In just hearing it, hearing the
reading of the Word, I pray it will be a blessing also to us
as we consider this testimony of Hezekiah. But first I want
to say a word of thanks to this congregation for your faithfulness,
your love to us, and your support for us over all these years. I appreciate your faithfulness
and support for us all these years and the work there in Mexico. We're thankful. I also want to
bring greetings to you in the name of, first, my mom and my
dad, Walter and Betty Gruver. They are doing well. They said
to say hello to everyone. And also the pastors of the churches
and school, they especially asked me to say hello to you, brother,
and say hello to everyone that we appreciate you. And they also
wanted to let you know that they pray for you also. So we're thankful
for this time together. And I'm especially thankful for
this opportunity to be here with you tonight and this opportunity
to be here in the conference. And I thank you for that also.
Now, tonight, let's open our Bibles there in Isaiah chapter
38, where we've just heard the reading of the Word. And the title of the message
is, By These Things, Men Live. By These Things, Men Live. And
what are these things? Hezekiah said, By these things
shall men live, and in all these things is the life of my spirit. That's in verse 16. But how is
it that a man or woman is made to live before God? Do you have
life before God tonight? Do you have life before God? How is it that you're made to
live? How is it that we've been made to live before God? This
man by the name of Hezekiah was made to live before God, and
we have his testimony before us tonight. And it's a true and
faithful saying that's in his word. It's God's word to us. Let us consider, then, what's
been revealed here. I want us to read this passage,
and I will make a few observations as we go. But the message, again,
you'll know, is in this verse 16. by these things men live. We see there in verse 1, it says,
In those days was Hezekiah king of Judah, sickened to death. And Isaiah the prophet, the son
of Amos, came unto him, and said unto him, Thus saith the Lord,
Set thine house in order, for thou shalt die, and not live. First, this is a word of urgency.
You are going to die. and you're not going to live.
It's a word of urgency. We are all going to die. It's appointed that man wants
to die, and then the judgment. We're all going to die if the
Lord does not return in these few days. These few days that
we have left in this world, we're all going to die. And this word
is sure to us. We don't have a promise of tomorrow.
We don't have a promise of today is the day of salvation. Set your house in order. It is
always important to set your material things in order. But
how much more important is it to set the spiritual things in
order? What I mean by that is what the
Apostle Paul said. Examine yourselves, whether you
be in the faith. Do I believe in the Lord Jesus
Christ? This is to set your house in
order. Remember, the Lord spoke of the
bridegroom that comes in the middle of the night, and they
were not expecting the bridegroom, but he came. And to be ready
is to know God, whom to know. Know God in Jesus Christ, whom
to know is life everlasting, life eternal. He that believeth
in the Son hath everlasting life. He that believeth not is damned."
He is condemned already because he has not believed on the only
begotten Son. Well, we see here this word of
urgency. Set your house in order because
you are going to die and you are not going to live. This applies
to every one of us. This applies to every one of
us. We are to make this a matter of urgency. Believe on the Lord
Jesus Christ today. Today is the day of salvation. Tomorrow is on the calendar of
Satan. Tomorrow, you don't have a promise
for tomorrow. And I don't have a promise for
tomorrow. While he's near, while this message is being preached,
if you're here and you've never heard before, believe on the
Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved. Look at verse 2 now. Then Hezekiah turned his face
toward the wall and prayed unto the Lord. We see here how the
Lord uses affliction to bring His children to Himself. Hezekiah
was a believer. Hezekiah was a believer, but
in this affliction, he turned his face to the wall. He turned
his face to the Lord Jesus Christ. He turned his face to Him and
prayed to Him, Lord. He said, O Lord, I beseech Thee. Now, when you read the rest of
this verse 3, to have an amplification of verse 3 or to understand what
Hezekiah is saying in verse 3, we will read verses 9 through
14. One thing that we're sure Hezekiah is not saying is he
is not bargaining with the Lord. He's not saying, Remember me,
because I did this, this, and that, and the other. He's not
saying that. To have an amplification of what
Hezekiah is saying here in verse 3, we have that in his testimony
in verses 9 through 14. But he says, O Lord, I beseech
thee. And he said, Remember now, O
Lord. Remember. Remember me. Remember me. The thief on the
cross prayed that same thing. Lord, remember me when you come
into your kingdom. I beseech thee. How I walk before thee in truth
and in perfect heart, and have done that which is good in thy
sight." How is it that anybody can do that which is good in
God's sight? Without faith, it is impossible
to please God. What he's saying is, I believe.
I believe. Lord, I believe. I believe. It doesn't say so in this passage,
but in the parallel passage in the Kings, it tells us that Isaiah
was already out of the temple. He was already out on the porch,
and the word of the Lord came to Isaiah and said, Go back to
Hezekiah and tell him this word. So Isaiah comes back in before
Hezekiah, and verse 4 says, Then came the word of the Lord to
Isaiah, saying, Go and say to Hezekiah, Thus saith the Lord,
the God of David thy father, I have heard thy prayer, I have
seen thy tears. Behold, I will add unto thy days
fifteen years." Now, here is the first thing we need to learn
about this passage. In the Scriptures, men can twist
things to their own destruction. But here is the first thing we
need to know about this passage. God does not change. God does
not change. And Hezekiah's prayer did not
change God's mind and his purpose towards him. God says, I change
not. Therefore, you sons of Jacob
are not consumed. God cannot change. So however
we understand this, we're not to understand that God changed
because he cannot change. He does not change. There is no variableness or changing
with him. I will say this, though. The
Lord told him he was going to die. He didn't tell him when
he was going to die. He said, You're going to die. He didn't
say, You're going to die tonight. Though in his expectation, he
was going to die that night. In his own expectation, he thought,
I'm going to die tonight. But he didn't tell him he was
going to die that night. He said, You're going to die. And that's
the same thing about you and I. We're going to die. We're
always to live with that expectation. The Lord may come right now.
And the end of this world to me is when the Lord comes. When
the Lord comes, it is the end of this world to you. But all
that Hezekiah, if we read on verse 5, verse 6. Behold, I will
add unto thee fifteen years. And the purpose of God, God did
not change the Christ. But the Lord Jesus Christ, who
is the Son of David, was to come through Hezekiah. Hezekiah at
this time didn't have any children, but he didn't know. He thought
he was a dead man. All he could see was, I'm a dead
man, and I will deliver thee and this city out of the hand
of the king of Assyria, and I will defend this city. Now, all Hezekiah could see in himself.
was death. That's all he could see. I'm
dead. The Lord said I'm going to die, and I've got this disease
in me, and I'm going to die. And we read that in his confession
in chapter 9-14. But Isaiah said, you're going
to live. He said, put figs on that boil
and he'll recover. Put figs on that boil and he'll
recover. And Hezekiah said, What's the sign that I'll go up in the
house of the Lord? And the Lord said, I will make
the shadow that has gone down ten degrees to go back ten degrees.
Now, I want to say something about
the signs or the miracles God performs. I was thinking about this, and anything that can happen through
the natural course of time, however slightly possible. You know,
if we're playing golf, and this is just an example, if you're
playing golf and you hit a hole in one, you say that's a one
in a million. Well, that's not a miracle, it's a one in a million. It's a slight probability, but
it's not a miracle, it's a one in a million. Well, you could
add as many zeros as you want behind that. If it's a one in
a trillion, or a one in I don't care how many numbers you put
behind it, it's still a possibility through the natural course of
time that that may happen. But that's not how God does miracles.
When God does a miracle, it's against nature, and it is impossible. In the salvation of man's soul,
it is an impossibility with man. With man it is impossible, but
with God all things are possible. Examine this and the miracles
our Lord Jesus Christ did, they are not a probability of the
passage of time that this may happen. This is God intervening
against nature, against the forces of nature that he set in place. What he caused the earth to do
here was do a backspin. He caused the earth to do a backspin.
And think about that for a while. What that means, those that know
physics, it's impossible with man. But with God, all things
are possible. He's not subject to those laws
that he set in place in creation. But even as much power is displayed
and causing the earth to backspin ten degrees so that the shadow
that has already gone down comes back up. Even in that, it is
still not the force or not the power that is displayed by God
when he saves a sinner. God, when he created the heavens
and the earth, the stars, it's the work of his fingers. It's
handiwork. It's light work. But when he
saved the soul of his people, dead in trespasses and sin, that
is revealed in the scripture to be the work of the arm of
the Lord. He has laid bare his arm. It's
the power of God, the Lord Jesus Christ, to cause a holy God to
be able to be just and justify a sinner. That's power. You know, the Lord said to that
man, he said, thy sins are forgiven you. And he said, well, what's
harder to say? Your sins are forgiven you? Or
pick up your bed and walk? Well, to the people that were
hearing, they thought, well, it's easier to say, thy sins
are forgiven you. Nobody can see that. They said,
I want to show you something. I have power to forgive sins
on this earth, he said, that you may know. He said to the
man, he said, take up your band and walk. And he took up his
band and walked. The Lord Jesus Christ, he has all power. And
what sign do you have? What sign do you have that you
will go up to that celestial city? He's raised him from the dead.
He has raised him from the dead and has set him on the throne.
There is a man in glory right now. And just as sure as that
man is in glory, you also who trust in the Lord Jesus Christ,
who believe in him, you shall also be there one day. Now, let's
read on to verse 7. It says, This is a sign from
the Lord that the Lord will do this thing that he hath spoken.
Behold, I will bring again the shadow of the degrees which is
gone down. and the sundial of Ahaz ten degrees backwards. So the sun returned ten degrees
by the degrees it was going down. It's just like a matter of fact.
So he did it. The Lord said it, and he did
it. Now, verse 9. This is the explanation
of what Hezekiah was saying in verse 3. The writing of Hezekiah,
king of Judah, when he had been sick and was recovered from his
I said, in the cutting off of my days, I shall go to the gates
of the grave. I am deprived of the residue
of my years." Hezekiah here saw himself as
a dead man. Before the Lord makes alive,
he always kills. Before the Lord gives life. He
always shows us what we are by nature. He always shows us that
we are dead before him. Saul of Tarsus saw that. Paul
said this in Romans 7, verse 9, he said, For I was alive without
the law once. I was alive. But when the commandment
came, sin revived, and I died. I died. And a person whom the Lord saved
always sees himself as dead before God, before God gives him life.
And this is what Hezekiah said, I'm a dead man. Isaiah saw this
also when he said, when he saw the Lord in his glory, he said,
I'm a dead man. I'm a dead man. I'm unclean. Unclean. When he saw the Lord
in his glory in Isaiah chapter 6 and verse 6, then said, I,
woe is me. I am undone. I am a man of unclean
lips. I dwell amongst a people of unclean
lips. I am dead. He saw himself as
dead before God when he saw the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ. And this is when man will see
themselves dead, when the gospel is preached and the Lord Jesus
Christ is exalted and the Lord is manifested to his people. When we see the Lord Jesus Christ
and who He is, when Christ Jesus is preached and Him crucified,
then we see ourselves in the light of His glory. And we say,
woe is me. Woe is me. He said, I'm a dead
man. I said, I shall not see, verse 11, I shall not see the
Lord, even the Lord in the land of the living. There's no hope
for me. There is a painful revelation to man's pride and dignity and
his self-esteem. A painful revelation that I'm
a dead man. I'm a sinner. I'm a sinner before
God. But there's even something even
more painful than recognizing and knowing our sin. And that's
knowing our self-righteousness is as filthy rags. That's rottenness
to the bone. That's pain all the way to the
bone. He says, I said, I shall not
see the Lord, even the Lord in the land of the living. I shall
behold no man no more with the inhabitants of the world. Mine
age is departed and is removed from me as a shepherd's tent.
I have cut off like the weaver my life, and he cut me off with
a pining sickness. From day even to night will not
make an end of me. I reckon till the morning as
a lion, so will he break my bones. It is a breaking bone. It is to the bone. It is one thing to acknowledge
that I am a sinner, but there is another thing to acknowledge
that there is no goodness in me. That even my righteousness
are as filthy rags. Men will acknowledge that they
are sinners, but they have some good in them. But when the Lord
Jesus Christ comes and reveals himself to a person, they acknowledge
that they have no goodness. We acknowledge that we have no
righteousness of our own. It's a painful thing. But like
I said, having our weaknesses and sinfulness is painful in
itself. But having our righteousness
exposed as filthy rags goes to the bone. Like a crane or a swallow, so
did I chatter. So did I chatter. I did mourn
as a dove. Mine eyes with longing looked
upward. I did moan. I did moan. This is the moaning of a person
who is made aware of his condition before God. This is the old wretched
man that I am. Old wretched. You know, Job said,
I've heard of thee with the hearing, but now mine eye sees you, and
I abhor myself. I abhor myself. Oh, my. Oh, wretched man that I am. It's
a moaning. But notice this. You see the
eye of faith looking upward. This is the work of the law of
God. When the gospel of the Lord Jesus
Christ shuts a man up, to mercy and grace in Christ Jesus alone.
Mercy and grace. If He doesn't save me, I won't
be saved. My help can only come from the
Lord. I will lift up my eyes unto the
hills from which cometh my help. My help comes from the Lord.
I look up. O Lord, I am oppressed. I am
heavy. This sin is more. than I can
bear. Undertake for me. You know what
that word undertake is? Be my surety. Be my surety. Oh, that's the cry that gets
the ear of our Lord Jesus Christ. That's what the publican said. Lord, be merciful to me, the
sinner. And you know, there has never
been a man or a woman who has ever come to the Lord seeking
mercy who has been turned away. He is rich in mercy. He delights
to show mercy. He delights to show. He said,
Lord, be surety for me. Be surety for me. Well, no sooner,
no sooner does a child of God, one who has been chosen of God
before the foundation of the world and is made to see his
condition by the gospel. No sooner does he come to the
Lord that he founds that the Lord is right there, ready and
willing and able to receive him. No sooner does a man cry out
for mercy that he has mercy. No sooner. And then as Icaius
says here in verse 15, he says, what can I say? What can I say? How can I ever
stop praising him? What can I say for his mercy
and grace? He that has spoken to me, he
that said it to me, he himself has done it. He that spoke it
to me, he did it. I want to get back to that in
a moment. But he says, I shall go softly all my years in the
bitterness of my soul. O Lord, by these things men live. Now, I want to get to the points
that I want to consider tonight, and that is, this is the message. By what things shall men live?
And this is what Hezekiah is saying here. By these things
shall men live. O Lord, by these things men live,
and in all these things is the life of my spirit. Notice he
doesn't say the life of my soul, he says the life of my spirit.
We have spiritual life through him, his word. By this shall
my life and my spirit, so that thou recover me and make me to
live. I want to go ahead and make a mention of these things
right now. First, what are these things?
First thing I want us to notice there. is by the Word of God. By these things men live. The
first thing is by the Word of God. God spoke. By his Word we live. First, his
Word from before the foundation of the world. Blessed be the
God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who has blessed us with
all spiritual blessings in heaven and places and in Christ Jesus,
according as he has blessed us in Christ Jesus. He has blessed
us or he has spoken all kind of good things about us in Christ
Jesus before the foundation of the world. It's by his word.
By his word of promise to Christ before the foundation of the
world. So it's by that word of promise.
And then not only by the word of promise, but also by the word
of creation. By the word of creation, salvation
is a new creature, is a new creation. When he comes by a dead man and
says live and that man lives, that is a new creature created
in Christ Jesus. We're new creatures. So it's
by the word of promise and by the word of creation or regeneration. He gives us life through the
word of the Lord Jesus Christ. It says being born, not of corruptible
things such as silver and gold, but with a precious blood. Being
born again by the word, excuse me, I'm quoting it wrong. Let's
go to first Peter, first Peter 23. Being born again, not of
corruptible things, but of such as silver and gold. And then also in James, being born again, not of corruptible
seed, not of being born of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible by
the word of God, which liveth and abideth forever. We're made
to live by the word of God through the gospel. Let's talk about
the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. So we're made to live
before the foundation of the world and the purpose of God
by his decree. And we're made to live before
God by his creating a new person when the Holy Spirit gives life.
And we're made to live when we hear the gospel. No one is ever
alive who does not believe the Lord Jesus Christ. A person that
believes the Lord Jesus Christ is because God gave him life.
God gave him life. And so it's also by the word
of revelation, by the word preached. So by his word, we are made to
live. He that hath said it to me, he
himself hath done it. We do not know anything about
this life unless the Lord comes and says it to us. He has spoken
it to us. He said, he that believeth on
the Son hath everlasting life. And when you believe that was
a revelation to you. That was a revelation to you,
you think I've got life. I've got life, I didn't know
it, but I have life. It was a revelation. And not
only by his word, but also by his power to perform it, power
to perform he that has done it, he had also he that has said
it, he also done it. He did it. He not only said it,
but he did. He had the power to perform it. That's one thing to say something,
but when you actually cause it to happen. When you actually
cause it to happen, that's power. That takes the power of God to
do it. A lot of things I could say that I don't have any power
to do it, make it happen. But the Lord, you know, when
the Lord said to Abraham, said, Abraham, you're going to have
a son. And Sarah's going to bear a child. Sarah's going to bear a child.
And you know the story. Abraham thought he was going
to have a child with Hagar. And the Lord said, that's not
that's not what I'm talking about. That's not it. Sarah is going
to bear. And the Lord said this, He revealed
Himself to Abraham and said, I am God Almighty. I am God Almighty. Now, the word God is already
Almighty. God is already Almighty. But what He's saying there is
He is the one who nurtures. He's the one that gives strength
and power to do that which He says to do. I don't have power. The power has to come from Him.
Lazarus, come forth. Well, Lazarus doesn't have power
to come forth. But he who said, come forth,
gave him the power to do so. And so he comes forth. Believe
in the Lord Jesus Christ. You don't have the power to believe
in yourself. It's against your nature and
against your will. But when the Lord speaks and is with power,
then you believe. You believe. It's by his power
to perform it. Well, not only by his Word and
by his power, but he says there, by this thing
my soul shall live, you've given me peace. Behold, for peace I
had great bitterness. Or that could say, behold, my
great bitterness is into peace. My great bitterness has turned
to peace. For peace, I didn't have peace before, I had bitterness.
Now I have peace. How is it that a person has peace
with God? We have peace through the blood
of the Lord Jesus Christ. He has made peace through the
cross. And by this my soul lives. I have peace through the blood
of the Lord Jesus Christ. By this shall a man live. Thou
hast loved my soul and delivered it from the pit. By this The great cause of my deliverance
is your love to my soul. By your love eternal for my soul,
God so loved the world. He's talking about his chosen,
his elect, those that God gave him before the foundation of
the world. God so loved that world that he gave his only begotten
son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but
have everlasting love. In love to their souls, and that
they may not perish, he bind them up with the Lord Jesus Christ. He bind them up in the bundle
of life with the Lord Jesus Christ. And he redeems their soul from
sin. The curse of sin, the power of
sin, and the presence of sin. In love, it says here, thou hast
delivered my soul from the pit of corruption, the pit of my
own corruption. He regenerates and renews and
converts his people, and he preserves to his everlasting kingdom. He
redeems his people by the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, that
he may take away their sin. He shall call his name Jesus,
for he shall save his people from their sin. The reason God sent his son into
the world to give his life was for his great love for the souls
of his people. But thou, in love to my soul,
delivered it from the pit of corruption, for thou hast cast
all my sins behind thy back. That's talking about not only
The Lord Jesus Christ in his sacrifice has put away the sins,
but he's talking about the efficacy. The efficacy of the blood of
the Lord Jesus Christ. So that the sins of his people
are cast behind the back of God to where he does not remember
them anymore. Thy sins will I remember no more. God's back, wherever that is.
In the sea of God's forgetfulness. As far as the east is from the
west. That's how God saves his people from their sin. He removes
the sin of his people from them by being made a curse, by being
made sin for them, that he might take the penalty that was due
for our sins and suffer in the place, the room instead of his
people. This is how he saved our souls. Thou hast cast all
my sins behind Thy back." The blood of the Lord Jesus Christ
has made full satisfaction. Full satisfaction. And there
is no remembrance of the sins of His people. By these things,
my spirit lives. By Your Word. By Your power to
perform it. By Your love eternal for me.
by the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ that put away my sins,
by these things. Now look at verse 18. Death cannot celebrate thee.
You know, the Lord said, God is not a God of the dead. He's
the God of the living. You know, when some men came to the Lord
and was tempting the Lord about, they didn't believe. They didn't
believe. And they gave the Lord that example
of this man that had several, this wife that had several husbands.
The brothers had all died. And they said, why, and whose
wife is she going to be? And the Lord said, you do err.
Not knowing the power of God, not knowing the word of God,
he said, God is not the God of the dead. Have you ever read,
I'm the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob? Where were Abraham,
Isaac, and Jacob then? They had already been put in
the ground. But yet, the Lord said, he did
not say I was the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. He said, I am.
God is not the God of the dead, he is the God of the living.
And the living are going to praise him. This is the purpose for
which God has saved his people, that we may sing his praises
throughout all eternity. The praise of the glory of his
grace. God is getting glory to his name. and saving poor, wretched sinners
as me. For the grave cannot praise thee,
and none in hell are praising him. Death cannot celebrate thee. They that go down to the pit
cannot hope for thy truth. The living, the living, he shall
praise thee, as do I this day." Can you say this day? I thank
the Lord. I praise the Lord. There's that
song, Oh, how I love him, Savior and
friend. How can my praises ever find
him? Through years unnumbered, my
tongue shall praise him forevermore. We sang that song also at the
beginning. Thank you, Lord, for saving my
soul. This will be our eternal song
of praise and thanksgiving to the Lord for His mercy, His goodness,
His love, for the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ that put away
our sin. Verse 20 says, The Lord was ready
to save me. He was ready. He is willing and
He is able. He is a ready and willing and
able Savior for sinners. And it is no sooner No sooner
did Hezekiah cry out and say, Lord, remember me. Be surety for me. My soul is
oppressed. The Lord Jesus Christ said this,
Come unto me, all you that are heavy laden, and I'll give you
rest. Are you conscious of your sin
before God as the Lord Holy Spirit made you to know you're a sinner?
Well, that's a good thing. That's a good thing. And I thank
God for that, because he came to save sinners, and he's going
to have every one of them. May the Lord bless you.