Welcome to Monday Morning With Pastor Vic! I hope all is well with you and that this past week saw many blessings come your way. Yesterday was my wife, Miss Bessie’s, birthday. Last Thursday, the ladies of the church had their monthly luncheon. They had a surprise party for Bess. She really enjoyed it and it made her feel so special. To all you who made it so exceptional for her, Pastor Vic sends his “Thanks!” your way. After church yesterday, Brenda Conley took both of us out for Miss Bessie’s birthday dinner. We wanted to go to Outback, but they were closed. Instead we went to Olive Garden. My favorite ethnic food is Italian, so it was fine with me. After that, Bess, Brenda, and I went to the home of Bill and Patty Wolfe for a Red’s game, and later a hot dog supper --- perfect baseball food. There was only one thing that kept the Reds from winning; the Florida Marlins. Now don’t get me wrong, I’m a Floridian who supports my Florida teams, but never at the expense of the Cincinnati Reds. I am a born and raised Cincinnati boy, and hometown loyalties will never change. I scratched my arm the other night and I noticed, I even bleed Cincinnati Red!
Yesterday was an awesome day at Friendship Harmony. The attendance was good and the service was tremendous! The congregational singing was incredible, absolutely anointed. You could tell that everyone was singing to the glory of God. This month I am preaching a series of messages called, The Heroes of Israel. In selecting people to talk about, I decided not to talk about obvious choices; people like Abraham, Moses, or David. After all, how do you boil down the lives of people like them into a twenty minute message? This week I chose, under the leadership of the Holy Spirit, to look at King Hezekiah. Did you realize that the Bible says that of all the kings after him or before, there was no other like him? That includes David and Solomon. That Scripture reference is in the sermon notes listed below. The reason for this particular series at this time is that on Sunday May 15, Friendship Harmony will join with hundreds of other churches in a special service called Stand With Israel Day. I will be bringing a message that day called, Long Live Jerusalem. You will receive those notes with the 5/16/11 Monday Morning Edition. Here is the Hezekiah notes. The main points of the notes explain why he was a hero.
The Hero: Hezekiah
2 Chronicles: Selected
Sermon Series: Heroes of Israel 4/30/11
By Victor Cooper
I. He had a Godly reputation. 2 Chronicles 31:20 And thus did Hezekiah throughout all Judah, and wrought that which was good and right and truth before the LORD his God.
2 Kings 18:5 He trusted in the LORD God of Israel; so that after him was none like him among all the kings of Judah, nor any that were before him.
A. Finest words spoken of a man: Hezekiah’s best quality was that he trusted in the Lord. He was the greatest of all the kings of the Southern Kingdom in this respect. Unlike some of the other kings he did not apostasize later in life but kept the Mosaic Covenant faithfully. As a result the Lord was with him and blessed him with success in all he undertook.
The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures by Dallas Seminary Faculty.
II. He was dedicated to the service of the LORD.
2 Chronicles 29:10-14 Now it is in mine heart to make a covenant with the LORD God of Israel, that his fierce wrath may turn away from us. 11 My sons, be not now negligent: for the LORD hath chosen you to stand before him, to serve him, and that ye should minister unto him, and burn incense.
12 Then the Levites arose…
III. Hezekiah led by example. 2 Chronicles 29:20 Then Hezekiah the king rose early, and gathered the rulers of the city, and went up to the house of the LORD.
A. He sent no one; he led. He personally went!
B. The message was clear. “The house of the LORD is important enough that even the King goes.
IV. Hezekiah prayed intercessory prayers.
2 Chronicles 30:18-19 For a multitude of the people, even many of Ephraim, and Manasseh, Issachar, and Zebulun, had not cleansed themselves, yet did they eat the passover otherwise than it was written. But Hezekiah prayed for them, saying, The good LORD pardon every one 19 That prepareth his heart to seek God, the LORD God of his fathers, though he be not cleansed according to the purification of the sanctuary.
A. It was not a “me” prayer. It was on behalf of his subjects as well as those from the Northern Kingdom.
V. God listened to Hezekiah. 2 Chronicles 30:20 And the LORD hearkened to Hezekiah, and healed the people.
A. hearkened> sha-maw’> paid attention to
May 1, 2011, delivered to the Friendship Harmony Baptist Church.
Have a good upcoming week! I hope you want to model your life after that of Hezekiah. Look over the five main sermon points again, then conduct yourself accordingly. Pastor Vic certainly intends to. I’ll see you again next Monday Morning With Pastor Vic.
ps. Congratulations to President Obama, the United States Military, the counter terrorism people, and all the American people on the killing of Osama Bin Laden. Now he must stand before Almighty God and explain himself. He must stand there without Jesus Christ as his advocate. How sad.
No comments:
Post a Comment