{"id":11976,"date":"2016-07-09T13:34:49","date_gmt":"2016-07-09T17:34:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/?p=11976"},"modified":"2016-08-08T10:58:09","modified_gmt":"2016-08-08T14:58:09","slug":"if-my-people-7316","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pitmanumc.org\/wp\/?p=11976","title":{"rendered":"If My People (7\/3\/16)"},"content":{"rendered":"

It’s July 3rd and tomorrow we’ll turn to our traditions of hot dogs, parades, and fireworks to celebrate the birth of our country.\u00a0 So how do we prepare for this?\u00a0 <\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

God has given us a roadmap in 2 Chronicles that shows us how to be true “patriots” who seek the healing of our land.\u00a0 God is calling “His People” to constantly turn to God in humble prayer, to seek His face, and to change.\u00a0 IF we grow in our relationship by doing these things, God will “heal our land.”
\n<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The following recording is from the 11:00 service.\u00a0 Click on the play button, then scroll down to follow along…<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Our scripture reading was from Deuteronomy 6:6-9.\u00a0 Open the below drop down box to follow along.\u00a0 The New King James Version is shown…<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t

2 Chronicles 7:12-22<\/span><\/span><\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t

12 Then the Lord appeared to Solomon by night, and said to him: “I have heard your prayer, and have chosen this place for Myself as a house of sacrifice.<\/p>\n

13 When I shut up heaven and there is no rain, or command the locusts to devour the land, or send pestilence among My people,<\/p>\n

14 if My people who are called by My name will 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.<\/p>\n

15 Now My eyes will be open and My ears attentive to prayer made in this place.<\/p>\n

16 For now I have chosen and sanctified this house, that My name may be there forever; and My eyes and My heart will be there perpetually.<\/p>\n

17 As for you, if you walk before Me as your father David walked, and do according to all that I have commanded you, and if you keep My statutes and My judgments,<\/p>\n

18 then I will establish the throne of your kingdom, as I covenanted with David your father, saying, ‘You shall not fail to have a man as ruler in Israel.’<\/p>\n

19 “But if you turn away and forsake My statutes and My commandments which I have set before you, and go and serve other gods, and worship them,<\/p>\n

20 then I will uproot them from My land which I have given them; and this house which I have sanctified for My name I will cast out of My sight, and will make it a proverb and a byword among all peoples.<\/p>\n

21 “And as for this house, which is exalted, everyone who passes by it will be astonished and say, ‘Why has the Lord done thus to this land and this house?’<\/p>\n

22 Then they will answer, ‘Because they forsook the Lord God of their fathers, who brought them out of the land of Egypt, and embraced other gods, and worshiped them and served them; therefore He has brought all this calamity on them.'”<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

Preacher’s Dilemma<\/span><\/h3>\n

Tomorrow is the\u00a0 Fourth of July!\u00a0 The Sunday before Independence\u00a0 Day!\u00a0 What’s a preacher supposed to preach on this Sunday?\u00a0 There’s a temptation and\u00a0 even expectation to “Wave the Flag”…to proclaim the greatness of our country.\u00a0 But on this day of worship we aren’t called to “Wave old Glory”… we’re called to Proclaim Jesus Christ.<\/p>\n

\"450px-The_Prayer_at_Valley_Forge_by_Arnold_Friberg\"<\/p>\n

In our country there is an overlap of the two.\u00a0 There’s\u00a0 pressure from “revisionists” which keeps pushing God out of our history. “Separation of church and state” was meant to keep the government out of the affairs of the church, not the church out of the affairs of the government.<\/p>\n

Documents such as the Deceleration of Independence, Constitution, and other writings of the Founding Fathers clearly refer to Godly principles and the role of God in creating this country.\u00a0 This country was founded for freedom of religion, and it was founded on Godly principles.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t
In April of 1970, as the world was captured by the plight of Apollo 13, and as the spaceship was about to try the risky maneuver of slingshotting around the moon, President Nixon called on the nation to pray.\u00a0\u00a0 Not just a cliche statement of “thoughts and prayers,” but a heartfelt call to the nation to earnestly pray for the safety of these three men.<\/span><\/p>\n

Could a president do that today without meeting resistance?<\/span><\/p><\/div><\/div>\n

Lincoln prayed at 4AM and spent an hour in Bible reading and prayer… Adams expressed a reliance on God…\u00a0 Would our country embrace that of our leaders today?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

If My people who are called by My name<\/span> will humble themselves<\/span>, and pray<\/span> and seek<\/span> My face, and turn<\/span> from their wicked ways, <\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

then<\/span> I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.<\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

 <\/p>\n

…My People<\/span><\/h3>\n

In this passage, God is not calling on the politicians to pray.\u00a0 He’s not calling for legal action.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Instead of political activists, God calls His people to be His people.\u00a0 God has always had “His People.”\u00a0 In the Old Testament, they began as the children of Israel.\u00a0 In the New\u00a0 Testament, through adoption, His people are\u00a0 known as “Followers of the Way,” or Christians.\u00a0 WE are God’s people.\u00a0 This passage is speaking to US.<\/p>\n

God isn’t calling us to protest.\u00a0 He’s calling us to pray.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

…Pray<\/span><\/h3>\n

The founder of the Methodist Church is quoted as saying…<\/p>\n

\n

Nothing of eternal value happens apart from prayer.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

-John Wesley<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Prayer is a key, not a rabbit’s foot!<\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

To develop a relationship with someone you’ve got to talk with them.\u00a0 Do you maybe just text them twice a year (…Easter and Christmas)???\u00a0 Not just talk TO them, but talk WITH them.\u00a0 Engage in honest meaningful conversation.\u00a0 Share the things that concern you.\u00a0 Ask for their support and help.\u00a0 Welcome their opinion and input.<\/p>\n

Prayer is the avenue of communication that God has established.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

…Humble Themselves<\/span><\/h3>\n

We tend\u00a0 to have an adversity to humility. We don’t like to humble ourselves.\u00a0 If you have any doubts about that, just imagine the experience of driving.\u00a0 For those of us who live in New Jersey, we have an especially “non-humbling” bank of experiences to consider.<\/p>\n

But Jesus constantly humbled Himself.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

…Turn from Wicked Ways<\/span><\/h3>\n

That means, I did something wrong.\u00a0 But if we feel we don’t have anything to repent of,\u00a0 we don’t need salvation.\u00a0 And, we don’t need a Savior.\u00a0 We can do it on our own… so we think…<\/p>\n

Our Founding Fathers were willing to admit they were wrong.\u00a0 They were willing to say “I’m sorry”.<\/p>\n

In a few minutes we’ll celebrate the Lord’s Supper.\u00a0 There’s something about coming together, gathering around the altar rail, and confessing sin.\u00a0 This isn’t just an empty ritual we do once a month.\u00a0 We’re constantly getting “dirty.”\u00a0 At some time since the last communion, we’ve all “probably” sinned (“by thought word and deed” as our ritual says).\u00a0 To keep our relationship with God growing, we constantly need to “come clean.”<\/p>\n

If you don’t think that anything you ever do is wrong, then you won’t feel the need to repent.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

…Seek My Face<\/span><\/h3>\n

Laws don’t change people’s hearts.\u00a0 How many laws did the Pharisees have on the books?\u00a0 But Jesus said “you’re weighing my people down.”\u00a0 Shortly after the Columbine\u00a0 shooting, a town hall was held.\u00a0 A reporter with a mic\u00a0 roamed the room asking for comments from attendees.\u00a0 One of the attendees was Franklin Graham, son of the famous evangelist Billy Graham.\u00a0 Rev. Graham commented that “I respect what’s being said, but until we change the human heart, nothing is going to change.<\/span><\/em>”<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Where do we seek answers in the face of tragedy?\u00a0 Where do we turn during the mountaintops when things are going well?\u00a0 Romans 12:1-2 tells us…<\/p>\n

Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God \u2014 this is your spiritual act of worship. <\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, <\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is \u2014 his good, pleasing and perfect will.<\/span><\/em><\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 NIV<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The heart is the control center.<\/p>\n

If we’re going to know God’s will and experience the highs and lows in His embrace, we need to recognize that we must consciously “fight the pattern of the world.”\u00a0 Seeing God doesn’t happen on autopilot.\u00a0 Left alone on “autopilot” our tendency is towards the hype and emotion of an issue.\u00a0 We must continually and consciously seek His face and\u00a0 allow God to “transform us by renewing our mind.”<\/p>\n

Until God’s people, seek His face, humble themselves (He’s talking to us!<\/span><\/em>), bad things will continue and may even escalate.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

…Then<\/span><\/h3>\n

I will hear from heaven<\/p>\n

I will forgive their sins<\/p>\n

I will heal their land.<\/p>\n

It doesn’t’ matter if every politician turns to God, He says “if MY PEOPLE<\/span> turn to Me.”\u00a0 If God’s people got over silly differences and got together and called to Him in prayer, God would pour out his blessing on this nation and the world.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Return to God’s Purposes<\/span><\/h3>\n

God has shed His grace on our country.\u00a0 But if you really read history, you’ll see (whether it’s the revolution, or World War 1, or – especially- World War 2), God intervened.<\/p>\n

We had no business winning those wars.\u00a0 We weren’t set to go up against Germany OR Japan, let alone both.\u00a0 But in many battles throughout our history, there was strange explainable weather phenomena that just suddenly took place.\u00a0 Take a look at Ten Surprising Ways Weather Has Changed History<\/a>.\u00a0 Throughout human history, God uses the weather to get His will across.<\/p>\n

Without the hand of almighty God there wouldn’t be a US of A.\u00a0 God set us aside for a specific purpose.<\/p>\n

We need to get back to God’s purpose.\u00a0 Our better days are ahead of us, but only if we humble ourselves, turn from our wicked ways, and pray.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

Quiz Time!<\/span><\/h3>\n

As you reflect on what you’ve just heard\/read, give this quiz a try.\u00a0 If you don’t understand an answer (or if you disagree with the “correct” answer, post a comment)…<\/p>\n

\n