Times Like These

No one would dispute that it’s a time of moral corruption. A time when people are more than a little divided. Countrymen against countrymen. Brother against brother. A time of civil unrest. The brink of civil war. A time when the judgement of God is coming.

I’m talking about the reign of King Asa in Jerusalem, of course. What did you think I was talking about? Yeah, I’m probably talking about that, too.

We spent the last three weeks thinking about how to vote like a Christian. Vote in such a way that God might not judge our nation so harshly because of our leaders and our laws. So I hope that all of us carried our faith into the voting booth and were faithful in our vocation as citizens of this country and citizens of the kingdom of heaven.

But I really hope the faith we carried was faith in the Lord. If so, then we put it in His hands. We voted how we voted and then we let it go. Trusting that God will do what He will do.

The problem with America isn’t a lack of faith. It’s wrong faith. We need to trust in the Lord. We need to repent of the idols we’ve made out of the things of this world. It’s not that they’re bad things—no one makes idols out of bad things. They’re good things: our country, our flag, our political ideas, our constitution—they’re all good things. But they are not ultimate things. And we need to repent of our idolatry, our trust in those things, and turn back to the Lord. We need to repent of our sin and trust in God alone.

Prayer: Father in heaven, help us to keep Your name holy. Help us to hear Your Word fresh, so it cuts us to the core. Speak to us now, and have mercy on us. In Christ’s name. AMEN

Israel was one nation for about 500 years. From Moses and the exodus from Egypt, through the time of the Judges, hitting its peak in the reign of King Solomon. They went from slaves and refugees to the most powerful nation on the earth. 500 years. A pretty good run.

Solomon blew it though—in so many ways.

In Deuteronomy 17:16-20 it gives these instructions for the kings of Israel,

“The king must not build up a large stable of horses for himself or send his people to Egypt to buy horses, for the Lord has told you, ‘You must never return to Egypt.’ The king must not take many wives for himself, because they will turn his heart away from the Lord. And he must not accumulate large amounts of wealth in silver and gold for himself.”

Which ended up sounding like a description of Solomon. One of the first things he did as king? Marry the daughter of the Pharaoh and start collecting horses and chariots. He had cities built to keep his horses and literally a thousand wives. He built temples and altars for all the false gods of his wives. He enslaved his own people. He pretty much did everything he was told not to do.

He was said to be the wisest man who ever lived but he failed to do what God had told him, and he failed to raise his sons to be wise—he also failed to come up with a plan to peacefully transition to his son’s leadership after him.

Solomon died and his son Rehoboam became king, he was foolish, greedy and harsh—almost immediately there was civil war and the nation of Israel split into two kingdoms. North and South. Rehoboam was a bad king. His son Abijah was even worse. But the third king of the southern kingdom after the split was King Asa, and he started out pretty good.

2 Chronicles 14:2-5 says,

“Asa did what was good and right in the eyes of the Lord his God. He removed the foreign altars... He commanded Judah to seek the Lord, the God of their ancestors, and to obey his laws and commands. He removed the high places and incense altars in every town in Judah, and the kingdom was at peace under him.”

When they were attacked by the invading Cushite army that outnumbered them a thousand to one, it looked hopeless. But Asa called out to the Lord, he said

“Lord, there is no one like you to help the powerless against the mighty. Help us, Lord our God, for we rely on you, and in your name we have come against this vast army. Lord, you are our God; do not let mere mortals prevail against you.” (2 Ch 14:11).

And God heard him—they crushed the Cushites. They ran away like cockroaches.

A prophet named Azariah told Asa that things would be good as long as he continued to call on the name of the Lord. He said, Listen to me, Asa and all Judah,

“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. (2 Ch 15:2).

And Asa listened. He tore down the false gods throughout the country, repaired the Temple, got all the people together and read the Bible to them. He even made his grandma destroy her idols—that’s a whole other level. The people worshiped God with all their heart and soul. They dedicated themselves to YAHWEH. They promised that they would serve the Lord and Him alone, and if they didn’t, they vowed that they could be put to death. They were very serious.

And things were good for thirty-six years.

Then they were attacked again. This time it was the northern kingdom—their very own brothers. The king of Israel made a power play to destroy the southern kingdom of Judah.

King Asa panicked. He took all the silver and gold out of the Temple’s treasuries and all of his own treasure and sent it to the king of Aram. Bribed him so he would break the treaty he had with the northern kingdom and betray Israel. And it worked. But it was the wrong move. King Asa didn’t call on the Lord.

A prophet named Hanani came to king Asa and said,

“Because you relied on the king of Aram and not on the Lord your God, the army of the king of Aram has escaped from your hand. Were not the Cushites and Libyans a mighty army with great numbers of chariots and horsemen? Yet when you relied on the Lord, he delivered them into your hand. For the eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him. You have done a foolish thing, and from now on you will be at war.” (2 Ch 16:7–9).

How do you think king Asa took that news? Do you think he humbled himself? Repented and turned back to the Lord? Saw the error of his ways? Begged for forgiveness and mercy?

No, he got mad. His pride was hurt. He threw the prophet Hanani into prison. He started brutally oppressing his people. He got dark.

God tried to get his attention but he wouldn’t have it. Asa came down with some kind of disease in his feet, and even though it was really bad, he still didn’t ask God for help. He just went to doctors, probably sorcerers and witch doctors. A couple years later he died.

All he had to do was call on the name of the Lord. He wouldn’t do it. He just wanted to trust in political strategies and clever plans. Try to buy his way out of his problems. Doctors and science and lawyers and magic—anything other than trusting in the Lord.

Why? What the heck? He started off so good.

I had a completely different sermon planned for today. I was going to start a new series about how God wants us to treat people. “Relationship Rules.” I figured we’re all so divided and angry with each other as a nation right now that we should probably take a step back and learn how to be a good friend and neighbor. Look at some of the things God told us about how to love each other.

And that’s still going to happen, we’ll start that next week.

But on Thursday, in the middle of all this election day fallout and weirdness, I sat down early in the morning to do my daily Bible reading. I said, “Lord, speak to me through Your Word today.” And I read about king Asa. It seemed very timely.

“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.”

We have to trust in the Lord. We can’t panic and start trying to fix everything on our own. It’s not time to trust in gold and silver. It’s not time to take our frustration out on other people. It’s certainly not time to blame the messenger and lock up the preacher so you don’t have to hear what he’s saying.

The pressing question isn’t who’s going to be president in January. The pressing question is can we turn from our false gods and turn back to the Lord? We need to trust in Him alone. We need to repent of the idols we’ve made out of the things of this world.

Idols are whatever we turn to in times of trouble other than the Lord. Whatever you think will save you. What do you think will fix everything? What do you think is going to keep the anger and judgement of God from striking our nation? I’ll tell you this, you better not have the United States of America anywhere near that place in your heart that’s supposed to be reserved for God and God alone. If you’ve made America or politics or any politician an idol—if you’ve been tempted to put your hope and trust in anything other than Jesus Christ—this needs to be a reckoning. You need to repent, turn away while you still can, and return to that place of simple faith in the One who gave Himself for you. Jesus who lived, died and rose from the grave so you can have life, hope and a future in His kingdom.

2 Chronicles 7:13 is a reminder for all of God’s people in every nation that,

“If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”

You are one of God’s people. You are called by His name, Christians. Humble yourself. Get over yourself. Don’t be too proud or stubborn to ask for God’s mercy. Seek His face. The Lord is with you when you are with him. If you seek him, he will be found by you. He will find you. He will hear from heaven. He will forgive your sin. Maybe he’ll even hold back His judgement from our land.

Maybe. That’s not where our ultimate hope is though. If God wants to judge this nation because it’s lost its way then so be it. We have to be with Him. We’re first and foremost citizens of the kingdom of heaven. If God decides He’s going to judge America then we need to go get behind Him and be on Team Jesus. If God wants to judge America then that’s what we want, too. And if you have a problem with that, you might need to make sure your heart’s in the right place. If you’re only hanging out with Christians because you think Jesus is good for America—and you’d be happy to switch to some other god if you thought they’d be better—that’s a problem. No other gods.

The Bible reading plan that I’m using is called “Bible in A Year” and it always has a reading from the Old Testament and a reading from the New Testament. The same day that I read about king Asa I also read this from the Gospel of John—I think it’s just as relevant:

It’s Jesus talking, he said,

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. (He’s talking about true believers and not just people who hang out with them) He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful... (The analogy is pretty simple, people who really have faith in the Lord are like a branch that is connected to the vine—the source of life. he ends by saying this,)

“You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you. This is my command: Love each other.” (John 15:1–17).

When Jesus says to bear good fruit, He means to love people so they can also come to know the love of God that’s only found in Him. These are wicked times, people need to turn to the Lord.

Remember our reading from the Gospel of Luke earlier?

No one would dispute that Noah lived in a time of moral corruption when God sent a flood to destroy the world. And no one would argue about whether Lot lived in a time of moral corruption when God rained fire and brimstone down on Sodom and Gomorrah. Jesus said during those evil days, people went about their daily lives as if nothing was going on.

People were eating and drinking, buying and selling—business as usual. Like king Asa, they didn’t turn to the Lord.

We are living in times when people are more than a little divided. A time when countrymen are against countrymen. Brother against brother. A time of civil unrest. The brink of civil war. A time when the judgement of God is coming.

So what are we supposed to do?

Abraham pleaded with God to spare Sodom and Gomorrah. We should do the same for America. “If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and heal their land.” It’s still true. “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.” Seek the Lord and pray for God to have mercy on our country.

Noah built an ark, he got inside and trusted the Lord to save him and his family. Anyone wish they had an ark right about now?

Jesus said, “Remain in me, as I also remain in you.” He’s the only ark we need. And He is the vine and we are the branch—unless we are completely reliant on Him, we will wither and die. We’re not to attach ourselves to anything else.

Because He’s enough. Remain in Him and you will have everything you ever hoped for. Remain in Him and you will be saved. He chose you. He chose you for times like these. You’ve been appointed since the beginning of the world to be here, right now, to do what He has called you to do. To bear fruit in this generation. In this culture. That’s why you’re here. No one else can do what God has called you to do. To love the people He’s given you to love.

We’re going to talk about what that’s supposed to look like starting next week. But right now, we’re going to spend some time reflecting on how we might need to humble ourselves, turn away from our sin, and seek the Lord. For the sake of our families, for our church, and for our country.

This is a prayer called The Great Litany. It was first used in the 5th century under Gregory the Great as Rome was falling to pieces—seems like a good day to bring it back.

Let’s pray it together.

O God the Father, Creator of heaven and earth,

Have mercy upon us.

O God the Son, Redeemer of the world,

Have mercy upon us.

O God the Holy Spirit, Sanctifier of the faithful,

Have mercy upon us.

Remember not, Lord Christ, our offenses, nor the offenses

of our forefathers; neither reward us according to our sins.

Spare us, good Lord, spare your people, whom you have

redeemed with your most precious blood, and by your mercy

preserve us, for ever.

Spare us, good Lord.

From all evil and wickedness; from sin; from the crafts

and assaults of the devil; and from everlasting damnation,

Good Lord, deliver us.

From all blindness of heart; from pride, vainglory,

and hypocrisy; from envy, hatred, and malice; and from all lack of love,

Good Lord, deliver us.

From all sinful affections; and from all the

deceits of the world, the flesh, and the devil,

Good Lord, deliver us.

From all false doctrine, heresy, and schism; from hardness

of heart, and contempt of your Word and commandment,

Good Lord, deliver us.

From lightning and tempest; from earthquake, fire, and

flood; from plague, pestilence, and famine,

Good Lord, deliver us.

From all oppression, conspiracy, and rebellion; from

violence, battle, and murder; and from dying suddenly and

unprepared,

Good Lord, deliver us.

By the mystery of your holy Incarnation; by your holy Nativity

and submission to the Law; by your Baptism, Fasting, and

Temptation,

Good Lord, deliver us.

By your Agony and by your Cross and Passion;

by your precious Death and Burial; by your glorious Resurrection

and Ascension; and by the Coming of the Holy Spirit,

Good Lord, deliver us.

In all time of our tribulation; in all time of our prosperity; in

the hour of death, and in the day of judgment,

Good Lord, deliver us.

We sinners do call on you to hear us, O Lord God; and that

it may please you to rule and govern your holy Church in the right way,