Religious Reforms

"Religious Reforms" – 2 Chronicles 15:1-8 You know, Church on so many occasions in what is the search with God we must reform. Everything we once loved about the Lord to reform in our existence. We miss so many holy, pure, divine things that we sometimes wrap ourselves in our ancient creature. Who knows us and envelops us again in our ancient creature.

I. The Spirit of God came upon Azariah.

A. It becomes easy for many to abandon God.

1. What we should beware of if not ourselves, our own enemy, and God's.

2. A prophet is sent to Asa and his army when they were returning from war victorious, not to congratulate them on their victory.

3. To exhort them to do their duty.

4. For me that is my duty: to fulfill my duty.

5. The Spirit of God upon the prophet.

6. When the Spirit of God is there, it is to order what needs to be said and how to enable energy to say it clearly and boldly (courage, energy, effort, ardor) (to generate movement – action and effect of moving).

7. The prophet told them clearly on what terms they were with God.

8. Don't think that, because you got the victory, everything was fine forever.

9. "They must constantly do good", so that it always goes well for them; not otherwise.

10. "The Lord will be with you, if you are with Him."

11. (2 Chronicles 15:2) "If you seek Him, He will be found of you."

12. If you leave Him and His commandments and ordinances, He is not bound to you and just like you, church, but also, "He will leave you."

13. We think that what we have for God is permanent in the hands of each one of us what it is to be looking for Him and if we seek Him, He is there, but if we leave Him, He will also leave you, we are the ones who leave Him, for what must await His departure from your life.

14. He exposes to them "the consequences" of forsaking God and His ordinances, and that there is no other way to prevent misfortunes than by repenting and turning to God.

15. When Israel failed in their duty, they were inundated with a deluge of atheism, impiety, irreligion, and all manner of irregularities.

16. They were (2 Chronicles 15:3) without priests to teach them and without law.

17. When the church is hardly taught, it walks freely in the absence of its God. One walks under pleasures, vanity, rebellion and into an empire of a flesh that is ready to destroy those who carry it; pleasures, disorder, rebellion, strife and vanity to pretend that the world satisfies him.

18. Then continually disturbed with wars and internal conflicts.

19. (2 Chronicles 15:4) But when calamities brought them to God, they saw that it was not in vain to seek Him. (1 Corinthians 15:58)

20. In the time of the judges there were many wars, when they left God.

21. When as a nation there was no peace, because they left God.

22. Consequences of leaving God, is the absence of peace and they were continually defeated by their enemies.

23. We leave the Lord because peace is gone; "My peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you" (John 14:27) (2 Chronicles 15:5).

24. But when the nation sought Jehovah, they proved it.

25. Asa and his people would thus have to consider, for the future, the lessons of history.

26. That is why the prophet exhorts them to continue with all their efforts the work of "reform." —2 Chronicles 15:7.

27. Asa's advantage is that he sought Jehovah, Azariah encouraged him to persevere in his good doing.

28. Asa was in every disposition of the reform that had begun in Judah and Benjamin.

29. "But be strong and do not let your hands fail, for there is a reward for your work" (2 Chronicles 15:7).

30. The king reacted to the word of the "prophet" with real enthusiasm (even when the pastor comes to you).

31. He immediately accelerated his "program of reform," removing more idols not only from his own land of Judah but from the cities of Ephraim that he had taken in battle.

32. He restored the altar in the temple and "consecrated it with sacrifices."

33. He called a solemn assembly in Jerusalem, sacrificed part of the booty.

34. He bound the people with an oath to seek Jehovah.

35. He left no option for deserters; all who disobeyed the covenant would be executed.

36. Asa also deposed his mother (grandmother) (removed, separated) from her position as queen mother and destroyed her obscene image. (2 Chronicles 15:16)

37. She was not a woman with dignity (decency, decorum, nobility, loyalty). Amen.