Ii Chronicles 14:11
Asa's prayer in 2 Chronicles 14:11 teaches us to cry out to God in the face of insurmountable odds, trusting in His power and abilities to overcome any difficulty.
Chuck Smith emphasizes the power of prayer in his sermon 'Help Us O Lord,' focusing on King Asa's plea to God during a time of overwhelming odds against him. He highlights that prayer is the wisest response when faced with insurmountable challenges, reminding us that God's ability to help is not limited by our circumstances. Smith reassures that God can accomplish what seems impossible to us, and encourages believers to rest in God's strength rather than relying on their own efforts. The sermon concludes with the reminder that true prayer aligns our will with God's, acknowledging His sovereignty and power over all creation.
Text
"HELP US O LORD"
Intro: At the beginning of his reign, Asa was a good king. He instituted
spiritual reforms, he had an army of 450 thousand men. Word came
that their land was being invaded by Zerah, the Ethiopian, with a
million men and 300 chariots.
I. "AND ASA CRIED UNTO THE LORD HIS GOD."
A. This is the wisest thing he could do.
1. Whenever you are faced with insurmountable odds, it is
wise to pray.
2. When it seems hopeless to go on, it is wise to pray.
3. When you lack strength for the battle...
II. "LORD IT IS NOTHING FOR YOU TO HELP, WHETHER WITH MANY, OR WITH THEM
THAT HAVE NO POWER."
A. Odds mean nothing to God.
1. No difference between 2-1 or 440-1.
2. Russia will discover this soon when she moves her
mighty army against Israel.
3. The mightiest army of man is nothing against almighty
God.
B. The word difficult is not in God's vocabulary.
1. Difficulty must always be measured by the capacity of
the agent doing the work.
a. The state of Washington when building a road
made a cut through a mountain of basalt
material. It took them 5 months, 24 hours a day
to remove 1 million cubic yards. Mt. St. Helen
moved 5 billion 350 million cubic yards of
similar material in 27 minutes.
2. When God is the agent doing the work, any talk of
difficulty manifestly absurd.
3. God can provide you a million dollars as easily as
five.
4. He can heal leukemia or cancer as easily as a cold.
5. Difficulty is only in our minds as we carry our
limitations over to our concepts of God.
III. "HELP US, O LORD."
A. This is the single petition in the prayer, "Help us."
1. Then why offer such a long prayer?
2. It's good to remind ourselves of who we are talking to
and His abilities.
IV. "FOR WE REST ON THEE."
A. This is where we often have a problem.
1. We are prone to pray and worry.
2. Or pray and try to work it out.
B. How beautiful to rest on God.
V. "IN THY NAME WE GO AGAINST THIS MULTITUDE."
A. This is putting himself squarely on God's side.
B. We are so anxious to get God on our side.
1. We devise our program then pray, God bless our program.
2. The purpose of prayer is never to get my will done on
earth, but rather God's will.
VI. "O LORD, THOU ART GOD!"
A. None like Thee in all the earth.
B. You created and are above the universe.
VII. "LET NOT MAN PREVAIL AGAINST THEE."
A. We are so much on your side they will not be prevailing
against us, but you.
Sermon Outline
- Asa's Prayer
- Crying out to God
- Praying in the face of insurmountable odds
- Praying when it seems hopeless
- Praying when lacking strength
Key Quotes
“Whenever you are faced with insurmountable odds, it is wise to pray.” — Chuck Smith
“Odds mean nothing to God.” — Chuck Smith
“Difficulty is only in our minds as we carry our limitations over to our concepts of God.” — Chuck Smith
Application Points
- When faced with insurmountable odds, pray and cry out to God for help.
- Trust in God's power and abilities to overcome any difficulty.
- Rest on God and align yourself with His will in prayer.