“Fully Committed to Him (Pt.2)”
Sermon – 15 August 2004
Last week I began a new sermon series entitled “Fully Committed To Him”. In that sermon we looked at the Life of King Asa – a King of Judah who was noted for being fully committed to God but in the end turned from the Lord in several ways.
We specifically discussed three things that Asa did that culminated in his coming under judgment and ultimately dying as a man who was no longer fully committed to the Lord.
I just want to briefly review the three points that we covered last week.
1. Rejected God’s Rule – 2 Chron 16:2-3
2 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. 3 "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."
Asa willfully rejected that which he knew to be God’s clear law for His people. It is important to remember that this rejection began as a seemingly minor point of compromise.
2. Rejected God’s Representative – 2 Chron 16:10
10 Asa was angry with [Hanani] because of this; he was so enraged that he put him in prison. At the same time Asa brutally oppressed some of the people.
Now Asa has come to the place where it has become necessary for God to send His representative because Asa refuses to respond to the Word of God.
3. Rejected God’s Remedy – 2 Chron 16:12
12 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.
The culmination of Asa’s slide from grace is the point where God has sent judgment on him and he refuses to go to the Lord and instead goes to the pagan doctors for his help.
This morning however, I want to back up a little in the story of Asa. Last week we took a sort of overview of Asa’s reign, focusing in on a few points.
Today I want to zero in a little bit more and look at what it was that made Asa a man who was fully committed to God.
Now, we know what came of his life and what brought him to that point but for a long time he was still known as a man fully committed to God.
Main Text: 2 Chronicles 15:1-19
Chapters 14 and 15 record a very good time under the reign of King Asa. There were reasons that Judah enjoyed such good times…
1. He Sought only the Lord – 2 Chron 14:7
7 "Let us build up these towns," he said to Judah, "and put walls around them, with towers, gates and bars. The land is still ours, because we have sought the LORD our God; we sought him and he has given us rest on every side." So they built and prospered.
In our main text Asa was told by the Lord through Azariah son of Oded to seek the Lord. In fact, he was specifically warned not to forsake the Lord for if he did, Asa would be forsaken.
I believe that this was more than an encouragement but also a prophetic warning.
But here in 2 Chron.14:7 we see that Asa had led the people of Judah in seeking the Lord and because of that the Lord had given them victory over their enemies and they had a time of rest.
It is interesting to note that God’s people are the ones who are exhorted to seek the Lord.
So often we think of seeking the Lord as it relates to those who do not know the Lord. And that is true, unbelievers must also seek the Lord.
In this text the word “seek” means to “seek with care, to inquire”
We must seek the Lord.
Jeremiah 29:13
You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.
We often quote this verse when witnessing to people about Christ but, this verse is speaking to God’s people in captivity in Babylon.
There is something else interesting in 2 Chron.14:7, and that is the result of their seeking the Lord.
The land is still ours, because we have sought the LORD our God; we sought him and he has given us rest on every side."
Because they sought the Lord he preserved their hold on the land and gave them rest.
There are so many Christians whose lives are filled with turmoil and strife and they cannot seem to understand why.
Far too often these people come to the place where they blame God for the conditions in which they find themselves.
Heb 4:9-11
9 There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; 10 for anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from his own work, just as God did from his. 11 Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will fall by following [the Israelites’] example of disobedience.
God’s intent is that we enter His rest (i.e. salvation) and remain there. Now, I am not saying that if we fail in seeking the Lord we relinquish our salvation.
But, when we fail to seek the Lord, we allow the enemy to occupy the land again…
The land is still ours, because we have sought the LORD our God…
Their possession of the land was directly tied to their seeking the Lord and whether or not they enjoyed God’s rest.
Many believers, because they are not fully committed to the Lord, are not seeking Him in the way they should – therefore, the enemy has taken up residence in the land, therefore they are not enjoying the rest of the Lord in the way they should.
2 Chronicles 15:12-13
12 They entered into a covenant to seek the LORD, the God of their fathers, with all their heart and soul. 13 All who would not seek the LORD, the God of Israel, were to be put to death…
When we fail to seek the Lord there will be death and destruction in our lives.
But if we seek the Lord with all our heart their will be peace and blessing from God.
2 Chronicles 15:14-15
14 They took an oath to the LORD with loud acclamation, with shouting and with trumpets and horns. 15 All Judah rejoiced about the oath because they had sworn it wholeheartedly. They sought God eagerly, and he was found by them. So the LORD gave them rest on every side.
We must not only seek him, but seek him earnestly!
We must continue to seek the Lord.
As it relates to Asa, He Sought the Lord…
2. He was Strong in the Lord – 2 Chron.15:7
7 But as for you, be strong and do not give up, for your work will be rewarded."
We are called to be strong, but our strength must be found in the Lord. It is when we seek to be strong in our own eyes that we find ourselves in trouble.
Seeking the Lord and being strong in him really go hand in hand.
In 2 Chron.20 King Jehoshaphat is facing attack from three armies…Ammon, Moab and Mount Seir. Now, Judah’s army was much stronger than that of the three armies they were facing but, nonetheless, Jehoshaphat leads his people in seeking the Lord.
Afterward, the word of the Lord comes to them… 2 Chron 20:15-17
15 He said: "Listen, King Jehoshaphat and all who live in Judah and Jerusalem! This is what the LORD says to you: ’Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle is not yours, but God’s. 16 Tomorrow march down against them. They will be climbing up by the Pass of Ziz, and you will find them at the end of the gorge in the Desert of Jeruel. 17 You will not have to fight this battle. Take up your positions; stand firm and see the deliverance the LORD will give you, O Judah and Jerusalem. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Go out to face them tomorrow, and the LORD will be with you.’"
The way of the world would have been for Jehoshaphat to go out against these armies in his own strength. But he knew how to be strong in the Lord.
As Americans we too can become too confident in our nation’s strength as a world superpower. We must recognize that all things of the world are fleeting and temporary.
2 Corinthians 11:30
If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness.
Being strong in the Lord means that we set aside the things that the world perceives as strength. Jehoshaphat may have perceived that his battle was with the three armies coming against him.
In reality, the battle belonged to the Lord. So it is with us…
Ephesians 6:10-12
10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
Being strong in the Lord means that we recognize the spiritual battle we face and we rely completely on him for we truly have no power in ourselves over the forces of darkness
However, as we recognize that we are powerless then God’s strength is manifest in us.
1 Corinthians 16:13-14
13 Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be men of courage; be strong. 14 Do everything in love.
When Martin Luther had openly broken with the church of Rome, and refused to recant, plots were made against his life. This led various knights to offer their services in his defense, but Luther would not accept their protection.
“I will not resort to arms and bloodshed for the defense of the Gospel,” he said. “It is by the preaching of the Word that the world has been conquered. By the Word the church has been saved. And by the Word, also, it will be restored. I will depend on none but Christ alone.”
—True Stories
Psalm 61:3
For you have been my refuge, a strong tower against the foe.
We must be at the place with our Lord where nothing we have matters as much to us as seeking him and finding our strength in him.
Whether it is position, experience, maturity etc. it all comes from him in the first place and we must not place our confidence in those things.
As we saw in Ephesians, we are to be strong IN THE LORD and in HIS MIGHTY POWER.
He Sought only the Lord…He was Strong in the Lord
