Remain Connected To The Source

Last Sunday we read 2 Chronicles 14 and 15. Today we will read chapter 16 and at the end we will draw lessons from king Asa’s dynamic relationship with God. 

2 Chronicles 16

In the thirty-sixth year of the reign of Asa, Baasha king of Israel came up against Judah and built Ramah, that he might let none go out or come in to Asa king of Judah. 2 Then Asa brought silver and gold from the treasuries of the house of the Lord and of the king’s house, and sent to Ben-Hadad king of Syria, who dwelt in Damascus, saying, 3 “Let there be a treaty between you and me, as there was between my father and your father. See, I have sent you silver and gold; come, break your treaty with Baasha king of Israel, so that he will withdraw from me.” 4 So Ben-Hadad heeded King Asa, and sent the captains of his armies against the cities of Israel. They attacked Ijon, Dan, Abel Maim, and all the storage cities of Naphtali. 5 Now it happened, when Baasha heard it, that he stopped building Ramah and ceased his work. 6 Then King Asa took all Judah, and they carried away the stones and timber of Ramah, which Baasha had used for building; and with them he built Geba and Mizpah.

7 And at that time Hanani the seer came to Asa king of Judah, and said to him: “Because you have relied on the king of Syria, and have not relied on the Lord your God, therefore the army of the king of Syria has escaped from your hand. 8 Were the Ethiopians and the Lubim not a huge army with very many chariots and horsemen? Yet, because you relied on the Lord, He delivered them into your hand. 9 For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him. In this you have done foolishly; therefore from now on you shall have wars.” 10 Then Asa was angry with the seer, and put him in prison, for he was enraged at him because of this. And Asa oppressed some of the people at that time.

11 Note that the acts of Asa, first and last, are indeed written in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel. 12 And in the thirty-ninth year of his reign, Asa became diseased in his feet, and his malady was severe; yet in his disease he did not seek the Lord, but the physicians.

13 So Asa rested with his fathers; he died in the forty-first year of his reign. 14 They buried him in his own tomb, which he had made for himself in the City of David; and they laid him in the bed which was filled with spices and various ingredients prepared in a mixture of ointments. They made a very great burning for him.

For the sake of those who missed out the previous sermon, we outlined the 3 levels of relationships and 3 considerations before one gets into a relationship. I encourage the reader to start with by first reading the previous message (you can click on this link).

Asa's life story fits only in in 3 short chapters, that is, 2 Chronicles 14, 15 and16; It is my prayer that  the Lord will grant us grace and we shall be ready to serve Him till our life stories will be written for many more chapters, for His glory.

When we continuously walk with God and grow deeper in our relationship with Him without wavering, our testimonies will be on peoples' lips for long and will be told to many generations as an encouragement for them to keep on with the faith. If you are relating with God, do not stop. If you cannot keep on flying, run; if you cannot run, walk; if you cannot walk, crawl; just do not stop. Do not ever stop relating with God. Remain connected to the source of all blessings; do not follow the blessings so much that you forget the giver of the blessings.

Many people are desperate for God in times of need but when He ministers to their needs they get too busy for Him and take the relationship for granted. May God help us. A story is told of a man who sought God earnestly till God overshadowed Him with blessings. With time the man got busy attending to the blessings and he even stopped praying. At one time he had a vision that God had taken his life and it was time for his name to be searched in heaven’s book of life. Interestingly, the name was nowhere in  the book of life yet the man was saved and kept sins away even though he was too busy for God. He appealed and asked God what might have happened. The Lord said to Him, "I realise as you were also so busy for me, I became so busy and did not get time to write your name in my books." The man suddenly woke up from the dream and vowed never to be too busy for God.

We are in a society where people seek God when they do not have; and because He is a faithful God, He blesses them and they forget. They forget that the relationship with God is not based on property, but on love. If we fast and pray to seek God for something, we should not be seasonal Christians but thank God continually, even after He blesses us; even if it means we be thankful through prayer and fasting. 

The Shepherd will not only give us what we need, but will also give us ability/ wisdom  to manage the blessings and still glorify Him. When you relate with God, enjoy the Good Shepherd’s care. God will even introduce you before kings and princes, when you deepen your relationship with Him. His word is more influential than the recommendation of worldly leaders. We do not do God a favour by going to church, by praying, fasting or living a holy life; we ultimately are the beneficiaries of the relationship..

From Asa’s  story, we see a man who loved God and destroyed idols. Never exalt idol worship in your family; do like Asa did, in 2 Chronicles 15:16:

Also he removed Maachah, the mother of Asa the king, from being queen mother, because she had made an obscene image of Asherah; and Asa cut down her obscene image, then crushed and burned it by the Brook Kidron.

Honor your parents, but at the same time do not bow down before any other god, except the only true God. By pulling down the idols from his land, Asa was deepening his relationship with God. As He continued with God, Asa fully trusted God to a level of freely asking Him for victory against the one million Ethiopians. Note that Asa was reminded over and over again that the Lord was with him when he is with Him and by being with the Lord, there was the blessing of seeking and finding Him, but forsaking God will make Him to forsake Asa (2 Chronicles 15:2). 

Brethren, we are not an exception to this. When we are with God, He is with us, and we seek Him and find Him. The moment we forsake Him and move in our own leading, He forsakes us. The choice is ours: To remain in Him and in His will and enjoy the blessing of Father /Shepherd’s care and relationships or to pursue our ways and we lose the relationship. May God help us.

Initially, Asa knew no other helper and he even believed the servants that the Lord sent to him. By and by, Asa made ally with Syrians and this was evil in God's sight. When God used His servant to send a warning to Asa, he imprisoned him. As a result, Asa lost the joy of being healthy and died of a painful disease.

Brethren, turning away to relate with wicked people is evil in God’s sight. What does the darkness and light have in common? Don’t you know bad company corrupts good morals? Isn’t this the way Samson chose when he married Delilah and it drew him away from God? My brother and sister, what are you doing always with the sinners, in their camps? You can only testify to them and tell them of Jesus but not have treaties, which makes you go where they go and do what they are doing. Psalm 1 talks of a blessed person as the one who does not stand on the way of the wicked.

In our times, when many church leaders and preachers have engaged in wickedness, there is a likelihood of viewing them with contempt. I caution all of us brethren to leave God as the judge of all men. Do no harm to God’s servants because God will always guard the anointing in His servants. The saddest thing in Asa’s story is that he finished the journey with pain. Church, purpose to remain in the will of God always and He will enable you to enjoy the relationship to the end.

Let us get a few lessons from Asa's story:

• Removal of any idols is not negotiable : Anything you have exalted above God in your life is an idol. Let time for God be time for God. Connect and relate with God in the right way. If there is anything we spend time on, that occupies space or that we adore more than God, it is an idol. Identify idols in your life, pull them down and put God first, in your life. Even children cannot take the place of God; He is a jealous God. This is the first step towards going into a deeper relationship with God. As we learnt a while ago in a sermon titled "Idol Worship" (you can read it by clicking on this link), in Ezekiel 14 idols can also be in the heart.

Respect people, but ensure you do not adore anyone. According to Daniel 4:30-33, King Nebuchadnezzar adored himself and forgot his relationships with God. God disciplined him by making him eat grass with the animals for 7 years. We should be careful, repent and pull down all idols. Talk the language of God, who says that when we have we should speak like we don't have, and when we don't have we speak like we do. Friends, money, family etc. have to step aside, for us to relate well with God. Repent of any idol worship in your life, and return to God.

• Rebuild your life: Asa, in 2 Chronicles 15:7, rebuilt the city. Have a direction in your life. Think right and have a restored life. Time has come that we stop living lives as mediocre Christians. Prosperity pleases God, as we see in 3 John 1:2 "Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers." Self-progress pleases God. Teach yourself to be diligent in whatever you do, to strengthen your relationship with God. The Bible states that the poor will not lack in our midst (Mark 14:7), but it does not have to be you. 

• Total dependence on God: When the enemy came, Asa relied on God (2 Chronicles 14:11. Learn to totally depend on God, and this is the time to do so. However, we must continually rely on God, at all times. Let us not be like Asa, who only depended on God for a short while and gave up, relying on the King of Syria (2 Chronicles 16:7). Allow God to reign as Lord over your life. 

• Remain in God: As we learn in 2 Chronicles 15:2, when you are with God, He is with you. It is not the feeling that God is with you that matters or should keep us going, it is the faith that He is with us. You may not feel like He is with you, but as long as you are right with Him, He is still with you. Connect with God in a very specific way. Let us build and strengthen our relationship with God. Do not go after the ordinary, desire more from God. Remain and abide in Christ (John 15). Draw near to Him and He will draw near to you (James 4:8).

• Give sacrifices and offerings to the Lord: 2 Chronicles 5:11: And they offered to the Lord at that time seven hundred bulls and seven thousand sheep from the spoil they had brought. If the Lord has kept you, give Him a sacrifice of thanksgiving. This builds and strengthens the relationship with God. You go deeper when you become a giver. Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice his only son made God to declare him father of nations and a righteous man.
  
• Have a covenant with God. What is your commitment to God? Now that he has blessed you and is also lifting you, are you ready to tell Him you will forever live for Him and glorify Him. What covenant do you have in your relationship with God? He said He will never leave you nor forsake, He will be with you till the end of times, so what is your response to God’s commitment to you.

• Obey God, above any other person: Deuteronomy 28:1-14, Luke 14:26. 

• Never align yourself with/ compromise with sinners, who do not walk with God. Asa aligned himself with Syrians, who were enemies of God. Allow people in your life who are close to God. 

• Do not touch servants of God, like Asa did (2 Chronicles 16:10). 

• Have a teachable spirit. Learn to accept advice and council from true servants of God (2 Chronicles 20:20). Asa refused the counsel of God‘s servant and he was destroyed of a disease. Identify credible and God fearing people who can give you helpful counsel.

Desire to be a friend of God, like Lazarus, Noah, Enoch, Abraham and many others. These people showed us that it is possible to please God. In all you do, desire to please God. This will take you and keep you in a deep relationship with God. All to Jesus I surrender, all to Him I freely give.

Amen. 

-- Pastor Mary Mugo. 


(17/2/13 Sunday Service Sermon, Africa Transformation Mission. Pramukh Plaza, 6th Floor.)

Pastor Mary Mugo is a Pastor at Africa Transformation Mission, a ministry under Christ Harvesters Ministries.