Asa King of Judah 1 Kings 15:9-24 & 2
Chronicles 14:2-15
After
Abijah unsuccessfully attempted to re-unify the nation. He died and was
followed by King Asa. Asa did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, as David
his father had done. He put away the male cult prostitutes out of the land, and
removed all the idols that his fathers had made. (1Ki 15:11-12)
He
also removed Ma'acah his grandmother from being queen mother because she
had an abominable image made for Ashe'rah. Asa cut down her image, crushed
it, and burned it at the brook Kidron. But the high places were not taken
away. Nevertheless the heart of Asa was wholly true to the LORD [blameless] all
his days.
2 Chron. 15:9 And
he gathered all Judah and Benjamin, and those from Ephraim, Manasseh, and
Simeon who were residing with them, for great numbers had deserted to him from
Israel when they saw that the Lord his God was with him.
Some thoughts from this
short story.
We
must stand up against ungodly leaders. I’m not speaking of political leaders,
I’m meaning religious leaders. Asa’s grandmother was queen, but she was leading
the religious groups away from God. I know at seminary, many people will
criticize the “television preachers” but very few of those critics explain why,
or even criticize them publically. Asa could have talked with his buddies about
how wrong the Queen was, but he didn’t, he followed through with ridding of a
“false prophet.”
Not only did Asa rid
of the Queen, but he rid of her statues. We must follow through with destroying
the remnants of false religions within the Church. You might say there’s no such thing. I’d reply by asking, do you teach
your children about Santa Clause and Jesus for the same time during Christmas?
Does your church exalt America as much as the Gospel? The list of my
hard-hitting questions goes on… But I’d like to ask. Are we holding onto
remnants of false “doctrines” within the church? We like Asa should destroy
them for the sake of whole heartedly following the Lord. In our Sunday night
small group we went through asking what do churches practice from generations
gone by, that probably shouldn’t be practiced. Hymns Only, King James Bible Only, Grape Juice vs. Wine, Denominational
correctness, Etc…
Why must we do these two things? One It is what the Lord Demands
of us, but two. Others will see and desire our genuine worship and dedication
to the Lord.
Where do I start? – If you’re the pastor or just someone who
attends, Holiness starts with you and you alone! Don’t follow false prohets.
Don’t be swayed to hold onto false doctrines. “Be
an Example in Spirit and Truth!” – If you’re the
pastor of a church, ask if you’re the false teacher. Ask if you’re teaching /
promoting false doctrines. You may be surprised what you’ve held onto which you
shouldn’t…
