Sermon Notes from Morning Worship
Sunday, May 22, 2011
Series: “Alone With God”
Today: “Defeat Your Enemy while Alone With God”
Scripture: 2 Kings 19:14-19 Hezekiah received the letter from the messengers and read it. Then he went up to the temple of the Lord and spread it out before the Lord.
15 And Hezekiah prayed to the Lord: “O Lord, God of Israel, enthroned between the cherubim, you alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth. 16 Give ear, O Lord, and hear; open your eyes, O Lord, and see; listen to the words Sennacherib has sent to insult the living God.
17 “It is true, O Lord, that the Assyrian kings have laid waste these nations and their lands. 18 They have thrown their gods into the fire and destroyed them, for they were not gods but only wood and stone, fashioned by men’s hands.
19 Now, O Lord our God, deliver us from his hand, so that all kingdoms on earth may know that you alone, O Lord, are God.”
Intro: Hezekiah was the best king God’s people ever had, at least in the tribes of Judah.
2 Kings 18:5-6 Hezekiah trusted in the Lord, the God of Israel. There was no one like him among all the kings of Judah, either before him or after him. 6 He held fast to the Lord and did not cease to follow him; he kept the commands the Lord had given Moses.
* Let’s define “enemies”: Anything or anyone who threatens your joy and peace in the Lord.
I. HE WENT TO BE ALONE WITH GOD.
A. 2 Kings 19:14 – “…then he went up to the temple of the Lord.”
B. What is your first reaction to a person or a circumstance that threatens your joy or peace?
II. SPREAD IT OUT BEFORE THE LORD.
* Being alone with God gives you the privilege of spreading out the threats before the Lord.
III. DEFEAT YOUR ENEMIES WHILE ALONE WITH GOD.
A. King Hezekiah defeated the king of Assyria while he was alone with God.
B. God responds to our prayers; decisions are made; angels are dispatched.
Conclusion: When alone with God, we must “claim” our peace and joy, not the method of God’s answer.