King Asa … His Faithfulness And Foolishness

Even some preachers in their sermon preparation choose to preach out of the New Testament, because they feel that the New Testament is more applicable to today’s congregations.

While much of the Old Testament did deal with Israel and the ceremonial laws that were given to them, a great deal of it is for us today.

We are to learn from the examples of the lives of the characters in the Old Testament.

Paul said in Romans 15:4, “For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.”

Illus: The Old Testament is similar to our history books because we can read about some of the good things and the bad things that took place in years gone by, and learn from their DEFEATS and their SUCCESSES!

The Old Testament is filled with all kinds of examples of people that we can learn from. Such is the case with King Asa of Judah. From his life we can learn both GOOD and BAD.

You might say:

• His life was a life of Faithfulness

• His life was a life of Foolishness

We certainly do not want our life to be a life of foolishness, but let’s learn from his FOOLISHNESS and FAITHFULNESS.

Let’s first look at-

I. THE FAITHFULNESS OF THIS SERVANT

We are told that for forty one years, King Asa reigned over Judah.

Look at 1 Kings 15:9-10, we read, “And in the twentieth year of Jeroboam king of Israel reigned Asa over Judah. And forty and one years reigned he in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Maachah, the daughter of Abishalom.”

Thirty-five of those years he was a God-fearing man.

God blessed Judah because of him.

• When you get a good man in charge of a nation, you want to see him stay in office as long as you can have him there

• When you get a bad man in charge of a nation, you want to get him out of office as fast as you can

According to our constitution a president can only stay in office for eight years.

• There have been some we wish could have remained in this office for the duration of their life

• But then there have been others that one day of them in the oval office was to much

For thirty-five years, King Asa trusted the Lord to help him be one of Judah’s greatest kings.

Trust in God is something we Christians are taught we should do.

WHAT IS TRUST IN GOD?

Trust in God is simply a reliance upon Him only.

Illus: One minister (I do not have the name of this minister, I wish I did, I would love to give credit to him for this illustration) said as he got ready to prepare a sermon, he stopped and bowed his head and prayed.

• Lord, I have a text

• I have an idea

• I have a mind

• I have hands

• I have a computer

• I have a time set aside to prepare this sermon without interruption

Then this minister prayed this prayer, “Lord, If I rely on these things--these good things that you yourself have given me--then what the people will get on Sunday morning will be what a man can produce. And, Lord, they don't need another man-made thing. They live with man-made things and ideas all week long. What your people need--what I need--is something beyond what man can make. Something supernatural from you. So I now renounce reliance on these things. I renounce reliance on them and look to you, and ask that in and under and over and around and through all those good things, you would work so deeply and so decisively and so graciously that what I say on Sunday would not be the work of a mere man, but the work and the word of God.”

It is so obvious today that much of the preaching, teaching, and singing in our church is based on the talents of men and women.

But anyone that is going to be effective for the Lord needs to learn to rely totally on the Lord Jesus, NOT THE TALENTS OF MAN!

King Asa was a man who for most of his life trusted in God. Look at 2 Chronicles 14:2, “And Asa did that which was good and right in the eyes of the Lord his God”

King Asa loved the Lord, and it was his desire that Judah also love the Lord in the same manner. He was a godly king that had a clear disdain for false, idolatrous worship practices.

Look at three things in his life that we need to consider, such as:

• We read in 2 Chronicles 14:3, he destroyed the altars, the high places, the images, and the groves associated with the strange gods