2 Chronicles 7:14, “if my
people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my
face and turn from their wicked ways, THEN will I hear from heaven and will
forgive their sin and will heal their land.” NIV
Solomon’s temple was finally complete.
The work of 70,000 laborers, 80,000 stone cutters, and 3,600 foremen—finished. Pure gold covered parts of the
interior. Precious inlaid stones sparkled. The Ark of the Covenant inhabited
the Holy of Holies. Only the presence of God was
missing! So
Solomon prays, “…Arise, O LORD God, to Your resting
place…” (2 Chronicles 6:41 NKJV). And how did God respond? “When Solomon had finished praying, fire came down from
heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices; and the glory of the
LORD filled the temple.” (2 Chronicles 7:1 NKJV). The people
fell on their faces declaring, “…For He is good,
For His mercy endures forever.” (2 Chronicles 7:3 NKJV). Then,
after 15 days of celebration Solomon retreated to his
palace.
BUT GOD WASN’T FINISHED
SPEAKING! God knows our tendency to forget His
blessings and go our own way. And often times we get so caught up in what God
did that we act as though He can’t and won’t do anything else. But God had so much more in store. But in order for Him to release it, there were some conditions that had to be met. And these
conditions still remain today. That word “Condition”
is defined as “to set prior requirements on
(something) BEFORE it can occur.” Its Latin Origin “Condicion” which means “Agreement”, comes from its root “Condicere” which means “To Agree Upon.” In other words, God was ready
to do some great things for His people, HOWEVER,
they had to agree with Him on the set requirements He put in place BEFORE they could attain the greater blessings! And
what was His Set
Requirements?
God said:
1. “If MY
PEOPLE, who are called by MY NAME.” – We must turn from Self-Promotion
to God-Promotion. God makes it clear from the start, you are “…MY PEOPLE…” and you are called by “…MY NAME.” And yet, somehow we’ve managed to high-jack God’s Church
From Him! We’ve made all the programs, protocols, banquets,
anniversaries, services, and the like about US…NOT HIM!
But the 2 very important requirements for us to always remember is that
it’s not about us, nor is it about our names! “If
you look at us, you might well miss the brightness. We carry this precious
Message around in the unadorned clay pots of our ordinary lives. That’s to
prevent anyone from confusing God’s incomparable power with us. As it is,
there’s not much chance of that. You know for yourselves that we’re not much to
look at.” (2 Corinthians 4:7-12 MSG) And that’s the hard pill
to swallow that the church keeps choking on: IT’S NOT
ABOUT US OR OUR NAME! The first thing we need to get back to is FOCUS! And not on US, but on HIM!
2. “Will
HUMBLE THEMSELVES and pray.” – We must turn from Self-Reliance to
God-Reliance. I love the fact that Humility comes BEFORE
Prayer! In fact, I believe we would pray much differently, and
effectively if we entered prayer in Humility
first! Unfortunately, however, as a church, we’ve become very pompous,
entitled, prideful, egotistical, and arrogant. We have 5-layer embroidered robes,
rings the size of our fists, crosses bigger than the one Jesus hung on, and
pulpit chairs that look like they belong in the throne room of God. Jesus had
an inner circle of 3, yet we have an entourage of 30. Our hidden agenda and
personal itinerary (masked as our motto and vision) is engraved on the
building, our picture is in the vestibule, our names are always called,
applauded and receive standing ovations that God doesn’t even get on Communion
Sunday when it is His very blood and body in which we partake of that saved our
lives. When did
the church lose her humility? “Living as becomes you] with complete lowliness of mind (HUMILITY) and
meekness (unselfishness, gentleness, mildness), with patience, bearing with one
another and making allowances because you love one another.” (Ephesians 4:2
AMP); “Do nothing from factional motives [through contentiousness, strife,
selfishness, or for unworthy ends] or prompted by conceit and empty arrogance.
Instead, in the true spirit of HUMILITY (lowliness of mind) let each regard the
others as better than and superior to himself [thinking more highly of one
another than you do of yourselves].” (Philippians 2:3 AMP); “…What matters is
not your outer appearance – the styling of your hair, the jewelry you wear, the
cut of your clothes – but your inner disposition. Cultivate inner beauty, the
gentle, gracious kind that God delights in…” (1 Peter 3:1-6 MSG). Church, before we get back to Prayer,
let us first get back to Humility!
3. “And
seek MY FACE.” – We must turn from Self-Direction to God-Direction.
Which makes me wonder, when exactly did we start to treat God like a genie
in a bottle? We like to rub Him with phony praise, and eloquent prayers so He
pops out the bottle and performs just for us. But when did we get so caught up
in His Hand that
we forgot about His Face? “The Lord bless you and
watch, guard, and keep you; The Lord make His FACE to shine upon and enlighten
you and be gracious (kind, merciful, and giving favor) to you; The Lord lift up
His [approving] COUNTENANCE upon you and give you peace (tranquility of heart
and life continually)” (Numbers 6:24-26 AMP). The Message Bible says it like this: “God bless you and keep you, God smile on you and gift
you, God look you full in the FACE and make you prosper.” (MSG). I’m
amazed that this blessing speaks of the Lords FACE “…shining…enlightening…being gracious, kind, merciful,
favorable…approving countenance…peace…tranquility…smiling…gifting…and
prosperity…” and all of it focuses on HIS FACE…NOT HIS
HAND! Before you enter prayer with your long to-do-list for God, all
of the blessings you need bestowed, the miracles you need performed, the debts
you need cancelled, the sickness you need healed, the monies you need deposited
in your bank account within the next 15 minutes, how about you try instead to
enter in prayer with Worship?! NOT entering in hoping that God makes it
Worth Your While! The word “Worship”
is defined as “the feeling or expression of
reverence and adoration for a deity; great admiration or devotion.” Its
Old English Origin literally means “worthiness
or acknowledgement of worth.” But the BIBLE defines it better! Revelation 4:10, reads, “At the same time
the twenty-four elders knelt down before the One sitting on the throne. And as
they WORSHIPED the One Who lives forever, they placed their crowns in front of
the throne…” (CEV). That word “Worship”
is “Proskuneo” (pros-koo-neh-oh) and it’s from the words “Pros” meaning “Toward”
and “Kuneo” meaning “To Kiss.” And unlike the Pope, the Lord has
not asked us to kiss His Hand…but to kiss His Face…IN WORSHIP! Listen, while so
many are waiting for the Lord to hand them Prosperity from His Hand, the
Blessing of Numbers 6 informs us that
Prosperity comes from His Face! Remember: Seek HIS FACE!
4. “And
TURN from their wicked ways.” We must turn from Self-Indulgence to Self-Examination.
I love the word “Turn” because it’s
defined as “to move into a different position,
especially so as to face or move in the opposite direction.” And
that word “Opposite” has its Latin
Origin “Oppositus”, from the root “Opponere”, and means “To Be Set Against.” Now, regardless to popular
belief, saying you’ve turned from the old to the new, and actually showing
evidence of it are two totally different things! Because to “Turn” requires Action!
It’s to move into a different position and face the direct opposite direction
and to set yourself against, or to become an enemy of your former standing. In
essence, if you were used to going South, you now go North, if you were used to
going West, you now go East! When you become a new creature, you don’t return
to your old crap! “Therefore if any person is
[ingrafted] in Christ (the Messiah) he is a new creation (a new creature
altogether); the old [previous moral and spiritual condition] has passed away.
Behold, the fresh and new has come!” (2 Corinthians 5:17 AMP); “We were buried
therefore with Him by the baptism into death, so that just as Christ was raised
from the dead by the glorious [power] of the Father, so we too might
[habitually] live and behave in newness of life.” (Romans 6:4 AMP); “Bring
forth fruit that is consistent with repentance [let your lives prove your
change of heart.” (Matthew 3:8 AMP). Church, we’ve talked about changing and
turning long enough, now is the time to do it! “So
any person who knows what is right to do but does not do it, to him it is sin.”
(James 4:17 AMP); “But be doers of the Word [obey the message], and not merely
listeners to it, betraying yourselves [into deception by reasoning contrary to
the Truth].” (James 1:22 AMP). In a
nutshell: Today is your day to make a Turn for the
better!
And after all of that what happens
next? Well, the Bible says: “THEN”!
“…THEN will I
hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land!”
I love the word “Then” because it’s
defined as “After This or After That“!
So after WE, THE CHURCH, fulfill the
pre-conditions of God……“THEN” Happens!
People of God the turn around this
country needs, is dependent on if and when we make the decision to turn back to
God first ourselves as His Church! The change doesn’t happen when unbelievers turn to God, but GOD said, “IF MY PEOPLE…CALLED BY MY NAME.” Birthing a
significant, effective, change for the better has always begun with GOD’S PEOPLE. “When the
Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.
And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and
it filled the whole house where they were sitting. THEN there appeared to them
divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. And they were all
filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the
Spirit gave them utterance.” (Acts 2:1-4 NKJV) And things
were NEVER the same for the church or for the world again!
Listen: If there is going to be a National turn
around, it has to begin with “MY PEOPLE…CALLED BY
MY NAME.”
And when you look at the 3-fold
blessing that God will bestow it makes you wonder, Church, what are we waiting for?!
- “…THEN will I HEAR from heaven…”;
- “…and will FORGIVE their sin…”;
- “… and will HEAL their land!”
All we have to do, as God’s people,
called by His name, is to obey the Set Requirements:
- Humble Ourselves;
- Pray;
- Seek His Face; and
- Turn From Our Wicked Ways…
THEN…AFTER THAT…God Promises
to Hear From Heaven; Forgive Sin and Heal the Land! I reiterate, CHURCH,
what are we waiting for?
A Few other translations of the text read
like this:
“If My people, who are
called by My name, shall humble themselves, pray, seek, crave, and require of
necessity My face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from
heaven, forgive their sin, and heal their land.” (AMP);
“if My people who are called
by My name put away their pride and pray, and look for My face, and turn from
their sinful ways, then I will hear from heaven. I will forgive their sin, and
will heal their land.” (NLV);
“Then if my people who are
called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn
from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and
restore their land.” (NLT).
But I think the one I love most is this
version: “If my own people will humbly pray and turn
back to me and stop sinning, then I will answer them from heaven. I will
forgive them and make their land fertile once again.” (CEV).
It amazes me that we often think of the
“The World” and “Unbelievers”
as the problem to why there’s sin, no forgiveness and no healing. But GOD says,
“…IF MY OWN PEOPLE…TURN BACK TO ME AND STOP SINNING…”
CHURCH, HE’S TALKING TO US!
THE WORLD AND UNBELIEVERS ARE NOT THE PROBLEM, WE ARE! IF WE DARE TO GET BACK
TO GOD AND THE WAYS OF GODLINESS, AND STOP ABUSING GRACE WHILE WE CONTINUE TO
SIN, GOD WILL HEAR, FORGIVE AND HEAL! AND THE ONLY THING HOLDING UP THE PROCESS
IS THE CHURCH! WE ARE HIS PEOPLE, WE ARE HIS CHILDREN, WE HAVE THE
RESPONSIBILITY FOR BEING SALT AND LIGHT!
“You are the SALT of the
earth, but if salt has lost its taste (its strength, its quality), how can its
saltiness be restored? It is not good for anything any longer but to be thrown
out and trodden underfoot by men. You are the LIGHT of the world. A city set on
a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do men light a lamp and put it under a peck
measure, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house. Let your
light so shine before men that they may see your moral excellence and your
praiseworthy, noble, and good deeds and recognize and honor and praise and
glorify your Father Who is in heaven.” (Matthew 5:13-16 AMP).
We Have to Start Impacting
the World, Instead of Letting the World Impart Into Us! Remember: Their Change
Depends On Our Change! So Let’s Determine Today to Change and Get Back to Being
a Nation of God’s People, Who PRAY! Why? Because…the Bible concludes this after Solomon's prayer:
“God appeared to Solomon
that very night and said, “I ACCEPT YOUR PRAYER; yes, I have chosen this place
as a temple for sacrifice, a house of worship. If I ever shut off the supply of
rain from the skies or order the locusts to eat the crops or send a plague on
my people, and my people, my God-defined people, respond by humbling
themselves, PRAYING, seeking my presence, and turning their backs on their
wicked lives, I’ll be there ready for you: I’ll listen from heaven, forgive
their sins, and restore their land to health. From now on I’m alert day and
night to the PRAYERS offered at this place. Believe me, I’ve chosen and
sanctified this Temple that you have built: My Name is stamped on it forever;
my eyes are on it and my heart in it always. As for you, if you live in my
presence as your father David lived, pure in heart and action, living the life
I’ve set out for you, attentively obedient to my guidance and judgments, then
I’ll back your kingly rule over Israel—make it a sure thing on a sure
foundation. The same covenant guarantee I gave to David your father I’m giving
to you, namely, ‘You can count on always having a descendant on Israel’s
throne.’” (7:12-18 MSG)
Isn’t it Absolutely Amazing
the Things God Will Do, If Only His People Would PRAY?
Much Love, Dr.Shermaine #InformativeRead #PleaseShare #HealthyBodySoulAndSpirit
"It's Not Selfish to Love Yourself, Take Care of Yourself and to Make Your Happiness a Priority. It's a Necessity." (Mandy Hale)
"Self-Care is Not Selfish. You Cannot Serve From an Empty Vessel." (Eleanor Brown)
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