8.30.08
The Blessed Life, Part 2
Asa
2 Chronicles 15:1, 2
We continue our look at the
blessed life that God holds out to us.
He holds it out to us as a possibility, if we will let Him lead in our
lives; if we will actually do what He says; if we will cooperate with Him to
give up to Him the areas of our lives that are in need of healing and
reform. That truly blessed life that
results from daily surrender to God is a life of peace, hope, strength, power,
wonder, goodness, purity, and a life full of the miraculous.
The kings we are looking at
in this series all made choices in their lives to serve and trust God, or not
to. They serve as examples to us of what
a blessed life looks like, and what life looks like when the presence and
pleasure of God are not in it.
Today we look at the son of
Abijah, Asa. Asa is what I call a
no-nonsense king. Turn with me to 2
Chronicles 14. I am amazed at Asa. He doesn’t have a very good predecessor. In fact, his family line of men that have
gone before him are not really men of moral character, with the exception of
maybe David, who definitely loved and served God most of his life.
And yet Asa, from basically
out of nowhere, spiritually speaking stands head and shoulders above the kings
of his era. Let’s take a look at the
beginning of his reign, with 2 Chronicles 14 and starting with the first part
of verse 2:
“Asa did what was good and
right in the eyes of the LORD his God . . .”
This is the overall summary
statement about Asa. That he did what
was good and right in the eyes of the Lord his God. Wouldn’t it be nice to have your life’s
summary statement be this statement?
That you did what was good and right?
That you pleased God? Someday
each of us will have a summary statement written about us—proclaimed about us—when our lives are over. The purpose of this series of messages is to
attract you to the blessed life that pleases God.
The Bible goes on to explain
what King Asa did that was pleasing to God.
Looking at verse 2 and following again:
“Asa did what was good
and right in the eyes of the LORD his God, for he removed the altars of the
foreign gods and the high places, and broke down the sacred
pillars and cut down the wooden images. He commanded
Let’s list these accomplishes
of Asa:
* He removed the altars of
the foreign gods
* He removed the high places
* He broke down the sacred
pillars
* He cut down the wooden
images
* He commanded
* He commanded
* He removed the incense
altars
* He built fortified cities
in
Results of righteousness:
* Kingdom was quiet
* The land had rest
* No war in those years
This is a lot of godly
activity that Asa is bringing about! He
was undoing what his father had done, you might say. Now, the book of 1 Kings informs us, and 2
Chronicles 15:17 agrees, that Asa did not
remove the high places, but that his heart was loyal to God all his days. So, Asa wasn’t perfect. It could have simply been a matter of
neglect, since his reign was a very busy one.
Who knows.
The Bible says that Asa
didn’t suggest that his people see
the Lord and obey the Lord. The Bible
says HE COMMANDED them to do so! Asa was
playing the role of a father to
This is exactly the Biblical
role for parents that God gives to us.
Never feel guilty for guiding your children in the way of the Lord! No matter what this fallen culture around us
says, don’t give up your quest to guide them safely into God’s kingdom. Asa wasn’t afraid to be a leader for his
children, Judah.
You can tell that Asa is
really going after all vestiges of idolatry (idol worship). These are HUGE REFORMS that Asa is bringing
about. It took a lot of courage—a lot of
guts—to remove these strongholds of Satan in
But that’s what God calls
each of us to do today! The Christian is
not to sit back and settle for the evil that is around us. The believer is to aggressively REMOVE all
vestiges of evil, all strongholds of the enemy, in his/her personal life, and,
as far as possible, in one’s family, in one’s church, in one’s town, in one’s
school, and yes, even in one’s nation.
While it is true that we are
no longer in a theocracy, God still expects His people to wage spiritual war
against the evil that is around them.
That doesn’t mean you bomb an abortion clinic, or get into a fight with
someone carrying a pro-gay-marriage sign.
It means that you pray for the Lord to go before you and remove the
kinds of activities and institutions that you know full well He would condemn,
were He walking in our midst.
What would Jesus condemn if
He were here with us in Person? What
tables would He overturn? Whom would He
denounce? He would denounce the casinos
and the gambling activities—the people who run them, create them, and the
people who utilize them—at the casinos and on their computers.
Jesus would condemn the porn
industry—the internet sites, the adult stores, the seductive advertising that
turns women into objects. He wouldn’t
think twice about it! Jesus would tell
us that WE STEER TOWARDS WHAT WE LOOK AT, and that parents have the
responsibility to see to it that their young people do not habitually focus on
violence, immorality, magic, the mindless and unproductive, and that which
degrades the spirit.
Jesus would tell parents to
be parents. He would tell dads to be
FATHERS, and to exert a holy influence over their children; TO TAKE THE LEAD OF
ONE’S HOUSEHOLD.
Jesus would condemn pride and
materialism, because it is destroying His people. These are just some of the tables Jesus would
overturn, were He right here with us.
But you know, the reality is that JESUS CHRIST IS INDEED RIGHT HERE WITH
US! HE IS PRESENT THROUGH HIS HOLY
SPIRIT, IF WE ARE WILLING TO EMBRACE HIM.
HE IS ACTUALLY MORE PRESENT WITH US THAN HE WAS WITH THE PEOPLE OF
Never be afraid to pray
earnestly, aggressively for the overturning of tables in your life, church,
town, school, nation. God is just as
serious about removing the strongholds of Satan now as He was in Asa’s time. And He’s waiting for an Asa to stand up and
be counted. Perhaps you are an Asa that
He is developing, and moving upon.
You know, it’s tempting to
take it easy in times of peace. But in
times of peace, Asa wasn’t recreating.
Asa wasn’t partying. Asa was preparing
for times of adversity! This is a lesson
for each of us. In our time of peace we
should be preparing for the turbulent times that lay ahead.
Asa was accustomed to seeking
the Lord in times of prosperity. He
carried that habit right into the times of adversity. His faith was tried in adversity. Our faith is tried in adversity.
Asa had said, in 2 Chronicles
14:7 and following:
“Let us build these cities
and make walls around them, and towers, gates, and bars, while
the land is yet before us, because we have sought the LORD our God; we
have sought Him, and He has given us rest on every side.” So they built
and prospered. And Asa had an army of three hundred thousand from
Asa knew he had sought the
Lord, and that he had ordered his life and his nation in the worship of
God. Therefore he was confident in the
presence and power of God. And it was
right at this time that a real test came to Asa, in the form of a HUMONGUS
ARMY!
We take it up with verse 9
and following:
Then Zerah the Ethiopian came
out against them with an army of a million men and three hundred chariots, and
he came to Mareshah. So Asa went out against him, and they set the troops in
battle array in the
An army of a million
men! Can you imagine just how large that
is? Similarly, you and I might face,
from time to time, an enemy that is obviously too large for us to handle. It might be cancer, it might be marital
trouble, it may be legal trouble, it may be financial in nature. But whatever it is, let’s learn the art of
saying the kind of prayer that Asa prays right at this time. Looking at verse 11:
And Asa cried out to the LORD
his God, and said, “LORD, it is nothing for You to help, whether with
many or with those who have no power; help us, O LORD our God, for we rest on
You, and in Your name we go against this multitude. O LORD, You are our
God; do not let man prevail against You!”
Numbers means nothing to our
Lord! We rest in You, God. Notice, the entire emphasis—the entire focus
is on God and His name, His reputation, His glory, His kingdom. This is a very good prayer, because it puts
God and His glory in the forefront. When
our prayers are like this—when they cry out for help to our God, and they
describe the situation and the request in terms of WHAT’S GOOD FOR GOD, and not
so much what’s good for us—YOU CAN KNOW WITH CERTAINTY THAT GOD WILL HEAR, THAT
GOD WILL ANSWER, THAT GOD WILL DO EXCEEDINGLY ABUNDANTLY ABOVE EVERYTHING YOU
ARE CURRENTLY DREAMING OF!!! BECAUSE GOD
WANTS US TO REST FULLY IN HIS CARE. HE
WANTS US TO REST FULLY IN HIS STRENGTH.
IT’S THE PLAN OF SALVATION. HE
WANTS US TO GIVE UP THE CONTROL OF OUR LIVES, CONTROL OF OUR SITUATION. HE WANTS TO FIGHT FOR US.
Let’s see how the Lord
responds to Asa’s prayer, in verse 12 and following:
So the LORD struck the Ethiopians
before Asa and Judah, and the Ethiopians fled. And Asa and the people who were
with him pursued them to Gerar. So the Ethiopians were overthrown, and they
could not recover, for they were broken before the LORD and His army. And they
carried away very much spoil. Then they defeated all the cities around Gerar,
for the fear of the LORD came upon them; and they plundered all the cities, for
there was exceedingly much spoil in them. They also attacked the livestock
enclosures, and carried off sheep and camels in abundance, and returned to
Notice Zerah’s vast army was
broken before the LORD AND HIS
ARMY. My friend, you don’t wanna be in
an army unless it’s the Lord’s army!
This was a huge victory for Asa and Judah, and a huge morale lifter as
well.
And things got even
better. As Asa and the armies of Judah
and Benjamin were returning from the victory, the prophet Azariah went out to
meet Asa, with a message of the Lord. We
find that message in 2 Chronicles 15:1 and following:
Now the Spirit of God came
upon Azariah the son of Oded. And he went out to meet Asa, and said to him:
“Hear me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin. The LORD is with you while
you are with Him. If you seek Him, He will be found by you; but if you forsake
Him, He will forsake you. For a long time
“The Lord is with you while
you are with Him.” If ever there was a
truth that God’s people needed to embrace it is this one. The Lord can only abide with us as we listen
to Him, and put into practice what He is teaching us. Plain and simple. When we hear what He is saying in Scripture,
and we continue to walk in the way of disobedience, He departs from us. But we forsake Him first.
Oh, how important it is to
immediately implement what God is revealing to us. How important it is to act on the word of
truth when we first hear it. The blessed
life is the life that is constantly hearing God’s voice in Scripture, and
constantly doing what He says.
Don’t hesitate to put into
immediate practice what God teaches you.
Don’t postpone obedience to a more convenient time. That’s making a god out of your time; a god
out of your convenience. When we put God
off to a later time, we are committing the same sin the people of
Enough said.
When Asa heard this sobering
yet encouraging message from the prophet Azariah, the Bible says that, verse 8,
“he took courage, and removed the abominable idols from all the land of Judah
and Benjamin and from the cities which he had taken in the mountains of
Ephraim; and he restored the altar of the LORD that was before the
vestibule of the LORD. Then he gathered all Judah and Benjamin, and those who
dwelt with them from Ephraim, Manasseh, and Simeon, for they came over to him
in great numbers from
So they gathered together at
Several key actions were
taken, after Asa received a message from the Lord:
* He took courage
* He removed the idols from
the new cities that he had taken
* He restored the altar of
the Lord
* His kingdom grew: Ephraim,
Manasseh, Simeon
* He led his people in
sacrificing to the Lord, and giving thanks to Him
* He led his people into a
new covenant to seek God with all their heart and soul
Results of the covenant and
reforms:
* God was found by His people
* The Lord gave them rest all
around
That’s the blessed life,
right there.
Now, what would it look like
for you and me, in this day and age?
Let’s see.
* We take courage, and we
trust God to provide for us, and to fight for us. We take Him at His word.
* We remove the idols in our
lives, whether they be improper usage of the Sabbath, drinking and drugs,
gambling, pornography and illicit affairs, unhealthy eating habits, inappropriate
usage of our time in activities that do not promote godliness or well-being,
and so on.
* We commit to daily Bible
reading time, and daily prayer time with our God; a daily worship experience.
* Our love for Christ leads
us to pursue meaningful relationship with people, so that we can study the
Bible with them, and thereby grow God’s kingdom.
* We offer up to God
sacrifices of joy and thanksgiving, because He has given us His Son, and given
us life eternal.
* We lead the members of our
household into a covenant relationship with God, and model for them what it
means to seek God with all the heart and soul.
DO YOU REALLY WANT A BLESSED LIFE TODAY?
IF YOU DO THESE THINGS, YOU WILL HAVE A BLESSED LIFE,
NOW AND FOREVER!
THESE ARE TIMELESS, UNCHANGING PRINCIPLES THAT ARE
TRUE TODAY.
Asa went even further. Asa did not show favoritism either. Verse 16 and following tell us that Asa
removed his mother, Maachah, from her official position as queen mother, because
she had made an “obscene image of Asherah”, who was a Caananite deity. Asa also removed the obscene image of
Asherah, and he burnt it at the Brook Kidron.
Now, this took a lot of
intestinal fortitude or guts to do. This
was probably a tremendous embarrassment to his mother. Yet it was the right thing to do, wasn’t
it. AND WE, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, NEED
TO DO THE RIGHT THING, REGARDLESS OF WHAT FAMILY MEMBERS OR CLOSE FRIENDS
THINK.
Incredible reign,
really. But unfortunately there came a
time when Asa missed a wonderful opportunity to rely on his God, just like he
had with the battle with the Ethiopians.
This time it was King Baasha of
This alliance with Ben-Haddad
of
Ben-Haddad was able to
conquer several cities, including storage cities. And the Syrian army also takes the stones and
timber that King Baasha of
God sends yet another
prophet, Hanani, with a message of rebuke to Asa. It’s found in 2 Chronicles 16:7 and
following:
And at that time Hanani the
seer came to Asa king of
Isn’t that an incredible
statement? “For the eyes of the LORD run
to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those
whose heart is loyal to Him.” It
reveals the constant activity of our God, on behalf of His people. He is constantly looking for ways to show
Himself strong on behalf of those who are loyal to Him. And from this passage we can see very clearly
that God bypasses people who are not loyal to Him.
We must remember that God’s
presence and power in our lives is completely dependent upon our loyalty and
obedience. He is strong for those who
obey, and absent from those who disobey.
Something to think about, as we near the very last days of earth’s history,
when life as we know it will be turned upside down, and calamities and enemies
will come in a variety of ways and forms.
These are sobering times, my
friends. It’s time to think seriously
about being born again, and surrendering fully to the Lord Jesus Christ. God will have a people who are surrendered to
Him; who have forsaken sin and the ways of this world, in these last days. God will have a people who love Him so much
that they LIVE TO REFORM IN ANY WAY THAT GOD SAYS TO REFORM.
God will have a people who
care more about pleasing Him than pleasing wife, husband, parent, child,
girlfriend, boyfriend, friend. God will
have a people who find their highest joy in helping someone else get to know
the Lord God.
Our hero Asa, has a valley
experience at the end of his illustrious life.
Instead of humbling himself before God and His prophet, Asa gets mad at
the prophet and throws him in prison!
You know, it’s easy to get
mad at someone when they are simply pointing out an area of our lives that is
need of healing and change. It hurts
human pride to be told that we have been in the wrong, or done wrong. I think it’s especially difficult for men to
accept godly reproof from their wives, because it makes them feel that their
manhood is somehow lessened because they are sinful.
But let me tell you
something. There is nothing more
masculine than admitting when we’re wrong, out of line, inappropriate, and in
need of healing. To be able to accept
godly admonition is a sign of spiritual maturity, and we have nothing to lose
from it, and everything to gain.
Asa’s anger was taken out on
some of the people as well. The Bible
says he oppressed some of them.
The way of disobedience is
the way of misery. Things got worse for
Asa, as he hung on to his resentment, and failed to acknowledge his sin before
God. Verse 12 indicates that “in the
thirty-ninth year of his reign, Asa became diseased in his feet, and his malady
was severe; yet in his disease he did not seek the LORD, but the
physicians.”
The treaty with the Syrians
(distrust of God), led to displaced trust regarding the disease of his feet,
when he trusted the physicians instead of God.
We establish a precedent when we trust and obey God, and a precedent when
we choose to go our own way. A routine
gets established by one choice.
Therefore, we must pay
attention to the individual choices we are making throughout the day. Those choices are establishing a routine of
thinking and acting, and that routine becomes part of our character.
The Bible says, “So Asa
rested with his fathers; he died in the forty-first year of his reign. They
buried him in his own tomb, which he had made for himself in the City of
And so ends the incredible
reformative reign of one of the better kings of
But I want to encourage you
to remain true to God, and to do the things He is asking you to do. We have a heaven to gain, and a hell to
shun! And the exceedingly great reward
that Jesus Christ has in store for us is definitely worth the momentary denials
of self that we must practice in the here and now.
I leave you with the words of
Azariah the prophet:
“But you, be strong and do not
let your hands be weak,
for your work shall be rewarded!”