1. "These showdowns are exhilarating when we watch them from a screen, at a distance. But truth be told, most of us, we like one from a distance, but we don't want to be in one ourselves. We don't want our lives on the line, the lives of our loved ones."

2. "If you're part of the people of God, you're always a people in a showdown."

3. "In the face of the great threats of the evil one, we cannot leave a generic faith and think that that is going to sustain us in the face of adversity. No, we need a dug down deep faith. We need a faith that's built on Christ, the solid rock, a foundation that will not be shaken."

4. "Power can be even more addictive and intoxicating than any drug. It can make you think that you have some sense of permanence, some modicum of security. But if there's anything that the COVID-19 pandemic taught me was that you can trust all you want in things to go the way you expected and things can happen that you would have never foreseen."

5. "Do not be surprised that when you are doing something for God's sake that your good will be evil spoken of sometimes, even when you're doing exactly what God told you to do. Some people will slander that and defame that. Don't be surprised, brothers and sisters. That doesn't mean you're in the wrong way. Sometimes it actually can be confirmation that you're in the right way."

6. "Be suspicious of anything promising you what only God can provide, and yet it's promising it to you without a cross to bear."

7. "Our God does not compromise. He punishes the guilty or he punishes Christ Jesus, who bears the blame in the place of all those who would trust in Him. This God, the God of the Bible, is like no other."

8. "Who do you know that would give so much so extensively for his enemies so that they would become his family? That's what God has done in Christ Jesus. And if you're here today and you don't have a relationship with Jesus, you have not repented of your sins and trusted in Christ Jesus, why would you slap away the hand with nails in them that is reaching out to you and calling you to come to him and be forgiven?"

9. "Even though the evil one may be using voices on the outside, or he might be using voices on the inside, so to speak, voices of condemnation, telling you you're not going to finish this race... Friend, if you have trusted in Christ Jesus and his finished work, it is finished. He guarantees you will make it to the finish line no matter what the evil one says."

10. "Brothers and sisters, we really have a real king who reigns at the right hand of the Father and who is coming back to judge the living and the dead."

Observation Questions

1. In Isaiah 36:1-3, what specific details are given about the Assyrian invasion and where did the confrontation take place?

2. Looking at Isaiah 36:4-7, what different aspects of trust does the Rabshakeh question in his speech?

3. In Isaiah 36:8-9, how does the Rabshakeh mock Judah's military capabilities?

4. From Isaiah 36:13-17, what specific promises does the Rabshakeh make to the people of Jerusalem?

5. In Isaiah 36:18-20, how does the Rabshakeh attempt to undermine the people's faith in God?

6. According to Isaiah 36:21-22, how did the people respond to the Rabshakeh's words, and why?

Interpretation Questions

1. Why is the location of the confrontation (the conduit of the upper pool on the highway to the washer's field) significant in light of Isaiah 7:1-5?

2. What does the Rabshakeh's argument about the torn-down high places (Isaiah 36:7) reveal about his understanding of true worship?

3. How does the Rabshakeh's offer of peace and prosperity (Isaiah 36:16-17) parallel Satan's tactics in other biblical narratives?

4. What is the significance of the people's silence in response to the Rabshakeh's taunts?

5. How does Hezekiah's leadership in this crisis point forward to Christ's greater kingship?

Application Questions

1. When was the last time you felt pressured to trust in "Egypt" (worldly resources) rather than in God? How did you respond?

2. Think about a time when someone mocked your faith. How did you handle it, and what would you do differently in light of this passage?

3. The Rabshakeh offered peace and prosperity in exchange for surrender. What similar "deals" does our culture offer Christians today, and how have you faced these temptations?

4. When have you experienced the internal "voice of the enemy" telling you that you won't finish the race of faith? What truths from this passage help combat those accusations?

5. In what specific area of your life do you need to more fully trust "the word of the king" rather than "the word of the enemy" right now?

Additional Bible Reading

1. Genesis 3:1-7 - Demonstrates Satan's ancient tactic of questioning God's word and offering counterfeit promises, just as the Rabshakeh did.

2. 2 Chronicles 32:1-8 - Provides additional context for Hezekiah's leadership during the crisis and his encouragement to trust in God's power.

3. Ephesians 6:10-20 - Explains the spiritual armor Christians need to stand firm against the enemy's attacks in our own day.

4. Matthew 16:13-19 - Shows Christ's promise to build His church on an unshakeable foundation, offering hope in the face of opposition.

Sermon Main Topics

I. The Spiritual Showdown Between Good and Evil

II. The Word of the Enemy (Isaiah 36:1-20)

III. The Word of the King (Isaiah 36:21-22)

IV. Clinging to the Commands of Christ in Battle

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Detailed Sermon Outline

I love, I'm talking about love, a great showdown. You know, like a standoff. Rocky Balboa versus Apollo Creed.

The lions of Pride Rock. Versus Scar and his hyenas.

The armies of Middle Earth versus the Orcs of Sauron. If you don't know what that is, ask somebody. It'll help you.

The Allied Forces storming the beaches of Normandy under the fire of Nazis.

In the Bible we have several standoffs. In Genesis 3 our greatest grandparents, our first fathers, they fail to stay faithful because they believe the word of the tempter, the evil one. They failed miserably. In Exodus we see Pharaoh verses Moses, his gods versus the God of the real universe, Yahweh.

Later on, we see David versus Goliath. And a little bit later on, we see the prophet Elijah in this epic showdown between the gods or the prophets of Baal, Baal. There's something powerful, right? Something clear about a standoff, especially between good and evil. And these showdowns are exhilarating when we watch them from a screen at a distance.

But truth be told, most of us, we like one from a distance, but we don't want to be in one ourselves.

We don't want our lives on the line, the lives of our loved ones. But this morning, as we'll see, if you're part of the people of God, you're always a people in a showdown.

But what do you do when your life is on the line, when the life of the people you love dearest are on the line. Who do you turn to when your back is up against the wall and all hope seems lost? This morning, I hope that you'll see that we are to trust the word of the king and not the word of the enemy. That's the main idea. Trust the word of the king and not the word of the enemy.

And that's really our two points. The word of the enemy, that's verses 1 through 20 of Isaiah chapter 36. And I actually forgot to look at what page number it is. Somebody shout it out. Which page number is Isaiah 36?

1. So if you're a guest here in your red Bible, you can turn to page 596. And in that text you will see that we find ourselves in the middle of a showdown, and the stakes are higher than ever before. And this is not historical fiction. This is a real historical account of a real people with their real lives on the line.

We have four historical records, four.

That account to this very event. We have our text here in Isaiah 36. We have 2 Kings 18. We have 2 Chronicles 32. And we also have the annals of Assyria in Sennacherib's prison, that prism that attests to this very event.

So like I said, our two points are the word of the enemy, and the word of our king. The word of the enemy, that's verses 1 through 20. And the word of our king is verses 21 through 22. And as you'll notice, most of our time will be in point one. So I have some sub points to us.

But let's first look at the word of the enemy. The word of the enemy. And I'll read it to you. Comes from Isaiah 36, verses 1 through 3.

In the 14th year of King Hezekiah, Sennacherib, king of Assyria, came up against all the fortified cities of Judah and took them.

And the king of Assyria sent the Rabshakeh, from Lakish to King Hezekiah at Jerusalem with a great army. And he stood by the conduit of the upper pool on the highway to the washer's field. And there came out to him Eliakim, the son of Hilkiah, who was over the household, and Shebna the secretary, and Joaiah the son of Asaph the recorder.

Let me give you, if you're new to the Bible here, let me give you a crash course on some biblical stories so we can get caught up. God, the creator of the universe, created the world in six days. On the seventh, he rested. This God created mankind in his image. But our first parents rebelled against this holy God.

And in them we all became under the curse of sin and death. But God promised that there would be a savior who would come, who would rescue humanity from the grip and venom of the serpent. And as the story unfolds, we find out that that king would come through a man named Abraham who had many sons.

Eventually, he had a son who had a son who had 12 sons. And those 12 became a whole nation in captivity. And God set them free through mighty deeds, miracles, wonders, signs, and rescued them, delivered them out of captivity and brought them to the promised land through many dangerous toils and snares. And in that promised land, they eventually rose up kings. And the first king, he was a pretty bad king.

He was pretty terrible. He didn't even like God that much. He wanted things for himself. And so God eventually replaced him with a better king named David. And David was a man after God's own heart, a very faithful man who loved the Lord vigorously, but yet imperfectly.

And yet through David, God made a promise that through David's line, a seed would come that would rescue humanity. So we see that promise in Genesis 3:15 being continued through David's covenant with God, God's covenant with David. And yet that child that David had that would eventually take his place turned out not to be so good himself. He was greatly wise, he was very, very learned, but he had a divided heart. He loved the things of this world, and yet he also loved the wisdom of God.

And so like his divided heart, eventually the nation became divided.

A civil war of sorts. And the northern kingdom called the Kingdom of Israel, that begins to be its own kingdom. And they're just rife with idolatry and rebellion against God. But then the southern kingdom, the Kingdom of Judah, they turn out to be not that different. Yet they do have some faithful kings that arise.

And in our text we have mentioned here in verse one, one of the faithful kings who came after his father, Ahaz, who himself was an unfaithful king. And so that's why we see here in verse one, in the 14th year of King Hezekiah, Sennacherib king of Assyria came up against all the fortified cities of Judah and took them. Hezekiah had led such a religious reform, such a revival of sorts in Judah that it was one and there was not only spiritual revival, but it gave them enough courage to resist the Assyrian oppressors. And it was a bold move, because Assyria was the world power at that time, and this backwoods countryman has the audacity to rebel against them. So not long after, King Sennacherib comes knocking on the door.

The big bad wolf comes to huff and puff and blow. The house down.

And so we see in verse 1, notice that he takes all of the fortified cities of Judah except for Jerusalem. Do you understand that that would be the equivalent of all the other states and their capitals getting toppled over by some invading oppressor to the American soil? To put it in our vernacular here in the states.

You know, Los Angeles falls, New York falls, Boston falls, and all that remains is the capital city, DC. People from all over are flooding here for refuge. This is a very scary time among the people of God. And so in verse 2, King Sennacherib sends the Rabshakeh from Lachish, which was one of the cities that they had captured, probably the second strongest city next to Jerusalem. He sends him to Hezekiah, to King Hezekiah at Jerusalem with a great army.

And he stood by the conduit of the upper pool on the highway to the washer's field. Now that's kind of detail, right? Why the exact location mentioned here? Why does the press secretary choose this location to make his attack on Israel, on Judah? Well, if you look at Isaiah chapter seven, you can turn there, Isaiah chapter seven, you'll find out that this very location was the place where Hezekiah's dad failed the same test.

Isaiah chapter seven, I'll just read verses 1 through 5. Isaiah chapter 7. In the days of Ahaz, the son of Jotham, son of Uzziah, king of Judah, Rezin, the king of Syria, and Pekah, the son of Remaliah, the king of Israel, came up to Jerusalem to wage war against it, but could not yet mount an attack against it. When the house of David was told, Syria is in league with Ephraim, the heart of Ahaz, and the heart of his people shook as the trees of the forest shake before the wind. And the Lord said to Isaiah, Go out to meet Ahaz, you and Shear-Jashub, your son, at the end of the conduit of the upper pool on the highway to the washer's field, and say to him, Be careful, be quiet, do not fear, and do not let your heart be faint, Because of those, these two smoldering stumps of fire brands at the fierce anger of reason and Syria and the son of Remaliah, Hezekiah is faced with a similar test that his father failed.

His father was faced with the threat of neighbors that were invading, neighbors that were threatening to take over the kingdom. And Isaiah goes to him and he says, you don't have to be afraid. Ask God any sign. And Ahaz is so faithless, he refuses to ask God anything. And he chooses to make an ally with Assyria to rescue him.

The sins of the father ends up coming back to show down on the son. But then in verse 3 we see Hezekiah's representatives go out. We see Eliakim, we see Shebna, and we see Joab. These are men who are kind of like the cabinet of the president today. This is the king's court.

These are the guys that represent the king. And they go out there for diplomacy. And they're going out to maybe try to set up some negotiations. But there's something interesting about Eliakim. He himself once was a lower ranking official, and God had prophesied through Isaiah that he himself would one day become the head of the whole household.

And God kept his promise. So this man who is now in office to go out and represent Hezekiah, he is a man who has seen God's faithfulness at work. And so the first sub point I want you to recognize is that the enemy attacks the nation. The enemy attacks the nation. But then second, I want you to see that the enemy attacks Hezekiah's faith.

The enemy attacks Hezekiah's faith. Let's read verses 4 through 10. Isaiah 36, verse 4 through 10.

And the Rabshakeh said to them, say to Hezekiah, Thus says the great king, the king of Assyria, on what do you rest this trust of yours? Do you think that mere words are strategy and power for war? In whom do you now trust that you have rebelled against me? Behold, you are trusting in Egypt. That broken reed of a staff which will pierce the hand of any man who leans on it.

Such is Pharaoh, king of Egypt, to all who trust in him. But if you say to me, we trust in the Lord our God, is it not he whose high places and altars Hezekiah has removed, saying to Judah and to Jerusalem, you shall worship before this altar.

Come now, make a wager with my master, the king of Assyria. I will give you 2,000 horses if you are able on your part to set riders on them. How then can you repulse a single captain among the least of my master's servants? When you trust in Egypt for chariots and for horsemen.

Moreover, is it without the Lord that I have come up against this land to destroy it? The Lord said to me, 'Go up against this land and destroy it.' We see the taunting begin with this Rabshakeh who is like a prophet for King Sennacherib.

Who he exalts. And he says, the great king, this great king that I am speaking for in verse four. We see this great disrespect that he gives King Hezekiah. Did you notice it? He says, say to Hezekiah, he doesn't even use his title, king.

And then he says, thus says the great king, the king of Assyria, on what do you rest this trust of yours? So we see the disrespect and then we see the question. What is the basis of Hezekiah's faith and confidence? What would give him the audacity to dare resist such a great king? How dare he?

He must have something that is giving him that confidence.

And that word trust, we can define it as dependence upon or confidence in relying on. Someone or something for security or deliverance.

Depending upon, putting confidence in, and relying on someone or something for security or deliverance. So what was the basis of Hezekiah's trust? But let me put that same question to you. If you are a Christian here today, what is the basis of your faith? Is it vague and fuzzy or do you have a substantive view of God that you are banking your whole life upon?

Friends, in the face of the great threats of the evil one, we cannot leave a generic faith and think that that is going to sustain us in the face of adversity. No, we need a dug down deep faith. We need a faith that's built on Christ the solid rock, a foundation that will not be shaken. And let me say this, if you have not trusted in Christ Jesus, what is the basis of your confidence that he is not reliable?

Do you have certainty that Jesus is not the right savior? And what is the basis of that? I often find that in conversations, people's disbelief has a lot less reasoning than they pretend it does.

But notice in verse 5, you hear this inconceivability that Hezekiah would have the audacity. He says, Are mere words, right? Strategy and powerful war. In whom do you now trust that you have rebelled against me? It is inconceivable to this man that this little town would rebel against, this little nation would rebel against such a great nation.

This arrogance that we see, right, that Hezekiah is so foolish and yet King Sennacherib is so great. It's interesting how power can be even more addictive and intoxicating than any drug. It can make you think that you have some sense of permanence, some modicum of security, but if there's anything that the COVID-19 pandemic taught me was that you can trust all you want and that things will go the way you expect it and things can happen that you would have never foreseen. So all of that trust in your riches or in your self sustenance is not enough. That's what we see with his folly.

But then we also see in verses six, eight through nine, six and verses eight through nine, this mocking of human resources. Did you see that in verse six? He says, behold, you are trusting in Egypt, that broken reed of a staff which will pierce the hand of any man who leans on it. Such is Pharaoh, king of Egypt, to all who trust in him. The imagery is that of like a staff made out of reeds, right?

Kind of a flimsy staff that you're relying on, kind of like a cane, and yet it has a crack in it. And the moment you go to lean to put your pressure on it, it snaps. And yet that sharp piece that broke off, it ends up impaling your hand. He says that's what it's like to trust in Egypt for security. That's what your human resources will get you.

You'll think that Pharaoh will have your back, but he'll turn out to betray you because he doesn't have enough resources to sustain a fight against Assyria.

But then in verses 8 through 9 we see that human confidence attacked some more and he says, Come now, make a wager with my master, the king of Assyria. I will give you 2,000 horses. If you are able on your part to set riders on them, how then can you repulse a single captain among the least of my master's servants? When you trust in Egypt for chariots and horsemen.

He's saying, y'all are so poor, so weak, that I could give you 2,000 horses, you won't have enough men to put on those horses. Y'all resources are so depleted that you couldn't even do it. That's why you're relying on Egypt to come and give you some horses and riders. And we not only see him attacking human resources, but he also attacks divine resources. Look at verse 7.

He says, but if you say to me, 'We trust in the Lord our God,' is not he whose high places and altars Hezekiah has removed saying to Judah and to Jerusalem, 'You shall worship before this altar.' He's saying, 'Why would you trust in Hezekiah When he's out here destroying all those high places, all those places of worship dedicated to Yahweh, Yahweh is actually against him. That's what that word all capital L-O-R-D means. It means the divine name. He's saying, Hezekiah has actually been angering God by tearing down the high places. This man, he does not have a good theology of God.

He thinks that God is just like the God of the nations that need multiple places of worship in order to satisfy sustain his power and for the sake of his blessing. So it's inconceivable in Sennacherib and the Rapture case, mind, that they would dare, that Hezekiah would tear down less places. But it turns out that Hezekiah was doing a righteous thing, right? He was tearing down those man-made altars, those false forms of worship that man had erected in disobedience to God.

Do not be surprised that when you are doing something for God's sake, that your good will be evil spoken of sometimes. Even when you're doing what is straight up in Scripture, when you're doing exactly what God told you to do, some people will slander that and defame that. Don't be surprised, brothers and sisters, that doesn't mean you're in the wrong way. Sometimes it actually can be confirmation that you're in the right way. But not only do we see that in verse 7, we also see in verse 10, he says, Moreover, is it without the Lord that I have come up against this land to destroy it?

The Lord said to me, 'Go up against this land and destroy it.' so now he's even increased his claim. Not only is God mad at Hezekiah for tearing down the high places, no, no, no. God has sent me to judge y'all for that. God has sent me to come and destroy it. This is a blasphemous claim.

This is an audacious claim, and yet he dares do it. And my question is, how does knowing who God is help distinguish and protect and guard us from the lies of the evil one telling us he's something different. Let me put it this way. How do you know you are worshiping God correctly in the face of people saying you're doing it incorrectly? The number way you can do that saints is by learning theology.

Learning sound doctrine, giving yourself to the word of God, not just in a shallow way, but in a way that is profound. So that when the lies of the evil one come, you're already covered in the armor of God's word, and you're able to see through the assault of the evil one. Because Satan is deceptive. He loves to twist and corrupt God's word. That's what false teachers love to do.

They love to make you doubt sound doctrine. So that's why you have to gird your loins in truth. You have to study dug down deep in God's word so that when the lies of the evil one come flying over your head, you can stand firm in the word of God. But also, if you're here and you do not consider yourself a Christian, How do you know that your accusations of God are accurate?

On what basis can you judge the justice of God? And how can you know that that is actually true?

See, we can make a standard and say God has to do this, but here's the thing, He created you, you did not create Him.

He is the authority you are not. And his word reveals to us his law. And that's the thing. That is why his word is so solid and so profound, because it is revelation from above, not revelation from below. What I mean is that we get our understanding from God given to us through his word.

We do not rely on mere human constructs.

Because human constructs are other human resources. They cannot hold the weight that we need, the security that we need to find that the revelation of God can. But thirdly, under this sub point, the third sub point, is that the enemy attacks the people's faith. Not only does the enemy attack the country, the nation, not only does the enemy attack the faith of Hezekiah the king, but he begins to attack the people's faith. You see it in verse 11 and 12.

Then Eliakim, Shebna, and Joah said to the Rabshakeh, 'Please speak to your servants in Aramaic, for we understand it. Do not speak to us in the language of Judah within the hearing of the people who are on the wall.' But the Rabshakeh said, 'Has my master sent me? To speak these words to your master and to you, and not to the men sitting on the wall who are doomed with you to eat their own dung and drink their own urine.

Now, middle school young men, I know these are unusual words you hear from the pulpit. It's kind of funny. In some ways, you don't hear those words often coming from a preacher's mouth.

But here's the thing. It would not be funny to be under this besiegement, to be surrounded by all of your enemies to the point where they cut off your water supply, they cut off your food supply, and they just wait.

And they wait some more till you use up all the supplies that you've stored up and then all of a sudden you're so thirsty, so hungry, so desperate that human excrement can look like a meal.

That human urine can look like hydration. That's how ugly the threat of Assyria is. And notice though, Eliakim, they try, they try to kind of get him to keep the question diplomatic, keep this conversation between us, keep it in the Oval Office, so to speak. But the Rapture Kay is having none of it. He just starts screaming louder.

Look at verse 13. First he tells them, Don't listen to Hezekiah and his deceptive declaration of faith. Then the rapture case stood and called out in a loud voice in the language of Judah, hear the words of the great king, the king of Assyria. Thus says the king, do not let Hezekiah deceive you, for he will not be able to deliver you. Do not let Hezekiah make you trust in the Lord.

By saying, the Lord will surely deliver us. This city will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria. Do not listen to Hezekiah. See, he's saying, Hezekiah is a deluded imbecile who is feeding you false promises of some fantasy God that would be able to come in and provide divine intervention.

Sound familiar? Sounds a lot like the institutions of this day age. Why would you believe in some fantasy about some God who created the world? Don't you know evolution disproved that? Doesn't it sound familiar?

Oh, stop taking the Bible so seriously. Stop counting on God's Word. It's not meant to be taken literally. It's not meant to be obeyed like that. You're too serious.

Sounds very familiar. He's saying, don't you listen to that babbling fool, Hezekiah, who is deceived. But isn't it interesting that he claims Hezekiah is deceived? He claims that Hezekiah is the fooled one, but who's the one drunk off of their own power? Who's the one drunk off of their own certainty of the future, though they have no control over it?

See, it's easy to make big claims, but it's a lot harder to back them up.

And that's why I say again, the word of God backs up the claims.

But then in verse 16 and 7, not only does he attack their trust in Hezekiah, don't listen to him, But then he says King Sennacherib has even better promises. He offers these better promises. Look at verse 16 and 17.

Do not listen to Hezekiah. For thus says the king of Assyria, Make your peace with me and come out to me. Then each one of you will eat of his own vine and each one of his own fig tree. And each one of you will drink the water of his own cistern. Until I come and take you away to a land like your own land, a land of grain and wine, a land of bread and vineyards.

Beware lest Hezekiah mislead you by saying, the Lord will deliver us. See, he wants the people To overthrow Sennacherib. I mean to overthrow Hezekiah. To say Hezekiah, he's untrustworthy. Let's get rid of him and let's go out and make a peace treaty, a type of covenant with the king of Assyria.

He's saying, come on, do that because I have better promises. I'll give you a fig tree. I'll give you a cistern. These were kind of like the versions of, these were like the Judean versions of the American dream, right? The American dream, spouse, house, kids, dog.

Picket fence. The Judean dream, fig under your own fig tree, own cistern, eat some good grapes and dates and all that good stuff. That was their vision. And so King Sennacherib is saying, you can find that in me, so come on. Lay aside this, I'm a good king.

But it's interesting that in this false dream, he claims he is claiming to be able to provide what Hezekiah failed to do.

Don't y'all see you're living in fear? I can bring you peace. I can bring you blessing. And then yet he still is somewhat forthright by telling them, I'll do this until until I come to take you away. It's interesting because he is still telling them that he is going to exile them.

He is still saying that he will deport them, but he's just making it seem like a dream vacation.

But isn't that like the evil one? To make the schemes and the false promises that he offers sound as if they are luxury, as if they're what you're missing out on, as if he will deliver. Well, I'm here to tell you, Satan is a liar. He is a deceiver. He has been deceiving from the beginning.

And here's the thing, there are lies today, the rap shakers of today, the rapture K's of today, are claiming to you right now, sexual freedom. If you only throw off that Christian morality, let it go, it's so outdated. Come, be free. Don't let them hold you back. You can date whoever you want to date.

Whether they are a person of the opposite sex or of the same sex. Just come and be free. Do whatever your body tells you and be free. But how many of you have ever found out that that's a false lie? It's a false promise.

You find yourself eating the bread of your own iniquity. That means it's eating the consequences, suffering the consequences of you rebelling against the way that God designed covenantal relationship and sexual joy to be designed. But not only do we have that, we also have the claims of power and prestige. I know when I was growing up, it was the rappers that I loved looking up to, they had all the money, all the power, all the women, and then I went to my neighborhood park and I saw guys have all the power, all the women that they wanted, they had money and all those things. But you know what's crazy?

So many of the guys I grew up with are either dead and in jail because they trusted the rapture days of their day that were preaching a counterfeit gospel.

Maybe the things God is that not God that is godless that you're hearing are words of comfort saying, come on, like, come trust in this Christianity that doesn't require repentance and faith. That doesn't require the mortification of sin. Just come on, just say you believe in Christ and you'll be good. Just you're fine, just the way you are. Just say you believe in Christ and you're good.

Just try to be a better person. Again, a counterfeit gospel. Let me say this, be a suspicious of anything promising you what only God can provide, and yet it's promising it to you without a cross to bear. Be suspicious of anything promising you what only God can provide but without a cross to bear. But then verses 18 through 20 We see the last part of the message of the evil one.

He says in verse 18 through 20, Beware lest Hezekiah mislead you by saying, the Lord will deliver us. Has any of the gods of the nations delivered his land out of the hand of the king of Assyria? Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim? Have they delivered Samaria out of my hand?

Who among all the gods of these lands have delivered their lands out of my hand, that the Lord should deliver Jerusalem out of my hand? See, here's the thing. He's saying that Yahweh is just another deity that's claiming to be big and bad, but I, Sennacherib, has been a God killer. I have taken down the gods of Sepharvaim. I've taken down the gods of Hamath and Arpad.

I have destroyed them all in their nations. Where did they go? How did they do? How did they fare in rescuing their people? So what makes you think Yahweh is any different?

What makes you think that he can actually save you? This is blasphemy of the highest source. And here's the thing, he does not know the God of the Bible well. See, as Isaiah saw at the beginning of his call in Isaiah 6, he saw that Yahweh was holy, holy, holy. That means set apart, pure, exalted, set apart, pure, exalted.

No one else is on his level. No one else can touch his glory. No one can compare to him. That is the God of the Bible. And so though Sennacherib dare blaspheme him, Isaiah knows, Hezekiah came to know, his constituents came to know that there is no one else like our God.

I'm here to tell you today, there is no one else like Yahweh. He is holy. He is holy in his integrity.

Or some theologians call this simplicity. God has no parts. He is not part just and part merciful. No, no, no. He is perfectly whole.

The gods of this world are demons. They are capricious. They cannot sustain perfection. They are sometimes hot, sometimes not. And I could take an example of so many deities that claim to be perfect.

But then they'll do something like forgive sins without punishing sin. Because they're not wholly just and wholly merciful. They have to compromise one in order to be the other. Our God does not. He punishes the guilty or he punishes Christ Jesus who bears the blame in the place of all those who would trust in Him.

This God, the God of the Bible, is like no other because at the cross, Jesus Christ, He bore all the wrath that all of His people deserved, past, present, future, all of our sin. Condemned He stood, as it was read earlier, He who knew no sin. Became sin for us so that in him, that means united to him, we could become the righteousness of God. See, Jesus Christ bore the wrath that we deserved so that then we could receive the mercy that we didn't deserve. That's called the gospel, the great exchange.

He died, he was buried, and then he rose again on the third day, all to vindicate God's holiness and God's mercy.

To show that he is perfectly both. There is no one else like our God. We have a God who is triune. We have a God who is self-giving. Who do you know that would give so much, so extensively for his enemies so that they would become his family?

That's what God has done in Christ Jesus.

And if you're here today and you don't have a relationship with Jesus, you have not repented of your sins and trusted in Christ Jesus, why would you slap away the hand with nails in them that is reaching out to you and calling you to come to him and be forgiven? Come to him and know fellowship with God for all eternity. Who conquered the grave and sin and death. Why would you turn him away? Where else you gonna find a love like this?

But another application in addition to knowing God accurately, to knowing that there is no one else like him, is that we need to recognize we are in a battle today. I've alluded to it before. We, in the Old Testament, Israel had physical enemies. In the New Testament, we have those too, but they're only vessels of the spiritual enemy. The enemy of old, the ancient serpent of old, as Bobbi has preached about from Revelation.

We are in a battle and it is a lot at stake. And every day the claims of the evil one is trying to interrupt and frustrate the power and work of God, but he is trying in vain. Because our God, he is powerful and he has given us the armor we need for the battle. I think about Ephesians 6:10-13. It says, Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might.

Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand. Stand. Against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore, take up the armor of God, the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, having done all to stand.

Brother and sister, do you have your armor on these days?

Are you putting on the gospel of Christ and empowered by that gospel to put into work the righteousness of Christ, acting out the obedience of Christ in your daily life? Are you putting on that helmet of salvation? Are you putting on the girding your loins with the belt of truth? Are you taking up the shield of faith? Friends, we are not playing, fighting a minuscule war.

We are in a real battle and Satan, the liar, is the accuser of the brethren and he yearns to destroy your soul. But praise be to God, we have a greater advocate in Christ Jesus who pleads for us so that we will not be crushed under the burden of the evil one so that even though the evil one may be using voices on the outside, or he might be using voices on the inside, so to speak, voices of condemnation telling you, you're not going to finish this race. There's no way that you can persevere in your faith. You're probably not even a real Christian because you didn't share the gospel when you had that opportunity. Friend, if you have trusted in Christ Jesus and his finished work, it is finished.

He guarantees you will make it to the finish line. No matter what the evil one says, no matter what lies he's whispering in your ear, do not listen to the voice of the enemy. But secondly, y'all, we need to listen to the voice of the King. And that's our last point, the voice of the King.

We finally see a response. It's been a lot of lies, a lot of slander, but in the face of such disrespect, taunting, blasphemy, what should the people of God do? And what should you do? I'm here to say that we should listen to the voice of the king. Verse 21, it reads, But they were silent.

And answered him not a word. For the king's command was, Do not answer him. Then Eliakim son of Hilkiah, who was over the household, and Shebna the secretary, and Joah son of Asaph, the recorder, came to Hezekiah with their clothes torn and told him the words of the Rabshakeh. See, you can't see it as clearly in the English, but But this silence on the part of Eliakim, Shebna, and them, it required some effort. They had to cause themselves to be quiet.

And I'm sure that as they heard this man disrespect their God, disrespect their faithful king, they probably felt some type of way. They probably felt some anger. And no matter what they felt, they still kept quiet.

As the proverb says, answer not a fool according to his folly, lest you be like him yourself. Answer a fool according to his folly, lest he be wise in his own eyes. They recognize that this was a time not to answer a fool according to his folly, because this blasphemy was so far gone, it was no time to speak.

And even if they wanted to, their King had told them to be quiet, so they followed their orders, even though it might have made them look weak, as silence can often be perceived, but yet they trusted the word of their King. And 2 Chronicles 32:7-8 2 Chronicles 32:7-8 we get a little bit more background of what Hezekiah said to them. Second Chronicles 32:7-8, Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or dismayed before the king of Assyria and all the horde that is within with him. Listen to this.

For there are more with us than with him. With him Is an arm of flesh. But with us is the Lord our God to help us and to fight our battles. And even at the voice of the evil one lying, they stood on the voice of Hezekiah who had spoken the word of God to them. Hezekiah had told them, Trust in Yahweh.

He is far greater than any earthly king. He is far greater than the hordes of Assyria. What are they in comparison to an infinite, omnipotent God? This God is greater who is for us, so therefore who can be against us? Brothers and sisters, it does not matter what this world around us is saying.

They can say what they want. Their words on that last day, that final day, will not stand.

There is a day of judgment coming where all will have to give an account for every word. And it does not matter how rich, how poor, they will have to give an account.

And those who trusted in the Lord will not be put to shame. Brothers and sisters, we shall not be put to shame. And see, Hezekiah, Hezekiah is an earthly king.

Yet he was a good king. But Hezekiah ain't got nothing on his greatest grandson, Jesus Christ. Hezekiah was a man of faith who led religious reform and even the way Isaiah designed the letter is kind of showing some similarities between the Emmanuel of Isaiah 7 through 12 and some similarities to Hezekiah. But then you get to Isaiah 38 and 39, you realize Hezekiah is just a human king. But we are longing for, at that point they were longing for a greater king, a king who would be called God with us, a king who would have the miraculous power of the Spirit working in him to do signs and wonders.

They were waiting on a Messiah who would face death and rise again, a king for the love that he had for his people laid down his life.

And then took his life back up again. They were waiting on King Jesus. They were longing for King Jesus. And brothers and sisters, we have King Jesus. He is with his church.

And he said, On this rock, I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not, what? Prevail. Oh, look at y'all.

The gates of hell shall not prevail against God's church.

Because we have an omnipotent King, a grave conquering King, a wrath satisfying King who loved us and gave himself for us. And so brothers and sisters, as we close, we have to cling to the commands of our King. Even though the lies of this world might be provoking us to begin to doubt, that's the reason to cling all the closer. That's the reason to pay attention even more. That's the reason to reach out to the pastors of this church and let us build you up and encourage you as best as we can.

Reach out to other mature Christians and ask them for help and support to reinforce your faith. Because brothers and sisters, we really have a real King. Who reigns at the right hand of the Father and who is coming back to judge the living and the dead. So brothers and sisters, let's listen to the voice of the King. Let's pray.

Father, in the face of so many lies swirling around us, we praise your son Jesus, who is the way, the truth, and the life. We thank you for sending him to us and for us. And we pray that by your Spirit you will help us to listen more to him than to the lies that are around us. We ask these things in the precious name of Jesus. Amen.