Evangelism - The Reason for Our Existance
In the days when Israel and Judah were first divided, there was a period of about forty years of consistent evildoing in the land of Israel. After Jeroboam died, this time of ongoing apostasy continued under the culpable kings of Nadab, Baasha, Elah, Zimri, and Omri.
However, during much of this period, a brighter picture was found in the kingdom of Judah. We read in 2 Chronicles 14:2–5 about Asa, the ruler of Judah.
“Asa did that which was good and right in the eyes of the Lord his God: for he took away the altars of the strange gods, and the high places, and brake down the images, and cut down the groves: and commanded Judah to seek the Lord God of their fathers, and to do the law and the commandment. Also he took away out of all the cities of Judah the high places and the sun [margin] images: and the kingdom was quiet before him.”
Praise God for this step in the right direction! Asa took a stand and took action—and Judah was blessed with peace. But eventually, as is often the case when a person or nation shuns the powers of darkness and progresses toward heaven, a time of test was inevitable. We read in verse 9 that “Zerah the Ethiopian with an host of a thousand thousand, and three hundred chariots” came to invade Judah.
On Asa’s part, every precaution had been taken; he had made practical preparation. He had built fenced cities in Judah, equipping them with walls, towers, gates, and bars. His carefully trained army consisted of over half a million mighty men of valor.
But let’s face reality. Logically speaking, even 580,000 soldiers are no match for 1,000,000 soldiers “and three hundred chariots.” “The opposing armies now stood face to face. It was a time of test and trial to those who served the Lord. Had every sin been confessed? Had the men of Judah full confidence in God’s power to deliver? Such thoughts as these were in the minds of the leaders. From every human viewpoint the vast host from Egypt would sweep everything before it. But in time of peace Asa had not been giving himself to amusement and pleasure; he had been preparing for any emergency. He had an army trained for conflict; he had endeavored to lead his people to make their peace with God. And now, although his forces were fewer in number than the enemy, his faith in the One whom he had made his trust did not weaken.”1
How is it with us today? How are we investing the fleeting moments of this present hour of relative peace? Day by day the signs of the end are fast fulfilling. Are we too caught up in the rush of things to be preparing for the emergency soon to come? Are we truly making our peace with God, searching our hearts to see that every sin is confessed—or are we chasing after as many “borderline” amusements and pleasures as we can squeeze in before the great and powerful day of the Lord? Often there are places to go and things to do which are not entirely against our principles. They may be in “gray” areas where a divided heart will insist on loitering. Might we even be wasting time on “good” things to the neglect of the best things? The psalmist prayed, “unite my heart to fear thy name” (Psalm 86:11). He, like Asa, yearned to render wholehearted, undivided service to his Lord.When the crisis came to Asa, “having sought the Lord in the days of prosperity, the king could now rely upon Him in the day of adversity. His petitions showed that he was not a stranger to God’s wonderful power.”2
As today we seek the Lord in days of peace and prosperity, enjoying the blessed privileges of health, comfort, and sound nutrition, our minds have every advantage for clear thought processes. Are we using these best energies to establish a closer walk with the Lord? Or are we frittering away precious moments, fraught with eternal weight? Can we echo the consistent experience of the apostle Paul: “I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me” (Philippians 4:11–13).
When the crisis came to Asa, what did he do? We learn in 2 Chronicles 14:11 that “Asa cried unto the Lord his God, and said, Lord, it is nothing with thee to help, whether with many, or with them that have no power: help us, O Lord our God; for we rest on thee, and in thy name we go against this multitude. O Lord, thou art our God; let not man prevail against thee.” “[Verses 12–14 quoted.] Here is brought before us the fact that when ancient Israel trusted in the Lord their God He always wrought for them. Here was a large army; thousands and thousands were brought up against them, and it looked to them that with their small army they would certainly be overcome. But here we see that Asa’s trust was in the Lord God of Israel. It was not in their number, but he believed that the Lord could deliver them by few as well as by many. . . .
“This is an appropriate prayer for us to make. Our prospects are anything but flattering. There are vast numbers arrayed against the truth, whom we must meet in presenting the light to others. Our hope is not in our knowledge of the truth, and in our own ability, but in the living God. And if, like king Asa, we have educated ourselves, and educated and trained others, to be familiar with the truth, who wear the armor of righteousness, ready to meet the enemies of God and the truth, we have done our part of the work in the way of preparation; and then the living faith in God must be exercised to work with the efforts of the workers. God’s glory is at stake. And there should be decided effort as far as human effort is concerned, and living faith for the mighty God to manifest His power, else all will prove a failure.”3
How did the Lord reward the faith of Asa and his people? “The Lord smote the Ethiopians before Asa, and before Judah; and the Ethiopians fled. And Asa and the people that were with him pursued them unto Gerar: and the Ethiopians were overthrown, that they could not recover themselves; for they were destroyed before the Lord, and before his host; and they carried away very much spoil” (verses 12, 13). Thus, God intervened to disrupt the enemies to their own destruction.How is it with us? Where is our battlefield? “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places” (Ephesians 6:12). The present warfare is heated, but we must remember that we are to “be not afraid nor dismayed by reason of this great multitude; for the battle is not yours, but God’s” (2 Chronicles 20:15). The servant of the Lord elaborates: “Oh that we could take this point into consideration, that the work in which we are engaged is not our work, but God’s work, and we as humble instruments are laborers together with Him; and with an eye single to God’s glory, not mistake the beginning of the Christian life for its consummation, but see the necessity of training upon the earth to prepare us for doing God’s will! We are not to lift up ourselves, not to be self-confident, but to trust in God, knowing that He is willing and able to help us. God will work with His people, but we want to be in that position where our trust and confidence will become firm in Him.
“I wanted to bring these things before you, that you might see the importance of our coming into working order individually. We should examine our own hearts and see that everything that is not in accordance with God’s will is separated from us. There is with human nature one great difficulty: where the individual is not connected with God in any wise, the natural disposition reveals itself. Now, if Satan can crowd selfishness in among those connected with this precious work of God, if they become self-righteous, independent of their brethren, independent of God, we need not expect that the blessing of God will attend our work; but if our hearts are pure, and uncorrupted with selfishness, we shall present the truth as it is in Jesus; and then we will have the blessing of the Lord.
“There is constant danger of dropping Jesus out of your labor; but when the truth is presented in meekness and grace as it is in Jesus, it is then you reveal Jesus Christ in every effort you make, and as you seek to approach souls you are revealing Christ to all those with whom you are brought in contact. If you are resting upon the loving Saviour as your only hope, if self is hid with Christ in God, God will be with you, and you will be with Him. You will feel and know the power of true religion; your influence will be used wholly for God’s glory; you will not have a high estimate of yourselves. The path is narrow that leads to eternal life. You will find many difficulties in your way, which you must meet and overcome in the name of Jesus. What discouragements the disciples met when they saw Him in whom their hopes were centered mocked in the judgment hall, scourged, and suffering the most shameful death by crucifixion! And what triumph on the part of Satan as he bruised His heel when Jesus was nailed to the cross, amid the revilings of evil men who claimed the highest piety! After He had been enclosed in the tomb, His enemies expected to see the disciples discouraged, ashamed, and deny, as did Peter, all knowledge of Him. But when these disciples went forth in faith, in holy boldness preaching a risen Saviour, their enemies marveled; for they did not present Jesus but as a Prince of life, risen from the dead, ascended into the heavens to make intercession for His followers, when their enemies and others took knowledge of them that they had been with Jesus. Thus should it be with believers of the truth.
“Here, then, is the power that the people of God are to have, and which will give them the victory in these last days. Every ism is existing. Every kind of false doctrine is prevailing everywhere, and the truth of God that is preached now involves a cross. But the truth must go to all cities and villages, into the highways and hedges. The apostle exhorts believers to ‘fight the good fight of faith,’ and ‘run with patience the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith’ (1 Timothy 6:12; Hebrew 12:1, 2). Men are always trying to make an easier way to heaven than that which the Lord has provided. They do not want to run and to strive as the Lord has commanded. But we can see that there were conditions that the children of Israel were to comply with on their part. They were to seek the Lord, the children with the parents. This is the very work we are to do. There is not one half the seeking of the Lord there should be with us. We know not how soon our cases may come up in the Judgment, and in our present condition many will be disowned of Jesus. We are too apt to let the little cares of this life take our attention, and as soon as we do this we are bereft of our strength.
“What we want at the present time is to examine our own hearts, to discover if there is anything in them that is not right before God. If we teach the truth according to our own ways, we shall see that there will not always be perfect harmony as there should be. But if we teach the truth as it is in Jesus, we shall teach it in the spirit of the true Educator; and we will not have various opinions, and cling to our own ideas with tenacity, but we will see eye to eye. And while we thus teach, believing that Jesus will help us to present the truth as it is in Him, then we may expect His help, and we will have it.”4
Following Judah’s success, the prophet Azariah confirmed to Asa, “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. Now for a long season Israel hath been without the true God, and without a teaching priest, and without law. But when they in their trouble did turn unto the Lord God of Israel, and sought him, he was found of them” (2 Chronicles 15:2–4). As they sought the Lord still more fervently, He foiled the plots of their adversaries.
Greatly encouraged by seeing the fulfillment of God’s sure promises, “Asa soon led out in a second reformation in Judah. He ‘put away the abominable idols out of all the land of Judah and Benjamin, and out of the cities which he had taken from Mount Ephraim, and renewed the altar of the Lord, that was before the porch of the Lord’ (verse 8).”5
Dear brethren and sisters today, after enjoying many fruits of victory in Christ, are your hearts now ready for a “second” reformation—a further reformation? Have you come up one step toward higher ground, yet hesitate to go for the next? Are you afraid of following Jesus all the way up the narrow path—especially when the incline is steep?
“We must press the battle to the gate. There is no time for us to lose. There is no time for us to try to make a smooth path for our feet. We must take it as it is, with all its inconveniences and troubles, knowing that the God of Israel is by your side, and we shall see of His salvation.
“My brethren and sisters, let us remember here is the evidence that God will work. You are not to trust in any power but that of the Lord God of Israel. But if you have enmity in your hearts, you cannot expect that God will let His blessing rest upon you. No one will enter the city of God with anything that defiles. We must get ready for the latter rain. The earth is to be lighted with the glory of the third angel—not a little corner only, but the whole earth. You may think that the work you are doing now is lost; but I tell you it is not lost. When the message shall go with a loud cry, those who hear the truth now will spring to the front and work with mighty power. But you must have faith. It is no use to enter cities unless you have faith in God, and believe that a work is to be accomplished there. You must believe that it is Christ who is by our side, and is finding access to souls; and when you have done the best you can, you must believe, and commit it all to Jesus.”6