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Teaching Outline:
  1. Introduction
     
  2. What is a ligament?
     
  3. Trusting in God vs trusting in the world
     
  4. Why did Asa turn away from the Lord?
     
  5. Why did Asa die?
     
  6. 12 Point Summary
     

INTRODUCTION



Definition of rely
re ly [ri-lahy]
verb (used without object), re lied, re ly ing.
to depend confidently; put trust in (usually followed by on or upon): You can rely on her work.

Origin:
1300-50; Middle English relien - Middle French relier - Latin religare to bind fast, hold firmly. See re-, ligament

Speaking of confidence, how about these verses!

Ephesians 3
11 According to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord:
12 In whom we have boldness and access with confidence by the faith of him.

II Corinthians 3
2 Ye are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read of all men:
3 Forasmuch as ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in fleshy tables of the heart.

4 And such trust have we through Christ to God-ward:
5 Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God;

In the Greek texts, the word confidence in Ephesians 3:12 is the exact same word in II Corinthians 3:4 translated trust. In both verses, this confidence was initiated by the perfect and already completed work of Jesus Christ.

The original word for rely was ligament. What is a ligament?

Definition of ligament
lig a ment [lig-uh-muhnt]
noun
1. Anatomy, Zoology - a band of tissue, usually white and fibrous, serving to connect bones, hold organs in place, etc.
2. a tie or bond: The desire for personal freedom is a ligament uniting all peoples.

Origin:
1375-1425; late Middle English - Medieval Latin ligamentum, Latin: bandage, equivalent to liga ( re ) to tie + -mentum -ment

image of knee ligaments

If our bodies were without ligaments, then we would be a pile of flesh and loose bones on the floor, without form, and we would not be able to function as God intended. We would not be able to physically stand up.

Spiritually, we would not be able to stand against the devil as members of the body of Christ without its spiritual ligaments.


Ephesians 6
10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.
11 Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.

12 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.
13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

14 Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;

In this 5-verse section of scripture, we are told to stand 3 different times and to withstand once, so a total of 4 times to stand or withstand. In verse 10, it says to be strong in the Lord, so we have to rely on God for that strength. It also says to be strong in the power of his might, so we must rely or trust in God for that power to be there when we need it.

Verse 11 and 13 say to put on the whole armour of God. It is not our armour. It is God's, so we must rely on that spiritual armour for our protection. Power without control is useless. If we did not have any ligaments in our body, we would have no power to control our movements.

Why is this spiritually important?

Ephesians 4
15 But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ:
16 From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.

The word "joint" is the word ligament in the Greek texts. There are at least 5 different bible versions that all read "ligament" instead of "joint", as the king james reads [Left to right]:

Mounce Reverse-Interlinear New Testament (MOUNCE) | Lexham English Bible (LEB) | New International Version (NIV) | Expanded Bible (EXB) | New English Translation (NET)).


Greek lexicon of Ephesians 4:16

If you scroll down the page, about 1/2 way between "KJV lexicon" & "Parallel Verses", you can also see this from the 1904 Nestle critical Greek text:
haphe noun - genitive singular feminine
haphe haf-ay': probably a ligament (as fastening) - joint.

Kittel's Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, volume 4, page 566, also states that in Ephesians 4:16, the word "joint" is the word "ligament". The brain is the organ in the body that tells the body what to do by way of the communication system in the body, which is the nervous system. The brain is located in the head. Jesus Christ is the head of the body of Christ, which is all the christians living today.

The physical body relies on the muscles and ligaments in order to have the bones move in the way the head decides. So if the body of Christ is to accomplish anything, it must reverence and obey what the head (Christ) tells us to do. We must rely on God, through the head (Jesus Christ), to energize the body of Christ and help it grow and be edified in love.


Philippians 2:13
For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.

Why should we trust in the Lord instead of the world?

We all trust or rely on somebody or something, so the question isn't whether or not we trust. The issue is on what or in whom do we trust?

Contrast Psalms 46:1 to Jeremiah 11!

The people of Judah and Jerusalem were so deep in idolatry that God told Jeremiah not to even pray for them 3 separate times!

Jeremiah 11:12-14 is only one example.


Psalms 46:1
God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.

Jeremiah 11
12 Then shall the cities of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem go, and cry unto the gods unto whom they offer incense: but they shall not save them at all in the time of their trouble.
13 For according to the number of thy cities were thy gods, O Judah; and according to the number of the streets of Jerusalem have ye set up altars to that shameful thing, even altars to burn incense unto Baal.

14 Therefore pray not thou for this people, neither lift up a cry or prayer for them: for I will not hear them in the time that they cry unto me for their trouble.

Jeremiah 17
5 Thus saith the Lord; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the Lord.
6 For he shall be like the heath (juniper) in the desert, and shall not see when good cometh; but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, in a salt land and not inhabited.

7 Blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is.
8 For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful (anxious) in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit.

Verse 6
In I Kings 19:4, Elijah sat under a juniper tree to die because the way of their culture was that if you wanted to die, you would sit against a juniper tree and give up living.

Example of Juniper tree below.

image of a row of juniper trees in California

Isaiah 14:17 says the devil made the world a spiritual wilderness.

Salt land - the dead sea in Israel has a 33% mineral content, which includes a lot of salt. Even today, its so salty that no plant or animal life can live or inhabit the place, so it has been totally sterilized. Thousands of graves from Sodom and Gomorra are also beneath the dead sea.

So this is where we will end up spiritually if we trust in the 5-senses realm instead of God.

II Chronicles 16
7 And at that time Hanani the seer came to Asa king of Judah, and said unto him, Because thou hast relied on the king of Syria, and not relied on the Lord thy God, therefore is the host of the king of Syria escaped out of thine hand.
8 Were not the Ethiopians and the Lubims a huge host, with very many chariots and horsemen? yet, because thou didst rely on the Lord, he delivered them into thine hand.

9 For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him. Herein thou hast done foolishly: therefore from henceforth thou shalt have wars.
10 Then Asa was wroth with the seer, and put him in a prison house; for he was in a rage with him because of this thing. And Asa oppressed some of the people the same time.

11 And, behold, the acts of Asa, first and last, lo, they are written in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel.
12 And Asa in the thirty and ninth year of his reign was diseased in his feet, until his disease was exceeding great: yet in his disease he sought not to the Lord, but to the physicians.

13 And Asa slept with his fathers, and died in the one and fortieth year of his reign.

Asa was not meek or humble to what the man of God said. He opposed him instead and reaped what he had sown. In the bible, the number 42 is connected with the antichrist. 1 is the number connected with God. Asa died in his 41st year - the number associated with the antichrist [42] minus 1 [the # for God] = 41 because Asa no longer relied in God.

Spiritual significance of many numbers: 1 & 42 in particular

In verse 12, feet is figuratively used to indicate a person's actions. Asa had taken wrong actions because he trusted in and relied upon the king of Syria, which represents the 5-senses realm instead of relying on God. Even after Asa got severely sick, he never went to God for help. Here is the reason he no longer trusted in God.

Why did Asa turn away from the Lord?

Galatians 5 has the enlightenment and perfect answer why Asa compromised the word in his life and died an early death as a consequence.

Galatians 5
7 Ye did run well; who did hinder you that ye should not obey the truth?
8 This persuasion cometh not of him that calleth you.

Asa died of a foot disease in II Chronicles 16. II Chronicles 15 reveals where the turning point was and how he got deceived by the world.

II Chronicles 15
7 Be ye strong therefore, and let not your hands be weak: for your work shall be rewarded.
8 And when Asa heard these words, and the prophecy of Oded the prophet, he took courage, and 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.

Notice the contrast here!

In II Chronicles 15:8, Asa was meek and humble to follow the instructions from a man of God, Oded the prophet. He was encouraged and strengthened to destroy idolatry in the land, but in II Chronicles 16:10, Asa was so angry with another man of God, Hanani the seer, that he threw him in prison!

This is a perfect example of Galatians 5:7 - Ye did run well; who did hinder you that ye should not obey the truth?


16 And also concerning Maachah the mother of Asa the king, he removed her from being queen, because she had made an idol in a grove: and Asa cut down her idol, and stamped it, and burnt it at the brook Kidron.

Wow! Look at the boldness and commitment of Asa to destroy idolatry in the land - he dethroned his own mother from being queen and destroyed her idols!

Do you think she was happy about that?!

17 But the high places were not taken away out of Israel: nevertheless the heart of Asa was perfect all his days.

Verse 17 - perfect = Hebrew word shalem, which means complete, safe, at peace.

Verse 17 has caused me all kinds of confusion and problems before I got the answer.

Asa was doing great in verses 8 & 16, but in verse 17, he compromised the word of God and there were consequences. Perhaps his mother manipulated him or cut a deal with him to keep the high places intact. Whatever was his reason, the root cause of the problem is that Asa began to tolerate the evil in the land. That spiritually contaminated himself and the land, and that allowed the adversary, Satan, to work in the country and Asa's life.

In the book of Judges, a similar thing happened. The people didn't entirely remove idolatry and evil practices in the land. They began to tolerate it. Then they let it contaminate and saturate their culture. They started imitating it. Then it became established and finally, they demonstrated outright rebellion against God. That is an exact description of many countries around the world, even today!

Why did Asa die?

II Chronicles 16:10
Then Asa was wroth with the seer, and put him in a prison house; for he was in a rage with him because of this thing. And Asa oppressed some of the people the same time.

Acts 10:38
How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him.

So spiritual oppression is associated with sickness. Asa did not rely on God and oppressed the people instead.

Galatians 6
7 Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.
8 For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.

At first, Asa was strong in the Lord, destroying idolatry in the land, but because Asa did not remove the remnant of idolatry in Israel and tolerated it instead, that spiritually contaminated himself and the culture of Israel.


Asa oppressed the people. As a consequence, he got sick and died, reaping what he had sown, because he trusted in the 5-senses realm instead of God.

Mark 5
21 And when Jesus was passed over again by ship unto the other side, much people gathered unto him: and he was nigh unto the sea.
22 And, behold, there cometh one of the rulers of the synagogue, Jairus by name; and when he saw him, he fell at his feet,

23 And besought him greatly, saying, My little daughter lieth at the point of death: I pray thee, come and lay thy hands on her, that she may be healed; and she shall live.
24 And Jesus went with him; and much people followed him, and thronged him.

25 And a certain woman, which had an issue of blood twelve years,
26 And had suffered many things of many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was nothing bettered, but rather grew worse,

III John 2
Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth.

At this point, the woman with the issue of blood was losing money and her health. Therefore, her soul (which includes her mind and thoughts) wasn't prospering, which means she was not relying on God either, just like Asa.

27 When she had heard of Jesus, came in the press behind, and touched his garment.
28 For she said, If I may touch but his clothes, I shall be whole.

29 And straightway the fountain of her blood was dried up; and she felt in her body that she was healed of that plague.
30 And Jesus, immediately knowing in himself that virtue had gone out of him, turned him about in the press, and said, Who touched my clothes?

31 And his disciples said unto him, Thou seest the multitude thronging thee, and sayest thou, Who touched me?
32 And he looked round about to see her that had done this thing.

33 But the woman fearing and trembling (a figure of speech meaning reverence and obedience), knowing what was done in her, came and fell down before him, and told him all the truth.
34 And he said unto her, Daughter, thy faith (believing) hath made thee whole; go in peace, and be whole of thy plague.

35 While he yet spake, there came from the ruler of the synagogue's house certain which said, Thy daughter is dead: why troublest thou the Master any further?
36 As soon as Jesus heard the word that was spoken, he saith unto the ruler of the synagogue, Be not afraid, only believe.

Contrast Mark 5 with II Chronicles 16 where Asa didn't trust in God, but the woman with the issue of blood ultimately did rely upon Jesus Christ, who spoke and lived the word of God, with the result that she got completely healed of her health problem.


Psalms 34
8 O taste and see that the Lord is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him.
22 The Lord redeemeth the soul of his servants: and none of them that trust in him shall be desolate.

Psalms 37
3 Trust in the Lord, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed.
4 Delight thyself also in the Lord: and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.

5 Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass.
6 And he shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light, and thy judgment as the noonday.

Psalms 62
5 My soul, wait thou only upon God; for my expectation is from him.
6 He only is my rock and my salvation: he is my defence; I shall not be moved.

7 In God is my salvation and my glory: the rock of my strength, and my refuge, is in God.
8 Trust in him at all times; ye people, pour out your heart before him: God is a refuge for us. Selah.

Psalms 118
1 O give thanks unto the Lord; for he is good: because his mercy endureth for ever.
2 Let Israel now say, that his mercy endureth for ever.

3 Let the house of Aaron now say, that his mercy endureth for ever.
4 Let them now that fear the Lord say, that his mercy endureth for ever.

5 I called upon the Lord in distress: the Lord answered me, and set me in a large place.
6 The Lord is on my side; I will not fear: what can man do unto me?

7 The Lord taketh my part with them that help me: therefore shall I see my desire upon them that hate me.
8 It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man.

9 It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in princes.

Asa put his confidence in princes, in the king of Syria, and look at the consequences he got.

Proverbs 16:20
He that handleth a matter wisely shall find good: and whoso trusteth in the Lord, happy is he.

I Peter 5
6 Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time:
7 Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.

Philippians 4
19 But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.
20 Now unto God and our Father be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

As we trust and rely upon God, he takes care of us and supplies our needs and loads us up with blessings.

In order to establish, strengthen and maximize our trust in and rely upon God, we must be faithful to the basics of the christian walk such as:

SUMMARY

  1. Rely means to depend confidently; put trust in. Its root word is ligament, which is a fibrous tissue that holds bones together

  2. Without bones and ligaments, the body would have no structure or form, and thus, have no function or purpose. We could not stand up without ligaments holding the bones together

  3. Our body relies upon ligaments to keep its form, and thus, its function

  4. Without spiritual ligaments in the body of Christ, we would not be able to stand against the methods of the devil

  5. Asa trusted in God at first, but tolerated a remnant of idolatry in the land, which spiritually contaminated it and Asa

  6. Asa trusted in the king of Syria instead of God. There were wars as a consequence.

  7. Asa got a disease in his feet, which figuratively indicates his wrong actions, as a result of him not trusting in God.

  8. 42 is the number connected with the antichrist. 1 is associated with God. 42 - 1 = 41, the year of Asa's reign that he died

  9. Asa reaped what he sowed - he oppressed the people, which is associated with disease, and he got sick as a result

  10. The woman with the issue of blood got sicker and sicker, seeing many different physicians and lost all her money until she finally relied upon the words of Jesus Christ, who was the living word, to get healed

  11. We must trust in God because there are many benefits and blessings for doing so

  12. In order to establish and strengthen our trust in God, we must stay faithful to the fundamentals of the christian walk - pray with our understanding; pray in the spirit, which is speaking in tongues; tithe and abundantly share of our finances; speak the word of God boldly; associate with like-minded believers; Read and study the word of God, rightly dividing his word of truth
Proverbs 13:19
The desire accomplished is sweet to the soul: but it is abomination to fools to depart from evil.