I suspect that a number of you enjoy watching Extreme Makeover Home Edition. I believe that of all the reality shows, this one is the best because it shows genuine caring for needy people. The people who are helped are often in some very difficult situations and often the changes are quite radical.
The first part of the show introduces us to the desperate need for a makeover. Someone has applied to have the makeover done, either a member of the family living there or a friend or neighbour. Often a makeover is needed because the house is falling apart or someone is handicapped or is caring for a family that is larger than the house can hold or some other such need. So the show begins by establishing why a makeover is necessary.
The next part of the show usually shows a demolition, sometimes certain sections of the house and sometimes the whole house is destroyed. The mess is removed and then the building begins and everything is made new from the inside to the outside and often even the landscaping.
What brings us to the place where we know that we need a makeover in our spiritual life? What steps need to be taken to bring about a spiritual makeover in our hearts? Amazingly the process is not much different.
This morning, we will examine a spiritual makeover which took place in Judah when Hezekiah was king. The story is introduced by demonstrating the desperate need for spiritual renewal and then proceeds to demonstrate the removal of the mess and the establishment of a new relationship with God. The story is found in II Chronicles 29-32 and I invite you to read it sometime. As we examine the parts of the story this morning, we want to think not only of the ancient story, but also about what might be needed in our own lives to bring about an extreme makeover: heart edition.
Before Hezekiah became king, his father, Ahaz had been king but as II Chronicles 28:1 says, “he did not do what was right in the eyes of the Lord.” Some of his evil was that he did not trust in God, but, as verse 16 says, he “sent to the king of Assyria for help.” The result, as verse 20 indicates, was that “he gave him trouble instead of help.”
The spiritual climate of his reign was also not faithful to God. He reasoned, as we see in verse 23, “Since the gods of the kings of Aram have helped them, I will sacrifice to them so they will help me.” Then in the next verse we read that “He shut the doors of the Lord’s temple and set up altars at every street corner in Jerusalem.”
The other thing we need to be aware of is that during this time, Assyria was the most powerful nation around and had already conquered many nations including the northern ten tribes of Israel. Because of their extreme wickedness these brothers of Judah had already been destroyed and scattered by the Assyrians. A few people were left in outlying areas, but the capital city of Samaria had been destroyed and the people taken away.
This was the situation which existed when Hezekiah became king in 716 BC. Assyria had destroyed the northern tribes 6 years earlier in 722 BC. Judah was in political trouble with Assyria threatening them as well and the example and leadership of Ahaz had not helped the people look to God for help.
It would have been easy for Hezekiah to follow in the footsteps of his father and blame the Assyrians for their trouble, or attempt to make an alliance with another nation so that they could together defeat the Assyrians or find some gods to worship who were more powerful than the gods of the Assyrians. He did not do that, however. For a long time the prophets had warned that destruction would happen and Hezekiah believed these prophets. He perceived that the political problems that they were experiencing came because of the spiritual problems which they had. He indicated to the people in 29:6-8, “Our fathers were unfaithful; they did evil in the eyes of the Lord our God and forsook him…they shut the doors of the portico and put out the lamps…Therefore, the anger of the Lord has fallen on Judah and Jerusalem.”
The need for renewal came because of the desperate state of the nation. They were in serious trouble. Assyria was threatening and they needed a way of redemption from that threat. Hezekiah was a man after God’s heart who knew that the problem was spiritual and so he encouraged the spiritual renewal which took place during his reign.
What brings us to see our need for spiritual renewal? For some people it is a recognition of the mess in their lives. Not everyone recognizes the mess and realizes that it is a spiritual problem that has brought about the mess, but often when we get ourselves in trouble our hearts get to the place where we know that we need help and we are more willing to be open to spiritual renewal. Hezekiah got it and became the motivator for spiritual renewal in the nation. For the nation, it was the encouragement of Hezekiah which prompted the spiritual renewal in others, as we will see in a moment. Often it is some message or the example of a friend which can motivate us to see the need for a heart makeover. Our need for renewal can also come through a recognition of God’s grace as we understand His promises or are reminded of His salvation or as we read something in Scripture. Is there something happening in your life – a difficulty, someone’s encouragement, a promise in God’s word - which may be prompting you to see the need for a spiritual renewal in your heart?
When we recognize a need for renewal, how does renewal come about?
The first step which Hezekiah took was to gather the priests and Levites and say to them, in 29:5, “consecrate yourselves now.” Later, in 29:10, we see the heart of Hezekiah when he says, “Now I intend to make a covenant with the Lord, the God of Israel…” This first step was a step in which he changed direction from what had been before. As we noted earlier, his father and the people previously had worshipped other gods and made alliances with other nations. Hezekiah wanted to make a covenant with God and invited the religious leaders to consecrate themselves to God as well.
Renewal begins with a decision in our hearts in which we make a commitment to God. It is a step of turning from the path we have been taking and deciding in our hearts that we will follow God.
I remember when such a commitment happened to me in my teens. I had made a commitment to Christ when I was 9 years old and continued to grow in my faith. But when I was about 14 years old, it became more important to me to be popular and belong to the “in” crowd than to follow God. For a few years I lived a double life. I was still attending church and even involved in youth, but at the same time the value of being “cool” was more important to me. One Sunday I was sitting in church, in the balcony, playing dots and not consciously listening to the message, but God was still speaking to me and I knew that if I continued in that path that it would not be a good thing. On that Sunday morning, I made a commitment in my heart to follow God. I didn’t go forward during an altar call, I didn’t wave a banner, but I changed direction in my heart. I dedicated myself to God and I decided that my covenant would be with him.
Perhaps you are sitting here this morning knowing that not everything is right in your life. Perhaps you know that it is time for a spiritual renewal. I invite you to make that decision in your heart to consecrate yourself to God, to make a covenant with Him.
After inviting the heart change, Hezekiah instructed the priests and Levites on the first thing that needed to be done. He told them, in 29:5b, “Remove all the defilement from the sanctuary.” Since the worship of God was centred in the temple, and the doors of the temple had been closed by Ahaz, the first step was to reopen the doors of the temple and clean it up and consecrate it for use again. In verse 3 we read that Hezekiah “opened the doors of the temple of the Lord and repaired them.” Then in 29:16, we read that “They brought out to the courtyard of the Lord’s temple everything unclean that they found in the temple…and carried it out to the Kidron Valley.”
The second step of renewal is the step of repentance. We need to get rid of those things which we know are hindering our walk with the Lord. One of the symbols of being “in” when I was a teenager was smoking. Around the time when I made the dedication to the Lord, a friend and I had been attending a car show at the arena in Winnipeg. We had bought a package of cigarettes and as we walked and talked, we both agreed that this was not what we wanted in our life. I took the package of cigarettes and ripped them in half and threw them into a trash can. It was more than an impulsive act, it was an act of repentance by which I was symbolically declaring that I wanted to clean up what was a mess and what was not pleasing to God in my life.
We cannot dedicate ourselves to the Lord and keep on doing those things which are a part of the defilement in our lives. As God convicts our hearts, we need to respond with obedience to His call in our lives and repent of those things which are sin – whether they be an attitude, a habit or a thought pattern. Repentance and cleansing are an important second step towards spiritual renewal.
Establishing Habits Of Worship
But Jesus warns us that cleansing is not the only step. In Matthew 12:43ff, Jesus speaks about someone who has a demon removed from them, but the space in their heart is not replaced by anything. After a while, the demon comes back and brings more demons and the last condition of the person is worse than the first.
Hezekiah did not only clean out the temple, he also established the worship of God once again. The priests and Levites consecrated themselves. Then they consecrated the temple, that is made holy, fit for worship. When the consecration was completed, we read in 29:20ff that Hezekiah brought animals for sacrifice and the whole nation could once again offer sin offerings and other offerings to God in this place. We read further, in 29:27ff that the worship of God with trumpets and other instruments was begun again. Second Chronicles 29:35 says, “So the service of the temple of the Lord was re-established.”
A heart renewal begins with a decision in our heart, becomes real by repentance and is built by establishing habits of worship and a relationship with God. As we dedicate ourselves and repent, we also need to once again establish the habits that will allow us to maintain and keep on building a relationship with God. These are habits of reading His word, praying, worshipping Him and meeting together with His people. If your heart is inclined towards renewal, don’t stop short of this step.
In chapter 30 we read an extensive description of another step which they took and that was to celebrate the Passover.
The Passover was very much like our celebration of the Lord’s supper. It was a reminder of the greatest act of deliverance the people of God had ever seen. It reminded them all of the time when God had taken them out of Egypt. They had been a slave nation and were permitted to leave Egypt and travel to the promised land and become the nation they had now become. Never before and never until Jesus came to redeem all people from the slavery of sin had anyone seen anything like the powerful act of deliverance which God had brought to them. They were to celebrate it annually as a reminder of God’s grace and His great act on their behalf. But for many years they had not done so and, consequently, they had forgotten about God’s goodness.
Hezekiah sent letters to all the people of the nation inviting them to come to Jerusalem in order to celebrate together. He even sent invitations to the towns of Israel where a few people were left who had not been taken captive by the Assyrians. We read in 30:10-12, “The couriers went from town to town in Ephraim and Manasseh, as far as Zebulun, but the people scorned and ridiculed them. 11 Nevertheless, some men of Asher, Manasseh and Zebulun humbled themselves and went to Jerusalem. 12 Also in Judah the hand of God was on the people to give them unity of mind to carry out what the king and his officials had ordered, following the word of the Lord.”
The pattern was that they would celebrate the Passover for one day and then celebrate the Feast of Unleavened Bread for seven days afterwards. They had such a great celebration that they decided to go on celebrating for another seven days. In other words, they had a 14 day party in the presence of the Lord to thank and praise Him for His grace and deliverance. The celebration of God’s goodness to them was so significant that when the party was over and before they went home, we read in 31:1 that, they went around the country and destroyed the symbols of idol worship.
The fourth part of spiritual renewal is to recognize and celebrate what God has done for us. Spiritual renewal comes because God is at work in our lives. The possibility of spiritual renewal is based on the grace of God who forgives our sins and redeems us from sin and trouble. It is very important to recognize and celebrate what God is doing and has done in our lives. When we observe the Lord’s supper, the primary point of that supper is a celebration of what God has done in forgiving our sins and giving us eternal life. That is why it is such a great thing to celebrate it together. It is not, however, the only way to celebrate God’s salvation. Whenever we sing songs of praise, whenever we shout to the Lord, whenever we read God’s Word and are reminded and our heart cries out in praise, we celebrate His great work in our lives. May we rejoice and celebrate what God has done as we embrace spiritual renewal.
So Hezekiah lead the nation in a time of spiritual renewal. They began by dedicating themselves, repented of their wickedness, restored the worship of God and celebrated what God had done.
What were the results of this time of spiritual renewal?
The first result was a genuine worship of God. Praise was in the air! Please note all the times that praise and worship is mentioned. We read in 29:28, “the whole assembly bowed in worship, while the singers sang…” in 29:30, “they sang praises with gladness and bowed their heads and worshipped” in 30:22, “For the seven days they ate their assigned portion and offered fellowship offerings and praised the Lord.”
When we see God at work and when our hearts are brought back into a renewed relationship with Him, worship will naturally follow. It will be worship which comes from the bottom of our hearts, a genuine worship directed towards God.
The genuineness of this worship was also marked by the joy which filled their hearts. Please note how this is described in a number of passages: 29:30 says, “they sang praises with gladness;” 29:36, “all the people rejoiced at what God had brought about;” 30:21, they “celebrated the Feast of Unleavened Bread for seven days with great rejoicing;” 30:23, “for another seven days they celebrated joyfully;” 30:25, “The entire assembly of Judah rejoiced…” 30:26, There was great joy in Jerusalem.”
When God is at work and we see Him bring spiritual renewal and all the blessing that comes with that renewal, the response will be joy.
II Chronicles 31 describes a further result of the renewal. Since the temple worship had been established once again, it was necessary to pay for the upkeep of the temple and the priests. Hezekiah began by contributing to the fund and ordered the people living in Jerusalem to also participate by giving a portion of their produce to the work of the temple of God. The response was amazing. People brought more than was needed. The lead priest indicates in 31:9, “Since the people began to bring their contributions to the temple of the Lord, we have had enough to eat and plenty to spare, because the Lord has blessed His people, and this great amount is left over.”
Simply put, what happened was that the people had hearts turned towards God. They gladly responded to God with generosity and God prospered them so that they could have an even greater generosity. When God is truly at work in our hearts, He provides for us and if our hearts are turned towards Him and we are willing to be generous towards Him, He will prosper us so that we can be even more generous.
So everything was going great. The people returned to God, God prospered them and everything was wonderful. But remember that the motivation which drove the renewal was fear. It was the recognition that the Assyrians were threatening because of their sinful ways. So since they turned to the Lord, did the threat of an enemy invasion disappear? Did everything go perfectly without any more danger? Well, in reality it did not. II Chronicles 32 tells us that Sennacherib, the king of Assyria came anyway and began attacking the cities of Judah and had his eyes set on Jerusalem. In 32:9ff, we have a copy of a letter which Sennacherib sent in order to weaken the hearts of the people of Jerusalem. He threatened that no other nation had been able to stand in his way. He warned them that his gods had proved more powerful than any other gods. He attacked the authority of Hezekiah and invited the people to revolt. We read part of the letter in 32:15, “Now do not let Hezekiah deceive you and mislead you like this. Do not believe him, for no god of any nation or kingdom has been able to deliver his people from my hand or the hand of my fathers. How much less will your god deliver you from my hand!”
Such an attack is not a surprising or unusual thing. Whenever there is spiritual renewal, there is also an increased threat from the enemy. Satan hates it when people turn to God and following a time of spiritual renewal, there is often a time of attack, doubt and questioning.
Two things happened at this time. First of all, Hezekiah encouraged the people with the reality of the power of God. In 32:7 he said, “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid because of the king of Assyria and the vast army with him, for there is greater power with us than with him. With him is only the arm of flesh, but with us is the Lord our God to help us and to fight our battles.” When you become discouraged because of an enemy attack at any time and particularly following a spiritual renewal, remember this promise. It is renewed in the New Testament in I John 4:4, “the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.”
The other thing which Hezekiah did, as recorded in 32:20 is, “King Hezekiah and the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz cried out in prayer to heaven about this.” God heard their prayer and defeated Assyria so that they were never again a threat to Jerusalem.
Whatever challenge we are facing, we need to pray and ask God to give us victory.
Do you need renewal? Is God prompting you through this encouragement, through His Word or through the difficulty of your circumstances? I invite you to renewal. I invite you to make a decision in your heart to turn to God. I invite you to repent and cleanse out anything which is in the way of heart renewal. I invite you to renew habits which will build a relationship with God and I encourage you to be reminded of the great act of God’s salvation which He has done in Jesus Christ.
I invite you according to Psalm 34:8 to “Taste and see that the Lord is good.
No comments:
Post a Comment