Sermon Notes

The Sabbath (Hebrew Shabbat, meaning “to cease”) was (and is) observed every week from sundown on Friday (6pm) to sundown on Saturday (6pm) and had a two-fold significance. It was both a remembrance of creation and a remembrance of the nation’s deliverance from the bondage of Egypt. The Israelites were to imitate God’s example and rest on the seventh day, as the Lord rested on the seventh day of creation. Also, remembering that they were once slaves in Egypt, they were to rest themselves and allow their bond-servants to rest (a day of rest was a radical concept in ancient times).

Shevet, related to Shabbat, means to “dwell, abide”. This speaks of God desired to dwell and abide with us as He did with Adam & Eve in the Garden (Gen. 3:8-9).

In this sense we find the deeper meaning of the Sabbath, that of God’s desire to relate to us.

There are 5 ways this happens-

First, as His creation we are to relate to Him. Genesis 1:26-28 said God created only us, mankind, in His image. He did this so we could relate to Him and authentically represent Him in the world. So many try to dress like someone, act like someone, or be like someone famous. Like the lady who’s had multiple surgeries to look like a human Barbie doll.

God breathed His breath of life into us and created only us in His image. He wants us to find rest in that unique and special place in all of creation. When we are at peace with this, we can be an authentic representation to others of His accepting, favored love He has for all of mankind.

Second, as His redemption. We are redeemed for God. Deuteronomy 5:15 God said, “remember you were slaves in Egypt. The Lord brought you out with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. Therefore the Lord your God demands you to observe the Sabbath.”

As Believers we’ve been redeemed from the slavery and curse of sin unto God through Christ Jesus. This is not just to escape punishment, but to have reestablished relationship with God. Our ultimate rest is found in our relationship in Christ which allows us to enjoy peace and harmony with God and others. Shabbat Shalom – “peaceful rest”.

Third, we are to find our rest in Him. Apart from Him we create our own gods and strive for things and positions and relationships for our security. But there’s no lasting rest in these things. They just can’t measure up to the complete and perfect rest we find in Christ. We won’t find rest in our finished works. Only in Christ and His finished work can we truly find rest.

Cease your striving and labor for things and positions and other pursuits that will not satisfy. Find your Sabbath in Christ.

Fourth, we are sanctified in Him (set apart). Sabbath reorients our lives back to God, reprioritizing our relationship with Him. Exodus 31:13 says, “You shall surely observe My Sabbaths for this is a sign between you and Me throughout your generations, that you may know that I am the Lord who sanctifies you (sets you apart)”.

Think of a wedding ring. It reminds you that you are set apart for your spouse. Sabbath is a reminder of that sanctifying relationship we have with God, one that is holy and set apart for His purposes and glory.

We are sometimes called saints of God. Saints means “set apart ones”. To the degree we as saints of God set our lives apart to God, to that degree we are demonstrating how much we value our relationship with the Lord.

Sabbath is a constant reminder to that end.

Fifth, our eternity is in a Him. Exodus 31:17 says, “Sabbath is a sign between Me and the sons of Israel eternally…”

To this end, Sabbath is an eternal sign pointing us to our eventual rest for all of eternity in His new Creation, where is says in Micah 4:4, “Every man will sit under his vine and beneath his fig tree, and none will ale them afraid.”

Sabbath is realized in Christ. Jesus said in Matthew 11:28-29, “Come unto Me all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”

Romans 5:1 says, “since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

So Sabbath exists for us to relate to God as His beloved Creation, as a reminder of our redemption to Him through Christ, of our rest and satisfaction in Him instead of worldly pursuits, of our sanctification, and being set apart in relationship for Him alone, and for eternity, where we will experience our ultimate forever rest in Him in His new, perfect creation.

Sabbath reminds us of not only what we are living for NOW, but Who we are to be living with FOREVER. It’s a relationship of rest IN and WITH Jesus, the Lord of the Sabbath.

Let me encourage you to take a restful approach to the next 24 hours and find times of rest In and WITH Jesus.

Nehemiah 10:31b, “Every seventh (Sabbath) year we will forego working the land…”

This hails back to God’s original command to have the land lie fallow for a year. Why?

Why did the land need a Sabbath?

Any farmer will tell you that if you don’t rest the land and allow it to replenish its nutrients it will be less productive, less fruitful, and the quality of what it DOES produce will be diminished. Allowing it to rest keeps the soil sustainable for the long term.

I hope you’ve thought through last week’s message and asked God to help you create margins in your life so that you can be the most effective for Him long term.

But as I was praying this week about this portion of scripture and asking the Lord what this means to us today He reminded me that we were created from the soil of the earth. Soil and all of us have much of the same ingredients.

In my research this week I discovered that our bodies contain detectable traces of 60 chemical elements, most of which can be found on the earth’s crust.

It’s like we’ve just been scooped out of the top layer of the earth and formed with the same ingredients. But there’s one element we have that soil doesn’t have.

Which brings me to what I’d like for us to look at today.

Our bodies are sanctified soil. The difference between us and a handful of dirt is the breathe of God.

We are set apart. We are unique to all the rest of God’s creation.

Genesis 1:26 says, “Then God said, ‘Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.’”

He made us in His image. There’s nothing else in all of creation that even comes close to the magnificence of mankind because we alone were created in His image. Then we read in the following chapter something unique to our creation apart from any other things He created.

Genesis 2:7, “The LORD God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.”

Everything else God created… HE MERELY SPOKE and they appeared. BUT when God created man He climbed down into the mud and got His hands dirty.

Nothing else in all of creation called for that degree of attention or that depth of involvement by God.

And the reason was simple: Man was the only created being on earth that was formed by God and in the image of God.

Evolutionists believe there is no divine in man, just soil. They tell us that man gradually evolved from lower life forms. They tell us that life was just an accident and man is nothing more than a higher order of animal. To evolutionists you and I are animals borne of chaos and lacking any real reason to exist. We have no higher purpose. We have no real value beyond being a scientific curiosity.

But the Bible tells us that’s not true. You’re not just soil.

Evolution may see us as one step above apes.

But Scripture tells us we are fearfully and wonderfully hand-crafted by God Himself.

You and I are NOT like the other creations of God. We’re not like Apes, the Chimps, the Orangutans. We are a special creation MADE IN THE IMAGE OF GOD!

Now, why is that important? It’s important for a couple of reasons.

First, YOU ARE WORTH SOMETHING

Because you are made in the image of God, you have intrinsic value. If for that reason alone, you are WORTH something.

What you THINK you are shapes WHO you are. If you think you were born to lose and have no purpose or value, that’s how you’ll live. But if you realize you have intrinsic value, you will tend to live up to that image.

You have been made in the image of God.

He has the authority to say you have value and worth.

No matter what’s happened to you,

No matter what you’ve done with your life,

No matter how many bad decisions you’ve made,

You are STILL created in the image of God and you are worth something.

You are valuable to God.

But… how do you know you have that value?

Because something is worth only what someone is willing to pay for it.

So, how much are you worth?

Well, God says you’re worth so much that He gave His only begotten Son for you.

Not only have you been created in God’s image, you’ve been bought with a price… with the precious blood of Jesus.

So, first because you’ve been created, you have worth & value, and you are valued so much that God put the price of your worth at His only begotten Son.

Because you have been created in His image you have been valued by God to the highest level, therefore you and I have a responsibility to live up to.

In evolution there is no image of God in which to live up to. You’re just an accidental collection of matter. You are who you are and you can’t help being who you are. Without the DIVINE all you have left is SOIL. As soil, all you’re left with is animal instincts and emotions that are base and uncontrollable.

Because, if that’s all you are, that’s all you’re going to be.

And many people think just like that. They will say, “That’s just how I am”, or “I was born this”, or “I can’t help myself.”

What they’re really saying is they’re just soil… not divine or sanctified or set apart or unique.

They’re declaring, “I wasn’t formed by God, wasn’t breathed into by the breath of God, but I was formed by accident or a Big Bang or by the random evolutionary luck of nature.”

And that’s what society continues to try to push on us. They tell us, “You can’t help yourself, that’s just the way you ARE, you were born to live a life controlled by your emotions and your appetites and there’s not a thing you can do to change it. And when things get too far out of whack because you’ve lived like that, just take this pill or this drug and it will all go away.”

But the Bible says that’s not true. You were created IN THE IMAGE of God. You were created to live a responsible life that reflects your Creator. God believes you can change who you are and how you live.

That’s why the Bible says in Leviticus 19:2, “Be holy because I, the LORD your God, am holy.”

Jesus said in Luke 6:36, “Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.”

And again He said in Matthew 5:48, “Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”

Now just an explanation about that last verse and the word “perfect”.

Many people read that word “Perfect” and think it means to be without sin. But the Greek word used for perfection actually means something else. It means “to be complete” or “to be mature”, as in Hebrews 5:14 where the word is translated that way, “But solid food is for the MATURE, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.”

So Jesus is telling us, “Grow up!” Grow up to be like your daddy. Grow up to reflect the image of your Father that’s within you. That’s our responsibility.

The Bible teaches us that we can’t be saved by our good works. We can’t earn our way into heaven by accumulating enough brownie points. We don’t get past the pearly gates because we’ve been merciful. We don’t earn a place in Paradise by how nice we’ve been. We don’t even get into heaven because we’ve been holy.

But if holiness doesn’t get me into heaven, why SHOULD I be holy? Why should I do good things?

Why? To reflect Jesus to others and bring glory to Him.

Jesus said in Matthew 5:16, “In the same way, let your light shine before others, SO THAT they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.”

Everything Jesus said and did brought glory to His Father.

Everything we do and say should reflect our Creator and bring glory to Him because you and I are created in HIS image.

This is our privileged and joyful responsibility as Believers and followers of Christ.

You can tell who employees of businesses belong to by the garments they wear. They’ve been entrusted with the IMAGE of that businessl. They are stewards of the reputation of the organization to which they belong. And we tend to judge their place of employment by how they conduct themselves.

in the same way, as stewards of the image of God, we’ve got to realize what we do and don’t do reflects back on our God. When we treat someone rough, or lose our tempers, or say things we shouldn’t say, or do something we shouldn’t do, that reflects back on our Creator.

But by contrast, if we live a life dedicating ourselves to being God’s image to the world we can change the lives of those around us. This is our responsibility as representatives of Him.

I’m not sure what someone told you years ago or what you believe about yourself today, but you have intrinsic value. You are worth more than anything else to God.

You are sanctified soil, breathed into with the very breathe of God, made in His image. Bought back from the curse of sin with the price of His only Son.

You have the privileged responsibility to display this example to others as His representative. You are a son and daughter of God!

As we give proper rest to the soil which is our bodies, we will be sustainable long term. But we can’t be fruitful in quantity and quality if we don’t come to the realization that we have intrinsic value as uniquely formed and fashioned by God’s hands, in His image, breathed in by His breath of life, and bought with the price of His only Son, which places on us the responsibility to be the image of Him to those who have intrinsic value, are uniquely formed and fashioned by His hands, in His image, breathed in by His breath of life, and have been bought with the price of His only Son, but have not as of yet accepted the free gift of salvation.

Maybe that’s you today. Maybe that’s someone you know.

God, change our perspective of who we are. Help us to embrace the fact that, regardless of what we’ve been taught or told, we are unique and valuable and worthwhile in YOUR eyes, so much so that You gave us Your only Son. Sanctify this soil today. Set us apart. Then out of that help us to embrace our responsibility to live it out as Your children to others as a reflection of You and for your glory.

Nehemiah 10:30, “(Therefore) We promise not to give our daughters in marriage to the peoples around us or take their daughters for our sons.”

Why did they make this commitment?

Because when this intermarrying took place it ALWAYS led to compromise and the ultimate downfall of the people.

How can we guard our hearts?

In the book of Deuteronomy God gave the people of Israel some wise instructions as He was preparing them to enter into the Promised Land. These instructions are for us today.

Deuteronomy 7:1-4,26 , “When the Lord your God brings you into the land you are entering to possess and drives out before you many nation, and when the Lord your God has delivered them over to you and you have defeated them, then you must destroy them totally. Make no treaty with them, and show them no mercy. Do not intermarry with them. Do not give your daughters to their sons or take their daughters for your sons, for they will turn our children away from following Me to serve other gods, and the Lord’s anger will burn against you and will quickly destroy you. Do not bring a detestable thing into your house or you, like it, will be set apart for destruction. Regard it as vile and utterly detest it, for it is set apart for destruction.”

When we first get saved it’s a clean slate as far as God is concerned. All the old things have passed away and are washed clean by the blood of Jesus and all things become new. Sin has been driven out and you’re a newborn creation in Christ Jesus.

But not too long into this walk temptations come our way. Old habits knock at our door. The old ways drop by for a visit to see if there may be any lodging for the night.

It’s when this happens (and it’s continual), we can apply these 4 tactics to keep them from overtaking us.

Last week we talked about the first one – We Make No Treaty

This week let’s look at the final three.

Our second weapon we can implement to defeat compromise is to –

Show No Mercy

When you think of mercy you think about someone who shows kindness, favor, or pity.

When God was instructing the people, He was telling them to show no mercy to their enemies, no kindness, no favor, and no pity.

I’m sure there were some people who may have felt rather bad about kicking the people out of the Promised Land who had lived there for generations before. “Maybe we could just coexist with them”, they said, “show them a little mercy, a little kindness, a little pity.”

“Hey, live and let live. Why can’t we just all get along?”

Listen, we don’t need to have pity on sin. We don’t need to show kindness to compromise. There’s nothing about sin that I want to get along with, how about you?

It’s those compromising sins that got you and I into this mess in the first place. Why have pity on them? Why show mercy to them?

God is saying today, “No matter how nice they may be, how presentable, how friendly, how seemingly harmless, you must show no mercy.”

Listen, some of these sinful habits in your life may seem like buddies. You may have been told and are convinced they are just part of who you are, part of your DNA, your heritage, even your nationality (Irish temper or Latin lover anyone?).

There are those things in our life that we’re convinced for whatever reason that are just “who we are”.

You ever said that about yourself? “Hey, it’s just who I am.”

But I challenge you today that it isn’t who you are. It’s who you WERE before Christ, but you are not the same. You are a new creation.

2 Corinthians 5:17 says,“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, that person is a new creation: The old has gone, the new is here!”

Satan does not want you to know that. He doesn’t want you to believe that. He wants to make you think that your DNA is greater than God, that your heritage is greater than God, that your experiences that have molded you are greater than God.

But God has created all things, and there is nothing that the Creator created that is greater than the Creator who created it!

Including your heritage, including your nationality, including your DNA!

Think about stories in the Bible, stories you’ve heard of others in history, people you know, and your OWN life testimony. When God gets ahold of people, when people have a genuine encounter with Jesus Christ, lives change. Directions change. Goals change. Speech changes. Thoughts change. Habits change. Priorities change!

The old has gone! The new has come!

Your spiritual DNA has been completely altered by the powerful, life giving, soul cleansing blood of Jesus Christ!

So show no mercy to your old man. Instead, be harsh with him, be intolerant, and be cruel. Crucify him daily at the foot of the Cross of Calvary.

First, we make no treaty! Second, we show no mercy!

And thirdly, we …

Share No Love

God warned them, “Don’t give your sons and daughters to be married to their sons and daughters”.

Why? Mixture.

God knew their hearts. He knew their propensity to stray. God knew how easy it would be to compromise. God knew the heart was a fickle thing. God knew the subtlety of the luring away and the slow drift that would happen away from their first love.

It happened to Solomon. It happened time and time again with the people of God. It’s happened throughout the history of the Church. It’s happening today, and it may be happening in your life.

What have you married yourself to? What have you slept with, given your heart to, your affections, your attention?

There are many handsome and beautiful things out there that are beaconing you, alluring you with their charms. It could be a person, it could be a thing, it could be an activity. No matter what it is, if it draws you away from your first love, from your primary pursuit of God, from dependency upon God for your total satisfaction, if anything or anyone else out there “completes” you, you’ve allowed compromise a place at the head of the table of your heart and it must be shown the door.

Revelation chapter 2 describes 7 churches that are representative of the last days churches, each having their unique issues.

Revelation 2:1-5, “To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: These are the words of Him who holds the seven stars in His right hand and walks among the seven golden lampstands. I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked people, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false. You have persevered and have endured hardships for My name, and have not grown weary. Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken the love you had at first. Consider how far you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place.”

Just as we would not tolerate a divided heart from our spouse, God will not tolerate a divided heart towards Him.

Some symptoms of falling away from your first love are- Not spending time with Him in prayer and devotions, allowing someone or something else to be first in your priorities, having a thought life that is not pleasing to Him, becoming indifferent about sin in the world, becoming complacent about your testimony to others with your lifestyle choices and words.

If these things are apparent in your life, run back to Jesus and fall back in love with Him.

Show no love to the things that would cause you to compromise and fall away from God. Instead, detest it, despise it, loathe it entirely, utterly reject it.

It needs to make us sick to our stomachs.

So first we make no treaties, second we show no mercy, third we share no love, and finally, we –

Leave No Trace

God said, “When you go into the land I’ve prepared for you, I want you to totally destroy them.”

In other words annihilate them, vaporize them, completely eradicate them, take no prisoners, nuke ’em!

Listen, sin will be around as long as we are alive on the earth, but just because sin exists doesn’t mean we need to have any part in it.

That’s what God was saying to His people then and what He’s saying to us today.

We are in but not of the world. God has made all things new inside of us as a foretaste of what’s to come when He makes all things new. We are representatives of His Kingdom, not the world’s. We are a new creation and a reflection of Jesus Christ who now lives in us.

Imagine this scenario. People who knew you in Middle School or High School or College or many years ago or at a recent place of employment. How ever old you were and where you lived BEFORE you served Jesus. What kind of person were you? Okay, so imagine that same person comes up to you now after all these months or years.

Would they see a difference? I’m not talking about the extra pounds, wrinkles, and gray hairs, I’m talking about your countenance, your words, your lifestyle, that “aura” about you that makes you peculiar, different, and set apart because Jesus Christ is fully alive in you and flowing out from you.

If not, if there’s insufficient evidence of a real change. Or maybe if they at first would have seen it when you were first saved but the years have caused a drift back to the old ways, then it’s time to Nuke ‘Em.

Sin creeps in. It’s subtle. It gets a toe hold. It gains control. It causes compromise, slowly but surely. We start off with great promise, only to end up like Solomon as we invite 700 wives and 300 concubines into our hearts and divide our affections 1000 different ways.

How can we keep this eradicated in our lives? How can we vaporize these sinful ways? How can we take no prisoners? How can we Nuke ‘Em?

We die to ourselves daily, and take up our cross daily and follow Jesus.

Let’s take the wise advice God gave to His children back then and apply it to our lives today towards compromising sin.

We make no treaties. We show no mercy. We share no love. And we destroy completely.

Sin has been set aside one day for utter and complete destruction. One day sin will be no more. We dare not partner ourselves with it or we, too, will be set apart for destruction.

Like Solomon, you can continue to serve God, work for God, honor God’s laws and commandments, & live wisely. But the little compromises that seem so innocent and contained now are like a toehold into your heart. It has created an inroad into your life that will eventually expand and decay your heart from within, unless you do something about it.

Make no treaties. Show no mercy. Share no love. Nuke ‘Em.

July 12th, 2015
DO YOU WANT TO LISTEN TO IT ON YOUR PODCAST APP? CLICK HERE TO SUBSCRIBE

Therefore…

The word “Therefore” appears over 1200 times in the Bible. When you see a “therefore” in God’s Word it is always helpful and wise to see what it is “there for”. “Therefore” always points back to something that was just said.

That’s what we see in Nehemiah 9:32 in this beautiful prayer of God’s people to God.

When constitutions and bylaws are written or proposed for change, there is always the word “whereas” at the beginning, often more than one “whereas”, followed by a “therefore”.

It’s just like saying, “Since all this has taken place, since these are the facts of the matter, since we are aware of the details that has brought us to this point, we therefore make this commitment, this proclamation, this proposal, this promise, this vow, this covenant.”

This is what was happening in this prayer. “Here’s what’s happened as a result of our disobedience and rejection of You and Your Laws. It’s not been good. We are aware of it and now confess our sins, repent, and recommit to walking in obedience to You and relationship with You. So in view of all of this, therefore we make a binding agreement, putting it in writing, and affixing our seal to it.”

We are in such a place right now in our Nation. We’ve turned from God’s laws and rejected relationship with Him.

We are vigorously scrubbing away all vestiges of God from our public places and are commanding the Church to sit down, shut up, & go away.

We are denying God’s part in blessing this nation and setting it apart for His good in our world. We are instead taking credit for our success and saying in essence, “We don’t need God, we can make it just fine without Him.”

One of the minor prophets towards the back of the Old Testament is Hosea. He lived during a time of great prosperity among God’s people, but also simultaneously a time of great falling away and compromise of all things holy and righteous and pure, not unlike America is today.

He was told by God to marry a young lady by the name of Gomer. God warned Hosea ahead of time that Gomer would be unfaithful to her covenant vow of marriage, which she was. It was meant to be symbolic of the people’s compromising commitment to Him in their covenant relationship.

The first part of Chapter 2 speaks of the whoredom and unfaithfulness of Gomer. Starting in verse 14 it speaks of God’s plans to redeem her, again symbolic of God’s heart and plan towards His Bride and His people.

Hosea 2:14-23, “Therefore I am now going to allure her; I will lead her into the wilderness and speak tenderly to her. There I will give her back her vineyards, and will make the Valley of Achor (which means “trouble”) a door of hope. There she will respond as in the days of her youth, as in the day she came up out of Egypt. “In that day,” declares the Lord, “you will call me ‘my husband’; you will no longer call me ‘my master. ’ I will remove the names of the Baals (other gods) from her lips; no longer will their names be invoked. In that day I will make a covenant for them with the beasts of the field, the birds in the sky and the creatures that move along the ground. Bow and sword and battle I will abolish from the land, so that all may lie down in safety. I will betroth you to me forever; I will betroth you in righteousness and justice, in love and compassion. I will betroth you in faithfulness, and you will acknowledge the Lord. “In that day I will respond,” declares the Lord — “I will respond to the skies, and they will respond to the earth; and the earth will respond to the grain, the new wine and the olive oil, and they will respond to Jezreel (which means “God plants”). I will plant her for myself in the land; I will show my love to the one I called ‘Not my loved one. ’ I will say to those called ‘Not my people, ’ ‘You are my people’; and they will say, ‘You are my God.’ ”

Many segments of Scripture have dual meanings and fulfillments. And while this speaks to Jesus setting up His ultimate eternal reign of righteousness in the near future, it also speaks to nations and peoples who have throughout human history been in a constant state of needing redemption.

We are in a such a place in our Nation. We are in a Valley of Trouble.

But this valley of trouble we are in in America can also be a door of hope.

No political party, whether it be Democrat, Republican, Independent, Tea Party, or whatever can bring healing and hope and salvation to America.

God alone is our Hope. He alone is our healing and salvation.

God wants to bring salvation to us, to His Church, to our nation, to the world. His covenant of love is unchanging. His justice is perfect. His faithfulness is continual. In all of our whoring and unfaithfulness, in all of our rejection of relationship with Him, He remains steady, constant, faithful, and true. His love never changes.

But as loving as He is, He is also holy and just. And His holy justice demands righteous, restorative judgement. We are in a very precarious place in our nation. The gas peddle has been pushed it seems of late to the floor board and we are speeding towards a very steep cliff and breakneck speed. If we do not repent, His restorative judgment is at the door.

2 Chronicles 7:13-15 says, ““When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command locusts to devour the land or send a plague among my people, 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 I will forgive their sin and will heal their land. Now my eyes will be open and my ears attentive to the prayers offered in this place.”

This describes our nation and world right now. In so many ways the heavens are being shut up and there’s much devouring of the land.

We as the church of Jesus Christ are called as the front line of our generation to be the first to repent.

“If My people who are called by My Name”. That’s His Church!

“Will humble themselves”. This is a recognition that we are helpless without Him. It’s the opposite of prideful self-sufficiency. It’s an acknowledgment that all things come from and return back to God.

Pride is what Lucifer kicked out of Heaven. But Ps. 51:17 says, “A broken and contrite heart You, God, will not despise.” And James 4:6 says, “God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.”

“And seek My face.” This is about relationship. We don’t seek His hand or His things, we seek Him first, and His righteousness, THEN these other things will be added unto us.

“And turn from their wicked ways.” Again, this is the Church’s wicked ways, not the world. We know the world’s wicked ways, but what’s going on the Church, in my life, in your life, that we MUST turn away from. King David cried out in a musical prayer, Psalm 139:23-24, “Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.”

“THEN, THEN will I hear from Heaven and forgive their sins and heal their land.”

If we will soberly, vigilantly, wholeheartedly, humbly, thoroughly, authentically do our part by coming to God and repenting of our sins individually and corporately, we can see revival in the Church and in our land.

I don’t know what it will take for His Church to get with it. I’m not sure what catalyst will finally bring the Church to its knees in complete humility and repentance.

We saw it for a few weeks after 9/11, but it was superficial. Instead of the world becoming more like the Church has, the Church has become more like the world.

Think about it, have we been the salt and light that we need to be, preserving and rescuing those around us? Or has the world crept in more and more to our churches? Does the bell of holiness and righteousness and purity in your life and the life of the Church ring true, or is it vague, cloudy, and muffled?

What’s it gonna take? How will God finally get the attention of the Church and our Nation and our world?

Therefore. Therefore.

Let me close this Faith Notes out with this following prayer.

“Lord, since we’ve strayed. Since we’ve neglected You. Since we’ve embraced the things of this world. Since we’ve seen the Church loose it’s savory-ness, it’s passion, and it’s glow. Since we’ve become complacent. Since we’ve not placed You first in our lives. Since we’ve become lukewarm. Since because of this we have seen our nation and our world’s morality crumble, it’s respect for You diminish, and it’s carnality explode. We recognize this as the wicked fruit of the flesh we’ve sown. We therefore humbly come to You today in repentance, making a binding covenant, putting it in writing, and affixing our seal to it.”

Won’t you join me in this prayer and commit to turning to Him with your whole heart and see this valley of trouble become a door of hope. May God turn our hearts, the heart of His Church, and the heart of this great Nation back to Him.