WHEN YOU CAN’T BUY YOUR WAY OUT?
WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO WHEN WE FACE BIG PROBLEMS?
By Wade Martin Hughes, Sr. Kyfingers@aol.com
TEXT:
2 Chron. 20:15 And he said, Hearken ye, all Judah, and ye inhabitants of
Jerusalem, and thou king Jehoshaphat, Thus saith the Lord unto you,
Be not afraid nor dismayed by reason of this great multitude; for the
battle is not yours, but God’s.
2 Chron. 20:17 Ye shall not need to fight in this battle: set yourselves, stand ye
still, and see the salvation of the Lord with you, O Judah and Jerusalem: fear
not, nor be dismayed; to morrow go out against them: for the Lord will be
with you.
I. THE GREAT NATION OF ISREAL HAS BEEN DIVIDED AFTER SOLOMON’S REIGN.
PEOPLE WERE IN LEADERSHIP THAT WOULD NOT LISTEN.
A. Sin slowly rooted it’s way into the hearts and daily life of Israel.
Israel’s leaders and her people willfully neglected God and worshipped at the
altars of people that had been permitted to build false altars right in the middle
of God’s house.
B. The glory of a united Kingdom faded away when Solomon died.
C. IN GREAT STUPIDITY AND A LACK OF ACCEPTING GOOD, GODLY ADVISE OF
THE OLD MEN --- REHOBOAM REFUSES TO LISTEN...
2 Chron. 10:15 So the king hearkened not unto the people: for the cause was
of God, that the Lord might perform his word, which he spake by the hand of
Ahijah --- (uh - HIGH - jah) the Shilonite to Jeroboam the son of Nebat.
2 Chron. 10:16 And when all Israel saw that the king would not hearken unto
them, the people answered the king, saying, What portion have we in David?
and we have none inheritance in the son of Jesse: every man to your tents, O
Israel: and now, David, see to thine own house. So all Israel went to their tents.
D. SO A GREAT DIVISION COMES, ---
REHOBOAM REIGNED OVER THE SOUTH --- MAINLY JUDAH...
E. JEROBOAM REIGNED OVER THE NORTH --- ISRAEL.
II. LET’S MEET A BIBLICAL CHARACTER THAT HAD TO LEARN TO DEPEND ON
GOD.
A. ASA --- ( AY --suh )
B. His Father, the King before him was ABIJAH --- ( uh -BIGH- jam )
ABIJAH WAS A MEAN AND WICKED MAN.
1 Kings 15:12 And he took away the sodomites out of the land, and removed all
the idols that his fathers had made.
C. His Father, ABIJAH was married to 14 wives,
ABIJAH had 22 sons, and 16 daughters --- 38 KIDS ---
Can you imagine his Dad’s ORTHODONTIST BILL?
D. His Grandmother’s name was MAACHAH. ( MAY -uh - kah )
E. ABIJAH, his Father and MAACHAH, his grandmother made terrible choices,
and led the people of God to great sin with no repentance.
1 Kings 15:13 And also Maachah his mother, even her he removed from being
queen, because she had made an idol in a grove; and Asa destroyed her idol,
and burnt it by the brook Kidron.
F. ASA WAS KING OVER JUDAH, the southern part of the split Kingdom.
G. ASA’S REIGN LASTED 41 YEARS!
1 Kings 15:14 But the high places were not removed: nevertheless Asa’s heart
was perfect with the Lord all his days.
III. ASA LEARNED HOW TO HANDLE BATTLES IN THE FLESH,
HE TRUSTED THE ABILIITIY OF COMPROMISE AND HOW TO BUY HIS WAY
OUT OF PROBLEMS.
A. Baasha ( bay - ASH - uh ) the King of Israel (The northern tribes)
comes to fight ASA and Judah.
1 Kings 15:16 And there was war between Asa and Baasha king of Israel all
their days.
B. Man should reconsider anything that draws human attention away from unity
and love.
C. HOW SAD IS THE DAY WHEN GOD’S PEOPLE ARE FIGHTING GOD’S PEOPLE?
Instead of working out their differences in love and peace ---
IT IS EASIER TO FIGHT AND MAKE WAR.
IV. MAN CAN LEARN TO DEPEND ON THE FLESH AND SELL THE THINGS OF GOD?
A. ASA LEARNS TO TRUST THE FLESH AND BUY HIS WAY OUT OF TROUBLE.
B. ASA IS USING GOLD AND SILVER THAT IS NOT HIS, AND IT IS NOT JUDAH’S.
C. WHEN WE ARE FACING BATTLES WE TEND TO BYPASS THE HOLY AND
PROFANE,
WHAT IS THE VALUE --- THE GOLD IN GOD’S HOUSE OR THE GOD IN GOD’S HOUSE?
1 Kings 15:18 Then Asa took all the silver and the gold that were left in the
treasures of the house of the Lord, and the treasures of the king’s house,
and delivered them into the hand of his servants: and king Asa sent them to
Ben-hadad, the son of Tabrimon, the son of Hezion, king of Syria, that
dwelt at Damascus, saying,
D. HOW SAD IS IT WHEN WE CAN GET ALONG WITH THE WORLD AND NOT
OUR BRETHREN?
1 Kings 15:19 There is a league between me and thee, and between my father
and thy father: behold, I have sent unto thee a present of silver and gold; come
and break thy league with Baasha king of Israel, that he may depart from me.
V. HERE COMES ZERAH ... ( ZEE -- arah ) ---
THERE COMES A BATTLE WE CAN NOT BUY OUR WAY TO VICTORY.
WHAT IS THE LARGEST ENEMY FACED BY A KING IN THE BIBLE?
LET US LOOK TO HISTORY --- WHO ARE THE CHARACTERS IN THIS LESSON?
A. ASA IS FACING A BIG BATTLE AND HE CAN NOT HANDLE IT BY A FLESHLY
MEANS.
B. Zerah was the leader of the armies of Ethopia and Arabia.
Zerah is leading the largest ARMY OF MEN EVER MENTIONED IN THE BIBLE.
2 Chron. 14:9 And there came out against them Zerah the Ethiopian with an
host of a thousand thousand ( A MILLION MEN ), and three hundred chariots;
and came unto Mareshah.
C. ASA HAS THE LARGEST VICTORY BECAUSE HE HAD THE LARGEST BATTLE.
VI. IT IS NOT JUST HOW BIG THE ENEMY IS ---
IT MAY BE HOW SMALL WE ARE?
A. DISTORTED FOCUS ---
B. IT IS ONLY HOW LARGE THE ENEMY IS --- THIS MAY INVOLVE THE SIZE
OF OUR FORCES.
2 Chron. 14:8 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.
C. IT IS OVER A MILLION AGAINST 500,000 --- THE ODDS ARE TWO TO ONE?
VII. ASA HAD LEARNED A LESSON IN LIFE, WE CAN’T BUY OUR WAY OUT OF THIS
BATTLE. WE MUST TRUST GOD!
A. The gold and silver of the temple is already gone.
Bribery will not work in this battle.
2 Chron. 14:11 And Asa cried unto the Lord his God, and said, Lord,
it is nothing with thee to help, whether with many, or with them that
have no power: help us, O Lord our God; for we rest on thee, and in
thy name we go against this multitude.
O Lord, thou art our God; let not man prevail against thee.
B. WILL WE TRUST GOD?
C. WE HAVE NO OTHER CHOICE?
BUT IS TRUSTING GOD BECAUSE WE HAVE NO OTHER CHOICE A GOOD CHOICE?
VIII. GOD DID IT --- VICTORY AND GOD CAN DO IT AGAIN.
A. Why does God’s people wait until there is no way but for God to make a way?
2 Chron. 14:12 So the Lord smote the Ethiopians before Asa and before
Judah; and the Ethiopians fled.
B. GOD DOES NOT JUST BEAT THE ENEMY, GOD SAYS: PURSUE THEM ---
TOTAL VICTORY ...
2 Chron. 14:13 And Asa and the people that were with him pursued them unto
Gerar: and the Ethiopians were overthrown, that they could not recover
themselves; for they were destroyed before the Lord, and before his host;
and they carried away very much spoil.
C. VICTORY IN GOD ENLARGES ITSELF, GO FOR MORE!
2 Chron. 14:14 And they smote all the cities round about Gerar; for the fear
of the Lord came upon them: and they spoiled all the cities; for there was
exceeding much spoil in them.
D. VICTORY INVOLVES MORE THAN JUST BARELY MAKING IT.
GOD’S VICTORY PLAN IS BLESSING THOSE THAT TRUST HIM.
2 Chron. 14:15 They smote also the tents of cattle, and carried away sheep and
camels in abundance, and returned to Jerusalem.
E. DEFEAT AFTER THE VICTORY?
ASA IN HIS OLD AGE HAD A TERRIBLE DISEASE IN HIS FEET.
1 Kings 15:23 The rest of all the acts of Asa, and all his might, and all that he did,
and the cities which he built, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of
the kings of Judah? Nevertheless in the time of his old age he was diseased in
his feet.
IX. THERE IS A MESSAGE AFTER THE VICTORY! HEAR IT!
2 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.
3 Now for a long season Israel hath been without the true God, and without a teaching
priest, and without law.
4 But when they in their trouble did turn unto the Lord God of Israel, and sought him,
he was found of them.
2 Chron. 15:6 And nation was destroyed of nation, and city of city: for God did vex
them with all adversity. 7 Be ye strong therefore, and let not your hands be weak:
for your work shall be rewarded.
2 Chron. 20:15 And he said, Hearken ye, all Judah, and ye inhabitants of
Jerusalem, and thou king Jehoshaphat, Thus saith the Lord unto you,
Be not afraid nor dismayed by reason of this great multitude; for the
battle is not yours, but God’s.
2 Chron. 20:17 Ye shall not need to fight in this battle: set yourselves, stand ye
still, and see the salvation of the Lord with you, O Judah and Jerusalem: fear
not, nor be dismayed; to morrow go out against them: for the Lord will be
with you.
2 Chron. 16:9 For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth,
to shew himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him...
1 John 4:4Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because
greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.
Romans 8:31 What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who
can be against us?
Philip. 1:6 Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a
good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:
God has a plan, the battle may seem bigger THAN OUR POWER, BUT IT IS NOT
BIGGER THAN OUR GOD!
His servant, Wade Martin Hughes, Sr. Kyfingers@aol.com
