When Yesterday’s Faith is Not Enough - DJ Dickerson - 5/10/26

in your Bibles, I would encourage you to

go to 2 Chronicles chapter 14 tonight. 2

2 Chronicles 14 · chapter mention 2 Chronicles 14 · chapter mention

Chronicles chapter 14. And our study

will span from chapters 14- 16. Now,

last Sunday evening uh we spent a good

bit of time uh with that of Jeroboam.

And of course, he was a lot to cover for

tonight's lesson though that will not be

as much that we're going to cover in

tonight's lesson. But um still a great

study. Again, the kids have been

learning these these uh kings from their

their classes. And so, as I've been

spending these Sunday evenings, and I've

had some of the adults, of course, who

have uh requested some uh lessons that

go along with that from the Old

Testament and thinking about the king.

So, I appreciate so much the uh

engagement in our study.

Um,

one of the most sobering lessons in

scripture is that faithfulness must not

only be started, it must be sustained.

We have to be reminded of that uh quite

often, don't we? Uh, and there are those

in the Bible uh that began well but

finished poorly. And uh

and then we think about those who uh

began well and finished with a warning

attached to their name. Uh King Asa is

one of those men. Uh Asa was not like

many of the kings of Judah.

He was introduced actually u uh in 2

Chronicles 14.

and verses 1-6. I want us to go there

and look at those verses. Uh because

the way he's introduced is not as a

wicked king.

And what I want to impress in this

lesson, I think the title says a lot to

it, is when yesterday's faith is not

enough.

That's going to speak volumes to what

we're going to consider briefly tonight

from King Asa because in verses 1-6 of

our text. So Abashi with rested with his

fathers and they buried him in the city

of David. Then Asa his son reigned in

his place. In his days the land was

quiet for 10 years. Asa did what was

right 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

Judah to seek the Lord God of their

fathers and to observe the law and the

commandment. He also removed the high

places and the incense altars from all

the cities of Judah. And the kingdom was

quiet under him. And he built fortified

cities in Judah for the land had rest.

He had no war in those years because the

Lord had given him rest. Now I I believe

that it's it's a really a wonderful

statement to have attached to one's life

that says Asa did what was good and

right in the eyes of the Lord his God.

What a wonderful statement. And so what

we find is that he removed idols. He

commanded Judah to seek the Lord. He

prayed in faith when a massive army uh

came against him. He led spiritual uh

reform. He restored the altar. He

responded to the word of God with

courage. Now yet later in life, Asa

began to lean on human wisdom more than

divine help. Uh we'll find of course

that he made a treaty with Syria instead

of relying on God. Uh when corrected by

the prophet, he became angry. Uh and in

his disease, scripture says he sought

the positions yet not the Lord. That's

what it says in verse 12 of chapter 16.

So, we want to work through this uh

briefly this evening about some lessons

that that King Asa teaches us. I think

one of the powerful uh lessons that we

find in his life uh is that a good

beginning does not excuse a careless

ending. I believe that's one of the big

lessons we learn from him. So let's

start off again 2 Chronicles chapter 14.

2 Chronicles 14 · chapter mention

As we noted there in some of our reading

already that Asus sought the Lord in a

time of peace. And when he came to the

throne uh and began his reign, he was

doing so by by that which was right

before God. And again as I just

mentioned a moment ago and we read in

those passages that that he removed

foreign altars, high places, sacred

pillars and wooden images. Uh so that's

the thing about him. He didn't merely

talk about reform. You know, we're going

to do this, we're going to do that. He

actually acted and did what he said he

was going to do. And he understood that

if Judah belonged to God, then Judah

could not keep the idols of the nations.

I mean, there's a line that was drawn

and he knew which side he needed to be

on. And the scripture says that he

commanded Judah to seek the Lord God of

their fathers and to observe the law and

the commandments. You note there again

in verse four. And what I point out that

is that's really leadership. Uh Asa knew

that national strength was not first

found in armies or walls or weapons or

alliances. But Judah's strength had to

begin with exactly as he stated, seeking

the Lord God.

there. I believe there's an application

that we find right off in this um and

it's simply

peaceful seasons

should become seasons of prep

preparation

because what tends to happen when life

is calm,

we become careless.

When there is no crisis,

we may pray less.

When no enemy seems to be pressing upon

us, we may stop strengthening our faith.

That happens all too often

because we get comfortable. We get

there's a word that we see we've talked

about many times and that is

complacency. We become complacent

in our day-to-day lives and instead of

putting on the whole armor of God that

we're able to withstand, right?

Ephesians 6 talks about that, we're

walking around with with

half of it, maybe even own or any of it.

But then all of a sudden, bad things,

you know, we have temptations that

arise. We have trials that come. And

guess what? We're not ready for any of

it.

Because the peaceful seasons of our

life, we didn't use them as seasons of

preparation.

Asa though shows us in this passage

that he used peace wisely.

In verse seven, you even go further

there. He even said to Judah, "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 look at

that next word, they prospered, didn't

they? So fortified cities, strengthened

the nation. He prepared before the

crisis even came.

Spiritually, that really does matter. We

don't wait until temptation is at the

door to begin building conviction.

We don't wait until grief arrives to

begin learning how to pray. We don't

wait until our children are grown to

begin teaching them the truth. We don't

wait until false doctrine appears to

begin studying Bible authority.

that what this is teaching us I believe

is a great lesson is that the time to

build is before the battle. It's before

that's preparation. A Christian who only

seeks God in times of of crisis will

often be spiritually unprepared when the

crisis comes.

But the one who seeks God in days of

peace, what they're doing is they're

laying a foundation for days of

pressure.

So apply that.

We use those quiet seasons to strengthen

our faith. We pray even when things are

well. Pray without ceasing. We know that

in 1 Thessalonians chapter 5, don't we?

1 Thessalonians 5 · chapter mention

We study when life is calm because study

to show yourself approved unto God a

workman that needth not be shamed

rightly dividing the word of truth. 2

Timothy 2 and verse 15 because that's

how we find the guidance. That's how we

are built and edified in the faith.

Right?

We build those our times in worship,

service and obedience before the storm

arrives.

We need to make sure that we are

building on the one foundation that is

Jesus Christ every single day.

Another lesson I believe we we gather

from the life of Asa is this one. Asa

relied on God when he was outmatched.

Uh when you go down to verses 9 and 10

of our text 2 Chronicles chapter 14,

2 Chronicles 14 · chapter mention

look at there. Well, we have Zera. Now

this is the Ethiopian who comes with a

force really here came out against them

with an army of a million men and 300

chariots and he came to Meisha. So Asa

went out against him and they set the

troops in battle array in the valley of

Za at Misha. 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,

oh Lord, our God, for we rest on you. In

your name we go against this multitude.

Oh Lord, you are our God. Do not let man

prevail against you. So the Lord struck

the Ethiopians before Asa and Judah and

the Ethiopians fled. So this really I

think what we really see in this passage

is that this force was so large that

humanly speaking, Judah certainly is

outmatched. Um now Asa of course he

could have panicked uh he could have

surrendered he could have trusted only

in the military numbers that he had but

instead what does Asa do? Well he prayed

didn't he? His prayer is one of the

great great statements of dependence in

scripture. I believe when you look there

in verse 11 when he said Lord it is

nothing for you to what? It's nothing

for you to help

whether with many or with those who have

no power. Friends what he say that's

faith isn't it?

Because Asa understood something we must

never ever forget.

God does not need favorable odds to

deliver his people. He's proven that

over and over again, even before you

even get to 2 Chronicles chapter 14.

2 Chronicles 14 · chapter mention

Friends,

God does not look at a situation say, "I

could help if the numbers were a little

bit better." Okay? He doesn't do that,

does he?

God does not need human might or human

strength to be impressive before he can

act.

Because what did Asa make known? He can

save by few or he can save by many. He

can deliver. Think about this shepherd

boy. Y'all remember David.

He could deliver with a shepherd boy and

a stone.

He can bring down the walls of Jericho

and all of that with obedience and

trust. He can accomplish his will

through those who the world considered

weak.

Look at the ones that were chosen to go

and to lead people. Moses, of course,

you Moses said, "I'm not fit for this."

Right? Paraphrasing.

But Asa's prayer, what we see continues

with this thought. What's he continue to

say? Help us, oh Lord our God, for we

rest on you. That phrase, I believe, is

the heart of the matter. For we rest on

you.

What he's saying is,

Lord, we don't rest on our numbers. We

don't rest on our wisdom. We don't rest

on our resources. We don't rest on our

reputation. We don't rest on our ability

to control the outcome. We rest on

you.

I want you to think about that. There

are times in uh when the Christian feels

outmatched.

A temptation feels stronger than we are.

A burden feels heavier than we

can carry. A discouragement that we are

facing

can feel just too deep.

A responsibility that we have may feel

too large.

A trial feels beyond our

strength.

But those are the moments when faith

says Lord I cannot handle this by myself

but I rest on you.

You ever think about as I was in

studying this lesson preparing

my mind gravitated toward that of the

Apostle Paul. remember he had that that

thorn in the flesh and he prayed

remember three times to be removed it

wasn't and you know something that Paul

came to realize in 2 Corinthians chapter

2 Corinthians 12 · chapter mention

12 and verse 9 and he said to me my

grace is sufficient for you for my

strength is made perfect where

in weakness

Paul said therefore most gladly I will

rather boast in my infirmities that the

power of Christ may rest upon on me.

You see, that's a a lesson that Paul

learned.

And when we think about weakness, the

world the world despises weakness. Our

society, we know that God God often uses

such though as the stage upon which his

strength is displayed. You ever think

about it like that? Isn't that what we

see example after example through the

Old Testament? And even as Paul is

making it abundantly clear in 2

2 Corinthians 12:9

Corinthians 12:9

that when he's saying when you when you

are outmatched

don't measure the problem only by your

strength

your might measure it by God's power

you go to chapter 15

we're going to see some things as well

in our next point

keep that in

Because the way Asa responded to the

word of God, he did so with courage.

Look at chapter 15. Now,

this is after God gave Judah a victory.

Um, a prophet named Asariah came to Asa

with a message. This is what he said in

verse two of 2 Chronicles 15. Now, 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. What's interesting

about that statement is really it's it's

quite one of those statements that's

it's both comforting and sobering at the

same time. Okay. Uh God is not distant

from those who seek him because it's

abundantly clear he can be found.

He hears, he receives, he blesses those

who draw near to him in humble

obedience. But the other part is the

warning.

If people forsake him,

they cannot expect his favor while

walking in rebellion.

Go on down to verse seven. The prophet

continues. He says, "But you be strong

and do not let your hands be weak for

your work shall be rewarded."

So when Asa heard these words, he did

something important. You read on down to

verse eight. He did not merely admire

the sermon, if we may put it that way.

He acted upon it. Look at verse nine.

When Asa heard these words and the

prophecy of Odet the the prophet, he

took courage and removed the abominal

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. So he acted, he took courage, he

removed more abominations, he restored

the altar of the Lord. It says he

gathered the people, he led them into

renewed covenant faithfulness. That is

very powerful. That's a huge uh attest

to him and his courage that he had. And

again, a powerful lesson about how we

should respond to the word of God

because the word of God is not merely

given to be simply heard. I mean, we can

do that. We can listen and hear these

words.

But really, what's the point? We see

even from James chapter 1, it's given to

James 1 · chapter mention

believed, to be obeyed, to be lived.

James 1:21 and 22.

James 1:21

Therefore, lay aside all filthiness and

overflow of wickedness, and receive with

meekness the implanted word, which is

able to save your souls, but be doers of

the word, and not hear his only,

deceiving yourselves.

You see that's something else I was

thinking about the way that he went

about I mentioned you can't continue to

walk in rebellion right and say that I'm

with the Lord yet continue to walk in

rebellion no even what we see in James

James 1 · chapter mention

chapter 1 is the same thing just like uh

Asa was removing things we have to do

the same thing we have to lay aside we

have to remove all the filthiness and

overflow wickedness and rece receive

with meekness the implanted word which

is able to save our souls. So when we

hear the word, we take courage, we do

his will, we apply it, we live it. And

that's what Asa was doing. He heard the

word. He took courage.

That matters because sometimes obeying

God certainly requires courage.

Courage to remove

that which doesn't belong in our lives.

Courage to correct spiritual disorder.

Courage to lead our homes toward God.

Courage to stand for truth when others

are comfortable with compromise.

Courage to restore

what has been neglected.

We have to have courage

because Asa's reforms they were not

shallow. He was not merely trying to

improve appearances and make things look

as if it's okay.

He was trying to bring people back to

God.

What a great lesson that when we're

studying God's word and and and we

recognize and God's word exposes

something in us, the faithful response

is not resentment. It's not delay. It's

it's it's not excuse making. It's not

justification.

The faithful response is courage and

obedience.

Asa teaches us that as well. Let's go to

chapter 16.

Something else Asa teaches us.

Asa's later compromise

shows the danger of self-reliance. Look

at there in verses 1 through3. This is

where the story changes. Okay.

In the 36th year of the reign of Asa,

Asha, king of Israel, came up against

Judah and built Rama, that he might let

none go out or come in to Asa, king of

Judah. And Asa brought silver and gold

from the treasuries of the house of the

Lord and of the king's house and sent to

Benad king of Syria who dwelt in

Damascus, saying, "Let there be a treaty

between you and me as there was between

my father and your father. See, I have

sent you silver and gold. Come break

your treaty with me with with Basha,

king of Israel, so that he will withdraw

from me."

See, I think you see where the story

changes in another chapter here that the

king of Israel comes against Judah,

begins to build Rama, likely um Rama to

control, access and pressure Asa. Now,

understand that this is a serious

problem that's going on here. This is

not a a light thing, but but this time

Asa does not respond the way he did

before. You see, we just walked through

those chapters briefly because earlier,

as you noted, when a massive army came

against him, what did Asa do? Well, he

prayed, didn't he? Lord, we rest on you.

But now,

uh-oh, we got another threat coming.

Asa takes silver and gold from the

treasuries of the house of the Lord and

he sent them to Benad, king of Syria

asking him to break this treaty with

Israel and help Judah. Uhoh.

Now when we start thinking about on

human terms,

you know, on this physical side of it,

well, you know, the plan worked because

now Benad, he attacked Israel.

Asa got some relief.

But what I think we see from this as

this unfolds in chapter 16

is that success is not always the same

thing is faithfulness. Is it

because that's a lesson that we need to

definitely take seriously because

something can appear to work and yet

still be wrong.

A shortcut may relieve pressure for the

moment but weaken faith in the long run.

A compromise may solve an immediate

problem that we are faced with but can

actually create a deeper spiritual one.

You read on

verse seven.

we have some problems.

And at that time the seir came to Asa,

king of Judah, and said to him, because

you have relied on the king of Syria,

and have not relied on the Lord your

God, therefore the army of the king of

Syria has escaped from your hands.

Oh, the next statement. Don't miss what

happens next in verses eight and nine.

Were the Ethiopians and the Lub not a

huge army with very many chariots and

horsemen? Yet because you relied on the

Lord, he delivered them into your hand.

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. In this you have

done foolishly.

Therefore, from now on, you shall have

wars.

I thought out of all the verses that I

was looking at, this is one of the most

powerful verses I think in in Asa's

life.

God was not unable to help Asa. I think

we understand that God was looking for

the opportunity to show himself strong

that he would be glorified. The problem

was not God's weakness. The problem was

Asa's reliance

earlier. What what the prophet saying is

Asa, you trusted God when the enemy was

larger.

Later, he failed to trust God when the

enemy was smaller. Y'all see what just

happened there?

Is that not strange?

And we may look at that and say, "Well,

that does sound strange." But I'm also

going to tell you that's realistic. This

is realistic

because sometimes we trust God with the

things we know are just too big for us,

but we rely on ourselves for the things

we think we can manage. Is that not

true? That's true.

We pray about the big battles.

But we handle the small pressures in our

own wisdom. Those small things, right?

We seek God when, oh, we're desperate,

but we forget him when we feel capable.

See, there's some operative words going

on here, feel capable. And I will say to

you, just as ASA proves to us through

this example here, is that's dangerous

because there's a difference between

using means

and trusting means.

A Christian

may go to a doctor,

but their ultimate trust is where? It's

still in God.

A Christian may work hard,

but the ultimate trust is still where?

In God.

A Christian may make plans,

but their ultimate trust is where? In

God.

A Christian may seek counsel, but

ultimate trust is well, you're going to

know the answer to this one. God, right?

You see, Asa's problem was not that he

made plans.

Bible doesn't condemn wise planning. His

problem was that he relied on human help

when failing to rely on God.

And again, that's the difference between

using means and trusting means.

The danger comes when God becomes an

afterthought.

That's dangerous.

So, we don't need to let practical

wisdom

replace prayerful dependence.

That's what the sear

is expressing and emphasizing to Asa at

this point in his life.

that we don't let human solutions become

substitutes for trusting God.

Well, as we go on down and look at

how Asa responds to this, he's not

happy.

Asa's anger at correction reveals a

heart in danger. You look at verse 10 of

2 Chronicles 16.

Asa was angry with his. What did he do

with him? He put him in prison for he

was enraged at him because of this and

Asa oppressed some of the people at that

time.

So the seir the prophet rebuked Asa. The

Bible says Asa became angry with a sear

or the prophet and put him in prison.

Okay?

Tragic. It's very tragic. Uh because

earlier again Asa heard the word of God.

He took courage. Later Asa heard the

word of God became angry. Y'all see what

happened? And that contrast that we see

in what we've looked at briefly so far

in these passages may be really the most

sobering part of the whole sermon.

The same man who once responded to

preaching with reform later responded to

rebuke with resentment.

The question I'm asking

is after we started in chapter 14 and

here we are at chapter 16 and verse 10.

What changed?

What changed

his heart?

His heart.

How easy

this can escape us.

There may be a time when we gladly

receive correction.

We appreciate sermons that challenge us.

We welcome Bible study that sharpens us.

We we want someone to help us see where

we need to grow.

But over time, if pride grows,

correction becomes offensive.

Instead of asking, is this true? We ask

who do they think they are? Who do they

think they are?

Instead of of doing what the scriptures

tell us to examine oneself whether we in

the faith, we defend ourselves and

instead of repenting, we actually resent

the messenger. You know, the proverb

writer says in Proverbs 9 and verse 8,

"Do not correct a scoffer lest he hates

you. Rebuke a wise man and he will love

you."

Well, there's a truth

because how we respond to correction

says a great deal about our spiritual

condition.

You remember David when he was

confronted by Nathan, he said in 2

Samuel 12 and verse uh 13, I have sinned

against the Lord.

When Asa was confronted

by the sear, he became angry and

imprisoned the prophet. That's a

difference between humility and pride,

isn't it?

A heart that cannot receive correction

is already in danger, friends. And when

God's word rebukes us, we should not

imprison the message in resentment.

We should let it lead us to repentance.

Another powerful lesson from the life of

Asa.

And I'll say the final picture before we

conclude the lesson

is the final years of Asa.

Asa's final years warn us not to leave

God out.

You know, we've seen some very sad

pictures u through our study so far,

following along what the kids are

learning in their Bible classes week to

week. It's a pretty sad one, too.

In verse 12 of 2 Chronicles 16, it says,

"And in the 39th year of his reign, Asa

became diseased, and his feet in his

melody was severe. Yet in his disease,

he did not seek the Lord, but the

physicians.

Now, this verse is sometimes

misunderstood.

Uh, and let's make sure we're clear that

the problem was not that that Asa used

physicians. Scripture does not condemn

medical help. I mean, think about the

beloved physician who Luke, we think

about him, right? But the problem was

not that Asa sought positions. The

problem was that again he was not

relying where he was not seeking the

Lord.

So the issue was actually misplaced

dependence. Yet again you see how this

has continued. He sought human help

without humble reliance on God.

And that becomes the final warning of

his life.

The man who once prayed the way we

started out what he prayed was Lord we

rest on you

later reached a point where scripture

says

he did not seek glory.

Again like we've talked about drift the

danger of it. It's not usually sudden.

It's not usually loud. It's not usually

obvious at first

because a person may still have

religious background.

Uh person may still have some past

victories.

Uh may have a reputation of

faithfulness.

May still be remembered for good things.

But

all the things that Asa did, he did some

great things.

But inwardly dependence on God

was fading.

And we need to take that to heart

ourselves because we may think about all

these things of what we have done and

all of that

but inwardly is our dependence on God

actually faith.

That's why Paul gives the warning in 1

Corinthians 10 and verse 12. Therefore,

let him who thinks he stands take heed

lest he what? Fall.

Because the Christian life is not simply

about you know

what

we once were.

It's about whether we are walking with

God now.

We don't live today

only on yesterday's faith.

We are told to keep seeking God. We're

told to keep praying. We're told to keep

trusting. We're told to keep obeying.

And we keep our heart tender before him.

We continue to draw nine to God. And he

will draw nine to us as James chapter 4

James 4 · chapter mention

tells us. So friends, what Asa teaches

us,

he teaches us really several powerful

lessons.

Again, a recap real quickly of what we

looked at is he teaches us to seek God

in times of peace.

He teaches us to rely on God when we are

outmatched.

Asa's life teaches us to respond to

God's word with courage,

conviction.

He warns us about the danger of

self-reliance.

He warns us about becoming angry when

corrected.

And he warns us that a good beginning

must be followed by faithful endurance.

The tragedy of Asa

is not that he never knew better.

He did.

He had seen God deliver. He had heard

God's word. He had led reform. He did so

many wonderful things. He had

experienced peace from God himself. He

had prayed prayers of dependence

but later he drifted.

And I think that's what makes this

lesson so serious because the question

for us this evening is not merely did I

begin well.

The question before us is am I still

relying on God?

Am I still seeking him? Am I still

listening to his word? Am I still

willing to repent? Am I still trusting

him more than myself? Am I still

Do I have my sights on finishing

faithfully?

Because the eyes of the Lord

still run to and fro

throughout the whole earth. God is still

looking for hearts that are loyal to

him.

May he find that kind of part in us.

If you're not a disciple of Christ

Christian, the greatest decision you can

make is to stop relying on yourself and

submit to the Lord.

believe in him, repent of your sins,

confess his name, and be baptized into

Christ for the mission of sins to rise

and walk in of life as Romans 6:3 and4

Romans 6:3

says, you can do that tonight. All

things stand ready. If you are a

Christian, but you recognize that, you

know, I have been drifting over into

self-reliance and I have had some

resentment or I've had some spiritual

neglect,

what this message is teaching us, come

back to God.

Don't let pride keep you from

correction.

And don't let yesterday's faith become a

substitute for today's obedience.

Because a good beginning is certainly a

blessing. No doubt about it.

But by the grace of God, let us also

finish well.

That's the lesson tonight. I appreciate

so much your kind attention and spending

yet another lesson the Old Testament

scriptures and examples that we have and

I know that we have looked at a lot of

the examples and it's you know there's a

lot of good that we see

but we also see some bad too don't

shows all the all the things doesn't

but yesterday's faith is not enough we

have to continue we have to continue.

With that being said, if you're subject

to invitation call, strengthen your

faith, whatever whatever the spiritual

need that you have before you right now,

we'd love to help you with it. Won't you

come as we stand and sing the song has

been selected?