The Formula That Works
2 Chronicles 7:12-14
The Bible contains the Wisdom of the Ages applied to the most fundamental problems of humanity. The great and all encompassing mind of God has been poured through holy men to provide us with answers to life’s greatest questions. The gathering of Heaven’s knowledge applied to human circumstances is found in the Holy Book. It provides the answers, it provides the knowledge, it provides the formula. And if the Book declares it, than it will work.
The answer for the question of salvation is found here…and the formula will work. “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.” This will work! Since the Day of Pentecost this has been guaranteed, and until Jesus comes it will continue to be guaranteed…
The answer for healthy family relationships is found here…and the formula will work. Husbands love your wives as Christ loved the church. Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands as unto the Lord. Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. Fathers, provoke not your children to wrath but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. And the formula will work.
The Bible has the answer for human relations…how to show honour and respect…how to be a good citizen…how to treat others…how to serve and be kind. It’s all in here…and it all works.
The Bible has the plan for financial soundness. It talks about faithful stewardship, provides rules for borrowing and repayment, and even sound business practices for the godly business person. And the formula will work.
The plans are there. They’ve been laid down by the greatest of all minds. They’ve been practiced in other places and other times. And they’ve always worked. Wherever the wisdom of God has been met with human faith, the results have been astounding. God provides His best. All we must add is faith to act on the formula.
But the formula I’m most concerned about tonight is the formula for revival. I want to know the wisdom of the ages for the church in our time and place. I want to know what God tells us is sound instruction to take us into everything He has for us. I’m tired of methods that produce more frustration and apathy than they do power and glory. If there is wisdom for salvation…if there is wisdom for families…if there is wisdom for human relations…if there is wisdom for financial blessing…then surely, surely, surely as God is in His heaven, there must be wisdom for revival. There must be some way that we can be transformed completely into everything we have been born to be.
There is. It’s so familiar, so old, that we can quote it without thought. It’s been written, sung, studied, preached, bumper stickered, overlapped with flags, yet truly unappreciated….because to be appreciated, it must be applied.
It’s found in 2 Chronicles 7:14. This is the wisdom of eternity for revival in the here and now. “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.”
Solomon and the people of Israel have just experienced the most phenomenal move of God that Israel had ever seen. So gladdened was God by His house, so moved was He by the prayers and praises, that He filled the house like a smoke. So thick was the glory of God that the priests could not stand up to complete their tasks in the worship service. So Solomon prayed; ‘God if we ever lose this, how do we get it back again?’ Solomon asked the question, and God provided the answer.
“If I shut up heaven that there be no rain, or if I command the locust to devour the land, or if I send pestilence among My people; 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.”
And the formula still works. Even in our day, thousands of years from the time that God spoke to Solomon, 2 Chronicles 7:14 still provides the Bible answer to the question of how to experience revival. The instructions are simple; anyone can understand them and apply them. All we must bring to the mix is the faith to act on the formula.
1. “If My People” -A Sense of Identity
A prerequisite for any revival among the people of God is the sense that they are the people of God. Revival does not begin among those who are unsure of what they are part of or where they want to be. Revival people are those who are possessed of a strong sense of identity. You know who you are…you are identified with the people of God. You have chosen it, and are glad of your choice. There is no revival for those who are ashamed of what they are. Revival begins among those who are confident in their choice; “I am a child of God, and I have no desire to be anything else.”
2. “Will Humble Themselves”- A Sense of Humility
The second sense that those who will experience revival must have is a sense of humility.
You can recognize how spiritually awkward your position is, and confess it. Not with a namby-pamby, confession that is no confession, that says, “I know I’m not what I need to be.” Of course you’re not what you need to be! Who is? That’s not confession…that’s a cop out.
Humility says, “My God, I need revival! It’s not the preacher or the deacon, but it’s me, Oh Lord, standing in the need of prayer! It’s not my brother or my sister, but it’s me, Oh Lord, standing in the need of prayer! It’s not my father or my mother, but it’s me, Oh Lord, standing in the need of prayer! I must have a renewal of God’s Spirit and power in me. I am miserable. I have failed and am failing. I am stubborn and resistant, rebellious and stiff-necked. The good thing God birthed in me is dead or dying. I have neglected the gift that is in me. I have walked in my own ways. I need revival.”
3. “…And Pray” –A Return To Prayer
Revival comes to those who return to prayer.
The entire Jewish ritual was centered on the temple. Sacrifice could be offered nowhere but the temple. The Shekihah only appeared in the Temple. Atonement was made in the Temple. Out of the vast body of the Israelite practice of worship, one thing stands out as being available to anyone, anytime, anywhere…and that one thing is prayer.
Prayer was the Israelite’s personal connection to the Eternal God. Only the priests could sacrifice, but every man could pray. Only the prophets worked miracles, but everyman could pray. Some could do this and some could do that. Some offered a bullock when others brought a ram…but all could lead their family to the door of their tent and pray. For there to be a revival, all had to pray. It is amazing to notice that God did not call for a return to sacrifice or a return to worship- He called for a return to prayer.
Now as then, prayer is the great leveler. When you are gifted with nothing else, you can pray. When talent is your middle name and the world is your oyster, you must pray. All are called to it and all are capable of it. While we all are different people with differing abilities, the one common act that all may participate in is prayer.
Rich and poor kneel together…educated and illiterate call aloud to the same God. The mighty and the weak submit themselves to the same Lord. Male, female, bond or free, Jew or Gentile, Greek or barbarian; prayer grants us all common access to the great Eternal Spirit. Prayer is the one thing that all can do. Prayer is the one that that all can do together. All may not sing- all may not teach- all may not preach- all can pray…indeed, all must pray.
Your voice may crackle like a crow’s on a hot summer day. Your personality may be as winning as the three billy-goats gruff. But when you come together with us and unite your prayers with ours, glorious things happen. When the ordinary believer joins in the prayers of the saints with common cause, extraordinary power is released. You may pray alone, oh yes, but there is grandeur in the gathering of saints to pray, and it shakes both heaven and hell.
They continued with one accord in prayer and supplication…and suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a mighty, rushing wind…and when they had prayed, the place was shaken…and at midnight Paul and Silas prayed and sang praises unto God…and suddenly there was a great earthquake.
Prayer made for a common cause, prayer made by united people- this is the most fundamental action any group of believers can take. This is the first active prerequisite for revival after having a willing mind. We must pray- together. “I pray at home. I pray by myself.” Wonderful, I’m glad. But God won’t move on this church because you pray by yourself. God will move on us as we make common prayer together. You must understand the importance of joining with the Body- and you must understand it enough to order your priorities to reflect it. “If my people- collectively, the group, the nation. The Scriptural testimony to the importance of collective prayer cannot be denied. We must embrace this thing that we all can do.
United prayer, collective prayer, is such a vital principal in revival that I can say without hesitation that the church that will not pray together will not have revival. We may worship and we may sacrifice- we may praise and we may give- but revival is wrought in heaven and poured upon the earth as a result of the church’s prayers.
There must be a return to prayer.
4. “And Seek My Face”- Reordering Priorities/Re-evaluating Direction
Seeking God’s face is Bible speak for searching for God. It means that the desire to know God and to please God is all in all. It means that instead of merely saying Jesus is first, you actually make Him first. In your dreams and plans, Jesus first. In your family and friendships, Jesus first. In your career and in your life, Jesus first. In your priorities and possessions, Jesus first. In your activities and engagements, Jesus first.
Far too much is allowed to stand between us and Him. Some of it sneaks in unaware, but much of it is placed there by the choices we make. But for the church that will have revival the formula is clear; Jesus first. “Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness…”
Too difficult? Too intimidating? Don’t think that it’s really all that necessary? Just ask yourself how much you think God will do for a people whose motto is, “Jesus second.” We must reorder our priorities until Jesus is first.
Seeking God’s face speaks of placing ourselves in the direction that He is looking, of lining ourselves up with the purposes and plan of God. What is God’s desire? What is God’s heartbeat? What is God’s declared purpose for the Body? All of the effort of the church must be placed into the things that are the direction of God. The activities and efforts of the church must be directed with the interests of God in mind. Your expectations, my expectations, the community’s expectations cannot serve as the guide to the church’s action. The church must act according to the expectations of God. We must align all that we do to serve His purpose and fulfill His design. “For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory…”
In all we do, may all be for Jesus. All for Jesus! Our music and singing- all for Jesus! Our fellowship and fun- all for Jesus! Our Sunday School and outreach efforts- all for Jesus! In our gatherings and services- all for Jesus! Nothing for ourselves- nothing for our own satisfaction- nothing to fulfill our personal expectations- but all for Jesus!
5. “Turn From Wickedness”- Heartfelt and Practical Repentance
Have you ever wondered why sacrifice wasn’t mentioned in this verse? It was possible to offer sacrifices and not be repentant. But sacrifices without repentance were useless sacrifices. Repentance meant then just what it means now, and 2 Chronicles 7:14 provides a great definition: turn from your wicked ways.
This implies first of all that there is in you the recognition of wickedness, that there is some action you are taking, some attitude you are harboring, that is offensive to God’s holy nature.
This speaks second of all of the abandonment of that displeasing thing, forsaking the sin.
This speaks thirdly of the nature of the thing God calls us to forsake- wickedness. It’s a word that’s not used much anymore, except to describe the delight that some take in their sin. But it means simply, “evil,” and refers specifically to things that offend God’s sense of morality. What qualifies wickedness to God is not what offends you…it’s what offends Him. What makes something sinful is not your sense of conviction, its God’s sense of outrage. What God finds offensive is disobedience to His plainly decreed commands. Revival requires repentance in its most active form. Instead of the question, “Can I do this and get by?” the question should be, “Does this please God?”
Closing:
The formula is simple, plain, and effective. The formula is guaranteed. It’s worked many times before in many different places. The entire mind of God bent to the answer of Solomon’s question, and the Wisdom of the Ages revealed itself in this plan-
“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…THEN! THEN! If my people will put my formula into practice then things will happen! If my people will follow the simple prescription that I have laid down, then I will work on their behalf! If they will, I will. Once they have made themselves available to me, then I will move in a mighty way!
The promised results are made clear; “If my people which are called by my name shall humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways,
1. Then Will I hear From Heaven
It’s almost as if God had stopped listening, or as if He was listening only for a particular thing; the united cry of His people in repentance for restoration. It means to ‘listen intelligently’, to pay particular attention, to hear with the intent of taking action…when we have put ourselves in the position of humility, prayerfully seeking His face with repentant hearts, God prepares to take action.
2. Then I Will Forgive Their Sin
The first action God takes is to provide forgiveness. If we have rebelled against His ways and repent, He will forgive. If we have walked in our own ways, He will forgive.
3. Then I Will Heal
What has been torn, He will mend. What is sore, He will soothe with balm. What is no longer functioning, He will repair. What is sick, He will heal. What is defective, He will make whole. It speaks of restoration, of strengthening, of refreshing.
When we follow the formula, He will hear, He will forgive, and He will heal. God has provided all that Heaven can afford. All you have to bring to the mix is the faith to act on God’s Word. This is the formula, and the formula will work!
