If My People

2 Chronicles 7:14

[14] If my people, which are called by my name, shall 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.

I. The CONDITIONS – Israel under the chastening of God because of:

A. The SOCIAL conditions

1. Crime and violence ruled the land in that day. This is so familiar to us today. In our country today many people can’t go to the store or walk down the street without fearing for their lives. The news is filled with riots and other signs of the disintegration of of society. The cause of this is the people have rejected God and His Word. It is no longer taught in our schools, not even as a work of literature much less as the inspired message of the Creator to His creation. When the manual is thrown away the result can only be failure. We see the fruit of this in Genesis 6:5 And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.

2. Perversion – Genesis 1:27 [27] So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. Genesis 19:1-14 [1] And there came two angels to Sodom at even; and Lot sat in the gate of Sodom: and Lot seeing them rose up to meet them; and he bowed himself with his face toward the ground; [2] And he said, Behold now, my lords, turn in, I pray you, into your servant’s house, and tarry all night, and wash your feet, and ye shall rise up early, and go on your ways. And they said, Nay; but we will abide in the street all night. [3] And he pressed upon them greatly; and they turned in unto him, and entered into his house; and he made them a feast, and did bake unleavened bread, and they did eat. [4] But before they lay down, the men of the city, even the men of Sodom, compassed the house round, both old and young, all the people from every quarter: [5] And they called unto Lot, and said unto him, Where are the men which came in to thee this night? bring them out unto us, that we may know them. [6] And Lot went out at the door unto them, and shut the door after him, [7] And said, I pray you, brethren, do not so wickedly. [8] Behold now, I have two daughters which have not known man; let me, I pray you, bring them out unto you, and do ye to them as is good in your eyes: only unto these men do nothing; for therefore came they under the shadow of my roof. [9] And they said, Stand back. And they said again , This one fellow came in to sojourn, and he will needs be a judge: now will we deal worse with thee, than with them. And they pressed sore upon the man, even Lot, and came near to break the door. [10] But the men put forth their hand, and pulled Lot into the house to them, and shut to the door. [11] And they smote the men that were at the door of the house with blindness, both small and great: so that they wearied themselves to find the door. [12] And the men said unto Lot, Hast thou here any besides? son in law, and thy sons, and thy daughters, and whatsoever thou hast in the city, bring them out of this place: [13] For we will destroy this place, because the cry of them is waxen great before the face of the Lord ; and the Lord hath sent us to destroy it. [14] And Lot went out, and spake unto his sons in law, which married his daughters, and said, Up, get you out of this place; for the Lord will destroy this city. But he seemed as one that mocked unto his sons in law.

II. The CONGREGATION – the people of God. They must be:

A. SAVED – A requirement of service is life. A person without life cannot possibly understand what is needed or perform the duty. Scripture tells us 1 Corinthians 2:14 But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. Even many who profess to be saved are trying to serve God in the power of the flesh. Those who are filled with the Holy Spirit have an unlimited power at their disposal. We must recognize that the first prerequisite is life, spiritual life.

B. SANCTIFIED – The principle is clear you cannot serve two masters. Consider what the Lord said in Matthew 6:24 No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon. We read in James 1:8 A double minded man is unstable in all his ways. The meaning of ‘sanctify’ is to separate or dedicate. Effective service for God requires a total commitment to His work. While seeking support for missionary work I heard many refer to those who were on deputation or were already on their field of service as being ‘in full time service’. I submit that all Christians should be in full time service. You may have a job as a mechanic, a doctor or whatever. That does not mean that while you are at work that you cannot be serving God. If you have sought God’s will for your life, your job is part of your service to God. You must be serving Him on the job as much as the missionary on the field. Paul asks in Romans 10:15 And how shall they preach, except they be sent? … God provides the jobs for His people that through them He can supply the needs of His work. All of God’s people have a work to do and all should be separated unto that work.

C. SUBMITTED – If we are to be useful and successful in our labor for God. There are three conditions that must be met. One must do a good thing, it must be done with the right motive and it must be done the right way. What makes it difficult for us is that we are confused by our physical sight. It can overpower our spiritual sight. Success in God’s work is not measured in dollars or numbers but in faithfulness. Obedience or submission to God’s leading is what He wants from us. Think about 1 Corinthians 4:2 Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful. God desires results but that is His work, ours is to be submitted to Him. John 15:5 I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.

III. The COMMAND

A. HUMBLE themselves – that is to recognize and admit:

1. What we are (in ourselves)

a) Wicked – David cries out about this truth in Psalm 51:5 Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me. He is not saying that his conception was the result of a sinful act of his mother, but that he, like all, was born with the sinful nature inherited from Adam. God makes it plain that all are sinners and only by the redemption found in Christ can we be make holy.

b) Weak – Even those that are born-again struggle with the flesh. I often praise God for Romans chapter 7. Paul gives eloquent testimony of the weakness that besets us all. Romans 7:24-25 [24] O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death? [25] I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin. I look forward to the time when I will not have to struggle with weakness that the flesh inflicts on me!

c) Worthy of Hell – Pride is a sneaky foe. It silently moves in and grows without notice until one thinks of himself more highly than he should. We must always remember that in ourselves we are worthy of Hell. When God gives victory over some sin in our lives or gives some visible result of the work it is easily to think that we have done something. For many years I worked as a mechanic. I have often said how foolish it would be for my tools to jump up in the toolbox proclaiming that they had done a great job after the engine was repaired. They were used it was the mechanic that did the work. In the same way, if anything is done in the work of God, it is God that merely uses us to accomplish His will. Remember that all good is from God. Romans 7:18 For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.

2. What our sins have done – insult and disgust God. Psalm 51:4 Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest. Our sin is an insult to God’s holiness. Repentance involves recognition that we have offended God. It is not just to see the penalty and justice of God, but to have sorrow that we have done this against Him who has loved us and is worthy of our love. John 14:15 If ye love me, keep my commandments. True love seeks the best for the object of one’s love. If we love Jesus we will seek His glory by obeying His Word and refusing to insult His holiness by sin.

B. HEED God’s Word and change our ways – this implies:

1. Repentance – The Bible tells us the difference between true repentance and regret for suffering the consequences of our sins. We see this in 2 Corinthians 7:10 For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death. True repentance implies a confession of sin and a determination to forsake the sin. It is a change of mind which brings us into agreement with God about ourselves and our sin. We see ourselves in the mirror of God’s word and see our sin as it truly is exceedingly sinful. Job had this experience when he had passed through his great trial and he said Job 42:5-6 [5] I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye seeth thee. [6] Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes. May we do as Job and repent of our sin rather than try to justify it.

2. Restoration of a righteous life. True repentance will always result in a change in actions. The proof of the sincerity is a godly life. we teach a song to children in Sunday School that says 0 B E D I E N C E is the very best way to show that you believe. That kinda says it all.

C. CONFESS – Confession of sin must be made:

1. Early – It has often been said that we should keep ‘short accounts’ with God. As soon as we know that we have sinned we must confess it at that moment. To wait is to allow the sin to fester in our soul!

2. Earnestly – It seems the idea that one can confess sin while knowing that they will commit the same sin again is predominant in the church today. This is a false doctrine from the Devil. True confession must be with a realization of the sinfulness of sin and a determination to avoid that sin in the future.

3. Entirely – We need to be scrupulous in examining our hearts to make sure that we don’t allow our deceptive hearts to hide some sin that the flesh wants to hold in defiance of God’s will.

IV. The CAUSE – we are to obey for:

A. The GLORY of God 1 Corinthians 10:31 Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God. the purpose of man is to glorify his Creator. So many people today wonder about the meaning of life. The Bible tells us clearly, it is to ‘do all to the glory of God’.

B. The GOOD of man – the greatest good is to know Jesus as Saviour. It is a good thing to feed the hungry and do other works of charity, but to do those thing while withholding the truth of the Gospel is to do the minor good and neglect the most important good.

C. The APPROVAL of God – As someone once said when criticized for taking a stand based on the Bible, “that would really hurt my feelings if I thought your opinion really mattered.” In the final analysis the only opinion that matters is the Lord’s. It should be our aim to please the Lord. We should follow the example of Jesus. John 8:29 And he that sent me is with me: the Father hath not left me alone; for I do always those things that please him.

V. The COVENANT – In our text we see that God will:

A. HEAR – His ear is always open to the prayer of repentance

B. HAVE mercy – Without his mercy we would have no hope at all.

C. HEAL

1. The Penitent one 1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. This is a promise of restoration of the relationship with our Creator and Saviour or we might say our spiritual health.

2. Our Land – If the born again blood washed believers will repent and return to the Lord then we have the promise of God for healing of our country. There is no other hope.

Brother Mike Scott

Pastor, Faith Baptist Church