WEBVTT 00:00:00.239 --> 00:00:06.000 Uh we are obviously in the midst of an amazing study this year on the Word of God that Justin is leading us through. 00:00:06.160 --> 00:00:09.679 To cover the Bible in a year is an amazing task. 00:00:09.759 --> 00:00:12.720 And isn't he doing an amazing job of doing that? 00:00:13.839 --> 00:00:21.600 And I want to encourage you, if you've missed one of the one of the messages, get online. 00:00:22.079 --> 00:00:25.440 Get on his hands online or go on YouTube and find it. 00:00:26.160 --> 00:00:27.280 You're gonna be blessed. 00:00:27.440 --> 00:00:36.159 And I speak through experience because when I miss it or I'm working with the teens or otherwise, I go home and I either put it on the on the TV or I go in my office, uh, I take notes. 00:00:36.479 --> 00:00:37.119 Yes. 00:00:38.320 --> 00:00:44.079 Learn, study the word, and I can promise you you're gonna be blessed. 00:00:44.240 --> 00:00:47.600 You're gonna go deeper with the Lord and you're gonna hear his voice more and more. 00:00:47.840 --> 00:00:53.359 Now, right now we're we're in this last section, the last of the units. 00:00:53.439 --> 00:00:58.799 Uh, we finished so much blood, and we're finishing today, messy uh majesty. 00:00:58.960 --> 00:01:06.239 Now, what we've been doing is listening to the the lives of the kings of Israel. 00:01:06.560 --> 00:01:16.959 It's a period of time, about 500 years, and Justin has picked out six of them that illustrate in the messiness of their lives the good, the bad, and the ugly. 00:01:17.040 --> 00:01:20.000 And as he's been reminding us, that's what you get in the Word of God. 00:01:20.159 --> 00:01:23.920 It's not edited, it's not all the good stuff and take out all the bad stuff. 00:01:24.079 --> 00:01:26.319 It's real lives like yours and mine. 00:01:26.799 --> 00:01:29.680 And we find how God works in the midst of all of that. 00:01:29.920 --> 00:01:31.599 Let me just remind you where we've been. 00:01:31.760 --> 00:01:32.719 We first had Saul. 00:01:32.799 --> 00:01:37.359 He was the first king used to unite the twelve tribes into a single nation. 00:01:37.519 --> 00:01:44.400 But Saul's problem was he worried too much about what everybody else thought about him, including himself. 00:01:44.799 --> 00:01:48.879 And he became threatened by others, especially David. 00:01:49.200 --> 00:01:51.599 And it ended up destroying him. 00:01:52.480 --> 00:02:00.640 Let me remind you: if you're seeking God, seek him with all your heart, and let him be your audience of one. 00:02:01.040 --> 00:02:05.280 When you live for him, everybody else's opinion falls away. 00:02:06.319 --> 00:02:07.840 David understood that. 00:02:08.000 --> 00:02:11.280 Now, David lives about the year 1000 BC. 00:02:11.520 --> 00:02:13.039 He was the beloved king. 00:02:13.680 --> 00:02:14.560 Was it Messi? 00:02:14.800 --> 00:02:14.960 Yes. 00:02:15.120 --> 00:02:16.400 Did he make a lot of mistakes? 00:02:16.560 --> 00:02:17.039 Yes. 00:02:17.199 --> 00:02:19.039 But he kept having a heart for God. 00:02:19.280 --> 00:02:26.719 He consistently came back to his worship and his service to the one true King of Kings. 00:02:27.599 --> 00:02:44.159 After David, his son Solomon, and Solomon started so good, built the temple, got wisdom and riches beyond any king before, and we thought, how could it go great, it's got to finish well. 00:02:44.319 --> 00:02:45.840 No, he drifted. 00:02:46.560 --> 00:02:54.159 And I'm just I was so blessed when Justin picked that word drift because with my Navy background, I had to learn that that word pretty quick. 00:02:54.319 --> 00:03:07.039 Because in the 360 degrees of a compass, if you drift one degree in your destination, in 60 miles, you're off one mile. 00:03:07.360 --> 00:03:09.759 You will never get to your destination. 00:03:10.240 --> 00:03:14.719 It's the same in the spiritual journey, it's the same in your life. 00:03:14.960 --> 00:03:16.080 Don't drift. 00:03:16.240 --> 00:03:24.719 Keep checking your bearing to make certain that you're living for what you should be living for, for truth and love, grace. 00:03:25.520 --> 00:03:31.759 Solomon drifted away, and he ended terribly, and the entire nation paid the price. 00:03:32.159 --> 00:03:46.879 In the reign of his son Rehoboam, the the nation split in two, and it is it is hard for us to keep track of the history because all of a sudden the kingdom of Israel isn't centered around Jerusalem anymore, it's up to the north. 00:03:47.039 --> 00:04:01.360 And the ten tribes kept that collective name, Israel, and the largest group, Judah, stayed around Jerusalem, and so it became the nation of Israel and the nation of Judah for a period of time. 00:04:02.080 --> 00:04:06.719 And in that northern kingdom, Justin taught us about Ahab. 00:04:07.280 --> 00:04:09.840 He was feeble and he was foolish. 00:04:10.560 --> 00:04:14.800 Actually, I would say he was stupid and he was evil, but Justin's nicer than I am. 00:04:15.280 --> 00:04:17.519 He just went the way of the culture. 00:04:17.759 --> 00:04:22.560 He just picked any value and let everybody do anything they wanted to, and he did whatever he wanted to. 00:04:23.519 --> 00:04:25.439 The nation was destroyed. 00:04:25.759 --> 00:04:39.439 That led to the dispersion of the Jews across all of the Mediterranean, Africa, Asia, and Europe, as the Northern Kingdom was destroyed during the time of Hezekiah, who we heard about with Madison. 00:04:39.600 --> 00:04:41.759 And was didn't Madison do a great job? 00:04:44.079 --> 00:04:45.920 He had one day's notice. 00:04:46.560 --> 00:04:47.680 That was amazing. 00:04:48.160 --> 00:04:52.000 Justin's given me a couple weeks, so anything I do wrong, it's all my fault. 00:04:52.319 --> 00:04:53.120 It really is. 00:04:53.360 --> 00:04:56.000 But yeah, what did we learn with Hezekiah? 00:04:56.480 --> 00:05:05.680 He was actually a great king for a long time, and he he led a lot of renewal and revival in his nation, but he didn't care about the next generation. 00:05:06.720 --> 00:05:08.160 It was all about him. 00:05:09.120 --> 00:05:15.920 And the nation suffered greatly, just like the northern kingdom did with Ahab 200 years earlier. 00:05:16.160 --> 00:05:20.639 Following the reign of Hezekiah, things went poorly, really, really bad. 00:05:20.800 --> 00:05:23.120 His son Manasseh became the king. 00:05:23.279 --> 00:05:27.600 He ruled for 55 years, and he was a disaster. 00:05:28.879 --> 00:05:33.680 He accepted anything that the culture wanted to do and participated in it gladly. 00:05:33.839 --> 00:05:38.800 He turned the temple over to worship all sorts of craziness, which I'll mention in a few moments. 00:05:39.040 --> 00:05:41.279 And it was a horrible time. 00:05:42.959 --> 00:05:47.120 After he passed, his son Amon became the king. 00:05:47.439 --> 00:05:48.800 The nation had had enough. 00:05:48.879 --> 00:05:52.800 After just two years, his own people took him out in his house. 00:05:52.959 --> 00:05:55.040 They said, We can't deal with this anymore. 00:05:55.199 --> 00:06:00.399 And Amon's son became the king, the royal blood. 00:06:00.959 --> 00:06:05.600 And that's who I have the privilege of talking about today, and that's Josiah. 00:06:05.759 --> 00:06:10.959 And Josiah has a profound impact on every one of us who are here today. 00:06:11.600 --> 00:06:13.040 King Josiah. 00:06:13.279 --> 00:06:23.439 So I want to start the story in this great role model, this great king, Josiah, and we start in 2 Chronicles chapter 34. 00:06:23.839 --> 00:06:26.959 And this is what it says in the opening remarks of his reign. 00:06:27.199 --> 00:06:32.639 Josiah was eight years old when he began to reign, and he reigned 31 years in Jerusalem. 00:06:32.800 --> 00:06:39.360 And he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, and walked in the ways of David, his father, and did not turn aside to the right hand or to the left. 00:06:39.680 --> 00:06:45.759 For in the eighth year of his reign, while he was yet a boy, he began to seek the God of David, his father. 00:06:46.000 --> 00:06:52.240 And in the twelfth year he began to purge Judah and Jerusalem of the high places, the Asharim, the carved in metal images. 00:06:54.000 --> 00:07:00.399 An eight-year-old king, I don't know about you, but I would have difficulty with that. 00:07:00.560 --> 00:07:02.240 An eight-year-old president? 00:07:02.480 --> 00:07:03.920 Just think about that. 00:07:04.639 --> 00:07:10.079 My grandkids at age eight were still struggling with which direction they were supposed to kick the soccer ball. 00:07:10.959 --> 00:07:16.879 Or how to how to swing the bat to hit the ball to get it out of the, you know, I mean, eight years old. 00:07:18.560 --> 00:07:29.360 And we're told here that when he was had been reigning for eight more years, the eighth year of his reign, while he was yet a boy, he began seeking the Lord. 00:07:29.519 --> 00:07:32.160 Now, if we have teenagers here, don't be offended. 00:07:32.319 --> 00:07:35.360 He was 16 years old and he was still referred to as a boy. 00:07:35.519 --> 00:07:37.839 Yes, in that culture, there weren't teenagers. 00:07:38.879 --> 00:07:46.480 They didn't have that period where you give someone a license and you say, go for it, and they start dating and maybe getting a job and all the rest of it. 00:07:46.720 --> 00:07:50.959 No, they they were not considered fully adult until they reached the age of 20. 00:07:52.639 --> 00:07:56.639 But the writer mentions that he he was still a boy. 00:07:56.720 --> 00:07:58.800 Even the writer is amazed at this. 00:07:58.959 --> 00:08:02.399 And he actively decides to seek the Lord. 00:08:02.720 --> 00:08:10.319 You see, what we need to remember is no one is ever too young to begin doing what's right. 00:08:10.720 --> 00:08:13.439 No one is ever too young to seek the Lord. 00:08:13.600 --> 00:08:16.959 That's why it's so special when we have all these baptisms each Sunday. 00:08:17.040 --> 00:08:18.000 Isn't it amazing? 00:08:18.160 --> 00:08:21.199 And so many young people getting up and saying, Yes, I'm in. 00:08:21.360 --> 00:08:22.399 I'm all in. 00:08:22.800 --> 00:08:23.759 You know, think about it. 00:08:23.839 --> 00:08:30.160 Even Jesus at age 12 went to the temple and was teaching, and his parents lost track of where he was. 00:08:30.240 --> 00:08:33.360 They looked for him for three days and they got to the temple and said, What are you doing? 00:08:33.519 --> 00:08:36.799 And he says, Well, you must have known I'd be about my father's business. 00:08:38.080 --> 00:08:44.399 Do you remember Jesus said, Let the children come to me, do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven. 00:08:44.559 --> 00:08:47.679 And Jesus took the children in his arms and he blessed them. 00:08:49.600 --> 00:08:56.720 You see, I think the current culture in many churches is wrong when they say, Oh, the children, they're the future church. 00:08:56.879 --> 00:08:59.039 No, they're not, they're the church. 00:09:00.720 --> 00:09:03.919 And a little child shall lead them, we're told. 00:09:04.159 --> 00:09:05.840 Train them up in the way they shall go. 00:09:06.000 --> 00:09:07.440 They will not depart from the faith. 00:09:07.600 --> 00:09:16.480 Scripture's filled with promises and challenges to raise children in the faith and to let them seek the Lord. 00:09:16.639 --> 00:09:17.679 You're never too young. 00:09:18.559 --> 00:09:20.159 Listen to an amazing verse. 00:09:20.399 --> 00:09:22.000 I have a story to go with it. 00:09:23.120 --> 00:09:26.480 Paul is writing to his young follower, Timothy. 00:09:28.080 --> 00:09:31.120 And this is what he writes in 1 Timothy chapter 4. 00:09:31.440 --> 00:09:40.080 Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity. 00:09:40.960 --> 00:09:43.360 Let me tell you my little story on that verse. 00:09:43.679 --> 00:09:53.759 Years ago, I'm driving our three sons, teenagers, the youngest was probably preteen, and some of their buddies in the car, we're heading off somewhere, probably some soccer game or something. 00:09:54.000 --> 00:09:57.919 And of course, the older boys start kidding young Kevin. 00:09:59.039 --> 00:10:02.000 And just putting him down because he's just a little kid. 00:10:02.639 --> 00:10:09.519 And he said to them, Hey, the Bible says, Let no one despise you for your youth. 00:10:10.000 --> 00:10:14.320 But set the believers an example in speech and conduct in love and faith and impurity. 00:10:14.480 --> 00:10:15.919 That's what he said in the car. 00:10:16.320 --> 00:10:18.960 I don't remember, he probably aged 11 or 12. 00:10:19.200 --> 00:10:21.279 You can imagine what happened in that car. 00:10:21.600 --> 00:10:23.600 You could have heard a pin drop. 00:10:24.960 --> 00:10:29.360 And one of the friends said, Well, I guess he put us in our place. 00:10:30.639 --> 00:10:34.320 I don't think they kidded him until, well, probably until they got out of the car. 00:10:36.399 --> 00:10:37.840 But he got it. 00:10:39.279 --> 00:10:42.159 Are you helping your kids and grandkids to get it? 00:10:42.639 --> 00:10:44.240 They may be young. 00:10:46.559 --> 00:10:49.600 But even Jesus said, we must become like little children. 00:10:50.559 --> 00:11:01.600 There's something about children who learn at that age what truth is, what love is, what acceptance is and grace, and making wise choices. 00:11:02.240 --> 00:11:04.240 We learn that from Josiah. 00:11:04.559 --> 00:11:06.720 He becomes king at eight. 00:11:08.000 --> 00:11:15.120 By the time he's 16, he's already on the path, seeking to be a good follower of the Lord. 00:11:15.279 --> 00:11:16.799 He seeks the Lord. 00:11:17.039 --> 00:11:17.679 Wow. 00:11:18.159 --> 00:11:21.919 But you know, I'm gonna just pause for a moment, a little footnote. 00:11:22.080 --> 00:11:23.759 You're never too old either. 00:11:24.080 --> 00:11:26.960 Let me just say, you're never too old to seek the Lord, are you? 00:11:27.200 --> 00:11:28.320 I mean, think about Moses. 00:11:28.639 --> 00:11:31.519 He had his burning bush experience when he was 80. 00:11:32.000 --> 00:11:36.480 He finally got through all the plagues, got people out of Egypt, got over to the promised land. 00:11:36.639 --> 00:11:40.000 He was 120 when he was finally called home. 00:11:40.399 --> 00:11:51.440 One of my heroes, Augustine of Canterbury, he was a monk in Rome in the sixth century when he was assigned to go to England and bring the faith. 00:11:51.759 --> 00:11:54.559 Be an evangelist to the area of England. 00:11:54.879 --> 00:11:57.919 He's now known as the Apostle to the English. 00:11:58.320 --> 00:12:01.279 He set off on that task at age 86. 00:12:02.799 --> 00:12:04.320 Isn't that amazing? 00:12:05.039 --> 00:12:09.440 A week ago, Tuesday, I had the privilege of being at the Tuesday morning men's Bible study. 00:12:09.679 --> 00:12:11.039 We meet out here at 7 a.m. 00:12:11.840 --> 00:12:12.559 Very informal. 00:12:12.720 --> 00:12:17.440 Every guy in this room, you should make arrangements to join us at 7 o'clock on Tuesday. 00:12:17.679 --> 00:12:18.799 It's amazing. 00:12:19.039 --> 00:12:26.080 I had the privilege of sitting at a table with Megan McTear's grandfather. 00:12:27.200 --> 00:12:33.440 He was teaching us just his thoughts about a particular verse in Jonah. 00:12:34.559 --> 00:12:38.720 It was so profound, I looked to him and said, I'm gonna write that down when I get home. 00:12:39.200 --> 00:12:43.759 I turned to the guys at the table and I said, if you ever hear me quote this again, you know where it's come from. 00:12:44.159 --> 00:12:46.559 Ed Tanner was a missionary in Bolivia. 00:12:46.720 --> 00:12:47.840 He's 90. 00:12:49.440 --> 00:12:55.279 You are never too young and you are never too old to give up seeking the Lord. 00:12:56.159 --> 00:12:57.919 Encourage your grandparents. 00:12:58.480 --> 00:13:00.000 Encourage your spouses. 00:13:00.480 --> 00:13:02.720 Encourage your kids and your grandkids. 00:13:02.960 --> 00:13:04.799 It's the most important thing you can ever do. 00:13:04.960 --> 00:13:06.399 Seek the Lord first. 00:13:06.639 --> 00:13:08.159 And Josiah did it. 00:13:08.320 --> 00:13:11.440 And think about it, it wasn't because of his dad. 00:13:11.600 --> 00:13:13.039 His dad was a disaster. 00:13:13.200 --> 00:13:14.639 It wasn't because of his grandfather. 00:13:14.720 --> 00:13:16.720 His grandfather was a disaster. 00:13:16.960 --> 00:13:26.159 It wasn't really because of his great-grandfather, although he did could learn a lot from his life, Hezekiah, he realized this is something he just had to do. 00:13:28.320 --> 00:13:36.799 He also found in that that to serve the Lord, you have to recognize that life is a team effort. 00:13:37.440 --> 00:13:45.600 I'm going to continue in 2 Chronicles, and I want to read to you an amazing insight that he got, he understood. 00:13:46.480 --> 00:13:49.440 It's 2 Chronicles chapter 34. 00:13:50.720 --> 00:13:53.039 And I'm going to begin in verse 20. 00:13:53.279 --> 00:14:04.480 The king commanded Hilkiah, Akiham, the son of Zophan, Aldan the son of Mickah, Shaphan, the secretary, and Asiah the king's servant, saying, Go inquire of the Lord for me. 00:14:05.519 --> 00:14:10.879 Now you may not remember any of those names, but I want to mention some of them to you. 00:14:11.200 --> 00:14:13.919 Ilkiah was the high priest. 00:14:14.399 --> 00:14:18.639 There is no question that he was the king's mentor. 00:14:20.480 --> 00:14:30.080 I found in the journey, if if you want to live life the way God wants you to, in the redeemed life we have in Jesus, see life as a team. 00:14:31.360 --> 00:14:35.120 This American bubble of individualism, it's a lie. 00:14:35.840 --> 00:14:38.639 We're not meant to figure it out on our own. 00:14:40.399 --> 00:14:52.159 Life, whatever that we're challenged in life to do, whatever that ministry is, whether it's being a parent or a single parent, or whether it's working or whether it's doing some ministry or changing the world, whatever, it's meant to be part of a team. 00:14:52.320 --> 00:14:54.639 No one is given all the gifts by God. 00:14:55.519 --> 00:14:56.879 We're all part of the body. 00:14:56.960 --> 00:14:58.399 We're all meant to do it together. 00:14:58.639 --> 00:15:03.440 And one of the things that seems to be very critical is have a mentor. 00:15:04.080 --> 00:15:15.679 Have somebody who's a generation or two generations older who can share the ropes, give insights, not tell you what to do, but say, hey, you might want to think about this, you might want to think about that. 00:15:16.960 --> 00:15:22.320 You know, we all celebrate the apostle Paul, and we'll get to him in a few more months. 00:15:23.120 --> 00:15:24.879 But he had Barnabas. 00:15:25.279 --> 00:15:28.159 If it wasn't for Barnabas, there wouldn't have been a Paul. 00:15:28.559 --> 00:15:36.399 And if it wasn't for Paul, there wouldn't have been a Timothy, or there wouldn't have been a Titus, or there wouldn't have been Silas or all the others that helped. 00:15:38.000 --> 00:15:42.639 Always having someone giving us some help, but always working as part of a team. 00:15:42.879 --> 00:15:47.519 I find another one of these men, Zophan, who's the, I guess, the king's secretary. 00:15:47.759 --> 00:15:55.759 In one chapter alone, Zophan's name is mentioned nine times as having a significant role with the king. 00:15:57.039 --> 00:15:59.200 We do life together. 00:15:59.600 --> 00:16:08.399 If we're not careful and we do life by ourselves, we don't mean to, but we American men in particular seem to want to take credit for it. 00:16:09.600 --> 00:16:10.960 No, don't go there. 00:16:11.519 --> 00:16:13.440 It's all for the glory of God. 00:16:14.080 --> 00:16:17.360 And somehow this young king understood that. 00:16:18.559 --> 00:16:20.879 He understood that it was a team effort. 00:16:21.679 --> 00:16:23.440 So what did he do? 00:16:23.919 --> 00:16:27.360 Well, it's kind of amazing. 00:16:27.519 --> 00:16:31.120 He sought to do what was right and to stop what was wrong. 00:16:31.440 --> 00:16:34.000 Second Kings chapter 22. 00:16:39.120 --> 00:17:08.880 In the eighteenth year of King Josiah, the king sent Zophan, the son of Azalah, son of Mezuel, the secretary, to the house of the Lord, saying, Go up to Hilkiah, the high priest, that he may count the money that has been brought into the house of the Lord, which the keepers of the threshold have collected from the people, and let it be given into the hand of the workmen who have the oversight of the house of the Lord, and let them give to the workmen who are at the house of the Lord, repairing the house, that is, the carpenters, to the builders, and to the masons, and let them use it for buying timber and quarried stone to repair the house. 00:17:09.039 --> 00:17:14.720 But no accounting shall be asked from them for the money that is delivered into their hand, for they deal honestly. 00:17:15.920 --> 00:17:27.680 I believe it's the only place in Scripture where we're told there's a group of people who are responsible for a whole lot of work, but there's no accountability needed because they were already known to be men of integrity. 00:17:27.920 --> 00:17:29.359 And it was the workmen. 00:17:30.079 --> 00:17:31.680 What did the king order? 00:17:31.920 --> 00:17:33.599 The temple needs to be cleansed. 00:17:33.759 --> 00:17:35.119 The temple needs to be cleaned up. 00:17:35.200 --> 00:17:39.440 All those false gods and idols and statues and all, they gotta be gone. 00:17:39.759 --> 00:17:41.839 Because we're gonna worship the Lord God. 00:17:42.160 --> 00:17:51.119 Now you may not be ever a king or a queen, but we have places of influence. 00:17:52.079 --> 00:17:57.119 Our homes, our neighborhoods, our work environment, our schools. 00:17:58.240 --> 00:18:00.319 Where we can learn to do what's right. 00:18:01.839 --> 00:18:05.279 Well we do and we name the things that need to change. 00:18:05.599 --> 00:18:09.039 The king called the workers together and said, You got you gotta do it. 00:18:09.200 --> 00:18:10.799 I'll make sure the funds get in. 00:18:11.119 --> 00:18:13.119 You do what you know you can do. 00:18:13.279 --> 00:18:19.119 We aren't gonna be standing over your shoulder, we're not gonna micromanage, we just want you to make it right. 00:18:19.599 --> 00:18:21.519 And he started the work of cleansing the table. 00:18:21.680 --> 00:18:24.480 Let's remember he's still, in our language, a teenager. 00:18:26.000 --> 00:18:26.640 Wow. 00:18:27.519 --> 00:18:30.079 But he also tried to stop what was wrong. 00:18:30.960 --> 00:18:37.200 Two of the things he he uh stopped as much as he could right away was the worship of Baal. 00:18:38.319 --> 00:18:40.799 Baal was the god seen as the god of rain. 00:18:40.880 --> 00:18:50.640 He was a Canaanite and a Phoenician god, very, very popular because it's a a god who sought to teach people how to control things in life. 00:18:50.880 --> 00:18:55.440 If you follow the roots of Baal, he was Satan. 00:18:56.559 --> 00:19:03.279 And Satan worship was permitted in the nation because of his grandfather and father. 00:19:03.519 --> 00:19:05.839 And he said, No, we're not gonna do that anymore. 00:19:06.079 --> 00:19:07.759 We're not gonna worship Baal. 00:19:08.000 --> 00:19:10.000 He also stopped the worship of Asherah. 00:19:10.160 --> 00:19:15.440 Uh Asherah was the you occasionally run across an Asherah pole or an Asherah tree. 00:19:15.599 --> 00:19:21.920 This was the mother goddess, uh, and it was the worship of nature, uh fertility goddess. 00:19:22.400 --> 00:19:24.319 And he stopped that too. 00:19:24.640 --> 00:19:37.599 By the way, the roots of Ashetah is that she was the goddess, mother, goddess of Satan, which God had previously forbidden any of his people from worshiping. 00:19:38.720 --> 00:19:41.599 And Josiah said, No, we're not gonna do that. 00:19:42.319 --> 00:19:44.000 We are not gonna do that. 00:19:44.720 --> 00:19:49.200 Now, maybe I pause for a moment and just give you an example of something that happened early on in my ministry. 00:19:49.359 --> 00:19:55.759 I was a youth pastor, and you know, I wasn't as cool as Madison, but I tried to be cool, you know. 00:19:55.920 --> 00:19:59.119 And and so I tried to act like I knew what was going on and understood everything. 00:19:59.200 --> 00:20:02.400 And one young gal in my youth group came to me and she said, Do you want to meet privately? 00:20:02.480 --> 00:20:02.960 And I said, sure. 00:20:03.039 --> 00:20:07.519 So we made an appointment, and she came in and she said, You know, I really enjoy the Sunday night youth group. 00:20:07.599 --> 00:20:08.880 And I said, Yeah, you seem to. 00:20:08.960 --> 00:20:11.839 You have seem to have a lot of friends and seem to have a good time. 00:20:11.920 --> 00:20:14.240 And she said, Yeah, and I'm learning a lot true too. 00:20:14.400 --> 00:20:15.759 I said, Well, that I'm I'm glad. 00:20:15.839 --> 00:20:17.519 She said, Yeah, I'm learning about that. 00:20:17.599 --> 00:20:21.680 It's it's a good way to live and living in the light, living in truth, living in Jesus. 00:20:21.839 --> 00:20:23.440 And I said, Well, you that's great. 00:20:23.599 --> 00:20:25.839 And I'm thinking, boy, this is going very well. 00:20:26.160 --> 00:20:29.839 And she said, But I I need to tell you what I do on Friday nights. 00:20:30.240 --> 00:20:31.680 I said, What's that? 00:20:32.559 --> 00:20:36.319 She said, I go up into the hills behind the high school and worship Satan. 00:20:38.240 --> 00:20:40.079 And I tried to be cool. 00:20:40.319 --> 00:20:43.599 I tried to act like I knew exactly what she was talking about. 00:20:43.920 --> 00:20:46.799 As I'm inside screaming, going, I gotta get out of here. 00:20:48.400 --> 00:20:52.480 She had somehow thought that those two could work together. 00:20:52.960 --> 00:20:56.799 And so I just tried as calmly as I could to not scream. 00:20:56.960 --> 00:21:00.079 And I say, you know that won't work. 00:21:00.480 --> 00:21:07.599 And she said, Yeah, I've come there's some really popular kids up there, but I I guess it's the difference between light and darkness. 00:21:07.759 --> 00:21:09.359 I said, Yeah, that's a good way to put it. 00:21:09.440 --> 00:21:10.319 You know you need to stop that. 00:21:10.400 --> 00:21:12.000 And she said, Yeah, I guess I do. 00:21:12.160 --> 00:21:14.480 I guess I just needed the courage to tell you first. 00:21:17.200 --> 00:21:19.200 You know, I know we don't like to admit it. 00:21:19.920 --> 00:21:32.079 We like to think good of everybody, and we'd like to think everything is wonderful, and everybody has their choices, but there are choices that are dangerous, filled with darkness, and that's what Josiah needed to clean up. 00:21:32.480 --> 00:21:39.440 He said, This nation cannot be divided in their allegiance, and neither can you, and neither can your family. 00:21:39.680 --> 00:21:43.039 We need to be clear about the light, we need to be clear about truth. 00:21:43.279 --> 00:21:44.319 Josiah was. 00:21:44.559 --> 00:21:47.680 He sought to do what was right to cleanse the temple. 00:21:47.920 --> 00:21:58.880 He sought to stop what was wrong, the worship of that which is very destructive and dangerous, as history had shown in his own nation and the nation of Israel to the north. 00:22:00.079 --> 00:22:02.160 And then something wonderful happened. 00:22:02.720 --> 00:22:06.160 Second Kings chapter 22, verse 8. 00:22:06.559 --> 00:22:12.319 Hilkiah the priest said to Zophan the secretary, I found the book of the law in the house of God. 00:22:12.480 --> 00:22:15.119 And Hilkiah gave the book to Zophan, and he read it. 00:22:15.200 --> 00:22:24.160 And Zophan the secretary came to the king and reported to the king, Your servants have emptied out the money that was found in the house and have delivered it into the hand of the workmen who have the oversight of the house of the Lord. 00:22:24.319 --> 00:22:31.200 Then Zophan the secretary told the king, Hilkiah the priest has given me a book, and Zophan read it before the king. 00:22:31.519 --> 00:22:35.359 When the king heard the words of the book of the law, he tore his clothes. 00:22:36.799 --> 00:22:41.440 This is a huge, huge event in the history of the Bible. 00:22:41.839 --> 00:22:55.200 Apparently, the workmen, as they're going through cleaning up the temple, knocking down false walls, building up, putting up more framing, and all the rest, they discover in the midst of a secret room or some rubble a book. 00:22:56.319 --> 00:22:58.799 It's referred to as the book of the law. 00:22:59.119 --> 00:23:03.680 Historians believe what they discovered was the book of Deuteronomy. 00:23:05.759 --> 00:23:09.359 And they take it to the high priest. 00:23:09.599 --> 00:23:13.680 The high priest takes it to the secretary, takes it to the team. 00:23:13.920 --> 00:23:15.519 The secretary takes it before the king. 00:23:15.599 --> 00:23:18.720 And the first thing he says to the king is, hey, the carpenters are doing their work. 00:23:18.799 --> 00:23:19.440 They're doing the building. 00:23:19.519 --> 00:23:20.240 It's really going well. 00:23:20.319 --> 00:23:22.079 They're caring for the funds and doing everything. 00:23:22.480 --> 00:23:23.599 And the king says, okay, good. 00:23:24.000 --> 00:23:28.400 He says, but they found this book. 00:23:29.759 --> 00:23:31.359 And he read it to the king. 00:23:32.880 --> 00:23:43.279 And the king tore his clothes in an act of horror and repentance that they have not been living as a nation the way they need to be living. 00:23:43.440 --> 00:23:46.160 We don't know how the book got lost in the temple. 00:23:46.319 --> 00:23:50.880 Maybe in the time following Hezekiah, one of the priests just boarded it up. 00:23:50.960 --> 00:23:51.680 We don't know. 00:23:51.920 --> 00:23:58.559 Maybe they just, in neglect and their desire to worship everything else on the planet, it just got pushed aside and ignored. 00:23:59.039 --> 00:24:00.640 But it discovered. 00:24:01.920 --> 00:24:04.480 And now the king has to do something about it. 00:24:05.519 --> 00:24:14.880 Mark Batterson, in his wonderful book, he's got a couple of them, but Chase the Lion, he uses a term that I think is applicable here. 00:24:15.119 --> 00:24:17.839 He refers to it as the Genesis moment. 00:24:20.000 --> 00:24:25.200 The Genesis moment when all of a sudden everything is new. 00:24:26.160 --> 00:24:29.440 This is Josiah's Genesis moment. 00:24:30.720 --> 00:24:33.440 It finally becomes perfectly clear. 00:24:33.680 --> 00:24:37.359 There's no doubt anymore about what he's doing or what his priorities are. 00:24:44.160 --> 00:24:46.480 And no one could ever take it away from him. 00:24:47.359 --> 00:24:49.119 It's worth living for. 00:24:51.920 --> 00:24:53.359 You know the truth. 00:24:55.519 --> 00:24:59.680 Most everyone in this room probably has had a Genesis moment. 00:25:00.079 --> 00:25:01.359 It may have been as a kid. 00:25:01.599 --> 00:25:02.960 It may have been studying the word. 00:25:04.799 --> 00:25:06.799 It may be here on a Sunday. 00:25:07.039 --> 00:25:09.200 It may have been many decades ago. 00:25:09.359 --> 00:25:12.400 It may have been this past week, or it may be tomorrow. 00:25:12.720 --> 00:25:16.160 When you have a moment and you go, I believe this. 00:25:16.400 --> 00:25:17.759 I know this is true. 00:25:17.920 --> 00:25:21.519 We have a heavenly Father who loves us and a plan and purpose for our lives. 00:25:21.680 --> 00:25:25.759 He sent his son Jesus from heaven to come to earth to teach us a new way to live. 00:25:25.920 --> 00:25:33.039 And he died so we could be forgiven and set free from all of our shame and all of our burdens, and we could live a life for him in the resurrection power of Jesus. 00:25:33.119 --> 00:25:35.759 And yes, in the power and anointing of the Holy Spirit. 00:25:35.920 --> 00:25:38.880 And we are all brothers and sisters in this journey together. 00:25:39.200 --> 00:25:41.359 That is your Genesis moment. 00:25:41.680 --> 00:25:43.279 I believe that. 00:25:43.920 --> 00:25:45.200 And that's the game changer. 00:25:45.279 --> 00:25:46.880 Who was that had a Genesis moment? 00:25:47.519 --> 00:25:49.440 Okay, folks, keep your hands up for a while. 00:25:49.519 --> 00:25:50.400 Keep your hands up for a while. 00:25:50.480 --> 00:25:52.559 Folks, if you haven't had that moment, look around. 00:25:52.640 --> 00:25:55.920 You are surrounded by people who know this is true. 00:25:56.640 --> 00:25:58.880 And that's what happened to Josiah. 00:25:59.119 --> 00:26:04.160 He reads his book, he tears his clothes, he goes, this is real. 00:26:04.480 --> 00:26:06.720 I am not playing games anymore. 00:26:07.119 --> 00:26:11.039 I may be young, but I'm not going to play the game anymore. 00:26:11.839 --> 00:26:13.279 Second Kings chapter 14. 00:26:13.440 --> 00:26:25.119 So Hilkiah the priest in Akiham and Akbor, and there's Often again in Isaiah, went to Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shalom, son of Tikvah, son of Haras, keeper of the wardrobe. 00:26:25.359 --> 00:26:28.160 She lived in Jerusalem in the second quarter, and talk with her. 00:26:28.400 --> 00:26:29.759 What's going on? 00:26:31.279 --> 00:26:33.920 They said, We've got to put this to the test. 00:26:34.400 --> 00:26:38.720 We need a prophetess to tell us that this is really the word of God. 00:26:39.119 --> 00:26:41.039 Not just another book. 00:26:41.920 --> 00:26:45.519 And what's interesting is they don't go to Jeremiah. 00:26:46.799 --> 00:26:48.079 Why don't they go to Jeremiah? 00:26:48.160 --> 00:26:48.799 He was living then. 00:26:48.880 --> 00:26:49.920 Why go to Jeremiah? 00:26:50.480 --> 00:26:52.720 He's the one who is talking all the time. 00:26:52.960 --> 00:26:57.759 No, they go to the keeper of the closet. 00:26:59.039 --> 00:27:01.440 Apparently, she had a godly reputation. 00:27:02.559 --> 00:27:06.319 You know, if you discover something, you don't necessarily have to run to Justin. 00:27:07.119 --> 00:27:11.680 There may be someone in the pew sitting right next to you who will have a word of God for you. 00:27:12.960 --> 00:27:14.640 And they knew enough to go. 00:27:14.960 --> 00:27:16.960 This is another cool story in scripture. 00:27:17.039 --> 00:27:19.519 It's right here with the life of Josiah. 00:27:19.839 --> 00:27:27.119 They go to the women, with the woman who, I guess, keeps the closet, and says, Tell us, is this really the word of God? 00:27:27.759 --> 00:27:31.279 She reads it and says, Absolutely right. 00:27:32.480 --> 00:27:35.039 And our future as a nation is not good. 00:27:37.200 --> 00:27:41.279 And the king says, We're going to keep going. 00:27:41.680 --> 00:27:46.000 We're going to keep working at it, and we're going to leave the results to God. 00:27:46.720 --> 00:27:47.759 What does he do? 00:27:48.000 --> 00:27:54.400 He keeps cleansing the temple and ensuring that everything is removed that isn't of God. 00:27:55.599 --> 00:28:00.319 He calls all the people in the whole nation and all their leaders to come to Jerusalem. 00:28:00.559 --> 00:28:03.119 And he renews the covenant with God. 00:28:03.599 --> 00:28:05.119 Covenant's a powerful word. 00:28:05.279 --> 00:28:16.559 It says it's a binding contract, often used in scripture to refer to a lesser party, making a contract with a greater party saying, I will be faithful no matter what. 00:28:17.359 --> 00:28:21.200 He establishes a binding covenant after he cleanses the temple. 00:28:21.519 --> 00:28:26.559 Binding contract, he says, We are going to live according to the word of God. 00:28:26.720 --> 00:28:28.400 That's what we're going to do. 00:28:28.720 --> 00:28:33.920 He goes on in a remarkable way and celebrates the Passover. 00:28:34.960 --> 00:28:37.440 Now we may have been comfortable with that word. 00:28:37.599 --> 00:28:42.880 It was first celebrated with Moses way back 600 years before Josiah. 00:28:43.440 --> 00:28:53.920 But even the writer of Kings and Chronicles says, never in all of the history of all the kings had Passover been celebrated like Josiah did. 00:28:54.720 --> 00:29:08.720 He recognized Passover is the celebration that God delivers us, that God makes all things new, that he redeems our lives, and he had a huge, huge mega celebration of the Passover. 00:29:10.720 --> 00:29:18.960 Let me just remind you, that's what Jesus was doing with the apostles on the Last Supper, celebrating the Passover. 00:29:19.200 --> 00:29:23.759 That's what we do every Sunday when we take the bread and the cup. 00:29:24.319 --> 00:29:32.880 The roots of the Lord's Supper are all the way back to what Josiah did and all the way back to what Moses was commanded to do with the people. 00:29:33.200 --> 00:29:35.759 God really does redeem our lives. 00:29:36.079 --> 00:29:37.359 He really does. 00:30:01.680 --> 00:30:06.079 He took on those who were worshiping the sun and the moon and said, No, we're not going to play that game. 00:30:06.400 --> 00:30:09.519 We belong to God and we are people of the book. 00:30:11.279 --> 00:30:14.000 He took on fortune tellers and removed them. 00:30:14.160 --> 00:30:18.000 He took on the necromancers, those are people who try to contact the dead. 00:30:27.839 --> 00:30:38.480 And the one that I saved till last, he took on the worship of Moloch, which required you to kill your own children. 00:30:39.279 --> 00:30:41.440 He said, We will not do that again. 00:30:41.680 --> 00:30:43.279 We are the people of God. 00:30:43.519 --> 00:30:46.640 We worship the God of life, not death. 00:30:47.759 --> 00:30:58.559 This is one kid who is still in his 20s, and he says, We are going to live for God because we are people of the book. 00:31:00.319 --> 00:31:05.680 Now we could celebrate, and I'd like to be able to say, you know, he lived well into his 80s and he had a wonderful life. 00:31:06.079 --> 00:31:08.880 No, this is Messi Majesty. 00:31:09.519 --> 00:31:23.519 He was 39 years old when Pharaoh Neko of Egypt started moving his entire army through what we call the Holy Land to have a big battle with the Assyrians up to the northeast. 00:31:25.839 --> 00:31:28.960 For some reason, Josiah felt he ought to stop that. 00:31:30.400 --> 00:31:37.200 Maybe it was hubris, just that, you know, he's done so well, and everything else might as well take on the Pharaoh and the army of Egypt. 00:31:37.759 --> 00:31:38.640