The Fall of King Asa (2 Chronicles 16)

WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.280 --> 00:00:09.070 You may be seated. Let's turn to second chronicles, Chapter Sixteen. Second 2 00:00:09.070 --> 00:00:17.309 Chronicles Chapter Sixteen, this is part three of the narrative, the story concerning 3 00:00:17.390 --> 00:00:25.140 King Asa. You remember that the first two chapters were very positive. We 4 00:00:25.260 --> 00:00:31.859 saw Ace's great faithfulness to the Lord and to the obligations and duties that were 5 00:00:31.899 --> 00:00:35.420 put on him, his great confidence in God and all the blessings that brought 6 00:00:35.460 --> 00:00:41.049 to Israel. I'm here we see the contrast of that. It's a sad 7 00:00:41.289 --> 00:00:46.289 ending to what otherwise seems to have been a very wonderful life and rule. 8 00:00:47.570 --> 00:00:53.200 As we consider it, let us consider it in contrast to the rule, 9 00:00:53.719 --> 00:00:59.200 the rule and reign of the Lord Jesus. So, second chronicles, Chapter 10 00:00:59.960 --> 00:01:07.670 Sixteen. In the thirty Sixth Year of the reign of ASA bashaw King of 11 00:01:07.829 --> 00:01:14.150 Israel, went up against Judah and built Ramah that he might permit no one 12 00:01:14.310 --> 00:01:18.819 to go out or come into. Asa King of Judah. Then Asa took 13 00:01:18.900 --> 00:01:22.579 silver and gold from the treasures of the House of the Lord and the King's 14 00:01:22.659 --> 00:01:26.939 House and sent them to Ben Hadad, King of Syria, who lived in 15 00:01:26.980 --> 00:01:30.700 Damascus, saying there is a covenant between me and you, as there was 16 00:01:30.819 --> 00:01:36.849 between my father and your father. Behold, I am sending to you silver 17 00:01:37.049 --> 00:01:41.810 and gold. Go Break Your Covenant with Bashaw, King of Israel, that 18 00:01:41.969 --> 00:01:47.799 he may withdraw from me. Then Ben Hadad listened to King Asa and sent 19 00:01:47.879 --> 00:01:52.359 the commanders of his armies against the cities of Israel, and they conquered you, 20 00:01:52.480 --> 00:01:57.760 John, Dan Abel, mayhem and the store cities of Naphtali. When 21 00:01:57.840 --> 00:02:01.230 bashaw heard of it, he stopped Building Rama and let his work cease. 22 00:02:02.390 --> 00:02:07.870 Then King Asa took all Judah and they carried away the stones of Urma and 23 00:02:07.030 --> 00:02:13.669 it's timber with which bashaw had been building, and with them he built Ghiba 24 00:02:13.949 --> 00:02:17.939 and Mispah. At that time, Nanni in the seer, came to ASA, 25 00:02:19.060 --> 00:02:23.139 King of Judah, and said to him because you relied on the king 26 00:02:23.259 --> 00:02:28.340 of Syria and did not rely on the Lord your God, the Army of 27 00:02:28.379 --> 00:02:32.169 the King of Syria has escaped you. We're not the Ethiopians and the Libyans, 28 00:02:32.210 --> 00:02:38.009 a huge army with very many chariots and horsemen. Yet because you relied 29 00:02:38.090 --> 00:02:42.169 on the yet, because you relied on the Lord, he gave them into 30 00:02:42.169 --> 00:02:46.360 your hand, for the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the 31 00:02:46.439 --> 00:02:52.280 whole earth. To give strong support to those whose heart is blameless toward him. 32 00:02:53.639 --> 00:02:59.069 You have done foolishly in this, for from now on you will have 33 00:02:59.310 --> 00:03:04.669 wars. Then, asa was angry with the seer and put him in the 34 00:03:04.789 --> 00:03:07.430 stocks in prison, for he was in a rage with him because of this, 35 00:03:07.949 --> 00:03:14.740 and asa inflicted cruelties upon some of the people at that time. The 36 00:03:14.860 --> 00:03:17.379 acts of Asa, from first to last, are written in the books of 37 00:03:17.460 --> 00:03:22.580 the Kings of Judah and Israel. In the thirty Ninth Year of his reign, 38 00:03:22.620 --> 00:03:28.530 ASA was diseased in his feet and his disease became severe. Yet even 39 00:03:28.569 --> 00:03:31.330 in his disease, he did not seek the Lord, but he sought help 40 00:03:31.449 --> 00:03:37.330 from physicians, and asa slept with his father's dying in the forty first year 41 00:03:37.370 --> 00:03:40.560 of his reign. They buried him in the tomb that he had cut for 42 00:03:40.639 --> 00:03:46.479 himself in the city of David. They laid him on a bier that had 43 00:03:46.560 --> 00:03:53.759 been filled with various kinds of spices prepared by the Perfrem perfumer's art, and 44 00:03:53.919 --> 00:04:00.669 they made a very great fire in his honor. May God bless his word 45 00:04:00.789 --> 00:04:13.699 to us so to understand any of the kings, these these narratives of these 46 00:04:13.740 --> 00:04:16.939 kings reigns, these chronicles of the Kings, you have to understand the covenant 47 00:04:17.019 --> 00:04:21.699 that is underlying them all, just like if you want to understand the relationship 48 00:04:21.699 --> 00:04:26.730 between a husband and a wife, you have to understand the covenant that binds 49 00:04:26.769 --> 00:04:30.769 them together. Well, the same is true for this, these kings and 50 00:04:30.850 --> 00:04:35.970 their relationship with God's people here, particularly in Judah. You remember that God 51 00:04:36.089 --> 00:04:42.600 established a covenant with David. I'm saying that from you. I will build 52 00:04:42.639 --> 00:04:46.279 a house from your son's. I will establish a kingdom that will be a 53 00:04:46.480 --> 00:04:50.879 forever and ever. But if you turn back to first chronicles, Chapter Twenty 54 00:04:50.959 --> 00:04:58.269 eight, you realize that there was a sort of caveat to this. God 55 00:04:58.430 --> 00:05:01.189 indeed would do this and he had promised he would do it, but there 56 00:05:01.269 --> 00:05:04.629 was a promise that they had. The kings had to be godly, they 57 00:05:04.629 --> 00:05:10.100 had to follow after the Lord. David, to whom the Covenant was originally 58 00:05:10.139 --> 00:05:15.740 made, says this to Solomon, his son, right before the kingship passes 59 00:05:15.819 --> 00:05:19.019 over to Solomon. David says, and in Verse Twenty of First Chronicles Twenty 60 00:05:19.060 --> 00:05:25.129 eight, be strong and courageous and do it. Do not be afraid and 61 00:05:25.209 --> 00:05:29.889 do not be dismayed for the Lord. For the Lord God, even my 62 00:05:30.089 --> 00:05:32.529 God, is with you. He will not leave you or forsake you until 63 00:05:32.529 --> 00:05:36.199 all the work for the service of the House of the Lord is finished. 64 00:05:38.680 --> 00:05:42.920 This is the rule that he had given to to David, or, I'm 65 00:05:42.959 --> 00:05:46.360 sorry, this is the rule that David gave to Solomon in the honest he 66 00:05:46.480 --> 00:05:49.389 made. But if you go back to chapter nine, he realized that we're 67 00:05:49.670 --> 00:05:55.509 something else that he says, I'm sorry, verse nine. And you, 68 00:05:55.750 --> 00:05:59.550 solemn and my son, know the god of your father and serve him with 69 00:05:59.629 --> 00:06:02.990 a whole heart and with a willing mind, for the Lord searches all hearts 70 00:06:03.540 --> 00:06:09.139 and understands every plan and thought. We pause there for just a moment. 71 00:06:09.220 --> 00:06:13.740 That's very similar to the language that we just read. And second chronicles about 72 00:06:13.819 --> 00:06:17.569 the Lord going to and fro all over all the earth, searching the blameless 73 00:06:17.569 --> 00:06:23.649 and heart to support. David says that the Lord searches all hearts and understands 74 00:06:23.769 --> 00:06:27.569 every plan and thought. If you seek him, he will be found by 75 00:06:27.649 --> 00:06:30.089 you, but if you forsake him, he will cast you off. Be 76 00:06:30.290 --> 00:06:34.360 careful now, for the Lord has chosen to build a house for the sanctuary. 77 00:06:34.800 --> 00:06:41.319 Be Strong and do it. So when the Kings are godly, when 78 00:06:41.480 --> 00:06:45.720 the sons of David are godly and righteous, the Lord supports them and gives 79 00:06:45.759 --> 00:06:48.790 them support. And we've seen that with King Asa. When the Lord US 80 00:06:48.910 --> 00:06:54.269 took idolatry out of Israel, when, I'm sorry, when asa took idolatry 81 00:06:54.310 --> 00:06:58.709 out of Israel, the Lord supported him in it. When asa wanted to 82 00:06:58.870 --> 00:07:01.379 support against his enemies, he did so in the strength of the Lord, 83 00:07:01.420 --> 00:07:05.300 and the Lord supported him in it. But here, in second chronicles, 84 00:07:05.339 --> 00:07:10.620 we see something else. We see the flip side of that coin. What 85 00:07:10.819 --> 00:07:18.209 happens when the Fort saking comes? What happened? Well, the King of 86 00:07:18.329 --> 00:07:25.649 Israel was coming and and threatening Judah. But instead of going to the Lord, 87 00:07:26.490 --> 00:07:29.209 instead of going to the one who had promised to be with him, 88 00:07:29.569 --> 00:07:32.639 instead of being strong and courageous and he is king, the God of his 89 00:07:32.800 --> 00:07:36.720 father's instead of going to God, the God of all the world, the 90 00:07:36.759 --> 00:07:42.519 king of kings and the Lord of Lords, asa goes to the king of 91 00:07:42.680 --> 00:07:47.310 Syria and he brings him gold and treasures from the house of the Lord. 92 00:07:48.110 --> 00:07:54.470 How Ironic, and says here, let's make a covenant, let's re establish 93 00:07:54.670 --> 00:07:59.860 the Covenant that has been in the past and protect me. I'm scared. 94 00:07:59.980 --> 00:08:05.899 I'm afraid. Withdraw your armies. The King of Syria, who was formerly 95 00:08:05.019 --> 00:08:09.740 on the other side, does withdraws armies, and for a moment that seems 96 00:08:09.860 --> 00:08:18.170 like a good thing. Asa has been victorious, he has established his strength 97 00:08:18.370 --> 00:08:22.250 once again over his people and over his borders. But then what happens? 98 00:08:24.569 --> 00:08:30.720 Hanani, this seer, this prophet, comes and says to him, because 99 00:08:30.920 --> 00:08:33.240 you relied, this is a verse seven, because you relied on the king 100 00:08:33.279 --> 00:08:37.200 of Syria and did not rely on the Lord, your God. The King 101 00:08:37.279 --> 00:08:39.639 of Syria is a escaped you. And then he reminds him. He says, 102 00:08:39.919 --> 00:08:45.029 look, you've gone through this before. The Libyans had a huge army, 103 00:08:45.149 --> 00:08:48.549 that Ethiopians had a huge army, and what happened? You relied to 104 00:08:48.629 --> 00:08:52.750 the Lord and you won the day, but you have not done here, 105 00:08:52.909 --> 00:08:58.460 and so you will suffer wars. The Lord turns away from him the peace 106 00:08:58.940 --> 00:09:03.299 and security that he was hoping for, but when about the wrong way, 107 00:09:03.299 --> 00:09:11.970 he lost. And then, they say, does a second thing. Instead 108 00:09:13.009 --> 00:09:18.889 of hearing the words of Hanani, instead of turning and repentance or even enduring 109 00:09:20.090 --> 00:09:24.519 the discipline that he has, he he puts him in stocks, he takes 110 00:09:24.600 --> 00:09:31.799 the Messenger of the Lord and throws him in prison. You remember Stephen, 111 00:09:31.919 --> 00:09:37.960 in his big speech and acts right before he's persecuted, says to the people 112 00:09:37.000 --> 00:09:41.230 of Israel, every time the Lord sends you a Prophet, you kill him. 113 00:09:43.269 --> 00:09:46.950 Every time the Lord sends someone you to you to wake you up and 114 00:09:46.110 --> 00:09:50.149 to call you back and to call you to repentance, what do you do? 115 00:09:50.389 --> 00:09:56.059 You persecute them. This is one of those things that Stephen has in 116 00:09:56.259 --> 00:10:01.139 mind. This prophet, the seer, comes to him and says this is 117 00:10:01.460 --> 00:10:05.700 why this is going to happen. And what is a SA do? He 118 00:10:05.860 --> 00:10:09.529 was angry. Puts him in stocks, in the stocks, in prison. 119 00:10:09.769 --> 00:10:13.250 This is verse ten. He was in a rage with him because of this, 120 00:10:13.409 --> 00:10:18.330 and this rage doesn't only get directed at this prophet, it gets inflicted 121 00:10:18.490 --> 00:10:24.000 out cruelties upon some of the people at that same time. This is, 122 00:10:24.279 --> 00:10:28.840 all of a sudden, not the reign of a godly, dividic king, 123 00:10:28.039 --> 00:10:33.480 but the reign of a tyrant. I'm mad at you, so I'm mad 124 00:10:33.519 --> 00:10:41.590 at everybody. Everybody's going to be punished for this. Then, continuing in 125 00:10:41.750 --> 00:10:48.110 his obstinence, he gains a disease in his feet which becomes severe, and 126 00:10:48.950 --> 00:10:54.580 he doesn't seek the Lord. He goes only to humans, to physicians, 127 00:10:58.340 --> 00:11:05.289 and you know what happens. He dies and in a strange way. I'm 128 00:11:05.330 --> 00:11:09.370 not entirely sure if this is what this means, but verse fourteen, when 129 00:11:09.409 --> 00:11:11.690 it says they buried him in the tomb that he had cut for himself in 130 00:11:11.809 --> 00:11:16.529 the city of David, I wonder if that has the same sense that we 131 00:11:16.610 --> 00:11:20.840 mean in English when we say he's digging his own grave. That's what he 132 00:11:20.919 --> 00:11:26.240 does literally, but it seems that figuratively, that's how exactly what ace is 133 00:11:26.360 --> 00:11:31.200 doing. Instead of ruling and reigning before the Lord, he's digging his own 134 00:11:31.279 --> 00:11:37.750 grave, he's punishing himself, he's going further and further and further down and 135 00:11:37.909 --> 00:11:45.590 eventually he finds himself in it. Instead of reigning and ending his life with 136 00:11:46.190 --> 00:11:52.899 peace and security and sleeping with his father's we read that he was diseased and 137 00:11:54.820 --> 00:12:01.419 left by God. So this is the story that we have in second chronicles 138 00:12:01.490 --> 00:12:09.409 sixteen. I want you to consider it in contrast to Jesus, to Jesus 139 00:12:09.450 --> 00:12:18.200 is kingly rule. Consider first Jesus is complete and entire allegiance with his father, 140 00:12:20.279 --> 00:12:26.480 before all creation, before the world was made, the father and son 141 00:12:26.759 --> 00:12:31.830 and spirit covenanted with one another to do a great work in the world, 142 00:12:33.070 --> 00:12:37.230 to save people from their sins, to bring them from death to life, 143 00:12:37.309 --> 00:12:43.269 and to do so by the sun, becoming man and suffering on across. 144 00:12:45.620 --> 00:12:48.379 It was not an easy mission. It was a humbling mission. It was 145 00:12:48.419 --> 00:12:54.340 a mission that would would would require Jesus to leave the glories of Heaven to 146 00:12:54.419 --> 00:13:01.690 dwell on Earth in human body, to suffer all kinds of indignities and shame, 147 00:13:03.049 --> 00:13:11.610 oppression and persecution, betrayal and more. But at every point in his 148 00:13:11.809 --> 00:13:18.480 life Jesus was perfectly loyal to the father. Instead of going to other people 149 00:13:18.519 --> 00:13:24.320 and saying this is tough, I'm tired of these Pharisees and saddutes. Maybe 150 00:13:24.399 --> 00:13:28.870 I can find a sort of end run game around them, to work something 151 00:13:28.990 --> 00:13:31.990 out, to get over this problem, to get them out of my hair. 152 00:13:31.909 --> 00:13:35.350 I can see what you're doing, Judas he goes and talks to the 153 00:13:35.470 --> 00:13:39.909 other disciples. Work something out to get rid of him early. There could 154 00:13:39.909 --> 00:13:43.299 be all kinds of things that Jesus would have done, all kinds of things 155 00:13:43.340 --> 00:13:48.460 that you and I would have done to overcome the problems, to not face 156 00:13:48.620 --> 00:13:52.899 the things, to not complete the mission. But every single point in his 157 00:13:54.139 --> 00:14:00.049 life Jesus trusted in his father over and over again throughout the book of John 158 00:14:00.049 --> 00:14:03.690 and in the other gospels. What do we read? That he came to 159 00:14:03.850 --> 00:14:07.769 do the will of the one who sent him. That's what his rule was 160 00:14:07.809 --> 00:14:11.840 about. That's what his kingdom is about, and he never he never strayed 161 00:14:11.919 --> 00:14:16.639 from that. The second thing he never did is he never turned away from 162 00:14:16.679 --> 00:14:22.600 God's word, unlike Asa, who who, in hearing God's were a will, 163 00:14:22.679 --> 00:14:26.350 first in turning away from it at the beginning, then and being reminded 164 00:14:26.429 --> 00:14:30.429 of it, and then even in the last years of his life, he 165 00:14:30.549 --> 00:14:33.710 was always, in these final years, turning away from the word of the 166 00:14:33.830 --> 00:14:39.580 Lord. Jesus never did that. Each and every point of his life he 167 00:14:39.779 --> 00:14:43.259 followed the word of his father. He followed the will of his father. 168 00:14:46.059 --> 00:14:48.659 I want you to look at Matthew, Chapter Four. There's so many examples 169 00:14:48.700 --> 00:14:54.610 of this, but this is a really great one. Want you to see 170 00:14:54.649 --> 00:15:00.929 the way in which Jesus is establishing his kingship, the way in which Jesus 171 00:15:01.009 --> 00:15:05.850 does not do the things that asa does and making covenant with other people, 172 00:15:07.129 --> 00:15:20.080 in in working, in in turning away from the Lord. So, Matthew 173 00:15:20.120 --> 00:15:24.429 Chapter Four, this is the great temptation of Jesus right at the beginning of 174 00:15:24.549 --> 00:15:30.549 his ministry. And that's important because here the gospel writers are establishing for us 175 00:15:30.950 --> 00:15:35.590 the kind of kingdom that Jesus will bring about, the kind of kingdom that 176 00:15:35.669 --> 00:15:39.139 he will rule. So, Matthew Chapter Four, verse one. Then Jesus 177 00:15:39.220 --> 00:15:43.740 was led up by the spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 178 00:15:43.820 --> 00:15:48.860 After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry and the tempter 179 00:15:50.090 --> 00:15:52.570 came and said to him, if you are the son of God, command 180 00:15:52.649 --> 00:15:58.370 these stones to be loaves of bread. But he answered it is written man 181 00:15:58.570 --> 00:16:03.450 shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the 182 00:16:03.490 --> 00:16:08.279 mouth of God. You See, here is say Jesus Receives The opposite of 183 00:16:08.360 --> 00:16:12.799 a Prophet Right he receives Satan, the tempter trying to tempt him away from 184 00:16:12.840 --> 00:16:18.230 God's word. And what does he do? He stands strong, first by 185 00:16:18.429 --> 00:16:23.429 turning to God's Word and quoting it and second by the very content of the 186 00:16:23.470 --> 00:16:27.909 word that he says man shall not live by bread alone, but by every 187 00:16:27.990 --> 00:16:36.659 word that comes from the mouth of God. Jesus refused to give in to 188 00:16:36.740 --> 00:16:41.340 the temptation, and he did so by turning to the word of the Lord. 189 00:16:42.100 --> 00:16:45.580 Next Verse Five, then the devil took him to the holy city and 190 00:16:45.740 --> 00:16:49.289 set him on the pinnacle of the Temple and said to him, if you 191 00:16:49.409 --> 00:16:52.529 are the son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written he 192 00:16:52.649 --> 00:16:57.769 will command his angels concerning you and on their hands they will bear you up 193 00:16:57.769 --> 00:17:03.519 lest you strike your foot against a stone. Jesus said to him again, 194 00:17:03.680 --> 00:17:07.599 it is written, you shall not put the Lord your God to test. 195 00:17:10.119 --> 00:17:15.359 See again what Jesus is doing. He establishes his he establishes his rule and 196 00:17:15.440 --> 00:17:18.869 his kingdom, he establishes his mission on the word of God and the proper 197 00:17:18.990 --> 00:17:23.589 interpretations of it. And then, thirdly, in verse eight, again the 198 00:17:23.750 --> 00:17:27.390 Devil takes him up to a very high mountain, shows him all the kingdoms 199 00:17:27.430 --> 00:17:30.819 of their world and their glory, and he said to him, all these 200 00:17:30.859 --> 00:17:36.819 I will give you if you will fall down and worship me. Then Jesus 201 00:17:36.859 --> 00:17:40.579 said to him, begone, Satan, for it is written you shall worship 202 00:17:40.619 --> 00:17:44.849 the Lord your God, and you and him alone, you shall serve that. 203 00:17:45.089 --> 00:17:48.890 Then then the devil left him and behold, angels came and were ministering 204 00:17:48.970 --> 00:17:56.730 to him. Jesus is offered something more than asa could have ever dreamed. 205 00:17:56.690 --> 00:18:00.960 Es is trying to protect the southern Kingdom of Judah. The Satan offers to 206 00:18:02.000 --> 00:18:06.000 Jesus the entire kingdoms of the world and all their glory. You know what 207 00:18:06.079 --> 00:18:11.599 he offers him? He offers him the DIVIDIC Covenant Promise, the very thing 208 00:18:11.759 --> 00:18:15.430 that God had promised to give David and his sons. He offers to Jesus. 209 00:18:17.670 --> 00:18:23.789 And what does Jesus do? He Says No. He Says No to 210 00:18:23.910 --> 00:18:27.660 Satan, not because he won't obtain these things, but he won't do it 211 00:18:29.259 --> 00:18:33.619 against the will of the Lord. Instead of being given them as this way, 212 00:18:33.779 --> 00:18:37.619 in this way that Satan suggests, Jesus will go to the cross, 213 00:18:37.779 --> 00:18:45.569 Jesus will suffer and die. Jesus will give his very life and he will 214 00:18:45.609 --> 00:18:51.049 have these things. The Lord will keep his promises. The angels will come 215 00:18:51.210 --> 00:18:53.369 and minister to him and to serve him, but they do so in the 216 00:18:53.490 --> 00:19:02.759 way that he desires. Jesus, you might think, sounds like no one 217 00:19:02.799 --> 00:19:07.440 you've ever met. Everyone else, including you, and including me, goes 218 00:19:07.559 --> 00:19:12.309 after the things of this world and even the good things that God has promised 219 00:19:12.349 --> 00:19:18.109 us, often in the wrong ways. We try to get around the way 220 00:19:18.190 --> 00:19:21.549 of the cross, we try to get around the suffering and the persecution, 221 00:19:21.670 --> 00:19:26.700 we try to get around the uncomfortable difficulties and the loving one another and the 222 00:19:26.779 --> 00:19:30.700 forgiving one another and the dealing and the reconciliation and all that stuff. We 223 00:19:30.779 --> 00:19:33.740 don't want to do that. We just want the glory of the Kingdoms of 224 00:19:33.819 --> 00:19:37.769 this world and we don't want to do it by taking up our cross and 225 00:19:37.930 --> 00:19:42.930 following him. And we know that we're so familiar with that way of life, 226 00:19:42.930 --> 00:19:47.730 were so familiar with the way of King Asa that to hear of Jesus 227 00:19:48.289 --> 00:19:52.690 perfectly and in every single moment, going after the mission that he was set 228 00:19:52.730 --> 00:19:56.759 out to do, according to the will of God and for and according to 229 00:19:56.920 --> 00:20:03.319 the will of his father. We say this sounds like no one I've ever 230 00:20:03.440 --> 00:20:08.750 met, but that's because Jesus is like no one you've ever met. Jesus 231 00:20:08.950 --> 00:20:12.750 entirely dive frint. Yes, he's the son of David, but we have 232 00:20:12.869 --> 00:20:18.950 to remember that unlike Asa, unlike you, unlike me, Jesus was also 233 00:20:18.950 --> 00:20:26.019 the son of God. And in sending his son, God sent someone for 234 00:20:26.140 --> 00:20:32.420 whom it would be impossible to sin, one who would it be able to 235 00:20:32.500 --> 00:20:44.009 endure even the greatest temptations of Satan himself and would always say no. You 236 00:20:44.329 --> 00:20:48.329 and I and the kings of this world, all of us. It's hard 237 00:20:48.369 --> 00:20:53.079 to endure temptation. It's hard to say no when we want to say yes. 238 00:20:53.160 --> 00:20:59.160 It's hard to follow after the Lord when there's dangers facing us, when 239 00:20:59.160 --> 00:21:07.190 we're scared and afraid. But for Jesus, even though he felt these things, 240 00:21:07.670 --> 00:21:18.430 never strayed because he was God himself. When God sent the final divided 241 00:21:18.470 --> 00:21:22.380 King, when he sent Jesus, he didn't just send another king, another 242 00:21:22.420 --> 00:21:29.460 one in the line, he sent the final answer to the problem we see 243 00:21:29.539 --> 00:21:34.769 with Asa, to the problems we see with ourselves. Ace's problem is that 244 00:21:34.890 --> 00:21:41.009 he was not entirely loyal to God. He was not entire his allegiance was 245 00:21:41.210 --> 00:21:45.369 not entirely with him. His problem is that when he at the mury moment 246 00:21:45.450 --> 00:21:49.119 when he should have been repenting, he was becoming calloused and refuse the word 247 00:21:49.200 --> 00:21:55.359 of the Lord. We follow in Asas Sins, whenever we rely on men 248 00:21:55.440 --> 00:22:00.400 rather than God whenever we callous ourselves to his word. But because of this, 249 00:22:02.630 --> 00:22:07.390 we should all be very, very glad for Jesus, because it means 250 00:22:07.470 --> 00:22:15.259 that we're not left with our hard hearts, with our obstinate attitudes, with 251 00:22:15.380 --> 00:22:22.859 our tricky ways. Because of Jesus we are given a great substitution. We 252 00:22:22.900 --> 00:22:29.180 are given a great king who swoops us up and grabs us and pulls us 253 00:22:29.220 --> 00:22:34.890 in. And Colossians it says that God has sent his son who has delivered 254 00:22:34.970 --> 00:22:41.210 us, rescued us from the dominion of darkness. He's brought us into the 255 00:22:41.250 --> 00:22:52.400 Kingdom of his beloved son. We don't live our lives under King Asa, 256 00:22:52.799 --> 00:22:59.309 we live our lives under King Jesus, and this should give us great confidence. 257 00:22:59.390 --> 00:23:03.869 It means that if we are in him and under him, we're no 258 00:23:04.029 --> 00:23:10.549 longer digging our own graves with one evil work after another, but we count 259 00:23:10.589 --> 00:23:15.500 ourselves as those who have been resurrected from the dead, who have been brought 260 00:23:15.579 --> 00:23:22.660 from death to life, who know that the grave no longer holds threat over 261 00:23:22.779 --> 00:23:32.049 us. How can you be sure that you are under Christ and not under 262 00:23:32.049 --> 00:23:37.410 your own power and authority or under someone else's? How can you be sure 263 00:23:37.609 --> 00:23:45.119 that Christ is your king. Well, Christ becomes our king not by just 264 00:23:45.279 --> 00:23:52.759 doing more obedient things. Christ becomes our king by a turning to him as 265 00:23:52.839 --> 00:24:02.029 the obedient one for rescue. Christ becomes our king when we recognize asa in 266 00:24:02.109 --> 00:24:07.069 ourselves and when we turn away from ourselves and from the other people that promise 267 00:24:07.109 --> 00:24:11.700 us power and glory and honor and all the rest, and we turn to 268 00:24:11.779 --> 00:24:18.380 Jesus and say, in your work I will find all things in the will 269 00:24:18.539 --> 00:24:25.930 of the father that you have done. I can have true righteousness. When 270 00:24:25.970 --> 00:24:30.529 we turn to Jesus, we no longer are seeking help elsewhere, but we 271 00:24:30.650 --> 00:24:37.730 find it all in him. If we try to live our lives as King 272 00:24:37.849 --> 00:24:42.079 Asas we will end up like King Asa, will end up in our graves 273 00:24:42.279 --> 00:24:48.039 of our own making. But if we find art, but if we if 274 00:24:48.039 --> 00:24:52.359 we put ourselves in Christ, if we put our faith in Christ and know 275 00:24:52.599 --> 00:24:57.349 his kingly rule and authority of in over us, we will come to be 276 00:24:57.630 --> 00:25:03.430 like him, people who desire to do the father's will, people who desire 277 00:25:03.509 --> 00:25:08.220 to turn after him. And when we face life's challenges and trials, when 278 00:25:08.299 --> 00:25:15.019 we find ourselves afraid and wondering what's going to happen next, we turn in 279 00:25:15.259 --> 00:25:19.740 Jesus and he is strength and his power and his spirit, knowing that he's 280 00:25:19.819 --> 00:25:25.450 ruling over us, defending us in loving us. We turn to him, 281 00:25:26.849 --> 00:25:32.250 we turn to his covenant promises and know that God will work all things for 282 00:25:32.450 --> 00:25:41.799 good, according to his purpose. It's that wonderful, doesn't it bring us 283 00:25:41.880 --> 00:25:47.599 peace and security, knowing who our king is. I hope it does for 284 00:25:47.680 --> 00:25:52.470 you. It does for me. Let's pray that's that God would help us 285 00:25:52.470 --> 00:25:56.349 to put all of our rest and confidence in him