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Now I want you to pay attention it wasn't anything in Israel wasn't their military.
We're finishing up and this will be abbreviated, but we're finishing up the kings of Judah. This is part six of what's turned out to be six and we're talking about a guy named Josiah. Not that Josiah.
This is a greater pastor.
A.
Much greater pastor.
He was a good man. Good man. And what's really cool about this one, especially for you? Agnostics is it is such a time stamp in world history. If you want to get the flavor of this you can look up on a later date and time the Battle of Carcamesh and 605 BC that is what Josiah was involved in and changed world history.
It changed from the Assyrians being the dominant world power to the Babylonians.
In other words.
It changed from the Iranians and the Syrians to the Iraqis.
And it.
Changed world history in a lot of ways. In fact, we are still living in that world history of the effects of it today. But unfortunately that is for a later time when we study eschatology. I Today is non-christians in the room.
Quit playing church. Quit relying on your morals because they're both gonna send you to hell. For you believers in here. They keep messing up.
There's hope.
If you look at all five of the Kings that we've talked about each one of them said and He did what was right in the eyes of God all the days of his life. But yet we look and we see these guys messed up.
Profoundly some of them even consistently yet because of that imputed righteousness because of that sweet grace. We have been counted righteous and rendered innocent and we can stand before God not based on our own works.
Or not based on our own faith, but that which through regeneration was given to us first our second Kings chapter 22. And this is a contrast with the book of Chronicles that we've been reading. Remember the book of Chronicles was written 300 years after the events that are depicted when they were in Babylonian captivity and they said how did we get here?
And so Ezra we think wrote the book of Chronicles and said hey dummies. This is how we got here. This is how we messed up. This is why we're in the position. We're in whereas first and second Kings were written in a contemporary fashion.
Second Kings chapter 22. I want you to check this out. Josiah was eight years old when he began to reign and he reigned 31 years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Jeddah the daughter of Adora and Boschath.
They got picked on a lot in school. And he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord and walked in all of the way of David his father. And he did not turn aside to the right or the left. For those of you.
You remember when you were first converted? For you all Baptist. That's when you got saved. When were you saved chronologically? Before the world before the foundation of the world you were converted in other words that in which God's sovereignty was Complete in by grace and by love you recognized it in conversion at whatever date that was.
You remember when you were first there when you first believed? Remember what it was. I Don't know about you, but I know about me man. And I'm just telling you about me this doesn't mean this is what you had to think and feel but I remember a 500 pound weight being lifted off my chest.
That's what it felt like to me. I remember walking around just like Wow, this is the best high I've ever had. Wow, this is awesome. I Remember feeling pure and clean. I remember feeling accepted. I remember feeling Peace for the first time in my life.
I Wish I could say that feeling stayed with me. It did. About a year later my mind had gotten distracted. I Don't know about you, but that still happens to me today. Have you ever been praying? And then you're thinking about.
You know, Texas being in the Playoffs in Tennessee not I know man. It's it's sad. It's they cheated. We got our rear ends handed to us.
Shut up, Mike.
Can you say that you have walked in the sight of God and done? What was right all the days of your life? Here's the cool part you can't but God can. When God sees me He doesn't see my failures. He sees the imputed blood of Christ.
When God sees me, he doesn't see what I woulda coulda shoulda. He sees his sovereign immutable will completed in my life. When God sees me he sees his son adopted set apart sanctified Justified and one day praise God glorified.
And if you're in here today and you are your own worst critic. You are in this room, you're always looking at how you fail. Let me encourage you this week. Maybe take the perception of you off of you.
And maybe you look at Christ and what you could be and let God look at you at what you are. Because if you're always looking at your failures You're going to constantly be in the fetal position on the floor saying I woulda coulda shoulda.
And that is a miserable way for a Christian to live. I understand conviction and I praise God I do for conviction for it is in that conviction that I know my destiny is secure not by the act of Conviction, but by the act of conviction only on those who he calls his children.
Remember ladies and gentlemen, we are not all God's children. We are all God's creation. Only through the adoption by the atoning blood of Christ. Can you hope to be a child of God? Verse 8. Jerusalem at this time is Under peril.
They've lost a lot of their political power. Remember Judah is the only two southern tribes that left in 722 BC the Assyrians had done take the ten northern tribes of Israel away into captivity never to be seen again.
Chortle chortle chortle for all of you post millennialists in here, but the two southern tribes Judah and Benjamin are still around. They just aren't as strong as they used to be but man something changes.
Something changes. A Country literally is reborn again. It says in verse 8 in Hicaya the high priest said to Chopin the secretary I have found the book of the law in the house of the Lord in Hilkiah gave the book to Chopin and he read it and Chopin the secretary came to the king and reported to the king.
Your servants have emptied out the money that was found in the house and have delivered it into the hand of the workmen. Who have oversight of the house of the Lord? Say even back then they had general contractors and notice.
They had to empty the house of the money to pay off them general contractors do. By the way, this sermon is brought to you by A &R contracting and our contracting for all of your general contracting needs.
Hey y 'all hired me guys. What is today for then for those of you that are believers? They've curled up in that fetal position. Is it really Merry Christmas, I mean.
Really.
No, man, it's a time for you to have that second third 835 ,000 second chance. And here's how you do it. You just got to clean it up a little bit. Here's why I hate Christmas time. I'll tell you why I hate Christmas time.
I love this. There ain't no other place I'd rather be in the whole world than right here with you people. That's why I love Christmas time. Why I hate Christmas time is because my wife feels that unless she has 337 little Christmas trees all piled up on what used to be a clean neat squared away obsessive compulsive.
Wonderful nice clean area. It ain't Christmas unless there's garlands and lights and just everywhere. It's just like oh how much more I don't like it. I like everything clean and neat. I like everything white and right back where it was.
White as in white walls not this white. My favorite time is the day after Christmas because we get to put all that stuff back away. And everything's back to normal. Are there any OCD people in here besides me?
Can you feel what I'm saying? I mean my gosh, I Love that kind of housecleaning. That's what Judah had to do you see let me explain this to you. They were so busy going to a church building they forgot to be the church and they let clutter and money and politics and religion and theology.
Pile up they were living by a set of rules that had started with the Word of God. But people added to them over and over and over again till they didn't even know what the Word of God had originally said.
My god, oh.
How time repeats itself? I'll never forget Christmastime in my church in Nashville when I was a pastor there a lot of old school folk there. And I remember saying one time in a sermon that me and the kids and the wife had been playing Monopoly.
And this little old lady, you know one of them old religious hags Came to me after the sermon and said Pastor you you played Monopoly with your family and I was like see I didn't grow up in church, right?
Yeah, you roll dice. Yeah, I never heard this before. You ain't supposed to roll dice pastor. That's gambling. Woman, what kind of crack you smoking? Are you serious? You see we do it in our own lives, too.
God gives us the Word of God and it sets us free from the law of sin and death. But because we need to feel holiness and look holiness because we're chasing after a piece. It can only be found in submission to God in his Word.
We try to use religion to make us feel better. We try to use morals to bring us closer to God and yet We always fail because God told us from the word go able to obey this law. This wall will condemn you.
Oh foolish Galatians. Who have to which you have you begun in grace now made perfect by the law it will never be. And that's a part of the reason why you constantly would have could have should us. Because you're always trying to obey a law or a set of rules when Christ has set you free.
And instead of living in that grace You constantly go back to the trough of moral or religious understanding and you get Upright you get strong for about 24 hours. And then you write back in the pig slop again, and then you'll say why bother?
Why try again? I'm just gonna fail. Welcome to the Christian life. You see the grace of God bids you come and it never stops bidding you the grace of God. It's like Alina or Ava. Oh my gosh Ava is insane.
Where is Ava? She's somewhere around here Little Ava Shipley. I was riding in the car with Pastor Josiah, and I love doing this to Pastor Josiah.
I'll go.
I'll go Josiah. Why is the sky blue and. Then I just wait and Ava I can see the little wheels turn dad. Why is the sky blue? Why are clouds way for like 15 minutes? She will not shut up and just go on and on and on and on and on and I love Pastor Josiah.
Because he will patiently answer each question. For a little while and then I go. Paybacks rough. Ain't it boy the grace of God. Yeah, it comes through conviction sometimes. But the stronger pull of the conviction of the Holy Spirit is the grace in which he bestows in place of that conviction.
Unrepentance you see God's grace is not just a feeling it is a state of being. If you're in this room today, and you have failed. Multiplicity of times I mean they can't even be counted. I want you to obey God's grace just one more time and.
Just one more after that and one more until God calls you home to glory. They found the book of the law. Now here's where folks get messy. They want to repent. My marriage is in trouble. I need to get back into church.
I've fallen off the wagon again. I need to get back into group and Accountability in both those places is great, but remember this Accountability without standing a grace is always going to lead you back to the failure you started with.
But when you stand in the power of God's grace. When you try to get sober on your own, it doesn't doesn't really work too good. I can tell you how many times I sat there and said as I was puking into the toilet.
I'll never do this again. And I was doing it again. I'll put that day. I was telling them young men back there young kid back there said man I don't believe you don't smoke weed anymore because you look like a dude to smoke weed.
Yes, sir. I did a bunch a bunch bunch. But I can tell you in 34 years I've been dead cold sober. I'm dead serious, I'm not joking. And I don't. I can't say Praise Jeff because man you can put an eight ball on that table right there.
I bust every bit of it. You put a pack of Marlboro Reds on that table. I had chain smoked in a box has to be in a box. I bust every one of them. But by the grace of God I stand you see. Sometimes we got to go back and find the Word of God again.
What they found in that church building what they found in that Temple was the book of Deuteronomy and they took time to read it. And they saw what God said and they saw what they were doing and it didn't match up.
That's some of us in this room today. You know what you should be doing because God's Word says it, but you're not doing it watch what they did verse 13.
It says this.
Josiah and the priest said this is what we need to do. Inquire of the Lord for me and for the people and for all of Judah. Concerning the words this book that has been found for great is the wrath of the Lord that is kindled against us.
Because our fathers have not obeyed the words of this book to do according to all that is written within. Guys if a church accepts you whoop-dee-doo. If you're in good stead in a religion, it ain't gonna do you no good.
But if you're doing everything that's written according to here within you're gonna know the peace that you're searching for. I Promise you that your whole life will change. And dad's moms. If your kids are an abject rebellion if your life and your marriage is in absolute shambles I promise you you can go talk to a pastor.
You can go whatever you got to do. But at the end of the day talk to a friend pastor or whatever. But if they're not pointing you back to the foundation of God's Word, they ain't doing you no good. Ain't doing you no good.
That's why religion is so stupid y 'all. Because it points to itself rather than pointing to Christ. Guys, if you want to be set free quit trying to be obedient to man's rules and be set free in the freedom of God's grace I'm almost done.
I want you to look at verse 19. Well pastor I've done this before I've come. I walked down the aisle and accepted Jesus in my heart and Savior. I know some of y 'all get tired when I say it like that I'm gonna keep doing it because there's so many people gonna split the gates of hell wide open because they relied on a prayer in a Baptist Church rather than The grace of God that set him free.
Ain't no aisle and the Word of God ain't no sinner's prayer in the Word of God. Ain't none of that in the Word of God. That's man's invention. See, that's the religion. I'm talking about. And some of y 'all have trusted in that.
I'm not fussing at you. I'm just telling you come on over here to the gray side man. The cookies are so much better. So much better. Look at this. This is what God said to Joe Joe's Josiah because verse 19 Because your heart was penitent.
I Always think Raiders of the Lost Ark when I say that word, don't you it's just like penitence penitent. Anyways, that's the word repentance because your heart was Repentance and you humbled yourself.
Hey marriage problems drug problems attitude problems life problems. I'm telling you Listen to me or don't listen. I don't care. But I'm telling you humility will change your life. It will. I'm telling you it'll change a lot.
You a drunk. Okay. Yeah, why stinks? I know and I just got to say this war people. Y 'all back me up if I'm wrong, correct me. A guy said yeah, I drink every day, but I can control it. That's all the drunks laughing at you and your stupidity.
Yeah, you an idiot. You an idiot. Oh, and if that offends you You're an idiot too, but guys watch this it says. Because your heart was penitent and you humbled yourself. Before the pastor and the Southern Baptist Convention.
Oh I'm sorry, you humbled yourself before the Lord Yahweh when you heard how I spoke against this place and against its inhabitants that they should become a Desolation and a curse and you have torn your clothes and wet before me.
I also have heard you declares the Lord Pastor. I don't feel like my prayers get further than the ceiling. They don't Pastor. I feel like me and God are this far apart. What are you asking me? Cuz I ain't the failing doctor.
Oh. You want to get right Repent and humble yourself before the Lord Pastor how do I do that? Hmm the word repentance simply means this. Simply means this watch this. I'm walking towards the piano. I am walking towards the big screen.
I Can't do both at once you see Repentance is by one default turning away from sin, but in the absence in the vacuum of that it's turning back towards God. Here's what some people do. I need to quit drinking and Turn to the Lord.
I need to get right in my marriage and turn to the Lord. I need to do this. I need to do that. I need to do this. Okay, and turn to the Lord. You cannot do one without the other if you want to be healed.
And I know some of you grew up in church. I'm looking at this demographic right now. Except for a couple you old people. And you grew up in church Always this almost makes me want to vomit when I hear this you were wounded in church.
Okay.
Okay, I got you. Let me go in the kitchen get a little butter and put it on that wound for you. Okay, let me bandage. That's old-school. Let me bandage it up for you. And I'm sorry that happened to you, but you are gonna ruin your life living in unforgiveness and hatred.
Expecting the other person or people to hurt. Guys, that's no way to live. Be set free. Some of you said well my parents were hypocrites. Well, okay. At some point you're gonna have to quit blaming them take responsibility humble yourself and repent.
You can't go through life coming up with excuses of why you're disobeying God. Because at the end of the day, it's your choice. Last thing. Josiah in chapter 23. I'll close with this verse. Verse 27 and the Lord said I Will remove Judah out of my sight as I have removed Israel And I will cast off this city that I have chosen Jerusalem and the house of which I said my name shall be there.
For.
2400 now this is for you agnostics in here. And if you answer this question, I will rip up my Bible and I will never preach God's Word again. You explained to me? how a nation a city a culture a language and a people vanished from any historical reference or map for over 2 ,000 years and Now they're back in 1949.
In 1949 Israel became a nation again. That has never happened in the history of the world. There ain't no Roman citizens, there's Italians. There is no Louis the 14th citizens. There's no Phoenicians there's none of that stuff exists guys.
God said here. I'm gonna wipe them out. Just like I did Israel. Here's the cool part. When God punishes you as his child Your condition might change, but your position is child does not man. I Go to sleep every night thinking about that because I'm a big fat stupid loser.
But every night I'm assured of this He who loves me will never leave me nor forsake me. My prayers sometimes I feel don't get further than the ceiling but God hears me because of grace. I Feel sometimes like I'm this far apart from God.
But I'm not.
Because in God's sovereignty no matter how much I fail He promised me through the grace of his name through the grace of his word and through the blood of Jesus Christ That everyone who comes to me. I will in no wise cast out this Christmas time.
Forget religion forget church forget all that stuff. Just put it over here. And ask yourself, where do I stand before God?
Where do I stand?
