Give It To God (and let Him keep it)
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· 46 views1/9/2022, AM Worship
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Introduction
Introduction
Good morning and welcome back!
Last week when we were together I mentioned in passing the need for us to give things to God.
And not only give them to God, but give them to God and not taking them back.
And I felt impressed to dig a little deeper into the subject of giving to God and letting God keep things a little deeper this morning.
And we are going do so while talking about King Asa.
Now, who here has spent a lot of time studying about King Asa and the Kingdom of Judah during his reign?
It's not surprising if you haven't, because there are only three chapters in 2 Chronicles (14-16) and (15) verses in 2 Kings 15 (9-24) dedicated to Asa, his life, and his rule over Judah.
So, not a whole lot of Scripture in the grand scheme of things.
However, even though there was not a lot written about Asa, we can learn a great deal from Asa and his life and rule over Judah.
Our passage this morning is going to come from 2 Chronicles 14:9-13.
And our scripture focus actually takes place in the middle of a high point in Asa's rule and illustrates a great blessing and miracle of God.
Unfortunately, things didn't end as well for Asa as they had started.
So, we are going to be covering a lot of ground this morning so lets dig into the life of this great king of Judah.
Again, 2 Chronicles 14, starting in verse 9 . . .
Scripture Focus
Scripture Focus
Zerah the Cushite marched out against them with a vast army and three hundred chariots, and came as far as Mareshah. Asa went out to meet him, and they took up battle positions in the Valley of Zephathah near Mareshah. Then Asa called to the Lord his God and said, “Lord, there is no one like you to help the powerless against the mighty. Help us, O Lord our God, for we rely on you, and in your name we have come against this vast army. O Lord, you are our God; do not let man prevail against you.” The Lord struck down the Cushites before Asa and Judah. The Cushites fled, and Asa and his army pursued them as far as Gerar. Such a great number of Cushites fell that they could not recover; they were crushed before the Lord and his forces. The men of Judah carried off a large amount of plunder.
Peace and Safety
Peace and Safety
So, what we just read was an account of Asa going to war with the Cushites and God destroying the Cushite army, their fleeing, and victory coming to Judah.
And this was not the only high point in Asa’s rule over Judah.
2 Chronicles 14 actually starts out on a high note . . .
And Abijah rested with his fathers and was buried in the City of David. Asa his son succeeded him as king, and in his days the country was at peace for ten years.
So, Asahwas the son of Abijah and took over as the king of Judah after his father had died.
Asa was the third king to rule in Judah after the kingdom was divided (between Judah and Israel).
His father was buried in Jerusalem (City of David) and Asa enjoyed something that few Kings of any nation enjoyed, 10 years of peace and quiet.
Why though?
Why did Asa have this special favor with God?
Well, it all had to do with Asa’s character and Asa’s relationship with God . . .
Asa did what was good and right in the eyes of the Lord his God.
Asa was in tune with God!
And this was also reflected in how Asa led his people as well . . .
He removed the foreign altars and the high places, smashed the sacred stones and cut down the Asherah poles. He commanded Judah to seek the Lord, the God of their fathers, and to obey his laws and commands. He removed the high places and incense altars in every town in Judah, and the kingdom was at peace under him.
Now does that mean that Asa never had a day of trouble?
Never had a bad day during this first 10 years of his reign?
No, that's not what it says.
The Bible says THE LAND WAS QUIET 10 YEARS and THE KINGDOM WAS QUIET BEFORE HIM.
But it never says there were no challenges.
That no trouble ever came.
That there were no obstacles that they had to overcome.
The thing that made it "quiet" was the fact that Asa was right with God.
Asa had God on his side and Asa knew that whatever came his way, God would see him through it.
He trusted God and gave everything over to God.
He knew that God was in control of all things.
In fact Jesus tells us that . . .
that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.
In other words, God knows what God is doing.
And all things are under God’s power.
So, just because the kingdom was quiet, doesn't mean that every day was 100% perfect.
The difference was that Asa had a source of help in his time of need.
He had somebody to turn to and was under the leadership and guidance of someone greater than man.
The Lord is my light and my salvation— whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life— of whom shall I be afraid? When evil men advance against me to devour my flesh, when my enemies and my foes attack me, they will stumble and fall. Though an army besiege me, my heart will not fear; though war break out against me, even then will I be confident.
And many, many other Psalms that tell us the same thing.
And also remember the words of Paul . . .
No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.
So, again, it wasn't so much that nothing ever happened during that first ten years, it was that Asa knew how to handle it because he was in tune with God.
Asa had INNER PEACE because he was right with God.
Things that otherwise were a "big deal" wasn't so big anymore.
God was handling it and God was in control.
Here are some Scripture to illustrate what I'm talking about.
Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,
And . . .
For he himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by abolishing in his flesh the law with its commandments and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace,
And finally . . .
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
This is what Asa enjoyed.
And this is what we also can enjoy, IF we can turn everything over to God.
IF we can fully trust in God.
It is no different for an Old Testament King than it is for a 21st Century Christian.
God is no different, but we have to choose to take what God is offering us.
The Cushite Test
The Cushite Test
Asa did and the Bible goes on to say that during this time Asa did some great things for the nation of Judah:
He refortified the cities.
Built walls, towers, and gates to protect the land.
Built up an army of 580,000 men.
However, like all of us, there would come a time when Asa's faith in God would be put to the test.
There would come a time when Asa would have to grow and develop a deeper relationship and deeper walk with God.
And, that time came after 10 years of peace in the land.
Zerah the Cushite marched out against them with a vast army and three hundred chariots, and came as far as Mareshah.
Zerah, the king of ancient Ethiopa (Cush-Modern day Sudan, not Modern Ethiopia) came out to make war with Asa.
Zerah didn't come with a small army either.
He had "an host of a thousand thousand” as the KJV puts it.
Now, in Hebrew there is no word for a number bigger than 1000, so when you see "1000-1000" it typically means "a great multitude," which is generally a million or more.
So Zerah and at least a million men.
Not only that but also 300 chariots.
That doesn't seem like a lot of chariots but on each chariot there was 2 to 3 men, so you are looking at an additional 600-900 men in addition to 1,000,000 foot soldiers.
All coming out to fight against Asa and his 580,000 men.
So, Zerah had an army twice the size of Asa's.
So, what was Asa going to do?
Asa went out to meet him, and they took up battle positions in the Valley of Zephathah near Mareshah.
Okay…So, it’s obvious that Asa was not going to back down.
He didn't retreat into his fortified cities.
He didn't beg for mercy and try to strike a deal with Zerah.
He took his army and marched out against them.
Because he had something that Zerah didn't have on his side.
He had God!
And it was because during that 10 years of peace Asa had learned to trust in God and had learned that God would be there and God would protect him.
He learned that as long as he was in God's will that God would guide and direct his path and God would show him what to do.
The words of his forefather David rang in his ears . . .
Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.
And Moses . . .
For the Lord your God is a merciful God; he will not abandon or destroy you or forget the covenant with your forefathers, which he confirmed to them by oath.
And . . .
Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.”
So, instead of cowering in fear, this is what Asa did . . .
Then Asa called to the Lord his God and said, “Lord, there is no one like you to help the powerless against the mighty. Help us, O Lord our God, for we rely on you, and in your name we have come against this vast army. O Lord, you are our God; do not let man prevail against you.”
He prayed to the Lord.
He turned it over to God to take care of.
Asa knew that he couldn't do it in his own power.
Asa knew that this thing was bigger than him and bigger than his ability to do anything.
So he did what he knew, he gave it to God.
And, he didn't give it to God and then go and take it back.
He gave it to God and left it there.
He trusted God to take care of it.
And this was the result . . .
The Lord struck down the Cushites before Asa and Judah. The Cushites fled, and Asa and his army pursued them as far as Gerar. Such a great number of Cushites fell that they could not recover; they were crushed before the Lord and his forces. The men of Judah carried off a large amount of plunder. They destroyed all the villages around Gerar, for the terror of the Lord had fallen upon them. They plundered all these villages, since there was much booty there. They also attacked the camps of the herdsmen and carried off droves of sheep and goats and camels. Then they returned to Jerusalem.
Total and complete victory.
Because Asa gave it to God and let God keep it!
Relying on Man and Not God
Relying on Man and Not God
And that's where we get into trouble lots of times, we will give it to God but then we want to take it back.
Either that or we come across something bigger and worse than we had ever faced before and we forget about giving it to God.
We think for some reason that this is too big for God and we try to take care of it ourselves.
We give in and begin to listen to others an give it to man to handle.
And Asa wasn’t immune to this either.
For the first 35 years of his reign in Judah things went well and he followed after God, but in year 36, some things began to happen that will forever mar the rule of Asa in Judah.
In the thirty-sixth year of Asa’s reign Baasha king of Israel went up against Judah and fortified Ramah to prevent anyone from leaving or entering the territory of Asa king of Judah.
So, after 35 years, Judah and Israel, their own brothers begin to "have words."
Actually, the Bible says that Baasah the king of Israel came up against Judah, or they wanted to go to war with Judah.
They went as far as build (ing) Ramah so that no one could enter or leave the kingdom of Judah.
What this was, was sort of like the Berlin wall.
They built this border and armed it so you couldn't freely come and go.
Okay, no biggie, Asa had battled foes before.
Actually he had battled bigger armies than this one.
However, something had changed.
Asa's attitude had changed.
For some reason, he didn't go to the Lord, trust in the Lord, ask the Lord for help.
Asa had grown accustomed to things going his way.
He had grown complacent in his walk with God.
He had gotten a little too comfortable in his own current condition.
Decided he didn't need God for this one, he'd just take car of it himself.
So this is what he did . . .
Asa then took the silver and gold out of the treasuries of the Lord’s temple and of his own palace and sent it to Ben-Hadad king of Aram, who was ruling in Damascus. “Let there be a treaty between me and you,” he said, “as there was between my father and your father. See, I am sending you silver and gold. Now break your treaty with Baasha king of Israel so he will withdraw from me.”
Instead of praying to God, Asa gathered up the gold and treasures and went to Syria and paid the king of Syria to enter into a league with him to fight against Israel.
So, Asa in effect, took from God and gave to man.
The gold and treasures that were God's he turned over to man for man's help instead of God's.
And so . . .
Ben-Hadad agreed with King Asa and sent the commanders of his forces against the towns of Israel. They conquered Ijon, Dan, Abel Maim and all the store cities of Naphtali.
Benhadad, king of Syria didn't have anything to lose.
So, he said, "okay."
Syria had a big army and it really didn't mean much to them, so they took the money and sent out the army.
When Baasha heard this, he stopped building Ramah and abandoned his work. Then King Asa brought all the men of Judah, and they carried away from Ramah the stones and timber Baasha had been using. With them he built up Geba and Mizpah.
So when Israel heard about it, they abandoned their plan and went home.
Asa went down to Ramah, tore down the wall and built up the towns of Geba and Mizpah.
In reality, Asa's plan worked.
It wasn't the way God would have done it, but hey it worked, no harm, just lost some money in the deal.
Well, God having mercy on Asa, and acknowledging 35 years of walking with Him, gave Asa a chance to repent and to change his ways.
God send's Hanani, the prophet (seer) to Asa to deliver a message of rebuke to Asa that is recorded in verses 7-9.
And, this would have been a perfect time for Asa to repent and turn back to God.
God was trying to get his attention before it was too late.
Trying to help Asa see where his help comes from and who is actually looking out for him.
Trying to get Asa to rely on Him and trust in Him for all things, no matter how big they are.
Did Asa repent though? NO.
He reacted like we do lots of times when someone points out that we are not doing things God's way.
Asa was angry with the seer because of this; he was so enraged that he put him in prison. At the same time Asa brutally oppressed some of the people.
He got angry, threw the prophet in jail, and then went on and persecuted the people of God at the same time.
Here's how we do it, we get mad at the person telling us these things (usually the preacher), quit the church, and speak bad about God's people.
Try to make everybody look as bad as we feel.
This was all in year 36 of Asa's reign, but it got worse . . .
In the thirty-ninth year of his reign Asa was afflicted with a disease in his feet. Though his disease was severe, even in his illness he did not seek help from the Lord, but only from the physicians.
So, not only did Asa's spirit become diseased, but his body also did.
He developed some type of foot disease.
The Bible doesn't say but I would say probably Gangrene or something similar.
He did what we do many times, he went to the doctor.
NOW DON'T GET ME WRONG, I believe in going to the doctor, taking medicine, and relying on medical knowledge.
God gave these people the knowledge and tools to do these miraculous things that doctors do.
So, don't go out of here saying, "The preacher says we shouldn't go to the doctor or take medicine."
Asa put ALL his faith in these doctors to heal him.
He put ALL his hope in them and their ways and he forgot about God's part in all of this.
It was okay for Asa to go to the doctor, but Asa forgot than any healing would come from God.
He forgot to turn it over to God and let God keep it.
And the end result . . .
Then in the forty-first year of his reign Asa died and rested with his fathers.
So, after suffering for two years with this Asa died.
Would Asa have been cured and lived longer if he would have given it to God?
Maybe, maybe not.
We don't know if that would have been what God would have done.
Many times, we come and pray for a physical healing and we will get that healing if we are a child of God.
Sometimes in this life, sometimes the next, but God will answer the prayer.
Altar/Challenge
Altar/Challenge
But many times we don’t give God a chance to work.
There are lots of things in our lives that we can/do bring before the Lord in prayer.
Sometimes He answers the way we want, sometimes he doesn't.
Sometimes though, God doesn't move for us the way we want, because of two reasons:
We refuse to give it to Him to deal with.
We refuse to let Him keep it and trust Him to deal with it.
However, there are also other reasons.
We don’t really know sometimes.
What we do know is we must be in a right relationship with God—in tune with God in order to hear from God.
Does that mean that He is going to step out and take care of whatever struggle you are going through right here and now?
Yes and no.
Yes, because if you are walking with Him, you can give to Him and leave it with Him and He will take care of it.
No in that He may not take care of it in the way that we want or are expecting.
It will be taken care of according to His will and His plan, but it will be taken care of.
But we have to be willing to Give it to God and Let God Keep It.
Can we do that today?
Let’s pray . . .