Verse by verse teaching - 2 Kings 19:7(cont)-8

Well good morning it is 10 o'clock a.m. One thing you won't ever have to worry about is me saying it's 10 o'clock p.m. because I've been asleep for about two hours. Lester Rolloff used to say every hour of sleep you get before midnight is worth two hours after midnight. Now I don't know how he figured that out but that just happens to be the case with me last week we beheld the word behold we are in 2nd Kings chapter 19 2nd Kings chapter 19 verse 7. Glad to see you all here today and I'm sure we have a healthy online presence I don't multitask as well as the pastor so I don't keep up with the comments I look at them afterward and if there are questions I'll answer them. 2nd Kings chapter 19 verse 7 the word behold began this verse and it was spoken by Isaiah as though the Lord himself were speaking so when Isaiah is speaking you're hearing the Lord speak and we learn that the word behold is a word that calls attention to some fact upon which an action is to be taken. Now that sounds pretty high-brow doesn't it? Well let me just get it down on the Bible shelf. Some of you who are parents have you ever heard your child say look mom well that doesn't always mean something wonderful is about to happen or happened but what they're telling you is the same thing as the word behold. They're saying something happened or something is about to happen and I want you to pay attention to it so they say look mom or look dad and here Isaiah said behold as he is speaking though the Lord is speaking through him and in our text the fact upon which the action was to be taken was the blasphemy that the Assyrians had directed toward God they did this not only through their words but by terrorizing the people of Judah. So let's continue in verse 7 where the Lord said behold I will send a blast upon him. We certainly use the word blast differently today than it was used in the 1700s. God said I'll send a blast upon him that is upon the king of Assyria and most of the time in the Old Testament the word translated blast is translated as the word spirit or as the word wind W-I-N-D. On five occasions it's translated as the word mind M-I-N-D and I believe that's the proper understanding of it here in this text. That is that God is going to put another mind he's going to send another mind to the king of Assyria. What is the mind of the king of Assyria right now in our text? It is to conquer Judah and all of the other nations around Judah which it is successfully done but the mind of the king of the Syria is on conquering other nations and God is going to alter the king's mind he's going to send him a blast or send him another mind he's going to alter the king's thinking and here is what he is going to put into the king's mind a rumor. Look at the text "Behold I will send a blast upon him and he shall hear a rumor." Now the word rumor means exactly what it does today. God would put a rumor in Sennacherib's mind that's the king of Assyria in case you've fallen behind or forgot and this is not the only time in the Bible you see God do this. In fact he's very specifically targeting a king and Proverbs 21 verse 1 Proverbs 21 verse 1 says "The king's heart is in the hand of the Lord as the rivers of water he turneth it whither so ever he will." So the Lord has the ability to take the mind of the king or the heart of the king the inner man that mind will and emotions that this king has and whereas they were running one direction like a river God has the ability and the authority to turn it another direction. If you study the books of Jeremiah and Obadiah you'll see that both of those prophets also heard rumors from the Lord and these rumors were against the enemies of the Lord just like this one in our text but the rumor the Lord put in Sennacherib's mind was different than the rumors God put in Obadiah and Jeremiah's mind. The rumor that the Lord put in Sennacherib's mind will also cause him to do something and it says in the text "and shall return to his own land." I'll send a blast or I'll send another mind upon him and he'll hear a rumor and shall return to his own land. Now we know that's a change of mind for Sennacherib don't we? Because he left his own land to try to make Judah a part of his own land by conquering it and God said this rumor will he'll hear a rumor and then he's going to go back home. That's pretty powerful. Sennacherib and his armies have set to take over the world they've conquered Gentile lands they've conquered the kingdom of Samaria which is the northern kingdom and now they're at the walls of Jerusalem and the king of Assyria is fighting in other cities of Jerusalem as we'll see in a moment but they're waiting to conquer Judah. Now imagine if King Sennacherib in all of this chaos were told by one of his soldiers "Hey king I heard a rumor." Well the king might send the messenger to check that out and keep fighting he'd keep doing what he was doing. Maybe he would assign someone else to deal with the rumor further down the chain of command but this rumor that Sennacherib heard would be so strong that it would cause him to retreat to his own land and although we're not told exactly when he would return we know it would happen because God said it through Isaiah "I'll send him a rumor he shall return to his own land." Now stop right there and think about the situation Judah was in. Those people probably most if not all of them were afraid on some level about what the king of Assyria would do but if they believed God's Word as soon as the prophet Isaiah told them "Hey God's gonna send him a rumor and he's gonna return to his own land." If they really believed God's Word they would have rejoiced and maybe some of them did and so when we hear the rumor and we'll talk about that in just a moment but we know that God's Word says that things are going to be better and here's how because Jesus is coming back because God will not suffer us he has not appointed us to wrath but to obtain salvation through Jesus Christ. When we hear that it ought to automatically make us glad and no longer fear what the enemy can do to us. Now the devil also puts rumors in people's minds and these are the ones we struggle with. Jesus taught his disciples about the things that would come to pass in the last days. Listen to what he said in Mark chapter 13 verses 5 through 7 Mark chapter 13 verses 5 through 7 and remember Jesus is talking to his disciples and Jesus answering them began to say take heed lest any man deceive you for many shall come in my name saying that's what a rumor is isn't it something that said saying I am Christ and shall deceive many and when you shall hear of wars and rumors of wars be ye not troubled for such things must needs be so those are rumors that are true that there are wars and rumors of wars I am Christ is a false saying that many will come and say so you'll hear false rumors you'll hear true rumors like the one that God put in Sennacherib's head that caused him to take action when you shall hear of wars and rumors of wars be ye not troubled for such things must need be but the end shall not be it did you notice the word saying in there he said many shall come in my name saying I am Christ the words people speak can be very persuasive they can build up they can tear down Rabshekah was quite persuasive when he spoke to the men of Judah and Satan and his representatives will also try to put rumors in the minds of the believers but Jesus said to his disciples and he says the same thing to us be ye not troubled now we spend a lot of our lives some people more than others being troubled about things and much of it we don't have any control over do we but we're still troubled about it and Jesus said to them don't even let it bother you these rumors be not troubled because these things have to happen before the end comes in fact there ought to be some joy not at the terrible things that are happening but at the fact that Jesus said this has to happen before I come well then let it happen because as John said even so come Lord Jesus we're ready for him to come and in Mark 13 further down is this is in verses 21 through 22 Mark 13 21 through 22 Jesus said talking about that same time period those end times and then if any man shall say to you lo here is Christ or lo there he is believe him not for false Christ's and false prophets shall rise and shall show signs and wonders to seduce if it were possible even the elect and in fact we're told there what those rumors would be the principal one being many will come and say I am Christ the others being here is Christ or lo there he is I'm Christ here's Christ or he's Christ and he said many shall come in my name notice that many shall come and say they are Christ many means people will hear it over and over again from various other people and sometimes the way our fragile minds work the more people say something the more we believe it's true and boy you have to catch yourself you may say well I don't just believe something because somebody said it I bet you you have in fact I know you have and maybe you're better at it than other people but think back of a time in your life where somebody said something and someone else said it and then another person said it and you thought well maybe I'm off my rocker it must be true and it wasn't people are easily misled many have already come and said there were Christ David Koresh there's an example right there was he Christ no he was a deceiver he put rumors in the minds of the people who followed him and ultimately worshipped him Jesus does not want us to fall for people who say here is Christ or lo there he is or lo I am Christ no matter how many of them say it it's only a rumor in Christ's second coming at his second coming we will not be misled by a rumor by a false rumor that is second Thessalonians 4 verses 16 through 18 you probably hear this reddit funerals more than you do anywhere else which is wonderful but we're going to look at it in context with all of these sayings the rumors the Lord put in some acrobat head and the false rumors that rabshika and the devil of course try to put in our heads it says for the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout that's the word I've underlined in my notes with the voice of the archangel and the trump of God and the dead in Christ shall rise first then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air and so shall we ever be with the Lord wherefore comfort one another with these words so instead of being deceived by the devil's rumors and discouraged by the devil's rumors or trying to figure out if you are alive during that time and somebody says well here's Christ right over here or I'm Christ or there's Christ instead of being caught up with that trying to figure out who Christ is go back to what the scripture says it says he's going to descend from heaven with a shout none of those do none of those false Christ and false prophets are they're all walking around down here on the earth and yes there will be some signs and wonders that take place in those last days anti-christ and so forth that spirit of anti-christ will try to mimic God but rather than being troubled at the words as the rumors of Satan's representatives of the unbelievers of the false prophet we ought to be comforting one another with the truth about the shout instead of being terrified of the spirit of anti-christ and the false prophets and the lying wonders we ought to be thrilled at the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ that ought to overtake all of that trouble that we had you know the difference between God's rumors and Satan's rumors is the difference between truth and deception what God says will come to pass will certainly come to pass and what Satan says will come to pass will certainly come to not and in a few verses we'll learn what that rumor was that God would send Sinacra going back to the text there in verse 7 he said at the end and I will cause him to fall by the sword in his own land remember this is what the Lord saith he will cause the Assyrian king to fall by the sword in his own land the burden is not on Judah's military to defeat Assyria in fact the death of this Assyrian king Sinacra won't even take place in Judah but in Assyria that's what the word says and from this from the fact that it will be God who destroys Assyria and their king through his own means that very fact tells us that God will have to be the one to destroy our greatest enemy it's not going to happen by our hands is it we're not going to go around saying why beat the devil today no you didn't you never raced him only in the person of Christ have you any victory over the devil Revelation chapter 20 verse 10 Revelation 20 verse 10 says and the devil that deceived to them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet are and shall be tormented day and night forever and ever in verses one through two of that same chapter backing up it was an angel sent from heaven who actually laid hold on the devil and bound him that thousand years before he was loosed again for a season and the best I can tell it'll be an angel sent from the Lord just like that one maybe the same one who will cast the devil and the deceivers into the lake of fire as well as all of those who were not written in the book of life but do you know who did not bind Satan you or me we did not bind Satan we did not cast him into the lake of fire and it was not within our power and it's not within our power to bind him today have you ever heard those and it's usually the faith healer prosperity gospel type of preachers who pray some kind of prayer and they'll say I bind Satan off of you in the name of Jesus well that's backwards we don't bind anyone Jesus binds Satan off of us in his own name we don't bind him we don't have the power to in fact in Jude the Bible said even Michael the archangel did not bring a railing accusation against Satan but said the Lord rebuke thee that's the proper way to pray that Lord would I can't bind Satan I can pray all day long and say I bind Satan in the name of Jesus that's not what the Bible tells us to do the Lord rebuke Satan the Lord binds Satan who binds him the angel of the Lord binds him and throws him into the bottomless pit the angel of the Lord will bind him and throw him into the lake of fire and when God binds Satan to keep us from harm he shows us his power which is made strong in our weakness his strength is made perfect in our weakness not just his power to destroy the devil but his power to save us from sin and Judah was without power to bind Assyria but the Lord God was not and it's God who will cause our greatest enemies to fall James chapter 4 verses 1 through 7 James chapter 4 verses excuse me 7 through 8 James 4 7 through 8 if you're a perfectionist I just messed up your notes didn't I somebody went Oh Andy it says submit yourselves therefore to God resist the devil and he will flee from you draw nigh to God and he will draw nigh to you cleanse your hands you sinners and purify your hearts you double-minded notice in that passage what goes before resisting the devil and what goes after it what goes before it is submitting to God so if you think well I'm gonna resist the devil today not if you haven't submitted to God you won't be able to and what comes after it drawing nigh to God submitting to God and drawing nigh to God in that condition you may resist the devil you don't bind him you don't have any control over him per se but God does so if you're submitted to God you say Lord I can't fight him off I just claim your word what your word says your word says that if I'll follow submit myself to you then I can resist the devil and he'll flee from me but I have to submit myself to you you see how that works if I don't submit myself to God I'm saying I got this I don't need any help I don't need any supervision and you are in for it if you try that if Judah could resist a Syria on her own then they probably would not have submitted themselves to God when people think they can handle things on their own then they don't think they need God now an unbeliever will always think that even the unbeliever who is met with a great tragedy where perhaps a loved one dies or something maybe their house burns down or a tornado sweeps away the entire city and maybe an unbeliever at that time will say oh y'all pray for you know name a town in the USA y'all y'all pray for Wichita Falls or y'all pray for Lubbock Texas or wherever it may be but then after all that dies down there back on their own aren't they not submitting to God not drawing nigh to him trying to handle the problems of this world on their own remember Hezekiah has already taken this problem to the Lord he has already submitted to the Lord now he's a king in fact he's a king over Judah out of which tribe Jesus Christ would come he sprang from Judah Hezekiah could have said well God knows what kind of king I am I'll take care of these Assyrians for him I won't bother him with this I don't need him to help me but he did he went to the Lord he submitted himself and Judah to the Lord and the very this very act is resisting Assyria and what I want you to think about is that word resist where James said resist the devil and he will flee from you which occurs after you have submitted yourself to the Lord resist the devil and he shall flee from you so I want to make a point here when Judah resisted Assyria and they did they resisted number one by not bowing down to them they said well I'm not going to do that and the act of not doing what the enemy says for you to do is resistance but they also did not go out and fight against them so what some people think is not resistance is resistance and what others think is resistance is not resistance they didn't go out and fight against them yet they still resisted them they didn't have to launch an attack on Assyria at that time because they had submitted this problem to God and Isaiah now has told them here's what God's gonna do God didn't say hey I want you to round up all of your best soldiers and put them at each gate and we need a watch every eight hours you're gonna switch and I want these weapons he didn't give them those instructions through Isaiah at all he said I will send a blast I'll cause him to return to his own land and that's where he's gonna die by the sword so let's make a point here when you resist the devil it doesn't mean you're not doing anything it doesn't mean you're just sitting there because that word resist means to withstand to withstand the action on your part is taking the problem to the Lord that's your that's the action on your part is taking the problem to the Lord because if you think about it why would the devil flee from you just you or me in your own flesh he would not flee from you in fact he would prevail over you every single time Acts chapter 19 verse 13 through 16 Acts chapter 19 verses 13 through 16 boy this is a good lesson right here I want you to see what the Bible says about you trying to take on the devil in your own strength it's a great example of it right here then certain of the vagabond Jews exorcists took upon them to call over them which had evil spirits the name of the Lord Jesus saying we adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preaches and there were seven sons of one Siva a Jew and chief of the priest which did so so stop right there these men these seven sons of this Jewish chief priest had to be a Jew to be a chief priest had to be a Levite to be a chief priest these seven sons had seen the Apostle Paul doing miracles and they said we won't end on some of that a lot of attention comes with that lots of applause people admiring you and so they said to these who had evil spirits in them we adjure you by the Jesus that Paul's preaching that's interesting isn't it not by Jesus Christ our Lord that's how Paul did it but by the Jesus Paul is preaching these Jews didn't believe in Jesus these were self proclaimed exorcists and the evils listen to what the evil spirit did so these men have tried to take on the devil in their flesh apart from God not submitting themselves to God and the evil spirit answered and said Jesus I know and Paul I know but who are ye and the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them and overcame them and prevailed against them so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded they fled underscore and bold-faced that word fled who did they did did the devil flee from them no he did not they fled do you know why these seven sons of Siva tried to exercise an evil spirit out of a man envy that's what it was Paul had performed those miracles confirming his apostolic ministry that's what they were for and those have ceased by the way if you have not been through the building on Jesus class which comes after the genesis to Jesus class I recommend you listen to the last two lessons in fact I recommend you listen to all of them he's on lesson five today it won't take you but five workouts to catch up with that that's when I play minds when I'm working out so five workouts okay and if you don't work out start so you can hear building on Jesus while you're working out it's wonderful but those lessons I'm referring to are about miracles and signs and they'll answer a lot of questions you probably have so the sons of Siva tried to get an evil spirit to flee but they ended up fleeing from the evil spirit they weren't preaching Paul's Jesus they said they were but they didn't believe in him and they had obviously or at least as far as we can tell not trusted him for salvation and without you submitting to the Lord let me tell you something Paul submitted to the Lord didn't he he submitted to the Lord those evil spirits said we know Jesus and we know Paul why did they know Paul because Paul knew Jesus Paul was in Jesus so to know Jesus is to know Paul to know Paul is to know Jesus that's the way it is his identity was in Christ and without submitting to the Lord you cannot and you will not resist the devil and he will not flee from you you'll be the one on the run so when Judah resists Assyria as we are to resist the devil the only way Assyria will flee from Judah is for Judah to submit to the Lord and draw nigh unto him and that's exactly what their king is doing that's what has a chi is doing you imagine if has a chi would have said I'll tell you what I know the Lord's got my back but I'm gonna run out here and I'm gonna try out our military on these Assyrians well God may have just let him do that and maybe when the battle wasn't going like has a chi I thought God might have said are you done yet are you through with your own self-effort are you ready for me to step in we don't know that's not what happened I can't really leave this topic yet because there's a lot to say about resisting the devil in fact it's the most difficult part of our Christian walk isn't it we think man I'm saved what I believe is what Jesus did for me and there's not another thing that can be done to save me or to make me more saved I'm saved save saved as that song says and as the Bible says my faith is in Christ and I can't lose it so we're secure in that why do we have such a hard time because we still live in the flesh the devil is still our enemy and he puts rumors in our minds say oh I haven't heard a rumor from the devil lately it's through your flesh you're not going to hear an audible voice Eve heard an audible voice from the serpent you shall not surely die for he knoweth that in the day you eat you'll be as God's knowing good and evil now that was something that she heard specifically from the devil but your flesh your own carnal nature that we struggle with every day is what does what the devil suggests it's a daily battle and it wears us out do you know why it wears us out because too often we try to resist him in our own strength now that'll wear you out now we read a few moments ago what James wrote resists the devil and he will flee from you and you may say well how do I do that I mean it says resist not to submit myself to God but get tell me more first Peter chapter 5 verses 6 through 9 first Peter chapter 5 verses 6 through 9 humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God that he may exalt you in due time casting all your care upon him for he careth for you be sober be vigilant because your adversary the devil is a roaring lion walketh about seeking whom he may devour whom resist steadfast in the faith knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world Peter's instructions here are very similar to James's instructions and we get he enlarges on it a little bit for us Peter wrote that we should humble ourselves under God's mighty hand James wrote that we should submit ourselves unto God and those are the same thing submission requires humility submission requires humility that's your first and most important step in resisting the devil now when we resist in our flesh and I'm telling you why this wears us out at least from my point of view here when we try to resist on our flesh what we've done is try to exalt ourselves above the problem Peter said humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God and he will exalt you in due time when it's time but we try to do it ourselves we try to exalt ourselves above the problem Peter told us to cast our cares or our anxieties upon God and then he said to be sober which is to watch yes it helps not being drunk too but sober here means to watch to guard and then he said to watch which means to be calm in the Greek it is to be calm or collected in spirit and this can only happen you ever told somebody to calm down you need to calm down well there's only one way to really calm down here it is it's not a secret cast all of your cares upon him for he care for you that's the only way to calm down is to hand that whole basket to the Lord and say I can't handle this but I know you can and it doesn't matter what it is by the way you can hand that to the Lord Peter also said to be vigilant which means to give strict attention to something and that something is the Christian walk and we are to do that because Satan who is clearly our adversary and who is clearly more powerful than we are just as the Assyrians were clearly more powerful than Judah that enemy is walking about seeking whom he may devour and then Peter wrote whom resists steadfast in the faith in other words he just spoke about the devil he said that's who you resist and you do it steadfast in the faith not with your hands not with your feet not with your smarts because you're not as smart as he is not with your speaking ability or any of those other things he said resist him steadfast in the faith and what faith is that it's the one that was once delivered unto the saints the faith of God's elect faith is the substance of things hoped for the evidence of things not seen that's the faith by which the saints of old like Paul like Moses obtained a good report that's how they obtained a good report is by the faith and in humbling ourselves before God we recognize and we acknowledge that he fights for us and in casting our cares our anxieties on him we recognize that he cares for us in resisting the devil we know that he wants to devour us in resisting him steadfast in the faith which is how we're to do this we understand that the same afflictions we struggle with are shared by our brethren all over the world and they always have did you know that the same afflictions that trouble you trouble the Apostle Paul they troubled Moses a trouble Enoch and Seth they trouble every one of the people who've ever been created Job said man that is born of woman is a few days and full of trouble and that is exactly true but we're not alone in this no matter how much roaring and walking about Satan does we have the Lord God has a chi may have thought in those in the the recesses of that temple that tabernacle where he was that temple excuse me he may have thought one by myself but he just spread everything before the Lord that changes the equation it changes the math you're never alone when the Lord is with you and you say well that's just two of us that's all you need just you and the Lord and in humbling ourselves we know he fights for us Judah if I could say this to them you're not alone submit yourselves to God that's the recipe for their success here submit yourselves to God cast all your cares upon him resist Assyria in the faith and know that your brethren that all these other people in Judah and in Libna and Lachish and all these cities of Judah are also facing those same trials you're not by yourself look at verse 8 so Rabshekah returned and found the king of Assyria warring against Libna for he had heard that he had was departed from Lachish after reading this verse it occurred to me that in our text Assyria is still at war they're still fighting who's not Judah they're resisting but they're resisting steadfast in the faith their king has submitted the problem to the Lord and whereas a serious success depends on their own strength and their own fighting abilities their own endurance Judah's fighting nobody even though they've been threatened by their enemy have you noticed that God's enemies are always fighting against their enemies who are not just God's people yes we are the enemies of the ungodly world but they are each other's enemies as well when God's people submit themselves to God there is peace not fighting that's the big difference right there there's peace not fighting you know the religion of Islam Islam means submission and so when one group says well I'm gonna submit to Allah be a Muslim do you think there is peace that reigns there not at all not even in their own hearts I have no quarrel against any man I disagree with many I have no quarrel against anyone if somebody says well I'm gonna keep believing the way I do well go ahead help yourself I've told you the truth and you don't want to hear it I'm not gonna I'm gonna have a quarrel with you over that but for Islam in many countries if you have a quarrel with that you die in author Neil's day in Judges chapter 3 there was rest for 40 years in Gideon's day there was rest for 40 years Solomon's Day rest for 40 years do you know what all of these men had in common they submitted themselves to the Lord anytime you saw this in the Bible it was during a time when the ruler whether it was a king or a judge was submitted to the Lord and Judah is facing a terrible enemy but in the Lord their God they can have peace in the middle of that strife so that's the next thing we may be asking ourselves if I submit myself to the Lord if I cast my cares upon him I resist my enemy steadfast in the faith why don't I have peace well one is you're going on a feeling you know sometimes you hear people and maybe you said this too I feel differently I must be saved I feel so close to God right now well just wait a few minutes or a few days and you won't feel that way anymore it's not based on your feeling it's based upon faith in the record that God gave of his son whether you feel like it or not whether you're having a good day or a bad day it's based upon truth not upon your trials John chapter 16 verses 32 through 33 Jesus tells us he answers that question how come I don't have peace or I don't feel like I have peace John 16 32 through 33 he said behold the hour cometh yay is now come that ye shall be scattered every man to his own and shall leave me alone and yet I am not alone because the father is with me these things have I spoken unto you that in me in me you might have peace in the world you shall have tribulation but be of good cheer I have overcome the world did you notice Jesus had peace even when he was persecuted he had peace even though all of his friends his disciples would scatter because he was never alone his peace wasn't based upon what those around him did whether they were faithful to him or not faithful to him his peace was based upon the fact that the father never would leave him or forsake him now yes when he was on the cross Jesus said my God my God why has thou forsaken me and if you think of it as God turning his back on sin because he cannot behold sin but his father was with him and so he had peace now what is he telling us the same thing the father's with you he said in John chapter 14 that the whole Trinity is with us I am in the father and ye and me and I knew I will send you another comforter the Holy Spirit you don't have to worry about the rest of this world you don't have to worry even about your closest Christian friend even if it was your pastor your spouse your peace is not based upon your relationship with them but upon your relationship with God through his son I will have to stop right there and I'll talk to you some more about that peace that Assyria could have in the midst of a storm it's the same one you and I can have let's pray father thank you so much for the good attention from those who were here and father we pray they were blessed with truth and that they would consider it and believe it because it's your word and Lord rents away anything that's not helpful that doesn't explain the Bible well and Lord just help us to focus on that which is true we pray that you give our pastor that same Liberty to be able to teach your words you have equipped him and for us to pay attention again and to accept the Word of God as our sole guide for faith and practice and the place where our peace is located in Jesus name amen