Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Jehovah is Strength!

Isaiah 38:1-8


1. In those days was Hezekiah sick unto death. And Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz came unto him, and said unto him, Thus saith the Lord, Set thine house in order: for thou shalt die and not live.

2. Then Hezekiah turned his face toward the wall, prayed unto the Lord.

3.  And said, remember now, O Lord, I beseech thee, how I have walked before thee in truth and with a perfect heart and have done that which is good in thy sight. And Hezekiah wept sore.

4. Then came the word of the Lord to Isaiah, saying,

5. Go, and say to Hezekiah, Thus saith the Lord, the God of David thy father, I have seen thy tears: behold,


Sick unto death.



King Hezekiah reigned in Jerusalem for twenty-nine years. The bible says that he did that which was right in the sight of the Lord. Also in his first year as king, he opened the doors of the house of the Lord and repaired them. In other words Revival started through his leadership!

Look at what leadership that will be an instrument to revive the people does.

2 Chronicles 29:3 He in the first year of his reign, in the first month, opened the doors of the house of the Lord, and repaired them.  
4. And he brought in the priest and the Levites, and gathered them together into the east street.
5. And said unto them, Hear me, ye Levites, sanctify now yourselves, and and sanctify the house of the Lord God of your fathers, and carry forth the filthiness out of the holy place. 
6. For our fathers have trespassed, and done evil in the eyes of the Lord our God, and have forsaken him, and have turned away their faces from the habitation of the Lord, and turned their backs.
7. Also they have shut up the doors of the porch, and put out the lamps, and have not burned incense nor offered burnt offerings in the holy place unto the God of Israel.
8. Wherefore the wrath of the Lordwas upon Judah and Jerusalem, and he hath delivered them to trouble, to astonishment, and to hissing, as ye see with your eyes.
9. For, lo, our fathers have fallen by the sword, and our sons and daughters and our wives are in capitivity for this.
10. Now it is in mine heart to make a covenant with the Lord God of Israel, that his fierce wrath may turn away from us.
11. My sons, be not now negligent: for the Lord hath chosen you to stand before him, to serve him, and that ye should minister unto him and burn incense.


"Revival always starts with change!"

Revival comes, and only comes to a people that are willing to repent!

You can follow Hezekiah's reign and see a king that wants to please God. He tells the preachers and the singers of his day that they had to sanctify themselves if they were to minister to God's people. They had to change and it meant repentance was the first step in Revival.

You can't hope Revival to come.  No! You and I must repent!  Listen to God's voice, the Holy Ghost, He will guide us into all Truth!  Revival will be certain.

Revival came under Hezekiah's reign as king, but not without being challenged.

You say you have been revived, well you'd better draw nigh to God because whatever you've got from the Lord will be challenged by the Devil, by this world, and most of all by your own flesh!  Your self!


Read all about the Revival under Hezekiah, he cleansed the Temple first, you see, the temple must be cleansed first!  We are the temple of God! We must be clean!

Hezekiah restored temple worship, no longer can our worship consist of listening to someone else singing song about God!  No!  Our very life as the temple of the Lord will manifest worship to Jehovah our strength!

Hezekiah restored the feast, which all represent Christ! Hezekiah did that which was good in the sight of the Lord.

But we read in Isaiah 38:1  In those days was Hezekiah sick unto death. And Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz came unto him, and said unto him, Thus saith the Lord, Set thine house in order: for thou shalt die, and not live.

Hezekiah got a word that none of us want to hear. "Thou shalt die, and not live."

How many times has a doctor came into a room of one of his patients, and he says: "There's nothing we can do, it's only a short time left."

It is a sobering fact to us all, one day I will face it and you will face it!

"Sick unto death."

Look at the focus God places on for the prophet Isaiah to express to Hezekiah.

Hezekiah's condition is that he is "Sick unto death."

What is the most important thing that God could say to a man who is near death.

So many times many waste the opportunity to give life to those that are sick unto death!

What does God says to a king that has brought Revival back to Jerusalem, restored worship and cleansed the temple, and restored the feast of the Lord.  God says: "Set your house in order: for thou shalt die, and not live."

God was saying to Hezekiah, "you must be right with me!"


It doesn't matter what people think about you, you must be right.  I'm sure there were, for the most part, many people that looked to Hezekiah with great respect and admiration at all that he had accomplished as king at Jerusalem.  And others, on the other hand that probably didn't think to highly of him.

But when it's all said and done, it won't be about what people thought and said about you. What will matter is that you set your house in order.

When Hezekiah is given the message of the prophet Isaiah, he turns his face toward the wall. Now a wall represents protection, that's why walls were built. They were built for protection from enemies. I believe we have allowed ourselves to tear down walls that should have remained for the protection of God's people! There's no boundaries or walls to show differance between the Church and the world.

Hezekiah, being a man truly wants to do right in the eyes of the Lord, turns his face toward the wall. When he did this he was looking unto Jesus the Author and Finisher of his faith!  Jesus is our wall of protection against our enemies! 
 Hezekiah prayed!       Hezekiah prayed earnestly!      Hezekiah prayed intensely!

Isaiah 38:3  And said, remember now, O Lord, I beseech thee, how I have walked before thee in truth and with a perfect heart, and have done that which is good in thy sight. ( Most of us have tendency to stop right here in our praying to God. But Hezekiah realizes that all the good that he has done isn't enough!   Look at the last words of this verse.)  And Hezekiah wept sore.


God never said a word to the prophet while Hezekiah talked about his good life that he had lived before God. (But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesss are as fifthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away. Isaiah 64:6)

But Hezekiah realized it was nothing that he could bring that would get the ear of God as would the cry of a contrite and broken heart. Hezekiah brought Revival to his own self! Through humbling himself, repentance brought change!  Repentance brought Revival to him! 

Hezekiah was sick unto death but God gave him fifteen more years! Hezekiah's name means: "Jehovah is strength."

I don't care what kind of word you may have been given from someone. Hezekiah was given a word from the Lord God that he was going to die and not live, but Hezekiah turned his face to the wall. Turn yourself to Jesus in whatever you are facing. Humble yourself under the mighty hand of God and He shall lift you up!

Jehovah is strength!

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