THE REIGN OF KING ASA

(2 Chronicles 14-16).

Today I’m going to talk to you what I’ve learned so far on this journey of faith I am on with Jesus, and the story of king Asa in 2 Chronicles 14-16 is going to help me.

SAY — JESUS IS REAL! JESUS IS ALIVE! AND HE LOVES ME! (SAY IT AGAIN).

I. Introduction

Not only is Jesus real, alive, and does He love us, but He hears us when we cry out to Him, and answers us when we call.

Did you know that? He hears us when we cry out to Him.

King David said in Psalms 22 — “in you our ancestors trusted and you rescued them. They trusted in you and were not disappointed”

Jesus is not just some distant deity we talk about every Sunday that we can’t have relationship with...but He is near to us and we can actually KNOW HIM.

Did you know that? We can actually know this precious Jesus.

...AND BETTER THAN THAT — HE WANTS US TO KNOW HIM?

Did you know that we were created for that very purpose?

That Jesus didn’t die to give us hell insurance (you know Jesus doesn’t work for Geico or State Farm), but the purpose of His death was to reconcile relationship between us and God.

He died to bring us back to the Garden: the place of God’s presence. — so that we can know Him.

if we know Him, we trust Him.

And if we trust and believe Him, we will see His glory.

Today we’re talking about the reign of king Asa - someone who trusted in the LORD and was not put not disappointed.

Asa was a king who believed Hebrews 11:6 before it was even written: He believed that God not only existed, but that He is a rewarded of those who diligently seek Him.

He experienced this very reality during his reign in, as we will see.

Faith isn’t just believing something intellectually (with the mind).

It’s not looking at a church’s statement of faith and saying, “Yeah, I agree with that.” Anyone can do that!

You don’t even necessarily need faith for that, because faith isn’t intellectual.

In fact, unless saving faith has its work in our heart where our heart is turned from stone to flesh (Ezekiel 11:14-21), our mind is completely corrupted.

The mind follows the heart. Not the other way around.

Just like as a man speaks from the heart, so does he understand from the heart.

Hebrews 11:1 - says faith is the reality of what is HOPED FOR, proof of what is NOT SEEN.

In other words, Faith is knowing for certain that something is true based on the reality of who God is and what He is able to do, even though it might not be right in front of you.

FOR EXAMPLE: It’s like when Abraham believed God when God told him he would have a son, even though it was COMPLETELY PHYSICALLY IMPOSSIBLE for his wife to bear children — both by her closed womb and her old age.

Despite that (BECAUSE OF HIS FAITH) — Romans 4 tells us Abraham believed the God he KNEW over his physical circumstances — the reality of God was greater to him than physical reality, and God counted it to him as righteousness.

That’s FAITH!

Faith is looking at my circumstances and saying, “MY GOD IS GREATER.”

It’s saying, despite my circumstances, “NO WEAPON FORMED AGAINST ME WILL PROSPER.”

It’s breaking camp and walking into the Red Sea before it parts, because you KNOW the God in whom you believe is FAITHFUL and ABLE.

FAITH PUTS YOU TO WORK.

James tells us this: FAITH without WORKS is DEAD. This isn’t simply talking about the works of obedience. “Oh well, I believe in God so I’m going to do all the diddly things religion tells me to do.”

No, that’s not entirely what He’s talking about here. The Pharisees and their followers did that and made life with God about that, and they didn’t even know God when He stared them in the face.

God isn’t as interested in your behaviors as much as He’s interested in your heart. Why?!

Because He knows that when your heart is transformed, your behaviors will be transformed.

Pharisees always make it about behavior, but Jesus People make it about the heart.

So James isn’t talking about our behaviors in working, but He’s about someone who’s faith is proven by action.

It’s someone who KNOWS God to the point that He is willing to put everything on the line in the Name of the God He believes in.

The person of faith risks it all because they understand that God is the God of the impossible, and that He WILL DO the impossible for me.

The person of says, “No matter what is happening in my life — whether good or bad — I’m placing my hope in the living God because HE IS ALIVE and He RESPONDS TO HIS PEOPLE, He WORKS on their behalf, and He loves me.”

He is not just GOD...but He’s MY GOD, He’s MY DELIVERER, He’s MY HEALER, He’s MY SAVIOR, He’s MY PROVIDER, He’s MY VICTORY, He’s MY PEACE. HE IS, and He IS MINE…AND I AM HIS.

To HIM I go for help and I seek His face, because He responds to those who SEEK HIM and look to Him for help. The story of king Asa will show us this, as do countless other stories.

Believing in something without ever doing anything about it accounts for nothing.

If you do nothing, if there is no fruit, then you don’t really believe. A profession of faith means nothing without the evidence of faith.

Jesus saved us for good works and to be fruit bearers (Ephesians 2:10; John 15).

Those connected with the Vine, bear fruit.

NOT JUST IN RIGHTEOUS LIVING, BUT IN INTIMACY WITH JESUS…CLOSENESS…FELLOWSHIP.

AN INTIMACY THAT PRODUCES A LIFE OF FAITH AND TRUST IN A GOD WHO IS REAL AND ALIVE.

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II. The Background

In 2 Chronicles 14 Asa is crowned king of Judah.

He is two kings removed from Solomon.

The kingdom has been split in two between the Northern 10 tribes of Israel and the southern kingdom of Judah.

As the result of Israel’s unfaithfulness to the LORD, they do not have the rest God promised. The area is always in conflict.

Most of the kings during the two kingdom period were horrible nightmares…with only a handful of Judah’s kingdom being faithful to the LORD.

Asa, in the beginning, was a good king, but toward the end he lost his way.

I’m going to break down Asa’s reign into two sections, because that’s who the Bible lays it out.

In the first section of his reign, he trusts in the LORD and it goes very well for him (EXEMPLIFIED BY THE FIRST BATTLE), and in the second section he doesn’t trust the LORD and it goes very bad for him (EXEMPLIFIED BY THE SECOND BATTLE).

It’s amazing how conflict, battle, suffering, trials expose us, isn’t it?

Some ask: why trials? Why does we go through it, LORD?

This is partly why: Trials reveal to us where we are (but that’s another sermon).

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III. THE STORY OF TWO BATTLES

2 Chronicles 14 tells us Asa started his reign rightly by tearing down the places of idolatry in Judah, and he instructs the people to seek the LORD (14:1-4).

As a result, the land experienced peace and rest (14:5, 7).

What takes place further are the two battles and Asa’s RESPONSES to the battles.

Notice here in this story that the circumstances are never what determine the outcome.

It’s always the response to the circumstances that determine the outcome.

In 14:8, Zerah the Cushite decides he wants to start something with Judah and sends a million soldiers to destroy them.

How king Asa responds is the key here.

Let’s read:

READ 2 CHRONICLES 14:11-13

2 Chronicles 14:11–13 CSB

Then Asa cried out to the Lord his God, “Lord, there is no one besides you to help the mighty and those without strength. Help us, Lord our God, for we depend on you, and in your name we have come against this large army. Lord, you are our God. Do not let a mere mortal hinder you.” So the Lord routed the Cushites before Asa and before Judah, and the Cushites fled. Then Asa and the people who were with him pursued them as far as Gerar. The Cushites fell until they had no survivors, for they were crushed before the Lord and his army. So the people of Judah carried off a great supply of loot.

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A. FIRST BATTLE

King Asa (instead of going to find help somewhere else) goes to the LORD for help, declares that there is no one else who can help him, and that they depend on God alone (11).

Asa had real faith, and put it into action!

His circumstances were very bad, some might say “impossible,” but because he had faith in God and experienced the goodness of God prior, he knew where to go.

He believed and he knew that if he cried out to the LORD, the LORD would hear him.

WHAT’S THE RESULT: “The LORD ROUTED THE CUSHITES” (12)!

...AND then they completely destroyed their enemy and took all their money. Not only did trusting in the LORD give them the victory, but it made them wealthy!

Even more than that: the decision of King Asa to trust in the LORD and the subsequent victory led to national revival.

READ 15:1-4, 7-19

The result of trusting in the LORD was victory, blessing, spiritual awakening, and rest on every side.

DOESN’T THAT SOUND AMAZING?

We look around at our country and try to figure out what’s gone wrong…well it’s this.

If we had more royal priests (as Peter calls us) who trusted in the LORD instead of doing things man’s way, we just might have victory, blessing, rest, and revival in America.

If we would just trust the LORD and do what He says and pursue Him with our WHOLE HEART…we would see things we can’t even imagine.

Like Ephesians 3:20 says, “Now to Him who is able to do above and beyond all that we ask our think according to the power that works in us…”

THOSE WHO TRUST IN GOD AND BELIEVE IN GOD WILL SEE THE GLORY OF GOD (JOHN 11:40).

DON’T YOU WANT TO SEE GOD’S GLORY IN YOUR LIFE?

YOU CAN.

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B. SECOND BATTLE

BUT BY THE TIME THE SECOND BATTLE CAME, SOMETHING IN ASA HAD CHANGED.

the Bible doesn’t say, but we know it’s true because of how he responds to the second battle.

In the 36th year of Asa’s reign Baasha, King of Israel, comes to make war against Judah, and instead of going to the LORD like the last time he needed help, Asa went to the king of Syria (Aram).

WHAT’S THE RESULT? Temporary relief. Israel backed off, but the longterm result was crushing.

READ 2 Chronicles 16:7-10

2 Chronicles 16:7–10 CSB

At that time, the seer Hanani came to King Asa of Judah and said to him, “Because you depended on the king of Aram and have not depended on the Lord your God, the army of the king of Aram has escaped from you. Were not the Cushites and Libyans a vast army with many chariots and horsemen? When you depended on the Lord, he handed them over to you. For the eyes of the Lord roam throughout the earth to show himself strong for those who are wholeheartedly devoted to him. You have been foolish in this matter. Therefore, you will have wars from now on.” Asa was enraged with the seer and put him in prison because of his anger over this. And Asa mistreated some of the people at that time.

Because Asa didn’t rely on the LORD but relied on men to save him, Asa not only loses friendship with Syria, but his land will be at constant war for the rest of his days.

No more rest, just war.

This is the result in our own lives when we decide to look for rest in other places other than Jesus.

Jesus tells us in Matthew 11 that those who are weary to come to Him and He will give them REST for their souls.

Unfortunately for many of us, we run to other things or people to meet the need, and we only end up in a BIGGER mess.

Because those things can never satisfy.

They can never meet the need.

AND THE TRUTH IS that we go to those things instead of the LORD because of unbelief, and that was Asa’s crime. He lost His faith in God.

When Asa trusted the LORD it led to victory, blessing, and revival — both individually and nationally.

When Asa did not trust the LORD, it led to destruction.

Ultimately, it led to his premature death (16:12-13).

Faith is Life. Unbelief is death.

The LORD is looking for people who believe Him and whose hearts are completely His.

He waits for someone — even in this room — to have really believe Him and, as a result, to put it all on the line for Him... Even for the little things.

Do we think paying for school supplies or tuition or clothing or rent is too hard or insignificant for God?

Do we think depression, anxiety, our identity, anger, abuse, or anything else is too big for God to handle?

He will save you like He saved me.

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IV. CONCLUSION

Jesus has come to give us life and life abundantly. The LORD’s plans for us are to prosper us and to give us hope and a future, but we need to seek Him. We need to pursue Him. We need to place all of our trust in Him, and He invites us to do that today and for the rest of our lives.

Trust Jesus, obey Jesus, and watch Him — the real, living God — do things in your life that you can’t even imagine.