NOTES: Divine Reset
Sermon: Divine Reset
Date: Sunday January 7, 2024
Text: 2 Chronicles 34:1-8
2 Chronicles 34:1–8 (ESV)
Josiah was eight years old when he began to reign, and he reigned thirty-one years in Jerusalem. 2 And he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, and walked in the ways of David his father; and he did not turn aside to the right hand or to the left. 3 For in the eighth year of his reign, while he was yet a boy, he began to seek the God of David his father, and in the twelfth year he began to purge Judah and Jerusalem of the high places, the Asherim, and the carved and the metal images. 4 And they chopped down the altars of the Baals in his presence, and he cut down the incense altars that stood above them. And he broke in pieces the Asherim and the carved and the metal images, and he made dust of them and scattered it over the graves of those who had sacrificed to them. 5 He also burned the bones of the priests on their altars and cleansed Judah and Jerusalem. 6 And in the cities of Manasseh, Ephraim, and Simeon, and as far as Naphtali, in their ruins all around, 7 he broke down the altars and beat the Asherim and the images into powder and cut down all the incense altars throughout all the land of Israel. Then he returned to Jerusalem.
8 Now in the eighteenth year of his reign, when he had cleansed the land and the house, he sent Shaphan the son of Azaliah, and Maaseiah the governor of the city, and Joah the son of Joahaz, the recorder, to repair the house of the Lord his God.
Let’s Connect:
ILL: Much like Runner (resets at the starting line):
Philippians 3:13b–14 (ESV)…But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
Text Explained:
Josiah’s backstory:
Seeking God is the essential posture of the heart which moves us towards God and away from what seeks to kill, steal and destroy.
In his twelfth year (20):
Eradicate doesn’t negotiate!
Then in the 18th year:
Josiah’s testimony was this:
2 Kings 23:25 (ESV) 25 Before him there was no king like him, who turned to the Lord with all his heart and with all his soul and with all his might, according to all the Law of Moses, nor did any like him arise after him.
From seeking God to eradication of idols to restoring and reordering true worship, Josiah led the people into a Divine Reset. (Still admired today)
Let’s Relate:
The Divine Reset is about us coming into agreement with who we are in Christ.
2 Corinthians 6:16 (ESV) 16 What agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; as God said,
“I will make my dwelling among them and walk among them,
and I will be their God,
and they shall be my people.
Philippians 3:13b–14…But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
Anything not in agreement with God and our life in Him can become an idol:
The idol of offense
The idol of sexual sins
The idol of relational sins
Forgetting but pressing on:
The prize:
Divine Reset: reordering our life of worship (eradicate and restore) as we set our hearts in pursuit of God’s invitation to know Him in fullness.
Our Challenge:
What does your Divine Reset look like?
What all is hindering you from the “prize?”
What is the new running stride of your heart for 2024?
Closing:
Divine Reset: SWC’s time of Prayer and Fasting: be a minimalist as much as possible, be realistic and intentional with your schedule.
(See the website for more information about fasting)