This isn’t fake news
2 Kings 18:29-30 – This is what the king says: Do not let Hezekiah deceive you. He cannot deliver you from my hand. Do not let Hezekiah persuade you to trust in the Lord when he says, ‘The Lord will surely deliver us; this city will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.’
If you have been anywhere in America over the past year, you have heard one phrase thrown about a lot, “fake news.”
The Republican party uses that term to damage the Democrats. The Democrats use that to try and implicate the President in lies. The President uses that term to divert attention away from himself and place it on anyone who opposes him.
But fake news isn’t a new phenomenon.
It has been around for several thousand years.
During the time of Hezekiah’s reign in Judah, Sennacherib from Assyria attacked all the cities of Judah and captured them.
2 Kings 18:31-32 – “Do not listen to Hezekiah. This is what the king of Assyria says: Make peace with me and come out to me. Then each of you will eat fruit from your own vine and fig tree and drink water from your own cistern, until I come and take you to a land like your own—a land of grain and new wine, a land of bread and vineyards, a land of olive trees and honey. Choose life and not death!
Hezekiah was a good king.
He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord.
Because of this, even though the fake news affected his people and himself, he trusted in the Lord.
They tore their clothes and went to the Lord in prayer. Isaiah responded to them with the word from the Lord. He told them not to worry because the Assyrians were evil and Judah was doing right in the eyes of the Lord and that they would not only be delivered from the Assyrians, but the Assyrians would be destroyed.
2 Kings 18:32-35 – “Do not listen to Hezekiah, for he is misleading you when he says, ‘The Lord will deliver us.’ Has the god of any nation ever delivered his land from the hand of the king of Assyria? Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim, Hena and Ivvah? Have they rescued Samaria from my hand? Who of all the gods of these countries has been able to save his land from me? How then can the Lord deliver Jerusalem from my hand?”
The fake news continued.
But Hezekiah remained faithful to the Lord and convinced his people to do so as well. He showed his example of being faithful to the Lord and Judah followed his example.
And the Lord showed up.
The Assyrian army was destroyed. 185,000 Assyrian were destroyed and Sennacherib, king of Assyria, ran away from his armies and to Ninevah, where his sons decided to kill him.
Today we are surrounded by fake news.
I am not going to claim to know which voice in the media is the right one. I am also not going to claim to know which political voice is correct.
But one voice has remained constant throughout the ages, God’s.
The Bible is timeless.
It holds answers to all of today’s problems. In essence, there is but one answer, Jesus.
If we as a people, a nation, or an individual humble ourselves before God and wait for Him to move on our behalf then He will show up in a mighty way. He will deliver us from our enemies. He will heal our lands. He will heal our bodies. He will heal our relationships.
All we need to do is pray and wait for Him to move.
And He will.
This message is for everyone!
Are you a politician? Seek the Lord first.
Are you clergy? Seek the Lord first.
Are you a husband or wife who is struggling in your relationship? Seek the Lord first.
Are you looking to change your situation at work or home? Seek the Lord first.
We can easily get distracted by reaching out to friends, family, coworkers, and others to get our information. But if we don’t start with the Bible, then there is a good chance we are getting fake news.
We need to go to the truth before we seek the fake.
So as you listen to all the “words of wisdom” out there, before you pick up another newspaper or another commentary or another radio show or another TV broadcast or another politician or another person, reach for the Word of God. Seek the Kingdom of God first and then the truth will be given to you.
boyradd 