Disclaimer:
Due to the large amount of sermons and topics that appear on this site I feel it is necessary to post this disclaimer on all sermons posted. These sermons are original to the author and the leading of the Holy Spirit. While ideas and illustrations are often gleaned from many sources including those at Sermoncentral.com, any similarities and wording including sermon title, that may appear to be the same as any other sermon are purely coincidental. In instances where other minister’s wording is used, due recognition will be given. These sermons are not copyrighted and may be used or preached freely. May God richly bless you as you read these words. It is my sincere desire that all who read them may be enriched. All scriptures quoted in these sermons are copies and quoted from the Authorized King James Version of the Holy Bible.
Pastor James May
WHO DO YOU TURN TO?
2 Chronicles 15:1-7, "And the Spirit of God came upon Azariah the son of Oded: And he went out to meet Asa, and said unto him, Hear ye me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin; The LORD is with you, while ye be with him; and if ye seek him, he will be found of you; but if ye forsake him, he will forsake you. Now for a long season Israel hath been without the true God, and without a teaching priest, and without law. But when they in their trouble did turn unto the LORD God of Israel, and sought him, he was found of them. And in those times there was no peace to him that went out, nor to him that came in, but great vexations were upon all the inhabitants of the countries. And nation was destroyed of nation, and city of city: for God did vex them with all adversity. Be ye strong therefore, and let not your hands be weak: for your work shall be rewarded."
This story actually begins with King Jeroboam. Jeroboam had rebelled against God and through his power as King of Israel he had brought Israel down into idolatry and created gods made with gold. Jeroboam’s rebellion knew no bounds and now he was determined to make the Southern Kingdom of Judah a part of his idolatrous kingdom. He raised an army of 800,000 and met the army of Judah on the battlefield. Judah was outnumbered 2 to 1 but God would not allow Judah to be defeated because of the faith and trust that the King of Judah, Abijah, had for God. Judah defeated Jeroboam that day and 500,000 Israelis were killed for their rebellion against God by the army of Judah.
The Bible says that Abijah waxed mighty and eventually married 14 wives while he fathered 22 sons and sixteen daughters. (How would you like to support that family?) One of those sons named Asa was destined to become the next King of Israel.
Asa had become King of Israel and was now facing to face a great battle against the Ethiopian army that was determined to conquer the land of Israel. Asa’s army had 300,000 spearmen with large shields and 280,000 archers. The Ethiopians numbered 1,000,000 plus 300 chariots. Besides being outnumbered 2 to 1, Asa had no heavy weaponry and was facing 300 chariots, which were the tanks of ancient armies. The prospects of victory in the eyes of flesh are not very good but Asa remembered the great victories of God in the past and he placed his faith in God for this victory also. God never fails and Israel won the day without a fight.
Have you ever tried to whip the devil on your own terms? It is an impossible task. The powers of darkness are far greater than your ability to overcome them. God says that we must place our trust in His ability to deliver us; then will we see the victory.
Asa had begun to make great strides in bringing Israel back to the True God. He had already destroyed many of the idolatrous temples and restored real worship in Israel but that didn’t mean that he wasn’t going to fight some strong battles.
Too many times we, as Christians, think that if we do everything right and we are living a holy sanctified life that we will be immune from bad things coming our way. Friend, if you try to live for the Lord you can be assured that Satan will not let you have an easy time doing so.
God allows those battles to come against you to test your faith but more so to let His power and glory be demonstrated in the deliverance that will come because of your faithfulness to Him and His faithfulness to you.
As Asa is returning from the victory over the Ethiopians, Azariah who was a prophet of God meets him. Azariah’s words were an encouragement to Asa to continue on his journey with the Lord and to remain faithful to the ways of the One True God.
I think the words of that prophet have just as powerful a message to you and I as they did to Asa on that day.
“…The LORD is with you, while ye be with him; and if ye seek him, he will be found of you; but if ye forsake him, he will forsake you”
This is a message to encourage you to be faithful in your work for the Lord, even in the midst of great adversity.
Walking with the Lord is the greatest life that there is!
It isn’t because we have less trouble, but because in the midst of those troubles, there is peace in knowing that God is in control and He is on our side!
It isn’t because we don’t get sick or don’t have troubles in this body of flesh, but because we know that our God is the Great Physician and He is the Healer of all our diseases.
It isn’t because we don’t face financial crises, but because we know that our Father in Heaven owns all the cattle on a thousand hills and that He has never left us forsaken or begging for bread. Somehow we know that He will supply our every need.
It isn’t because we never face uncertainty or frustration, but because we know that our God holds tomorrow and we trust that all things will work for our good because God has promised that to us in His Word!
It isn’t because we never have problems with relationships in our homes and families, but because we know that if we keep our relationship right with the Lord, that God will help us to work out our relationships with other people.
You see, it isn’t that our lives are any easier or less troublesome, but because we know and trust in our Faithful God to deliver us from all of those troubles.
There are a lot of “Christians” who don’t exhibit this peace and trust in God. No matter what comes against them, they seem to just fall apart at the seams. They cannot handle the circumstances of life without a nerve pill or a multitude of trips to the Psychiatrist or the Marriage Counselor, or the Psychologist.
Do you know why so many Pastors are so burdened down with counseling that they don’t have time to study properly or to do a lot of other things that need to be done?
Its because too many of the people who sit in our churches week after week don’t really have a relationship with the Lord and don’t trust in God to take care of their petty situations. It’s all because of a lack of faith and trust in the Lord. If we really trusted God; if we really believed in His promises of deliverance; if we really knew Jesus as our greatest Friend; if we really had the power of the Holy Ghost living within our hearts, we certainly wouldn’t need any other counselor for He is the Great Counselor and His Word holds the answer to every one of our problems.
Azariah’s words are relevant to you right now, “The LORD is with you, while ye be with him…” Do you want the presence of the Holy Spirit to be with you? Do you want to know that God is always near in your everyday walk? Friend, it isn’t God that turns and walks away from us, we who turn and walk away from God!
God’s promise is that He will never leave us, nor forsake us, so if He isn’t near to you right now, its not God’s fault, its yours. It’s time to turn around and come back to where we left God standing. He is still standing there and waiting for us to come back to Him.
Azariah had these words for Asa, and for us also, “…if ye seek him, he will be found of you…”
There is the key to finding God! If you look for Him, He will be there. God is waiting and watching for those who will call upon Him. He is not willing that any should perish. He loves you so much that He gave His only Son, Jesus to die for you. God wants us to call upon Him, too look for Him and to find Him. God is not lost, we are!
It’s our own rebellion that has separated us from the presence of the Lord. It was not God who chose to cease building a relationship with us; it was us to who left Him! We left God standing with tears in His eyes. While the Holy Spirit begged and pleaded for us to come back to Jesus, and the Word of God shouted in our hearts how much God loved us, we turned a deaf ear and walked away just like the Prodigal Son of Luke chapter 15.
Our problem is that we don’t look for Him, nor do we desire a relationship with Jesus until we have no other choice and no one left to turn to but Him for answers. Oh that we would learn to seek Him first. How much quicker could deliverance and healing come!
Isaiah 55:6, "Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near:"
Azariah’s words also carry a warning, “…if ye forsake him, he will forsake you…”
So many times throughout the Old Testament we can read about the Children of Israel, God’s Chosen Nation, as they are forsaken by God to suffer the consequences of their own rebellion and sin.
1 Corinthians 10:11, "Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come."
The Apostle Paul spoke these words to the Corinthian church because they had begun to listen to the voice of the world and were compromising their salvation, even beginning to allow certain forms of idolatry back into the church. All rebellion against God’s Word is a form of idolatry for idolatry is nothing more than placing anything in the place of God.
Church, if God forsook the Children of Israel and committed them into the hands of their enemy for correction, what makes us think that God won’t do the same thing to you and I?
I know that not all troubles, trials and sicknesses that come against us is a result of sin but I wonder how much we bring upon ourselves because we forsake God in our everyday life?
You see everyone, both just and unjust, will face problems in this life.
Matthew 5:45 says, "…For he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust."
When you walk away from God, He is not obligated any longer to place His covering of protection over you. God is not going to force His blessing into your life. You must seek after Him and accept those blessings as His free gifts given to those who are His children.
God will only be a friend to those who want Him as their friend.
How long would you want to hang around someone who didn’t care if you were there or not? Would you continue to try to befriend someone who acted as though they didn’t want you around or couldn’t wait until you left?
I suppose that the summation of this message is simply this – are you seeking after God?
Have you turned and walked away from Him and now you feel as though you are sinking into a sea of hopelessness and despair?
Do you feel as though no one cares or that no one can do anything to help you anymore?
Do you feel as though there is something missing in your life?
Do you go to sleep night after night wondering what will tomorrow hold and worried about what will come next?
If you find yourself in this condition, perhaps its time to turn and seek after Jesus again. He is the only one who has the answers to all of your questions. He is the only one who can give you peace in all your circumstances and give you hope for the future.
In the words of Azariah, “…if ye seek him, he will be found of you…”
Come back to God this morning. Seek His face and His Spirit. Search after Him and you will find Him. Jesus is here right now. He is standing with His hands outstretched to you. Those nail-scarred hands are beckoning you to come home to Him. His eyes of love are filled with tears of love for you and His word says to you this morning that its time for you to come home.
God wants to meet your need.
He wants to be your friend, your counselor, and your savior.
Jesus wants to live in your heart, to comfort you in the storms and bring peace in your trouble, but you have to let Him do so.
Will you come to Him now?
Don’t you think its time to come home?
The prophet’s words to Asa may need to be heard by us this morning, “…Now for a long season Israel hath been without the true God, and without a teaching priest, and without law. But when they in their trouble did turn unto the LORD God of Israel, and sought him, he was found of them. And in those times there was no peace to him that went out, or to him that came in, but great vexations were upon all the inhabitants of the countries. And nation was destroyed of nation, and city of city: for God did vex them with all adversity.
How long has it been since you have felt the presence of the Lord in your heart?
How long has it been since you heard the Holy Spirit speak to your heart while you were reading God’s Word?
How long have you lived in rebellion against the Law of God and been under the weight of guilt and sin?
When Israel turned back to God and sought after Him, God was always there.
God had allowed the peace of Israel to be taken away because of their rebellion.
God had allowed great vexations, or troubles, to come their way.
God had allowed wars, fighting, and even the deaths of many of his beloved people because they would not turn to Him. The scripture says that God did vex them with all adversity. Why do you think God would allow such evil to come upon his people? There is only one purpose in God’s vexations! That purpose is get our attention and to help us to turn around and come back to Him!
Consider this – how many of your troubles may be the vexation of God in an attempt to bring us back to Him? I can’t say that all your troubles will disappear if you turn back to God but I do know that, even if they don’t, He will help you to overcome them.
