The Illustrative King, Asa

All right, good morning, everybody, We're back, we're

back. I feel like brother Greg's

lesson last week was great with and I appreciate him filling in

for me while we were gone about patience and, and about waiting

on God. And it's, it's amazing how that

theme is all throughout the Bible and, and, and we see it

over and over. Go ahead and turn in your Bibles

though to second Chronicles 12 is where we'll start and put a

finger there or a bookmark or your tab or anything there.

But we're going to try to get you back up to being in about

the kings that we're talking about the the lessons we're

learning about the lives and the, the, the reigns of the

kings of Judah and Israel after the split.

So, so remind me everybody, what was Israel form of government

before they split theocracy, which means they are ruled by

God and, and a person is, is in charge and, and basically God's

man leading them. And then later they want a king

to be like all the other nations, which interestingly,

and God knew that was going to happen and he gave Moses

instructions on when you get into the land and when your

people, my people say that they want to be as other nations,

It's amazing. It's the same phrase that they

use. God knew that it was going to

happen and he gave Moses rules and, and, and instructions for

those kings to live by into how to rule his nation to be still

having fellowship and as close as possible with God to be able

to be, I guess, how would I say it, successful as a king.

And yet over and over and over, we'll see kings decide that they

know better. They don't want to wait on God.

They they have a better idea. And and the first king that that

we see was Saul. And then David comes after him

and then his son. And then we start seeing the

drift away and and Ray Bone, we talked about two weeks ago,

takes over and decides instead of listening to wise older

counsel, he goes with the younger men and the younger

counsel and and actually because of that, splits the nation into

northerns, which was called Israel.

And the southern Kingdom was called OK.

And how many were of the tribes were in the northern Kingdom?

10 And that leaves how many for the southern 2 And the southern

Kingdom was their capital was in the city of Jerusalem.

I heard it the northern Kingdom was in the city of Samaria,

which is interesting. You already see them bent the

wrong direction because of the city that they choose.

But we see Raya Boehm, we talked about Raya Bohem being very

inconsistent in his walk with God specifically.

And we see him, he starts out well and then he fails and then

he goes back and he fails. And we see him do this with his

reign of constantly going with God, against God, with God

against God. And you can just imagine his Son

is watching that. And his son we we see flip keep

your finger in Second Chronicles, flip over to 1st

Kings 15 A by Jim is his son. And in in Second Chronicles,

he's called a by Jah. It's the same man.

And we see there in verse. Well, we'll just start in verse

1 of chapter 15 of First Kings 15.

Now in the 18th year of King Jeroboam, the son of Nebat

reigned Abijah over Judah 3 years reigned he in Jerusalem.

And his mother's name was Micaiah, and the the daughter of

Absalom. And he walked now remember that

name by the way. And he walked in all the sins of

his father, which he had done before him.

And his heart was not perfect with the Lord his God as the

part of David his father. So Abijah gets in, go back over

to Second Chronicles, gets into the Kingdom is the next king,

and the Bible says that he does all the sins of his father.

Remember when you when you have an inconsistent Christianity,

don't expect your kids to follow when you were doing right.

They will remember when you were doing wrong.

They will follow after when you were doing wrong.

What you do in a little increment, your children will do

in excess. You don't want to come to

church. Your kids will come even less

than you. Now that's, that's not perfect

every single time there's there are different times where the

son that has a you think of Ahab wicked, his son comes in to rule

and doesn't know 180° change in the nation doesn't always happen

that way. But for the majority of

Christianity and the majority of how we work as a people, we

follow after the wrong side. We're bent.

As Paul says, I don't want to do these things, but I always do

them because of the flesh. And so we we see Abijah gets

into power three years, by the way, very short term.

And I think that's because God said, look at what you're doing.

I'm not going to keep you there and take my nation that

direction. So he takes him out.

And so his son ASA is what who we're going to talk about today.

ASA King ASA is the grandson of Rehoboam and they're there in

Second Chronicles hopefully back in 14 verse 1.

So abide just slept with his father's and they buried him in

the city of David and ASA his son reigned in his stead.

In his days. The land was quiet 10 years and

look at verse 2 and ASA did that which was good and right in the

eyes of the of the Lord his God. ASA watched his father Asia,

probably Asia probably watched his grandfather in the end

towards the end of his life and seeing the the inconsistency OK

when when grandfathered was right with God.

Things were pretty good in in in the nation when he was against

God. It was I didn't want to live

here. Then my father gets in and does

the says he walked in all the sins of his father and you look

at that, the life of his father and go I don't want anything to

do with that. And he's given a choice when he

takes the throne. I can either do what my father

did and go against what God wants us to be against what the

Lord God has promised and instructed the king to do, or I

can do what God has told me to do And the Bible says that he

did that which was good and right in the eyes of the Lord

has got he chose to follow after David.

Let's pray and we'll get into this lesson because I want to

look at ASA and the things that we can find out through his

life. Some illustrations I guess to to

give us a good start to having a revival in in your own life in a

church and in a nation, as we'll see in the king of ASA.

Let's pray Heavenly Father, I thank you so much for this

morning for being in your house. God, you know in me dwells no

good thing. I pray that you hide me behind

your cross and, and under your blood this morning as I look at

your word and, and we read what you've preserved for eternity

for us to, to learn and to, to, to glean information, not just

for our head, but for our heart. And that we change the way that

we are and that we be able to use what you've kept for

eternity in your word for us to, to, to model things after and

to, to shun after God. I pray that you be glorified

through everything that happens this morning in your house.

And thank you again for all that you do in Jesus name I pray,

Amen. So the first thing is

consistency there. There are some things in Asa's

life that we have to look at if you want revival that ASA now

think the the king, his father before him turned the heart of

the nation away from God. What's interesting is, is while

his father was his father is going up against the northern

tribe and going to have a battle with him.

And, and while Abijah is doing all the sins, he then calls on

God to help him in that time. And it's amazing that that the

whole nation says we want to follow God.

God, you are the reason why we're, we're in this battle.

And, and Abijah, I'm going to get these all mixed up.

Abijah calls on God and says, you are going to fight against

the children. We're, we're brothers.

You're you're the northern tribe and we're the, the southern

nation. But we are brothers.

We are both children of God. We're the in the same nation

essentially of what God called out.

And you're going to come against us and fight us and you're going

to come against God promised that he would keep the line of

David on the throne. And we are the the king of in

that lineage. And you're going to come fight

against us. You're going to come against

what God said to keep and do, which is interesting because

this man has never done anything right of what God wanted.

But God hears that and God saves that nation and God slays

thousands of men from the north and they win that victory.

And I think that's one of the reasons why Asus sees that and

goes when dad called on God and when dad he knew everything

Abijah he he well, OK, go there. Second first Kings 15 verse 6

1 Kings 15:6

And there was war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam all the

days of his life. Wait, hold on, let's keep going.

That's not where it went. Verse 9.

And in the 12th year of Jeroboam, king of Israel reigned

ASA. No, now I can't find it.

Maybe it is in Second Chronicles.

There we go. Yeah, sorry.

Go back to Second Chronicles chapter 13, verse one.

2 Chronicles 13 · chapter mention

Now in the 18th year of the of King Jeroboam began Abijah to

reign over Judah. He reigned three years in

Jerusalem and it talks about his mother and everything.

Go down to verse 3 and Abijah set the battle in array with an

army, a valiant man of war, even 400,000 chosen men.

Jeroboam also set the battle in array against him with 800,000

chosen men being mighty men of valor and then skipped down.

Well, verse 4 And Abijah stood up upon Mount Zamoram, which is

in Mount Ephraim, and said, Hear me, thou Jeroboam, and all

Israel, ought ye not to know that the Lord God of Israel gave

the Kingdom over Israel to David forever, even to him that is on

to his sons by a covenant of salt.

Yet Jeroboam the son of Nebat, the servant of Solomon, the son

of David, is risen up and hath rebelled against his Lord.

And there are gathered unto him vain men, the children of

Belisle, and he have strengthened themselves against

Rehoboam the son of Solomon. And he goes on and he basically

says, what are you doing fighting us?

We should not be fighting. You have turned against God.

And and this is the man that has done all the sin that his

father's done. And he calls and it's just

amazing to see that God still comes in and steps in.

And I believe Asus sees that and sees and understands there's

something with this God, There's something about following after

God. And we see consistency in Asa's

reign. Now he does at the last 5-6

years of his reign turn against God.

But it's not like his grandfather where it was one

verse he's with God and two verses later he's going totally

against him. ASA had a consistency in his

behavior verse go to chapter 14, you're there in Chronicles verse

2. And ASA did that which was good

and right in the eyes of the Lord is God.

For he took away the altars of the strange gods and the high

places and breakdown the images and cut down the Groves, and

commanded Judah to seek the Lord God of their fathers and to do

the law and the commandment. Also he took away out of all the

cities of Judah the high places and the images and the Kingdom

was quiet before him. Why do you think that was?

His father has just dealt with battles and battles and all of a

sudden Asus starts doing what's right and gets rid of the idols

and cleans out the nation and focuses and tells them to seek

the Lord God of our their fathers and to do the law and

the commandment and God gives them rest in the land.

It was quiet that was a consistency in the behavior of

ASA. He dealt with idolatry.

He he encouraged them to follow after God.

He uses those that peacetime look at verse 7.

Therefore he said unto Judah, let us build these cities and

make about them walls and towers, gates and bars, while

the land is yet before us, because we have sought and he

knows why. And that's the key.

Because we sought the Lord our God.

We have sought him, and he hath given us rest on every side.

So they built and prospered. It was God that gave them that

ability, God that gave ASA the peace that he had in his life

because they sought after God. And and we see for John says in

first John 521 little children, keep yourselves from idols.

That's it. Amen.

That that's that's a short little verse, but it means a

lot. And ASA understood that now that

granted, John wasn't around yet, but he understood the

commandment. Thou shalt have no other gods

before me. And he knew if he was going to

be consistent in his life, not like his grandfather.

And while his father was consistent going the wrong

direction, he wanted to be consistent going the right

direction. And and we as Christians have to

decide to follow after the Lord and his word.

And as pastors has said many times, we have to purpose to do

that. You're not going to accidentally

just continue to follow after God.

You're not going to fall into consistency in your behavior if

you don't prepare yourself to do what's right.

First Timothy 611 says follow after righteousness, godliness,

faith, love, patience, meekness. We have to learn also what ASA

did during those times when he was following God.

He fortified his cities. Now in Ephesians 6, we know

about the armor of the of the Lord of putting on verse 13 that

wherefore take unto you the whole armor of God, that ye may

be able to withstand in the evil day and having done all to

stand. It's interesting and I believe

God's word specifically has specific phrases and says it the

specific ways for a reason. That verse says that ye may be

able to withstand in the evil day.

Meaning God's telling us to put on the armor not in the middle

of the battle. He's saying put the armor on 1st

so that when you get into battle you're ready.

Just like ASA. He knew God gave him peace in

the land. I better use it as Christians.

When you're walking with God and you have a peace in your life,

it's not just to be lazy and hang around and sit on the Pew

and do nothing. It's time to fortify, put on the

armor, make sure things are set to where when the enemy comes,

you're ready. ASA knew that and ASA learned

that and he did that. The other thing unfortunately

ASA didn't do was near the end of his reign.

Look at verse chapter 16 of Second Chronicles.

Fast forward chapter 16, verse 10 and ASA was wroth with the

seer and we'll get into that later.

What who that is and put him in a prison house and ASA oppressed

some of the people the same time.

Go to verse 12 and ASA in the 3rd, 30th, and 9th year of his

reign was diseased in his feet until his disease was exceeding

great. Yet in his disease he sought

after God like he did at the beginning.

No, he sought not to the Lord, but to the physicians.

That consistency that he had in his behavior failed him at the

end. He didn't stay consistent

towards the end of his reign and I believe it's because of his

pride and we'll see that over and over throughout so many of

the kings. God sets them up and because

they're following after him and they he, they have peace and

they have protection and they win battles because they're

following what God wants. And then they get, I'm doing

great. Look at me, I just beat that

war. Look at how we decimated.

I can do this on my own. And sadly, Christianity is that

way here in America. Those that have churches that

followed after God that they went out and they knocked on

doors and they not bled. Some of them probably did bleed,

but by their sweat of their brow, they built the churches

God had for them and built them and did the work.

And then two generations later, all of a sudden we're just going

to be, oh, we, you know, all the works done.

We don't have to do all this. We don't need the door knock

because we got enough people. We don't need to go out and and

have a bus ministry. We don't need to do all these

things that, yeah, they had to do then because there was nobody

here. Now there's people here and they

start to think prideful about themselves and about their

church. And that's what Christianity

here is in America. We're so lazy.

We're so easy about. I need to make sure this seat

doesn't move, so I'm going to plop in it.

I'll listen, but it ain't going to change anything.

The, the, the song that I, that reminds me of, of what

Christianity is dealing with today is what we should be

saying is I'm so tired of being stirred.

There's a lot of people that when they, this week, we're

going to have preachers and, and, and different messages and

you're going to be stirred if you're saved.

If you're not saved, you're still going to be stirred, but

you're going to be stirred to do something.

But so many Christians just stir.

Never change. You're no good to God if you

don't change. If you come in and sit and

listen to a message and God pricks your heart and the Holy

Spirit point something out to you, do something about it,

especially this week, Do something about it.

I'm so tired of being stirred and not being changed.

That's that's what American Christianity is today it it's so

weak anyway so consistency in his behavior.

The other thing. Oh you got to keep going

communion. If we're going to have revival,

we have to have communion with the Lord and and pastor just

went over this in our discipleship class on Wednesday

about prayer. Prayer is so key full in you

having revival and growing in God.

The first thing that we see in his prayer now we we skip some

stuff because we got to get going.

But in aces reign at the beginning, he comes up in a

battle with The Ethiopians. And in that battle he before he

gets there, he's way outnumbered like twice 500,000 ish men

versus over 1,000,000. And it's it's, it's the scales

tipped not in his favor. But he does something that his

father did and he calls on God and he prays and asks God for

his power and for victory. And God gives it to him.

God gives them the victory. And look at verse let's go to

verse 11 of chapter 14, Second Chronicles 1411.

So they're they're in in array for the battle, ready to start

fighting against The Ethiopians. And verse 11 And ASA cried unto

the Lord his God and said, Lord, it is nothing with thee to help,

whether they with many or with them that have no power.

Help us, O Lord our God, for we rest on thee and in thy name we

go against this multitude. O Lord, thou art our God.

Let not man prevail against thee.

He he gives God reverence when he prays.

It's not a just like pastor talk we talked about on Wednesday.

Our Father, which art in heaven hallowed be thy name.

The the key in the beginning of Asus prayer and Christ model

prayer was giving God reverence, giving God praise of who he is

and realizing ASA knew it's not me God's going to have to give

the victory and and he gives them the the reverence.

But look there also in verse 11, there's a relationship ASA has

with God. And ASA cried unto the Lord his

his God, and said, Lord, it is nothing with thee to help,

whether with many or with them that have no power.

Help us, O Lord our God, our God, for we rest on me.

There was a relationship that King ASA had with the Lord.

It wasn't like his father where he had sinned and sinned and

sinned and gone so far against what God wanted.

And then all of a sudden, hey, Remember Me, I'm the king of

your nation, I need your help. Now ASA had a walk with the God.

The Bible tells us in Hebrews 416 that we should become boldly

before the throne of grace. That does not mean you kick down

the door and think you're something in the Old Testament.

Why? Why do we have the Old

Testament? Why do we have about the

prophets and about the Levites and how they came before the

throne? When they went into the temple

and came before the altar, they weren't kicking down the the

veil and strutting in. They were scared to death

because any little thing that they did not exactly what God

wanted them to do and instructed them to do, when they came into

his presence, they were dead. And I think it would be wise for

Christians today to realize when you pray, yes, you should have

boldness when you come before the throne of grace, but you

better do it right. God can't say that.

God wouldn't, but God doesn't strike you dead if you don't.

But we flippantly bow our head and just pray something with

iniquity in our heart, with with grudges against people, and

think God's just going to listen.

We need to go before the throne, yes boldly, but come before him

as the priest of old times did trying to understand and knowing

that I and me dwell with no good thing.

I'm I'm I am nothing when I come before God and I have to

understand the seriousness of that the communion that ASA had

also we see there in at the at the end of verse 11 well towards

the middle, I guess whether about help us, O Lord our God,

for we rest on thee and in thy name we go against this

multitude. O Lord, thou art our God.

Let not man prevail against thee.

He he gives God a reassurance. He calls not into question but

reminds God God, you're the God of Israel.

You're the God that parted the Red Sea.

Don't let man change that. Not that God would lose his

power or that God would have less of a of ability, but he had

assurance that the God, that part of the Red Sea is the same

God that I'm praying to now. And the Bible talks about and we

don't have time to look at him, but with, without faith, it is

impossible to please him. And, and James talks about

praying and, and believing that what you're praying will happen

because you have a God and a father that can do something.

That's how our prayers need to be.

Yes, you pray for something or you pray about something, but

believe that God's going to do it.

Don't just well, we need a building.

You know, who knows when this building is going to be the torn

down or go away or we're going to be kicked out.

Who knows why? Well, God, please pray for the

building situation. Do you believe that God can you

should. God is the God of the Bible, the

same one that part of the Red Sea can give us a building and

you have to believe that when you pray.

He had communion. And lastly, A commitment.

The third characteristic which we see in ASA for the the

purpose of having a revival and we're skipping, man, we're

skipping a lot. Oh well is commitment.

There's several different times in Asa's life that we use

commitment and we see this truth and the most we see here in

chapter 15, verse 16. And also concerning Makaya, the

mother of ASA, the king, his grandmother is, is who he is or

who she is. And remember, we just read him

about Abijah. He removed her from being queen

because she had made an idol in a Grove.

And ASA cut down her idol and stamped it and burn it at the

Brook Kidron. ASA had a commitment with God.

He wanted to follow God. He wanted God's blessing on him

and his nation. And it didn't matter whether it

was a family member or his nation, he was going to do what

was right. And we have to have that kind of

commitment to God if we're going to have revival.

If you, if you go, go door knocking and you knock on a door

and they've got all the signs of I was going to say Biden, but

that's not a Harris or, or, or about abortion or about, you

know, whatever you want to pick and choose.

And you get up to the door and I go, boy, this is going to be a

fun one. And you can and, and in your

mind, you can think, boy, these guys are wrong And, and I know

exactly why they're wrong. And, and, but what happens when

you get a call or, or you meet with family over Thanksgiving

and stuff and they have the same views?

Do you have the same kind of commitment to God about that is

wickedness? But when you're family, well,

it's I wouldn't do it. But ASA said no, I have a

commitment with God, whether it's my own grandma or it's some

random person in my nation, I'm going to stick with what God

wants us to do as a nation. He has to have a commitment if

he wants to see a revival or we have to.

The last thing I said, that was the last thing.

This is the last thing is a correction.

As a Christian, how do you handle correction either from

the pulpit or from reading your own time in God's word?

How do you handle correction? And Asus shows us two ways and

we only have two ways. Look there in Second Chronicles

go back to verse chapter 15 verse one.

And the Spirit of God came upon Azariah the son of Oded, and he

went out to meet ASA and said unto him, Hear me, ye me ASA,

and all Judah and Benjamin, the Lord is with you while ye be

with him, and if you seek him, he will be found of you.

But if yeast forsake him, he will forsake you.

Now for a long season Israel hath been without the true God,

and without a teaching priest and without law.

But when they but when they in their trouble did turn unto the

Lord God of Israel, and sought him, he was found of them.

And in those times where there there was no peace to him that

went out, nor to him that came in, but great vexation.

Whereupon vexations. Whereupon all the inhabitants of

the countries and nation was destroyed of nation and city of

of city, For God did vex them with all adversity.

Be strong therefore, and let not your hands be weak, for your

work shall be rewarded. And look at verse 8.

And when ASA heard these words and the prophecy of Oded the

prophet, he took courage and put away the abominable idol idols

out of all the land of Judah and Benjamin and out of the cities

which he had taken from Mount Ephraim and renewed the altar of

the Lord and was before the porch of the Lord.

He listened to the the the command of God through Azariah

and took took the choice that was right.

You either follow God and he'll bless you, or you don't follow

God and he's going to vex you. It seems pretty easy to me which

path to choose. But he humbled himself and his

heart and said we're going to follow after God.

Now skip down, go to Chronicles 16 so we can humble ourselves or

we can have pride. Chapter 16, verse 10 Actually

let's go verse 7 and that and at that time Hananiah the seer came

to ace of king of Judah and said unto him, because thou has

relied on the king of Syria and not relied on the Lord, thy God

therefore is the host of the king of Syria escaped out of

thine hand. We're not The Ethiopians, the

and the Lubans, a huge host with very many Chariots and horsemen.

Yet because thou didst rely on the Lord, he delivered them into

thine hand. For the eyes of the Lord run to

and fro throughout the whole earth, to show himself strong in

the behalf of them, whose heart is perfect towards him.

Herein thou hast done foolishly. Therefore from henceforth thou

shalt have wars. In verse 10, then ASA was wroth

with the seer and put him in prison a prison house for he was

in a rage with him because of this thing and ASA oppressed

some of the people the same time ASA went had both options.

He humbled himself at the first time when God came and said and

gave the prophet here's the information you do what I want

you to do you follow after God, you'll get blessed you don't

you'll be vexed and ASA said I'm going to follow after God.

Fast forward years later, Hananiah comes because of of a

foolish decision that ASA had and rebukes him and ASA had the

choice again. I can either humble myself and

realize I did wrong and do what's right, or I can let pride

take over. And sadly, he lets pride take

over and he he avoids the problem and he punishes the

prophet. Christians when when you hear

messages or you read God's word and God pricks your heart

because of it, you have two options.

You can either be humble and say yes Lord and submit yourself to

what he wants you to do. Or you can be prideful and say

no I don't I'm not doing this and get angry with God.

Proverbs 10/17 and we're done. He is in the way of the life

that keepeth instruction, but he that refuseth, reproof areth.

Those are the things that we can look and see in Asa's life and

his reign. How?

How can we have revival? We have to have commitment in

our belief. We have to have a communion with

God. We have to have the right

attitude when we are challenged or chased by God.

Let's pray. Heavenly Father, thank you so

much for today again, for your word to be able to open it and

to have it God, to be able to be read it and understand what Lord

you've preserved for us. God, I pray that you be with

Pastor in the next hour. Pray that you be with Pastor

Lewis as well and fill him with your spirit.

And I pray that you give us hearts that are ready to listen

and ready to be changed as you see fit.

God, I thank you for everything that you do.

In Jesus name I pray, Amen. You're dismissed.