COURAGEOUS FOR CHRIST

In the mid-1980’s, Dr. Shariat together with his wife, prayed, “Lord, use us to save Iran.” Dr. Shariat is known as “The Billy Graham of Iran.”    It’s estimated that there are over a million Christians practicing their faith secretly in Iran.        God is changing lives in Iran. We should pray that God would also change lives in America.

          Just as God is using Dr. Shariat today, there was another man in the Old Testament that God used to bring revival in the kingdom of Judah.

          Some may ask, “Why study the Old Testament?” What can we learn from the people and tribes of Israel?

          The Apostle Paul tells us in Romans 15:4, “For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.”

          God’s purpose in giving us the OT with all its stories and teachings is to give us hope in him. That’s the purpose today in looking at the story of King Asa. What can we learn from the life of King Asa?

FIRST – IT’S IMPORTANT TO START WELL

          In 2 Chronicles 14:1-2 the Bible tells us that “King Abijah died and Asa, his son, reigned in his stead; And Asa did that which was good and right in the eyes of the Lord, his God.”

          God wants His people to “start well,” so that He can bless them. Asa started well because:

          He Was A Man of Priority. The Bible says that “Asa did that which was good and right in the eyes of the Lord, his God.”

          He Was A Man of Principle. Verses 3-5 tells us that he was a man of principle. God expects His people to go above and beyond what others do.

          In the post office in Grand Prairie, Texas, Alvin Gauthier discovered some letters dated 1942 to 1945 and addressed to Mr. and Mrs. Henry Lamb in Jacksonville, Arkansas. A stamp read: “U.S. Army Postal Service.” A Marine vet who’d served in Iraq, Alvin Gauthier knew the importance of mail to soldiers and their families. He was determined to see the lost letters delivered. With help from KARK-TV in Little Rock, he tracked down the last surviving member of the Lamb family, JoAnn Smith, whose older brother Marion wrote the letters while serving in World War II. On his day off, Gauthier drove five hours to Jacksonville to hand the letters to a tearful JoAnn Smith. “It’s a connection to my family,” she told KARK-TV. “Sometimes,” Gauthier said, “you just go the extra mile…. Or 379 miles.” Gauthier, like King Asa, was a Man of Principle. Also:

          Asa Was A Man of Prayer. 2 Chronicles 14:11, “And Asa cried unto the Lord his God, and said, Lord, it is nothing with thee to help, whether with many, or with them who 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.”

          What was the reason for Asa’s prayer? Zerah, the Ethiopian, came against Judah with an army of a million warriors and three hundred chariots. Asa was greatly outnumbered. He did the only thing he could do. He prayed. Sometimes that’s all we can do. What’s so special about this prayer?

          It was from his heart – “He Cried.”

          It was direct – “Unto the Lord.”

          It was to the point – “Help Us.”

          It was in faith – “We rest in thee.”

          It was an answered prayer – Verse 12, “So the Lord smote the Ethiopians before Asa, and before Judah, and the Ethiopians fled.”

          There are two important aspects of this prayer: First, “Recognition of God’s Ability;” and Second, “Realizing our own inability.”

          What would have happened if Asa had not prayed? It meant certain defeat. If we don’t pray, then we’ll live a defeated life. The enemy will get the upper hand. Prayer is not getting God’s will done in heaven; it’s getting God’s will done on earth.

          After this victory there is a period of time between 2 Chronicles 14 and 15. Now we see that the landscape in Judah has changed.

          We’ve seen it many times before. When things are going great, God is often forgotten. And the consequences are evident. Here’s what has happened:

          The Land is filled with chaos. 2 Chronicles 15:5, “And in those times there was no peace to him that went out nor to him that came in, but great vexations were upon all the inhabitants of the countries.”

          The scripture tells us that there was no priest to teach and no law. When no one is teaching right from wrong, everyone is free to do what is right in their own eyes. If there is no teaching going on, there are no laws being promoted and again, everyone does what is right in their own eyes. When this happens, it leads to confusion and chaos. Look around America today. People are confused about the most foundational of issues and chaos now exist about what is right and wrong. In a senate hearing not long ago, a candidate for a high office couldn’t answer the question, “What is a Woman?” Chaos is progressive and deadly. Next,

          The Land is filled with conflict. In Asa’s Judah, there was no peace. Today, conflict rages from the courthouse to the school house to the White house and even in the houses and communities of America. We can track its beginnings in this country. When we began removing God from our schools, government, and other public places, the conflict began. Over the last 40+ years it has grown to this:
          The Land is filled with corruption. Verse 3, “Now, for a long season, Judah has been without the true God, and without a teaching priest, and without law.” It says that for many years Israel (the people of God) have been without the TRUE GOD. Corruption comes when there is no worship of God. And the result of this is devastating for a nation. Without God, there is little to pass along to the next generation except more of what we have had in the past and present.
          Considering the consequences of being without God’s blessings, take one more look around the USA and see the reality of our situation. The cost of walking away from God is high. What are we to do? What was done in Judah? We are a country in need. Of what are in need?
          Look at the things He did;
          He Removed the Idols. One translation calls them “detestable idols” and I’ll ask, “Is there another kind?” Anything which takes our focus off Jehovah God is a detestable idol. In this country, we have placed many things before God. Also:
          The People recognized the corruption. They came with a mind to worship. The sacrifice would have not taken place, worship would have not been experienced, and what follows would not be recorded had this people not recognized their own corruption. This was and is the starting point, for a nation, a church, and a person. When a person refuses to acknowledge sinfulness, there will be no change because there is no reason to change. Notice now the difference:
          They rejoiced in their correction. Verses 14 & 15 gives a Biblical picture of a “praise service.” Can you hear this service? The Bible says, “A loud voice” (everyone involved), “shouting” (to the top of their voices), “trumpets” (one trumpet unnerves many of us).

          I decided that I wanted to play the trumpet in the high school band. My parents rented a trumpet for me. I practiced all the time and was determined to learn to play the trumpet much to the dismay of my parents, grandparents, neighbors, our dog and cats. Eventually, my parents told me that they’d buy me any instrument I wanted that didn’t make quite so much noise. I settled on an electric guitar, much to their grief.

          Why did these people go all out in their praise service? They wanted everyone to hear. Why? Verse 15 says, “They swore it with their mind, sought Him with their hearts, and FOUND HIM! They FOUND GOD! That was their real need. This is our real need and the need of America.

          Our first point was “It’s Important To Start Well,” and Asa certainly did that. But:

IT’S MORE IMPORTANT TO FINISH WELL

          Earlier, it was said that Asa was a man of priorities, prayer and principles. But, the sad news is that he was also a man of PRIDE.

          For the first thirty-five years of his reign, King Asa served and relied upon God. But, remember what was said: “When things are going great, God is often forgotten.”

          Look back at 2 Chronicles 15:2 at Azariah’s warning: “And he went out to meet Asa, and said unto him, ‘Hear ye me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin: The Lord is with you, while you are with him; and if you seek him, he will be found by you; but if you forsake him, he will forsake you.”

          It’s sad but true that Asa started well, but didn’t finish well. Look at 2 Chronicles 16:12, “And Asa, in the thirty and ninth year of his reign, was diseased in his feet, until his disease was very great; yet in his disease he sought not the Lord, but the physicians.”

          It’s important to start well, but it’s more important to finish well.

IN CLOSING

          It’s important to not only start well, but it’s MORE important to finish well. Here’s the final scripture on Asa. II Chron. 16:13 reads, “And Asa slept with his fathers, and died in the one and fortieth year of his reign.”

          When he died, he died as a man who in the former years served God and sought God, but in the final years his epitaph reads simply: “he sought not to the Lord.” May God help us all not to become like Asa. I pray that we start well, but we also finish well.

By Pastor: Lamar Truitt