Experiencing God’s Manifested Presence

Possessing the Land

Journey Into The Promised Land

2 Chronicles 14:1–15 (CSB)

14 Abijah rested with his ancestors and was buried in the city of David. His son Asa became king in his place. During his reign the land experienced peace for ten years.

JUDAH’S KING ASA

²Asa did what was good and right in the sight of the Lord his God. ³He removed the pagan altars and the high places. He shattered their sacred pillars and chopped down their Asherah poles. ⁴He told the people of Judah to seek the Lord God of their ancestors and to carry out the instruction and the commands. ⁵He also removed the high places and the shrines from all the cities of Judah, and the kingdom experienced peace under him.

⁶Because the land experienced peace, Asa built fortified cities in Judah. No one made war with him in those days because the Lord gave him rest. ⁷So he said to the people of Judah, “Let’s build these cities and surround them with walls and towers, with doors and bars. The land is still ours because we sought the Lord our God. We sought him and he gave us rest on every side.” So they built and succeeded.

THE CUSHITE INVASION

⁸Asa had an army of three hundred thousand from Judah bearing large shields and spears, and two hundred eighty thousand from Benjamin bearing regular shields and drawing the bow. All these were valiant warriors. ⁹Then Zerah the Cushite came against them with an army of one million men and three hundred chariots. They came as far as Mareshah. ¹⁰So Asa marched out against him and lined up in battle formation in Zephathah Valley at Mareshah.

¹¹Then Asa cried out to the Lord his God, “Lord, there is no one besides you to help the mighty and those without strength. Help us, Lord our God, for we depend on you, and in your name we have come against this large army. Lord, you are our God. Do not let a mere mortal hinder you.”

¹²So the Lord routed the Cushites before Asa and before Judah, and the Cushites fled. ¹³Then Asa and the people who were with him pursued them as far as Gerar. The Cushites fell until they had no survivors, for they were crushed before the Lord and his army. So the people of Judah carried off a great supply of loot. ¹⁴Then they attacked all the cities around Gerar because the terror of the Lord was on them. They also plundered all the cities, since there was a great deal of plunder in them. ¹⁵They also attacked the tents of the herdsmen and captured many sheep and camels. Then they returned to Jerusalem.

You may be saying, “Yes Brother Cerullo…I want it. My heart is crying out for the presence of God. But I don’t know how to experience God’s manifested presence.”

There is a tremendous key God has given to enable us to experience and maintain the presence of God. It is found in the Old Testament account of King Asa. King Asa ruled over Judah for forty-one years (1 Kings 15:9-10). The Bible records that…

…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. (2 Chronicles 14:2-4)

At one point during his administration, a mighty army from Ethiopia rose up against him:

And there came out against them Zerah the Ethiopian with an host of a thousand thousand, and three hundred chariots; and came unto Mareshah. (2 Chronicles 14:9)

Can you imagine? A million-man army marching against the small troops of Judah. When Asa saw this great multitude advancing…

…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.” (2 Chronicles 14:11)

The enemy was advancing. Asa could hear the sound of a million marching feet. In this time of desperation, Asa turned to God and cried “Help us, Oh Lord…for we rest on thee, and in thy name we go against this multitude!” Asa declared his total, utter dependence upon God. Without God’s presence, he knew he was in trouble. But he also knew that with God’s presence, no man could prevail against him because no man can prevail against God.

So the Lord smote the Ethiopians before Asa, and before Judah; and the Ethiopians fled. (2 Chronicles 14:12)

Asa led the armies of Judah to a great victory over Ethiopia’s million-man army. Can you just imagine King Asa’s puny little troops advancing against the million-man force of the Ethiopians? Asa declared that there was only one way he was prepared to face the enemy and that was through the presence of God. The presence of God went out before Asa and his forces and scattered the enemy before they even got to the battlefield!

Make this declaration:

God’s presence will scatter my enemies before I can even get to the battlefield.

*Adapted from MCWE email – Journey Into The Promised Land by Morris Cerullo

Experiencing God’s Manifested Presence – 12/13

Possessing the Land

Journey Into The Promised Land