THE SECRET OF A SUCCESSFUL LIVING

SERMON MANUSCRIPT

SUBMITTED TO: - REV. SWARANGSHA B.

EVALUATOR SIGN:-

IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF REQUIREMENTS FOR THE COURSE

MASTER OF DIVINITY

SUBMITTED BY: - ROSHAN M.V

TEXT:- 2 KINGS 18:1-7

DATE: -22/11/22

CENTRAL INDIA THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY, ITARSI MP

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Good afternoon to all of you, Praise God it is a great privilege in my life
to stand before you all I consider this time as great occasion
First of all, I thank my living God that he gave me this tremendous
privilege to speak from his words.
I greet you all in the marvelous name of our Lord and savior Jesus Christ
I thank our honorable president Dr. Matthew K. Thomas and matron
ma’am Mrs. Elizabeth Thomas CFO who allowed me in this seminary to
study the word of God
And I thank all my respected teachers who have been always motivating,
guiding, and counseling me from the word of God.
As well I thank all my dear friends thank you for supporting me in all the
areas.

Illustration
Before we go into the message I would like to give an illustration
about men who became the Chairman of the Senate Committee on
Natural Resources and Economic Development. his name is Brian
Birdwell
The Brian Birdwell is a man after the Lord’s heart and a tireless worker
for the State of Texas. He is a man who has served his country honorably
Brian was commissioned as an officer in the U.S. Army and served a
20-year career with numerous training deployments and two operational
deployments
 Brian was serving on the Department of the Army staff at the Pentagon
as the military aide to the Deputy Assistant Chief of Staff for Installation
Management.
On September 11, 2001, when American Airlines Flight 77 was crashed
just yards away from his second floor Pentagon office, Brian was thrown
to the ground and consume in flames. Of the burns that consumed 60
percent of his body was burned.

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And after that He had a burn treatments and therapy sessions; and he
made a remarkable recovery. Despite some physical limitations, he
testifies not only to his physical healing, but also to his spiritual healing
the ultimate miracle of God’s grace.
People start to ask about Birdwell’s that what happen to him but he just
said
We’re just very blessed. The Lord was very good to us on the morning of
September 11. A lot of people ask, "Where was God that morning?" I can
tell you he was at the intersection of the fourth corner in the E-Ring at the
crash site. For me to survive there’s no human reason that I survived. It’s
just simply the Lord’s hand. I’m very blessed to continue my life and my
marriage with my wife,
In the midst of all the challenges The Brian Birdwell led the successful
effort to make Texas just the eleventh state in the nation to pass a
resolution and corresponding legislation
Now through this illustration I like to draw your attention into the

BIBLE to the BOOK OF 2 kings 18:1-7 who was success in the lord’s
presence in the midst of trouble
V.1 Now it came to pass in the third year of Hoshea the son of Elah,
king of Israel, that Hezekiah the son of Ahaz, king of Judah, began to
reign.
2 He was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned
twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Abi the
daughter of Zechariah.
3 And he did what was right in the sight of the Lord, according to all
that his father David had done.
4 He removed the high places and broke the sacred pillars, cut down
the wooden image and broke in pieces the bronze serpent that Moses
had made; for until those days the children of Israel burned incense
to it, and called it Nehushtan.

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5 He trusted in the Lord God of Israel, so that after him was none
like him among all the kings of Judah, nor who were before him.
6 For he held fast to the Lord; he did not depart from following Him,
but kept His commandments, which the Lord had commanded
Moses.
7 The Lord was with him; he prospered wherever he went. And
he rebelled against the king of Assyria and did not serve him.

Let’s pray

Dear God thank you for this beautiful opportunity that you have given to me to
speak from your word. Lord you help me to share your word by the guidance of
your spirit in midst of your people in Jesus name. Amen.

As we read from the book of 2 KINGS 18:1-7 it’s a wonderful passage that it
talks about life of King Hezekiah

From this passage I have entitled this afternoon message as

THE SECRET OF A SUCCESSFUL LIVING

I REPEAT….

Background

Now let me give you a brief background of the passage that

we read
In this chapter it is talking about the life of King Hezekiah
This chapter begins with the good reign of king Hezekiah of
Judah,
Hezekiah began his reign just 3 years prior to the Assyrian siege
of Samaria

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The life of King Hezekiah is described in the book of 2 Kings,
chapters 18-20.
Hezekiah became the king of Judah at the age of twenty-five and
reigned in Jerusalem for 29 years. A faithful worshipper of the
True God
It gives an account of the siege of Jerusalem by the king of
Assyria
King Hezekiah, name means "God has strengthened," 
Now, As I shared with you the Topic
THE SECRET OF A SUCCESSFUL LIVING
What does it mean ‘’SUCCESS’’
According to (CAMBRIDGE DICTIONARY) the word ‘’SUCCESS’’ Is

Something that achieves good results
In other word the SUCCESS IS
Accomplishment, achievement, progress
Now Question arises to all of us is that

WHAT IS THE SECRET OF SUCCESSFUL LIVING?

LET’S LOOK AT THE POINT BY POINT FROM THIS PASSAGE …….SO MY FIRST POINT IS

1. BY TRUSTING IN THE LORD (V.5)

5 He trusted in the Lord God of Israel, so that after him was none
like him among all the kings of Judah, nor who were before him.
WHAT DOES IT MEAN BY ‘’TRUST ‘’

According to (HEBREW CONCORDANCE) the word ‘’TRUST’’ is ‘’BATAH’’

in English is…..

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Be confident or sure or to go quickly for refuge
Let’s look at the passage what the passage actually tells about the
king Hezekiah
In this passage the King Hezekiah, He trusted in the Lord God of Israel,
to be his protector and defender, and had no dependence on idols as an
arm of flesh he just trusted in the Word of the Lord God
The king Hezekiah faces the challenges with the Assyrians because they
have Idolatry, Worldliness, and Disobedience
What was the situation that King Hezekiah faced while he began to
reign in Judah?
In that time The King of Assyria were trying to attack the king Hezekiah
that He may bow before their god and may worship because the King
Hezekiah had a trust upon the Lord and the Assyrians came against to the
King Hezekiah but he rebelled against the King of Assyria and would not
serve him
He just knew the armies of Jerusalem will not be able to stand against the
mighty forces of the Assyrian army. He knew that my God will do it such
great things what the mightiest army on earth cannot do.

The King Hezekiah had a great challenge when he led Judah he

went through several crisis situations in verse 4 we can see that He
removed the high places, smashed the sacred stones and cut down the
Asherah poles. He broke into pieces the bronze snake that Moses had
made, for up to that time the Israelites had been burning incense to it.”
As he did all this things we can see the reason behind in verse 3 and he
did what was right in the sight of the Lord,
And what he did He trusted on the Lord nothing else Hezekiah took a
decision he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord and that gave him
confidence

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 He was victorious over his enemies. He threw off the yoke of the King of
Assyria, and drove back to the Philistines, who had made great inroads
during the previous reign. 
Friends, when people honored God, their God honored them and gave
them victories over their enemies
When we read this chapter 18 and 20 Hezekiah was a man of prayer.
Whenever he faced with trouble and challenges he goes to God first
Hezekiah, he knew if I trust on God he will do great things in my Life
When we go ahead to this chapter in verses 19-35 we could see that there
the words of the spokesman for Assyria were blunt, they were saying to
king Hezekiah in verse 19 and 20 Why are you putting your confidence in
and which God are you trusting that is mighty enough to save you from
our power.
But King Hezekiah was not shaken. Still he trusted on God further in
chapter 20 also we can see that the Lord added 15 years more in his life
only and only because of one reason he trusted upon the Lord and prayed
And this extreme trust even led him to stand against great enemies.
Today How we trust on God in midst of struggle?
APPLICATION
Therefore, friends as the king Hezekiah trusted on God lets have trust on
God to see Great things in our life
Our God is mighty to save. He’s able to resolve the greatest conflicts that
we face all we have to do is to put our trust on God.
LET’S MOVE ON TO THE SECOND POINT

2. BY HOLDING FAST IN THE LORD (V.6) I REAPET…..

6 For he held fast to the Lord; he did not depart from following Him,
but kept His commandments, which the Lord had commanded
Moses.
According to the (CAMBRIDGE DICTIONARY) the word ‘’HOLD FAST” is

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 -To firmly remain in the same position or keep the
same opinion
Hezekiah was one of a kind among the kings of Israel “for he
held fast to the Lord.”  Among all of the kings, godly and
ungodly, he was singled out for his lifestyle. That
He chose to hold fast in the Lord, pursue holiness for himself and
his people, and lead Judah in renewed worship.
 Why King Hezekiah have to HOLD FAST in the Lord?
The king Hezekiah he held fast that he may not follow the
Assyrians commands
he held fast that he may uphold the law of God
he held fast he would worship God only, and not bow to an earthly
authority that threatened him.

Hezekiah was committed to the Lord. He obeyed the

commandments of the Lord. He hold fast unto the Lord, and thus
the Lord was with him.
The amazing faith of Hezekiah stands out in stark contrast to his
father’s faithlessness. His faith may not have moved mountains,
but it destroyed a huge army. Throughout his life his faith was
evident by his actions he held fast in the lord and that brought the
result in his life
Today many people want to have successful life but they do not
hold fast in the Lord look to the life of
King Hezekiah, he did not begin with his own dreams; he began
with hearing from God about what God desired he held fast and
that made him success he did whatever was right before the Lord

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Today if we hold fast to have successful living in the Lord our
God will do great things in our life like King Hezekiah as Lord
prospered him wherever he went
We can see the end result of his deliberate living as he is
described as being successful in whatever he went out.
APPLICATION
Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters lets hold fast in the Lord
to have successful living like King Hezekiah
As King Hezekiah held fast in the Lord and kept the
commandments of God in midst of trials though the Assyrians
were worshiping the idols LET’S HOLD FAST IN THE LORD
Now, let’s move on to the last point…… to have successful living

3. BY FOLLOWING THE LORD (V.6-7)

V.6b he did not depart from following Him, but kept His
commandments, which the Lord had commanded Moses.
7 The Lord was with him; he prospered wherever he went. And
he rebelled against the king of Assyria and did not serve him.

According to the (KJV DICTIONARY) the word ‘’FOLLOW’’ is….

-To follow on, to continue pursuit or endeavor; to persevere.

In other word the word FOLLOWING is…..
Pursuing; attending; imitating; inference; adhering to;
obeying, observing; using,
NOW, in this scripture we see that king Hezekiah he did not depart from
following the LORD

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The king Hezekiah knew that if I depart from the Lord’s presence I may
not have the successful life
Therefore he continued to followed the lord and we see in verse 7 the
great thing in the life of King Hezekiah
Now question comes to us that why King Hezekiah followed the
Lord?
Because the Assyrian, they do not follow the Lord’s commandment that
were given by the Moses in verse 12 we can see they didn’t obey the
voice of the Lord their God but transgressed his covenant, even all that
Moses the servant of the Lord commanded. They neither listened nor
obeyed. They were just worshiping their gods

That’s why the King Hezekiah, He followed the LORD and he kept the
Commandments of the Lord.
In his life he saw the many things which was very hard to do it and that
wouldn’t be remove from the place but one thing he did in his life is He
followed the Lord And kept the lord’s commandments
The mighty things that we could to see in the Life of King Hezekiah he
removed the false gods from the land and destroyed the high places of
pagan worship in Judah though it was very difficult
Hezekiah as a king who had a close relationship with God he did not
depart from the Lord’s presence whenever he face with the challenges he
just focus on God and in his Commandments king Hezekiah had a great
desire to win the victory over his enemies he did everything Good what
was right before the Lord and that made him success in God’s presence.
Friends, today the Lord is searching such person who can do it right
before the Lord he doesn’t wants to fail anybody he wants let my people
be Succeed in everything that they do
The King Hezekiah pursue God, HE followed his every move and
Lord was with him because he followed him

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Lord was with him because he kept the commandments of God and
wherever he went he prospered and His passion for God brought a Great
restoration in Judah into a period of national revival.
Friends, If we go back to him he is near to us Our God will never leave us
if we follow his commandments that he has given us he will prosper our
life
Once someone states one of the statement
As you commit your life to follow the Lord, He begins to plant his
desires in your heart, and then guides you according to his plan
जैसे ही आप अपना जीवन प्रभु का अनुसरण करने के लिए समर्पित करते हैं, वह आपके दिल में अपनी इच्छाओं
को बनाना शुरू कर देता है, फिर अपनी योजना के अनुसार आपका मार्गदर्शन करता है !

APPLICATION
Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters lets follow our God that we may
see his goodness in our lives as the King Hezekiah followed the Lord and
kept the Lord’s commandment in his Life and saw the prosperous ways
wherever he went lets follow our God

As I conclude my sharing this afternoon

CONCLUSION
My dear friends, as

Hezekiah’s trust in the Lord was rewarded successful endeavors,

and miraculous victory over his enemies. When he faced with an
impossible situation, surrounded by the dreadful and determined
Assyrian army, Hezekiah did exactly the right thing he trusted, he
held fast and he didn’t depart from the Lord’s presence and the
Lord was with him and he was prospered wherever he went

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 Let’s trust on God that we may have reward in him
Let’s hold fast in the Lord that we may have direction in the difficult
moment
Let’s follow our God so that we may have successful life as we follow
him

MAY GOD BLESS YOU ALL IMMENSELY THROUGH THIS

MESSAGE
THANK YOU

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