July, 2017
An Answer to Steve Gaines in his article, "an appeal to rightly apply II Chronicles 7:14
Greetings,
Recently an article by Steve Gaines was printed in the Baptist Press regarding the use of II Chronicles 7:14 for the church today in our nation. In the title there is the instruction of 'rightly applying' this text of Scripture to our modern day issues and plight. So I am under the assumption that the basis of presenting the article was to address where someone must have presented that II Chronicles should not be used to lead or pray for the church or our nation today. There are those that have argued in days gone by, that this was only for Israel, and is not for the church in North America. Brother Gaines worked through the verse to demonstrate the power of God, in His Word for all generations, and the work of the Lord's Kingdom for His purposes.
The Scripture of II Chronicles is a powerful verse, a great promise verse of God speaking and saying, that He is more than willing to do His part in helping and blessing if His people, if a nation, if the individual will do their part. We are definitely in a great time of need today for God's help. And this verse does have truth to be employed for the Lord to help us. But there are other issues that must be addressed in 'rightly applying' the use of II Chronicles 7:14 before it can be sustained as a means of us appealing to the Lord for help.
This verse for all my ministry has been spoken, preached, taught, quoted, rehearsed and prayed for help in our times of need that we are facing as the church and as a nation. Yes, I have memorized, quoted, prayed and studied it immensely for its relevance and importance to our day and times of events facing us. I have not been prone to the argument that it is 'only for Israel' and not relevant for our day and time among the church in North America. I even remember the first year of 'Broken Before the Throne'; the WV state meeting preceded the prayer conference. And I believe that 3 different speakers preached the text of II Chronicle 7:14 during that short space of time leading up to the powerful week of prayer.. It is a powerful Word of promise and direction when applied rightly.
President Steve Gaines emphasized at the end of this article the importance of our part through 3 "h's" - humility, hunger and holiness. All of these are of importance to the right application of this text to our prayers, lives and needs. However, the strictness of this verse is found in man's reply to God. Too often I fear, that men want the 3 reactions of God immediately, now and posthaste. But I have found that they are far removed from doing their 4 actions to correct the problem. What is the problem? This passage is revealing that when God judges, sends remedial judgements on a people, on a nation, on a region, it is because they have rebelled against Him; they have chosen to sin against Him and His ways. When those judgements comes, as God reveals in the verses that proceed verse 14, God is offering a correction to the sin problem through man's 4 responses. When they do not correct their behavior of sin and rebellion, and after God's mercy and opportunities to correct is rejected, they find themselves in II Chronicles 36, 'til there was no remedy' at final judgement.
Thus, to rightly apply II Chronicles 7:14 is an issue of God's people responding with faithfulness and obedience to do their 4 parts required: Let us look at these 4 parts to rightly apply:
1. "If My people, humble themselves. . . " - the very first act required by God's people, (note again this is not lost people, but people called by His Name); in this context it was Israel, but for us today, it is the Christian church. the act of oneself, or the church in humbling itself to burying itself before the Lord. It is to go down, bow down, be brought down, so that He might be exalted and lifted up. It is to die to self, in order that He may completely fill. It is the absence of pride.
American Christianity is a very proud, boastful, humanistic, and self attaining movement. It is almost void of humility. The pronouns used to do the work of Christianity in this world of missions, church, discipleship, evangelism, is not pronouns of God; but of self, 'me, I, mine'. Humanism is the governing ability of problem solving among church leaders today, which erases faith in God. It is a major means of pride. There might make the statement, 'that we trust in the Lord' or 'we depend upon the Lord'. But the life of faith is hard to find in this self sufficient society and this humanistic filled churches.
And the very means of having God work for us to help us in this time of need depends on our 4 responses, it seems we fail in the first response to humble our selves. We must confess, repent, recognize this high offense against the Lord and come before Him in true humility and baseness. Forgetting all means of pride, self-sufficiency and have a complete trust in Him alone. No more to simply say the verse, 'I can do all things through Christ Jesus which strengthens me', and then go and seek our own inventions and ways. We must live a life a faith and dependence on Him and allow for Him to glorify Himself in us by our humility.
In order for to see the Lord forgive, heal and help us in our land, in the church, in our homes, in our own hearts, let us renounce pride, self-righteousness, humanism in our means and methods of church and grovel prostrate before the throne, realizing just how much we need Him. Let humility be our standard of others first, our own motives and needs secondary and show within the church as a witness to the world, 'this is a humble people'.
2. "If My people pray. . . " - As often as I have heard this quoted, prayed and taught, I have been amazed at how many times people have misquoted by leaving this one out. But the call is still there, 'His house is to be a house of prayer'; thus, we are to be a people of prayer. And yet, we see that over 80% of most churches do not have any sort of corporate prayer times during a month of services. And for the greater part of Wednesday night "prayer meeting & Bible study" it is only a prayer lists of physical sickness and only a few minutes is offered for prayer. Spiritual prayer is rarely to be found to overcome the wicked one and his schemes in this world and upon our hearts and homes.
"If My people pray" but we are not praying. We are not a people given unto prayer. Time is more given to vain conversation of sports, entertainment, weather and politics than holy things We make mental thoughts and considerations about people, moments and events, but we do not seriously pray these things before the Lord. It is more of a mental note of a grocery lists, rather than a prayer lists that seeks to accomplish the Father's will in us and through us. A people that prays comes before Him and speaks to Him and waits for Him to speak to them. It is a holy conversation that has become in our day and time a one-sided affair. and again, we desire for God to do His 3 parts, and yet, this most powerful thing called prayer is the least experienced, practiced and daily imposed on the church and the individual Christian.
Too often the confession of the church, of the Christian is, 'I know I ought to pray'; 'I know I should pray'; 'I know I need to spend more time in prayer'; and yet, they are confessing that they have no sustainable prayer life or times. we have 4 responsibilities to do in order for the Lord to do His 3 parts, and yet herein we see that we fail in being humble and being a people of prayer. These can be corrected by the next two responses.
3. "If My people seek My face. . ." - To seek the face of the Lord with humility and prayer is to seek for His will and His ways to be done to bring glory and honor unto His great name. Seeking the face of the Lord means that our faces have turned away from the world and self; we no longer look to the same things that the heathen do. We 'set our affections (our eyes & desires) on things above, not on things of this earth'. We seek Him in silence, 'be still and know that I am God'. We seek His face for we love Him, because He first loved us. We seek His face because it is right and pleasing to Him. Time is given to this practice and it is not a sporadic and hit and miss moment.
Seeking the face of the Lord is that which pleases Him and He desires for His people to seek Him out. 'If you seek for Me, ye shall find Me when you search with all your heart'. What a great promise! But alas! too often the Christian rather than seeking the face of the Lord, are seeking the hands of men. Our priorities are skewed, we seek self and men, turn to the carnal; rather than the spiritual and eternal. And if we would see God hear us, heal us and help us, then we must be a geniune people in love with Him to give time to Him, to be before Him and adore Him. Is this true of your heart? of mine? of the church? It is not true of our nation. Of the 4 things required of us, we must answer the question, 'are you seeking the face of the Lord?
4. "If My people turn from their wicked ways. . . " - When God's people humble themselves, pray and seek Him then they will have no desire to have any wicked ways remain in them. There will be no desire to practice, to give time and place to the sin that does so easily beset us. This will be a great witness of the full affect of repentance, complete turning 180 from sin to righteousness. It will be observed by the nation, by the church, within the Christian heart and life, of this great transformation from wicked ways to good ways. They will be a people, a person, pleasing to the Lord. It will be said of them, 'Here comes these people that have turned the world upside down.' It will be said of them, 'I perceive that this is a holy man of God that passes by us here.'
And yet how little this 'godly sorrow unto repentance is observed and testified too. when it is, it is the greatest of rejoicing, 'Look what the Lord hath wrought'. And yet, we see people come and make a decision for Christ, get baptized and as quickly as they came, they return to their old ways of sin. 'How quickly the dog returns to its vomit'. they turn from their wicked ways on Sunday, and on Monday they have returned to their folly and sin. This is not 'old things are passed way and all things are become new.' This is not the fulfillment of our 4 points of responsibility in order for the Lord to do His part in grace and mercy. There is something wrong in the minds of church leaders when they think that turning slightly to the Lord is sufficient. Yea, even the Lord condemned them, 'you profess Me with your mouth, but your hearts are far from Me.' Condemned them when 'you have not turned unto Me with your whole heart, but only feignedly'. Let us do it exactly as He requires, turn from our wicked ways whole heartedly unto Him.
To rightly apply II Chronicles 7:14 to the people and/or the person of God : God's ways are immutable, never changing. And this same God of answering Solomon's prayers of petitions here in chapter 7 is the same for any that will 'call upon Him'. 'He is the same yesterday, today and forever.' But just as Israel, just as Judah failed to do their 4 parts of responsibility in humility - prayer - seeking His face and turning from their wicked way; so too are we in failure. Too many are expecting God to forgive, heal and restore our land, our ways of society, the power of the church. Yet God is saying, "I can and will, when you do your part." He is waiting on us. It is vile and sinful to selfishly await for God's blessings while we continue in sin. This is directly contrary to the ways of God; God never has and never will bless sin.
Therefore brethren, let us rightly apply II Chronicles 7:14 to its fullest capacity of revival and blessing to be restored on our own hearts, in the churches we serve and worship with. Let us humbly bow down and pray before Him, confessing our iniquities of wicked ways and seek Him with all our hearts. "Who knoweth if the Lord will return and repent, and leave a blessing behind Him?" And if so, then God, in His mighty hand will bring His power and glory to a nation and the nations. We are under a day of wrath from Him for our neglect in rightly doing our 4 parts to serve and honor Him. And yet, our great heart cry is, 'in wrath remember mercy O Lord'. Brethren, let us each enter our secret closet and do our 4 parts; go before the church and instruct and invite them to do their 4 parts. And then let us wait before Him till He does His 3 parts. 'Great is His faithfulness' to keep His Word, promises and instructions. "My Word has gone out from Me, and it will not return unto Me void.'
Started: July 8, 2017;
Continued: 7/10; 7/19; 7/20; 7/22; 7/23;
Finished:
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