God Is Not Healing The Land, WHY.
People Are Seeking And Praying; But This Is What They Are Not Doing:
1. People Refuse To Humble Themselves
2. People Will Not Turn From Their Wicked Ways
WHAT PEOPLE?
God’s People: Believers of God. He Didn’t’ Say The World, He Said
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 Heal Their Land.
In three short months, just like He did with the plagues of Egypt, God has taken away everything we worship. , "you want to worship athletes; I will shut down the stadiums. You want to worship musicians; I will shut down Civic Centers. You want to worship actors, I will shut down theaters. You want to worship money; I will shut down the economy and collapse the stock market. You don't want to go to church and worship Me, I will make it where you can't go to church" Maybe we don't need a vaccine, Maybe we need to take this time of isolation from the distractions of the world and have a personal revival where we focus on the ONLY thing in the world that really matters. Jesus.
“Who Ya Gonna Call. “
You Can’t Call On The President.
You Can’t Call On The Government.
You Can’t Even Call On The World Health Org.
We Can’t Call On Anything Or Anyone That We Have So Disobediently Put Before Our Creator.
We Have To Call On The One That Has Everything In His Control.
God and Only God.
There Is Nothing Impossible For God.
People Have To Return To God.
Not Temporarily During This Pandemic
Permanently. (J. P.)
Psalm 46, “God is our Refuge and Strength [mighty and impenetrable to temptation], a very present and well-proved help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change and though the mountains be shaken into the midst of the seas, Though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at its swelling and tumult. Selah [pause, and calmly think of that]! There is a river whose streams shall make glad the city of God, the holy place of the tabernacles of the Most High. God is in the midst of her, she shall not be moved; God will help her right early [at the dawn of the morning]. The nations raged, the kingdoms tottered and were moved; He uttered His voice, the earth melted. The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our Refuge (our Fortress and High Tower). Selah [pause, and calmly think of that]! Come behold the works of the Lord, Who has wrought desolations and wonders in the earth. He makes wars to cease to the end of the earth; He breaks the bow into pieces and snaps the spear in two; He burns the chariots in the fire. Let be and be still, and know (recognize and understand) that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations! I will be exalted in the earth! The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our Refuge (our High Tower and Stronghold). Selah [pause, and calmly think of that]!” (AMPC)
That word ‘midst’ is simply defined as ‘in the middle of’. And for many of us, that describes us to the letter! We’re right in the middle of a storm on every side! Reminds you a bit of Paul when he said: “We are hedged in (pressed) ON EVERY SIDE [troubled and oppressed IN EVERY WAY], but not cramped or crushed; we suffer embarrassments and are perplexed and unable to find a way out, but not driven to despair; we are pursued (persecuted and hard driven), but not deserted [to stand alone]; we are struck down to the ground, but never struck out and destroyed.” (2 Corinthians 4:8-9 AMPC)
For many of us that is just how life feels at the moment, we’re experiencing troubles On Every Side, and In Every Way! But thank God that’s not the end to our story!
And as our headlines have become more dominated with new dangers, as so many hearts have been struggling with new anxieties and new fears, I think we're ready for the incredible peace offered in Psalm 46. I like to call it "Good News for Bad Times". And maybe there’s a good reason this news is landing on your doorstep today!
Our Scripture opens with tremendous encouragement: "God is our Refuge and Strength a very present and well-proved help in trouble." And He’s not only our refuge (or covering) but He’s also our Strength. And can we be honest? When we’re facing hard and harsh times, it has a tendency to weaken us. When we’re battling the storms of marriage, parenthood, work, church, family, health, finances, etc…our places of strength, become the places we become most vulnerable to weakness. We don’t attend church, prayer, bible study, we don’t dive into the Word of God, we don’t sing the songs of Zion, we don’t walk by faith, we lose hope and trust, and at that very moment is when fear arrives with all of its baggage to pay us an extended, unwelcomed visit! But when we go to God First, He protects us as a Refuge, and He becomes the Strength we need to make it out of this particular storm in life. Paul once again encourages us with these words: “But He said to me, My grace (My favor and loving-kindness and mercy) is enough for you [sufficient against any danger and enables you to bear the trouble manfully]; for My strength and power are made perfect (fulfilled and completed) and show themselves most effective in [your] weakness. Therefore, I will all the more gladly glory in my weaknesses and infirmities, that the strength and power of Christ (the Messiah) may rest (yes, may pitch a tent over and dwell) upon me!” (2 Corinthians 12:9 AMPC)
The more troubled things are, the more present God makes Himself! The psalmist then says, "Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change and though the mountains be shaken into the midst of the seas, though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at its swelling and tumult. Selah [pause, and calmly think of that] “ (vss. 2-3 AMPC) In other words, everything's collapsing here - things that have always been there for us; but no fear. Why? "God is our Refuge and Strength." So it doesn’t matter how the mountains shake, or how bad the rivers roar, nothing can hinder God’s help for us! Which is why the psalmist admonishes us: “…Selah [pause, and calmly think of that…” Sometimes all we need to do is find somewhere quiet to sit still and have a Selah moment. This is a time to remember who God was, is and will always be. A time to remember what God has done for you in the past. A time to remember His name, His blood, His Word, His Will, His Work, His Plan, His Son! This is a time to remember the healing, the saving and the deliverance. A time to remember the last time you thought you wouldn’t make it through, make it over or make it out of and then there was a ‘But God’ Encounter!
Today let this be the day that you start to Selah, in the middle of the Storm!
Don’t let the elements cause you to forget who made them and who controls them!
2 Chronicles 7:14, “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 will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” (NIV)
Solomon’s temple was finally complete. The work of 70,000 laborers, 80,000 stone cutters, and 3,600 foremen—finished. Pure gold covered parts of the interior. Precious inlaid stones sparkled. The Ark of the Covenant inhabited the Holy of Holies. Only the presence of God was missing. So Solomon prays, “…Arise, O LORD God, to Your resting place…” (2 Chronicles 6:41 NKJV). And how did God respond? “When Solomon had finished praying, fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices; and the glory of the LORD filled the temple.” (2 Chronicles 7:1 NKJV). The people fell on their faces declaring, “…For He is good, For His mercy endures forever.” (2 Chronicles 7:3 NKJV). Then, after 15 days of celebration Solomon retreated to his palace.
BUT GOD WASN’T FINISHED SPEAKING!
God knows our tendency to forget His blessings and go our own way. And often times we get so caught up in what God did that we act as though He can’t and won’t do anything else. But God had so much more in store! But in order for Him to release it, there were some conditions that had to be met. And these conditions still remain today. And that word “Condition” is defined as “to set prior requirements on (something) BEFORE it can occur.” Its Latin Origin “Condicion” which means “Agreement”, comes from its root “Condicere” which means “To Agree Upon.” In other words, God was ready to do some great things for His people, HOWEVER, they had to agree with Him on the set requirements He put in place BEFORE they could attain the greater blessings! And what was His Set Requirements?
God said:
1.. “If MY PEOPLE, who are called by MY NAME.” – We must turn from Self-Promotion to God-Promotion. God makes it clear from the start, you are “…MY PEOPLE…” and you are called by “…MY NAME.” However, somehow we’ve managed to high-jack God’s Church From Him! We’ve made all the programs, protocols, banquets, anniversaries, services, and the like about US…NOT HIM! But the 2 very important requirements for us to always remember is that it’s not about us, nor is it about our names! The Bible makes it clear: “If you look at us, you might well miss the brightness. We carry this precious Message around in the unadorned clay pots of our ordinary lives. That’s to prevent anyone from confusing God’s incomparable power with us. As it is, there’s not much chance of that. You know for yourselves that we’re not much to look at.” (2 Corinthians 4:7-12 MSG) And that’s the hard pill to swallow that the church keeps choking on: IT’S NOT ABOUT US OR OUR NAME! The first thing we need to get back to is FOCUS! And not on US, but on HIM!
2.. “Will HUMBLE THEMSELVES and pray.” – We must turn from Self-Reliance to God-Reliance. I love the fact that Humility comes BEFORE Prayer! In fact, I believe we would pray much differently and effectively if we entered prayer in Humility first! Unfortunately, however, as a church, we’ve become very pompous, entitled, prideful, egotistical, and arrogant. We have 5-layer embroidered robes, rings the size of our fists, crosses bigger than the one Jesus hung on, and pulpit chairs that look like they belong in the throne room of God. Jesus had an inner circle of 3, yet we have an entourage of 30. Our hidden agenda and personal itinerary (masked as our motto and vision) is engraved on the building, our picture is in the vestibule, our names are always called, applauded and receive standing ovations that God doesn’t even get on Communion Sunday when it is His very blood and body in which we partake of that saved our lives. When did the church lose her humility? The Bible says: “Living as becomes you] with complete lowliness of mind (HUMILITY) and meekness (unselfishness, gentleness, mildness), with patience, bearing with one another and making allowances because you love one another.” (Ephesians 4:2 AMP); “Do nothing from factional motives [through contentiousness, strife, selfishness, or for unworthy ends] or prompted by conceit and empty arrogance. Instead, in the true spirit of HUMILITY (lowliness of mind) let each regard the others as better than and superior to himself [thinking more highly of one another than you do of yourselves].” (Philippians 2:3 AMP); “…What matters is not your outer appearance – the styling of your hair, the jewelry you wear, the cut of your clothes – but your inner disposition. Cultivate inner beauty, the gentle, gracious kind that God delights in…” (1 Peter 3:1-6 MSG). Church, before we get back to Prayer, let us first get back to Humility!
3.. “And seek MY FACE.” – We must turn from Self-Direction to God-Direction. Which makes me wonder, when exactly did we start to treat God like a genie in a bottle? We like to rub Him with phony praise, and eloquent prayers so He pops out the bottle and performs just for us. But when did we get so caught up in His Hand that we forgot about His Face, in the first place? The Bible says: “The Lord bless you and watch, guard, and keep you; The Lord make His FACE to shine upon and enlighten you and be gracious (kind, merciful, and giving favor) to you; The Lord lift up His [approving] COUNTENANCE upon you and give you peace (tranquility of heart and life continually)” (Numbers 6:24-26 AMP). The Message Bible says it like this: “God bless you and keep you, God smile on you and gift you, God look you full in the FACE and make you prosper.” (MSG). I’m amazed that this blessing speaks of the Lords FACE: “…shining…enlightening…being gracious, kind, merciful, favorable…approving countenance…peace…tranquility…smiling…gifting…and prosperity…” and all of it focuses on HIS FACE…NOT HIS HAND, yet His Children only seek…His Hand! Before you enter prayer with your long to-do-list for God, all of the blessings you need bestowed, the miracles you need performed, the debts you need cancelled, the sickness you need healed, the monies you need deposited in your bank account within the next 15 minutes, how about you try instead to enter in prayer with Worship?! NOT entering in hoping that God makes it Worth Your While! No, just enter in with Worship. The word “Worship” is defined as “the feeling or expression of reverence and adoration for a deity; great admiration or devotion.” Its Old English Origin literally means “worthiness or acknowledgement of worth.” But the BIBLE defines it better! Revelation 4:10, reads, “At the same time the twenty-four elders knelt down before the One sitting on the throne. And as they WORSHIPED the One Who lives forever, they placed their crowns in front of the throne…” (CEV).
4.. “And TURN from their wicked ways.” We must turn from Self-Indulgence to Self-Examination. I love the word “Turn” because it’s defined as “to move into a different position, especially so as to face or move in the opposite direction.” And that word “Opposite” has its Latin Origin “Oppositus”, from the root “Opponere”, and means “To Be Set Against.” Now, regardless to popular belief, saying you’ve turned from the old to the new, and actually showing evidence of it are two totally different things! Because to “Turn” requires Action! It’s to move into a different position and face the direct opposite direction and to set yourself against, or to become an enemy of your former standing. In essence if you were used to going South, you now go North, if you were used to going West, you now go East! When you become a new creature, you don’t return to your old crap! You turn, you change direction! The Bible says: “Therefore if any person is [ingrafted] in Christ (the Messiah) he is a new creation (a new creature altogether); the old [previous moral and spiritual condition] has passed away. Behold the fresh and new has come!” (2 Corinthians 5:17 AMP); “We were buried therefore with Him by the baptism into death, so that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glorious [power] of the Father, so we too might [habitually] live and behave in newness of life.” (Romans 6:4 AMP); “Bring forth fruit that is consistent with repentance [let your lives prove your change of heart.” (Matthew 3:8 AMP). Church, we’ve talked about changing and turning long enough, now is the time to actually do it! Why? Because the Bible warns: “So any person who knows what is right to do but does not do it, to him it is sin.” (James 4:17 AMP); “But be doers of the Word [obey the message], and not merely listeners to it, betraying yourselves [into deception by reasoning contrary to the Truth].” (James 1:22 AMP). In a nutshell: Today is your day to make a Turn for the better!
And after all of that what happens next? Well, the Bible says: “THEN”!
“…THEN will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land!” I love the word “Then” because it’s defined as “After This or After That“! So after WE, THE CHURCH, fulfill the pre-conditions of God……”THEN” Happens!
The turn-around this country needs is dependent on if and when WE make the decision to turn back to God! The change doesn’t happen when unbelievers turn to God, but GOD said, “IF MY PEOPLE…CALLED BY MY NAME.” Birthing a significant, effective, change for the better has always begun with GOD’S PEOPLE.
If there is going to be a National turn around, it has to begin with “MY PEOPLE…CALLED BY MY NAME.”
And when you look at the 3-fold blessing that God will bestow it makes you wonder, what are we waiting for?!
- “…THEN will I hear from heaven…”;
- “…and will forgive their sin…”;
- “… and will heal their land!”
And all we have to do, as God’s people, called by His name, is to obey the Set Requirements:
- Humble Ourselves;
- Pray;
- Seek His Face; and
- Turn From Our Wicked Ways…
‘THEN’…AFTER THAT…God Promises to Hear From Heaven; Forgive Sin and Heal the Land! I reiterate, CHURCH, what are we waiting for?
Other translations of the text read like this:
“If My people, who are called by My name, shall humble themselves, pray, seek, crave, and require of necessity My face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven, forgive their sin, and heal their land.” (AMP);
“if My people who are called by My name put away their pride and pray, and look for My face, and turn from their sinful ways, then I will hear from heaven. I will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.” (NLV);
“Then if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and restore their land.” (NLT).
But I think the one I love most is this version: “If my own people will humbly pray and turn back to me and stop sinning, then I will answer them from heaven. I will forgive them and make their land fertile once again.” (CEV).
It amazes me that we often think of the “The World” and “Unbelievers” as the problem to why there’s sin, no forgiveness and no healing. But GOD says, “…IF MY OWN PEOPLE…TURN BACK TO ME AND STOP SINNING…”
Church, He’s Talking To Us! The World And Unbelievers Are Not The Problem, We Are! If We Dare To Get Back To God And The Ways Of Godliness, And Stop Abusing Grace While We Continue To Sin, God Will Hear, Forgive And Heal! And The Only Thing Holding Up The Process Is A Prayerless Church! We Are His People, We Are His Children, We Have The Additional Responsibility For Being Salt And Light As Well!
We Have to Start Impacting the World, Instead of Letting the World Impart Into Us! Remember: Their Change Depends On Our Change! So Let’s Determine Today to Change and Get Back to Being a Nation of God’s People, Who PRAY! Why? Because…
“God appeared to Solomon that very night and said, “I ACCEPT YOUR PRAYER; yes, I have chosen this place as a temple for sacrifice, a house of worship. If I ever shut off the supply of rain from the skies or order the locusts to eat the crops or send a plague on my people, and my people, my God-defined people, respond by humbling themselves, PRAYING, seeking my presence, and turning their backs on their wicked lives, I’ll be there ready for you: I’ll listen from heaven, forgive their sins, and restore their land to health. From now on I’m alert day and night to the PRAYERS offered at this place. Believe me, I’ve chosen and sanctified this Temple that you have built: My Name is stamped on it forever; my eyes are on it and my heart in it always. As for you, if you live in my presence as your father David lived, pure in heart and action, living the life I’ve set out for you, attentively obedient to my guidance and judgments, then I’ll back your kingly rule over Israel—make it a sure thing on a sure foundation. The same covenant guarantee I gave to David your father I’m giving to you, namely, ‘You can count on always having a descendant on Israel’s throne.’” (7:12-18 MSG)
Isn’t it Absolutely Amazing the Things God Will Do, If Only His People Would Simply PRAY?
“Desperate and soul-stirring prayers result in answers. When God is sought in desperation, He
“When you pray, your prayers are heard by the same God who answered Moses’ prayer for water in the desert; the God who gave Abraham and His barren wife a son; and the God who made the slave Joseph second in power only to Pharaoh. Nothing is impossible for God when you pray and believe for His answer to come.” (Francis Chan)
Blessings
J.P. Olson
