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The Remedy for the Rising - Pastor Stacey Shiflett

Writer's picture: Pastor ShiflettPastor Shiflett

The Remedy for the Rising

2 Chronicles 14

 

Intro: We discover that King Asa was a great leader because of:

 

               A. His Example to Perform the Will of God – vs. 2, 4

·        2 And Asa did that which was good and right in the eyes of the LORD his God:

·        4 And commanded Judah to seek the LORD God of their fathers, and to do the law and the commandment.

 

               B. His Efforts to Purify the Land of God – vs. 3, 5

·        3 For he took away the altars of the strange gods, and the high places, and brake down the images, and cut down the groves:

·        5 Also he took away out of all the cities of Judah the high places and the images: and the kingdom was quiet before him.

 NOTE: SEE 1 Kings 15:11-14 (he cleaned out the sodomites and even stood against his own family)

               C. His Emphasis on Protecting the People of God – vs. 6, 7, 8

                              1. With Walls

·        6 And he built fenced cities in Judah: for the land had rest, and he had no war in those years; because the LORD had given him rest.

·        7 Therefore he said unto Judah, Let us build these cities, and make about them walls, and towers, gates, and bars, while the land is yet before us; because we have sought the LORD our God, we have sought him, and he hath given us rest on every side. So they built and prospered.

 

                              2. With Warriors

·        8 And Asa had an army of men that bare targets and spears, out of Judah three hundred thousand; and out of Benjamin, that bare shields and drew bows, two hundred and fourscore thousand: all these were mighty men of valour. (580,000 warriors)

              

We get to verse 9, and after years of peace and prosperity, the Ethiopians came out against them.

ZERAH – literally means “rising.”

This is where our story begins.

·        10 Then Asa went out against him, and they set the battle in array in the valley of Zephathah at Mareshah.

 

You can write this down - there will come a day when opposition will rise up.

Adversity will rise up.

The enemy will rise up.

The devil will rise up.

 

Asa was a great leader.

He was a spiritual leader.

He was a sensitive leader.

He was a strong leader.

He was a strategic leader.

But that didn’t stop the day when there was a rising.

·        Psalms 3:1 LORD, how are they increased that trouble me! many are they that rise up against me.

 

In spite of all your efforts to walk with God, to live right and do right, there will be a rising up of the enemy.

·        Psalms 74:23 Forget not the voice of thine enemies: the tumult of those that rise up against thee increaseth continually.

·        Psalms 92:11 Mine eye also shall see my desire on mine enemies, and mine ears shall hear my desire of the wicked that rise up against me.

What will you do?

What will be your response?

What is the remedy? What is the solution?

 

The Remedy for Asa’s Rising was…

I. An Unhesitant Cry

·        … And Asa cried unto the LORD his God…

 

The Bible says that Zerah had a million soldiers.

Asa had 580,000. Zerah had a thousand thousand.

What did Asa do?

·        He could have started a recruiting campaign.

·        He could have drafted more men.

·        He could have panicked and run.

·        He could have surrendered.

·        He could have done a lot of things.

But Asa did the one thing that works.

And he did it immediately!!

·        …Asa cried unto the LORD his God…

 

NOTE: It pays to be able to get a prayer through!

You never know when that Rising will come!

 

II. An Undiminished Confidence

·        … it is nothing with thee to help, whether with many, or with them that have no power…

What a statement!

It is no more difficult for God to help against a million-man army than against someone with no power.

What good is having a God that can’t do hard things?

What good is a praying if you think God is going to have a hard time doing anything about it?

 

III. An Unashamed Cooperation

·        …help us, O LORD our God; for we rest on thee, and in thy name we go against this multitude…

 

Asa, in spite of his amazing leadership skills, didn’t try to do it alone.

He without apology and without shame acknowledged that he was resting on the Lord.

Why is that so hard for us to do?

How long does it take us many times to let God do it?

 

IV. An Unwavering Confession

·        …O LORD, thou art our God;

Twice in this one verse, the Bible is clear – Asa was not ashamed of his God.

·        And Asa cried unto the LORD his God

 

Asa wasn’t worried about Zerah’s God and the gods of the Ethiopians.

Why? He knew what HIS God could do.

He knew Who HIS God was.

His God was Jehovah God.

 

Would to God that today, God’s people would stop apologizing for being a Christian.

I wish people would have more boldness and more confidence in their God!

 

ILLUSTRATION: Daniel 3

·        16 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, answered and said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer thee in this matter.

·        17 If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king.

·        18 But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods,

 

V. An Unselfish Concern

·        …let not man prevail against thee.

Asa wasn’t worried about them prevailing over him.

He wasn’t concerned about an army that was invincible

His prayer was of a great concern of the name and the reputation of God in this situation.

 

He knew the enemy would mock God if Asa and his army were destroyed.

He knew that the reproach would be on the Lord God.

He wasn’t worried about what the outcome of this battle made him look like.

He wasn’t worried about what people would say about him when it was over.

He wanted only one thing – for the Lord His God to get all the honor, all the glory and all the credit.

Asa said, “We are going in thy name against this multitude.”

 

This battle has YOUR name on it.

The outcome has YOUR name on it.

O Lord, thou art our God – LET NOT MAN PREVAIL AGAINST THEE!!

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