Scripture for Prayer Time led by Jimmy Lann

Revelation 3:7–8 (ESV) 

7“And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: ‘The words of the holy one, the true one, who has the key of David, who opens and no one will shut, who shuts and no one opens. 

8“ ‘I know your works. Behold, I have set before you an open door, which no one is able to shut. I know that you have but little power, and yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name.

Sermon Title

Being God’s People

2 Chronicles 7:13-16

2 Chronicles 7:11–12 (ESV) 

11Thus Solomon finished the house of the Lord and the king’s house. All that Solomon had planned to do in the house of the Lord and in his own house he successfully accomplished. 

12Then the Lord appeared to Solomon in the night and said to him: “I have heard your prayer and have chosen this place for myself as a house of sacrifice.

Solomon was the son of King David. David had longed to build a house of worship but God had clearly said that it would be the job of David’s son. David gathered the materials and after his death, Solomon built the temple. The temple was a permanent version of the tabernacle, the tent of meeting, the children of Israel used as they journeyed to the promised land. 

The was extremely ornate and expensive. The best materials were used including lots of gold. It’s primary purpose was a place for God to meet with His people, receive their sacrifices of repentance and forgive their sins. When Jesus came, He replaced the temple with himself. His followers, all this who have received His gift of salvation, are temples of the Holy Spirit.

These verses are God’s response to Solomon’s prayer of dedication of the Temple.

2 Chronicles 7:13–14 (ESV) 

13When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command the locust to devour the land, or send pestilence among my people, 

14if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.

We must understand who the people are at this point. These are descendants of Abraham who are now living in the land. They are a nation with real property and borders. 

The first thing we need to see is this:

God is dealing with His people, not the people who do not believe in Him.

Sometimes well-meaning people will use this group of verses to say that sinners needs to repent in order for the nation to be healed. But this passage is clearly written to worshippers of God who have just built a place to meet with God. 

God deals with His people. He has commissioned His people to bless the world. But if His people have wandered far from Him, He will do whatever is necessary to bring them back. God’s people need to be healed in order to bless a world that doesn’t know God.

God sends difficulties to His people to move them to prayer and repentance.

Is this something you can handle? Some might say, “how can I serve and love a God that brings about bad economic times in my life? How can I love and serve a God who makes my life really hard?” Be very careful about judging the God of the universe’s methods. God always acts in love towards His people.

The hard truth is that God’s people desperately need recessions, depressions, job loss, inflation, and yes, even political turmoil. We see this over and over in the Old Testament and in our own lives. Hard times and challenges move us to turn to our God. Comfort frequently allows us to drift from Jesus while hard times bind us to Jesus.

As we saw in the life Joseph in Genesis, hard times and unfair treatment are not always evidence of God’s chastening hand. But we should never be quick to dismiss the possibility that God is calling us repentance. Remember, repentance is the doorway to peace with God. Sadly, we should never underestimate human resistance to repentance.

The third thing we need to see is this:

God calls His people to a lifestyle, not an event

The main verbs in verse 13 and 14 all have an imperfect aspect to them in Hebrew, the original language. This means that they describe completed action with ongoing results. God says, “if I shut up the heavens” and “or send pestilence”. These are both imperfect verbs. The action is completed but he results are ongoing. 

God’s instructions to His people also have an imperfect aspect. His people are to humble themselves, pray, seek His face, and turn. All these verbs are completed actions with ongoing results. 

Why does this matter? Too often, we think of responding to God as a one-time event. He calls we respond and it’s done and we go on with our life. We view God like an obligation we can finish and then do what we really want to do. That’s not what’s in view here. God actions have ongoing effects. Our responses should have ongoing effects as well. We are called to be humble, praying people who constantly seek God’s face, and live a repentant life. 

It's similar to the difference between doing on a date and getting married. Going out to dinner may or may not have ongoing results. But getting married has lifelong implications. Living as one of God’s people has ongoing results. The temple was built to provide a constant opportunity to respond to God in humility, prayer, seek His face, and turning.

Fourth:

God provides a roadmap on how to He wants us to respond to difficulties.

God calls His people to pray. This prayer must come from a place of humility. The Hebrew word here means to reduce someone in rank, character, or status. The difficulties and challenges God sends are designed to reduce our status in our own eyes. We see ourselves as less powerful and effective than we thought we were. Humility is a very good thing. We see ourselves and God much more accurately than we otherwise would.

The current political climate and the election that happens on Tuesday can make people feel at risk. It should move us to humility, to the place of understanding we are not as great as we think we are. Remember Romans 13:1 that we shared last week:

Romans 13:1 (ESV) 

1Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. 

In this state of humility, we are to pray. And this prayer should include at least two things. First, we must seek the face of God. We should desire to see and be seen by God. There is no hiding is legitimate prayer. Also, when we seek His face we are seeking His will and not just His hand. We are not just asking for things, we are asking to share His vision, His perspective.

Second, and most important, this prayer must include turning around, repenting of our wicked ways. To repent literally means to turn around. It means to live opposite of how you have been living.

Repentance is a normal part of the life of the follower of Jesus. This is why God sent the difficult times. His people need to repent. It’s the best thing for us. We need to constantly see ourselves as in need of the grace of Jesus.

This is what God’s people do, it’s how  we operate. This is one of the reasons Jesus implemented the Lord’s Supper. He knew it was best for us to be regularly reminded of our need for repentance and forgiveness. In just a few minutes, we will partake of the Lord’s Supper.

What does God promise?

“…then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.”

God promises to forgive and to heal His people and their relationships and influence.

God doesn’t promise to heal America or any other nation. His promise is to heal his people and heal their land. The land in view here is the Promised Land God had given His people. It was the base the tool the platform God gave His people to bring Him glory by blessing the world. For us, we can think of this as our relationships and influence. 

The church is an example of the land we occupy as Gentiles grafted into the people of God. We are called as a church filled with God’s people to make Jesus known. To display His greatness and bless the world. Our sin and pride stand in the way. It wrecks relationship and diminishes our influence.

Applicaitons

As this election draws near, let’s be God’s people.

Let’ move into this week as a people committed to live lives of humility and repentance as we seek God’s persepecitve. Whatever happens Tuesday and in the days ahead, let’ focus on our mission to make Jesus known in every situation.

Close

As we prepare to receive these elements of the Lord’s Supper thar represent the body and blood of Jesus, let’s examine our hearts. Are we humble? Are we seeking God’s face, His perspective? Are we repentant?

Take a some time to examine your heart. 

Let’s pray.

As you feel ready, those of you who have received the gift of salvation and have been baptized by immersion are invited to come th receive these elements. Then, return to you seats and we will take the elements together.

Closing Scripture:

I want us to go out with the words of Jesus to the church at Philadephia.

Revelation 3:7–8 (ESV) 

7“And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: ‘The words of the holy one, the true one, who has the key of David, who opens and no one will shut, who shuts and no one opens. 

8“ ‘I know your works. Behold, I have set before you an open door, which no one is able to shut. I know that you have but little power, and yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name.

Closing Prayer