“The Big If”
2nd Chronicles 7:11-16
Tomorrow we will celebrate the 246th anniversary of our great country. On July 4, 1776 we cut our ties with Great Britain and became an independent nation. 13 years later we selected our first president George Washington and we began to shape a nation founded on Christian principles. Great men like George Washington, John Jay our first chief justice, John Adams, Patrick Henry and later Ben Franklin were all known as men of God. America was by far a Christian nation; not perfect, but believers were placed in office to lead our nation. And that is God’s way. The selection of godly men and women to lead our country has always been God’s desire.
As we turn to the Bible, many men and women chose to take a stand for God; in many cases a stand that could cost them their life.
• Daniel refused to bow down to the authorities and stated clearly he would never bow down to anyone other than His Lord. Knowing he could cost him his life.
• Moses went to Pharaoh to demand the freedom of the Hebrew people.
• In the gospels we find the amazing story of a woman; no name given, we just know she was a widow and had very little authority in any matter. But she had one thing on her side, persistence! We don’t see a miracle — we just see a woman who just won’t give up. The judge finally says, “Even though I don’t fear God or care about men, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won’t eventually come and attack me!” (Luke 18:4-5) The judge appears to be afraid of this woman.
World history is filled with men and women who have stood for Christ in difficult times and as a result our country has been blessed, especially when we choose to follow the biblical principles God has given to us. Now, fast forward to 2022. And ask the question, how far have we come? How are we doing as a nation? As a Christian nation, how far have we come? Nearly 3000 years ago the temple was dedicated. Scripture records that Solomon finished praying, fire flashed won from heaven, consumed the offering and the sacrifices and the presence of the Lord filled the temple. Because the presence of the Lord was so great, not even the priests were allowed to enter; instead God’s people fell to their faces and worshipped the Lord. God’s response to all of this is found in this passage----- 2nd Chronicles 7:11-16. Let’s turn our focus to verse 14. One of the most quoted verses in all of scripture. “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 heal their land.”
There are over 7000 promises we find in the word of God. Some are conditional. Some are unconditional. For instance, Jesus said, “I will never leave you or forsake you.” Paul said that “nothing can separate us from the love of God.” These are unconditional promises. In other words there is nothing we need to do to receive them. They are promises based on God’s love for his people. At the same time there are also conditional promises to be fulfilled and they require us to meet certain conditions. For instance, Jesus said, “if any man will hear my voice and will open the door, I will come in.” The requirement/condition is simple. Open the door. Listen. Jesus said “ask and it will be given to you.” What’s the condition? Ask.
And that is the case with this passage today. It all begins with the word if. You may have said before that a certain situation you are in is a bit ‘iffy.’ Meaning I might get the job, I might not. If I ask her to marry me, she may say yes, she may not. There’s a big “if.” And there is a big if in this passage as well, but if God’s people meet his conditions there will be a huge result; a huge blessing for all of us. So, let’s look at verse 14, phrase by phrase. “If God’s people who are called by my name.” God’s people were first called Christians in the book of Acts in the city of Antioch. Acts 11:26. We only see this word 3 times in scripture; mostly we are known as believers. ? It started in the first century and has continued to this day. For over 2000 years. But along the way, we also began to identify someone not only by what we believe but also by how we behave. In other words, there are things a Christian should do and there are things a Christian should not do. Our behavior matters. Here is the first thing God says we must do to fulfill this promise:
(1) God’s people must humble themselves. That word in the Hebrew is in your notes for today and means to bring down; to bend the knee. Men sometimes propose by getting down on one knee. It’s an act of humility. There are over 100 verses in scripture that refer to bending the knee in prayer. God doesn’t turn you away if you stand but when we pray I do believe this: Satan trembles when God’s people get on their knees and pray. Satan knows if he can keep us from prayer, he will achieve his purposes. And he knows that when God’s people go to their knees, God’s purposes will be achieved. Because when we go to our knees in --- it is an act of humility---we are saying, God do whatever you choose to do in my life and use me in whatever way you wish. I’m yours.
(2) God’s people must pray and seek his face. That’s a curious phrase to me when we say “seek His face.” A person’s face reveals a lot about someone. It tells us about their character. It tells us about their personality. During Thomas Jefferson’s presidency, he and a group of travelers were crossing a river that was flooded. Every man was on horseback fighting for their life. A traveler who had no horse stopped the president and asked him if he would take him across the river. The President said, ‘yes,’ the man climbed on and they made it safely to the other side of the river. When they got there, someone asked the traveler---of all the people you could have asked, why did you ask the President?? The traveler was shocked and he said, “I had no idea that was the President of the United States. He said, “All I know is that on some of your faces was written the word “no” and on some of them was the answer ‘yes.’” His was a ‘yes’ face. That is the kind of face God has. A yes face. He loves saying yes to his children.
But understand this, the purpose of prayer is not simply to get a yes, from God. The real purpose of prayer is to spend time with God and t know Him deeper. Same as an engagement. The purpose of the question is not just to get a yes—it is to begin a relationship that will grow as you know each other on a deeper level. Prayer is one of the best ways we can discover God’s character and His purposes and will for our lives.
(3) God’s people must turn. Turn around. And then he tells us exactly what we must turn from. Our wicked ways. I don’t’ have to describe what wicked ways means…we all know. But certainly America has headed, down a path that makes recovery difficult. On Monday of this week we celebrated a victory as the Supreme Court ruled that a school board in Washington discriminated against a local football coach. His crime: praying with his players following the game. Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote these comments: Coach Joseph Kennedy’s prayers are protected by the Constitution’s guarantees free speech. He said, further, “Respect for religious expression is indispensable to life in a free Republic whether these expressions take place in a sanctuary or on a football field. He wrote, further noting all of this was actually protected by the Constitution. In my opinion, the face of God was smiling when that decision was made. ?
Then, less than a week ago on June 24th, the Supreme Court overturned Roe vs. Wade. This is the very first time the Supreme Court has granted a constitutional right as they did 49 years ago and then overturned it at a later time. This will of course now go to the states to make a decision but will likely result in making abortion illegal in 50% of the states. (Roe v. Wade actually took the right away from the states 49 years ago.) Justice Samuel Alito in the majority opinion wrote: “the Constitution makes no express reference to a right to obtain an abortion. Roe was egregiously wrong from the start. We hold that Roe must be overturned. It is time to heed the constitution and return the issue to the states. Its reasoning was exceptionally weak and the decision has had damaging consequences.”
Since abortion was guaranteed by the law 49 years ago; to date there have been at least 63 million abortions. God help us all.
Now there are still issues to settle in the states but what I see here is that the Supreme Court is now actually steering us toward a more conservative and is actually using some logic. Let’s face it, why would we ever think it was OK to take the life of one of God’s children? Listen, there are many families here today who have been affected by abortion; there are many opinions here and there are many difficult circumstances to be navigated but it is time for all of to consider God’s opinions in this matter.
Psalm 139:13 says, “You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb.” Jeremiah 1:5 says, “I knew you before I formed you in your mother’s womb.”
Isaiah 44:24 says, “Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer, who formed you from the womb: “I am the Lord, who made all things, who alone stretched out the heavens, who spread out the earth by myself. ”Genesis 1:27 ESV So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.
Life is sacred and when we devalue life in any way we have God to answer to. Thank God our Supreme Court system is honoring this and our nation just might return to better days. We have a long road ahead of us. But remember the promise of this verse, “if my people who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, that’s the BIG if, if we do this the promise….. 3 things….God will hear us. Now God hears every word we utter but this gives us the idea that He pays closer attention to us when we are walking with Him. Let’s face it…all of us pay closer attention to our children when they are doing the right thing.
God will forgive our sin. All of us are sinners. But that does not means all of us are forgiven. Forgiveness starts in the heart when we repent. Repent is a word Metanoia and it means to turn. It means to have a change of mind. We felt one way toward sin; somehow we thought it was OK or even justified but now we have a change of mind. This is what happened to the apostle Paul and hopefully has to you as well. God will heal/restore our land. When you restore something there are several things that are require. First of all you need something to restore. Something that has been broken or misused or worn down. That is the place America has gotten to. Broken and misused and worn down. 2nd you need a skilled craftsman who knows how to do restoration. Our Father who made us knows how to do that. He is a specialist; a skilled artist who know exactly what it takes to place America where we need to be. But finally, and perhaps most important, God needs a willing instrument. A willing vessel. Is that you? Because America is much more than the soil we live on. It’s God’s people. It starts in the heart; it starts when we humble ourselves and bend the knee. And give honor to our only hope, Jesus Christ.
Sing invitation and then invite congregation to come and kneel and pray.
