Ahaz Attacks on Brass Laver

It's very humbling to have a man of God introduce me like this, where the word of God gets the honor. I love the word of God. And when I am with the people who are dealing with the word of God spiritually, the fear of God is upon me. We are dealing with holy things here, things that can change a nation, change a generation. Our God is the God of the Bible. He hasn't changed at all. The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The God of the Lord Jesus Christ. He's still the same. And I pray that God will speak to us in a very real way. I bring you greetings from Ireland, our church, the School of Christ. But it's very hard to do that, because we're so at home here. It's very hard to bring greetings to your own family. We could just stay here, we're with family. I'm just so grateful for Pastor Palka, we've talked today about the things of God. And I just love the heart of this man. I think I understand him. I think he understands me. Very few people understand me. But we're dealing with spiritual things. It's been wonderful with Pavlov's family, they've just looked after us, fed us today. We just appreciate your love and your acceptance. We are in a day of apostasy. We are in a great warfare. And when you make real friends in this warfare, you're very happy. Let's turn to the Word of God tonight. We're going back to 2 Kings 16. Our theme for last night and tonight has been a foreign cross and counterfeit revival. Last night we looked at how the devil attacks the brazen altar. But here tonight we're going to see how the devil attacks the brazen laver. This is my title for tonight's message. Ahaz attacks the brazen laver. Let's read from 2 Kings 16. Verse 12 to verse 18. Verse 19. Verse 20. I want to concentrate on one verse in this passage. Verse 17. One short verse. But what a shocking verse. A king of Judah. And Judah represents the real remnant of God. The real church in our generation. A king of Judah attacks the brazen laver. The brazen laver is the symbol of God's inspired Bible. When you see the brazen laver in the temple, that's the written word of God. And in the tabernacle in the Old Testament, Moses gave the pattern for the tabernacle. David followed that pattern. Solomon followed that pattern. Every king of Judah that walked with God followed the pattern given by God. No king walking with God would ever change the pattern. And this brazen laver was designed by God. It's the only instrument in the entire tabernacle that we're never given a measurement for. You can't set a measurement on the Word of God. But we know that from tradition, that that laver was about 15 feet on each side. It was seven and a half feet deep. And after you came into the tabernacle, or into the temple, the first thing that you met was the brazen altar, the symbol of the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ. As you pass the brazen altar, the second thing that you make before you get to God's house is the brazen laver. You cannot enter the house of God unless it's through the brazen laver. So you can't enter God's house without passing through the brazen laver. Last night we heard about the attack on the brazen altar. And these are the two great attacks in our generation. First of all, on the cross of Jesus Christ. This massive brazen laver was held up above the ground by 12 oxen. But there was also 10 small brazen lavers. Five on the right, five on the left. And that's where the priests ministered before the house of God. What that large brazen laver was, those 10 lavers were the exact same thing. This represents the word of God. And again, the brazen laver was made of brass. God's judgment against sin, against disobedience, against the flesh of man, against the way of thinking of man, it had to be made of brass. Because when you come to the word of God, there is no room for man. It is all of God. Do you know what they made that brazen laver out of? They took all the looking-glasses of the women of Israel and they made that brazen laver. In other words, you could look at yourself on that laver. When the priests of God walked into that house of God, passed the altar, and they began walking towards the laver, there is two things that they're going to see in the side of that laver. It was reflective. When you imagined it, you could see everything. There was a clear vision. And there's two things you're going to see. The first thing you're going to see is that brazen altar behind you. If everything is in order, and is in its right place, you cannot approach the laver, the word of God, without being very aware of that altar. And this is the right way to come to the word of God. As you approach it, calvary is always before you. You must not come to the word of God unless it is through the blood of Jesus Christ. If you try to approach the word of God apart from the cross, you will begin to think this book is your enemy. You will see it as very dangerous. You will think this word of God is attacking you. This book will become your enemy. But when you've been to the Lord Jesus Christ at calvary, who bled and died and suffered for your sin, then you come to the word of God and say, search me. And see if there be any wicked thing in my heart. The second thing you see as you approach the laver, you saw yourself in the sight of that laver. You cannot have a dealing with the Bible without really seeing yourself. No one can preach the word of God without dealing with sin. That old nature and the thoughts of man. When you begin to approach this laver, remember it's made of brass. There is judgment on self. There is a dealing of God in your life. And so the brazen laver is filled with water where you get washed. This is sanctification. This is where the word of God convicts you. It opens everything, reveals everything. And then begins to wash you and make you clean. You're forgiven and made clean by the blood of Jesus. But the word of God is changing you and making you like the Lord Jesus Christ. You know that in James chapter one, it says in verse 22, be doers of the word and not just hearers only, deceiving your own selves. If you know the word of God, preach the word of God, listen the word of God, but don't do the word of God. You are deceived tonight. You're under spiritual deception. I don't care how nice a Christian you are. If the word of God is speaking to you and you do not change and you just keep walking, you are deceived. But the word of God wants to change you tonight. There is great blessing for those who look into the word of God and they see what is wrong in their lives. And there at the labor they get changed by the power of God. It says in Ephesians chapter 5, 26, speaking about Christ and the church and the church being the bride of Christ that he, Jesus, might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of the water of the word. If you remove the word of God from the church, from the pulpit, if you lessen its importance, if you restrict its place in the house of God, if you replace it with worship or youth entertainment, you've got real problems and to the word of God. Take away from the word of God. Change the word of God and you don't end up with a bride. You will have a harlot church. The real bride of Christ is a word bride. That's how you always recognize the bride. This brazen labor represents the authority of the word of God. This is the greatest authority in this room tonight. There is no higher authority. I don't decide what happens in God's house. As a preacher, I just obey the word of God. I believe the Holy Spirit inspired the Bible. If you don't believe that, you don't believe anything and I believe in the perfection of the word of God. Let me take you to our verse 17 now. Last night we saw how King Ahaz attacked the brazen altar. Moved it to the side. You see, before you attack the word of God, you begin to move the altar from its place. You begin to change the gospel. You bring in a new altar. You begin to stop talking about repentance and sin. The blood of Jesus isn't the number one thing anymore. Once you bring in a different gospel, the next thing you come to is that brazen labor. The authority of God's word. Look at verse 17 again. And King Ahaz cut off the borders of the bases and removed the labor from off of them and took down the seed from off the brazen labor that were under it and put it upon the pavement of stones. If you understand this verse, you can understand how the Christianity of our day is attacking the word of God. Look carefully how this leader attacks the word of God. This is a leader who says he loves the word of God. Number one, he cut off the borders of the bases. This is talking about the ten small labors in front of the house of God. That's where the priests stood and ministered. They washed themselves. They prepared themselves. They washed the sacrifice. They're about to minister in God's house. And this is the first thing the king does. Remove the border from the bases that held those labors. What do these borders represent? Separation from the world. There's no clear lines anymore. This is the ministry of leaders in the house of God. This king begins to affect spiritual ministry. You need to be very careful when the ministry of God's word is attacked in the church. We have never changed the Bible. We believe in the Bible. We won't touch the Bible. But we think you need to change your ministry. Don't be so clear between us and the world. Just move the border. Don't be so black and white. The people don't want to hear that. That's what he has done at the very beginning. Then it says he removed the ten labors from off the stands that they're upon. The ministry of the word of God is being brought down. We want you to come down to our level. Don't try to bring us up to God's level. Identify with the people. Rather than the ministry, understand in the mind of God. Now we're meant to understand the people. This has happened right through the church. If you're a preacher or pastor here tonight, when you stand in the pulpit, you represent God. You stand there with the Bible, the authority of God's word. You're there to speak for God. You don't represent the church. You're not there to tell them what they want to hear. Ahaz began slowly to change everything. As soon as you change the cross, you can change the preaching. The preaching begins to fall apart, real ministry. Whenever you change the real gospel, Ahaz is removing the brass from the message. What did he do with this brass? We read in 1 Kings chapter 20 about King Ahaz's sundial. This is the first mention of a sundial in the Bible. It was made out of brass. The brass is taken away from the labor. Ahaz hated the brass. He began to make it a sundial. A thing of entertainment. We've seen it right across Europe. I've seen it in every nation I've gone to. The Pentecostal churches of my generation. I have watched them change their message in my lifetime. We don't like the brass. We don't deal with sin. Not Hillsong's worship movement. Oh, I know their singing is lovely. But their key leaders in Australia and America for the past 20 years have refused to call homosexuality sin. They say, we love them too much to say that. Because of worship, their churches grew like mushrooms. But soon as I hear preachers and leaders say, we won't call sin, sin. You've got men who are going to attack the authority of God's word. You're going to have sundials rising in the house of God. Then the third thing he's done. He now moves to the brazen labor. And it says that he lifts it off the 12 oxen. And he laid it on the ground. Those 12 oxen were a symbol of service and of labor in the word of God. How do you give respect to God's word in the church? There's got to be men of God who serve as oxen. I don't want this Bible on the ground. There's got to be preachers laboring like oxen holding up the truth of God's word. This is the authority for our lives. This is truth. It'll show you what is right and what is wrong. But Ahaz brings it down to the ground. He moves the oxen out of the way. No more contending for the faith. And then the fourth thing he's done. It says he put it on the pavement of stones. That's where men walk. He made it a thing of this world. He brought it down to where men tramp on the ground. Down to our level. Just a few months ago we were in a church in London. The great preacher Martin Lloyd Jones. And we went in there. We could see the pulpit. You weren't allowed in there. So I spoke to the lady who makes coffee. I said I know she can get me in there. This is one of the great pulpits of Britain. I said you let me know when I can get in there. So I got in there. Brother Suf was behind the glass looking with envy. And I went up and got in that pulpit. A man of God preached in that pulpit to the nation. After I got my photographs I said do you think my friends can get in as well? Do you know what they told us? We don't preach in that pulpit anymore. We come down here. Where the people are. Close to the people. And this is what the young pastor said. He said that pulpit represented the authority of God's word. But we've moved on now. We're a new generation. And we like to be close to the people. Now you have every kind of compromise come into the church. Men now sit judging God's word. This is Ahaz's attack on the Bible. We've got a generation now who say you don't need to believe Genesis 1-10. You can believe in the Bible and the evolution. I believe Catholics can be born again like us. There's no clear line anymore. Homosexuals can be in the church just like everyone else. We have destroyed the authority of God's word. In real revival men and women tremble under the preaching of God's word. That's what Isaiah the prophet said. Who is God looking for? Here tonight who does God look at in this meeting? He is searching for a kind of heart that trembles at the truth of God's word. Ahaz began to sit in judgment upon God's word. That's a very dangerous thing. First the brazen altar then the brazen laver now you attack the church of God. You have to change the altar and the laver to change the church. No one would ever change the church unless they change the word of God first. Ahaz sat as a judge of God's word. I don't believe that. I don't have to do that. I'm not sure what I think about that. Pastors who do not deal with sin in the church I don't have a choice what I do with sin in the church. A fornicator who calls himself a Christian who does not repent put them out of the church. The worst sinner in this community can come to this church. I would be happy if those two homosexual men sitting here tonight they need Jesus. I love them. They can come eat with me tonight. I will sit and weep with them. But someone who says they're a Christian and changes the word of God you're attacking my Bible. Any pastor who does not obey the word of God he is a coward. He needs to get out of the ministry. It is a warfare to stand in this pulpit. Because those who hate the Bible you will become the target. They will begin to attack you if you love the word of God. So now the word of God is being changed. It's sitting on the ground. Can you imagine a leader doing that? It's happened in Pentecostal denominations all across Europe. The churches I grew up in where I got born again I can't go to their conferences. When they preach, I go, I don't believe this. They've changed the message. They've changed the churches. Now I don't recognize them. I recognize this church here. I'm at home here in this church. That altar has not been moved from this church. I know that liver is still in this church. But the churches I grew up in I watched them change the word of God. And now they change everything. They change the leadership. They change the worship. The worship is like the world's worship. They dress like the world. Speak like the world. Think like the world. We have a saying in English. If it quacks like a duck and it walks like a duck guess what, it's a duck. It's very simple. If they live like the world they look like the world and the Bible shows us what is the world. Don't call yourself a Christian. Look what happens after verse 17. What happens when you bring God's word down to our level? Where we judge the written word of God. Genesis 1, I don't believe it's literal. Then you're attacking the word of God. When this Bible is in the right place in the church it's made of brass. Judgment. It sits in judgment of you. It deals with your heart. All of us read books. This is the only book that reads you. Look at verse 18. What gets attacked? The Lord's day and the Lord's house. Read verse 18 please. Now it's time to attack God's house. And what he done was remove the covering for the Lord's day. This is where God's people gathered. If you change the word of God you change everything. We don't need to gather like we used to gather. I'm an individual Christian. I believe Christian TV has done so much damage to the church. Now you hear everywhere. I am the church. Three of us meet in a coffee shop. We are the church. TBM has destroyed the local church. You're not the church when you meet in a coffee shop. Do you know the true definition of the church? The same people meeting in the same place at the same time doing the same thing. That is the church. But when you change the word of God now you can change the church. All across our world meetings are changing. In Hebrews chapter 10 verse 25 speaking about the last days and the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ it says forsake not the assembling of yourselves together as the manner of some is but exhort one another daily and so much more as you see that day appearing. This is our hour to gather as a church. If you're not the prayer meeting, why not? If you are not gathering more now than you did 10 years ago then you have lost the vision that Jesus Christ is coming soon. All of the prophecies are being fulfilled now. Klaus Schwab, the leader of the World Economic Forum Klaus Schwab has said by 2025 the little chip in your mobile phones it's going to hit the high street that goes inside your body. All the big western companies are thinking like this the next step is your body goes digital. Absolutely one thing from a child I always believed this you knew this in this church but now it's here, it's at the door everything is in its place Jesus is about to come we are the last generation if you don't believe that now you never will it's time for the last revival this scripture that says do not forsake it's given at a very specific time if you see it's very close to Jesus coming do not forsake that means to leave behind you to desert to abandon to neglect it, to separate yourself this is not the hour to leave the church you need to be together more than ever you need to be plagued in this pastor we need another gathering do you want to have a prayer meeting in my house you ought to be knocking at his door every single day and say we want more gatherings to pray we need to hear the word of God we need to do the fasting and prayer oh pastor I hope they give you problems like this he'll hide behind the curtain here come those people who just want to be in the house of God since we're the last church it's not very long Jesus is coming and yet all around us is Ahaz attacking the word of God attacking the house of God we are to gather together as the real church of Jesus Christ and we are to exhort each other every day why should you be exhorting one another because sin can so easily come into those hearts if you see a brother who's lost the fire you used to walk together pray together talk together and if you see my brother has lost the fire or my sister has lost the fire oh yes they're in church why don't you go to that brother by the wisdom of God you used to challenge me you were on fire for God you were evangelizing brother what has happened to you you were always in the prayer meeting where are you now you don't even mind missing meetings it's time to get the fire of God back again Ahaz's attack is on the church of God and he begins to change the gathering of God's people we need to gather to hear God's word and if it becomes worship then we change the gathering listen to what else he does, verse 18 he now changes what is called the king's entry to the house of God and he turns it from the house of the Lord onto the king of Assyria he turned his entire focus to that world the king's focus should have been entering God's house I went on holiday once I needed a break away but I found a church to go to and that pastor got up in that church he started talking about his cat never preached Christ he told me how much he loved his wife and he said last night was our date night nothing affects that night well I knew that he had no message for the church never spoke about sin I just knew he would stop talking about his cat and come to the Bible it never happened this is all across the born again church of our generation Pentecostal churches apostolic churches their focus isn't the word of God when you are a preacher this is your life when you are a pastor your entire life revolves around this one thing when you walk into God's house to stand here and say thus saith the Lord to prophesy to that church not to give opinions but to give God's word the labor is going to be in the middle of that house bringing God's people back to the brazen labor again but he has destroyed everything in that house of God what a great disaster but there is going to be a Hezekiah revival I told you last night on the very day that Ahaz died everything was in ruin it says in 2 Chronicles 28.26 and Ahaz gathered together the vessels of the house of God and he cut in pieces the vessels of God's house and listen to the next statement and he shut the doors of the Lord's house and listen this is important and he made altars in every corner of Jerusalem he shut the door of God's house the real house of God and he made little brazen altars and put them out in every street of Jerusalem when you meet a leader in the church who says I've got a revelation a new way on how we do church in the 21st century alarm bells ought to go off this church hasn't changed in 2000 years we've got a special teaching on how you run your church brother you're stuck in the 20th century we're in the 21st century oh no you've made a mistake I'm stuck in the 1st century not church that was at the beginning of the day of Pentecost it's the very same church birthed in fire found a Calvary in an upper room with tons of fire on the day that King Ahaz died the door was shut false gospels were in every corner of Jerusalem but a 25 year old young man called Hezekiah became king he moved into the leadership of God's people and he had never lost sight of that brazen leader all through this he believed in the authority of God's word he had been 9 years old when his father became king and for 16 years he watched the darkness and the spiritual condition of Jerusalem grew worse and worse an apostasy reached every street of Jerusalem as a young boy his father dedicated him to Moloch he grew up in the midst of corrupt worship in the house of God in his own house in the temple in the city in the nation as a child as a teenager in his early 20s an apostasy surrounded him closely you never hear from him in 16 years but on the day King Ahaz dies suddenly in one day immediately the Bible tells us that in a short period of time for the next 8 days he sanctifies the house of God get that labor back on its stand put everything back in its place get rid of those flashing lights you ladies begin to dress right in the house of God you preachers where is your Bible for 8 days he sanctifies and makes the house of God right in 16 days Jerusalem has changed and in 3 months the entire nation of Israel has changed this is a real revival of the Spirit of God in true revival the Word of God comes right back again it gets lifted up again and the priests begin to minister of the labor again Hezekiah brought it back to the pattern of Moses, David and Solomon and it says in 2 Chronicles 29.3 that Hezekiah in the first year of his reign in the first month he opened up the doors of God's house he begins to sanctify the priesthood he removed every false altar from Jerusalem get rid of that prosperity gospel we don't need psychology in the church we don't need inner healing we need repentance again we need to come back to the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ and this is what a real revival is going to do again this is for Slovakia tonight oh I know Ahaz is everywhere Ahaz has taken over the pulpits the Bible colleges the denominations but there is still a Hezekiah in this nation where did God prepare Hezekiah? in the darkest hour of Judah right in the heart of apostasy you say how is God going to prepare a people? I got prepared right in the midst of apostasy brother Keith why do you preach the way you preach? I grew up in the apostasy brother Keith why do you so emphasize the word of God? because surrounding me has been false worship and when I was a teenager the old white haired Pentecostal leaders I heard many of them say son your generation we are going to bring in flash and lights and build music we are changing things and it is all for you in my heart I said that is apostasy I am after the fear of God I want someone to teach me the word of God and there was a fire burst in me as a teenager I could not put two words together I could never speak to people but there is a fire I will preach about this apostasy there is coming a Hezekiah revival brothers and sisters prepare yourselves we are a remnant do not be discouraged do not give up our greatest fight is just ahead you might have got tired in the fight say what is the point because the greatest revival in history is coming I saw a vision at 5 years old I got saved at 4 and a half and I am sitting in a small living room and my parents have a meeting in that room and a group of adults are standing in a circle worshipping the Lord just praising Him magnifying Jesus I am a little boy sitting on the seat swinging my legs and suddenly it disappears I am caught up in an open vision I see an open heaven and there was a window set in the clouds I am 5 years old and that window opens and out of it flows a mighty river and I knew that is revival all my life I have known there is a coming revival God spoke to a 5 year old do you remember young Samuel in the days of Eli Eli was a priest of God 40 years in ministry but he grew fat he grew blind oh he loved God but he did not deal with sin in his family do you know what God does God could not speak to Eli Eli was a good man a man of God and God says I can trust Eli with Samuel I can trust Eli with Samuel but after that I will have to cut off the whole house I believe there are many Eli's all across the church they are good men they do not get drunk they do not fornicate they preach the word of God but they have allowed a new ministry to arise their sons are in false ministry but God is going to speak to Samuel and say I will cut off the old and start all over again friends in Slovakia you are my friends I love you I am here in the will of God there is a Hezekiah revival coming everything will change in 24 hours but it is going to get very dark in God's house as you watch Ahaz a family member destroy everything about this church but you are part of the answer you cannot do that but when the Spirit of God moves you stand with me here tonight Lord Jesus Lord Jesus we need you