Endeavour To Persevere (Lesson 4)

Persevere- to continue in a course of action even in the face of difficulty

2 Chronicles 16:10-14 NASB

(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.

(11)  Now, the acts of Asa from first to last, behold, they are written in the Book of the Kings of Judah and Israel.

(12)  In the thirty-ninth 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.

(13)  So Asa slept with his fathers, having died in the forty-first year of his reign.

(14)  They buried him in his own tomb, which he had cut out for himself in the city of David, and they laid him in the resting place, which he had filled with spices of various kinds blended by the perfumers' art; and they made a very great fire for him.

As we come to the conclusion of this study we see that Asa puts the seer in prison and oppresses the people.  Why is it that some harden their hearts against the Lord?

Asa contracted a disease in his feet and still lived out his life in a hardened state against God. Asa made his decisions and had to live with the consequences. 

In order to persevere we must humbly accept and obey God’s Word.  

Endeavour To Persevere (Lesson 3)

Persevere- to continue in a course of action even in the face of difficulty

2 Chronicles 16:1-9 NASB

(1)  In the thirty-sixth year of Asa's reign Baasha 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.

(2)  Then Asa brought out silver and gold from the treasuries of the house of the LORD and the king's house, and sent them to Ben-hadad king of Aram, who lived in Damascus, saying,

(3)  "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 Baasha king of Israel so that he will withdraw from me."

(4)  So Ben-hadad listened to King Asa and sent the commanders of his armies against the cities of Israel, and they conquered Ijon, Dan, Abel-maim and all the store cities of Naphtali.

(5)  When Baasha heard of it, he ceased fortifying Ramah and stopped his work.

(6)  Then King Asa brought all Judah, and they carried away the stones of Ramah and its timber with which Baasha had been building, and with them he fortified Geba and Mizpah.

(7)  At that time Hanani the seer came to Asa king of Judah and 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.

(8)  "Were not the Ethiopians and the Lubim an immense army with very many chariots and horsemen? Yet because you relied on the LORD, He delivered them into your hand.

(9)  "For the eyes of the LORD move to and fro throughout the 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."

If we are to persevere, we must not forget God’s past blessings.  The Ethiopians and the Lubim both had huge armies.  Asa looked to God for answers in this situation and God delivered.  Here we see Asa failed to trust God.  Instead, he bargained with Aram and as a result, God sends wars his way. 

When we fail to remember the past blessings of God, it weakens our defenses against the wiles of the Devil.  We need to remember that the same God who delivered us from yesterday’s problems will undoubtedly deliver us today and tomorrow. 

That is how we persevere.

Endeavour To Persevere (Lesson 2)

Persevere- to continue in a course of action even in the face of difficulty

2 Chronicles 15:10-19 NASB

(10)  So they assembled at Jerusalem in the third month of the fifteenth year of Asa's reign.

(11)  They sacrificed to the LORD that day 700 oxen and 7,000 sheep from the spoil they had brought.

(12)  They entered into the covenant to seek the LORD God of their fathers with all their heart and soul;

(13)  and whoever would not seek the LORD God of Israel should be put to death, whether small or great, man or woman.

(14)  Moreover, they made an oath to the LORD with a loud voice, with shouting, with trumpets and with horns.

(15)  All Judah rejoiced concerning the oath, for they had sworn with their whole heart and had sought Him earnestly, and He let them find Him. So the LORD gave them rest on every side.

(16)  He also removed Maacah, the mother of King Asa, from the position of queen mother, because she had made a horrid image as an Asherah, and Asa cut down her horrid image, crushed it and burned it at the brook Kidron.

(17)  But the high places were not removed from Israel; nevertheless Asa's heart was blameless all his days.

(18)  He brought into the house of God the dedicated things of his father and his own dedicated things: silver and gold and utensils.

(19)  And there was no more war until the thirty-fifth year of Asa's reign.

If we are to persevere, we must be confident in the Lord.  Asa faced the situation head-on.  He sacrificed to the LORD.  He entered into the covenant to seek the LORD.  As King, he set everything and everyone on a course to serve the Lord.

Because of his confidence in the Lord, God gave Israel peace on all sides. God will always bless us, when we set our mind to serve Him.

Hebrews 3:14 KJV For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast unto the end;

It is that simple.  There is confidence in serving God, when we hold on to that confidence we persevere.  We are made partakers with Jesus.   

Endeavour To Persevere (Lesson 1)

Persevere- to continue in a course of action even in the face of difficulty

2 Chronicles 15:1-9 NASB

(1)  Now the Spirit of God came on Azariah the son of Oded,

(2)  and he went out to meet Asa and 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.

 (8)  Now when Asa heard these words and the prophecy which Azariah the son of Oded the prophet spoke, he took courage and removed the abominable idols from all the land of Judah and Benjamin and 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.

(9)  He gathered all Judah and Benjamin and those from Ephraim, Manasseh and Simeon who resided with them, for many defected to him from Israel when they saw that the LORD his God was with him.

If we are to persevere, we must listen to the Lord.  God sent Azariah to deliver the message.  Asa faced the situation head-on.  He removed the Idols and restored the altar of the Lord.  His response caused others to move toward God as well. 

In Philippians 3:13-14, Paul says that he is forgetting his past and moving forward.  He says that he is pressing on toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.  

Satan would have us linger on our past.  This can be both failures and successes.  Remember, Satan’s goal is to distract us from pressing on toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.  We cannot live in the past, we must live for today and do what we do in the name of Jesus.

Isn’t this what Asa had set in his mind to do?

How To Win The Obstacle Course? (Lesson 3)

When we put our trust in God, we can identify an obstacle when we see it.

1 Kings 12:28-33 NASB

(28)  So the king consulted, and made two golden calves, and he said to them, "It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem; behold your gods, O Israel, that brought you up from the land of Egypt."

(29)  He set one in Bethel, and the other he put in Dan.

(30)  Now this thing became a sin, for the people went to worship before the one as far as Dan.

(31)  And he made houses on high places, and made priests from among all the people who were not of the sons of Levi.

(32)  Jeroboam instituted a feast in the eighth month on the fifteenth day of the month, like the feast which is in Judah, and he went up to the altar; thus he did in Bethel, sacrificing to the calves which he had made. And he stationed in Bethel the priests of the high places which he had made.

(33)  Then he went up to the altar which he had made in Bethel on the fifteenth day in the eighth month, even in the month which he had devised in his own heart; and he instituted a feast for the sons of Israel and went up to the altar to burn incense.

Believe God and avoid insanity.  Jeroboam’s fear and insecurity has driven him to do some stupid stuff.  He feared the people would follow Judah and he would lose his kingdom.  He made golden calves and set them up in Dan and Bethel.

When we fail to trust God, we end up doing stupid stuff. 

Evidence of unbelief includes worry.  This is a refusal to accept that God has all things under control.  The world would have us believe that things such as fortunetellers and horoscopes are all in good fun.  The truth is these are examples of seeking ungodly counsel.  It is failure to trust God at His Word.

How about setting limits on our own belief?  I will obey God as long as it does not interfere with all the other things in my life.

It is simple.  God has provided everything we need to get through the obstacles of this world.  It starts with accepting Jesus as Savior and Lord.