Good morning. Good morning. We need a blind man, don't we? Yeah, it's bright today, but yeah. Well, let me encourage you to turn in your Bibles to 2 Chronicles chapter 16. 2 Chronicles chapter 16. I'm just going to read part of verse 9. I have a word of prayer, and then we'll enter into some time of the word together. So 2 Chronicles chapter 16. And then just the first part of verse 9. 2 Chronicles 16 and verse 9 says, for the eyes of the Lord move to and fro throughout the earth that he may strongly support those whose heart is completely his. And let us pray. Father, we come before thee this Lord's Day morning and we thank you for the privilege that you have given us to gather together and the privilege to worship as a people of God and to draw near to thee and to commune with thee and delight in thee. And I would pray this time together would be honoring to thyself. I pray for the help of your Holy Spirit and just bringing forth your word in a way that is honoring to thee and in a way that would be good and instructive to our own souls and helpful in our own walk with Christ and our own growth and grace. So I thank you for each one that is here and pray that you would bless our time together and I would pray as well. It might be a blessed preparation for further fellowship and worship this day. So just bless our time together and we ask these things in Jesus' name, amen. Well, recently on a Sunday service, our minds were drawn to Hebrews chapter 11 and verse 6. And I considered three facets of faith. And the first one that is faith is necessary. And the second one is that it's theological and believes that God exists. And then the third is that it is relational insofar as God is a rewarder of those that diligently seek him. And under that particular heading, we just touched on the priority of seeking God. And I wanted to use the example of Asa that is found in chapter 14, 15, and 16 of 2 Chronicles, but I felt like at the time it would take too much time to do that. But I still felt drawn to this theme of seeking God. And since we completed chapter 32 of the confession, I'm just going to take a break for today, maybe one more Sunday and do a lesson, maybe a lesson or two on this theme. We'll see how it goes. So this morning, basically what I want to do is do three things. Number one is just kind of review and reorient our minds to the theme of seeking God. That's the overall theme this morning, seeking God. And then I want to look at the example of Asa and then Maybe extract one lesson from that, and then a reason why the lesson is applicable. So that's kind of the direction that I want to go with you this morning. Sorry, there's no notes, so we'll just have to go without notes. So anyway, first of all, just to kind of briefly review, orient your minds to the theme of seeking God. The idea is to search diligently to try or to get or find something in a diligent or exact manner You might recall I quoted Plummer and his work on the Psalms. I thought was very helpful He said to seek God is to is put for the whole of religion which consists in seeking to know him and to be like Him, to possess His favor and His protection, to serve and obey Him, to have communion with Him, and finally, to be with Him in glory, men must seek Him intelligently, not superstitiously, diligently, not carelessly, humbly, not proudly, with all the heart, not hypocritically, in the name of Christ, and not relying on any merits but those of the Redeemer." And just some of the texts, and there are many, if you ever do a study on this area, there are many texts that relate to this idea of seeking God, but just some of those that underscore the priority. 1 Chronicles 28 9, "'As for you, my son Solomon, know the God of your father and serve him with a whole heart and a willing mind. For the Lord searches all hearts and understands every intent of the thoughts if you seek him He will let you find him. But if you forsake him, he will reject you forever Psalm 119 to how blessed are those who observe his testimonies who seek him with all their heart Psalm 119 10 with all my heart I have sought thee do not let me wander from my commandments and Jeremiah 29 12 Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you, and you will seek me and find me when you search for me with all your heart. And Psalm 63, 1, O God, thou art my God, I shall seek thee earnestly. My soul thirsts for thee, my flesh yearns for thee in a dry and weary land where there is no water. And then Jehu, you might remember this rebuke, Jehoshaphat, because he had aligned himself with Ahab in battle, which he should not have done. And he says, there's some good in you, 2 Chronicles 19.3, there's some good in you for you have removed the Asherah from the land and you have set your heart to seek God. That's a very helpful phrase, I think. You have set your heart to seek God. Conversely, the evaluation of Rehoboam in 2 Chronicles 12.14, he did evil because he did not set his heart to seek the Lord. And Josiah made reference to him in 2 Chronicles 34, who's presented in a positive light. And this is one of the reasons. For in the eighth year of his reign, while he was still a youth, he began to seek the God of his father, David. In the 12th year, he began to purge Judah and Jerusalem of the high places, the ashram, the carved images, and the molten images. And then the motives for seeking God, Psalm 34, four, I sought the Lord, he delivered me from all my fears. He's a rewarder of those that diligently seek him. So there's just kind of a bit of a review to orient our minds to this theme. And secondly, we wanted to spend some time looking at the example of Asa. And as I indicated, I want to use him as an example in this connection. And the Bible uses these inspiring examples. It's very helpful, I think, for our souls to consider. And then there's some examples that are, generally speaking, positive. Hezekiah, Joseph, David for the most part, Esther, Ruth. There's many examples like that that are fundamentally, their lives are to be emulated. There's others like Demas, who are more sovereign because they end up going a different direction. And Asa, he's kind of a mixed bag. He started out well, but he did not finish well. So he's helpful. He's kind of a negative motivation to seek God. He's a bit humbling to the soul. So whether or not he is one who should be understood, who apostatizes at the end of his life is kind of debatable, and we probably won't touch on that too much. But his example is found in chapters 14, 15, and 16. And just to kind of orient your mind to this, chapter 14, chapter 15, that's his early years. Chapter 16 is his later years. There's about 20 years that elapse between the conclusion of chapter 15 and the beginning of chapter 16. And what we'll see is that in the early years, he was a man who had a clear practice of seeking God. In the later years, he was not. He departed from that practice. So he started out well, but he did not finish well. So the goal this morning is to work our way through the chapters, and then we'll try to extract a lesson and then just a little bit more from that. So number one, if you should be a chapter 14, first heading here would be an introduction to Asa, his character and activity. And we're looking here at 2 Chronicles chapter 14 and verses one through eight. It says, Abba just slept with his fathers and they buried him in the city of David. And his son Asa became king in his place. The land was undisturbed for 10 years during his days. And verse two, He says, For he said to Judah, let us build these cities and surround them with walls and towers, gates and bars. The land is still ours because we have sought the Lord our God. We have sought him and he has given us rest on every side. So they built and prospered." And then verse eight says, Asa had an army, 300,000 from Judah bearing large shields and spears, 280,000 from Benjamin bearing shields and wielding bows. All of them were valiant warriors. So what stands out here in these verses, there's a positive assessment of Asa, that there's active reforms in verses 3, 5, and 7, and there's a command to seek the Lord in verse 4, and we see the concept of seeking God in verse 7, and there's an explanation of the status of his army in verse 8. Then in verses 9 through 14, we see Asa's response in the midst of the battle and who he's truly relying upon in the midst of this battle. So beginning in verse 9, it says, Zerah the Ethiopian came out against them with an army of a million men and 300 chariots. He came to Mereshot. So Asa went out to meet him, and they drew up in battle formation in the valley of Zephathah at Merishah. Then, verse 11, Asa called to the Lord his God and said, Lord, there's no one besides Thee to help in the battle between the powerful and those who have no strength. So help us, O Lord our God, for we trust in Thee, and in Thy name have come out against this multitude. Oh Lord, Thou art our God, let none man prevail against Thee. So verse 12 says... in response to this prayer, verse 12. So the Lord routed the Ethiopians before Asa and before Judah, and excuse me, the Ethiopians fled. And Asa and the people who were with him pursued them as far as Gerar. And so many Ethiopians fled that they could not recover, for they were shattered before the Lord and before his army, and they carried away very much plunder. And they destroyed all the cities around Gerar, for the dread of the Lord had fallen on them. And they despoiled all the cities, for there was much plunder in them. They also struck down those who owned livestock, and they carried away large numbers of sheep and camels. Then they returned to Jerusalem. And I would especially have you note here Asa's prayer in verse 11 and the nature of his prayer. There's no one besides you to help this complete dependence upon God. He's trusting in God. You are our God. It's personal. And it fits in with this mindset of seeking God. Then the result of his prayer is found in verses 12 through 15. Now then in chapter 15, he is confronted by a prophet. So notice here verse one of chapter 15. It says, now the spirit of God came on Azariah, the son of Oded, and he went out to meet Asa. And he said to him, listen to me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin, the Lord is with you when you are with him. And if you seek him, he will let you find him. But if you forsake him, he will forsake you. And for many days, Israel was without the true God. and without a teaching priest and without law, but in their distress they turned to the Lord God of Israel and they sought him and he let them find him. In those times there was no peace to him who went out or to him who came in, for many disturbances afflicted the inhabitants of the nations. Nation was crushed by nation, city by city, For God troubled them with every kind of distress. But you be strong and do not lose courage, for there is reward for your work." So again, in verse four, there's an emphasis on seeking God. Now, beginning in verse eight, eight through 15, Here is Asa's response to the prophet. Verse 8 says, When Asa heard these words and the prophecy which Azariah the son of Odad the prophet spoke, he took courage and removed the abominable idols from all the land of Judah and Benjamin from the cities which he had captured in the hill country of Ephraim. He then restored the altar of the Lord which was in front of the porch of the Lord. He gathered all Judah and Benjamin and those from Ephraim, Manasseh, and Simeon who resided with him. For many defected to him from Israel when they saw that the Lord God was with him. So they assembled at Jerusalem in the third month of the 15th year of Asa's reign, and they sacrificed to the Lord that day 700 oxen, 7,000 sheep from the spoil they had brought. Verse 12, they entered into the covenant to seek the Lord God of their fathers with all their heart and soul. And whoever would not seek the Lord God of Israel should be put to death, whether small or great, man or woman. Moreover, they made an oath to the Lord with a loud voice, with shouting, with trumpets and horns, and all Judah rejoiced concerning the oath. And they had sworn with their whole heart and sought him earnestly, and he let them find him. So the Lord gave him rest on every side. So here we see on Asa's part in verses eight and nine, there's an immediate positive response to the man of God. And verse 12 sounds the same note of seeking God with all their heart. We see that again in verse 15. In verses 16 to 19, I won't read all these, but there's further reforms that take place. And notice verse 19, and there was no more war until the 35th year of Asa's reign. So there we have Asa's early years. And what stands out here, there's a mindset of seeking God. He goes along with religious reforms. He's depending upon God. He's responding positively to the word of God through the man of God. And verse 19 indicates there was no more war until the 35th year of Asa's reign. Now, if you compare that with verse 10, which speaks of the 15th year of his reign, it means 20 years have gone by. Verse 1 of chapter 16 speaks of the 36th year of his reign. So then you have 21 years that have now gone by. So now in chapter 16, verses 1 through 6, there's another war against Baasha. And again, 21 years later. So chapter 16, verse 1. In the 36th year of Asa's reign, Basha king of Israel came up against Judah and fortified Ramah in order to prevent anyone from going out or coming in to Asa king of Judah. Then Asa brought out silver and gold from the treasuries of the house of the Lord. in the king's house and sent them to Ben-Hadad, king of Aram, who lived in Damascus, saying," verse three, "'Let there be a treaty between you and me, as between my father and your father. Behold, I have sent you silver and gold. Go break your treaty with Basha, king of Israel, so that you will withdraw from me.' So Ben-Hadad listened to King Asa and sent the commanders of his armies against the cities of Israel." Verse five says, "'And it came about when Basha heard of it, he ceased fortifying Rama, and stopped his work. Then King Asa brought out all Judah, and they carried away the stones of Rama, its timber, which Basha had been building, and with them he fortified Geba and Mitzpah. So it stands out here, there is nothing about seeking God. There's nothing about depending upon God. There's nothing about crying out to God. He makes an alliance with the king of Aram. Now, in verses seven through 10, There's another visitation from a man of God, and this begins in verse seven, chapter 16. At that time, Hanani, the seer, came to Asa, king of Judah, and he said to him, because you have relied on the king of Aram and have not relied on the Lord your God, therefore the army of the king of Aram has escaped out of your hand. We're not the Ethiopians and the Lubam, that's talking about that earlier battle, an immense army with very many chariots and horsemen, yet because you relied on the Lord, he delivered them into your hand. For the eyes of the Lord move to and fro throughout the whole earth, that he may strongly support those whose heart is completely his. You have acted foolishly in this. Indeed, from now on, you will surely have wars." Now, notice verse 10. Then Asa was angry with the seer and put him in prison, for he was enraged at him for this, and Asa oppressed some of the people at the same time. So he charges Asa here with a failure to rely upon God, as he did 20 years earlier, It indicates this whole mindset has changed. And his response to the man of God now, it's radically different. He's angry, he puts him in prison, he oppresses some of the people. He's totally a different person. When you're reading through here, it's almost like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. You have a spiritually minded man and then a carnally minded man. Now, then in verse 12, four years later go by, This is just kind of a footnote, 2 Chronicles 16, 12. The 39th year of his reign, Asa became diseased in his feet. His disease was severe. Yet even in his disease, he did not seek the Lord, but the physicians. So we read these chapters and I indicated it feels like two completely different men. 20 years is a long time. And something happened somewhere along the way. We're not told what exactly happened that moved him away from this time of really seeking the Lord. Now, if this was a Bible study and I were to say, what lessons can we extract from this? You might have some different ideas that come to your mind, different ones. There may be several because we're just kind of drawing from the broader witness of scripture because we have this, the picture of this man who's walking with Christ, so to speak, and loving Christ and seeking Christ. A period of time goes by and you never know it. He's like a completely different person. What lessons do we extract from that? Well, I really have one main, lesson here and a text, and then a little bit of support for this lesson. The lesson I would extract from this would be that there's a need for discipline. There's a need for discipline in the faithful performance of those duties which God has ordained for real growth and grace and progress in the faith. That's a lesson I would extract from this. There's a need for discipline in the practice of those particular spiritual graces that God has ordained for growth and grace. And here, turn if you would, you might be already be here in your mind, but 1 Timothy 4 7. 1 Timothy 4 7. It's easy to agree with the need, well, yeah, we need to practice spiritual graces that will produce growth and grace. We need to read our Bible. We need to pray. We need to meditate on Scripture. We need not to forsake the assembling of ourselves together. But here what I'm emphasizing, there needs to be a certain approach to those graces that will produce our conformity to the person of Christ. And the text that I have in mind here is 1 Timothy chapter 4 and verse 7. The Apostle Paul says, I have nothing to do with worldly fables fit only for old women. Then he says this, on the other hand, discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness. The term discipline here is where we get the English word Gymnasium. I don't go to the gym very often. Maybe some of you guys do that. We're down at Seabrook recently. I went down there a little bit, but occasionally if you go to a gym, I'm just surmising that you're going to see a number of people there that are not messing around. I mean, they're disciplined. They're going from, you know, the stationary bike to something else. And they're lifting weights over here. They're going from one thing to the other. And you can tell they got a plan. They come here on a regular basis. It's not haphazard. They're not into visiting too much. They're just going from one thing to the other. They're disciplined, and that's the idea of this term. Discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness. Don't approach it haphazardly, but approach it with a plan. Okay, so that's the lesson. Now, the next point I would make here, why is there the need for this kind of discipline? We know that we need to be disciplined in other areas. Why is it in spiritual things that we need to approach it with this idea of discipline? Well, my answer is this, the need for discipline arises through the reality of the nature of inherent opposition to those spiritual disciplines, which are the most needed for your growth and grace and progress in the faith. So what I'm arguing is that we need this kind of discipline, this kind of mindset in approaching these graces because of the nature of the residing opposition to practicing those disciplines. And here I'm pulling from John Owen in a treatise entitled, The Nature, Power, Deceit, and Prevalency of the Remainders of Indwelling Sin in Believers. He talks about the nature of indwelling sin, and he calls it, it's enmity against God. That's what he calls it. And then he breaks this down further and indicates this is an enmity against God, and it involves what he calls an aphorization unto God. And everything of God, aphorization is an archaic word. We don't use it anymore. So I had to look up the meaning. It means, it's like aversion. It's the same kind of term. It's having an active feeling of repugnance or dislike or distaste for something and tending to avoid it or to spurn it. So an aversion is having an active distaste for something. For me, that's beats. You may have some things that you find kind of just the smell of beets. So if you have us over for dinner, A, that's a good thing, and we're thankful for that. B, forget the beets, okay? But you understand the idea, I'm an aversion to this. And what Owen is saying, remaining sin is an aversion to those spiritual graces that would cause us to advance in the faith. And the point that he makes is that that enmity and that aversion is stronger than what we think it is. This is what Olin says, kind of a long quote. Has thou any spiritual duty to perform? And didst thou design attaining of any communion with God? He says, look to thyself, take care of thy affections, they'll be gadding and wandering, and that from their aphorization to what thou hast in hand. There is not any good that we would do wherein we may not find this, I'll just say, aversion exercising itself. Then he quotes the Apostle Paul When I would do good, evil is present within me. And the idea is that the evil is always there, but it comes to the surface when I would do good. It's latent, it's under the surface, but it shows himself when I would do good. And so Owen says that any time at all, When I would do anything that is spiritually good, it is present, that is, to hinder me, to obstruct me in my duty, because it abhors and loathes the thing which I have in hand. It will keep me off from it, if at all possible. So he's saying the character of remaining sin, it abhors and it loathes, that is what's gonna help you grow in grace. Your interaction with Holy Scripture, your worship, your communion, He says, and these will, aversation and loathing oftentimes discover itself in the affections. A secret striving will be in them about close cordial dealings with God, unless the hand of God in his spirit be high and strong upon his soul. Even when convictions, sense of duty, dear and real esteem of God and communion with him have carried the soul into its closet, yet if there be not the vigor and power of a spiritual life constantly at work, there will be a violent inclination to the contrary, so that the soul had rather do anything, embrace any diversion, though it would itself thereby then invigorously apply itself unto that which is the inward man it breathes after. Okay, a lot of quoting there, but so that's the idea. So we have the example of Asa. He started out well, he didn't finish well. Why didn't he finish well? Well, somewhere along the line, he drifted away. And at least one lesson you can pull from this is the importance of disciplining ourself for the purpose of godliness. And the reason we need to discipline ourself for the purpose of godliness is because of the power and the character of remaining sin. I thought that would take longer than that, but let us pray, shall we? Father, I pray that you would take these considerations and help each one of us. I pray the effect of considering the example of a man like Asa would be sobering and humbling, but it would be motivating for us to increase in our devotedness by the help of your Holy Spirit, in our devotedness to reading Holy Scripture and praying in a way where we're communing with the not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, doing those things which we know that you have ordained for the advancing and the conformity of our own being to the person of Christ. So I pray that you would take these considerations that would be for the good of our soul. Pray that our time together would be encouraging that our fellowship would be sweet. As we gather together to worship you, we pray there would be a felt sense this day of the incomparable beauty and glory and excellency of God and Christ. And we ask these things in Jesus' name. Amen.