2 CHRONICLES 14
STAY SHARP!
Some years ago a young man approached the foreman of a logging crew and asked for a job. "That depends," replied the foreman. "Let's see you fell this tree." The young man stepped forward and skillfully felled a great tree. Impressed, the foreman exclaimed, "Start Monday!"
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday rolled by, and Thursday afternoon the foreman approached the young man and said, "You can pick up your paycheck on the way out today."
Startled, he replied, "I thought you paid on Friday."
"Normally we do," answered the foreman, "but we're letting you go today because you've fallen behind. Our daily felling charts show that you've dropped from first place on Monday to last on Wednesday."
"But I'm a hard worker," the young man objected. "I arrive first, leave last, and even have worked through my coffee breaks!"
The foreman, sensing the boy's integrity, thought for a minute and then asked, "Have you been sharpening your ax?"
The young man replied, "I've been working too hard to take the time."
The young man's problem was really quite simple. He was so busy working hard, that he didn't work smart. Also, he failed to remain sharp.
You and I are called upon to serve the Lord Jesus Christ.
He wants us to be sharp for Him!
That will take certain practices, or disciplines, which, if practiced, will help keep us on the cutting edge of God's plans for us! If we don't do these things, our lives will become dull and ineffective in the service of our God.
Tonight we meet a king, who in his early years, was on the cutting edge of what God wanted to do. He knew how to stay sharp! The King's name was Asa.
Asa, the king who will show us how to "stay sharp", was the grandson of Rehoboam.
RIGHTEOUSNESS Vss. 1-2
When it comes to people, good and right are relative terms.
Each individual has an idea of what is good and right.
What is good and right in my eyes is not the same as what is good and right in your eyes.
You and I are tainted with sin. So, we have tendency to not always know what is good and right. We usually have in an opinion, but we are not always correct.
The problem with Israel in the days of the Judges was that every man did what was right in his own eyes!
However, God is always good and right. Therefore, to be right, I must be good and right in his eyes! That's what Asa was, good and right in the eyes of God!
The Lord was his God. Is the Lord really my God, or have other things gotten in the way? What are some of the idols Christians sometimes allow in their lives?
Fame
money
things
computers
sports
people
sex
Television
Anything that demands more of our time and devotion than the Lord is an idol.
RIGHTEOUSNESS
REMOVAL, Vss. 3, 5
Anything that violated the first two commandments and anything that violated the first and great commandment were removed.
Exodus 20:1-6 - And God spake all these words, saying, I [am] the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
Thou shalt have no other gods before me. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness [of any thing] that [is] in heaven above, or that [is] in the earth beneath, or that [is] in the water under the earth: Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God [am] a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth [generation] of them that hate me; And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.
Matthew 22:37-40 - Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second [is] like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.
A great way to end any day is to ask the Lord, "Is there anything I did or thought about today, that I shouldn't do or think about tomorrow?" Confess it, and forsake it.
As a result, the land was quiet. Could it be, that our "land" would be quiet, if all the idols were removed? I don't mean all our troubles will go away, but we will have peace within if there are no idols. And so many of our troubles come from lack of peace within!
Have we ever considered how grieved our God is when there are idols in our lives?
Exodus 34:12-14 - Take heed to thyself, lest thou make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land whither thou goest, lest it be for a snare in the midst of thee: But ye shall destroy their altars, break their images, and cut down their groves: For thou shalt worship no other god: for the LORD, whose name [is] Jealous, [is] a jealous God:
Deuteronomy 4:24 - For the Lord thy God is a consumming fire, even a jealous God.
1 John 5:21 - Little children keep yourselves from idols. Amen
Think of what God has done for you just to give you eternal life. Should there be anything more important in our lives than Him? Should there be anyone or anything that has a greater claim on our devotion, time, and attention than Him?
1 John 4:19 - We love him because he first loved us.
No wonder that we lack peace when there is idolatry in our lives. We don't deserve peace!
Lord Jesus, I long to be perfectly whole;
I want Thee forever to live in my soul.
Break down every idol, cast out every foe-
Now wash me and I shall be whiter than snow.
Lord Jesus, for this I most humbly entreat;
I wait, blessed Lord, at Thy crucified feet.
By faith, for my cleansing I see Your blood flow-
Now wash me and I shall be whiter than snow.
Whiter than snow, yes whiter than snow-
Now wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. James L. Nicholson
RIGHTEOUSNESS
REMOVAL
REMINDER Vs.4
Asa was not asking anybody to anything he wasn't doing himself. He did encourage those within his realm to do what was right before God. We can't do much about people outside our realm of influence, but we can those within our influence. There are two key areas where we are free to remind people about the Lord, and to be a positive influence.
· The Family
Deuteronomy 6:6-9 - And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes. And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates.
Psalm 92:13 - Those that be planted in the house of the LORD shall flourish in the courts of our God.
I think of the influence of the Glen and Marilyn Case.
Three boys in full time Christian work, and a daughter who loves and serves the Lord.
· The Church
Hebrews 3:12-13 - Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God. But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.
We need to exhort each other to trust the Lord, to walk by faith.
At least one brother provoked another to attend the Recharge Weekend and he did.
Hebrews 10:24 - And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works:
I have seen you provoke each other for Operation Christmas Child.
RIGHTEOUSNESS
REMOVAL
REMINDER
READINESS Vss. 6-8
The land was quiet before Asa (Vs.5), but this was not a time to be lax. It was time to strengthen himself. He built and fortified cities. He recruited, equipped, and trained his army.
Someone has said something like this: The battlefield is not a good place to learn how to fire a gun.
In times of quiet we must fortify ourselves Spiritually. The armor of God is the answer.
Ephesians 6:10-18 - Read and Comment
RIGHTEOUSNESS
REMOVAL
REMINDER
READINESS
RELIANCE Vss. 9-11
Vss. 9 - There came a time when the peace was broken.
A large army came against him, through no fault of his own.
Sometimes we will have the same problem. We are living the Christian Life the way we should, and the problems come anyway. This is a time when God will show Himself strong in our behalf.
Vs. 10 - Notice Asa did what was logical. He knew what needed to be done, so he did it. He got his army in array. He got ready to fight, and then left in up to God.
There are times when the solutions to our problems are obvious. We must just prayerfully do them.
Vs. 11 -To God, His help is a little thing because of his almighty power. He can use a great army, or a little army.
Notice four things about Asa in this passage:
1. Asa came to God alone for help.
He was outnumbered 2-1, it was the obvious thing to do.
Our trouble is, when we are outnumbered, we panic.
And when we are not outnumbered, we, at least inwardly,
don't really think we need God's help. Therefore, we go it alone, and end up not having God's best, or seeing things really get messed up!
2. He came to the Lord, who had been, and was their God.
Israel and Asa both had track records.
God had already been their God in good times and bad.
They were not backing down now. They would continue to make the Lord their God.
3. He rested in His God.
Psalm 37:5-7 - Commit thy way unto the LORD; trust also in him; and he shall bring [it] to pass. And he shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light, and thy judgment as the noonday. Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for him: fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass.
4. They would fight in His name.
In whose name are we fighting?
The fighting we do our knees should especially be in His name.
John 14:13-14 - And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do [it].
John 16:24 - Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full.
5. He was seeking God's glory.
Notice he did not pray, "Let no man prevail against me."
He prayed "Let no man prevail against thee."
I feel that so many of our prayers are selfish.
We are looking for self-gratification, and self-preservation.
Think of the Lord's Prayer - "Hallowed Be Thy Name"
"Thy Kingdom Come"
"For Thine Is the Kingdom..."
Did you ever stop to think of how many more of our prayers would be answered if we were concerned about God's good name, and not ours.
James 4:1-3 - From whence [come] wars and fightings among you? [come they] not hence, [even] of your lusts that war in your members? Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not. Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume [it] upon your lusts.
RIGHTEOUSNESS
REMOVAL
REMINDER
READINESS
RELIANCE
RESULTS Vss.12-15
Read Verses - When God gives a victory, it is total!
Our victories do not mean everything will go well, all the time. It is mean that we can be on top of the situation, through our Lord, all the time!
We should live out Romans 8:35-39 - Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? [shall] tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
We are more than conquerors through Him.
STAY SHARP!
RIGHTEOUSNESS
REMOVAL
REMINDER
READINESS
RELIANCE
RESULTS