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of the message and I can’t wait to tell you the title. You’re going to see what I just finished. But I want to go to second Kings chapter 18. Begin reading at verse number one. It says like this. It says, “Now it came to pass in the third year of Hosa, son of Ela, king of Israel, that Hezekiah, the son of Ahaz, king of Judah, began to reign.” 205 years old was he when he began to reign. And he reigned 20 and nine years in Jerusalem.

His mother’s name also was Abby, the daughter of Zachariah. And he did that which was right in the sight of the Lord, according to all that David his father did. He removed the high places and break the images and cut down the groves and break in pieces the brazen serpent that Moses had made. For into those days the children of Israel did burn incense to it and he caught it and hushed it. He trusted in the Lord God of Israel. Verse 5, he trusted in the Lord God of Israel, so that after him was none like him among all the kings of Judah, nor any that were before him. There was nobody like Hezekiah.

Verse six, for he claved to the Lord, and departed not from following him, but kept his commandments which the Lord commanded Moses. Verse seven. And the Lord was with him. That’s as far as I got last week. Amen. And I still feel it right there. The Lord God was with him, and he prospered whethersoever he went forth, and he rebelled against the king of Azria, and served him not. Give me just a few moments this morning as I embark on this particular topic. My pointers. There we go. The thrill of victory. Victory. Yes.

And the agony of defeat, the Hezekiah syndrome. Would you pray with me? Father, we thank you this morning. We thank you God for the anointing that is surely in this place. We thank you, God, for the reading of your word. And Lord, there’s so many things in this scripture and in these stories of the Old Kings. But God, today we look that we look into your word and we ask that you open up these truths into our heart, our minds, our lives, God, that Lord, it’s not just a story, God, it’s who you are. And God, we give you praise. We give you honor and we give you glory in the name of Jesus. Everybody shouts, “Amen.” Now, before you’re seated, I’ve got half of you, third of you on the way down.

Before you’re seated, put a smile on your face and let’s uh let’s give the Lord a shout of praise in this house. Hallelujah. Amen. Amen. Hallelujah. The story of Hezekiah is certainly a story full of lessons that all of us can can learn from. So many different areas that you can talk about him. And if you look at the title again, the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat. Then there’s a tagline there that says the Hezekiah syndrome. And what is simply meant by that is that we have a tendency to do some of the same things that oh Hezekiah did. So as we dig in today, I want you to understand it’s not just a history lesson. That it is a truth that God has not changed his mind. God does not change his ways. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. I’m thankful for that because as I read the word, I know what he done in the Old Testament, he’ll do in the New Testament, and I know he’ll do it in today’s world. Somebody say, “Amen.” He’s the same God. He’s not changed his ways. And when you study the history of Israel and you look at the split between the northern kingdom of Israel and the southern kingdom of Judah, you got to note certain things. The northern kingdom of Judah had uh 19 kings alto together and uh they were all bad. They were none good. Uh then you look at the southern kingdom of Judah. Uh they had 20 monarchs. I say monarchs because they had 19 kings and one queen. Uh and most of which were bad. Eight was considered good uh by most uh means of the word.

Um, the northern kingdom had nine different dynasties that spanned across 200 years. That what that means is there were nine different families that were not related that ruled in the northern kingdom of Israel. In the southern kingdom of Judah, there was only one dynasty and it spanned for 350 years. Uh it was one family and it was of the line and lineage of the house of David. Boy, that’s good stuff right there. Amen. Oh, when you got the foundation right, it all stays put together. Amen.

Hallelujah. At the time of our particular text here in second kings, you’ll find out that there was a bunch of kings and you’ll find out that one bad king, another bad king and another bad king in succession. The people the kings did not lead by the law of the word of God. They did not uh uh the people were living in total rebellion against God. The people were worshiping idols and there was so much synretatism. We briefly mentioned that this morning. There was so much synretatism. And what that simply means, let me break it down for you. Here’s what it means. They worship on the Sabbath uh the true God.

But then on the other days, they worshiped their idol gods. And they tried to do it in the same places. uh they mixed the world with their true religion of God himself and uh uh they were worshiping idols and that’s what they were doing and that’s how they were living. Kind of sounds like the world today, doesn’t it? Uh there there’ll be literally millions that would that would find their ways into the houses of worship this morning across this land. And come tomorrow morning, there will be a lot a high percentage of those that they will not think about God until the following Sunday. Oh, can I preach a little bit? Somebody said, “Do I need my hard toes on this morning?” I don’t know. Do you uh if you’re if you’re if you get up on Monday morning and you’re blessing the name of the Lord and you worship the true God on a Monday and you worship the God of peace on a Tuesday and and you lift your hands, holy hands to him on a Wednesday and then you do the same thing on a Thursday and a Friday and a Saturday and you lift up the name that’s above every name. I wish I had somebody that loved the Lord enough that would just worship him for who he is on an everyday basis. He is my God. I know what he’s done for me. I can’t wait till next Sunday to do it. I can’t wait to get here on a Monday morning to do it. Somebody give him a shout of praise in the house this morning.

Oh, this bunch was living any way they wanted to. They did that which was right in their own eyes. God was at the not only was he at the bottom of their priority list, God was not even a thought in their minds. And that’s where they were. That’s how they were living. In our opening scripture, here comes a king. Here comes a young king by all practical means. He’s very young at the age of 25. And Hezekiah steps up to the throne at that age. And here’s what happens. And we we find out in verse three that he did that which was right in the eyes of the Lord. In verse four, he removed the high places and broke the the images that they worshiped and cut down the groves of where they went to bow to those sheer pose and break in pieces the brazen serpent. You know the one in the Old Testament that that God told Moses to create and as people passed by and looked upon it, they were cleansed. They turned that into an idol and they begin to worship it. And that’s what they were worshiping.

They was worshiping the creation and not the creator. Can I help you just a little bit? If you worship creation more than you do the creator, you got a bad problem. Amen. Hallelujah. Listen, we learn in verse five that he trusted in the Lord God of Israel. He had faith that there was nobody like him before him and there was no other king like him after him. It says in verse 6, for he claved unto the Lord and departed not from following him, but kept his commandments.

Hallelujah. Verse seven, and the Lord was with him, and he prospered wherever he went. Hezekiah had was had the hand of favor over his life. Now listen, when they divided, the northern kingdom was so evil, God just turned them over and they went into exile. God turned him over. Hezekiah comes on the scene at the age of of 25. And here he is somehow somehow someway uh he his father, you know who his father is? His father is Ahaz. His father is one of the most wicked kings in the history of Judah. He was one of the worst ones and and committed uh atrocities. He closed the doors of the temple of the Lord while leading the people into idolatry and and sacrificing their young children. Ahaz was wicked not by by probably the wor as a matter of fact scripture says he was one of the worst that there was in that day.

Wh how how in the world did Hezekiah follow his father Ahaz who was a wicked king who was the worst of the worst. How do you get a Hezekiah out of that particular household? I’m here to tell you, can I preach a little bit that your past does not have to determine who you are in the future? Amen. Well, let me say it a little bit different. Your history does not have to dictate your destiny. As a matter of fact, your history is yes, your story, but it does not have to write the ending of the story.

As a matter of fact, you do have a past. I’ve got one. You’ve got one. You might have a past, but through God’s grace, you can definitely have a different future. Somebody get a hold of that this morning. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. What happened yesterday should not shape who you are tomorrow. It does not. Listen, you might have a past, but through God’s grace, it does not have to be your identity in the present or in the future. Amen. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Glory. Despite his lineage, despite where he came from, despite the evilness of his father and his mother, despite all of that, despite the examples of the bad leadership that he had witnessed, and despite seeing the his father close the doors of the temple, uh despite seeing the idol worship that his father pushed and promoted and and all the things that he had created for them to worship other than the one true God.

Somewhere, I believe it might have been as a teenager, Brother Richard. Oh, I wish they was down here right now. I got news for you. Somewhere along the lines, he got sick and tired of seeing the evilness in this world. There’s a young generation that’s coming up that they’re looking for something that is real. They’re looking for they don’t want they don’t want society to look at it and put their stamp of approval on it. They’re sick and tired of being empty. They’re sick and tired of being depressed.

They’re sick and tired of seeing the evil prosper. And they want something real that’s going to get them to heaven. Amen. You’ve got a generation that’s coming up right now that wants God more than we could possibly imagine. We’ve got a generation that’s coming up that wants a real relationship. Despite what Hezekiah saw, despite the examples that he had, some way or another, he knew there was something better. You know what I’m going to say it was? Because we read in verse two that I just read. In that verse two, it mentions one other person here in scripture. It mentions his mother, Abby, and it mentions his grandfather on his mother’s side, Zachariah.

I ain’t got time to go there, but I can tell you this much. I can tell you this much. I I I would say, how many you grandparents babysit or have been babysitting? You you some of you babysit, not just your grandchildren, but your great-grandchildren. And Peggy says, “Amen.” Hallelujah. Listen, somewhere along the pathway, Gerald, I believe that Zachariah said, “Here, come here, Hzy, hop up in the lap. I got a story to tell you. I want to tell you about a story about Noah. I want to tell you the story about Abraham. I want to tell you the story.” And right on down the line, let me tell you about your great great great great great great great great grandfather David. Let me tell you about him. I I want you to know you you have you ever heard of a giant David your great great great you know the story listen he killed the giant and he he is the start of the lineage of our great family Hezekiah had to hear those stories John he had to hear the word I believe Zachchariah had to take the time to teach them to him and at some point in time as a young man he had to get a image in his mind saying this ain’t right? What’s going on in front of me?

This is wrong. You know what? There’s still a right and there’s still a wrong. And I want you to know something. It is up to the fathers. It is up to you mamas to teach them to your children and let them know there is a right. There is a wrong. The right way gets you to heaven. And the wrong way, I’m going to say it’s going to take you straight to hell. Don’t want to scare you. I don’t want to scare nobody. But this preacher is charged with telling you the truth. That’s right. Hezekiah had to know.

He heard this from probably at a young age. Maybe in the maybe in secret. Ahaz probably didn’t know it. Abby Abby his mother probably didn’t know it. But Zachchariah was ensuring that it stopped at that generation. The evilness it’s not going to go on. that when when my grandson Hezekiah comes to the throne, I’m going to make sure that he’s not walking in a curse, but he is walking in the blessing and the favor of the Lord. Who am I talking to this morning? Who am I speaking to this morning? You can’t allow the mess in your past to hinder what God has planned for you. You cannot let who you used to be to shape the identity that God has in front of you. Amen. Amen.

He says in Jeremiah 29:11, he says, “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, sayeth the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you an expected end.” Another version says it like this, “For I know the plans that I have for you.” Uh they are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. Somebody better be getting a hold of this this morning. So, what Hezekiah had faith, what kind of faith did he have? We learn in this scripture that a it number one it is a faith that cleanses. In that in that fourth verse he said he removed the high places and break the images and cut down the groves and break in pieces the brazen serpent.

He cleaned house. When Hezekiah stepped to the throne the first thing he did was open the house of the Lord. He reopened the temple. Brother Richard, we kind of touched it. It wasn’t exactly the Hezekiah story, but it’s a story that falls right into these kings that come to the throne and and wanted to get back to the right thing. The first thing he did was go back to the house of the Lord. I wish I had a witness in this room. I wish I had somebody in this room that you may have strayed out in the world for a time period and things got stirred up and the and the world has a way of beating you down.

Somebody just wave. You don’t have to say amen. Just wave and say, “I’ve been there. I’ve done that. I’ve got it wrong. I got on the wrong path. But then I went back to the house of the Lord.” Oh, do I have a witness in this room this morning. I went back to the house of the Lord. Hezekiah opened the temple. Hallelujah. He’s He cleaned out the He cleaned out all the groves. He He cut them down. He cut down the Shiva poles and he he he break the idols and and destroyed the brazen. So he he moed it up into powder. The the word says I’m I’m here to tell you he didn’t leave anything to chance. He had a faith that cleanses. The first thing you got to do when you want to get back to to what God wants you to do, you need to clean some house. Amen.

That’s just good preaching. Come here, Randy. I need you to do something real quick. Hurry, hurry, hurry, hurry. Get up. Hey. Hey. Come on. Come on. Pat me on the back cuz that’s good preaching. Pat me on. Go ahead. Do it. I’m preaching now. Listen. Oh, I’ll get you back. Listen, I’m here to I’m here to tell you that if you want the right thing to be the right thing for your family. I want my children blessed. I want my unconceived, unborn future grandchildren. I want them to be blessed. How do you do it? You’ve got to be dedicated unto the worship of the only God, the one true God. You got a clean house, honey. Somebody shout amen. Oh, mercy, that’s good preaching.

Anything, anything, and I do mean anything that takes your attention away from God, oh, you better crucify that thing. You better get it out of there. Somebody shout, “Amen.” Amen. Hallelujah. It requires us to tear down the high places in our own lives. Radical faith requires removing anything that competes with our devotion unto God. Man, that’s good stuff. That’s good stuff. Listen, second thing, he had a faith that clings. He said in that verse five, look at this verse five. He said that he trusted in the Lord God of Israel.

I trust you. But I trust God unconditionally. Amen. I I trust you, Roy, but my faith is in the almighty God. Amen. He’s come I’ve come too far as a 58 young man. 58 year old young man. Young young man. It’s in my mind, in my heart. That’s right. My body might be a different story, but 58 years young in my mind and in my heart. Hallelujah. I’m here to tell you my faith. I’ve seen too much. Me, I have seen too much in my life.

I’ve seen literal miracles happen before my eyes. I’ve been a miracle. I don’t have to go in that story again, do I? I could, but you you know the story. Last summer, found tumor, done surgery, tumor was already gone when I got in there. Amen. That’s the God that I serve. Amen. You’ve come too late to tell me that God isn’t who his word declares him to be. You’ve come too late to tell me that he doesn’t heal heart issues. You’ve come too late to tell me that he still doesn’t heal diabetes. You’ve come too late to tell me that he doesn’t restore broken marriages. You’ve come too late to tell me that he doesn’t do what his word says that he’ll do. Amen. Amen.

He is the God of the Bible and he still does what he’s always done. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. I fully trust him. Go to verse six. Verse six says this. For he claved Hezekiah clave to the Lord, departed not from following him, but kept his commandments. That word clave in in the book of Genesis is the same word used for when a husband would cleave to his wife. It illustrates a devotion of unbreakable unbreakable bonds between husband and wife. I’m talking about a devotion. Such a devotion that nothing could hinder it. That’s what clave mean.

That’s exactly what Hezekiah had. He had a faith that clings to the Lord. Hallelujah. Even you know what? It’s easy. It’s easy to cling to the Lord when things are good. Absolutely. You get unexpected check for $5,000. Thank you, Jesus. But you get unexpected bill for for the same amount. Can you still say thank you? Oh, mercy. Can I preach a little bit longer? Give me a few more minutes. Listen, it was not a fair weather. I’m trying to say it gingerly. He was not a fair weather Christian. That’s right.

He didn’t worship when it was good to worship. He worshiped when it was good. He worshiped when it was bad. He lifted his hands in holy hands when God moved for him. And he moved when the enemy was heavy against him. He did not hesitate. He did not quit. He never give up. And he always gave God the credit. Let me tell you something. He had a faith that clings to the Lord. And there’s proof in 2 Kings 18 verse number 30 when we get there.

When he come to the throne and and started making all these changes, you know what happens when you decide to do what’s right in the eyes of the Lord? It has not changed. When you decide to do what’s right, why is it so many people to in today’s life, the first sign of opposition, they turn and go back to a lifestyle that God delivered them from? Let’s go over here and preach a little while. Why is it that a lot of times when something pushes back on you, we tend to revert back to who we were when we were in bondage.

Amen. That’s that’s exactly what happens or try this is what Azria tries to do. But the word said in that verse seven while ago that he did not give in to the king of Azria. He did not worship uh or give him uh the time of day. In other words, verse number 30 here in 2 Kings 18 says this. Neither let Hezekiah the king of Azar, he says, hey, don’t you let Hezekiah talk you into anything. Don’t you listen to him? Listen to what he says. Uh don’t let don’t let Hezekiah make you trust in the Lord saying the Lord will surely deliver us and the city shall not be delivered into the hand of the king of Azar. Don’t you go ahead to the next verse and he says it like this verse 31. Hearken not. Don’t listen to Hezekiah.

Don’t you listen to what he’s trying to tell you. Said the king of Azrael. Make an agreement with me. Make a treaty with me by bringing me a gift. Bring me a present. Wrap a nice little bow around it. And look at the promises. And I’m about to I’m going to expose something right here. This is a trick of the enemy. Watch this because don’t don’t you dare miss this. Don’t miss it because here’s what happens. He says, “Come into agreement with me and come out to me and then eat ye every man of his own vine, every one of his fig tree, and drink every ye every one the waters of his sister.” Verse 32, “Until I come and take you away.” This is the enemy talking. Until I come and take you away to a land like your own land, listen at the empty promises. a land of corn and wine, a land of bread and vineyards, a land of oil, olive, and of honey that you may live and not die and hearken not. Don’t you listen to Hezekiah.

Don’t you listen to the man of God that’s that God sent in here to deliver you. Don’t you listen to a word that he says when he persuadeth you. Okay, verse 33. That’s fine. Okay, persuade you. Say the Lord will deliver us. Look at this next one. Verse 33 says, “Hath any of the gods of the n,” now he gives him a resume. He gives him references. Call them up if you want to. Has any of the gods of the nations delivered at all his hand out of all his land out of the hand of the king of uh Azria? Listen verse 34. Where are the gods of Hoth and of Arpod? Where are the gods of s Sepharane, Henna, and Iba?

Have they delivered Samaria out of mine hand? Now watch this. Verse 35. He commits blasphemy. Watch what he does. He says, “Who are they among all the gods of the countries that have delivered their country out of mine hand that the Lord should deliver Jerusalem out of my hand?” Who does God think he is that they’re that he’s going to deliver Jerusalem out of my hand? Oh ho ho. That’s trouble right there. Just waiting. Well, you know the story. A lot of them came, told it to Hezekiah.

Hezekiah went into a fetal position and sucked his thumb. Right. Wrong. Look at verse uh chapter 19 verse one. Chapter 19 verse one says, “And it came to pass when Hezekiah heard it that he rent his clothes, covered himself with sackcloth, and went into the house of the Lord.” Let me just preach here for just a minute because here’s the thing. When Hezekiah figured out that the Azrael, they had a listen, they they didn’t just have an army. They had a 180,000 man army surrounding surrounding Jerusalem ready to destroy it. And here’s the here’s the threats and the things that was going on. Hezekiah heard it. He rent his clothes, covered himself in sacklo, and he went up to the house of the Lord.

That’s preaching material right there. Because when he heard the threat of the enemy, he did not run and cower in fear. He did not stop doing what he knew he was supposed to do. He did not quit. He did not give up. The first thing he did is sometimes the last thing that men and women in this lifetime does. The first thing that he did, he ran to the temple doors and he came down to the altar. And I believe right there, he laid it before the Lord. And we have proof in just a minute.

He went to the house of the Lord. In the meantime, he said, “Lik, go tell Isaiah. Go tell Isaiah we’re in trouble. Go tell Isaiah. We need God to show up in a mighty way. Down in verse three, here’s what happens. And they said unto him, thus said, this is they’re talking to Isaiah. Likum was talking to Isaiah. He said, they said unto him, thus said Hezekiah, this day is a day of trouble and of rebuke, blas and blasphemy, for the children are come to the birth, and there is no strength to bring forth. In other words, we are not strong enough to meet the the strength of this enemy. We There’s no way we can beat them as There’s no way Isaiah Isaiah, you you got to feel the breath of the enemy here. Listen to what he says. It may be the Lord thy God. In verse four, it may be the Lord thy God, will hear all the words of Ramsheka, whom the king of Israel, his master, hath sent to reproach the living God, and will reprove the words which the Lord God hath heard. Wherefore lift up thy prayer for the remnant that are left. So the servants of king Hezekiah came to Isaiah. Isaiah said unto them in verse six, “Thus shall you say to your master,” go back and you tell Hezekiah, “Thus sayeth the Lord, be not afraid of the words which you have heard, with which the servants of the king of Azra have blasphemed me.” He said in verse 7, “Behold, I will send a blast upon him. He shall hear a rumor and shall return to his own land, and I will cause him to fall by the sword in his own land.”

In the meantime, king of Azer is out plundering other other places. And he and he’s he’s obviously heard that Hezekiah is not going to listen to him. Listen to what he does here in verse number. He sent these messengers back to Hezekiah. The Azaran king did. Watch this. Verse 10. Thus shall you speak to Hezekiah, king of Judah, saying, Let not thy God, whom thou truest, deceive thee, saying, Who whom thou trustest deceive thee, saying, Jerusalem shall not be delivered into the hand of the king of Azrael?

Behold, thou thou hast heard what the kings of Azra have done to all the lands. Here he goes again. Here he goes giving them references. I’ve destroyed these. I’m going to destroy you if you don’t bow to me. If you don’t if you don’t come into agreement or into a treaty with me, if you don’t serve me, then I’m going to take I’m going to destroy this place. In other words, verse 12 says, “Have the gods of the nations delivered them which my fathers have destroyed as Goan and Heran and Res and the children of Eden which were in Thesire.” Verse 13. Where is the king of Hoth and the king of Arpod? The king of city of Saraveain and Henna and Iva.

Hezekiah received the letter of the hand of the messengers. He read it and he still didn’t panic. The next thing he did, he went back to the house of the Lord and he took that letter and he laid it upon the altar. He laid it on the altar. He said, “Hey, God.” He began to pray. He went to praying. He went to pray and he said, “Hey, God, listen. Uh, it’s me again.” Anybody ever been there? It’s me again, Lord. He said in verse 15, “Oh, Lord God of Israel, which dwells between the cherub, he’s lifted him up.

He’s lifting He’s not going, God, I just need your help. Just get me out of this mess.” No, that’s not how you approach God. You approach God in worship. Yes. you. There’s people. How many of you ever had one of those moments? You You needed God right then. You had an army breathing down your neck and you need him to show up right at that moment. You didn’t need it two months from now. You need it today. Some of you may be there this morning. And I think God is showing you how to get the victory that Derek was singing about just a few moments ago. Listen. Oh Lord God of Israel, which dwells between the cherub, thou art God, even thou alone of all the kingdoms of the earth. Thou hast made heaven and earth.

He’s lifting him up. He He’s not going to him with his list of eye wants or or or needs. Now in verse 16, after he goes into worship, he says, “Lord, bow down thine ear and hear. Open Lord thine eyes and see and hear the words of nature which has sent to him to reproach the living God of a truth.” Now listen, he gets real with it. He said, “It’s true. It’s true, Lord. Uh, they’ve destroyed everybody around. They’ve destroyed everybody they went against. Verse 18, have cast their gods into the fire, for they were no gods, but the work of men’s hands, wood, stone. Therefore, they have destroyed them. Verse 19, he says, “Now therefore, oh Lord our God, I beseech thee, save thou us, out of his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that thou art Lord the Lord God, even thou only.

If you want God to move, you better get yourself in a position that he knows that when he moves the issue that you’re going to give him all the glory that you don’t take none for yourself. That’s what Hezekiah was doing here. He said, “God, I don’t want I don’t want it to lift my name up as king. I want I want the whole earth to know that thou and thou alone are God. I want you to get all the glory.” Hezekiah put it before him. He’s laid it out. He’s told him He He’s You You see the letter, God. You see the threat. You see what’s You see the army that’s out knocking on our doorstep, 180,000 strong.

Now, therefore, Lord, I Oh, God, I beseech you, save us out of his hand. He says verse 20. Then Isaiah, he wasn’t praying to Isaiah. He was praying to God in the house in the temple of the Lord. And God speaks to Isaiah. I don’t know how far apart they were distance-wise, but when he heard the prayer of Hezekiah, he spoke to Isaiah, his prophet, and said, “Go tell him, I heard his prayer.” Hallelujah. Somebody in this room, you got to know that God hears your heart.

He hears your prayer when you pray and you and you enter into his presence with worship. The God of creation, that’s who he is. He wants to hear your cries. Somebody shout amen. But the devil wants to scare the daylights out of you. The devil wants to say, “Hey, look what I’ve done to so and so. Look at look, if you if you keep going on, if you try this God thing anymore, I’m going to destroy your life.” Yakity yaky yak. He hasn’t changed his tactics. He hasn’t changed what he does.

His voice as a roaring line. That’s what he does. Listen, some people are scared to death. When you talk about things like the devil, they get scared to death when you talk things about like the rapture and the coming of the Lord. I get excited when we talk about the Lord is coming. And I’ll tell you, he’s coming soon. I don’t have a date. I don’t know the day or the hour, but I know he’s coming. Amen. Oh, what a reunion that’s going to be. Brother Richard opened up with.

You don’t have to be scared of the rapture. Amen. As a matter of fact, you need to be prayed up, ready to go on the rapture. Amen. That’s the key. Get it right with God. That won’t make you perfect. That just makes you covered. The only thing that purifies you is washing and regeneration by the word of God. You got to get in that word. You got to stay in prayer. You got to stay in worship. You got to You got to get in. Look at your neighbor and say, “It’s time to get in.

It’s time to get in, folks. It’s time to get in.” Come on, shout that. It’s time to get in. It’s time to get in. It’s time to get in. Because here’s the thing. When that trumpet sounds a moment in the twinkling of an eye, we’re gone. Nothing else has to be fulfilled in order for the rapture to take place. Nothing. It could happen any moment. I’ve done a lot of studying uh with prophecy and all those things. I can tell you God’s not changed his mind. He’s not saying, “Well, I wish I hadn’t put that in Revelation now.” No.

It’s being fulfilled exactly as he said it would. It’s not to be scared of. You shouldn’t be scared if you’re ready. We shouldn’t be scared of it if we’re ready. Say amen. I’m about done as they come back to this music. He had a faith that cleans. He had a faith that cleans and he had a faith that cultivates cultivates a blessing. That verse seven said, “The Lord was with him. Wherever he went out, he prospered.” But look at the last part of that verse. This is where we’re going to stop. And he rebelled against the king of Azria and served him not.

Amen. Well, what did that get him? What happened to the 180,000? Watch this down in verse 35 of the same chapter. God said, “Isaiah, go tell go tell Hezekiah I heard his prayer. Go tell him.” He went and told him that same night. That same night, watch this. It came to pass that night that the angel of the Lord went out and smoked in the camp of the Azrians 10und four score and 5,000. And when they arose early in the morning, behold, they were all dead.

185. Joe, you’ve been on the battlefield and you’ve looked out over the desert sands and you’ve seen the enemy stare my eye any time returning fire. What would it have felt like to get up and the enemy totally wiped out and you didn’t even have to fight it? What would it be like for you to wake up in the morning and your issues gone? What would it feel like to wake up and that prayer that you’ve had before the Lord have been answered? Every one of them was dead. God was faithful to his word. What are we to take home with us today?

I’ll tell you what we’re supposed to take home out of this. Your past does not need to determine your future. Hezekiah came to the throne, made changes, and worshiped God. And you see how he prospered in it. The word said that God stayed with him wherever he went. and he defeated his enemies. It’s powerful story. Stand to your feet all over this room. Folks, you cannot control the environment that you were raised in. And you cannot control the chaos of the world around you. But just like Hezekiah, you can control who you cling to.

You can control who you listen to. With every head bow, Father, I thank you for your word. I thank you, God, for that anointing to release that word this morning. God, I pray for each and every person in this room, God, that you have used this word to speak into their heart right now. They might feel like there’s they’re surrounded by their enemy, but God, just like Hezekiah, they need to bring that to this altar and lay it before you, and you will hear what they have to say.

Church, that’s a powerful thing this morning. You have a God that loves and cares for you. That’s what the word said. He loves and cares for you and he wants you. He says you have not because you ask not. And as we getting ready to open this altar of prayer, the first question I want to ask, I feel the need for somebody to just say, you know what, preacher, I need to give my I I need to turn my life around. That’s repentance. Is there anybody in this room that would say, “Preacher, I need I need salvation this morning. I need this God that brings victory.” Will there be one?

Will there be somebody in this room that would say, “Preacher, I just I need God to answer a prayer really bad.” Come on, throw your hands up. I see I see several hands. God knows your need. We We need to find our place in this altar this morning. Spread that letter. that the enemy has said you’re God’s