2/20/21 Increasing God's Power in Our lives

Revival: Stronger Than Ever

Increasing God’s Power in Your Life

2 Chronicles 14-16

INTRO -

What kind of encouragement does a nation need when it emerges from a national crisis?

That’s the question Ezra is answering for us in the book of Chronicles.

And what kind of encouragement do you need when you’re facing a personal crisis?

That’s the question Ezra is answering for us in the section of Chronicles we’ll be looking at today.

First, a little context:

The book of Chronicles covers a 400-year period of time, called “The Kingdom Period,” because from 1000 B.C. to 600 B.C., Israel was ruled by kings.

Saul was its first king. He didn’t do so well. Ezra doesn’t spend much time on him.

David comes next. David was human in his sins, and amazing in his heart. The author of Hebrews calls him, “A man after God’s own heart.” Two weeks ago, we saw God ask David to build Him and altar. So he built the altar. But first, he bought the field for the altar, and the animals for the sacrifice, and the field in which he built the altar. He said, “I will not offer to the Lord my God that which cost me nothing.”

Next in the line of kings was Solomon. Last week we learned how his gift of wisdom endowed an entire nation.

2 Chronicles 10-13 tell the story of Solomon’s son, whose name was Rehoboam. Rehoboam was not a wise king. When the people asked him to lower their taxes, he raised them instead, which split the kingdom forever.

From that time on, Israel was a divided kingdom. The ten tribes in the north were known as “Israel.” And the two tribes in the south were called “Judah.”

Throughout its history, 19 kings ruled the kingdom of Israel, and not one of them followed the Lord.

And 20 kings ruled in the kingdom of Judah, and many of them tried to follow the Lord.

PURPOSE

Ezra, who is writing to a distressed people, is looking for positive examples to teach uplifting lessons. So Chronicles majors in the kings of the south.

After David, Solomon, and Rehoboam, come two kings whose names both start with A. The first one is Abijah. Abijah reigned for three years, so we’re going to skip him and go on to the second king whose name starts with A. His name is Asa.

FORECAST

Asa was not perfect, but he was one of the good kings.

Ezra is going to use the life of Asa to teach us three lessons on the power of faithfulness today.

Asa is going to show us that when we are faithful to God, God is unfailing to us.

He’s going to teach us that the faithful may have setbacks, but never full-on failures, because God is faithful to His faithful ones.

And all that God has is strongly available to the person who is strongly available to God.

OVERVIEW

Asa’s story spans three chapters of 2 Chronicles. Chapters 14, 15, and 16.

The first chapter is a lesson from a ROUTE.

The second chapter is a lesson from a REVIVAL.

And the third chapter is a lesson from a REBUKE.

So if you’re ready to do some learning today, take out your notes and open your Bibles to 2 Chronicles 14.…and while you’re doing that, pray with me,

“Lord Jesus, speak to me. Amen.”

Around 900 B.C., the king of “Cush,” which is modern day Ethiopia, was powerful enough to conquer the kingdom of Egypt. The country north of Egypt was Judah, which happened to be ruled by young king Asa.

2 Chronicles 14:8 tells the story:

Asa had an army of three hundred thousand from Judah bearing large shields and spears, and two hundred eighty thousand from Benjamin bearing regular shields and drawing the bow. All these were valiant warriors. 9 Then Zerah the Cushite came against them with an army of one million men and three hundred chariots. They came as far as Mareshah. 10 So Asa marched out against him and lined up in battle formation in Zephathah Valley at Mareshah.

If you do the math, Asa is outnumbered almost two to one. He does the best thing he can do: he prays. Verse 11…

11 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.”

12 So the Lord routed the Cushites before Asa and before Judah, and the Cushites fled. 13 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. - 2 Chronicles 14:8-13

APPLICATION

Imagine yourself as a young king. Maybe 30 years old. You get wind that a million-man army is coming against you.

Everyone under your care, every person you love, every thing, every animal, every building, every field in your kingdom is about to be overrun, broken, killed, ravaged, or stolen.

What do you do?

You do what every person of faith does: you pray your knuckles white. You call on the Lord. “Lord,” Asa says, “there is no one besides you to help us. Help us, Lord, because we depend on you.”

And what does God do?

He answers. He does what you ask, and more than what you ask. He not only protects your kingdom and everyone you love, he gives your enemy over to you, so that his army is destroyed, and can never come against you again.

It may have been this passage the Apostle Paul was thinking of when he wrote that God is able to do exceedingly, abundantly, above all you can ask or imagine.

NEED

Ezra is teaching a lesson to a people who are insecure and unsure. They’ve been away from home for 70 years. They’ve just moved back into their land. When you read the book of Nehemiah, you find that other people had moved into the neighborhood while Israel was away in exile, and they’re not happy the Israelites are back.

[Slowly] Ezra is writing to a people who feel insecure and unsure. – Like many of us do right now.

APPLICATION

We wonder, “Do I dare to eat at a restaurant? Is it safe for my kids to attend classes in person?” Ezra is teaching us a lesson in our faith and God’s faithfulness.

I call it, “The Lesson of the Route.”

Asa prays, and the Bible says, …the Lord routed the Cushites before Asa and before Judah, and the Cushites fled.

The Lesson of the Route is…

1. The Lesson of the Route: Call on the Lord, and He will fight for you. 2 Chron. 14:10-15

Listen: when you work, you get what you can do.

But when you pray, you get what God can do. And God can do anything.

- He can route a million-man army.

- He can supply all your needs, according to His riches in Christ Jesus.

- He can supply your financial needs. Your physical needs.

- He can give you a job in the midst of a pandemic.

- He can give you a friend.

- He can encourage you.

- He can keep you from falling.

- He can lead you not into temptation but deliver you from evil.

Sometimes He will let you feel outnumbered… so you can know that you count on Him.

The Lesson of the Route is, when you’re in a mess, be faithful to pray, so that God can be faithful to answer.

I hope you’re praying for a miracle these days. Because we need one! Don’t we?

We need a cure for the Coronavirus.

And if God can defeat a million-man army, He can defeat a single-cell organism, can’t He?

2 Chronicles 7:14

Last week Ezra reminded us that, “If my people, who are called by my name, will pray… I will heal their land.”

The Lesson of the Route is,

If I will be faithful to pray, He will be faithful to fight.

Say that out loud after me:

If I will be faithful to pray, He will be faithful to fight.

APPLICATION

So what are you going to do first thing tomorrow morning? – Pray.

And what are you going to do as soon as this sermon is over? – Ask a prayer partner to pray with you.

TRANSITION

Ezra’s second lesson comes in chapter 15.

The route is over, and Asa and his men are returning to their homes and families.

On their way home, the Lord sends them a prophet named Azariah to encourage them.

Chapter 15, verse 1 says…

The Spirit of God came on Azariah son of Oded. 2 So he went out to meet Asa and said to him, “Asa and all Judah and Benjamin, hear me. The Lord is with you when you are with him. If you seek him, he will be found by you, but if you abandon him, he will abandon you.

3 For many years Israel has been without the true God, without a teaching priest, and without instruction, 4 but when they turned to the Lord God of Israel in their distress and sought him, he was found by them. 5 In those times there was no peace for those who went about their daily activities because the residents of the lands had many conflicts. 6 Nation was crushed by nation and city by city, for God troubled them with every possible distress. 7 But as for you, be strong; don’t give up, for your work has a reward.”

8 When Asa heard these words and the prophecy of Azariah son of Oded the prophet, he took courage and removed the abhorrent idols from the whole land of Judah and Benjamin and from the cities he had captured in the hill country of Ephraim.

He renovated the altar of the Lord that was in front of the portico of the Lord’s temple. 9 Then he gathered all Judah and Benjamin, as well as those from the tribes of Ephraim, Manasseh, and Simeon who were residing among them, for they had defected to him from Israel in great numbers when they saw that the Lord his God was with him. 2 Chronicles 15:1-9

On the way home from a great victory, God asks Asa to make it even greater.

During the reigns of his father and grandfather, people had begun worshiping other gods. The gods of the Canaanites.

People built places of worship to Baal all over the land.

Asa thinks about the First Commandment, “I am the Lord your God. You shall have no other gods before me.” Asa sends wrecking crews out to tear down the pagan worship centers.

And he commissions the Levites to refurbish the Temple.

The people are so inspired by Asa’s leadership that they all flock to Jerusalem for a great celebration.

People from the northern tribes start moving south, just to be under Asa’s leadership.

Verse 10 says… They were gathered in Jerusalem in the third month of the fifteenth year of Asa’s reign.

The third month of the Jewish calendar is late May or early June. They’ve come together to celebrate the Feast of Pentecost.

Leviticus 23 says that at Pentecost, the nation was to sacrifice a bull, 7 lambs, and 2 rams.

Verse 11 says… At that time they sacrificed to the Lord seven hundred cattle and seven thousand sheep and goats from all the plunder they had brought.

● When David was asked to build an altar to the Lord, he did more than he was asked.

● When Solomon was seeking God’s favor, he sacrificed more than was expected.

● When Asa and his people make a sacrifice, they do 1,000 times more than they were asked.

When people love God deeply, they give to Him lavishly.

I love verse 12…

12 Then they entered into a covenant to seek the Lord God of their ancestors with all their heart and all their soul. 13 Whoever would not seek the Lord God of Israel would be put to death, young or old, man or woman.

These people were serious, weren’t they?

14 They took an oath to the Lord in a loud voice, with shouting, with trumpets, and with rams’ horns. 15 All Judah rejoiced over the oath, for they had sworn it wholeheartedly.

Their covenant said, “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. We will serve Him with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength.” And… “Whoever won’t seek the Lord, well, off with his head.” Zeal for the Lord was consuming them.

They took an oath. And not a quiet one. There was shouting, and trumpets, and ram’s horns.

This was a revival! – Everyone rejoiced, because everyone was all in for God.

Verse 15…They had sought him with all sincerity, and he was found by them.

In verse 2, the prophet said…The Lord is with you when you are with him. If you seek him, he will be found by you…

In verse 15, they sought the Lord, and he was by them.

The Lesson of the Revival is…

2. The Lesson of the Revival: Seek the Lord, and He will be found by you. 2 Chron. 15:1-15

Oh, how we need revival today. I hope you’re praying for a national revival these days.

NEED

How many people during these pandemic days do you suppose are feeling lost and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd? In April of 2020, the number of Google searches for “Is God Real?” doubled around the world.

People are seeking. We need a revival, and we need to gather as God’s people.

[NOTE TO PASTORS – Apply the Lesson of Revival to your context. Here’s how I applied it to mine.}

[APPLICATION]

I was frustrated every day in April and May, because it’s difficult to invite a friend to church online. They have to attend in their homes. But they couldn’t attend with us.

Now, with our parking lot service, we’re able to invite people to gather with us again.

These days, I’m dreaming of parking lots full of people, finding God in cars and beach chairs. I hope you’ll join me in praying for revival and inviting people to our Parking Lot.

The Lord is with you when you are with him. If you seek him, he will be found by you… 2 Chronicles 15:2b

This principle, this promise, is for every man, woman, boy and girl alive today.

How many people do you know who need to know this promise?

How many people do you think you can share this promise with this week?

- Maybe in person.

- Maybe via email.

- Or social media.

“You know Fred, God promises that if you seek Him, He will be found by you.”

“Sherry, God is available to you. If you seek Him, He will be found by you.”

“Hey Bill! You know where you can find God these days? In our church’s parking lot! You show up, and I promise, He’ll show up. If you seek Him, He will be found by you.”

TRANSITION

Here’s an interesting bit of trivia for you. Do you know where the concept of Revival comes from?

It comes from right here: the book of 2 Chronicles. 2 Chronicles is the book of Revivals. It has five of them in it, and this is the first.

Revival happens under Asa, Jehoshaphat, Joash, Hezekiah, and Josiah – and we’re going to look at all of them.

Ezra is teaching us that the renewal of a nation comes when its people seek the Lord together.

People are fearful and frustrated because of a virus and because of inequality. The solution to this frustration is a Savior who loves them.

Only God can change a human heart.

TRANSITION

So Asa assembles the people for Pentecost, and it’s so powerful that people come from outside the nation – from the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh and Simeon. And they get serious about God.

The chapter ends with this comment: There was no war until the thirty-fifth year of Asa’s reign. 2 Chronicles 15:19

For 25 years, there was peace. When you find God, you find peace.

APPLICATION

Will you pray with me for revival in our land?

Will you pray with me for revival in our city?

Revival has to start somewhere. Why couldn’t it start with us?

TRANS

Well, Ezra has a third lesson for us.

Chapter 14 is about the Route.

Chapter 15 is about the Revival.

Chapter 16 is about the Rebuke.

Because even though Asa was fervent for God in chapter 15, he let his temperature cool down.

25 years after the Revival, the Northern Kingdom, under a king named Baasha, begins to threaten the Southern Kingdom.

In order to stop the migration of his people into Judah, Baasha starts to build a border wall. His wall isn’t to keep people out, it’s to fence people in.

Chapter 16:1 says…

In the thirty-sixth year of Asa, Israel’s King Baasha went to war against Judah. He built Ramah in order to keep anyone from leaving or coming to King Asa of Judah.

Ramah was just 5 miles north of Jerusalem. It was on the main road that everyone had to travel if they wanted to get into the Kingdom of Judah.

If you’ll remember, years earlier, when the Cushites came against Judah, Asa turned to God and prayed for His help. This time he doesn’t. Instead…

2 So Asa brought out the silver and gold from the treasuries of the Lord’s temple and the royal palace and sent it to Aram’s King Ben-hadad, who lived in Damascus, saying, 3 “There’s a treaty between me and you, between my father and your father. Look, I have sent you silver and gold. Go break your treaty with Israel’s King Baasha so that he will withdraw from me.” 2 Chronicles 16:1-3

Where once Asa was filled with fervor, now he’s lulled by leisure. Instead of trusting God and leading his people in battle, he pays somebody else to do his fighting for him.

And it worked. Baasha withdrew his forces from Ramah. And you’d like to say, “And Asa lived happily ever after.” But he didn’t. Instead, God sent another prophet to him. This prophet says…

“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.” 2 Chronicles 16:7

Then he says, “Asa, do you not know that…

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. 2 Chronicles 16:9

“Asa, when you’re in trouble, call on me, and I’ll fight for you.”

Asa, what happened to your commitment to me?”

Asa, what happened to that covenant you signed? I was ready to rescue you. But you turned your head away from Me.”

“Asa, what happened to your faith?”

Friends, without a doubt, one of the greatest promises in all of Scripture is 2 Chronicles 16:9 - The eyes of the Lord roam throughout the earth to show himself strong for those who are wholeheartedly devoted to him. 2 Chronicles 16:9

Listen, listen: God is looking for fully devoted followers. And when He finds them, He fortifies. He adds strength to them. He does great things for them.

3. The Lesson of the Rebuke: Commit to the Lord, and He will fortify you. 2 Chron. 16:1-9

He will make you strong and He will show Himself strong on your behalf.

- Joseph saw this when God provided a way for him from the prison to the palace.

- Moses saw this when his back was against the Red Sea.

- Daniel saw this when God closed the mouths of the lions so he could live.

- Peter saw this when the angel opened the prison door.

You will see this when you commit your ways to Him fully. Not half-heartedly. But fully. When you say, without reservation, “All that I have is Yours. All that I am is Yours.”

Church, the eyes of the Lord roam throughout the earth, looking for people whose hearts are fully devoted to Him! And when He finds them, He fortifies them. He goes before them. He prepares a way for them. He brings down mountains and raises up valleys.

Throughout all of history, God has been building a family. It’s a family of people who have placed their trust in Him, who believe He is a good God, and is for them. God is building that family every day. And fortifying its members every minute.

God has laser-like focus and X-ray vision that looks right through flesh and straight into hearts. Place yourself under His shield of power and protection and fortification by giving your heart to Him fully, every day. When enemies come against you, resist the temptation to turn to the Ben-hadads of your world. Turn to the Lord and trust Him. Enter the battle with Him.

SUMMARY

He fights and He finds, and He fortifies. This is our God!

Church, renew your faithfulness in the One who has always been faithful to you. – For the eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those who are wholeheartedly devoted to Him.

CONCLUSION

Before we close, I have to ask:

How’s your heart these days?

● Is it fully on fire?

● Are you praying for God’s leadership in your life every day?

● Are you praying for God’s power to use you to further His kingdom?

● If God is asking you for a bull and some rams and sheep, are you giving him seven hundred and seven thousand of them?

Bow your head with me.

PRAYER

Lord, God, like Asa, there are times when we have been on fire for You. And we are lighting that fire again. When You look around the world, we want You to see us.

Friends, pray these words out loud after me:

Lord, if there is an assignment you want fulfilled

Choose me.

Call me.

Nudge me.

Lord, revive me again.

Lord, light Your fire in me again.

Lord, use our church to bring many to Christ.

Revive our city.

Revive our country.

Revive our world.

In Jesus’ name, Amen!

Just before I close my prayer, if you have never surrendered your life to Jesus, today could be your day. If you’d like to give Him your life, be forgiven of your sins, and become a follower of Him, would you pray this prayer after me right now?

Lord Jesus, I admit, I am a sinner in need of a Savior, and I invite You to be mine. Come into my heart. And live Your life through me. And I will live for You for the rest of my life. In Jesus’ name, Amen!

[NOTE TO PASTORS – Ask people who received Christ to respond somehow, either to a prayer counselor, or by coming forward, or whatever works in your traditio