All right, we're jumping into a brand new sermon series called Kings and Prophets. We're going to be looking at The life of Hezekiah. We're going to be in three chapters of 2 Kings over the next couple of months. And it's an intriguing story. Hezekiah's life.
I mean, it is a Middle Eastern drama. We're going to see war and we're going to see peace and we're going to see courage. We're going to see prayer. We're going to see exile. It's such an important story in the Old Testament.
Hezekiah is a great king.
So, one of the things that Hezekiah is known for that we're going to be seeing today is tearing down idols. I think one of the things we're gonna see that is so intriguing in this story Is it begins to answer the question?
Something we don't think about a lot is why. Do religious people who believe in God still struggle with idols in their life? You know, a lot of times we think worship false God, worship God. A lot of times we don't think worship God and have idols in our life.
Now, if you're newer, a simple definition of an idol. would simply be anything that you ultimately trust.
So if I were to ask you, hey, what is your ultimate source? of joy or peace. or happiness. or security in your life. And If you fill in the blank with anything but God, that is the definition of an idol.
Here's the intriguing thing in this passage. I already said it, but a lot of times we think. An idol is God versus false gods. But what we're going to see in this passage, actually, a lot of times, and uh Idol is worshiping God and having idols.
So here's a good way to think about it. A lot of people, if you have a steady job, you have some sort of investment or retirement account with your job. And a lot of people right now, with the war in Iran and all this stuff, people are stressed out over their retirement accounts because the price of oil is up, the price of stocks is down, all this stuff.
So, what happens a lot of times if you have a job that has some sort of investment account, you may have some sort of target date fund, which is basically whenever you retire, you're going to have a fund that matches the date that you retire.
So, if you retire in 2050, you're going to have a target date fund that's like 2050. And here's the idea behind it. You have a bunch of stocks in that account, and then as you get closer to retirement, you have something to hedge against when those stocks go down.
So you get closer to retirement, you start to have a bunch of bonds in that account. And it's a very simple concept. You're hedging against when the stocks are going down, hopefully, the bonds are going up. It would also be similar to, hey, I'm going to hold stocks and I'm going to hold gold because I need some sort of backup plan when things are not going well in the world with my investments. And actually, in 2 Kings 18, this is very similar to the way idol worship works.
It's not that the people don't want to worship God, and it's not that the people don't worship God, it's that they want a backup plan to worshiping God. Hey, I'm going to worship God with most of the areas of my life, but I need a backup plan when God is too slow, when He's not answering my prayers, or things are not working out in this specific area of my life. I've got to hedge against worshiping God.
So here's the big idea that we're going to look at today: idol worship. has life and death consequences.
So, when we go to the Bible, especially the Old Testament, we have to ask the question: why is this in the Bible? You know, and a lot of times when we read the New Testament, We read the epistles, it's very clear why certain things are in the Bible. Hey, believe this, do this. But in the Old Testament, sometimes we're not really sure. Hey, why is this in the Bible?
And I think chapter 18, if we really zoom out, and if you want to go do some homework after this sermon, if you go read chapter 16 and 17, I think the big point of all of this is helping us to see that idol worship has life and death consequences. It's very, very serious.
So here's what we're going to do today. We're going to walk through this passage, and the passage is basically going to make two turns. And so we're going to look at those terms, and the terms are this: the danger of idols and the destruction of idols. We're going to look at those two terms, and then we're going to have one big application point today. And so, if I have done my job in the sermon, hopefully, you leave and you could better.
See the idols that you have in your life, and then you can know what to do about them. That's sort of the goal for today's sermon. All right, let's look at verse 1. I'm going to read all eight of these verses, and then we're going to walk through both of these turns in the text.
So, verse 1, it says this: in the third year of Hosea.
son of Elah, king of Israel, Hezekiah the son of Ahaz, king of Judah, began to reign. He was 25 years old when he began to reign, and he reigned 29 years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Abi the son of Zachariah. the daughter of Zachariah, and he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord. according to all that David his father had done.
Verse 4, he removed the high places and he broke the pillars. He cut down the asteroid, broke in pieces the bronze serpent that Moses had made. For until those days the people of Israel they had actually made offerings to this bronze serpent He trusted in the Lord, the God of Israel, so there was none like him among all the kings of Judah after him, nor among those who were before him. He was a really good king. For he held fast to the Lord.
He did not depart from following him, but he kept the commandments that the Lord commanded Moses. And the Lord was with him. Wherever he went out, He prospered. He rebelled against the king of Assyria. He would not serve him.
He struck down the Philistines as far as Gaza and its territory from watchtower to fortified city.
So, the first thing we're going to see, the first term we're going to see in this text, is the danger of idols. You see, there was a systemic. problem of idols in Israel and Judah. Israel was the northern kingdom, Judah was the southern kingdom. They had a systemic problem with idols.
If we go to verse 4. We see just in verse 4 alone four different idols mentioned. It says he removed the high places. He broke the pillars. He cut down the asherah and he broke to pieces the bronze serpent.
It was pervasive. One way to think about it was. It was everyone, everywhere, all the time. Everyone, everywhere, all the time. And it's not that different than our culture.
There are so many worldviews, there are so many different ways. That people think about worshiping God. It's pervasive. It's everywhere. And if we zoom out, Thinking about the danger of idols and thinking about the life and death consequences, we really see it in chapter 16 and 17.
Which precede chapter 18.
So in chapter 16, So, in verse 1 of this passage, we're told that Hezekiah's dad's name was Ahaz, and that's chapter 16. Ahaz, if Hezekiah was a really good king, Ahaz was a psychopath. And I don't say that lightly. The first thing we're told about Hezekiah's dad is. is he literally sacrifices one of his kids.
He sacrifices one of his kids like a pagan king. And then the Bible says he strips the temple of all of his gold. And to create A partnership with the king of Assyria. He donates a lot of the gold to the king of Assyria. And then when he's outside of the kingdom, He sees this idol that he thinks is really cool, and he gets one of the priests to recreate that idol and put it in the temple.
He was a horrible king. And then we look at chapter 17, which basically describes. The northern kingdom of Israel, we see this long list of this downward spiral that the people were on. in terms of worshiping idols. And so chapter 18, and Hezekiah is set up as sort of the opposite of his dad, the opposite of what's happening in the Northern Kingdom.
Why are pervasive things so dangerous? Things that are pervasive, everywhere, everyone. If I were to jokingly Ask all of us, hey. Why do none of us realize we have a problem with our phones? The answer would be because we all have a problem with our phones.
That's how pervasive things work. You don't see them when everybody has the exact same problem. And in verse 41, which is the last verse before we get to chapter 18. We see the flavor of idol worship they were dealing with and It's not how we normally think of idol worship. Look at.
Look at verse 41. It says, The nations they feared the Lord and They serve the carved images. That's not how we normally think of idol worship. We either think You serve God or you serve a false God, and yet the people in the land were fearing the Lord and making sacrifices to the carved images. It's like I said, it wasn't God or idols, it was God and idols.
And so verse 4 shows the different idols that the people were dealing with. We got to dig a little deep. Looking at these different idols, but it's also going to be very practical at the same time.
So, if you hold on, I'll try to explain what each of the idols were, and we'll also see how this applies to us. Because when we first hear about the pillars, the high places, the Asherah, the bronze serpent, when I first read this, I'm like, I don't really know what these things are.
So let's kind of walk through them.
So the pillars and high places, what was this? I think the simplest way to describe what this was, I would just say it's mixing God and culture. It's trying to mix what's happening. With culture, with our belief in God.
So all the people around them, instead of worshiping and making sacrifices to God at the temple, They were going to these high places.
So, if in your town, there was a high spot outside of the town, it was a great place to worship, it was a great place to make sacrifices. They would have these pillars built. And so, basically, what was happening, they were mixing pagan culture with worshiping God. And if you wonder, hey, did they know this was wrong? Deuteronomy 12:2 says, Surely.
You shall destroy all the places where the nations whom you shall dispossess serve their gods, on the high mountains and the hills, and under every green tree.
So instead of making sacrifices at the temple, They were saying, hey. I'm going to worship God. But instead of going all the way to the temple, I'm going to make these sacrifices at the high places and at the pillars. The pillars and high places, they represent the people worshiping God according to the culture. Worshiping God, but appropriating the culture.
Yes, some people were not worshiping God at all, but I think for many of the people, it was the right intention, but the wrong action. They're mixing things that just don't mix, and it was so pervasive. And in many ways, I don't think it's all that different in our culture. And this is why we have the focus of Fortify the Family this year, because in terms of family, marriage, sex, gender, all of these wrong views. About those things are so pervasive in our culture, many times we can't even see them.
You even think about all the pervasive ways that people even think about spirituality. People say, Karma. Or being spiritual, or the universe, all of these ideas that are not coming from the Bible, and people try to mix them with our worship of God. You even think about the way that people think about church.
So, what they were doing here was saying, I'm going to worship God, I'm just going to do it my own way. This is 50% of every country song that exists out there. I'm gonna worship God at the lake, or I'm gonna worship God here, or I'm gonna worship God driving down the road. You know, there's a song called My Church. And she says, when Hank brings the sermon and Cash leads the choir.
And I don't have a problem with either of those. Guys? But Hank is not Leading the sermon, and Cash is not leading the choir. What this actually is. Is this kind of anti-institutional view of the church mixed with?
I'm going to do church the way I want to do church. And that's no different than what they were doing 2,700 years ago. They were mixing things that just don't go together. My wife and I just celebrated our 20th year anniversary, and she reminded me a number of years ago, she posted one of our anniversaries. She posted a picture on either Facebook or Instagram.
From us, like 25 years ago, and I'll have you guys throw the picture up there. The people from North Carolina will see the issue with what I am wearing in this picture.
So Before we moved to North Carolina, I had no idea those were two different schools. And when she posted the picture, people are like, a house divided will fall, you know, like. People got it. What was going on? Mixing two things that just simply don't go together.
It's pervasive. The second idol we see is the Asherah. I think a good way to think about the Asherah would be, man. I worship God in nine out of ten areas, but then in this one area, I add this element of culture. The Asherah, it's a tree or wooden statue that represents a backup plan to trust in God.
So the Asherah was something that was known for fertility.
So If you were worried about your crops producing, You'd bring in the Ashera. It was a wooden statue, or it was a small wooden. figure that you would carry around with you. You know If my wife can't conceive... God's taken too long.
It's hard to trust God with this.
So I'm going to go to the Asherah. I'm going to have a backup plan. I'm not going to fully count. on God. It's 9 out of 10 areas where God is God.
And then I have one area that God is not God. I'm going to something else. And I really don't think we are all that different. You know, we have these areas where God is on the throne, and then there's this one area that I have a hard time trusting God. Maybe it's with money.
Maybe it's with work, maybe it's with family, maybe it's with sex, whatever. It's 90% of life is God's. And then this 10%. I'm going somewhere else. And we just don't realize when we're doing this.
We are holding on to something that is harming us. And we just don't see it that way. Because if we saw it that way, we wouldn't do it. Right? But we actually see it as something positive, even though it's the exact opposite of that.
I remember many years ago, we have three sons and All little kids do this, but we had a son that really struggled with this, putting things in his mouth. And it got so bad, we started calling him the goat. Because any time He would go outside, he would come inside with like a pine cone in his mouth or something like that. And it was cute. the majority of the time.
But I remember one time We were out traveling, went to this restaurant, and with little kids, it's hard to have them in the restaurant.
So they had a playground next to the restaurant, so we were at the playground. And I could see him, and he came up to us, and it was very clear that he had something in his mouth that. He was very, very proud of himself. And he was super happy about this. And I got him to open his mouth and I could smell it before I could see it.
And it was almost like he had a breath mint, but it actually was the butt of a menthol cigarette. that he had picked up on the playground. And he was so happy about this cigarette that he had in his mouth. And we look at that. And we say that's crazy.
That's harmful. Why would he do that? And I think God is looking in. With these idols that we keep in our life, having the asherah in our back pocket, it's like we're just putting a cigarette in our mouth. It's like it's not good for us.
It's harmful for us. The third category of idol we see is the bronze serpent. I would describe the bronze serpent if the first idol was like mixing. God and culture, if the second one was like adding, the third one would be replacing God.
So, the bronze serpent, if you go back to Numbers 21, the people were wondering. In the wilderness, and they started complaining to God. God wants to kill us, God brought us out here. And so God sent these serpents, and they started biting the people. But God and His grace.
Then allowed Moses to create this bronze serpent so that when the people look at the serpent, they would have salvation. And we're actually not told this anywhere else in the Bible.
So, this is sort of news to us, but the people had taken that bronze serpent and they began to worship it.
So something God had given them. As a gift. The people are now worshiping that thing, and it has replaced God. And I think for believers, this is maybe the most dangerous category. Where God has blessed us and He's given us some gift in our life, and now.
Instead of worshiping God, we're worshiping that thing that God has given us. And so I think the question is what blessings Has God given us in our life that we are now making sacrifices to? You know, we worship our kids. We sacrifice everything to them. And it's like, hey, it's pervasive.
Everybody's doing it.
So it doesn't feel like there's anything wrong with it. Our homes Money. Comfort. We sacrifice everything to those things like they are God. And it's a dangerous place to be because it's so pervasive we don't see it.
You know, idols are already inherently dangerous, but they're more dangerous when we cannot see them for what they are.
So, what's the second turn that happens in the passage? We see the destruction of idols. What does Hezekiah do? With this pervasive and normalized problem with idols in the culture.
So, if we go back to verse four. We see the way that he responds. We see his reaction. It says he removed the high places. He broke the pillars.
He cut down the Asherah and he broke the... bronze serpent that Moses had made. Hezekiah, out of everybody here, was the only one that saw the problem for what it was. His dad, Ahaz, he clearly didn't see the problem. The people in chapter 17, they didn't see the problem.
And one of the things I didn't tell you, we know the history of the nation of Israel, but in terms of Israel as a kingdom, the northern kingdom, chapter 17 was the last time they existed. Because when they were exiled, In chapter 17, they never came back. That was it. That was the end of the story for them. And we know Israel is still used as a name to talk about the people of God.
But that is how dangerous It was. to have idols.
So what is his example for us? What's Hezekiah's example for us? Idols cannot be managed, and they cannot be negotiated with. And he was so courageous to tear them down. He was only 25 years old, and you can imagine how angry people would be.
He's going after what they trust in, what they believe in. And you know what we do many times? Whatever idol is in our life, we say, you know what, I'll just keep it in check. I know it's not right. I know it's bad for me.
I'm just going to try to put it in this box and I'm just going to try to keep it in check. You know, maybe it's the use of alcohol. Maybe it's a pornography addiction. Maybe it's your image. Maybe it's something with your kids.
Or marriage, or the love of money. Here's the reality: if you do not destroy the idols in your life, they absolutely will destroy you. And it's not It's not an if, it simply is a win. Idols are life and death. And I would just imagine, with this many people here today, there are some of you that.
You know it's bad, you know it's wrong, but there's something in your life that you're just not taking seriously enough. Because you just don't realize this thing in your life, it absolutely can destroy you. And so What is the example that we need to follow? You know, if there's something in your life. Hey, I'm struggling with looking at the wrong things on my phone.
Can you not just get rid of the phone? If there's a toxic relationship in your life, can you not just get rid of that relationship? If it's social media, can you not just get rid of it? If it's an addiction, it's not something to be managed, it's something to be destroyed. That is the point of all of this.
Idols are dangerous and they are pervasive, and they have to be destroyed if we want any hope for the future. But here's the issue because It's easy. to walk through this passage and be like, man. Idols are bad. I shouldn't have them.
They're pervasive, they're normalized, they're everywhere. But if I just leave you with, hey, do something about them. then what I'm preaching is just simply religion. That's every single religion in the world. Hey, you got bad stuff in your life that you need to deal with.
And if you can deal with it, if you can make a plan, if you could be disciplined, if you could be better than your neighbor, then you're going to have a good future. But here's the reality that we see in this story. Hezekiah Is just a blip on the radar of God's people going down this downward spiral. Yes, he keeps them. From being exiled for a while.
But ultimately they go the same place that the Northern Kingdom went. They trusted these idols. They counted on these idols. And so we have to realize Laws are great. You know, when people say like Oh, you know, laws can't change anybody, whatever.
It's like, man, go live in a place with no laws. That's not a place you want to live.
So, good laws are good, good kings are great, good presidents are great, but they cannot ultimately change the human heart. That's the issue. They can restrain some evil, they can hold back some evil, but the people needed a savior, not just a king. We need a savior. Not just a king.
Not just laws. And so I think as we're coming to the end of this message, We have to realize we cannot do this. on our own.
Okay? Just so everybody gets it. We're going to kind of do something together here. I want everybody to repeat after me. I cannot do it on my own.
All right, let's say it together. I cannot do it on my own. We have got to remind ourselves of that as we In this passage, because If you leave here and just say, I'm going to make a better plan, I'm going to be more disciplined, I'm convicted, I'm going to go and do it, we ultimately are going to fail. And so the application today is: you have to ask Jesus to free you from the idols in your life. That is the only access to power.
That is the only access to freedom. It is great. This story is great. To see idols for what they are. And for God to give us a picture of where idols ultimately lead.
But this story, in and of itself, does not provide the power for us to actually be free from idols.
So that's a starting place. Only Jesus can free us. Because the problem with idols is not discipline, it's not a plan, it's not laws. The problem with idols is a deep heart issue. Because I actually trust something else besides God.
And laws can't deal with that. Like, somebody's got to be able to peel back the layers of our heart and give us a new heart. And so, when we're thinking about Jesus freeing us from idols, I think there's really kind of two things to think about. As we leave today. The first one is this: we've got to ask Jesus for ultimate freedom.
We have got to ask Jesus for ultimate freedom today. Not try harder. Not, man, have some more will. You've been dealing with this problem for a long time. We just gotta try a little bit harder.
No, we need ultimate freedom from that thing. Because you can't free yourself. You see, the problem of sin we cannot deal with on our own. That's why Jesus had to go to the cross. Like I said, all these principles From Hezekiah, and we're going to see this in the coming weeks.
They're great principles, it's great stuff to learn. But the power is not just in seeing idols and knowing we need to destroy them. We need a power to actually deal with it. We need freedom actually. We need real freedom from the things that grip us in the culture.
And Jesus in John 8, he actually makes us a promise. that you could take to the bank today. He says this, truly, truly, I say to you, everyone. Who practices sin, they're actually a slave to Just then.
So that's the opposite. of freedom. And then he says this: the slave, they don't remain. In the house forever, but the sun. remains forever.
And then Jesus makes this promise that every single one of us can grip onto today. If the sun sets you free, you will be free indeed. We need the sun to set us free. And here's the thing. It comes through repentance and it comes through faith.
And what that means is I'm not half in and half out. I'm not coming to church. Coming down front, praying, and then I got the asherah in my back pocket. Because that's what happens a lot of times. Repentance means, God, I'm 100%.
making a 180 degree turn from my old life. And Jesus, I am trusting you. to free me. That's what we need. That's what ultimate freedom is.
It's not half in, half out. It is a full surrender. That's what we see in baptism. It's a full surrender. Jesus, I realize you have died for me, were buried for me, and resurrected for me because I could not do it on my own.
You see, idols, they enslave us, but Jesus ultimately can free us. Have you ever wondered Why like why do idols enslave us? Because they they really are so enslaving. Why do they enslave us? Because they promise something to us.
And they hold out this promise that they can never actually deliver to us. And it ends up being this sort of enslaving circle that we go in with idols. Let me give you an example. We think Man, I just feel like I need more security in my life. And so something tells us, man, if you just had more money.
Then you would maybe have a little bit more security. You'd have the ultimate security that you're looking for. Or we think I I struggle with my identity. I struggle with my place in the world. And then something inside of us says, well, if you just had a little bit more success.
then you wouldn't struggle with that any longer. Is she a little bit more? 10. I need more meaning in my life. And so we even go to something good.
Well, if I get married, or maybe if we have another kid, or maybe adoption and foster care. It's going to solve the answer for needing more meaning. In my life. Or I I need more control. Man, the world feels so chaotic.
I just need more control. And so we say: if I just work a little bit harder. this year.
Now I'm going to have control. And let me explain why this is so enslaving. Because what happens? We work harder than we ever have before. We crush it this year like we never have before.
We go after our goals like we never have before, and we still realize we're not in control. Or we do have more kids, or we do this thing that God's calling us to, and then we still. feel like we don't have ultimate meaning. We're more successful than we ever have before, and we get a promotion, and we still struggle with our identity. Or we have more money.
and we're more blessed than we ever have before and we still don't feel secure. And so what do we do? We just say, I got to go after it a little bit more because I didn't get it this time. But it's holding out this promise to me that if I just go a little bit further, then I'll get it. That is the definition of an addiction.
That is how idols are so enslaving. But here's the thing. Jesus actually gives us What idols promise, but actually never deliver to us. All of those things. And security, joy, ultimate hope, meaning, knowing that your life has purpose, Jesus can actually give us those things.
And so today as we leave I think the second part of this application: if you have already decided, okay, Jesus, I need freedom, I need ultimate freedom. And if Jesus has done that for you, then you've got to figure out. how to walk in the freedom that Jesus has secured. Because let me tell you, and you guys know this, with how pervasive this is in our culture, it is an everyday battle. And here's the sad thing, and I don't say this to offend anybody that's around us or our family or coworkers, but the majority of the people in your life do not care if you worship idols.
They just simply don't. If you're chasing money, if you're chasing meaning through having a family, whatever those ultimate things are, if you're chasing that, most of the people in your life do not really care. Because they're going after their own meaning, they're going after their own happiness. And so the reality is we have got to figure out how to walk. in this freedom that Jesus has given us every single day.
One of the things that we need to start with. Every single morning in some form. And this is why we've got to be in God's Word. is something like this. God You are better than anything the world can offer me.
I don't care if you need to say it five times or 500 times every morning when you wake up. Your heart needs a reminder: God, you truly are better than any idol the world can offer to me. Parents. Thinking about this with your kids. We have got to be reminded.
I can't just make them obey. I can't just make them work harder. We've got to lead them to Jesus. Because we cannot just give them religion because religion is not going to fix the problem. They need freedom.
And so our role as parents is to try to lead them to Jesus so that Jesus can offer them freedom. All of us This is why community groups are such a big deal at Mercy Hill. All of us need community. in our life. Having somebody like a Hezekiah.
You know, most of the people, like I said, they're just going to let you go chase whatever idols you want to chase because they're chasing their own idols. But having somebody in our life that if we are starting to chase those idols, they're willing. They're willing to step in and say, hey, don't go down this path. Because this path is not going to lead where you think it is. We need every single one of us.
From Pastor Serve team leader, community group, all of us need people in our life. That's going to help us to do this. We also, as we leave today, we have just got to pray for courage. And ask that God would give us courage. You know, one of the things we're going to see in this sermon series, Hezekiah was so courageous.
He was 25 years old. Can you imagine at 25 years old being put in this position? And the first thing you do is go around and start destroying the things people care about the most. This was a courageous thing that he did.
Some of you need this courage today. Because some of you today, you have that asherah in your back pocket still. And it's hard to think about letting go of something that your heart is gripping. That's a hard thing to do. And so you have to ask that God would give you courage today.
And then the last thing that we need to do: if Jesus truly has set you free. You've got to stand firm in that. What does the Bible say in Galatians 5.1? It says for freedom Christ has set us free. And then it commands us, stand firm in that.
Do not submit again to a yoke of slavery. The Bible wouldn't command this of us if this wasn't easy to do. To actually be freed, and then to want to go back to the things that once enslaved us. And so, as we close today, we just have to ask that God would help us to stand firm in this. And be willing.
This is the image of this passage: be willing to do whatever it takes. If it's telling somebody else today, if it's coming down here, people in all of our services that are dealing with real stuff, whether it's ashra in your back pocket, whatever, are coming down here and giving them over to God. Like this is why we're here. Do not leave. this place today still enslaved.
To these things. Let me pray for us, Lord. We thank you so much for your word, God. We thank you for 2 Kings 18 and the example of Hezekiah. I pray for this.
Sermon series over the coming weeks. God, so many good examples to see, so much truth to see. But Lord, I also thank you, Jesus, for what you did and your sacrifice, God, because religion cannot set us free, Jesus. You are the only one. That can set us free.
And so, God, I just pray. I can't touch that thing in somebody's heart they're dealing with. Holy Spirit, you are the only one. That can put your finger On an area of our life or a part of our heart that we need to give over to Jesus today. And so, Lord.
Our service is not over. We're going to see baptisms. We're going to pray, and I just pray that your spirit will help us to. Give those things over to you today, God, so that we can leave here not enslaved. Not under this yoke of slavery, but that we could leave here today in freedom because, God, that is what you want for us.
And we pray this in Jesus' name. Amen. Mm.
