1. King Hezekiah ruled the southern kingdom of Judah from 715-687 BC.
2. King Hezekiah was a godly king, and is considered to be the best king Judah ever had (cf. 18:5).
3. King Hezekiah was a statesman, a reformer, a warrior, a poet, an engineer, and the leader of a great heaven-sent revival.
4. His father, King Ahaz, was a wicked man and during his reign Judah slid into terrible sin and apostasy (II Kings 18:4).
5. It was during this period that Assyria carried away the northern kingdom of Israel into captivity (II Kings 17:6-18).
6. God raised up King Hezekiah during a dark day in the history of Israel and Judah, and during his reign God sent a glorious revival.
7. God used King Hezekiah in a wonderful way because King Hezekiah was a man of faith. This morning I want to preach about the faith of King Hezekiah.
8. My emphasis will be on faith, not on King Hezekiah.
9. Just like God used King Hezekiah, God can use you and me if we walk by faith. Four times in Scripture we read, "The just shall live by faith" (Romans 1:17; Hab. 2:4; Gal. 3:11; Heb. 10:38).
10. Hebrews 11:6 says, "But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him."
11. King Hezekiah was a man of faith, and God rewarded him on that basis (cf. II Kings 18:7a).

I. HE TRUSTED IN THE LORD (18:5).

1. We preach the Gospel, the good news, that the only way to get to heaven is by believing in the Lord Jesus Christ.
2. "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life" (John 3:16).
3. "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved" (Acts 16:31).
4. Yet many people ask: What does it mean to "believe"?
5. Faith is more than believing certain facts about Jesus. A person can be an atheist or a Roman Catholic or a Mason or a Hindu or a Muslim and believe certain facts about Jesus.
6. "Believe" means to "trust." Illustration of drowning man trusting in the lifeguard. He depends on the lifeguard. He believes the lifeguard can save him!
7. "Trust and obey, for there’s no other way
   To be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey." -- John Sammis
8. King Hezekiah trusted in the LORD (18:5), and he obeyed (18:6), and God blessed him.
9. Many years ago, after a D.L. Moody evangelistic meeting in Massachusetts, a young man stood up to speak, and it soon became clear he was a new convert and he knew very little Bible doctrine. But he finished by saying, “I’m not quite sure—but I’m going to trust, and I’m going to obey.” A hymnwriter named Daniel Towner was in that meeting and he jotted down the words. Then he gave them to John Sammis, and they composed the hymn, "Trust and Obey."
10. In the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah's reign, Sennacherib, king of Assyria came up against Judah (II Kings 18:13).
11. Rabshakeh was one of the officers sent by Sennacherib, and served as his spokesman. Rabshakeh has been described as a satirical genius.
12. Rabshakeh stood by the gate of Jerusalem and taunted King Hezekiah, and mocked his trust in the LORD (II Kings 18:30).
13. He made fun of King Hezekiah. And he mocked King Hezekiah’s God. And he ridiculed King Hezekiah’s religion.
14. King Hezekiah and his officers refused to respond to Rabshakeh's scornful speech, so then, Sennacherib sent a letter to King Hezekiah, taunting him, and demanding that he yield his kingdom to Assyria.
15. King Hezekiah took the letter "and spread it before the LORD" (II Kings 19:14).
16. And King Hezekiah prayed before the LORD (19:15).
17. Proverbs 3:5, 6 says, "Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths."
18. The key to King Hezekiah's greatness was he trusted in the LORD.

II. HE CLAVE TO THE LORD (18:6).

1. The word "clave" means "to cling, to stick to, to stick with, to stay close." The same word is used in Genesis 2:24.
2. "Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh."
3. We see the same word in II Samuel 23:10, where we read about Eleazar the son of Dodo, one of David's mighty men. There it says, "He arose, and smote the Philistines until his hand was weary, and his hand clave unto the sword: and the LORD wrought a great victory that day."
4. Even though Eleazar's hand was weary, he clave unto his sword. He would not let go of his sword until the LORD gave him a great victory.
5. In like manner, King Hezekiah "clave to the LORD" (18:6). Hezekiah would not let go. And God gave King Hezekiah a great victory (II Kings 19:20, 32-37).

III. HE DEPARTED NOT FROM FOLLOWING THE LORD (18:6).

1. Some people start off following the LORD, but then they depart.
2. The apostle Paul wrote, "Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world, and is departed unto Thessalonica" (II Timothy 4:10).
3. King Hezekiah did not depart from following the LORD (18:6).
4. David wrote in Psalm 63:8, "My soul followeth hard after thee."
5. Is your soul following hard after the LORD?
6. Or are you following hard after the things of this world?
7. Following after the LORD means keeping His commandments (18:6). There are many people who claim to be followers of the Lord Jesus Christ but they have little interest in keeping His commandments.
8. Jesus said, "If ye love me, keep my commandments" (John 14:15).
9. First John 5:3 says, "For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments: and His commandments are not grievous."
10. "His commandments are not grievous."

• Baptism -- Acts 2:38 says, "Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ." That is an important command to obey.
• The Lord's Supper -- Our Lord said, "This do in remembrance of me" (Luke 22:19).
• Giving -- Our Lord said, "Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again" (Luke 6:38).
• Praying -- Our Lord said, "Men ought always to pray, and not to faint" (Luke 18:1).
• Sharing the Gospel -- Our Lord said, "Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned" (Mark 16:15, 16).
• Being faithful to the local church. Hebrews 10:25 says, "Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching."
• These "commandments are not grievous."
• Let me emphasize that these commandments are primarily for believers. King Hezekiah was a saved man.
• The first commandment for the unsaved man is, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved" (Acts 16:31).

11. King Hezekiah believed in the LORD. He trusted in the Lord, and II Kings 18:7 says, "And the LORD was with him; and he prospered whithersoever he went forth."
12. We see a similar statement in II Chronicles 31:21, "And in every work that he began in the service of the house of God, and in the law, and in the commandments, to seek his God, he did it with all his heart, and prospered."
13. King Hezekiah served the LORD " with all his heart, and prospered."
14. Second Kings 18:7 says, "And the LORD was with him." This speaks of the presence of God -- "the LORD was with him,"
15. And it speaks of the blessings of God -- "and he prospered whithersoever he went forth" (II Kings 18:7). "He did it with all his heart, and prospered" (II Chron. 31:21).
16. Second Kings 18:5-7 can be summarized this way:

• FAITH -- He trusted in the LORD.
• FELLOWSHIP -- He clave to the LORD.
• FOLLOWING -- And departed not from following him.
• FAITHFULNESS -- But kept his commandments.
• FEELING -- And the LORD was with him.

CONCLUSION:

1. In the life of King Hezekiah, we have a vivid picture of the world's attack upon a believer.
2. King Hezekiah represents the man of faith who trusts in the LORD (II Kings 18:5).
3. Assyria is a picture of the violence and the anger of the world directed against faith in God.
4. Sennacherib, and his emissary Rabshakeh represent the contempt that unbelievers have for God and the Bible.
5. But just as God gave King Hezekiah victory over Sennacherib, God has given us the victory as well.
6. First Corinthians 15:57 says, "But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ."
7. And I John 5:4 says, "This is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith."
8. Read these Scriptures carefully -- "But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory..." (victory already given).
9. "This is the victory that overcometh (not will overcome, but has already overcome) the world, even our faith" (I John 5:4).
10. There's an old hymn, written by evangelist Paul Rader:

No more need fear, and no more need doubting,
No more need pride control in my life.
I may be free from all condemnation,
I can have victory now in the strife.

I take the life of victory,
Not I, but Christ Himself in me;
He conquers now, He sets me free;
I take, He gives—the victory.