STRENGTH RENEWED
2 Chronicles 14, 15, 16:9
Over the next several weeks we will explore what the Bible has to say about God’s plans to work in our lives and MAKE ALL THINGS NEW.
Today, I want to talk about His plan to strengthen and empower you to live your life for Him. More than just looking good on the outside — He wants to make you right on the inside. So, beyond the issue of your salvation — He longs to empower you to find STRENGTH IN HIM to serve Him, to trust Him, and to fulfill His purposes in your life.
TRANSITION:
I bet many of you have traveled to Ellis Island and visited the Statue of Liberty. As you know, it’s an American icon. Standing 151 feet tall — Lady Liberty represents the hope of true FREEDOM and a better way of life. They say, she’s visited annually by nearly 5 million people from around the world. She was first erected in 1886, as a gift of friendship from France.
But, as the saying goes: Freedom Is Never Free! And while she didn’t cost us anything then — it costs some $6 million dollars to maintain the statue each year.
But sometimes, it costs even more. After her first 100 years, she had become incredibly dirty, deeply weathered, and was beginning to show signs of degradation. And so, in 1982, President Ronald Reagan commissioned to give her a facelift and renovate the exterior.
In the end, it took 4 years and $266 million dollars.
They process of renovation was extensive. To accomplish the task of cleaning and restoring the 151 feet of copper sheeting — engineers built a massive set of scaffolding around her. And for 4 years, the metal workers, the welders, and the polishers climbed up and down the framework making repairs. While Lady Liberty represented something great — left on her own she was powerless. Nothing more than a just a symbol. A statue.
And I share that with you, because I’ve found a lot of Christians that tend to live that way.
Rather than them being dependent upon the work and empowerment of God’s Spirit on the inside, they tend to depend upon the exterior religious things to prop them up.
They may have begun with a genuine faith in Christ, but somewhere along the lines allowed activities and routines to satisfy them.
And so, instead of being empowered by God’s strength — their lives are held up by the religious scaffoldings around them. Things like events and habits and services.
But hear me — God doesn’t want us to live off of RELIGION…He wants us to know Him, and trust Him — to walk with Him and be strengthened by Him.
MESSAGE:
In the Old Testament book of 2 Chronicles we find a story about a King who knew the Lord and had walked with Him, but refused to live by faith. And instead, sought to live life his way, on his own strength — and to his demise, refused to allow the Lord into His life.
It’s the story of a king Asa — the King of Judah.
You might recognize his name. Because, he was the great grandson of late King Solomon. An heir of the great King David.
When he gained the throne — there was lots of excitement and expectation. After all, he came from a long line of great men. And in the beginning, he started off well.
In fact, 2 Chronicles 14:2 tells us,
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.”
2 Chronicles 14:2 (NIV)
According to the Bible, his Godly actions brought about peace for his nation. And for years things went well. But in time, he was confronted by a great enemy.
Judah was invade by the Ethiopians. At that time they were a force to be reckoned with. They had an army of one million men – plus numerous chariots and other warriors. Well, long story/short – Asa called out to God.
And in 2 Chronicles 14:11, we read:
11 “Then Asa called to the Lord his God and said, “Lord, there is no one like you to help the powerless against the mighty. Help us, Lord our God, for we rely on you, and in your name we have come against this vast army. Lord, you are our God…”
2 Chronicles 14:11 (NIV)
So, things began great — as Asa led his nation to trust in God and depend upon His strength. And God gave Judah the victory.
But as the years went by, Asa traded in a close reliance upon God — with the form of godliness and religious activity.
And while we are not told of the specifics — we know that his passion for God grew cold and his closeness with God grew distant. We’re not told exactly what it was, but something changed in Asa.
And in Chapter 16, Asa is again confronted with another challenge. This time it’s with King Baasha of Israel.
In the past, Asa sought the Lord. But this time, he acted without God! He followed his own plans and ideas, and even sought the help of a pagan king in the area. He chose to partner with the Syrian nation (known as Aram) to try to defeat King Baasha. But in the end…it was a bad decision.
The problem — was that Asa relied upon his own strength! He did (as generations had done before him), and did what was wise in his own eyes.
According to he Bible, his heart grew cold — His devotion wavered — and His faithfulness faltered. And because of that — He and his nation suffered.
In 2 Chronicles 16:7 it says,
7 At that time Hanani the seer came to Asa king of Judah and said to him: “Because you relied on the king of Aram and not on the Lord your God, the army of the king of Aram has escaped from your hand. 8 Were not the Cushites and Libyans a mighty army with great numbers of chariots and horsemen? Yet when you relied on the Lord, he delivered them into your hand.
9 For the eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him. You have done a foolish thing, and from now on you will be at war.”
2 Chronicles 16:7-9 (NIV)
Here’s what I want you to know…God longs to BLESS and EMPOWER you as you live for Him. His plan is to daily give you the strength you need to face the moments, the opportunities, and the challenges that come your way.
He’s not satisfied with the things He’s done in your life in the past — He has promised to RENEW your strength today. To do something NEW IN YOU today!
So, in the time that remains — I want to look at three challenges that I see within this story. Three was we can live differently than Asa, and in our weakest moments — find our STRENGTH RENEWED by the Lord.
And the first challenge is this:
1. RECOGNIZE God’s DIVINE awareNESS!
This is a truth Asa overlooked.
But God is always aware — He’s aware of everything. He sees all. He knows all you are going through in life. Everything. Every moment. Every day.
He is aware. He’s aware of your pain. He’s aware of your trouble…and every challenge you face.
It appears that Asa bought into that age old lie that says, God only sees some things. As if, He is some absent minded grandfather — who’s just unobservant. Or worse, that He’s like a distracted child, unable to stay focused.
But God is neither. He is always aware. Always seeing. Always watching over you and me.
In Matthew 10:30, Jesus said, the very hairs of our head are numbered. That is amazing. God is all-knowing, he is aware of everything about us, everything we do and everything we think.
He knows what goes on in private as well as in public. He knows more about us than we know about ourselves.
Jeremiah 1:5 says, before He formed in your mother’s womb, He knew you!
Psalm 139:2-3 says, He knows when we get up in the morning and when we go to bed at night
Proverbs 15:3 says, “The eyes of the Lord are everywhere, keeping watch on the wicked and the good.”
And that’s really what Hanani was trying to remind Asa…He wanted Him to RECOGNIZE GOD’S DIVINE AWARENESS of all things. Again, in verse 9, he says:
9 For the eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him.
2 Chronicles 16:9 (NIV)
We serve a God who sees all things!
He’s not near-sighted, only seeing a few things in our lives. Nor is He far-sighted, only seeing life from a distance.
He’s all-knowing and ever-present…and He’s continually aware of every detail of our lives!
So, don’t give up on God when life gets tough. Instead…keep believing. Because, He sees all!
Secondly, this story challenges us to:
2) RECALL God’S UNWAVERING CARE!
In verse 8, the prophet Hanani reminded Asa of a time when other armies came against him — and when he turned to the Lord, the Lord turned to Him.
Listen again to the prophet’s rebuttal. He said,
8 Were not the Cushites and Libyans a mighty army with great numbers of chariots and horsemen? Yet when you relied on the Lord, he delivered them into your hand.
2 Chronicles 16:8 (NIV)
He was saying…God is faithful! He always has been, and always will be!
I just wonder, how differently would Asa’s future have been if he would have paused to remember God’s faithfulness.
But he didn’t…and instead, he began to FEAR his enemies. Isn’t fear an awful thing? It can be so debilitating. When it comes to our faith…our walk with God, fear is one of the enemies greatest weapons.
I read this week that fear actually feeds on our forgetfulness! It finds life and power in our inability to REMEMBER GOD’S FAITHFULNESS. It seems to thrive on our spiritual amnesia.
When we forget God’s faithfulness in the past, when overlook His love in the present. Fear begins to creep in.
But the BEST DEFENSE for fear — is FAITH! Simply trusting in God. Recalling His goodness to us. Remembering His faithfulness. Reciting His promises.
That’s why David proclaims in Psalm 23,
“The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.…Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me…”
Psalm 23:1,4 (NIV)
Remember God’s faithfulness. Just look back in your own life — and recall those moments where He has been with you, where He has cared for you, where He has provided, defended, delivered, and worked miracles on your behalf.
Look back, recall…and HOLD TIGHT TO HIM. Because, He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. He will not let you down.
I guarantee you, that everything else in this world will – but Jesus will not let you down.
As Jeremiah wrote in Lamentations 3:22,
22 Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. 23 They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.”
Lamentations 3:22-23 (NIV)
REMEMBER God’s divine awareness. RECALL God’s unwavering care, and lastly…
3. RESPOND TO GOD WITH RESOLUTE FAITH!
Again, in 2 Chronicles 16:9, God makes a promise. As the Word tells us:
9 For the eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him.
2 Chronicles 16:9 (NIV)
This is a promise. God is looking for those who are fully committed, fully surrendered, fully trusting in Him.
His promise is that He stands ready to strengthen your heart — to encouraging you in life. To renew your passion and your zeal for Him.
In contrast to the story about the Statue of Liberty, this is what it looks like to be STRENGTHENED FROM WITHIN. To have God working on the inside — rather than having to be propped up by RELIGION on the outside.
For Asa, he looked the part. He even had stories of God’s work in the past that he could tell. But somewhere along the line — he traded in a RESOLUTE FAITH for self-reliance.
And he quit depending upon God.
But, while he may have quit looking for God — God continued to look for Him.
As verse 9 says — God is looking for fully committed people in whom He can bless and make strong! He wants to strengthen you.
But notice the requirement: we just be fully committed to Him!
Sadly, Asa didn’t fit that criteria anymore. His heart was no longer fully committed to God. In fact, there’s a sad commentary on Asa’s life that comes just a few verses later.
In 2 Chronicles 16:12, it says,
12 “In the thirty-ninth year of his reign, Asa developed a serious foot disease. Yet even with the severity of his disease, he did not seek the Lord’s help but turned only to his physicians. 13 So he died in the forty-first year of his reign.”
2 Chronicles 16:12-13
What a sad ending to a life that started out so good! Years earlier he trusted God for victory over a massive Ethiopian army. But now, he couldn’t even turn to God for help with his sore foot.
Don’t let that be said of you. Keep believing! Keep trusting. Keep the faith! Remain RESOLUTE IN YOUR FAITH…and watch God pour out His strength and blessing into you!
CONCLUSION:
The Bible says in Proverbs 28:20,
“A faithful person will be richly blessed.”
Proverbs 28:20 (NIV)
I want your life be blessed. But to experience God’s best — you have to fully commit yourself to Him. Trust Him with everything. Because, if you will…you’ll find your heart strengthened — and life RENEWED!