If My People . . .
Griffith Baptist Church – 7/6/08
A.M. Service
Text: 2nd Chronicles 7:12-16
Key verse: 2 Chronicles 7:14 - 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.
The Introduction
1. It is true that verse 14 is specifically talking about the nation of Israel
2. It is equally true that Christians are God’s people as well
a. (to the strangers in Asia [1:1] - 1 Peter 2:9 - But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should show forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light:
b. The church is spoken of here - 2 Corinthians 6:16 – And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
3. There can be no lasting national reform that returns a nation to God without the church getting serious about the work it is called to do.
a. Without spiritual strength there will never be any national strength.
b. We can say all we want that we are concerned for our country, but if we don’t get serious about the work of the church first, our country will never be what we know it needs to be – Proverbs 14:34 - Righteousness exalteth a nation: but sin is a reproach to any people.
4. Our nation is in trouble:
a. Abortion
i. Nearly half of pregnancies among American women are unintended, and four in 10 of these are terminated by abortion. Twenty-two percent of all pregnancies (excluding miscarriages) end in abortion.
ii. In 2005, 1.21 million abortions were performed, down from 1.31 million in 2000. From 1973 through 2005, more than 45 million legal abortions occurred.
iii. At least half of American women will experience an unintended pregnancy by age 45, and, at current rates, about one-third will have had an abortion. (The Guttmacher Institute - http://www.guttmacher.org/pubs/fb_induced_abortion.html)
b. Pornography
i. As of 2003, there were 1.3 million pornographic websites; 260 million pages (N2H2, 2003).
ii. The total porn industry revenue for 2006: $13.3 billion in the United States; $97 billion worldwide (Internet Filter Review).
iii. Adults admitting to Internet sexual addiction: 10%; 28% of those are women (internet-filter-review.com).
iv. More than 20,000 images of child pornography posted online every week (National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, 10/8/03).
v. "At a 2003 meeting of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, two thirds of the 350 divorce lawyers who attended said the Internet played a significant role in the divorces in the past year, with excessive interest in online porn contributing to more than half such cases. Pornography had an almost non-existent role in divorce just seven or eight years ago." (Divorcewizards.com)
vi. 47% percent of families said pornography is a problem in their home (Focus on the Family Poll, October 1, 2003).
vii. 9 out of 10 children aged between the ages of 8 and 16 have viewed pornography on the Internet, in most cases unintentionally (London School of Economics January 2002).
viii. Average age of first Internet exposure to pornography: 11 years old (internet-filter-review.com).
ix. Largest consumer of Internet pornography: 12 - 17 year-old age group (various sources, as of 2007).
x. Adult industry says traffic is 20-30% children (NRC Report 2002, 3.3).
xi. Youth with significant exposure to sexuality in the media were shown to be significantly more likely to have had intercourse at ages 14 to 16 (Report in Pediatrics, April, 2006).
xii. "Never before in the history of telecommunications media in the United States has so much indecent (and obscene) material been so easily accessible by so many minors in so many American homes with so few restrictions."
- U.S. Department of Justice, Post Hearing Memorandum of Points and Authorities, at l, ACLU v. Reno, 929 F. Supp. 824 (1996).
c. Illegal Drugs
i. Percentage of teenagers who used any illegal drug – 8th gr. 14:8%; 10th gr. 28.7%; 12th gr. 36.5%.
ii. Percentage of teenagers who reported using marijuana – 8th- 11.7%; 10th- 25.2%; 12th-31.5% .
iii. Percentage of teenagers who say using marijuana occasionally poses a "great risk," – 8th- 48.9%: 10th- 35.6%; 12th- 25.9%.
d. The list goes on and on:
i. Alcoholism
ii. Dysfunctional families
iii. Teen suicide on the rise
iv. Greed and vice
5. Is it any wonder:
a. There is a rise in natural disasters
b. There is a frequency in economic crises
c. There is a heartbreak in almost every family
6. We have walked away from God as a nation and the church has gotten comfortable in the freedom we have as Americans.
7. The church has been merged into society instead of being distinct.
8. We can’t forget the warning given in Psalms 9:17 – The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God.
Transition Statement: The greatest institution in and for this nation is not the white house but the church house. The strength of a nation is found in strong families and strong churches. Three vital keys are needed if this country is to be influenced for Jesus Christ and turned around.
Body
1. My People Must Pray (12a, 15)
A. The church needs to be a place of prayer - Matthew 21:13 - And said unto them, It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves.
B. We can pray for national revival, but if the church does not get fired up for God, the nation will not.
C. Prayer is the vital link to God and God’s church needs to make prayer a priority.
D. George Washington said, "It is the duty of all Nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey his will, to be grateful for his benefits, and humbly to implore his protection and favors."
Transition Statement: Not only do we need to be people of prayer but we also need to be people of sacrifice
2. My People Must Sacrifice (12b)
A. Sacrifice is lost in our churches today
B. Rarely do we go over and above or think of the church much anymore
C. We are more concerned with:
i. Our careers
ii. Our lifestyles
iii. Our comforts
iv. We are not enamored with church anymore. It is drudgery to get up, get dressed, drive over and do what we do.
v. If you are bored with church, don’t blame the church. Maybe the rest of your life is so jaded by entertainment and success that church seems trivial.
D. Romans 12:1 – I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
i. God calls sacrifice reasonable. We say:
a. God, I don’t have time for your church today, I have a game on TV I just have to watch.
b. God, I have such a busy schedule and need to fit you in at another time
c. God, you know if I don’t work all that I can I won’t be able to afford my lifestyle
d. God, all I can do is give you a couple of dollars now, but I’ll make it up later
e. God, I know I need to serve you, but where can I fit that in with my personal life and busy schedule
f. God, please send missionaries to witness, because just don’t have the time.
g. And the world keeps turning and our nation keeps spinning into hell.
E. 1 Peter 2:5 - Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.
i. Spiritual sacrifices are time, talent and treasure
ii. We are a spiritual house
iii. We are supposed to be lively (to have true life and worthy of the name).
F. Question: Is it easier to turn a blind eye and pretend nothing is happening or wake up and do something about it?
Transition Statement: We must a people of prayer, sacrifice and last but not least, a people of righteousness
3. My People Must Be Righteous (14)
A. Look at the state of a godly people:
i. Humble
ii. Praying
iii. Seeking God
iv. Repentant of sin
B. To be righteous is to:
i. Live God’s way
ii. To have a fervent love for God and His Word
iii. To have a concern for others that moves us to action
iv.
C. Many Scriptures point to righteousness:
i. It is spiritual life giving - Proverbs 10:16 - The labor of the righteous tendeth to life: the fruit of the wicked to sin.
ii. It is wise counsel - Proverbs 10:21 – The lips of the righteous feed many: but fools die for want of wisdom.
iii. It gives a sure foundation - Proverbs 10:25 – As the whirlwind passeth, so is the wicked no more: but the righteous is an everlasting foundation.
iv. It is the greatest priority of life - Matthew 6:33 – But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
D. When God’s people view righteousness as a secondary issue, they cease to be an influence on their nation.
E. The sad part is:
i. Preachers can preach till their blue in the face, but falls on deaf ears
ii. The people in most churches today get upset when the preacher tells them something that would interfere in their lives outside the church:
a. Preacher, it’s your job to pray and witness
b. Preacher, you just don’t understand how busy I am
c. Preacher, your old fashioned and out of style
d. Nehemiah 9:30 - Yet many years didst thou forbear them, and testifiedst against them by thy spirit in thy prophets: yet would they not give ear:
F. Look back at the verse and see what God does when His people behave righteously:
i. He will hear their genuine prayers
ii. He will forgive their sins
iii. He will heal their land
Concluding Statement: Why is America mired in such filth and headed further downhill? We cannot point fingers at the government; God never intended for the government to change the people from the inside out but only to legislate and enforce righteousness from the outside so there is order and decency. God designed the church to give the life changing message of Jesus Christ to a lost and dying world. Can one church make a difference? One person can make a difference. It only takes one spark to set a forest on fire, how much more a nation?
Conclusion:
How much of your life do you spend dedicated to the things of God?
I am not talking about full-time service but in your own personal life.
God’s concerns and His will.
