The King Who Went From Smashing To Crashing

THE KING WHO WENT FROM SMASHING TO CRASHING

2 Chr. 16:12

INTRODUCTION

A. HUMOR

1. There’s a lot of concern for our Olympic athletes going to Sochi, Russia, due to terrorists. It reminded me of…

2. There was an American basketball player that had a tournament in Belfast, N. Ireland, a few years ago.

3. After one of his games he stepped outside for a breath of fresh air when he felt a gun in his back.

4. "What's your religion?" he heard the man growl. Bobby (the player) had no real religion but he knew if he said he was Catholic and this guy was a Protestant he would kill him and if he said he was Protestant and the guy was Catholic he would kill him.

5. Thinking quickly he said "I'm Jewish." and the man replied, "Oh Allah! I must be the luckiest Arab in all of Ireland."

Two Eskimos sitting in a kayak were chilly. But when they lit a fire in the craft, it sank, proving once and for all, that you can't have your kayak and heat it too.A little boy sat up all night wondering where the sun had gone. Finally it dawned on him! "I have a FEAR of speed bumps; but I'm slowly getting over it."

B. TEXT

2 Asa did what was good and right in the eyes of the Lord his God. 3 He removed the foreign altars and the high places, smashed the sacred stones and cut down the Asherah poles. 4 He commanded Judah to seek the Lord, the God of their ancestors, and to obey his laws and commands. 5 He removed the high places and incense altars in every town in Judah, and the kingdom was at peace under him. 6 He built up the fortified cities of Judah, since the land was at peace. No one was at war with him during those years, for the Lord gave him rest.

9 Zerah the Cushite marched out against them with an army of thousands upon thousands and three hundred chariots, 11 Then Asa called to the Lord his God….12 The Lord struck down the Cushites before Asa and Judah. 15:9 Then he assembled all Judah and Benjamin and the people from Ephraim, Manasseh and Simeon.

12 They entered into a covenant to seek the Lord, the

God of their ancestors, with all their heart and soul. 14 They took an oath to the Lord with loud acclamation, with shouting and with trumpets and horns. 15 All Judah rejoiced about the oath because they had sworn it wholeheartedly. They sought God eagerly, and he was found by them. So the Lord gave them rest on every side. 16 King Asa also deposed his grandmother Maakah from her position as queen mother, because she had made a repulsive image for the worship of Asherah.

C. THESIS

1. Tonight we’re looking at a king who, because of pride and rebellion, chose to look only to doctors and not to God for his healing.

2. We’ll see his stance was a result of waning faith, that it went against his previous experience with God, and even against his knowledge of God’s character.

3. The title of tonight’s message is “THE KING WHO WENT FROM SMASHING TO CRASHING.”

I. SAD DECLINE OF A GOOD KING

A. ASA STARTED STRONG

1. He started by caring more about what God thought than anyone else. What God hated, he hated; what God loved, he loved. Aligning ourselves with God is the most important determinant of our direction.

2. He smashed the idols. He commanded Judah to seek the Lord. Then he fortified the walled cities of Judah. He trained a large army: 300,000 from Judah & 280,000 from Benjamin. When attacked, he relied on the Lord to deliver him.

3. He & all Judah entered into a covenant to seek the Lord with all their heart and soul. They took an oath of fidelity to the Lord.

4. He deposed his grandmother Maakah from her position as queen mother because she secretly worshipped idols.

5. Asa found the key to success as king because he was humble, prayed, sought God’s face and turned from wickedness.

6. As a result, Revival had broken out in Jerusalem. When an enemy attacked, Asa called upon God and God made him victorious over a superior army.

7. With God, nothing was impossible for them. This is no different for us. God never said we wouldn’t have problems, but He promised to fight our battles for us!

B. WHEN ASA GOT OFF TRACK

1. RELIED ON FLESH. Israel was threatened with war again; but this time Asa made decisions without consulting God. When Baasha, King of Israel, began to give signs of hostility, Asa bribed Ben-Hadad of Aram with a large amount of money to attack Baasha.