A Resolution For A New
Year: Seek The Lord! January 7, 2007
2 Chronicles 14
SCRIPTURE INTRO:
This
is the first Lord’s Day of a new year.
Today
and for the next two Sundays I want to challenge you
to make a resolution for 2007.
I’m
going to challenge you with a passage of Scripture that challenged me.
It’s three chapters in 2 Chronicles—14, 15,
& 16.
These three chapters are about the reign of
one of the kings of
There
is a refrain that you will see repeated over and over in this story.
“Seek the Lord.”
That’s
the theme of the story of King Asa.
Seek the Lord, call on Him, rely on Him,
have a heart fully committed to Him—
you will see those phrases repeated over and
over in these chapters.
You
will also see the consequences, both good and bad,
when a believer chooses to seek the Lord,
and when he chooses not to.
You
might not know much about King Asa now.
There are things about him that you will
find very encouraging,
and there are things about him that you will
find very troubling.
Going
to look at both—the good and the bad.
My
hope is that these chapters will have same effect on you that they had on me—
that they will challenge you to make one
strong resolution for the new year.
“I will seek the Lord in 2007.”
I
hope that will be your resolution this year.
And I hope that will be the resolution of
all of us as a church body—
that we will seek the Lord.
Before
we read the Scripture and begin this three week study,
let us pray and ask the Holy Spirit to use
the Word powerfully
in our lives and in our church.
INTRO: What has been the big news story in
The search for a head coach for the
Remember
a few weeks ago it was the search for family in
And after mother and children found, search
for father who had gone for help.
While
we were on vacation last week I picked up a free newspaper
published in
Back
cover was titled “People Seeking People.”
“This person seeks this person for
companionship, romance, walks in rain . . .”
We
don’t wonder when we hear about people seeking coaches,
lost travelers, or romantic partners.
People
seeking people—that’s easy to understand.
But how do you seek the Lord?
When
Asa came to the throne—his first command to the people of
“Seek the Lord.”
Not
just seek God, but seek the Lord, Yahweh, the God of your fathers,
the God of Abraham, Isaac, and
That
was a remarkable command because both Asa’s father Abijah
and his grandfather Rehoboam who were kings
of
had turned their backs on the Lord of
Israel.
They
had followed the foreign gods of the Canaanites
and the nation had mostly followed them.
Idol
worship was everywhere,
and the worship of the Lord was full of
corrupt practices.
But
Asa did not take his spiritual cue from his father or his grandfather—
reached clear back to his great-great
grandfather King David—
and gave himself completely to following the
true God.
Made
it his resolution at the beginning of his reign to seek the Lord—
and to lead the people of
This
chapter covers the first 15 years of Asa’s 41-year reign of
Want
us to look at it and see the lessons that it teaches us about seeking the Lord.
Want us to take those an apply them to
ourselves in this coming year.
Apostle
Paul wrote this about the stories in the Old Testament:
Everything
that was written in the past was written to teach us,
so that
through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures
we might have
hope.
That’s what we will find in the story of Asa—the
encouragement of the Scriptures,
bringing us
hope in Lord. Hope that as we seek Him
this year we will find Him.
If
our resolution for 2007 is: I will seek
the Lord.
Then we have to know how to do it.
And so the Lord has given us this story as a
pattern for us to follow.
In this story three truths stand out.
The first is
this . . .
MP#1 Seeking the Lord begins with moral and religious
reform.
When Asa came to the throne, the desire of his heart
was clear—
he wanted to
seek the Lord and he wanted the people of
How did he begin?
What actions did he take?
“He removed
the foreign altars and the high places,
smashed the
sacred stones and cut down the Asherah poles.”
Let’s delve a little bit deeper.
The gods who were being worshipped at these foreign
altars were gods of
Many
Israelites had replaced worship of Lord with worship of Baal and Asherah.
What was the distinguishing characteristic of
Canaanite religion?
Sexual
immorality. Fertility religions that
glorified and encouraged immorality.
If you take time to read the parallel account of Asa’s
reign in 1 Kings,
will see
references to the prostitution that went on in Canaanite religion.
But there is actually a reference to it in this
passage.
What were the
sacred stones and the Asherah poles?
They were
phallic symbols, glorifying sexual immorality.
Archaeology has uncovered evidence in Canaanite places
of worship.
At the very
beginning Asa said, This must be dealt with.
What does all of this mean for believers today?
The very same
thing it meant for them in Asa’s time.
You cannot begin to seek the Lord unless willing to
deal with immorality in life.
Sex is a gift
from God.
It’s a
powerful force for good when enjoyed within the boundary
He has
established—the boundary of marriage.
But sexual immorality of every kind is an enslaving
idol
that will keep
you from seeking Christ.
Is this the only sin that needs to be dealt with if
going to seek Him? Of course not.
But as this
passage and many others in the Bible make clear—
this is a
particularly damaging sin that derails many believers.
And if you refuse to face it, or treat lightly—will
get nowhere in seeking the Lord.
When
Christians get serious about seeking Lord, at beginning start to deal with it.
I’ve said enough, but just one more thing:
If you want
to seek the Lord in 2007, and immorality has a grip on you,
going to need an Asa in life to help smash
it. Find trustworthy Christian.
That was the first half of Asa’s moral and religious
reforms—Canaanite idols.
But there was something else—
“He removed
the high places and incense altars in every town in
What where the high places?
They were
rival places for worshipping the Lord, that Lord had not sanctioned.
God has always given his people instructions on where
he wants them to worship.
When came
into promised land—He was quite specific—
But it was very inconvenient to go all the way to
People liked
convenience. It fit their lifestyle
better.
So they said—we can worship God just as well here, in
our town.
We don’t need
to go all the way up to
We’re
worshipping the Lord just fine here.
Let’s not be legalistic.
Over time almost every town in
They played a
very detrimental role in spiritual life of the Old Testament church.
Spread a
spirit of convenience toward worship that empted it of power.
At the very beginning Asa said:
If going to
seek the Lord, have to worship Him where He has commanded.
Have to deal
with rival places of worship and attitude of convenience.
It’s no different today. Believers have the same struggle.
We like convenience in worship. We don’t like it to cramp our lifestyle.
We are prone
to say—I can worship God just as well here, at my high place.
Whether
that’s in bed or at ball field or the lake.
Whenever it
is convenient. Whenever it doesn’t cut
into my schedule.
But throughout the history of the church both Old and
New Testament eras—
when God’s
people resolve to seek Lord in a fresh way—always begins with
a reform of
their worship. It’s not about
convenience, its about seeking the Lord.
Lord called the Old Testament saints to seek him and
worship him in
in this New
Testament era he has called you to seek him and worship him
on the Lord’s
Day in the particular congregation of which you are a member.
Moral and religious reform for the sake of pride or
checking the box meaningless.
The heart of the
Christian faith is knowing God—Father, Son, Holy Spirit.
But when your resolution and desire is to seek Lord,
some things
will change, some things must change.
MP#2 Seeking the Lord must continue during peace
and prosperity.
After Asa began to seek the Lord and reform the moral
and religious life of
God gave him
15 years of peace and prosperity.
“No one was a
war with him during those years for the Lord gave him rest.”
15 years of unbroken peace in the
How did Asa spend those years of peace and prosperity?
He continued
to seek the Lord.
But I want you to see what his seeking the Lord looked
like during that time.
It expressed
itself in building things—particularly in building defenses.
He built up
the fortified cities of
Not only did he build fortifications, he built his
army.
From
from tribe of
Benjamin 280,000 archers.
Politically this is very difficult to do.
During long
periods of peace when no enemy is threatening,
military
spending and training always goes down.
It takes an exceptional leader to prepare for war
during times of peace.
But there was more going on here than politics.
The
This was
spiritual building as much as it was military building.
And this is the lesson—Seeking the Lord in times of
peace and prosperity
takes the
form of building your spiritual defenses.
There is no clearer place this is expressed than the
Armor of God passage, Eph. 6.
Finally, be
strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.
Put on the full armor of God so that
you can take
your stand against the devil's schemes.
What is putting on the armor of God but another way of
describing seeking Lord.
Taking all
the promises of Christ, promises of the Gospel—
and studying,
claiming, and applying to your life.
Then Paul says:
Therefore put
on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes,
you may be
able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.
You put on the armor, practice putting it on, get use
to using it—
during times
of peace and prosperity—before the evil day comes.
So that when that day comes, you will stand.
Let me apply this to some specifics.
Are your children little?
Do they still
like to sit with you and listen to you read stories?
You are in a time of peace and prosperity. Seek the Lord and build.
Read them
Bible stories. Pour the history of
redemption into little skulls.
Don’t
squander this time of peace and prosperity.
There may
come an evil day with your children when it will be hard to build.
Is your marriage at peace right now? Enjoy each other’s company?
It’s a
prosperous time. Seek the Lord and
build.
Set aside a
time—even if it is just one time a week to be alone and pray together.
There may be an evil day when it will be hard to
pray.
Is this a time of financial peace and prosperity for
you?
Now is the
time to seek the Lord and build—
build
biblical habits of cheerful giving,
and biblical
habits of frugality, and attitudes of contentment about money.
Because there may be an evil day when it will be hard to
give cheerfully,
and be
content with what you have.
Time of peace and prosperity are given to us from the
Lord so
that we will
use the peace of the times to seek him even more.
MP#3 Seeking the Lord is tested in trouble and
uncertainty.
After 15 years war finally came to King Asa.
And it was
not a little threat—vast army of Cushites,
Ethiopians, from the south.
Hebrew says literally a thousand thousands—a million
men.
How did Asa
respond?
How did his
years of seeking the Lord stand up to the test?
Before we answer that question, let’s make it more
personal.
What will 2007 hold for you?
You don’t
know. It may be a year of peace and
prosperity. Year for building.
It may be a year of trouble and uncertainty.
Vast problems
may come against you.
Financial
problems, family problems, health problems.
How will you respond?
Now let’s look at Asa.
He did two things when this trouble came.
1. He made use of all of the resources God had
given him.
He deployed his troops.
He had an
army he had spent 15 years building—moved into battle position.
In times of trouble and uncertainty part of seeking
God means
putting to
use all the resources that the Lord has given you—
gladly and
boldly—just as Asa deployed his troops.
If the resources God has given you are your mind,
know-how, expertise—use them.
If the
resource is medical care, pursue it.
If it’s
money, spend it.
If the help
of friends, ask them for it.
God works through means—
and there is
nothing holy about being reluctant to use them.
Never right
to become so distraught or gloomy that you do nothing.
2. Asa put all his trust in the sovereign power
of his God.
He deployed his army, but did not rely on his army, he
relied on the Lord.
Expressed
that in this amazing prayer in verse 11.
Let’s look at
it again.
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.”
A remarkable prayer.
Not a prayer of desperation. A
prayer of confidence.
Asa totally identified his cause and his victory,
with God’s
cause and God’s victory.
He said: Lord,
our cause is Your cause and Your cause is our cause.
Asa knew that
the outcome was guaranteed to be
for God’s
glory and his good—because those are one and the same.
And there would be a victory and then the spoils.
How do you pray when crises come into your life?
Do you pray in sheer desperation? When all else has failed, turn to Lord.
God, I’ve
tried everything else, things look bad, oh God please help me.
Or are you able to pray—Lord, I’ve used all the
resources you’ve given me—
I know there
is no one like you—you help the powerless—relying on You.
Your cause is my cause, my cause is your cause.
Work this out
for your glory and my good.
And then
watch him work.
Never forget story Dr. Tim Keller told about two women
in his church—
struck down
by the same evils right around the same time—
marital
meltdowns and then physical illness.
Visited both in hospital.
One woman was saying—I’m in incredible pain, but the
Lord is with me.
I know He
will carry me through this no matter how it ends.
The other woman fell to pieces.
Why? Both were
Christians.
Because
during the peaceful years before the crisis one had sought the Lord
diligently—prepared for war in times of peace, other had not.
And so she was only able to pray in desperation, not
in confidence.
Which one are you?
If you are the second woman. Have
good news.
Jesus answers
the desperate prayers of his people, even if you have not
been seeking
Him for a long time.
But that’s not what he wants for you.
He has Given
you his precious promises.
Given you his
Holy Spirit, so that you can know him—
and stand
firm in the days of trouble.
Jesus worth seeking.
He wants you to seek Him.
Make that
your resolution for 2007 so that when the evil day comes—
you will
stand firm, confident in his sovereign power.
CONC: