Sermon Central
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How To Get The Power Of God In Your Life
Contributed by Rick Pendleton on Feb 2, 2004 (message contributor)
Summary: God wants to show Himself strong on our behalf, but sometimes, because of our sin, He can not.
How To Get The Power of God On Your Life
Asa = King of Judah, the Southern Kingdom…. 2 tribes.
“Good King Asa” name = Healer
His country was healed… spiritually- lasted 150 years longer than Israel
The motto of his life is found in 14:2 “Asa did what was good and right in the eyes of the Lord his God.”
This was the defining characteristic of his life!
It shows up early in his life. When he came to the throne he was so intent on turning Judah to the Lord that he deposed his grandmother from her position as the queen mother because she was an idolater… she worshipped a false religion, an idol.
Even blood is not thicker than his love for God.
Asa did what was good and right in the eyes of the Lord no matter who did not like it… or who broke the law.
1 Kings also tells us that he did away with the homosexual prostitutes.
Then came the capstone of his reign as King when he MANDATED A NATIONAL REVIVAL.
Many use the saying, “You can not legislate morality.”
That is pure hogwash.
Asa proved them wrong because he passed a law, a decree that everyone who did not worship God would be executed.
There was a great national revival.
And because of Asa’s obedience, and the obedience of the people.. God blessed Asa and Judah.
They had not had any wars for the last tem years of Asa’s father’s life… and not they did not have any for 35 years.
They had peace… the desire of every king and national leader…peace.
LESSON: When a nation turns away from it’s idols and obeys the Lord… They will have peace.
There was one small problem… Even though Asa destroyed the idolaters and the idolatrous prostitutes and led the nation to turn to God in revival…
HE DID NOT DESTROY THE HIGH PLACES 15:17
He did not physically destroy the places where the idols had been worshipped… he let them stand.
But this was an oversight, an unintentional oversight… a mistake.
How do we know?
Because the next verse says NEVERTHELESS… “Asa’s heart was perfect before the Lord all of his life.” 15:18
So you get the picture of this obedient nation, led by this Godly man and they are blessed by the Lord.
SATAN IS NEVER HAPPY WITH THIS SITUATION.
So, Satan goes to work to mess it up.
First Satan tempts Baasha to try to put a blockade on Asa’s kingdom in order to weaken it so Baasha could defeat it.
Next, Satan tempts Asa to go to Ben Hadad and make a treaty with him to fight against Baasha.
Asa does… Ben Hadad does… and Baasha is done.
ENTER THE PROPHET HANANI…”Asa, you were disobedient and now God can no longer bless you and your people. Instead, He will punish you.”
The country entered perpetual wars. Asa became bitter and punished the prophet and mistreated his people. Finally, Asa died from a disease of the feet.
WHAT ELSE CAN WE LEARN?
1. GOD wants to show Himself powerful on behalf of His people.
2 Chron 16:9
Let me ask you a question…
“Does God desire to show Himself powerful on behalf of His people?
God wants to show Himself supremely powerful and particularly on behalf of His people.
2. Even though God is all powerful; Sometimes He can not show Himself powerful.
Some will say, “God can do anything He wants to do.”
Yes and no.
He has self-imposed limits on Himself and He MUST be true to those.
God has placed limits on His ability to bless His people. He can only bless those that met certain requirements.
Ps 78:41 puts it well… Yea, they turned back and tempted God, and limited the Holy One of Israel.
How in the world can a dying, decaying lump of flesh (us) limit the creator of all?
Mark 6:1-6 shows it too…
So does 1 Thess. 5:19 “Quench not the Holy Spirit.”
The people of Israel limited God… the Father
The people of Nazareth limited Jesus… The Son
The people of Thessalonica limited The Spirit
Listen to
DIS-OBEDIENCE!!!
Pure and simply…. Disobedience Limits God and His ability to use us, to bless us, and to fellowship with us.
How can the All-Powerful God be limited? DISOBEDIENCE!!!
3. When God does show Himself Powerful and Strong; He does so ONLY in regards to His own plans…..Not yours or mine!
God is not interested in making you look god!!!
He is only interested that HE be lifted up.
God is not interested in doing things your way!!!
He is doing things His way.
>>> Imagine that you go to an architect with your drawings. You think they are great. It id the 8th wonder of the world. And you say to the architect, “I want you to put your stamp on these plans of mine.”
