2 Chronicles 15

2 Chronicles 15:1

ENCOURAGEMENT OF AZARIAH, THE PROPHETOn the road to revival there are three bridges which must be crossed. We come now to the first bridge, which is a knowledge of the Word of God. The tragedy of the hour in our day is that there is not enough Bible teaching in the church. I say this very kindly, but we do not need more preachers. You can buy them like bananas, by the dozen. Bible teachers are few and far between; yet they are needed. And they were needed in Asa’s day. They did not have a teaching priest. They had priests and Levitesthey were knee-deep in priests and Levitesbut they did not have a teaching priest. Consequently they were without the Law, without the Word of God.

2 Chronicles 15:4

It’s just that simple, and yet it is just that complicated. My friend, if you mean business with God, God will means business with you. I hear people say, “Oh, I try to study. I try to pray. I try to do this but I don’t get anywhere.” My friend, who are you kidding? May I say to you that when you say that, you make God a liar. I have news for youGod is no liar. God says, “If you seek Me, I am there.” If you mean business with God, God will mean business with you. Oh, search your heart, my friend. If you really want to know God’s Word, then God is ready to meet you any time you are ready.

2 Chronicles 15:5

Asa is beginning to turn to God. This prophet encourages him in this, and he explains why they had had trouble and so many problems. Now I strongly suspect that the prophet’s message applies to us as well as to Judah. I’m not speaking ex cathedra but, in studying the Word of God and seeing how God dealt with these people here, I am wondering if the root of our national problems is not the same. We have all those smart boys in Washington, and they make stupid decisions. How can such smart boys make such stupid decisions? Why is it that we cannot have law and order? Why is it that we can’t really have peace? Why is there such lawlessness today? Let me venture my opinion on the basis of the Word of God. It is because God has been left out. He is not in the government circles in Washington. They think they don’t need God because they have the smart boys. My friend, in this hour in which we are living, our nation needs God!

2 Chronicles 15:8

God always has a remnant that will turn to Him.

2 Chronicles 15:10

You will notice that these people are crossing the first bridge. They are not trying to detour around it. They have come to a knowledge of God’s Word. They are turning to God and seeking Him with all their heart and soul. This characterized every one of the revivals. There was a return to the Word of God. I am bold enough to state dogmatically that there has never been a revival without a return to the Word of God. There is no detour around the Bible. There is no substitute for it. The great spiritual movement in the days of John Wesley, my friend, was built around the Word of God. Wesley read the Bible in three languages every morning! Dwight L.

Moody and the great spiritual awakening in his day led to the great Bible institute movement, one of the greatest movements in the study of the Word. It is dying out in our day. Why? Because they are getting away from the Word of God. We need more than just a superficial familiarity with the Word of God. We need more than an artificial vocabulary of the right words.

Revival does not depend on an activity, nor on a service, nor on a method. It requires a real knowledge and love of the Word of God. In our contemporary society there are movements and there are evangelists whom God is using, but I am disturbed because they are not making the study of the Word of God paramount. I find it difficult to get these movements, and even some of our schools, interested in studying the entire Word of God. My friend, we cannot have a real revival unless it is based on a thorough knowledge of the Bible. I hope revival will come. I believe this is the first bridge on the route. We’ll have to cross over this bridge first. Now at this great assembly which Asa had called in Jerusalem, they entered into a covenant with God to seek Him with all their hearts.

2 Chronicles 15:13

This was making it very harsh; yet there was a ready response from the hearts of the people. This man Asa brought about many reforms at this time.

2 Chronicles 15:15

My friend, if you seek the Lord with your whole heart, He will be found of you. We have seen that the first bridge to revival is a knowledge of the Word of God. Now we come to the second bridge which is scriptural separation. The word separation is one of the most abused words in Christian circles. Asa here is practicing scriptural separation:

2 Chronicles 15:16

This is indeed interestinghis own mother was engaged in idolatry! Notice that she wasn’t just a friend of people who were idolaters, but she herself was an idolater. This is the reason Asa removed her from the place of influence.

2 Chronicles 15:17

Asa could have removed these high places, but he did not. He went only part way with Godand yet God used him. How gracious God is! I am weary of folk who consider themselves separated and roundly criticize everyone else in the ministry whose methods are different from theirs. My friend, that is not scriptural separation at all. Separation is not an attempt to straighten out every individual and try to force men whom God is using to conform to your pattern. That is the narrowest form of bigotry. I feel that some folk ought to get separated from themselvesthat would really be separation! If you want revival, the place to begin is with yourself. I suggest that you get in a room by yourself, draw a circle right around you, and say, “Lord, begin a revival, and let it start inside this circle.”