This podcast episode features the song “Snow Day” (edited for length) by Pictures of the Floating World, available under a Creative Commons License.
A Simple Guide to Relating To God – 2 Chronicles 15:1-2 And the Spirit of God came upon Azariah the son of Oded: And he went out to meet Asa, and said unto him, Hear ye me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin; The LORD is with you, while ye be with him; and if ye seek him, he will be found of you; but if ye forsake him, he will forsake you.
Some relationships in life are very easy to navigate. For example, your relationship with your mail carrier. It is very steady and repetitive. The mail carrier is not offended if you do not leave a letter. You don’t insist on having quality time with him or her. He or she doesn’t get upset and start delivering your mail to someone else.
But this is a stark contrast from the relationship between a young dating couple. There are times when she cannot wait to see him. It seems as though she can’t live without him. Then there are times when she grows weary with him and just wants to be with her friends. The slighted boyfriend might get angry, jealous, or even hurt. Their relationship may cool or even be broken off for a time, only to be followed by a passionate reconciliation. The more important the relationship; the more difficult it is to navigate.
Our relationship to God through the gospel of Jesus Christ is hands down the most important relationship of all and therefore it can be the most difficult to navigate. But here in an Old Testament context, this Spirit-filled prophet Azariah gives us a very simple guide to relating to God in one verse of scripture.
In the previous chapter, this fledgling King, Asa, was confronted by what could be described as a million man army. Outnumbered 2 to 1, Asa called on the Lord. And the message of Azariah is God’s response. …The LORD is with you, while ye be with him…
We find that God was with many people in the Bible: Abraham had the kiss of the Lord’s presence throughout the days of his life. Joshua was confident in his taking Canaan land because God was with him. Timid Gideon routed his oppressors with the comfort of knowing God was with him. God was with Joseph in Potifer’s House and in the prison. But that attendance of the Lord is always found with those that are with Him.
The question is: Are you with God? In the light of New Testament scripture, the only way to “…be with the Lord…” is through God’s gracious invitation of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Jesus was clear, the only way to know the Father is to know the Son. The only way to access the Father is through the Son for he said: I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. So then the question is: Are you with the Son? Have you come to Him in faith?
Then the prophet goes on to say …and if ye seek him, he will be found of you… The wonderful truth in this phrase is that God will be found by you. Over the years, I’ve played quite a bit of hide-and-seek with my children. For the most part, I’d try to hide in the most difficult to find places. But when they were little, I wouldn’t do that. I would hide behind a curtain or under a blanket on the couch. And when it still was too difficult for them to find me, I’d cough, or sneeze or move and they would throw back the covering and find me.
Our heavenly Father tells us that He is no different! God will do the same; He will let you find Him, if you will seek Him. The New Testament calls us to…”Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you.” Jesus himself invites us to come to Him and learn of Him for He is meek and lowly in heart.
The last phrase is the most chilling of all: …but if ye forsake him, he will forsake you… King Asa had a grandfather by the name of Rehoboam, the son of Solomon. During his reign, Rehoboam followed the appetites of the flesh, forsaking God, and building altars to strange gods in high places. In the end, God abandoned Rehoboam to reap the consequences of his rebellion.
In our text, King Asa had won a great victory and there was the potential, in the pride of triumph, he could forsake the Lord.
This message was a gracious warning not to do this, because this statement is clear: If we abandon God, He will abandon us. God said to an Israel that had abandoned Him these words through the prophet Jeremiah:
I have forsaken mine house…I have given the dearly beloved of my soul into the hand of her enemies.
God’s chastening of our wandering from Him might find us temporarily bearing the heavy hand of God: Psalms 32:4 For day and night thy hand was heavy upon me:
Spurgeon said, “…better a world on the shoulder, like Atlas, than God’s hand on the heart, like David.”
Because of the gospel, this is but a temporary time of chastening. A divine correction to cause us to turn back to God and seek Him once again.
But know this, there is an utter forsaking by God of those who, though they may think themselves believers, are in reality not. Charles Simeon, a pastor from the early 19th century wrote of this text: “We know that God will not finally cast off his people, we believe that he will visit them with the rod ‘til he has brought them back to him with deep contrition, but as long as they forsake him he will as far respects any display of his favor forsake them and if any who have thought themselves his people forsake him utterly they shall also be utterly forsaken.”
To utterly and finally forsake God is to renounce the hope of the gospel. And anyone forsaking Christ as a pattern of life, certainly forfeits any assurance of eternal life. If one is on the broad road, they have no reason to think it leads anywhere else but to destruction.
This is a Great Word. The Truth , given in 7 minutes. Seven – Completion !! Preach this one, Say Amen, and Invite. !! Love it Brother Ronnie !!