“The LORD is with you while you are with Him” King Asa “The LORD is with you while you are with Him”

Divided Kingdom Kingdom of Judah Judah and Benjamin Saul David Solomon United Kingdom 12 Tribes of Israel Kingdom of Israel 10 Northern Tribes

Divided Kingdom 19 kings total. Some good some bad. Rehoboam Abijah Asa Judah Judah and Benjamin Saul David Solomon United Kingdom 12 Tribes of Israel Israel 10 Northern Tribes Jeroboam 19 kings total. All of them were evil.

Asa King Asa was the 3rd King that reigned in Judah after the kingdom split He is remembered as being a good king He reigned for 41 years. Look at how the Bible describes his first ten years as king 2Ch 14:1 ¶ So Abijah rested with his fathers, and they buried him in the City of David. Then Asa his son reigned in his place. In his days the land was quiet for ten years.

Asa 2Ch 14:2 Asa did what was good and right in the eyes of the LORD his God, 3 for he removed the altars of the foreign gods and the high places, and broke down the sacred pillars and cut down the wooden images. 4 He commanded Judah to seek the LORD God of their fathers, and to observe the law and the commandment.

Asa 5 He also removed the high places and the incense altars from all the cities of Judah, and the kingdom was quiet under him. 6 And he built fortified cities in Judah, for the land had rest; he had no war in those years, because the LORD had given him rest.

Asa 7 Therefore he said to Judah, "Let us build these cities and make walls around them, and towers, gates, and bars, while the land is yet before us, 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.

Asa Asa is off to a wonderful start as king He realizes that obedience to God is the reason for his success and the peace the land has enjoyed for these ten years At the end of these ten years he faces a critical test in his reign and passes it with flying colors A huge army out of Ethiopia has come up against Judah. Lets see how Asa deals with it.

Asa 2Ch 14:8 And Asa had an army of three hundred thousand from Judah who carried shields and spears, and from Benjamin two hundred and eighty thousand men who carried shields and drew bows; all these were mighty men of valor. That’s 580,000 soldiers A pretty good size army for an area as small as Judah

Asa 9 ¶ Then Zerah the Ethiopian came out against them with an army of a million men and three hundred chariots, and he came to Mareshah. 10 So Asa went out against him, and they set the troops in battle array in the Valley of Zephathah at Mareshah.

Asa 11 And Asa cried out to the LORD his God, and said, "LORD, it is nothing for You to help, whether with many or with those who have no power; help us, O LORD our God, for we rest on You, and in Your name we go against this multitude. O LORD, You are our God; do not let man prevail against You!"

Asa 12 So the LORD struck the Ethiopians before Asa and Judah, and the Ethiopians fled. 13 And Asa and the people who were with him pursued them to Gerar. So the Ethiopians were overthrown, and they could not recover, for they were broken before the LORD and His army. And they carried away very much spoil.

Asa Asa, faced with this overwhelming number of enemies does the one thing that God has been trying to get men to do since the beginning of time “Trust in the Lord” This was a battle that simply could not be won by man. Out numbered nearly 2 to 1. Without the help of God they were without hope!

Asa Asa doesn’t seem to worry or be anxious about this upcoming battle he goes to God in prayer and sends his army into battle. Listen to his prayer again: 2Ch 14:11 …"LORD, it is nothing for You to help, whether with many or with those who have no power; help us, O LORD our God, for we rest on You, and in Your name we go against this multitude. O LORD, You are our God; do not let man prevail against You!"

Asa Asa no doubt knew the stories of men like Gideon, Samson, David and others who had in the face of overwhelming odds defeated their enemies because God was with them. I’m sure he also knew what God promised the Israelites Le 26:8 Five of you shall chase a hundred, and a hundred of you shall put ten thousand to flight; your enemies shall fall by the sword before you.

Asa What a wonderful attitude Asa had. There seems to be no doubt in his mind that God would defeat the Ethiopian army. Because of his faith and obedience, God sends Azariah the prophet to him with a message. Azariah makes a statement to Asa that has been true since the beginning of time and is even still true today.

Asa 2Ch 15:1 ¶ Now the Spirit of God came upon Azariah the son of Oded. 2 And he went out to meet Asa, and said to him: "Hear me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin. The LORD is with you while you are with Him. If you seek Him, He will be found by you; but if you forsake Him, He will forsake you.

Asa How much plainer could this statement be? Men like Noah, Abraham, Joseph, Moses and David understood this principle. Men like Cain, King Saul and Jeroboam didn’t understand it or just didn’t care.

Asa Which of these men do we want to be like? These same principles apply to us today If we seek God, We will find him. The Lord is with us when we are with Him. We are with God thru obedience to his commands If we forsake Him he will forsake us.

My Sheep Listen to what Jesus tells the Jews Joh 10:22 ¶ Now it was the Feast of Dedication in Jerusalem, and it was winter. 23 And Jesus walked in the temple, in Solomon's porch. 24 Then the Jews surrounded Him and said to Him, "How long do You keep us in doubt? If You are the Christ, tell us plainly."

My Sheep 25 Jesus answered them, "I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in My Father's name, they bear witness of Me. 26 "But you do not believe, because you are not of My sheep, as I said to you. 27 "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. 28 "And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand.

Forsaken God (Jesus) had forsaken these Jews. They were not His sheep Why? Because they had forsaken or rejected Jesus (God) by their disbelief! Just like the prophet told Asa. If we forsake God, He will forsake us

Forsaken Heb 10:25 not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching. 26 For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, 27 but a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and fiery indignation which will devour the adversaries.

Forsaken 28 Anyone who has rejected Moses' law dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. 29 Of how much worse punishment, do you suppose, will he be thought worthy who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, counted the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified a common thing, and insulted the Spirit of grace?

Forsaken 30 For we know Him who said, "Vengeance is Mine, I will repay," says the Lord. And again, "The LORD will judge His people." 31 It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. When God forsakes or rejects us, our end will be destruction

Seek God Just like Asa was told if he would seek God he would find Him, the same applies to us today. If we genuinely want to know what the truth is. If we sincerely want to know what God wants us to do. And we spend time in trying to find these things out. We will find them.

Seek God Mt 7:7 ¶ "Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 8 "For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. 9 "Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone?

Seek God Mt 7:10 "Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent? 11 "If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him! Lets not confuse this with physical things. God is not promising us that all of our physical needs will be met but rather that every single spiritual need we have will be given us.

God Is With Us The New Testament teaches us just like Azariah taught Asa, If we are on God’s side then God will be on ours. There is no greater ally that a person can have than God the Creator of the Universe. Ro 8:31 ¶ What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? There is no power in Heaven or earth more powerful than our God!

God Is With Us God is not going to allow any temptation come upon us that we cannot resist. 1Co 10:13 No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it. What a wonderful promise that is!

God Is With Us God says He will not allow us to be forced into sin! That is such a wonderful promise because it is sin that can send us to hell for eternity. There is another point we need to learn from this verse. If we do get involved in sin then it is by our own choice. We will have no one to blame but ourselves.

God Is With Us Many false teachers today want us to believe that God being with us means He will provide for us physically. This was true under the Law of Moses but not under the Law of Christ. The blessings we receive from being a Christian are spiritual not physical. This should be evident from what happened to some of the most Godly men to live under the Law of Christ.

God Is With Us All of the Apostles with the exception of John were executed because they were Christians. Was God with them? Certainly He was. If God being with them did not spare them from suffering, persecution and execution then why do we think God would spare us from such things? If the Son of God suffered in this life then why would we think God would keep us from suffering?

God Is With Us Joh 15:20 "Remember the word that I said to you, 'A servant is not greater than his master.' If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you. If they kept My word, they will keep yours also. We never need to doubt whether or not God is with us just because we are suffering physically. As long as we are with Him then He will be with us!