Sunday, 30th August 2015
Rev. Daniel Poon
We are a church loved by God; just like how we are all loved by our parents. In 2 Kings 19:29-37, we see that God’s love can be experienced. Hezekiah faced a great enemy, but when he relied on God, God did not let him down. Rev. Daniel reminded us that we are the chosen ones. It’s not us, who choose God, but it’s God, who chose us. He is the Lord of lords and the King of kings, yet He loves us and chooses us. When we know that we are loved by God, we will live differently.
- Church will have presence of GOD
So how can we become a church loved by God? The real meaning of church is not just a building but it’s a group of people, who have the same purpose in their lives. The purpose is to be loved by God. Without this purpose, we are nothing different to any group of people in this world. We need to know that we cannot live without God. A church loved by God will have the presence of God. With His presence, all the prayers, preaching or gatherings will just be programmes made by people.
a. God will provide for His church (2 Kings 19:29-31 )
This will be the sign for you, Hezekiah: This year you will eat what grows by itself, and the second year what springs from that. But in the third year sow and reap, plant vineyards and eat their fruit. Once more a remnant of the kingdom of Judah will take root below and bear fruit above. For out of Jerusalem will come a remnant, and out of Mount Zion a band of survivors. The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this.
We know we are a church loved by God, because we have had so many miracles that happened in this church in the past, and the miracles don’t just stop there but continue to happen among all of us. Blessing is not for us to enjoy but for us to experience. If the blessing stops in our lives then it’s no longer a blessing. We need to let the blessing flowing through us and passing onto others, so our blessings will be like the living water, never ending.
When we expereicne hardship we know it’s time to experience God’s blessings. The truth is that even Jesus Christ went through all the hardship and challenges, being Christians, it is not about having a smooth life without any problem, but to overcome the problems by having faith in God and to know everything is in God’s hands.
b. God will protect His church (2 Kings 19:32-34 )
Therefore this is what the Lord says concerning the king of Assyria: ‘He will not enter this city or shoot an arrow here. He will not come before it with shield or build a siege ramp against it. By the way that he came he will return; he will not enter this city, declares the Lord. I will defend this city and save it, for my sake and for the sake of David my servant.’
God will protect His church. A lot of time we try to protect ourselves. But the most effective way to protect ourselves is to seek God and let He protect us. Because if God’s presence is not with us, our safety is at our own risk, and we need to take our own responsibilities for our actions. A wise person will choose to be on God’s side. When God is with us, who can be against us? Rev. Daniel also reminded to not only ensure God is with us, but also don’t let God forsake us. We should always examine our lives, and see if we are doing the right things, which are the things God want us to do. Light and darkness cannot be existed together. We should live according to God’s Way and always ensure there is unity among us.
c. God will bring His church to victory (2 Kings 19:35-37 )
That night the angel of the Lord went out and put to death a hundred and eighty-five thousand in the Assyrian camp. When the people got up the next morning—there were all the dead bodies! So Sennacherib king of Assyria broke camp and withdrew. He returned to Nineveh and stayed there. One day, while he was worshiping in the temple of his god Nisrok, his sons Adrammelek and Sharezer killed him with the sword, and they escaped to the land of Ararat. And Esarhaddon his son succeeded him as king.
Jesus started with 12 disciples, but now we see many big churches all around the world. Because God has brought His people to victory. As Christian we need to believe God’s Word is true and He is the creating God. Don’t just sit there, look at other people’s success and follow them, but to see that if we follow God’s Way, He will bring the victory to us.
Jesus already received the victory and as children of God, we have also received the victory. Rev. Daniel reminded us not to envy other people’s success but to stay faithful in where ever God put us and believe one day God will bring us to victory.
2. We should become a CHURCH love by GOD
a. To do what is right in God’s eyes (2 Kings 18:3,5-7 )
He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, just as his father David had done… Hezekiah trusted in the Lord, the God of Israel. There was no one like him among all the kings of Judah, either before him or after him. He held fast to the Lord and did not stop following him; he kept the commands the Lord had given Moses. And the Lord was with him; he was successful in whatever he undertook. He rebelled against the king of Assyria and did not serve him.
Our choice determines who we are. Therefore we need to choose God’s Will. Why did Hezekiah succeed? Because he chose to follow what his ancestor, David, did by trusting in God only. So how to make the right choices? God gave us the Bible is like our GPS on earth, and provide us the directions to go.
b. To pray continuously to God (2 Kings 18:15 )
So Hezekiah gave him all the silver that was found in the temple of the Lord and in the treasuries of the royal palace.
We need to have good communication with God. Just like how in the marriage courses or parenting classes nowadays, it’s all about communication. Communication is such an important tool to build up relationships. God is always willing to listen to us and to help us, but are we willing to set up this bridge of communication by praying to Him every day?
c. To preach to all nations that He is the only God (2 Kings 18:19)
The field commander said to them, “Tell Hezekiah: “This is what the great king, the king of Assyria, says: On what are you basing this confidence of yours?”
This is the big commandment from Jesus. We can’t see God because our sin separates us from God. But through the life stories of Christians, people can see God’s work in each individual’s lives. So our story is so important to show people how real our God is. Don’t keep the blessings in ourselves, but let it go through us and flow to the others!