lessons learned from King Ahaz (Video) — Dan Biser

Lessons Learned from King Ahaz

Evening glad to be able to bring this word to you that has been much on my heart and mind as I have been allowed the opportunity especially in my writings and communications with some of the prayer groups on this certain passage of scripture and I'm going to ask you to go ahead and open your bibles while we're getting ready here in second chronicles chapter 28.

The Kings of Israel and Judah

Now what we have in the chronicles is the passages of scripture that are in first second kings first second chronicle all are identifying of the kings of Israel and the kings of Jude. Now I can't assume that everybody is under an understanding about this but it has been for me because of all these years of reading through the bible I love to come through the first and kings first second chronicles.

Now the difference between these is is that we know that the first king of all Israel was Saul. We know Saul did evil in the sight of the lord so God cut him off and he raised up and he said I found a man after my own heart and we know that was to be David king David.

David did that which was right in the sight of the lord with all his heart and that's the key here that we're going to look at in these passages of scripture. Then we have a son Saul and we know that the first part of Solomon's life is that he did fairly well.

We know that God approached him we know that God gave him a blessing said ask anything of me Solomon asked for wisdom and because of that he was given wealth he was given a long life he was given victory over his enemies and wisdom that he was one of the wisest men in all the earth.

But then we know that towards the end of his life the last 20 years we have that cut off is that after he built the temple after he built his own household in the last half of his life was that all these strange women that he married the iths that he married that he was not supposed to have married it says is that they drew his heart away from the lord and so that he what we could say by scripture he did not finish well.

I don't know that there's anything worse than that it's one thing if you start bad but it's another thing if you finish bad. Let us do do well unto the very end of everything that we do for God's glory.

So Solomon faded away and because of that God rent the kingdom away from him in his line from David and just gave them Judah and what was underneath Judah's care of Benjamin uh and Simeon was a part of that but he gave 10 tribes of the of the children of Israel to Jeroboam the son of Nebat and in first and second kings we read about that line of Jeroboam and the kings of Israel and they have that one statement about all of them it is a very sad epitaph it's a sad pronouncement and they did evil in the sight of the lord as did Jeroboam the son of Nebat who made Israel to sin.

How would you like to go down in history as the man that made a nation to provoke the lord god to sin against the lord god and lead to their destruction. That was Jeroboam so first and second kings covers all the kings of Israel and the kings of Judah that followed from David Solomon Rehoboam right on down until we get to Ahaz Hezekiah Manasseh Ammon and then Josiah so in second chronicles first second chronicles the story of the kings of Israel are cut out and this is all focused from David and the kings of Judah from Solomon on down and you know by scripture 30 some chapters in second chronicles 36 chapters chapter 28 where we're at here we're at the end there's not a whole lot of time left.

It's not like that there is another couple hundred years in the empire of Judah and at the end of second chronicles we know that the children of Judah are carried off into captivity by the Babylonians and that was all that there was for what they had been used to as a king ruling and reigning over them.

Scripture as a Mirror for the Church

Now how'd they get there. Well it's because they have people like Ahaz. And when I come through bible readings I read the scriptures and portions and I'm thankful that sometimes the holy spirit is speaking in the way from his word that says do you see this in your life.

Do you see this in your in your family. Do you see this in the church. Do you see this in your nation. And my eyes are open and I said yes lord we're doing the same thing. We're traveling the same course.

Now we ought to know and understand is that scripture is given for reproof review. It's given for correction. It's given for us that we can have a knowledge about good and evil right wrong flee from that which is evil claim to that which is good.

Kings should have had instructors priests prophets around them that taught them these things but they didn't. And so we read about Ahaz here and it's not good. And I want to lift these verses out to you tonight and share with you what god shared on put on my heart about how crucial this hour is how needful it is that we glean from the word of god.

There's 27 verses in this chapter and it's speaking to us today about the condition and predicament that we're in. And if we don't learn these lessons we are doomed to repeat them and face the same results.

You cannot offend a holy just god and not expect for him to answer. And the church we at the church who ought to know better we're not doing better. And so I pray tonight that as I give this word to you out of the scriptures out of second chronicles 28 may the holy spirit give us what we need to overcome.

Blessed is the one that overcomes revelation in the blood of the land. Blessed that god would open our eyes. Blessed that he would open our ears and our minds and our hearts and learn and glean from these truths.

So let's begin reading second chronicles chapter 28. I just want to read through the opening verses here to set up what we're going to be looking at. And then as we get into this I'll be pulling out more specific things in the verses.

And you can write down these things mark them. But definitely above all things may the holy spirit put them on our hearts and minds that we got to chew and meditate on these things for his glory. Begin reading in verse one.

Ahaz was 20 years old when he began to reign he reigned 16 years in jerusalem. But he did not that which was right in the sight of the lord like david his father he walked in the ways of the kings of israel made also molten images for balaam.

Moreover he burned incense in the valley of the son of enam burned his children in the fire after the abominations of the heathen whom the lord had cast out before the children of israel sacrificed also burnt incense in the high places and on the hills and under every green tree.

Wherefore the lord his god. Now isn't that a note to mark there the lord his god. Yet we just got done reading about all his rebellions and disobedience wherefore the lord his god delivered him personally into the hand of the king of syria.

They smote him. They carried away a great multitude of them captives. They brought them to damascus. And he was also delivered into the hand of the king of israel. Bad enough when you're delivered into one king's hand.

But how much more when you're delivered into another king's hand too who smote him with a great slaughter. For pika the son of ramallah slew in judah 120 000 in one day which were all valiant men because they had forsaken the lord god of their fathers.

Let's pray bless the father. I thank you now upon reading your word lord the lessons that are needed to be learned gleaned applied and submitted to surrender to lord. Let thy holy spirit do as exactly as you had promised to do that it will not return unto you.

For accomplish in each of us accomplishing the hearts the minds the ears all father that brings glory and honor unto you. Glorify thy name lord in the midst of your people. And lord let us not let us not be so foolish so rebellious so simple so vile that we think that we can read and be guilty of the same things without reaping the same same results.

Lord grant to us wisdom tonight by the holy spirit and glorify your presence in the midst of your people in jesus name. We pray and we ask. Amen. Now i want to begin to devour through these verses mainly verses 1 through 25.

Wholehearted Service to God

I want to pull out and show you some of these things that leads me to my prayer times my prayer mindset about what i see out in the united states what i what i see in the church today and how we're identifying in the same characteristics same responses and and correct these things before it's too late now.

Ahaz the first thing we read about in verse one is a statement about where his heart was now i told you in opening is that the ultimate key that you want to read about any king of israel or any king of judah is that they did it like dating with all their heart we know throughout the scripture is that we are commanded as christians.

We are not given any any way shape or form a an excuse uh not to serve the lord with uh whatever heart we see fit we come to the lord to do it with your whole heart true hearted wholehearted faithful and true.

God will not honor. God will not respect. God will not bless. Half-heartedness never has never will. And yet we see in a lot of christians lives the guilt that is already pronounced. They did not. They do not serve god with a whole heart.

They serve him with their mouth. They profess him with their mouth confess them with their mouth but their hearts are far from him. There there is a breakdown right then and there as we see in a has that his testimony is is that he did not serve the lord which was right in the sight of the lord like david that tells us right off the bat he's less than where he's supposed to be.

Now one of the things we read about in the kings is is his father joven. And who's i his father his grandfather is that they served the lord and did that which was right as their fathers did. Now the danger of that is is that david is up here serving the lord with his whole heart.

And then you get other kings throughout the kings of judah that did it as their father had done. In other words they are simply maintaining a right way but not a wholeheartedness. And most of those when you read that they did it as their father did is that then the next verse pronounces some sin that they did that some of them allowed the sodomites to remain in the land.

Some of them allowed for the high places where they burned incense where they weren't supposed to be burning it. There's always a sin that follows now. You may think that in this mindset of the today with our compromising with sin that that's okay.

But if you know scripture and you know god there is no tolerance for sin in any area of our life. It's not in our church or nation or family or in our own hearts. If i regard iniquity in my heart the lord won't hear me.

If i have sin in my life i any of those sins that you read of in the book of revelation you can't get into the kingdom of heaven. In that way there god does not compromise with sin. And nor should the church.

And yet in the church today what do we say. Compromise. We allow for sin to remain. We allow for sin to go unconfessed unrepented of. And we think that god's going to bless us. Our nation has continually now legalized sin promoted sin.

And we think that we can still say god bless america that we are delusional in our approach to this ahaz did not do as his father david did and do that which was right to decide to the lord. That tells us he had a rebellious spirit that tells us that he had an evil heart.

And he did that which he wanted to do. I know many many people that are like that doesn't matter what the lord said. I don't care what that book says the bible. I don't care what the church says. I don't care what you say preacher.

I want to do what i want to do again. I just kind of say okay you don't do that. But let me tell you what's waiting at the end. There's going to be an angry god. God is angry with the wicked every day psalm 7 11.

And i'm telling you is that god judges sin. And god judges the center. Oh love the sins. I hate the sin but love the center. God doesn't judge sin. God judge sinners. Sinners are the ones that are condemned to hell not to sin.

We do wrong by telling people these half truths. We do wrong by allowing people that are our loved ones never to hear from us truth. God is going to judge your sin and your heart and your life. Because you're not doing that which was right with all your whole heart.

The Consequences of Divided Allegiance

One of the most blessed psalms. Psalm 119 176 verses over and over. I believe david wrote that even though a lot of people want to argue about that i believe that throughout that you read that with my whole heart my whole heart.

Does god have your whole heart tonight. You know there are four chambers in your heart. Does god have all four chambers. Because i know that there are some people sitting in church. But lord you can have.

You can have one chamber. But i need the other three. Lord you can have two but i want the other two. Let's just split it 50 50. And others are saying lord i have given you three chambers. Surely. I can just keep this one.

The blessing of the holy spirit will never come upon those that hold back from a whole heart to god. And ahaz is going to teach us that tonight what it is when men know better but they do not do better with a whole heart.

And so this is our first lesson here. He did not do that which david did by serving the lord with his whole heart. We automatically get a clearer picture about what kind of man we're dealing with. Now verse two three and four is a listing here of sins that he practiced.

So we read verse one. He did not do that which was right. The bible now tells us. Well what did he do. So let's let's clean this. Let's look at his sins. He walked in the ways of king of israel. Now as i told you in opening back to first and second kings what do we know about jeroboam.

He set up two false gods and he said these are the gods that brought you out of egypt. These are the gods that israel shall serve. We read about his life got cut off jehu. Baisha came forward destroyed all the line of jeroboam.

Baisha is raised up. He's given opportunity. He did that which was evil in the sight of lord. All of his family was removed from the earth. We come down to omron during the days of elijah the the prophet omron who was the king and he did more evil than all that was before him.

And then he had a son whose name was ahab and ahab if that wasn't bad enough that he did more wicked than his father did. He married jezebel and he caused bail worship to be set up and established in the land of israel in the promised land and provoked the lord god to anger.

And that clash between elijah and ahab and how god was glorified by elijah the prophets prevailing. But we read about all the kings of israel. All they did was practice evil in the sight of the lord our nation whole families.

Now many churches are falling into this place where all they're doing is practicing evil in the sight of the now all they say our nation is one nation under god and in god we trust and all these other platitudes that we kind of put out there even the church today because we're of mainline denominations or established churches and things like that.

But we don't understand. Ichabod is a law upon many of the churches today where the spirit of god has departed because of this one thing we are doing as our fathers did and our fathers didn't do it right either be careful of that.

And so ahaz did as the kings of israel who did evil in the sight of the lord. I'm telling you it is a clear evidence between men today of whether they're for god or against god whether they're in the word or out of the word whether they're in his spirit and his presence or they're walking contrary to his spirit and presence.

It is a clear as night and day. So it is in this passage of scripture this first description of him. He's walking in the ways of the kings of israel who did sin and evil in the sight of the lord. Second one he made bolton images.

Uh for bail. First two commandments of the ten commandments many in the church all i believe in the ten commandments. Churches went through this debate a long time ago where they was not allowed to post the ten commandments so they put it in their front yard.

They got in the churches. But if you'd ask most christians today please take a piece of paper and a pen and sit down and write out the ten commandments for me they can't do it. I think it could be one of the saddest things of what we say we believe but we can't even state it.

What are the ten commandments. Well the first commandment. A lot of times people get it confused between the two commandments that jesus gave to us when they said what is the greatest of all commandments.

And he said i shall love the lord thy god with half a heart. No back to that with all your heart mind soul body and strength. And the second one is like unto it love your neighbor as yourself. That's the two commandments that christ gave.

The ten commandments that moses gave not once but twice when god wrote him and gave him to moses. The first one is thou shalt have no other gods before me. What's the sin he did as the kings of israel.

What else did he do. He made bail molten images for them to offer incense. He broke the first commandment thou shalt have no other gods before me. And the second thou shalt not make unto me any graven image.

We read it again in the verse two molten images for bail. So right off the bat he's walking in evilness as the kings of israel. And the second one he's already broke the first two commandments. And actually you could say he did it to the third one because he did not keep.

He profaned the name of the lord did not make it holy did not keep it holy by falling down and worshiping false gods. Now verse three his evil actions are continued to be described. He burned incense in the valley of the son of an arm.

And he burned his children in the fire. And other references in scripture of the old testament the sin of mola where they would offer their children in the fire to this false god. How wicked is it when men take innocent naive children and make them to be a part of their evil wicked deeds in their practices against god.

Idolatry, Child Sacrifice, and Worldliness

He continues on after the abomination of the heathen. Now isn't that something that you want to be known for. I'm just like the abomination and the heathen that the lord removed from the earth. What does god do with everything that's an abomination to him.

He destroys it. What does god do to the heathen at the end of time when everything is set and judged and made they're cast into the lake of fire. There is nothing good that comes from being a servant to abomination and being labeled as a heathen.

The truth shall set you free. And ahaz is practicing the exact opposite. He is serving the abominations of the heathen whom the lord cast out. God got rid of all those things so that the children of israel might be clean.

They might be holy they might be pure and they might glorify his name in all the earth. What's the church supposed to be clean and holy and pure and glorifying his name in all the earth. And what are we doing.

Defiling ourselves with entertainment. Defiling ourselves with money defiling ourselves with methods defiling ourselves with humanism defiling ourselves with entertainment. And we are bringing the heathenism of the world into the church and justifying it by putting a stamp of saying this is done for the cause in the name of the lord.

And i remind you of what aw tozer used to say you better be careful what you win them with because that's what they become. And that's what they serve. In other words if you win them with the things of the world they're not going to serve the lord god with a whole heart.

They're going to serve the lord god with half a heart in the ways of the world. And that's the damage that the church is doing today against the kingdom of god. Be careful of these things ahead. Practice did evil in the sight of the lord.

And all we see here is that he is ratcheting up the provoking of the lord the anger of the lord against the children of judah. Verse four. We come to the next verse that gives a description about his antics and his behavior.

He sacrificed also burnt incense in the high places. I made reference to them on the hills and under every green tree. All those things were supposed to be removed. None of those things were supposed.

Thou shall come and worship the lord god at this altar. Thou shall come at this temple where his presence was that he had come down in the glorious shekinah when solomon offered their sacrifices. And it says.

And the priest ran out of the temple because the glory of god had filled it. That's where they were supposed to be worshiping not under the trees not on the high hills. Doing it any way that you wanted to do it.

And how many churches are there today doing it any way they want to do it because they think it's okay. You cannot do it men's way. You have to do it god's way. This is the danger that we're in today because the church has departed from the work of god by the by the spirit of god for the word by the word of god for the glory of god.

And this is the planes that we are reaping today because we are guilty of the same actions of ahaz now. Where's this taken ahaz now see now this is the thing we have verse one who tells us is that he did not serve the lord like david.

So we know he didn't do it with his whole heart. We know that he was evil in the sight of the lord. I can put to you many names many faces many families many locations in this nation that are just like that they have provoked the lord.

They're doing evil in the sight of the lord and they really don't care. I can go through verse two three and four and list the sins here that are being committed. And i can show you the actions and the responses of people in the and out of the church that are as guilty as the same things you know we we are.

We're so prone in the church to point our fingers at the world and condemn them. But i want to tell you is that if we had the spirit of god today if we had a spirit of revival today confession would go on and for for 48 72 hours non-stop because we have so much to confess because we're so filthy we are as guilty as ahaz was of polluting and giving occasion against the name of the lord.

Sin’s Consequences and God’s Judgment

But you see it ought to bother us it didn't bother ahaz. Now verse five we come to this particular every time that sin raises its ugly head in a nation. You know we got to get this you you've got to get this.

Some of you are living in misery in your homes. Some of you are brokenhearted because your children and grandchildren your spouses your siblings they are lost and on their way to hell. We we are living in in the last times we are running out of time.

And god comes and says this is why these are why these things are happening. And we come to verse five and it tells us god's response to the men's actions of sin. We know by romans chapter 3 the wages of sin is death.

Now i don't care who you are i don't care where you're at. If you are engrossed in sin you are living for sin. You love sin you are a part of sin. I want to tell you is that you are heading steamrolling to a place of death.

Satan has no greater desire than to hook sin into the lives of people dominate them and then destroy them. Our adversary the devil has a roaring line walking about seeking whom he may devour. That's where we're at.

And it is a nation that has sold their soul to entertainment and indulgences by by the boatloaders. We have sold our soul by spending all of our time in our selfish interests in the church. Who are the ones that are supposed to be made clean set apart come out from among them be separate.

We're not supposed to live like them act like them be like them. And yet we are the ones that have the very same sins in the in the pews and in the pulpits today. And i want to tell you is that where sin raises its ugly head god responds to it.

He responded to calvary in the same way that jesus who knew no sin took the sins of the world. And what did he do to it. He crucified his own son because of the sins of the world on him. You can't show to me a nation an empire a continent a kingdom.

You can't show to me a family. An individual that loves sin practices sells their soul to sin. That god doesn't respond to that sin. He sets himself against it. And as satan comes to destroy the lives of people god comes to destroy sin.

That's always been the plan. Satan raised his ugly head in before time when men was on the face of the planet. And he raised himself up that he wanted to be bring sin into his proud heart. And he set himself against the father and the son and the holy spirit.

And god responded to that act of pride and sin and cast him out in his angels out of heaven. Garden of eden adam and eve sin. And god comes and he curses all three of them that are involved with it. And the land.

He cursed the land as well. He cursed adam. He cursed eve. He cursed the serpent. And he cursed the land. And in the days we see all the throughout the bible every instance where sin becomes predominant in people's lives god responds.

Verse five. God responds to the verse two three and four of the sins of ahaz. Let's look at wherefore the lord is god delivered him into the hand of the king of syria. God takes the heathens and brings them as a instrument a weapon upon those that should know better and do better.

We come into this place. Here is that we would think well that's not too bad. And as i read in opening i gave this to you. It wasn't just him the king of syria he also gave him into the king pika the son uh the king of israel.

And what do we know about the kings of israel. As i already told you they did evil in a sight to the lord. So god allows for evil agents of this world to be employed to respond to the sins of those of his own people who fall underneath the umbrella of the church christianity.

God does not tolerate sin in the world. God does not tolerate sin in his church. God does not tolerate sin in my heart. And he doesn't tolerate it in you. Are you clean. Are you holy. Are you living the life that you're supposed to be living in your family.

And those that are sent around about you that they can look at you and say and they took knowledge of them that they've been with you. Or god delivered him into the hands of his enemies. Who's your enemy.

Is it that one at work that one of your neighbors and one of your family members. Is that some sin knocking at your heart's door. And god says i'm not going to deliver you i'm not going to protect you.

You see that's the two standards that we need to learn real close. God can either deliver us from our enemies or god can deliver us to our enemies. And by our responses in verse two three and four if we choose sin over the savior then he's going to deliver us to our enemies.

How is it that the united states the mighty uh army the mighty military that we was uh in the late 60s nobody parallel to us other than russia and the cold war that was going on. And we allowed for a little nation like vietnam to make us at a standstill.

How is it that north korea where where we was at with south korea. How is it that we was beaten down by that. How is all these things possible. If god does not deliver you from them then god will deliver you to them.

And i know that there are many christians religious people sitting in the pews today that at every invitation god deliver me from drugs. God deliver me from pornography. God deliver me from anger. God deliver me from lust.

God deliver me from the things of this world. And it is is that because you still had sin in your heart unconfessed unrepentant of god will not deliver you from those things. But he delivers you to them.

And there are many that testify is to say i prayed during the invitation that god would keep me from that sin. But before the sun sets today you're already practicing it. And you'll say you'll blame god and you'll say god didn't deliver me.

That's right. He didn't because you didn't do it his way. You did it your way and you compromised. And you didn't confess it you didn't hate it. And you didn't lay it on the altar and not pick it back up.

You didn't serve god with your whole heart. You did it with a half heart. And now you reap the benefits of that. You are delivered not from your sin but you're delivered in your sin. He put you there.

So it is is that the king of syria the king of israel came and i deal with this so often. And somebody is sitting in the church and they'll come and i say well it's just my sin. Somebody watches pornography somebody that has an anger issue.

So somebody that is greedy and they love money and i think that's just my sin. And i'm not bothering anybody else with that. I'm not influencing other people. I'm not practicing this with other people.

That is such a deception and a lie of of satan our sins. One person comes into a group like this and one person in sin comes is that the holy spirit is quenched and grieved. One person sitting here with a rebellious spirit says i will not confess i will not repent.

And the holy spirit is quenched. What can you do then. It is is that we do not know the magnitude of our choices. We do not know the magnitude of our actions and reactions by choosing sin and compromising with it.

So it is is that it is not just our sin it affects other people. One person in a home has sin in their life. It affects that entire home. What one area one region in this nation chooses and practices sins.

Whether that be hollywood whether that be las vegas whether that be new york city whether that be atlantic city or what was atlantic city because it got wiped off uh by their actions and reactions to god.

And god responded god's going to do that to all sin. And god's response and reaction there is that he seeks it out. And it affects all those in that you go back to the story of joshua. Joshua and the rest of the children of israel go into the city of jericho.

They you know the story there they blew the trumpets the walls came down rahab and all of her household was delivered. And it was was that they was not to touch or take anything that was in the city but one man one man did.

And when they got ready to go to the next city of ai and have a victory there by smaller uh military force a smaller city they was defeated soundly. Why. Because god did not deliver them from their enemies.

He delivered them to because amac had sin against god. But when they corrected that sin what happened. Victory was returned. You want to know why revival tears. You want to know why revival and power of god's holy spirit is not on the church today.

It's because of this very same message and motto here we have not given up our sin. And there are those that are so hard-hearted and so crested in the sitting of the pew say i'm not giving up i'm not quitting.

And god says therefore i'm going to remove all the blessing from you and our families and our generations and our nation are suffering because of that kind of thinking by these people that are serving loving sin.

Verse five. Verse six does not doesn't cost anybody else anything because of ahaz's sin. 120 000 people in judah died 120 000 people. You want to talk about ezekiel of the watchman sitting on the tower.

And if the watchman sees the enemy coming and does not sound the trumpet then all that city's blood is on his hand. Ahaz now has 120 000 people blood on his hand. You and i in this generation have 55 million lives blood on our hands because of abortion.

That's our generation. That's not. We can't blame that on grandparents. And we can't blame our children and grandchildren. And our children and grandchildren are going to look back at us and say you spineless yellow-bellied jellyfish chickens.

You did not stand up against sin. And now we're reaping because of your sin. Our sins do affect other people. 120 000 were killed in verse six and gets worse than that. Verse seven now gets personal. It might be is that you look at people here we are in west virginia.