When Asa started, the Word of God says in 2 Chronicles 14:2 that he did what was good and right in the eyes of the Lord his God. He removed the altars of the foreign gods, broke down the sacred pillars, and cut down the wooden images. So Asa started out good.

The Bible also tells us in 2 Chronicles 15:17 that although the high places were not removed from Israel, nevertheless the heart of Asa was loyal all his days.

Pastor Rod has been talking about loving God with all of our hearts, all of our souls, all of our minds, and all of our strength. I like the song that says, “God wants it all today.”

The verse we read this morning, 2 Chronicles 16:9, tells us that the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him. My prayer this morning is that this would be our goal and our desire—that our hearts would be loyal to God, not only at the beginning, but in the middle and all the way to the end. That we would run this race with loyal hearts toward God, no matter the challenges we face along this Christian journey.

Asa started with a loyal heart. A loyal heart means fully committed, undivided in affection and devotion. A loyal heart depends on God and is full of humility. When we have a loyal heart, we are the recipients of God’s promises. God said He will show Himself strong on behalf of those whose hearts are loyal to Him.

When our hearts are loyal to God, God will see us through our challenges. God will fight for us. He will be faithful.

Loyal hearts are obedient to God and trust God. That’s what King Asa did in the beginning. He trusted God. He depended on God. When challenges came against him, he cried out to God, as we see in 2 Chronicles 14:11. And God intervened, because the Word of God says that God struck down the Ethiopians before Judah, and they fled.

So in the beginning, Asa trusted God. He depended on God. When they were challenged, he cried out to God. That’s what happens when we love God—we know that on our own we can do nothing. We depend on Him in real life.

But as you read this story, we begin to see a shift in Asa’s heart. This man who loved God and was loyal to God began to change. Even though he did not remove all the high places, his heart was still loyal at first. In spite of his background and his family history, he chose to trust God and depend on God.

But in 2 Chronicles 16, we see that his heart shifted to pride. He started with a loyal heart, and then his heart shifted to pride.

The Bible tells us that he had rest for many years and there was no war. He was at peace. But in the thirty-sixth year, he made an alliance with the king of Syria when the king of Israel came against him. This time, he did not seek the Lord’s counsel. He did not depend on the Lord like he had done in the past.

Deuteronomy 8 warns us not to forget the Lord when things are going well, when we are full, when we have houses, and when our wealth increases, lest our hearts be lifted up and we forget the Lord who brought us out of bondage.

God hates pride. Pride is self-reliance and trusting in our own wisdom. Proverbs tells us that pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall. The Word also tells us that God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble.

In 2 Chronicles 16:7, the prophet came to Asa and said that because he relied on the king of Syria and not on the Lord his God, he had done foolishly. He reminded him that when he relied on the Lord before, God delivered his enemies into his hand.

But Asa did not respond with humility. In 2 Chronicles 16:10, we see that Asa became angry with the seer and put him in prison. He even began to oppress some of the people at that time.

He went from a loyal heart to a proud heart, and then his heart shifted again—to a stubborn heart.

In 2 Chronicles 16:12, we are told that in the thirty-ninth year of his reign, Asa became diseased in his feet, and his disease was severe. Yet even in his disease, he did not seek the Lord, but only the physicians.

A stubborn heart resists the ways and the will of God. Psalm 81:10–12 tells us that when God’s people would not listen to Him, He gave them over to their stubborn hearts to walk in their own counsel.

When our hearts are not fully surrendered to God, when we are not loving God with all our hearts, we can become stubborn. The Word of God says there is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.

When our hearts are stubborn, we do not listen to God. We do not walk in His ways. And we forfeit what God desires to do for us, because God says if we would listen to Him, He would subdue our enemies and turn His hand against those who come against us.

So when our hearts shift to stubbornness, we miss out on what God wants to do.

Stubbornness is like rebellion, like witchcraft. Let our hearts not be like that. Let us be mindful. Let us watch and guard our hearts.

God sees. He sees the heart. Pastor Rod talks about that inner person that nobody else sees, but God sees everything. There is nothing hidden from Him.

God is seeking a people whose hearts are loyal to Him. He is asking us to watch and guard our hearts, so they do not shift from starting well with loyal hearts, then drifting into pride, and then into stubbornness.

Let us not allow our hearts to wander away from the God who loves us with an everlasting love and who has called us. It is easy to drift away from God, even after a strong start. Our hearts are prone to wander.

Let us not allow our hearts to wander. Let us keep committing, presenting, and inclining our hearts to God. Let us ask God, as David prayed, to unite our hearts to fear His name.

Let us ask God to keep our hearts committed and loyal to Him. Let our story not be like that of King Asa—starting loyal, then drifting into pride, and then into stubbornness. Let us stay the course.

With the help of the Holy Spirit, let us have hearts that hunger for God, that are inclined to His ways, and that are loyal to Him.