“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.” (2 Chron. 7:14)

According to Dr. George Barna, CRC Director of Research, “Americans have been aggressively redefining the nation’s morality for the past several decades. That shift is still in progress. Our research provides a compelling context for such a moral recalibration,” He said. “The percentage of adults with a biblical worldview has been sliced in half since 1995. The historic foundation of biblical truth and its impacts on family, faith, education, arts and entertainment, and public policy is mostly a distant memory.”

The Bible warned us what would happen if we turned away from God!

“And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting; being filled with all unrighteousness, sexual immorality, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil-mindedness; they are whisperers, backbiters, haters of God, violent, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, undiscerning, untrustworthy, unloving, unforgiving, unmerciful; who, knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are deserving of death, not only do the same but also approve of those who practice them.” (Rom. 1:28-32)

The answer to this moral decline according to George Barna 

 “Unless Christian churches return to the basics to restore the foundations of the Christian faith, and parents train their children to embrace those foundations, there is little reason to believe that the coming quarter-century in America will include our historical levels of freedom.”

I believe George Barna is correct, that churches do need to return to their basic Christian foundations and parents do need to train their children to embrace those foundations. But, none of that will happen unless God’s people first do what God says they must do.

God promises He will do something if His people do something 

The promise verse at the top starts with the tiny conjunction word “if”, which means something will happen only if something else happens first. Let’s look at the passage, a small part at a time, to discover what must be done and what you get “if” you do it. 

“if my people, who are called by my name,”

Notice that this is directed only to God’s people who are called by His Name. It’s not directed at anyone else, no matter how worldly important or politically powerful they may be. It’s directed to God’s people, the ones who are called by His Name, period.

“will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways,

Notice that God is telling his people to do four things, 1) Humble themselves, 2) Pray, 3) Seek His Face, and 4) Turn from their wicked ways.

That’s it! It really doesn’t seem like a big thing to do in order to get the HUGE results God promises they will get “if” they do it! 

The results

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

“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9)

Everyone falls short and sins

The Bible makes it clear that no matter how hard we may try, we fall short of God’s righteous standard of perfection. “Surely there is no righteous man on earth who does good and never sins.” (Eccles. 7:20)

There’s good news — God’s grace freely makes us right

“For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. Yet God, in his grace, freely makes us right in his sight. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins. For God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for sin. People are made right with God when they believe that Jesus sacrificed his life, shedding his blood. This sacrifice shows that God was being fair when he held back and did not punish those who sinned in times past, for he was looking ahead and including them in what he would do in this present time. God did this to demonstrate his righteousness, for he himself is fair and just, and he makes sinners right in his sight when they believe in Jesus.” (Rom. 3:23-26 NLT) 

Therefore

“Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity And cleanse me from my sin.” (Psalm 51:2)

“Create in me a clean heart, O God,
And renew a steadfast spirit within me.” (Psalm 51:10)

“If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.” (James 1:5)

What is wisdom?

Someone said, “Knowledge is knowing what to say. Wisdom is knowing when to say it.” I believe that’s true. It’s possible to have knowledge—book smarts or awareness of something—without the judgment that goes along with how to use

The wisdom from above is pure

“But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere.” (James 3:17 ESV)

Those who find wisdom  are blessed

“Blessed is the one who finds wisdom, and the one who gets understanding, for the gain from her is better than gain from silver and her profit better than gold. She is more precious than jewels, and nothing you desire can compare with her. Long life is in her right hand; in her left hand are riches and honor. Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace.  She is a tree of life to those who lay hold of her; those who hold her fast are called blessed.” (Prov. 3:13-18 ESV)

Therefore

“Listen to advice and accept instruction, that you may gain wisdom in the future.” (Prov. 19:20 ESV)

“Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.” (Eph. 5:15-17 ESV)

“Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed,” says the LORD, who has compassion on you.” (Isa. 54:10)

We live in a world where everything degrades and fails because of the curse of the earth (Gen. 4:11-16). It is also recognized with the second law of thermodynamics, which states, “As energy is transferred or transformed, more and more of it is wasted.” Another way of saying it is, “Everything left to itself degrades.”

This is true and evident everywhere

Everything has to be maintained and constantly tended to in order to keep going. Things around the home and community have to be cleaned, painted, and repaired to keep them from failing. A garden left to itself turns to weeds. A body that’s not taken care of gets out of shape. It’s just a simple fact of life. It sounds very negative and hopeless until you read what God says you can count on, which never weakens or fails, no matter what.

God says to you

“‘my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed,” says the LORD, who has compassion on you.” (Isa. 54:10) 

“But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Rom. 5:8)

“And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Rom. 8:38-39 NLT)

Therefore

“But I have trusted in your steadfast love; my heart shall rejoice in your salvation.” (Psalm 13:5)

“Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear him, on those who hope in his steadfast love,” (Psalm 33:18)

“For I am the LORD your God who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you.” (Isa. 41:13)

God will strengthen and help you

“So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” (Isa. 41:10)

God will help you in your weakness

“Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.” (Rom. 8:26-27)

God will help you with blessings

“From the God of your father who helps you. And by the Almighty who blesses you
With blessings of heaven above,
Blessings of the deep that lies beneath,
Blessings of the breasts and of the womb.” (Gen. 49:25)

Therefore 

“For the Lord God helps Me, Therefore, I am not disgraced; Therefore, I have set My face like flint, And I know that I will not be ashamed.” (Isa. 50:6)

“I called to the LORD, who is worthy of praise, and I have been saved from my enemies.” (Psalm 18:3)

“‘You shall not fear them, for it is the Lord your God who fights for you.’” (Deut. 3:22 ESV)

What God says

“I, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, will act for you with thunder and earthquake and great noise, with whirlwind and storm and consuming fire” (Isa 29:6)

For those who put their trust in Jesus Christ, God fights for them

When God takes over your battles and begins to fight for you, “your ruthless enemies will be crushed like the finest of dust. Your many attackers will be driven away like chaff before the wind...” (Isa 29:5)

“For the Lord your God is he who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies, to give you the victory.’” (Deut. 20:4 ESV)

“Surely he will save you from the fowler’s snare and from the deadly pestilence.” (Psalm 91:3)

“And you have seen all that the Lord your God has done to all these nations for your sake, for it is the Lord your God who has fought for you.” (Josh. 23:3 ESV)

“One man of you puts to flight a thousand, since it is the Lord your God who fights for you, just as he promised you.” (Josh. 23:10 ESV)

“And Joshua captured all these kings and their land at one time, because the Lord God of Israel fought for Israel.” (Josh. 10:42 ESV) 

“The horse is made ready for the day of battle, but the victory belongs to the Lord.” (Prov. 21:31 ESV)

Therefore

“No weapon that is fashioned against you shall succeed, and you shall refute every tongue that rises against you in judgment. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord and their vindication from me, declares the Lord.” (Isa. 54:17 ESV)

“The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still.” (Exo. 4:14)

“Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.” (James 1:2-3)  

According to the dictionary, a test is a procedure for critical evaluation; a means of determining the presence, quality, or truth of something; a trial. Testing, although often unpleasant, is an important step to moving ahead in something. According to the passage above, testing your faith produces perseverance. It keeps you from sliding backward and helps you persevere, especially in the face of trials.

Considering testing pure joy

Testing is rarely a pleasant experience, but you have to look beyond it to the positive results it achieves. The promise in the above passage is about being able to see the positive side of testing, which is achieving the quality of perseverance, which is not failing in faith. And that is something to be very joyful about.

Therefore

“Blessed is a man who perseveres under trial; for once he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.” (James 1:12) 

“so that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ;” (1 Peter 1:7)

“He himself bore our sins” in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; “by his wounds you have been healed.” (1 Peter 2:24)

What God did for us through Jesus

This wonderful promise, quoted by Peter, is from Isaiah 53, and the entire chapter below tells the wonderful story of redemption described by Isaiah hundreds of years before it happened.

It’s about the coming Messiah, Jesus

“Who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? He grew up before him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground. He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him. He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain. Like one from whom people hide their faces he was despised, and we held him in low esteem.”

He bore our suffering and was pierced for our transgressions  

“Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed.”

We had a sin problem only God could solve (see John 3:16)

“We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth. By oppression and judgment he was taken away. Yet who of his generation protested? For he was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgression of my people he was punished. He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death, though he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth. Yet it was the Lord’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the Lord make his life an offering for sin, he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the Lord will prosper in his hand. After he has suffered, he will see the light of life and be satisfied; by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities.”

Therefore

“Therefore I will give him a portion among the great, and he will divide the spoils with the strong, because he poured out his life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors. For he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.” (Isa. 53 NIV)

“but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.” (Isa. 40:31)

Renewed strength and much more!

According to the above passage, those who place their Hope in the LORD will experience many wonderful benefits: they will have renewed strength, they will soar on wings like eagles, they will run and not grow weary, and they will walk and not be faint. Why is this so?

Hope is a powerful part of faith

“Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” (Heb. 11:1)

Therefore

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.” (Rom. 15:13)