They Saw the Lord Was with Him

Image by Jeff Jacobs | Pixabay

When will church matter enough for people to start attending again? One of Israel’s kings has the answer. His neighbors flocked to his kingdom when they saw the Lord was with him.

This is the text of a message I preached at Roswell Alliance Church in Roswell, GA.

Scripture: 2 Chronicles 15:1-9

Text: 2 Chronicles 15:9 “they saw that the LORD his God was with him.”

The church has a problem. For years, church attendance has been declining. Pew Research reported in June that one-third of U.S. adults regularly attend church. That means church has little or no part in the lives of two-thirds of Americans.

Surveys have asked why they don’t come or stopped coming. While the reasons are important, pastors are asking another question: How do we draw them back?

I read an article this week that offered these ideas:

• Integrate fun activities or hobbies into church gatherings. Activities like paint nights and pickup volleyball games.
• Host free events, such as a car wash or barbecue.

No doubt these will attract some people, but our scripture shows a better way, something closer to what Jesus had in mind when He said, “Go into all the world and make disciples.”

When God was with Asa, the people of Israel noticed, and gathered. When God is with us, people notice. They gather. They will actually be motivated to leave what they are doing, get up from where they are, and to go where God is evident.

The tribes around Judah saw that God was with King Asa and “they came over to him in great numbers” and then they gathered together to worship.

If we want people in our churches, our churches must have God in them.

They saw that God was with King Asa, and they wanted to be where God was.

Let’s look at this more closely. We can break this into three parts.

• God reasons (15:1-7)
• The king responds (15:8-9)
• The people rally (15:9-10)

God reasons with the king

Azariah, a prophet, came to the king. This was bold because the king hadn’t invited him, but the Holy Spirit had moved Azariah and inspired him with a message. He obeyed God and risked the king’s anger.

The conditions

The prophet reminded King Asa of the conditions in Israel that prevailed “for a long time.” The nation had been

Israel had become like the Gentiles (see Ephesians 2:12). Without God and His teaching, the people had no hope and even became strangers to His promises.

The nation was godless, lawless, and ignorant of the ways of God.

The consequences

Azariah went on to point out the consequences of these condition:

15:4  Distress: A tight, narrow place; to cramp
15:5  Unsafe travel: No shalom
15:5  Great turmoil: confusion, uproar; agitation, commotion
15:6  War and fighting; Distress. Adversity. Commotion.

Observing the distress in his nation because the people had forsaken God, Azariah then preached the Gospel to Asa.

When people turn to God, conditions and circumstances change.

“In their trouble they turned to the LORD.” They sought the Lord, and found Him. Asa was an example of this. He led the people in seeking God, and the Lord gave them peace and rest.

Don’t grow weary in well doing. God rewards faithfulness.

Asa had been at this for 10 years. Azariah reminds him, “be strong and do not let your hands be weak, for your work shall be rewarded!” He sounds like the Apostle Paul, who encouraged the Galatians not to grow weary. In due season, there will be a harvest.

The king responds

Notice how King Asa responded to Azariah’s message.

• He heard
• He took courage: to fasten upon; to seize. He got hold of the message.
  Think of Asa in terms of the parable of the sower. He heard, received gladly, and produced a harvest.
• He removed the ungodly things
• He restored the things of God

Now, before Azariah came, the king already had been working on the godly and ungodly things in Judah.

The ungodly things

In Chapter 14,  we read that Asa had removed the foreign altars and gods, as well as the pillars and wooden images. These were substitutes for the true God. Remember what the Hebrews said to Aaron when they convinced him to make the golden calf. “Israel, these are your gods. Forget the God who brought you out of Egypt. We’re in a different place and time.”

The godly things

On the positive side,

• Asa did what was right and good in God’s eyes (14:2).
  Regardless of what he inherited, or the ungodly practices of his people, he learned what God defined as right and good, and set himself to doing that. We find the counterpart in the New Testament where Paul says, “We always make it our aim to please the Lord.”
  
• He commanded Judah to seek the Lord (14:4).
  
• He fortified the cities during peace (14:6).
  When things are going well, the temptation is to ease up. We pray in a crisis. After 9/11, churches were filled. But only for a while. Israel was at peace and rest, but Asa strengthened his nation. He did not let up.
  
• He confessed, “You are our God” (14:11).

After Azariah came, King Asa continued his campaign.

The ungodly things

He removed the detestable idols from all the land (15:8). Detestable goes beyond what he had already cleaned out. The Hebrew defines these as disgusting. They polluted the land.

He removed his mother from being the Queen Mother and destroyed the idol she had made (15:16). This reminds me of what Jesus said to those who would follow Him. “If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple” (Luke 14:26).

The godly things:

Asa also resumed the positive work. He

• Restored the altar (15:8);
• Gathered the people for worship (15:9);
• Recommitted to seeking the Lord (15:12).

The people rally

Just as the king responded to the prophet, the people responded to the king. When they saw the Lord was with him, they came and gathered together. What did they see? How did they know it was the Lord who was with Asa?

• A people at rest and peace.
  People who have sought and found the Lord aren’t fretting, anxious, hoarding, fearful. God gives freely to us for us to give freely to others. Our Father knows what we need, and provides. Those who don’t know our Father are distressed and carry the weight of the world.
  
• A people protected.
  Asa fortified the cities. They were at peace for the moment, but Israel’s enemies were always at the border.
  
  Psalm 23 had become a living reality. “In the presence of my enemies, you prepare a table.” The Good Shepherd takes care of His flock. Asa was a good king, and cared for the well being of his people. God is a good God, and cares for us.
  
  This reminds us as Christians to heed Paul, and “Put on the whole armor of God. Be strong in the Lord.”
  
  We also learn from King David to encourage ourselves in the Lord. Where do we get our encouragement? Is it the likes on Facebook or Instagram that sustain us?
  
• A people who confessed the true God.
  They had foreign gods and had adopted gods of the Canaanites. But Asa confessed, “O LORD, You are our God.”
  
  In the church, we bow before Jesus and confess, like Thomas, “My Lord and My God.” We believe in our heart that God raised Him from the dead. We do not accept the gospel of Diversity, Equality, and Inclusion that says every god is God—accept them all.
  
  There is one God, the true and living God, and He is our God.

The neighbors of Judah and King Asa saw the Lord with with them, and moved in large numbers to be there. They saw people serious about seeking the Lord, people courageously removing the rubbish of the ungodly, people committed to  renewing godliness.

May our neighbors see the same in us. When they see the Lord with us, those who hunger and thirst after righteousness will have found a refuge, and they will come.