Walter Kaiser
February 6, 2003
9:30 am
Message Summary
The theme of Walter Kaiser’s message was taken from II Chronicles 7:14 which talks about how God responds when his people humble themselves. The message itself came from the text in II Chronicles 34 dealing with King Josiah.
Kaiser’s message was very clear: Humility and a turning from sin is desperately needed in the church. Kaiser pointed out three ways in which Josiah humbled himself, cited in II Chronicles 34. The first is that he humbled himself before God. Josiah was brought up in godliness and when he became king he realized that his country was filled with wickedness. As a result he put an end to idolatry in Judah while he was king. Kaiser said, “God is still looking for a church today that will cry out to His name for our nation’s sin.” Sin affects groups, not just individuals.
Josiah also cleaned and purified the temple, which led to the re-discovery of the Scriptures. Josiah humbled himself to God’s Word. He heard from the Word of God and he realized the immensity of the wrongdoing and how it would affect him and his nation unless he repented. Kaiser tied this in to our experience by saying, “Our greatest obstacle to finding God is not the church, it’s not having the time, it’s me. It’s you. It’s our sin."
This led to Kaiser’s third point. Josiah humbled himself before God’s people. Kaiser pointed out the community aspect of loving God and turning from sin. Eleven times in verses 29-33 the word “all” is used when the people renew their covenant with God. All of Israel turned from sin, and it started with one man’s humility.
Student Response
Kaiser hit on many great themes, under the same category: humbling ourselves. He made humbling oneself a very tangible thing. When I lack humility it is usually because I do not understand the magnitude of my sin before a Holy God. I also am usually striving on my own and not let God do the leading in my life. Humility comes naturally when we have a proper biblical perspective. Filled with wit and wisdom, Kaiser’s message was both refreshing and sobering.
—Tyce Jensen, Senior, Communications/Print Media major