The WAVE: Ordinary People, Extraordinary God

• Ordinary People Doing Extraordinary Things 00:20:21 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor introduces the sermon series theme, asserting that God uses ordinary individuals for extraordinary purposes.
• King Asa's Spiritual Journey 00:23:04 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor details King Asa's initial faithfulness, his subsequent complacency, and his failure to seek God during times of trouble.
• Three Self-Tests for Believers 00:26:06 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor outlines three tests Asa should have passed: Consecration (dedicating to God), Control (acknowledging God's power), and Commitment (remaining faithful despite trials).
• The Danger of Complacency 00:29:33 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor explains how Asa became comfortable during peace, leading him to rely on his own skills (bribery) rather than God when faced with a new threat.
• Reliance on Human Resources vs. Divine Guidance 00:31:27 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor contrasts King Asa's decision to bribe the king of Syria with his earlier reliance on God, highlighting the error of using human skills and resources instead of prayer.
• Misuse of Sacred Resources 00:32:54 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor explains that Asa took money from the house of God to pay the bribe, identifying this as robbing God and a serious spiritual mistake.
• The Deception of Success 00:35:41 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor argues that just because a sinful or unguided action appears to work temporarily (like Asa's bribe), it does not mean it is right, and it often leads to future death and consequences.
• Rejection of Divine Correction 00:44:21 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor describes Asa's anger and imprisonment of the prophet Hanan as a result of pride, illustrating how refusing correction leads to bitterness and further sin.
• The Necessity of Full Commitment 00:43:14 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor emphasizes that God looks for those who are fully committed and sold out to Him, rather than just the smart or strong, quoting D.L. Moody on the power of consecration.
• Pride and Correction 00:46:14 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor explains that pride prevents repentance and leads to bitterness, citing Proverbs 15:10 to warn that those who hate correction will die.
• King Asa's Failure 00:48:44 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor uses the biblical example of King Asa, who failed to repent when confronted by a prophet and sought physicians instead of God during his illness.
• Response to Trials 00:53:10 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor advises the congregation to have a plan of action for how they will respond when tests and trials come, emphasizing the need to fight the battle spiritually.
• Family Influence 00:54:42 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor notes that Asa broke the cycle of wickedness by being an example to his family, urging believers to show love and let their light shine.
• Self-Examination Tests 00:55:55 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor lists six specific tests (consecration, control, commitment, compromise, correction, confession) for the congregation to examine their lives before communion.
• God's Grace and Ordinary People 00:58:38 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor concludes that despite Asa's failures, God used him because he was in Jesus' genealogy, illustrating that God uses ordinary people with imperfections.
• Divine Strength and Priority 01:00:29 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor asserts that God strengthens those who are fully committed ('sold out') to Him and prioritizes leading them through life's journey.
• Recommitment and Communion 01:00:48 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor connects the act of taking communion with the spiritual necessity of examining one's heart, making things right with the Lord, and recommitting to Him.

• Sermon Illustration 00:28:58 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor recounts the biblical story of King Asa, who initially led Judah to righteousness but later became complacent. When King Baasha of Israel built a barricade at Ramah to stop trade and worship in Judah, Asa panicked, forgot to pray, and bribed the king of Syria to attack Israel instead of seeking God's direction.
• Sermon Illustration 00:31:02 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor recounts the biblical story of King Asa, who, facing a threat from the king of Syria, chose to bribe him with temple funds instead of praying to God. Although the bribe worked temporarily, it led to future invasions by the Syrians and Asa's eventual pride and oppression of the people.
• Sermon Illustration 00:37:40 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor shares an anecdote about Goose Gossridge, a Hall of Fame baseball pitcher, who claimed in an interview that he had gotten himself out of situations God couldn't handle, illustrating the danger of self-reliance and pride.
• Sermon Illustration 00:50:17 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor contrasts King Asa's failure to seek God during his illness with King Hezekiah's prayerful response to sickness, highlighting Asa's pride and reliance on physicians over the Lord.
• Sermon Illustration 00:59:01 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor references the biblical genealogy in Matthew 1:8 to show that King Asa, despite his flaws and failures, was included in the lineage of Jesus Christ.
• Sermon Illustration 00:59:47 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor references a biblical figure (implied to be Asia) who had hard times but forgot what God could do for him, illustrating the danger of forgetting God's power and the importance of returning to Him.

• Pastoral Charge 00:38:39 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor urges the congregation to self-examine their lives for compromise and ensure they are letting God lead their decisions.
• Pastoral Charge 00:41:11 ▶️ 📄
  > The pastor challenges the congregation to evaluate their own lives for signs of compromise and lack of dependence on God.
• Pastoral Charge 00:52:52 ▶️ 📄
  > Determine to follow God's direction with a whole heart.
• Pastoral Charge 00:53:10 ▶️ 📄
  > Decide in advance how to respond to future trials and have a plan of action.
• Pastoral Charge 00:53:46 ▶️ 📄
  > Confess any pride present in their lives.
• Pastoral Charge 00:54:12 ▶️ 📄
  > Repent of specific sins and ask God for strength to avoid repeating them.
• Pastoral Charge 00:54:55 ▶️ 📄
  > Show love to family and let their faith shine as an example.
• Pastoral Charge 00:55:24 ▶️ 📄
  > Seek God through prayer, fasting, talking to Him, and reading His Word during times of pain or loss of control.
• Pastoral Charge 00:55:55 ▶️ 📄
  > Examine their lives to see if they have dedicated everything (home, marriage, children, etc.) to the Lord.
• Pastoral Charge 00:56:59 ▶️ 📄
  > Pray and give Jesus full control over every decision before acting.
• Pastoral Charge 00:57:32 ▶️ 📄
  > Stand firm against the enemy's attempts to question faith and affirm that sin is sin.
• Pastoral Charge 00:57:49 ▶️ 📄
  > Be willing to repent and admit to God when they have messed up.
• Pastoral Charge 00:59:21 ▶️ 📄
  > Give Jesus full access to their lives and pray before making decisions.
• Pastoral Charge 01:01:28 ▶️ 📄
  > Search their own hearts during the communion service.
• Pastoral Charge 01:00:56 ▶️ 📄
  > Recommit oneself to God and ask for His reception.

[00:00:06] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]
[00:00:06] What is this? This vastness? This unexplainable, untamable creation that expanses so much further than the eye can see?
[00:00:20] Holy Father, your details I cannot perceive, cause every part is immeasurably complex beyond my conceivable belief.
[00:00:30] Living waters flow beneath my feet. The heavens above sing praise unto the King.
[00:00:36] Magnificent impressions of your fingerprints hold more beauty than I could ask, think or imagine Your spirit has enriched the woodlands and your hands have molded mountains I see the evidence of an indescribable God in close encounters
[00:00:55] I'm surrounded by the wild and free, astounded by the skies and trees The more I study the sunrise, I feel the sun's light abound in me Lord, I'm in awe Perhaps the most perplexing is this fluorescent creation
[00:01:13] Which is in essence infinite And is still not as intricate as me How fantastic is it to be the Lord of Creation's masterpiece You rejoice in me You formed us in your very likeness So I am fearfully and wonderfully made
[00:01:31] Lord, if you delight in me And call me beautiful Then what could that possibly say about the God of creation?

[00:01:48] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]
[00:01:48] What is this?
[00:01:51] This vastness?

[00:01:53] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]
[00:01:53] This unexplainable, untamable creation that expanses so much farther than the eye can see?
[00:02:02] Holy Father, your details I cannot see.
[00:02:06] Because every part is immeasurably complex beyond my conceivable belief.
[00:02:11] Living waters flow beneath my feet.
[00:02:15] The heavens above sing praise unto the king.
[00:02:19] Magnificent impressions of your fingerprints hold more beauty than I could ask, think or imagine.
[00:02:27] Your spirit has enriched the woodlands and your hands have molded mountains.
[00:02:32] I see the evidence of an indescribable God in close encounters.
[00:02:37] I'm surrounded by the wild and free, astounded by the skies and trees.
[00:02:43] The more I study the sunrise, I feel the sun's light abound in me.
[00:02:49] Lord, I am in awe.
[00:02:52] Perhaps the most perplexing is this fluorescent creation, which is in essence infinite and is still not as intricate as me.
[00:03:01] How fantastic is it to be the Lord of creation's masterpiece?

[00:03:06] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]
[00:03:06] We welcome you to the Wave Church here in Statesville.
[00:05:56] We're thankful for those who listen on Facebook Live and those who listen on 92.9 Whammy radio station We're thankful that you are here in the house of God this morning We'll go ahead and stand up and pray and then we'll get started with our worship
[00:06:10] We're so thankful for all that the Lord's done and all his blessings. Amen Amen, Heavenly Father. We just thank you today or that you are good You're a good good father and we thank you that you are already in the house. We can feel your presence this morning
[00:06:24] Lord we just thank you for all that you're doing and all that you're going to do Lord we just thank you that as the word comes forth today Lord that it will fall upon our hearts and we can
[00:06:34] walk it out and be a light Lord we just thank you for those that have made it into the house those that are on their way Lord those that are out today sick Lord we ask that you'd go and meet
[00:06:44] their needs where they are this morning and Lord we just thank you and praise you we give you all

[00:06:48] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_05]
[00:06:48] glory and honor in jesus name and let the church say amen you can see the evidence in your life

[00:11:27] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_07]
[00:11:27] let's raise our hands to the lord and give him some praise just step out of your comfort zone

[00:11:31] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_05]
[00:11:31] and say lord i thank you that i see the evidence of all that you've done for me and i say thank Thank you Jesus. My God is awesome. He can't move a man from the right. My God is Savior of tribes. I'm here. My God. Today I'm His grace. I praise His holy name. Oh I thank you Jesus. Awesome in this place.

[00:15:59] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_07]
[00:15:59] Do you believe there is power in the name of Jesus?
[00:16:08] Oh, let's just say Jesus.

[00:16:10] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_05]
[00:16:10] Every chain, every chain, every chain.
[00:17:28] To break every chain, to break every chain.
[00:18:00] Break every chain, to break every chain.
[00:18:06] Break every chain, break every chain.
[00:18:11] Oh, we need to break some chains in here this morning.
[00:18:18] Cause there is power to break every chain, break every chain, to break every chain, break every chain, break every chain.
[00:18:56] Oh, we bless you, Lord. Hallelujah.

[00:19:02] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_07]
[00:19:02] Thank you, Lord, to have you in the house of the Lord.
[00:19:17] And we pray for those that are not here this morning, whatever the reason may be, that the Lord would be with them and bring them back at the next time.
[00:19:24] And we appreciate so much those that are watching us by Facebook Live and those that are listening by the radio station.
[00:19:35] 92.9 Whammy here in Statesville.
[00:19:38] I believe that we come on about 1230 on Sunday afternoons.
[00:19:43] So thank you for listening and being part of that.
[00:19:46] But we also want to invite you to our church building anytime that you are able.
[00:19:51] We're at 135 Village Point Drive.
[00:19:53] and pray that you would feel led to come and be part of our family, our growing family that's standing on the Word of God.
[00:20:00] But we are glad for those that are here today.
[00:20:03] And I want to talk to us for just a few minutes on the extraordinary.
[00:20:09] You know, say, I'm extraordinary.
[00:20:14] Oh, come on, y'all can do better than that.
[00:20:17] I'm extraordinary.
[00:20:21] The other week, I started on a series called Ordinary People Doing Extraordinary Things.
[00:20:31] And in that message, I talked about a man.

[00:20:40] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_04]
[00:20:40] Hold on just a second.
[00:20:49] It's going down on me, so hold on.
[00:20:51] There we go.

[00:20:57] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_07]
[00:20:57] Now, I talked about a king named Ezra, and I'm going to start picking back up on him.
[00:21:04] You may feel like you cannot do anything in the Lord Jesus.
[00:21:10] You might feel like you're not worthy.
[00:21:12] You might feel like your sins have been too great.
[00:21:15] Or maybe you feel like your past has been too bad.
[00:21:19] Maybe you've made choices in your life that wasn't so good.
[00:21:23] Or you may think you're not educated.
[00:21:25] Or you can't speak well enough.
[00:21:28] But let me tell you, God would use the ordinary.
[00:21:32] the ordinary people like you and me to do some extraordinary things and in that we we can help further the kingdom of god but it also in that work it gives us thank you glory to god through
[00:21:52] our lives think about it what we do for god brings him glory but it also lifts us up to know that we are part of the kingdom working together for a greater purpose. God uses the ordinary people
[00:22:09] like you and me to do the extraordinary. And that's not only just for us. In order to do the extraordinary, we have a responsibility. A responsibility to keep a check on our lives.
[00:22:25] if we're not careful the enemy will cause us to slip and if we don't keep ourselves in check what happens we'll slip a little bit more and the next thing happens the sinful nature is competing for
[00:22:40] our soul in my message of ordinary people doing extraordinary things i began with bizarra who stepped up and provided for david and his army all they needed when they were at their lowest place Then we talked about Asia, the king that made a choice to return to God
[00:23:04] after all his family line had started turning away from God.
[00:23:09] Every decision that he made was a conscious decision that he needed to follow God above all else.
[00:23:17] He was bringing God back to the kingdom.
[00:23:22] Asia started off on the right foot.
[00:23:25] His father had reigned for seven years.
[00:23:27] And the Bible says he was a wicked king.
[00:23:31] But when Asia came, he made a decision to do everything he could that was right in the sight of God.
[00:23:39] That's making a choice, a choice to do what is correct and right before God.
[00:23:46] And in that time, we see that Asia started slacking off a little bit.
[00:23:52] Now, how easy it is for us when God has done something great for us.
[00:23:57] We're all excited and things are going good.
[00:23:59] And the next thing you know, we start slacking off.
[00:24:04] And Tom, Asia did too.
[00:24:05] He forgot to evaluate his walk with God.
[00:24:10] And Tom, which God had proved before that he had done great things, but yeah, Asia got comfortable.
[00:24:18] And today as I continue talking about this There are three things or self-tests that Asia should have checked himself on In the latter part of his rule in his kingdom But we find that Asia had not let God be first priority in his life
[00:24:40] In the latter part of his rule as he did in the first part Listen, God's favor cannot be on our lives if we do not put him first.
[00:24:51] In 2 Chronicles 14 and 2, we learned this in the first series on this.
[00:25:03] And the scripture says, And Asia did that which was good and right in the eyes of the Lord his God.
[00:25:11] If you remember, Asia was the first king since his great-grandfather Solomon that led the people in the right path.
[00:25:20] His ancestry line had fallen away from God because they brought in the pagan people and they started worshiping the pagan gods.
[00:25:29] We know that story.
[00:25:31] And they went farther and farther away from God.
[00:25:36] And see, that's what happens to you and me when we start slipping away.
[00:25:40] When we start getting satisfied where we are, we'll start slipping away, and Asia did.
[00:25:47] As Asia begins his rule, he did a self-check on himself and his leadership.
[00:25:54] King Asia wanted to please God and wanted God's favor on his life and on the kingdom's life.
[00:26:00] I don't know about you, but I want God's favor on my life and the life of this church.
[00:26:06] So the first thing, if you remember, that Asia done was the consecration test.
[00:26:11] This is when you make and declare something holy and dedicate it to God.
[00:26:19] Asia dedicated the kingdom back to God and declared that God was the only true and living God.
[00:26:25] And he made a decision as far as him and his house, they was going to serve the Lord.
[00:26:31] Then he passed that test.
[00:26:34] Then we come to the control test.
[00:26:36] Do you remember we talked about that?
[00:26:37] Now, Asher recognized and declared that God had full control over everything.
[00:26:43] And you see what happened in verse 11.
[00:26:46] In verse 11.
[00:26:52] And Asher cried unto the Lord his God and said, Lord, it is nothing with thee to help.
[00:26:58] Whether with many or with them that have no power, help us.
[00:27:03] O Lord our God, we rest on thee.
[00:27:05] And in thy name we can go against a multitude.
[00:27:08] Oh Lord, Thou art our God, let no man prevail against us.
[00:27:16] And then we go to the commitment test.
[00:27:19] So we pass the consecration test.
[00:27:22] Then He passed the control test.
[00:27:25] He gave everything over to God.
[00:27:27] His control, out of His hands.
[00:27:29] But then we come to the commitment test.
[00:27:32] In chapter 15, we see where God used a prophet named Azara to challenge Asia and the people to go deeper in their commitment, in their relationship with God.
[00:27:45] And the Spirit of God come upon Azara, the son of Obadiah.
[00:28:00] Meet Asia, and there he said unto you, Hear ye me, Asia, and all of Judah and Benjamin.
[00:28:07] The Lord is with you while ye be with him.
[00:28:11] Understand this, he's with you while you're with him.
[00:28:16] And if you seek him, he will be found of you.
[00:28:22] So if you look for him, if you desire him, if you want him, he's going to allow you to find him.
[00:28:28] But if, but if you forsake him, what?
[00:28:35] He will forsake you.
[00:28:37] Today I'd like to continue with the test that Asia failed.
[00:28:40] we see all of us do fail the test at some time another but what matters is how what happens after we fail do we recognize our mistakes or or do we repent do we change let's see what asia does
[00:28:58] so it comes down to verse uh six chapter 16 and we're finishing up with chapter 15 on a happy note At the end of chapter 15, we find that there is no wars.
[00:29:13] There is no wars.
[00:29:15] Nobody's fighting them.
[00:29:16] Nobody's coming against them for 35 years.
[00:29:21] So Asia has reigned.
[00:29:23] God has blessed his nation.
[00:29:25] He's not fighting any wars.
[00:29:27] He's not got any stress going on.
[00:29:29] He's as happy as he can be.
[00:29:31] And what do you think happens?
[00:29:33] Asia got comfortable.
[00:29:38] And it says in the 6th and 30th year of the reign of Asia Bashar king of Israel came up against Judah And built Ramah to the intent that he might let none go in Go out or come in to the Asia king of Judah
[00:29:56] So while the country is enjoying this peace They're thinking everything is okay guess what happens here comes a king that is their neighbor and what he has done is he's put up a barricade and he says you're not going to go into judah unless you pay me some money you're not
[00:30:27] going to get in i am going to charge you to go into judah and basheer is upset that so many of his people had started going south to worship in judah that he decided that he was going to
[00:30:41] reinforced Ramah, a border town that no one could leave or enter Judah.
[00:30:46] So think about it like this.
[00:30:48] It was sort of like a barricade or an economic embargo.
[00:30:54] They was preventing trade or travel to go into Judah.
[00:30:58] What was happening, they was stopping their money, their funds.
[00:31:02] So this test come out of the blue.
[00:31:05] Asia's happy.
[00:31:07] He's had no problems.
[00:31:08] And all of a sudden, he's noticing they're stopping his train.
[00:31:13] His neighbors are stopping.
[00:31:16] But here's what happened.
[00:31:19] Asia starts to panic.
[00:31:21] He starts getting sort of, what am I going to do?
[00:31:24] How am I going to fix this?
[00:31:26] What am I going to do?
[00:31:27] And he forgets to pray and ask God's direction.
[00:31:31] You know what?
[00:31:32] You and I have to learn that when we have troubles, when we have trials, When we have problems, we've got to turn to God and not look to ourselves.
[00:31:42] So instead of praying and asking God for guidance, he used his skills to decide to bribe the king of Syria and hired him as a paid terrorist to come and cause problems for the city of Israel
[00:31:59] so that Barshah would withdraw from Ramah.
[00:32:02] And guess what?
[00:32:04] His plan worked.
[00:32:06] So Asia bribes them, and he goes out and he says, you know what, I'm going to pay you if you go and you stop what's going on at this barricade.
[00:32:16] Now, Asia did not ask God his permission.
[00:32:21] Asia done this on his own.
[00:32:24] And for a little bit, it looked like it worked.
[00:32:29] So Asia's going, mm-hmm, this was fine.
[00:32:32] That was a good idea.
[00:32:34] I bribed them, and now everything's okay.
[00:32:37] and they've got everything going, I did really good.
[00:32:40] But he didn't do pretty good.
[00:32:42] Here's his problems.
[00:32:45] Here in verse 2, it shows us that Asia didn't take the money out of his pocket to bribe him.
[00:32:54] He took the money out of the house of God.
[00:32:57] That was his first mistake.
[00:32:58] He used God's money out of the treasury of the temple to pay the bribe.
[00:33:05] You know, we've got to be careful how we use God's money and make sure we're not using God's money for evil purposes.
[00:33:11] Amen.
[00:33:13] And Malachi 3 and 8 tells us, Will a man rob God?
[00:33:17] Yet you rob me.
[00:33:18] But you ask, How do we rob you?
[00:33:21] And the Lord said, In tithes and offerings.
[00:33:23] And so here, Asia took God's money to bribe this king to stop all this nonsense that was going on.
[00:33:35] Wait, wait a minute.
[00:33:36] Do you not think God could have fixed this a whole lot better than what Asia done?
[00:33:42] He hired a pagan king instead of praying.
[00:33:46] Sadly, he purchased protection that God was offering for nothing.
[00:33:51] If he had went to God, God would have protected him.
[00:33:55] God would have made his enemies follow him, just like he had at the beginning of this study when we studied about it.
[00:34:02] We know from Chronicles 24 that the Syrian army would cause Judah huge problems in the future just from this mistake that Asia made.
[00:34:15] The army of Ammon marched against Joash and invaded Judah and Jerusalem and killed the leaders and their peoples.
[00:34:23] And they went and plundered all that they had and took it back to Damascus.
[00:34:27] What he did right now is going to affect Judah down the road.
[00:34:33] If we don't get God's approval on our life, it may appear as it is okay right now.
[00:34:41] But down the road, it's going to cost us.
[00:34:46] See, first of all, it was possible.
[00:34:52] Think about this.
[00:34:53] Asia didn't think he needed to pray to God because he had the resources to take care of the bride.
[00:35:01] He had a lot of money.
[00:35:03] But then there was, let's look at it another way.
[00:35:06] The reason he didn't think he needed to go to God in prayer and ask him was because there was a history in his family of them paying off people and paying off the pagan people around them.
[00:35:21] so his father and the other kings had done the same thing and third it was effective asia bribing the enemy it worked it was easy to think okay i did a good thing here i stopped this
[00:35:41] i stopped this mess going on i took care of it you know after all it did work for him But it's easy to think that if we do something successful, then it must be right.
[00:35:55] This applies to the church-wide level as well.
[00:35:59] We must guard against doing what seems right, because what's right in the natural may not be right in the spirit.
[00:36:11] We don't want to make decisions today that will cost us down the road.
[00:36:16] Proverbs 16 and 25 declares In Proverbs 16 and 25 There is a way that seemeth right unto a man But the end thereof are the waves of death This might have looked good It might have been a good political sense
[00:36:37] It might have been a smart strategy But Asia has now compromised and because he compromised he's going to face some fatal consequences he started his reign by by what depending on God praying to God declaring that everything was consecrated back to God
[00:37:01] but now he was trusting his own flesh do you know that sometimes we think things is right But the end of it is not.
[00:37:10] It comes out to turn us on us.
[00:37:12] That's why we pray.
[00:37:14] That's why we seek God.
[00:37:16] In Galatians 3 and 3, Paul says, Are you foolish?
[00:37:21] After the beginning with the Spirit, and now you're trying to attain your goals by human effort.
[00:37:29] We have to understand God is in charge.
[00:37:33] And if we allow Him to be in charge, it's going to make a difference in our lives.
[00:37:38] I found this interesting.
[00:37:40] I don't know baseball.
[00:37:42] I'm sure some of you do.
[00:37:47] But I found this article written by Goose Gossridge.
[00:37:53] He was a relief pitcher in the Major League Baseball for 22 years.
[00:37:58] And he was elected into the Hall of Fame.
[00:38:01] You say, you remember him?
[00:38:03] And he said in an interview to ESPN, he said that, this is a statement that he made, that it could have come out just like it could have come out of King Azar's mouth. He says
[00:38:18] I've come into situations that God couldn't get rid of them. And I got me out of them. I'm not blowing my own horn. It's just a fact. Nobody did it like me.
[00:38:33] Uh oh. Do any of you feel that way about your own skills or smarts?
[00:38:39] Can you think of any area in your life where you've been compromising? Are you cutting corners anywhere? Are you leaving God out of your decisions? Are you honestly letting God lead your path? A successful life depends on
[00:38:57] our trusting God and not doing it our way. You may think for a while everything's okay and everything seems right today, but it's going to lead to death in a situation.
[00:39:08] we always must ask God to be involved we can't take it upon ourselves we can't say well I got myself out of this God did not because I can assure you it was God that gets us out of the things we get into
[00:39:25] remember sometimes God gives us what we really want has anybody ever been there and you really wanted something really really bad and you just went out and done it and then it ended up being a pain in your rear.
[00:39:42] Yeah.
[00:39:43] Psalms 106.15 says, And He gave them their request, but sent leanness into their soul.
[00:39:58] God will allow us to get what we want, whether it's in His plan or in His will.
[00:40:04] But you've got to understand, And in that, you will not have the favor of God on your life because of it.
[00:40:13] There are some things that's not supposed to be in our lives.
[00:40:18] Sin will always take you further than you plan to go.
[00:40:22] It will cost you far more than you can pay.
[00:40:25] And keep you longer than you plan to stay.
[00:40:30] So compare to the test before, I think Asia's failed on compromise.
[00:40:36] Asia got comfortable and started depending on himself instead of depending on God.
[00:40:42] His thoughts were higher in his own mind.
[00:40:45] His ways was better than God in his own mind.
[00:40:51] Instead of relying on the God who brought him peace for 36 years, he decided to make his own choices.
[00:40:59] You know, we all have to sit back and we have to look at our own lives and we have to evaluate us, just like Asia has had some evaluations here that we're sort of picking out and watching.
[00:41:11] But we've got to see, are we compromising and not depending on God like we should be?
[00:41:18] Well, then we come to the correction test.
[00:41:22] Do you realize that when we fail, God will always give us an opportunity to make things right?
[00:41:29] He will always deal with our heart.
[00:41:31] His Holy Spirit will always check us.
[00:41:35] And Asia was given that same opportunity to turn things around.
[00:41:40] And God sent a prophet named Hanun in verse 7, if you're reading it in your Bibles, because you relied on the king of Amun and not on the Lord your God.
[00:41:51] The army of the king of Amun has escaped from your hand.
[00:41:56] If Asia had trusted God, he would have defeated not only Israel, but he would also have been victorious over Syria.
[00:42:06] He then reminds Asia of what God did for the Ethiopians in the first of the chapter.
[00:42:13] In Psalms 103 and 2 it says, Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits.
[00:42:22] We should always remember the things that God has already done for us and keep them in our hearts and remember that we need to rely on the Lord Jesus Christ.
[00:42:35] In 2 Chronicles 16 and 8 it says, Yet when you relied on the Lord, He delivered them into your hand.
[00:42:44] When He put His trust in God, when He trusted God, when He prayed to God, when He depended on God, God gave Him His enemies.
[00:42:54] One of the verses that I really like is proclaimed in the Bible.
[00:42:59] and the prophet basically says this for the eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him listen we've got to be committed to God do you know
[00:43:14] that God is looking for you today he's looking for commitment he's searching for those who are sold out to him and he's looking that he may give you favor and he may strengthen you he's not
[00:43:29] not looking for a smart person a strong person he's looking on people who love him and i'll follow him and when he finds one he pours out in his power into him and he makes the ordinary
[00:43:43] extraordinary i love this quote by d.l moody and he said the world has yet to see what god can do with and for and through and in by the man who is fully and wholly consecrated to him,
[00:44:01] I will try my utmost to be that man.
[00:44:06] Well, the wheels really came off for Asia at this point.
[00:44:11] Instead of responding to correction, God sends him somebody and tells him, you've messed up, you need to make this right with God.
[00:44:21] But instead of Asia doing that, he's still thinking he's done okay.
[00:44:29] Look at verse 10.
[00:44:38] Asia was angry with the seer because of this.
[00:44:43] And he became so enraged that he put him in prison.
[00:44:48] Asia didn't want to hear what the prophet of God had to say.
[00:44:52] So he got angry with him.
[00:44:54] He didn't want to hear what they were supposed to have done.
[00:44:57] he knew it worked out at the time and everything was okay and at the time asia brutally began to oppress some of the peoples just because of what the prophet said asia didn't want to be corrected
[00:45:11] wait a minute this is the man who consecrated the kingdom to him and everything he done and here we find in chapters later because he made a bad choice and he didn't put god first his kingdom
[00:45:24] is starting to get out of control and then he got pride in his heart and he didn't want to be corrected listen asia did not want to be corrected so and he got so mad he took the prophet and put
[00:45:39] him into prison and then he got mad at people around him and and then he started mistreating the people and here's what i want to ask you this morning when you're angry and full of conflict and
[00:45:52] bitterness? Why are you like that? Why don't we get angry? Why don't we get frustrated? Why don't we get so aggravated? Is it because we're not listening to God and he's trying to tell us to
[00:46:05] get our act together? Listen, we want God to correct us. If God corrects you, guess what?
[00:46:14] He loves you and he wants you to turn it around. He wants you to choose to repent. But when we have pride in our heart we don't think we've done anything wrong you want life your way you know
[00:46:27] our way is not the right way i'm just telling you and then when you you realize hey maybe i did mess up and you have that guilty conscience but yet you won't repent because of the pride guess what
[00:46:39] you're going to get mean and hateful and do mean things listen you're if your disobedience to god is causing you to have an attitude you got a problem and you need to repent and get rid of
[00:46:51] the pride and then repent for not following god's direction for your life you know first of all most of us can say we've been on the both sides of this one at some time in our life we wanted to do
[00:47:04] things the way we wanted to do things right and sometimes those things have backfired on us but instead of saying hey I own it that was me I done it I messed up God please forgive me
[00:47:19] what do we do we get angry and we get bitter and if a friend or a family member tries to correct us we really don't like that even as adults children we correct and they don't have a problem with it
[00:47:32] but when it comes to adults don't come tell me what I've done wrong we get that mentality right But God says in Proverbs 15 and 10, in Proverbs 15 and 10, the Word tells us,
[00:47:46] that stern discipline awaits him who leads the path.
[00:47:51] He who hates correction will die.
[00:47:54] So the King James says that correction is grievous unto him that forsaketh the way.
[00:48:00] And he that hateth reproof shall die.
[00:48:03] What is that telling us this morning?
[00:48:05] that if we don't want to take correction, if we don't want someone to come and show us, if we won't allow the Holy Spirit to convict us, we're going to die.
[00:48:16] And then Proverbs 15, 32 says, Proverbs 15, 32 declares, He that refuses instruction despises his own soul, but he that heareth reproof getteth understanding.
[00:48:40] Asia's now three to two in passing this evaluation test.
[00:48:44] He did not receive correction and it cost him.
[00:48:48] His pride had started building up.
[00:48:50] He started looking on himself instead of on God.
[00:48:55] Not only did his kingdom suffer, but now Asia's going to suffer the price.
[00:49:02] So God has sent the prophet to tell him, come on, Asia, repent.
[00:49:07] You've done wrong.
[00:49:08] And Asia, instead of saying, yes, Lord, I'm sorry, I know what I did wrong, he gets angry and bitter about it.
[00:49:15] But here's what happened.
[00:49:17] God, in His grace, tries to get Asia to confess.
[00:49:22] And because he would not confess, God allowed problems to come into him, as in verse 12, 2 Chronicles 16, verse 12.
[00:49:33] and we find that this problem came upon Asia at the 30th and 9th year of his reign.
[00:49:42] Now how many years had he reigned and had no problems?
[00:49:46] 37 years.
[00:49:48] And in three years his kingdom is starting to be torn up.
[00:49:52] Problems are coming around.
[00:49:54] His pride has built up.
[00:49:57] And now the scripture says in his 39th year of his reign he was diseased in his feet.
[00:50:04] until the disease was exceedingly great.
[00:50:07] Yet in his disease, he sought what?
[00:50:12] Not the Lord, but physicians.
[00:50:17] Now listen, when Hezekiah became ill, what happened to Hezekiah?
[00:50:23] He prayed.
[00:50:24] He prayed earnestly, and God heard his prayer, and what did he do?
[00:50:29] Extended his life.
[00:50:30] But yet, when Asia's feet get so diseased, there's no mention in the Scripture that he repented.
[00:50:38] There's no Scripture that he went to God praying or crying and seeking the Lord.
[00:50:46] The trouble with his feet was a message that something was not right.
[00:50:52] Something had went wrong with his walk with God.
[00:50:56] Instead, he hobbled to a doctor.
[00:51:00] And many commentators believe because paganism had come into the kingdom in these last years, they feel like he went to either a witch doctor or one of their sorcerers at the time.
[00:51:16] All he had to do was repent and go to the Lord.
[00:51:21] Now listen, don't get me wrong.
[00:51:23] I'm not saying there's anything wrong with doctors.
[00:51:25] because, thank God, we have doctors.
[00:51:28] And a lot of them are godly men and women of His.
[00:51:31] But the first thing we need to do is go to the Lord in prayer in every situation, whether we're well or whether we're sick.
[00:51:41] But here Asia is, the 39th year of His reign, and what's happened?
[00:51:46] He cannot hardly walk because He has a disease that's taken over His feet.
[00:51:51] But we see here, Asia didn't pass the confession test.
[00:52:00] Asia fails this one too.
[00:52:02] He's three to three in the self-evaluations.
[00:52:06] Asia didn't even think about going to God with his troubles.
[00:52:10] He didn't come close to confessing his sin.
[00:52:14] So you remember the sin that he made choices of yesterday are now showing up today.
[00:52:22] He don't even think about praying.
[00:52:24] how can this happen this great king who came in this ordinary king who could have started off just like his forefathers this king that could be in just ordinary goes and he starts out doing the
[00:52:37] extraordinary so let's look at this what we should sum up from asia is experience this is one we need to be determined to follow god's direction right now we need to follow him with our whole heart
[00:52:52] I'm telling you, as much as I feel it in my spirit and I see the signs everywhere, more than ever we've got to be dedicated to the Lord Jesus Christ.
[00:53:04] Number two, we've got to decide how you're going to respond when the test and the trials come tomorrow.
[00:53:10] You've already got to have a plan of action of what's going to happen.
[00:53:14] If something goes to pieces, see that's where the devil gets us so many times.
[00:53:19] he comes unaware we we're not looking for him we don't think about he's going to come to try to kill steal and destroy so when he comes he knocks us off our feet but let me tell you we must decide
[00:53:32] today how we're going to fight the battle but then we need three we need to confess any pride that we have our pride sometimes will hold us back from receiving what God wants to give to us and bless
[00:53:46] us with because we think we're good and we're all that in a bag of chips and we can do it our way but we need to confess any pride but here's something else in this christian walk when we
[00:53:59] make a bad choices somebody in here other than me going to make bad choices sometimes when we make a bad choice when we slip in our walk with christ what do we need to do we need
[00:54:12] to take it serious don't think oh it's all right it's just a little mess up no repent go to god repent what you've done and ask him to help you be stronger not to fall the next time
[00:54:24] the next thing we need to focus on is our family thankfully asia broke the cycle and was not as wicked as his father because his son saw joseph saw what asia had done he's seen the beginning
[00:54:42] and he's seen the end.
[00:54:44] So he knew to do right in the eyes of the Lord, which tells us in chapter 20.
[00:54:51] But know that you are a light and an example to your family.
[00:54:55] You need to show the love of Jesus Christ.
[00:54:58] You need to let your light shine.
[00:55:00] They need to see you when you fail.
[00:55:03] Ask God to forgive you.
[00:55:06] But then when the pain comes, when the heartache comes, when the things that are out of your control comes that's when you got to seek God you got to trust him but you got to seek him
[00:55:24] and you got to pray and you got to fast and you got to talk to him and you got to get in your word to get that comfort and let the Holy Spirit wrap his arms around you
[00:55:33] and let you know everything's going to be alright you know today we're going to have communion and as we prepare to take communion first corinthians 11 28 tells us to examine ourselves and i'm going to ask you as i finish
[00:55:55] up on this this this topic of asia i want you to just hear what we've went through and examine your own life the consecration test have you dedicated everything to the lord have you dedicated your life your your home your your things your your marriage your children your
[00:56:20] your family everything that you have have you give it back to the lord and say lord i give this back to you i i consecrate it i i consecrate my home that this is a holy place
[00:56:32] i consecrate my car that that that you're and i give it back to you you've given it to me for just a little while but i'm i'm giving it to you as a holy thing and i i'm consecrating it to you
[00:56:45] that you'll protect me and keep me safe then the control test do you pray and give jesus full control over your life and every decision before you make a choice before you do anything do you
[00:56:59] pray about it the commitment test have you sold out to jesus christ are you 110 sold on jesus christ regardless of what is going on your in your life can you say i will stand for jesus christ
[00:57:16] the compromise test are you strong enough to stand when the enemy comes and tries to get you to question your faith are you strong enough to say sin is sin and if the word of god calls it sin
[00:57:32] there's no other way but to see it as sin then the correction test are you willing to wreck to repent and say god i know i've messed up i know i've my mouth is i'm telling you what sometimes
[00:57:49] my mouth gets best to me and i just start running that mouth and i lord shut my mouth holy ghost shut my mouth up you know but i'm telling you the truth we all have issues and we know to make sure
[00:58:03] that we were willing to ask God to forgive us.
[00:58:08] Don't let that pride be there that you can't ask forgiveness.
[00:58:15] And then we do have the confession test.
[00:58:19] I'll take the correction.
[00:58:21] Lord, correct what's wrong in my life, but I'm confessing to you, I've got a problem here.
[00:58:26] I've got a situation here that I'm facing.
[00:58:29] And ask Jesus to help you and restore your faith.
[00:58:35] Here's one final lesson from Asia's life.
[00:58:38] No matter what your score is in any of these six, let me tell you, God is a God of grace.
[00:58:45] Asia wasn't 100% holy, but yeah, God allowed His name to be carried out through generations and generations.
[00:58:56] He wasn't holy.
[00:58:57] He made His mistakes as well.
[00:58:59] But you know what?
[00:59:01] If you look in Matthew 1 and 8, He's in the genealogy of Jesus Christ.
[00:59:06] Aren't you glad that God will use ordinary people with our imperfections and our problems to do extraordinary things if we'll only allow Him?
[00:59:20] Here's the good news.
[00:59:21] If you've received Him as your Savior, give Him full access to your life.
[00:59:26] Stop and pray before making any decisions and let His Holy Spirit guide you.
[00:59:32] God will allow things to come in your life to see where your heart is.
[00:59:38] Think about Asia.
[00:59:39] He had 36 years of peace.
[00:59:41] Not many problems, not situations.
[00:59:44] I'm sure he faced some easy things, but he had some hard things too.
[00:59:47] But it wasn't nothing that's so hard.
[00:59:51] But yet he forgot what God could do for him.
[00:59:56] Think about how this whole story could have ended different if Asia would have stopped and returned to God.
[01:00:04] He was an ordinary person who could have done extraordinary things.
[01:00:10] And he started doing them, but he didn't keep his heart for God.
[01:00:17] It's really important to look at everything we do before we do it.
[01:00:22] If we hope to pass the tests that come our way, we must follow God's direction.
[01:00:29] God will strengthen those who are sold out to him.
[01:00:32] and the ones that put Him as a priority in their lives are the ones that God will lead on this journey called life, and they will be the ones that He will work with, even though sometimes they fail the test.
[01:00:48] So as we take communion today, this is a time for us to get things and make sure things are right between us and the Lord.
[01:00:56] Make this a time to recommit ourselves to Him and to ask Him to receive us and His church for glory and our good.
[01:01:06] Let us pray when we fail to recognize where our strength comes from and repent and come back to God through Jesus Christ.
[01:01:16] And remember that we are ordinary people, but we can do extraordinary things when we turn our lives over to the Lord Jesus Christ.
[01:01:28] Search your hearts this morning.

[01:01:30] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_05]
[01:01:30] I lay my path, my wandering, all my muster down, and I, here I, I lay this day, not in my strength, but in your sight, oh no, at your feet.
[01:03:19] I lay my future down All of my dreams I give to you And I'm at your feet I lay my life For you my king You're all I want You will make your way around the altar

[01:05:29] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_07]
[01:05:29] As we are going to have communion