during the late 600 B.C. in the land of Judah. • He was noted by God as someone who followed the example of King David and was a good king. • He is also responsible for bringing revival to the Nation of Israel.

3. Who was Ahaz? • The Father of Hezekiah. • He had allowed Judah to be overcome by the Assyrians. • He had allowed idol worship to become of the lifestyle of Judah. • He had allowed the temple of God to become a forgotten item.

4. Had bad had it gotten? • 2 Chronicles 28:25: He cleaned out the temple of God of everything useful and valuable, boarded up the doors of the Temple and then went out and set up pagan shrines for his own use all over Jerusalem.

5. What was the condition of the temple? • 2 Chronicles 29 give us a sad but true picture of the condition of the temple at the beginning of the reign of Hezekiah.

6. 2 Chronicles 29: 6 - 7 (Msg) • Our ancestors went wrong and lived badly before God - they discarded him, turned away from this house where we meet with God, and walked off. They boarded up the doors, turned out the lights, and canceled all the acts of worship of the God of Israel in the holy Temple.

7. Enough is Enough! • Hezekiah had seen enough. He was willing to go against the grain and against his family to please God. • He realized that it would take work to change the course of Judah, but he was willing to take the challenge. • We can see 4 steps that Hezekiah took, to bring back the people of Judah to revival, and these steps can help us.

8. Step number 1 involved the doors. • 1) He made sure the doors were closed! • How stupid it would be for Hezekiah to want to clean and restore the temple only to let it get trashed again by stuff coming through the door. • We see this first step in 2 Chronicles 29:3 - “In the firs month of the first year of his reign, he opened the doors of the temple of the Lord and repaired them. • It is so important for us to close the door on those things that are moving us away from God.

9. The door protected the Temple • The door kept things from coming in a defiling the temple. • The door also served to keep things in the temple. • Hezekiah knew the importance of the door.

10. What about the door to our life. • For some of us, the first step must be to reattach the door that guards our heart and life. • Because we have left the door open, things have come in that defiled and harmed our life. • Christ must be the keeper of our doors. If not, then all our work for revival is useless.

11. The second step involves CLEANING. • 2) Hezekiah decided to start a thorough cleaning. • He knew that the temple was full of junk. • This did not happen overnight. Matter of fact it was a result of years of neglect. • Hezekiah knew that it was not going to happen overnight, but he knew he had to start somewhere.

12. Is this in need of a little spring cleaning. • This is an actually picture of a person’s bedroom. • This certainly did not happen over night. • How can something get to this point. • It starts with a small issue and then grows out of hand.

13. Are you in need of spring cleaning? • If we want a fresh move of God in our lives like Hezekiah wanted for the people of Israel, then we must begin to clean out the areas of our lives. • It is not going to happen overnight, but it can be done. • We must take one step at a time, but the first step is to admit where we are.

14. The third has to do with a covenant • 3) You must decide to make a covenant between you and God. • In verse 10 of 2 Chronicles 29, Hezekiah decides that he needs to put his decision in concrete, and not just in his mind. • It is easy to decide to do something, it is more difficult when we make a covenant with someone else especially when that someone else is God.

15. 2 Parts of Hezekiah’s covenant. • 1) It was not made with others, it was made with god. • 2) It was made quickly. 2 Chronicles 29:11 Tells us this. • “Children, don’t drag your feet in this! God has chosen you to take your place before Him.”

16. It serves as a reminder to don’t quit. • We back of agreements all of the time. • Hezekiah knew this, so he made his covenant with God. • It is amazing how different things are when we covenant with God.

17. Job understood covenants. • Job 31:1 (Msg) “I made a solemn pact with myself never to undress a girl with my eyes. So what can I expect from God? What do I deserve from God almighty above?

18. Joseph also was into covenants. • Joseph was asked by Potipher’s wife to come to bed with her. • The reason that he gave was based on one thing, • Genesis 39:9……….how could I sin against God. • He had made a convenant.

19. The next step is all about consecration. • 4) Hezekiah asked them to consecrate themselves to God. • This is more than just dedication. • This is greater than a commitment. • Hezekiah was taken up another notch. • What is consecration?

20. Let’s look at Consecrate • Main Entry: 2consecrate1: to induct (a person) into a permanent office with a religious rite; especially: to ordain to the office of bishop2 a: to make or declare sacred; especially: to devote irrevocably to the worship of God by a solemn ceremony b: to effect the liturgical transubstantiation of (eucharistic bread and wine) c: to devote to a purpose with or as if with deep solemnity or dedication

21. It is more than just showing up. • We must understand that consecration and consecrating ourselves is more than just showing up. • Often we think that if we just make an appearance in church or make an attempt at the things of God, then we can expect revival. • This was not the case with Hezekiah nor with us. Let’s look at Hezekiah’s words.

22. Show and commit. • To consecrate means to set aside for a specific and holy purpose. • It is the same idea associated with Catholic Bishops. • It is more than just a ceremony it is what comes next that counts.

23. 2 Chronicles 29:15 • Notice the 2 step process. • Verse 15 says. “They presented themselves and their brothers, consecrated themselves, and set to work cleaning up the Temple of God as the king had directed - as God had directed! • Notice that this is two separate incidents, not one in the same.

24. The final step is starting at the core. • 5) Hezekiah started from the Core. • 2 Chronicles 29:16 - “The priest s started from the inside and worked out; they emptied the place of the accumulation of defiling junk - pagan rubbish that had not business in that holy place.” • What do we try to do. • We get caught up in the Pharisee syndrome.

25. The Pharisee Syndrome • Worrying more about the outside appearance and not your inside appearance. • Jesus called them “A Brood of vipers and he also called them whitewashed tombs full of dead mans bones.” • In other words, you have to start at the core and then it will work out to the exterior.

26. So are we ready to clean house like Hezekiah? • If we are then we must be able to • 1) Close the doors. • 2) Clean our temple • 3) Covenant with God • 4) Concentrate ourselves to God’s plan. • 5) Concentrate on the Core.