Job chapter 9 verse 4. God is wise in heart and mighty in strength. He's telling you you can't outbox him. Who has hardened himself against him and prospered?
Well, life's going to give you a lot of things that want to make you harden yourself up against God. Why? I'm like, why pray? You're not going to answer it anyway. You know, you just get hardened hard.
And this verse has come to my mind so many times. Who has done this and it's worked out well? Nobody. This is Cross Reference Radio with our pastor and teacher, Rick Gaston. Rick is the pastor of Calvary Chapel, Mechanicsville.
Pastorik is currently teaching through a topical series. Please stay tuned with us after today's message to hear more information about cross-reference radio, specifically, how you can get a free copy of this teaching. How to Overcome Through Christ is the title of Pastor Ick's message. Here's Pastor Rick. Inquire of the Lord for me.
This is the king. He wants to know what God wants to do now. His sons will not treat the scriptures this way. They will do everything they can to destroy it. And he's only 26 years old.
He's not impetuous.
Now he's going to send to Hulda the prophetess. Which is a rebuke on the men because where were the men prophets?
Well, they weren't doing their jobs. God said, I don't need you. I have the women. They'll back me up. Nor does he act according to his own understanding.
It doesn't just read the words. I know what that means. As we are Prone to do from some time. We just think we should know these things.
Well, that's just self-serving pride. Why would you know these things? Yeah. Nor did he do what was right in his own eyes without counsel, as we talked about Proverbs 12:15, which is so easy to do. You know, I don't need to ask anybody.
I don't need to consult anybody.
So I talked about Jeremiah implying that verse, I ate the word, your book was word was found and I ate it.
Well, I consulted other commentators. They were wrong. They should have consulted me. They wouldn't have had that mistake.
So what? They were born 200 years ago. Anyway. We try to make that a practice in our lives. I get to share the good points, not the bad points, about me.
So God blessed him for all this. Promising, God promising that. Josiah would die in peace, but he died. An Egyptian arrow killed him. How did he die in peace?
He had peace with God. He most certainly did. Peace with God is the highest peace known to man. Unlike His father? and his grandfather.
So, this discovery of the scripture, while he's already beginning to institute purge in the kingdom. When we opened up with reading about what he was doing, it really probably comes after the scripture was found. though he was already doing some of it. This discovery added momentum to his righteous crusade. amongst his own people.
Again, Second Kings twenty three two, the king went up to the house of Yahweh with all the men of Judah this is after they found the word and with him all the inhabitants of Jerusalem this is also after the word of the prophetess came back blessing him. And God said in the prophecy, Josiah will have peace with me. But the damage done by Manasseh his grandfather is so extensive the nation will not recover. And that is exactly how it played out. Anyway, he continues: the priests, the prophets, and all the people, both small and great, and he read in their hearing all the words of the book of the covenant which had been found in the house of Yahweh.
He summoned the nation and he read them scripture and a lot of it. I don't remember the exact words, but there was an American Pastor, author back in the he died in the early 1950s. And when he was two days from death on his deathbed, His brother Robertson, who was also a pastor Visited him that Sunday morning before going to church and preaching. And as his brother was leaving to go preach, The pastor said to him, Put in it as much of the Word of God as you can. And that's what Josiah is doing.
He's putting in as much of the Word of God as he can into the people. But it's not a magic potion. Because we'll see, we see what the kingdom did with it. The next kings are just horrific, and that's when the Babylonians will come and take the nation from them, the kingdom from them. Then, after he reads the scripture, 2 Kings 23:4, and the king commanded Hilkiah the priest of the second order and the doorkeepers to bring.
out of the temple of Yahweh all the articles that were made for Baal, Asherah, And for the host of heaven. for all the hosts of heaven, And he burned them outside Jerusalem in the fields of Kidron, And carried their ashes to Bethel. Oh, man.
So he didn't even want their ashes in the Holy Land. Is that we're going to get this stuff out of here and we're going to take it back to where it started because Bethel's one of the places that. King Jeroboam put an alternate altar, auxiliary altars for the people when the man of God came three hundred years. earlier and cursed that altar. And so he's taking it back to Bethel.
And Yeah. The people have got to be wowed by this young king. He purged the temple of idolatrous priest and the articles that they infested the land with, he executed pagan priests up in Samaria, In Samaria, after the Assyrians came to the northern kingdom and they mixed back in Gentiles, there were still some Jews.
Well, he goes up in that area and he finds those pagan priests and he kills them. and digs up bones and burns them. He ended human sacrifice. 2 Kings 23:10, he defiled. To fet, which is in the valley of the son of Hinoam, That no man might make his son or his daughter pass through the fire to Molech.
Notice I didn't say he ended child sacrifice because you could actually offer up an adult. Circumstances were in your favor in a very dark way. hot with intolerance, He pulverized. Every Indication of a false God that he'd get his hands on. His crusade against the infestation of Satan's Brazen.
Influence was intense. Again, Second Kings 23, verse 12, the altars that were On the roof. The upper chamber of Ahaz this is the house of God. This is in in Jerusalem. The palace of the king.
Which the kings of Judah had made, and the altars which Manasseh had made in the two courts. Of the house of Yahweh. The king broke down and pulverized. There. and threw their dust into the brook Kidron.
Then the king defiled the high places that were East of Jerusalem, which were on the south of the Mount of Corruption, which Solomon king of Israel had built. For Ashtareth. The abomination of the Sidonians for Kemosh, the abomination of the Moabites. And for Mil come the abomination of the people of Ammon, So there's like a little United Nations going on there. all are united under Satan.
And he just dealt he dealt death blows to their shrines.
So how can you not love this king? No wonder so many parents say it's a boy, name him Josiah. It's a good name. And the history that goes with it. As I mentioned, he personally supervised the destruction of altars of the bowels.
2 Chronicles 34, they broke down the altars of the bowels in his presence and the incense altars. And it goes on to just continue to say what I've making dust out of them and scattering them on the graves of those who sacrificed to them. Talking about just Insulting. other religions. I should read that part, 2 Chronicles 34, 4.
And made dust of them and scattered it on the graves of those who had sacrificed to them. He rid the land of mediums, spiritors, false. Religious influences Here's Proverbs 20, verse 26: A wise king sifts out the wicked. and brings the threshing wheel over them. Again, you can't do this in Christ.
Not we can As far as discussion goes. But you cannot have You're not going to stop freedom of religion. And if you were allowed to, if the Calvinists could stop freedom of religion, they'd put an end to any Arminian that came along and be that.
So it would get out of hand. That's not our mission. And you're safe as a Christian when you can identify the role of Israel, the role of the church. and the God who owns both of them. Israel again was to have no freedom of religion, just.
that of Mosaic law. 2 Kings 23. Moreover, Josiah put away those who consulted mediums, spiritists, the household gods and idols, all the abominations. That were seen in the land of Judah and in Jerusalem, that he might perform the words of the law which were written. In the book of Hilkiah the priest, Found in the house of Yahweh.
So he gets the scripture and he does something with it. Instead of wringing his fingers or just admiring it. Then we come to the fifth stage of his life. At age thirty nine, When he makes war, and this is a big one for us. He makes war without consulting God.
How many Christians want to make war? Against an unbeliever or something, and don't consult the Lord. That's just the right thing to do.
Well, we covered that. When he finds the book of the Lord, he doesn't do any of that impetuous stuff. Stuff. He sends to the prophets Find out what God has in mind, what He wants. I need detailed information from the Lord.
What made him great? Until this He does this. He goes to war And he doesn't want to bring God into the situation because he's already made up his mind what he wants to do. It was political. But more, I think it was He wanted to show himself.
Valent on the battlefield. like his dad, like his Great, great. Break. Grandfather David.
So in 609 BC, and I give the date because in 606 BC, Nebuchadnezzar is going to show up and. Jerusalem will begin her devolution. He will dissolve the kingdom. in stages So that's where you are historically. In 609 BC, Josiah attempted to block Pharaoh Nacho II of Egypt.
from getting to the battlefield. in Assyria He had to come from Egypt. He had to go through Israel. And that's where Josiah was going to intercept him. And so Necho marched to help the Assyrians fight the Babylonians.
So Josiah had chosen size. He didn't want Assyria getting stronger. Egypt and Assyria were allies, and he felt Part of this thinking, of course. And still, I think, and I'll bring that out, why I know. He wanted to be distinguished on the battlefield.
We're going to come to that. But some of the political things. helped him justify himself. The stuff he was telling himself. And what does that have to do with us?
Because we do this exact same thing. When you buy something that's expensive. You've gone through this dialogue with you well. You know, it could keep meteors from hitting the planet. You just come up with all these excuses and then you buy it.
And then you just learn to just tell that guilt to shut up. It's mine now. It's history. Anyway. So, I'm not trying to overdo it on Josiah.
This was a fatal mistake. And he moved from being king over the northern the southern kingdom to heaven. It was not a lateral move, but a vertical move. Anyway, Josiah will engage Pharaonecho in battle In the valley of Miguero, Apparently for personal glory. He interfered in the affairs of the world without God's approval.
Not only did he not get God's approval, but Pharaoh Necho himself told him, Your God doesn't want you getting involved with this. You'll be destroyed. And that's exactly what happened.
So let's pick some of it up from the Scripture. Second Chronicles 25, verse 21. But he sent messengers to him. This is Pharaoh Neco. sending messages to Josiah the king of Judah.
What have I to do with you, king of Judah? I'm not come against you this day, but against the house which I have wore. for God commanded me to make haste. Refrain from meddling with God. who was with me Lest he destroy you.
How did this Egyptian pharaoh? Get this. We're not told. History is justified. By her, well, wisdom is justified by her children, and you know, the history establishes.
that this is exactly what happened. But he dismissed it. He probably said he's a pagan king. What does he know? But he knew in his heart That he wasn't supposed to do this.
Because of the glory he was seeking And there is a great lesson for us in how to overcome like the kings and/or not like the kings. In each one, you know, Hezekiah caved in, he appeased the Assyrians. That didn't work. And he ended up having to deal with them anyway. And God came and helped him.
Asa was bitter. At some point, he just became bitter with God. I'm not asking him, and he wouldn't ask for healing. He went out bitter, but yet he was still a godly king. And now it's Josiah's turn.
So we look at. 2 Chronicles 35, verses 22 through 24. And there we read, this is the end. of it all. for this godly king 2 Chronicles 35.
Verse 22. Nevertheless, Josiah would not turn his face from him, but disguised himself so that he might fight with him. There it is. That's the smoking gun. As king, if he was really into this.
for political reasons to protect the kingdom. He would not have done something like this. He would have known that Pharaoh is going to have. The Pharaoh's boys are going to protect him. And that's precisely what happened.
So he disguised himself so that he might fight with him and did not heed the words of Nacho from the mouth of God.
So the historian says that was God speaking to this pagan king.
So he came to fight in the valley of Megiddo. And the archers shot King Josiah And the king said to his servants, Take me away, for I am severely wounded.
Well, he stuck his nose where it didn't belong. Because again, of self-serving pride, even a godly person like Josiah is susceptible and so are we. You know when the flesh is welling up in you. You know when you're arguing a point and you're wrong. The spirit inside of you is telling you you're in the flesh, you are carnal right now.
Well, you can go ahead right ahead and end up in big trouble. The servants took him, 2 Chronicles 35, verse 24, out of the chariot and put him in the second chariot. That he had, and they brought him to Jerusalem.
So he died and was buried in one of the tombs of his fathers, and all Judah and Jerusalem mourned for Josiah. It's probably on a two-man chariot. Then he moved him to a three-man chariot, bigger, to take him back to Jerusalem. Twenty-five years after his death, The kingdom of Judah was a thing of the past. That's how much time it took.
It was all it started immediately. As soon as they made his sons the kings, those wicked men, and so. This is the reality of War, spiritual war. Transient reforms because of the hearts of the people.
So the conclusion is. That And we're past the five stages. We're now Giving the conclusion, he poured himself into eliminating idolatry and purifying worship in Jerusalem, and he succeeded. He loved God. He loved the Word of God.
The testimony Josiah left behind is found. in the widespread grief that I just mentioned at his loss But also the prophet Jeremiah. which is the big name added to it, So here's Jeremiah so in tune with God. And he doesn't. Turn on Josiah.
He doesn't, you know, he probably was a little upset. Why did he do it? He knew he should probably do some of that, but. He still loved him. And we read, Jeremiah also lamented.
For Josiah. And to this day, all the singing men and the singing women speak of Josiah in their lamentations. They made it a custom in Israel. And indeed, they are written in the Laments. That's not the Book of Lamentations.
That's a different book that we do not have.
Somebody thought came along and said, You know what? There's a lot of trouble in this world. We need to write this stuff down. And God says, Yeah, go ahead, write it, but I'm not keeping it.
So the lessons from the three kings. on overcoming in Christ I think they are very beneficial. That's the benefit of biographical stories, of these character studies. The lesson from Asa is not to become bitter. And self-sufficient, which is exactly what he did.
It's sort of like he was pouting against God. I'm not going to ask him. You know, he shouldn't have let this into my life to begin with. He just hardened his heart. Which brings us to Job chapter 9 verse 4.
God is wise in heart and mighty in strength. He's telling you, you can't outbox him. Who has hardened himself against him and prospered?
Well, life's going to give you a lot of things that want to make you harden yourself up against God. So, why? Why pray? You're not going to answer it anyway. You know, you just get hardened heart.
And this verse has come to my mind so many times. Who has done this and it's worked out well? Nobody. So I'm not doing it. I'll skip that step.
I may feel, have that sentiment, but I'm not going to cave into it. Which brings us to the lesson from Hezekiah. Remain true under pressure and don't appease wrong people. I'm not talking about somebody like, what restaurant do you want to go to? And it was a bad choice.
And I talk about those light-hearted things in life. But the things that have to do with morality and righteousness and truth. You don't appease. If it's not their place, And it's your place to stand firm. But Hezekiah did not do that with the Assyrians.
Proverbs 29, 25. The fear of man brings a snare. But whoever trusts in the Lord shall be safe. And again, with Hezekiah, when he appeased the Assyrians, they took the money from the temple. They took his shame and his dignity.
And they still came against him. It didn't work. And he had to regroup. And the lesson from Josiah. is, I think, perhaps the most profound Against such common Christian behavior.
Christians can be just led by right. and not by the Spirit. Yes, it's a right thing to do, but it's not for you. Every need is not a calling. Here's a need.
Well, you can't satisfy them all. And you've got to learn which ones are for you and which ones are not for you. How do you know that? By walking with the Lord, you walk in the Spirit. As many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are the sons of God, Paul tells us in Romans chapter 8.
So the lesson from Josiah is focus on God early and Do not act without him. Don't have it on your refrigerator or somewhere else. You know, and all your ways acknowledging the Lord, lean not on your own understanding, and then go out and lean on your own understanding. It takes discipline, it takes work. And it takes pain.
If you are led by the Spirit of God, you are going to feel pain. If you're not led by the Spirit of God, you're going to feel even more pain. And you will be a carrier You will be teaching people around you who are watching How not to be led by the Spirit.
So it's no surprise that many Christians have not a clue about being led by the Spirit. They just do what they've made up their mind to do and they say, The Spirit led me with no Justification. From events. You look at the end result and you say, Yeah, that didn't work out well. And they won't even come and say, Yeah, you know, I got to stop doing that.
Nope, they just do it again. And again, And again. No one calls them out on it. Because if you do call them out on it, if you say, you know what, I don't think the Lord's in that, and here's why. You might lose a friend.
Well, God will give you other friends. You might lose a family member.
Well, they won't go far. As soon as you get some money, they'll be back. I've not had that problem. That moat around the house and that electrical fence has kept a lot of family members away. And okay.
Don't act like you're just perfect.
So coming back to this, we finish with this. Here's the lesson. Here's a lesson. From Josiah From Galatians chapter 3. Are you so foolish?
having begun the spirit Are you now being made perfect in the flesh? God got you all this way by following Him, by listening to Him, by loving on Him. And now you're saying to God, I've got it from here. I don't need to ask. And I don't need to wait.
I need to act. That's what Josiah did. And that's one of the great lessons.
So, with that, we have concluded. My examination and sharing with you How to overcome in Christ Like These three kings. Let's pray. Our Father in heaven, your word is so loaded with these examples, these stories. If we would just avail ourselves and learn about them, and then apply the lessons.
In the spirit leaning not on our own understanding, But being sensitive to you And at the same time, Understanding that When we fail You are merciful. You did not disown any of these kings. when they stumbled. In fact, you preserved their record for us. and held them in high esteem.
And for each of the kings that we've discussed, in this trilogy of kings We have started out with how highly esteemed they are. In the Bible, in your eyes, we thank you for that. In Jesus' name, Amen. Thanks for tuning in today to Cross Reference Radio, where Pastor Rick has some answers for various questions that have been asked. We can't fully express how grateful we are that you've been with us today.
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