The Choice of Master
You can question Bruce Springsteen’s politics and religion, but you can’t question his dedication. After a childhood infatuation with Elvis and the Beetles, Springsteen was relentless in mastering his craft as a musician.
King Asa embraced the same type of dedication in following the Lord. After the morally compromised reigns of Solomon, Rehoboam, and Abijah, Asa firmly set his sail to follow the one true God.
Three Chapters in King Asa’s Reign:
“Asa did what was good and right in the eyes of the Lord his God. He removed the foreign altars and the high places, smashed the sacred stones and cut down the Asherah poles. He commanded Judah to seek the Lord, the God of their fathers.” —II Chronicles 14:2-4
Asa was decisive in “smashing” any symbols of evil in his kingdom.
It is possible to break the pattern of generational sin. In The Bondage Breaker, Neil Anderson details “Seven Steps to Freedom” in breaking sinful strongholds. Although you are not guilty for the sins of your ancestors, because of their sin, Satan can gain access to you and your family (Exodus 20:5). Not every teenage boy has access to a harem, but Asa did.
We must start with prayer. “Dear Lord, thru your power I here and now reject and disown all the sins of my ancestors. Because you have delivered me from the power of darkness and translated me into the kingdom of light, I cancel out all demonic workings and renounce all Satanic assignments directed at me and my family. Thank you for setting me free thru the blood of Christ.”
“Then he assembled all Judah and Benjamin…at Jerusalem in the…fifteenth year of Asa’s reign. At that time they sacrificed to the Lord seven hundred head of cattle and seven thousand sheep and goats… They entered into a covenant to seek the Lord…with all their heart and soul.” —II Chronicles 15:9-12.
During the middle twenty years of Asa’s reign, he expelled the male shrine prostitutes, deposed his wicked grandmother, and burned the Asherah pole (I Kings 15:12-13). Asa acted decisively in leading his people to renounce all sexual sin, which was a continual stumbling block for them. Are their sins in your life you need to renounce?
“Asa then took the silver and gold…and sent it to Ben-Hadad the king of Aram… ‘Let there be a treaty between you and me… Break your treaty with Baasha king of Israel…’ ‘Because you relied on the king of Aram and not on the Lord, the army of the king of Aram has escaped… You have done a foolish thing, and from now on you will be at war.’” . —2 Chronicels 16:2-9
Asa becomes careless in his walk with God, choosing to depend on man instead of God. Josh Harris, who wrote I Kissed Dating Good-bye, recently broke up with his wife and renounced Christ. Guard your heart!
“Fight the good fight, holding on to faith and a good conscience. Some have rejected these and so have shipwrecked their faith.” —1 Timothy 1:18-20
Even the greatest of Christian leaders stumble, including Luther (anti-Semitism), John Wesley and George Whitefield (marital issues), Jonathan Edwards (kept slaves), and Martin Luther King (adultery). Guard your heart!
Will we see King Asa in heaven? II Chronicles 15:17 says, “Although he did not remove the high places from Israel, Asa’s heart was fully committed to the Lord all his life.” This verdict is given even though Asa imprisoned a prophet who confronted him (II Chronicles 16:10).
A solemn warning is given in II Chronicles 15:2, “The Lord is with you when you are with him. If you seek him, he will be found by you, but if you forsake him, he will forsake you.” Asa brought unnecessary trouble upon himself and his people thru sin in his later years. Will you stay close to Jesus thru thick and thin?