The Satisfaction Of Seeking The Lord
Text: Hosea 10: 12; II Chron.15: 1-2, 12
Intro: While there are some things in our world that happen by coincidence, most are accomplished by conception and choice. Whether it is the development of a gargantuan shopping mall or sending a spacecraft to Pluto, someone had to conceive of its feasibility and make the choice to begin the project.
Seeking God is not concerned with the scientific realm of life, but with the spiritual. Yet, it still involves the elements of conception and choice. Some Christians can’t conceive of the idea of being truly close to God because Satan has convinced them that it is impossible. They have believed Satan’s lie that they are too bad—too unworthy to be really close to God.
Asa became king over Judah at a time when his people were extremely estranged from God. They were involved in idol worship, with all of its vileness and debauchery. Yet, Asa had a heart after God, and he used his influence as king to turn Judah around, spiritually. As a matter of fact, somewhat of a spiritual awakening took place during Asa’s reign.
Though the transformation was not fully completed before Asa’s death, his choice to seek God brought some very satisfying results. Notice how the Lord used King Asa, and helped him realize the satisfaction of seeking the Lord.
Theme: The satisfaction of seeking the Lord was realized by:
I. THE CHALLENGE TO SEEK THE LORD
II Chron.15: 1 “And the Spirit of God came upon Azariah the son of Oded:
2 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.
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7 Be ye strong therefore, and let not your hands be weak: for your work shall be rewarded.”
NOTE: [1] Asa and Judah had just returned from doing battle with the Ethiopians. Because Asa had already begun to seek the Lord and make reforms in Judah, God gave them an overwhelming victory. It is after this great victory that Azariah comes out to meet the king, and challenges he and his people to keep seeking the Lord. My, how we need to accept that challenge today. The devil wants us to believe that it’s impossible. But as someone has said: “The task ahead of you is never greater than the power behind you” (Source Unknown).
[2] Azariah was not only challenging Asa and the people of Judah to continue seeking the Lord, but also assuring them that God would be “found” of them (v. 2c). The rule of thumb found in the Bible is that when people truly repent, God responds. This was the gist of God’s message to the captive Jews in Babylon.
Jer.29: 12 “Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will harken unto you.
13 And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.
14a And I will be found of you, saith the Lord…”
A. Rebellion Had Brought Punishment.
II Chron.15: 3 “Now for a long season Israel hath been without the true God, and without a teaching priest, and without law.
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5 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.
6 And nation was destroyed of nation, and city of city: for God did vex them with all adversity.”
NOTE: [1] What is rebellion? Someone has defined rebellion this way: “Reserving for myself the right to make the final decision” (Source Unknown). Obeying God only when it’s agreeable to one’s own way of thinking isn’t really obedience at all; it’s rebellion. This idea is brought out in these words:
Isa.65: 2 “I have spread out my hands all the day unto a rebellious people, which walketh in a way that was not good, after their own thoughts;”
[2] Recounting Israel’s past rebellion against God, Azariah indicated that one of the chief results of that rebellion was a lack of peace. The Word of God admonishes us, “And let the peace of God rule in your hearts…” (Col.3: 15a). However, peace never rules where there is rebellion, for God’s Word also tells us, “There is no peace, saith the Lord, unto the wicked” (Isa.48: 22). The only way to have real peace is to live in submission to God. The Apostle Paul said, “…to be spiritually minded is life and peace” (Rom.8: 6b).
[3] What if Asa, after hearing of Israel’s past failures, had given up the idea of seeking God? He and his people would have missed the blessings of God. Satan tries to discourage Christians from going forward with God by continually throwing up their past failures to them. He wants them to give up on the idea of being close to God. Here are some ways to discern Satan’s tricks:
3a. The Holy Spirit “…seeks to show you that your infinite worth and value to God make Him desire your fellowship,” while Satan, “…seeks to convince you that you are so bad God wouldn’t want to have anything to do with you” (Mark I. Bubeck, Overcoming The Adversary, published by Moody Press, Chicago, Illinois; pg. 51).
3b. The Holy Spirit “…seeks to show you that there is forgiveness and restoration available no matter how bad your sin,” while Satan, “…seeks to convince you that there is no forgiveness for you. You’ve committed the unpardonable sin” (Ibid, pg. 51).
3c. The Holy Spirit “…uses God’s Word to give you hope and assurance of God’s love and forgiveness,” while Satan “…uses God’s Word out of context to convince you that there is no hope for you” (Ibid, pg. 51).
3d. The Holy Spirit “…builds faith, hope, and love in your heart and increases your confidence and assurance of salvation,” while Satan “…creates despair, doubt, resentment, and anger toward God, His Word, and His people. You feel that no one as bad as you could ever really be saved” (Ibid, pg. 51).
B. Repentance Had Brought God’s Presence.
II Chron.15: 4 “But when they in their trouble did turn unto the Lord God of Israel, and sought him, he was found of them.”
NOTE: [1] Azariah reiterates the thought found in verse two that God would not turn a deaf ear to the nation’s cries of repentance. God had not done so in the past, and He would not do so now. However, repentance involves a change of attitude as well as a change of action.
Isa.55: 6 “Seek ye the Lord while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near:
7 Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.”
[2] A truly repentant person cannot maintain the same attitude about his or her sin any more than they can continue to practice their sinful action. Let me illustrate with the following:
When I was in South Africa, a fine, handsome Dutchman came into my service, and God laid his hand on him and convicted him of sin. The next morning he went to the beautiful home of another Dutchman and said to him, “Do you recognize that old watch?”
“Why, yes,” answered the other. “Those are my initials; that is my watch. I lost it eight years ago. How did you get it, and how long have you had it?”
“I stole it,” was the reply.
“What made you bring it back now?”
“I was converted last night,” was the answer, “and I have brought it back first thing this morning. If you had been up, I would have brought it last night.”
Gipsy Smith, The Bible Friend.
II. THE COURAGE TO SEEK THE LORD
II Chron.15: 8a “And when Asa heard these words, and the prophecy of Oded the prophet, he took courage…”
A. Asa Crushed The Idolatrous Worship.
II Chron.15: 8a-b “And when Asa heard these words, and the prophecy of Oded the prophet, he took courage, and put away the abominable idols out of all the land of Judah and Benjamin, and out of the cities which he had taken from mount Ephraim…”
NOTE: When one begins to truly seek the Lord, they must take steps to break ties with every sinful allegiance in their life. That’s because who or what one worships shapes their life.
James Michener, writing in his book, The Source, tells the story of a man named Urbaal, who was a farmer living about 2200 B.C. He worshiped two gods, one a god of death, the other a goddess of fertility.
One day, the temple priests tell Urbaal to bring his young son to the temple for sacrifice—if he wants good crops. Urbaal obeys, and on the appointed day drags his wife and boy to the scene of the boy’s “religious execution” by fire to the god of death.
After the sacrifice of Urbaal’s boy, and several others, the priests announce that one of the fathers will spend next week in the temple, with a new temple prostitute. Urbaal’s wife is stunned as she notices a desire written more intensely across his face than she had seen before, and she is overwhelmed to see him eagerly lunge forward when his name is called.
The ceremony over, she walks out of the temple with her head swimming, concluding that “if he had different gods, he would have been a different man.”
Erwin Lutzer, Pastor to Pastor, p. 89.
B. Asa Constructed The Lord’s Altar.
II Chron.15: 8c “…and renewed (“repaired,” –NLT) the altar of the Lord, that was before the porch of the Lord.
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11 And they offered unto the Lord the same time, of the spoil which they had brought, seven hundred oxen and seven thousand sheep.”
NOTE: [1] Notice that the altar of G0d had to be repaired. Israel’s sin and rebellion had left the altar of worship deserted and desolate. Their relationship with God had been severed.
[2] A common piece of furniture in churches of days gone by was the “mourners bench.” It was a place to kneel and pray and seek God’s face for personal needs and the needs of others. It was a place of repentance. The sad truth of our day is that the altar is deserted and desolate in many churches. Have we outgrown our need for the altar, or have we simply become too proud to bow before God?
C. Asa Committed He And His People To Seek God.
II Chron.15: 12 “And they entered into a covenant to seek the Lord God of their fathers with all their heart and with all their soul;
13 That whosoever would not seek the Lord God of Israel should be put to death, whether small or great, whether man or woman.
14 And they sware unto the Lord with a loud voice, and with shouting, and trumpets, and with cornets.”
III. THE CULMINATION OF SEEKING THE LORD
A. There Was Rejoicing.
II Chron.15: 15a “And all Judah rejoiced at the oath: for they had sworn with all their heart, and sought him with their whole desire…”
B. There Was Response.
II Chron.15: 15b “…and he (God) was found of them…”
NOTE: Proverbs 8: 17b says, “…those that seek me early shall find me.” The word translated “early” in that verse basically means, “earnestly.” This is the implied meaning of the words, “sought him with their whole desire,” found in the first part of II Chronicles 15: 15. Asa and his people weren’t playing religious games with God. They meant business. As a result, God responded.
C. There Was Rest.
II Chron.15: 15c “…and the Lord gave them rest round about.
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19 And there was no more war unto the five and thirtieth year of the reign of Asa.”
NOTE: Sin in the life of the Christian robs them of their peace. The best part of seeking the Lord is that repentance restores rest (or peace).
Theme: The satisfaction of seeking the Lord was realized by:
I. THE CHALLENGE TO SEEK THE LORD
II. THE COURAGE TO SEEK THE LORD
III. THE CULMINATION OF SEEKING THE LORD
