TITLE: THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO ‘IF’
SCRIPTURE: II CHRONICLES 7:14
Have you ever stopped long enough and taken inventory of the Divine ''Ifs'' that have permeated and prevailed in your life? Not a casual or surface stop, but a still moment where you took the necessary time and actually sat with yourself.
• The good self
• The not so good self
• The old self
• The new self
• The self that you desire to be
• The self that you are
Sometimes you need to sit with yourself in the alone moments and as painful or shameful as it may be, just think about the divine ifs in your life. The divine ifs are those places that you recognize -
• God had to - Circumvent what was going to happen or what should have happened
• God took - the potential of DESTRUCTION - EMBARRASSMENT - SHAME - out of the moment
When you think about the ifs, you borrow that line from Newton's Hymn --
• Through many dangers, toils, and snares, I have already come
• Yes, if it had not been for the Lord on our side
The GOSPEL ACCORDING TO ‘IF’ is the difference between –
• When I felt my self being pushed to a place that was not going to be pretty - but then I walked away or felt something pulling me back from an emotional melt down or explosion that I could have regretted for the rest of my life
• The Diagnosis – and the Prognosis
If…if….if… - what a small two letter word! Seems when we hear or see this small two letter word it has a condition attached.
• If you do this then I'll do that
• If only I had made another choice I would not be in this condition
• I really get a kick out of this one, if I could only win the lottery my life will change
• If only I would have listened better
• If ….
There are some big ‘Ifs’ found in the Bible. 1522 of them to be exact –
• I 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
• GALATIANS 5:25 -- “IF WE WALK IN THE LIGHT AS HE IS IN THE LIGHT WE HAVE FELLOWSHIP ONE WITH THE OTHER”
• ST. MATTHEW 9:21 -- “IF I MAY BUT TOUCH THE HEM OF HIS GARMENT I SHALL BE MADE WHOLE”
• ST. JOHN 12:32 -- “IF I BE LIFTED UP I WILL DRAW ALL MEN UNTO ME”
• COLOSSIANS 3:1 - “ IF YE BE RISEN WITH CHRIST, SPEAK THOSE THINGS WHICH ARE ABOVE”
• These are some big ‘IFS’ - so much depends upon them
But the biggest ‘if’ in the entire Bible is to be found in II Chronicles 7:14. “IF’ is the greatest barricade in the whole Bible.
• God says - “If you will - then I will”
• Revival will come when people Humble themselves and Pray
• Forgiveness comes when people Humble themselves and Pray
• Healing comes when people Humble themselves and Pray
• Speaking to His chosen, God says -- IF MY PEOPLE WHICH ARE CALLED BY MY NAME
God’s people are called by His name. If you were in England and asked to serve as a representative of Britain’s Government you must be careful how you live because her majesty the Queen’s reputation is involved.
• It is an insult to the crown to place a postage stamp bearing a likeness of the Queen in an inverted position on the letter
• You must live above reproach because you represent Her Majesty the Queen
• Here, in our text, and throughout the Bible - God’s reputation is involved
• DAVID in PSALMS 23:3 said “He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for His name sake”
• That’ refers to God’s reputation
• This text is addressed to God’s people and not to sinners
• The tragedy is sometimes we cannot tell them apart
• We are God’s reputation
God’s representatives are a chosen people, called to be a holy people, but Christ will not be glorified unless His people glorify Him by a life lived for Him.
• Israel forgot God and became proud and un-God-like
• They forgot whose they were
• So God said -- IF MY PEOPLE WHICH ARE CALLED BY MY NAME
Yes, my brothers and sisters -- THE GOSEPEL ACCORDING TO ‘IF’ – We as God’s people focus too much on the “If” instead of the challenge to live according to God’s standards -
• If only I could find my soulmate to marry
• If only my spouse felt like
• If only I could find that friend who really understands and accepts me for who I am
• If only I could pursue the career I really want
• If only my church were more like
• If only I weren’t so
• If only I lived on the other
• If only I had
• If only my family
• If only this or that hadn’t happened to me
It is always easier to say, "If Only..." and of course it can be very egotistical; it really is often a statement of vanity and excuses! God's Word teaches us we are responsible for what we do and don't do, not just what we say we will do or won't do. If you say, "If Only..." then be prepared to do what you say, God will hold you to it!
In our text, if God’s people would do three things, God would respond in three ways. The Lord’s people needed to become –
• HUMBLE - that is, confess
• PRAY – which leads to repentance
• TURN – come back to Him
• If they did -- God would do three things in return
o Hear
o Forgive
o Heal
The sad reality my brothers is sisters is the fact there is nothing in the universe that holds us back - nothing that enslaves us - nothing that keeps us from grasping the new thing God is offering more than sentences that begin with that little word “If.” If is the tip of the sword. What comes next is what cuts us to the heart.
• If I could control my drinking
• If I could find a better job or any job
• If I could find a place to live
• If the surgery had gotten all of the cancer
• If I could figure out how to talk to my children
• If my children would talk to me
• If I had someone, anyone who wanted to be with me
• If
We are challenged to be God’s peculiar people. Peculiar people have obligations to fulfill. Jesus said –
• Ye are the salt of the earth --- If you lose your saltiness you lose your worthiness
• Ye are the light of the world
• Let your light so shine that God may be glorified by your light
• If your light has gone out how great is your darkness!
• God’s representatives are people called by His name
Some of our problem in our great nation even during COVID, is we are still prosperous. This has clouded our view of an Almighty God. The Lord said ‘IF WE HUMBLE OURSELVES’ - Humility is the turning of the whole heart, the whole soul to God. There is not a spot on Earth, be it ever so remote, from which the heart cannot turn to God. The Poor - Crushed - Broken - Repentant Heart can go directly to God in prayer.
• God doesn’t hear the Proud
o Reminded of a story that took place - In a great art palace in COPENHAGEN, DENMARK, a scrub woman was washing and scrubbing the floor before a beautiful statue of Christ
o A visitor standing before the statue said, “I don’t see much beauty in that statue, I’m not as impressed with it as I expected to be”
o The old lady scrubbing the floors looked up at him and said, “Get down on your knees, and look at it!”
o How long has it been since you have beheld Christ from your knees?
How long has it been since you have sought His face to pray? Did you seek God’s approval? The oldest prayer in the Bible says in NUMBERS 6:25 “THE LORD MAKE HIS FACE SHINE UPON THEE, AND BE GRACIOUS UNTO THEE.”
• God’s face meant approval to the people of old
• It’s worth everything to have God’s smile
• It’s worth being ostracized and persecuted
• We won’t get into God’s heaven without His approval
The people of Israel believed God’s blessing upon them influenced their lives and the destiny of their nation. The people believed what happened to them was dependent on the Will of God.
• The word “blessing” appears almost 400 times in the Hebrew Bible
• 87 times God is the one who blesses people
• Thus, the concept of blessing and curse played a major factor on the faith of Israel
• In other words, God’s blessings upon us is directly connected to THE GOSEPEL ACCORDING TO ‘IF’
We have to be honest and ask ourselves today, do you really want God’s blessings? We must have a strong conviction and confidence that only when the Lord’s face shines upon us will we see Restoration coming from God. God has promised Blessing - Protection - Favor - Mercy - Peace and many other things!
• We Do not have to live without hope or in a state of frustration at the situation that we may be living
• We must get rid of the “If’s” we are holding onto in our lives that God’s favor may find us and rest upon us
There is something else we must also do. We must turn from our pride -
• Pride of Race
• Pride of Position
• Pride of Culture
• God hates Pride
• Pride of Self-Sufficiency
• Pride of False Values
Remember those that followed Christ for the loaves and fishes eventually went back and walked no more with Him. Jesus didn’t care to build up a big following from that group. Our work is to win souls and not to go back with the crowd. We must go on with Christ, glorify Christ, and not ourselves. In order to do this, we must wrestle with the “Ifs” that are holding us back and keeping us in our comfort zones.
If we can ever get to the point where we have HUMBLED OURSELVES AND PRAYED. The Lord said –
• When you have sought my face
• When you have met the conditions
• Not our conditions but the Lord’s conditions
• Only then, I will hear and forgive your sins and I will heal your lands
Let me make sure we fully understand this point. God is not necessarily talking about our Nation or Country –
• Your land may be your own soul this morning - God will forgive you if you will come down before Him
• Your land may be your home - God will heal the breach between you and your loved ones if you will humble yourselves
• Your land may be your church - Meet God’s conditions
• It won’t take God very long to act when we are in earnest
Yes my brothers and sisters, the word ‘IF’ is interesting. it is undoubtedly one of the most important words in the Bible because it speaks directly to our responsibility to God.
• Most promises in the Bible have conditions and the word ‘IF’ speaks to those conditions
• Our responses to God’s commands affect our relationship with Him and determine our receiving from Him
Jesus used the word ‘if’ all the time. Almost half of the 574 occurrences in the NT are in the four Gospels.
• Jesus always put the ‘if’ on man’s side and never on God’s side
• ‘If’ highlights the responsibility that we have to respond correctly to God’s invitations
As I move closer to a close this morning, let me switch gears here and tell you that ‘IF’ is not always a bad situation. Let me leave you on a Positive note, because “IF” has some strengths as well. Often God has to get us into an “iffy” situation so that we learn to pray.
• Life is full of IF!
• Life is centered on IF
• Life is surrounded by IF!
• Matter of fact, you can’t even spell, “LIFE” without “IF!”
• “IF” is an intricate and indispensable part of life
You cannot live “Life” without “IF”!
• Yet “IF” gives life power!
• “IF” does not necessarily mean that we “doubt”
• It means that certain conditions come into consideration for the situation to become a reality
Let me prove this point through Scripture.
? The man with an incurable disease, leprosy, came to the end of his rope and to his only hope
? Any crowd around Jesus that day quickly moved out of the way of the man who Dr. Luke says was “full” of leprosy – ST. LUKE 5:12
? This man has no minor case!
? He has lived with the disease until it has overtaken his body
? When Jesus arrives, the leper does the only thing he can do - shouts “UNCLEAN!” to alert the crowd pressing in on Jesus to get out of his way and falling at the feet of Jesus says, “IF YOU ARE WILLING, YOU CAN MAKE ME CLEAN!”
o There is no presumption here
o No questioning
o The leper knows Jesus can heal!
? “IF” is not a matter of doubting whether Jesus can
? But is Jesus willing?
? Jesus’ responds to THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO IF
? Filled with compassion, Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man
? "I am willing," he said
? "Be Thou Clean!"
--Got any Rivers you think are un-crossable? – If My People
--Got any Mountains you can’t tunnel through? -- If My People
--Got any Problems you can’s see your way through -- If My People
--Got any Addictions that have you bound -- If My People
--Got any Burdens that are weighing you down -- If My People
--Got any Hang up that have you Hung Up -- If My People
--Got any Concerns you are tired of wrestling with -- If My People
--God specializes in things thought impossible, He can do just what no other can do
--We need to deal with the ‘Ifs’ that are hindering our Spiritual Growth
--We need to deal with the “Ifs’ that are keeping God at a distance
--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
--That is – THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO ‘IF’
