IF MY PEOPLE – PART THREE
Sunday – April 19, 2020, Nisan 25, 5780
Greetings my dear and precious brothers and sisters in Christ. Welcome back to this Sunday series, today titled “If My People”. By the time you read this the situation with the Corona virus will be in a different but not better place than today (March 18-19, 2020). The title for this teaching as you may have already recognized comes from a very familiar 2 Chronicles passage. This teaching will take several weeks to accomplish. If you are reading this on Facebook please take a moment to hit the “love” and “share” buttons to give us positive feedback and to greatly expand the reach of these teachings. Most of you may be able to quote verse fourteen of the following passage due to seeing it and hearing it so often. I have been hearing this verse prayed, read, and quoted for decades. Why do you suppose this prayer goes unanswered to the day of this writing and in fact things have gotten far worse? Are we missing something? Is the land being devoured and are there pestilences among us? Let us turn our attention to the text and read it slowly and reflectively (thoughtfully, meditatively) aloud. Yes, aloud!
2 Chronicles 7:12-16 (KJV)
12 And the LORD appeared to Solomon by night, and said unto him, I have heard thy prayer, and have chosen this place to myself for an house of sacrifice.
13 If I shut up heaven that there be no rain, or if I command the locusts to devour the land, or if I send pestilence among my people;
14 If my people, which are called by my name, shall 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.
15 Now mine eyes shall be open, and mine ears attent unto the prayer that is made in this place.
16 For now have I chosen and sanctified this house, that my name may be there for ever: and mine eyes and mine heart shall be there perpetually.
Let’s now pick up with where we left off last week in verse thirteen of our text above. I was discussing what is now popularly but erroneously called “Praise and Worship” with regard to the lack of rain (spiritual and physical) from Heaven. The song service sometimes has true praise (declaring who He is, what He has done) but is a tiny part of our worship. Most of the songs sound good, spiritual, religious but are unsupported by Scripture, I gave one example last Sunday. The rain in Old Testament times was physical and spiritual, same as today. The spiritual condition of the people resulted in the physical conditions of and surrounding the people like drought and famine. The spiritual condition of a person and a people are what brings the physical conditions of the same people. I often refer to the following Scripture.
John 10:10 (KJV)
10 The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.
Please do not be mislead by the word “might” in the King James Version. That word is way more commonly translated “have” and also to have the ability, be able, can have, or able to take. It is always our choice not happenstance that we have stealing, killing, and destroying in our lives (disobedience) or alternately the abundant life (obedience) Jesus came and purchased for all of us at Calvary. God is not at any time the source of the curse (stealing, killing, and destroying) in our lives. Our choices open the door to the enemy, the curse and we suffer the consequences of really bad decision making. On the other hand, we can choose God, His thoughts, His Words, and His ways and walk fully in the abundant life. The abundant life is not one of sometimes not enough, or even a life of just enough, it is a life where you are overflowing into peoples lives as the Spirit of God directs (doing those works prepared from the beginning). Unwavering obedience to the Word of God brings the manifestations of God into our lives and that is always overflowing abundance.
A lack of worship, submission to God, results in famine, drought in our lives in some or all areas (Zechariah 14:17). Again, this is the result of choices we make (Proverbs 18:21). You may be thinking, wow, you are pretty tough on us today Dr. Wood, I am not choosing to be poor or sick. Dear one, it may due to ignorance, laziness, or more likely you have allowed other things of life to crowd out the Word of God, studying, and proving the Word.
As we look further at verse thirteen might we ask ourselves if the locusts are consuming our land. Do we always seem to just not have quite enough? And, finally in verse thirteen of our text, what about the pestilence? Surely this Corona virus is a pestilence. Is this virus stealing, killing, and destroying in the land? Is this of the devil or of God? If you are having trouble with the answer look back at John 10:10. The curse is ever present in the earth and the unsaved are subject to the curse due to sin and an unrepentant heart (have not received Jesus as Lord) 24/7. The only thing that keeps the devil from killing them all is the love and mercy of God, the prayers of the saints, and the restraining of evil by the presence of individual Christians and the Church corporately. You and I dear saints of God have a Blood Covenant relationship with God in Christ Jesus so unless we choose disobedience and unbelief we are protected, in Goshen. Unfortunately, people in the Church speak unbelief with hearts full of fear right along with the world. The time of repentance is long past due but God will accept our repentance and rejoice even now. Widespread repentance in the Church will dramatically change the position (low esteem) and condition (poverty of every kind) of the Church and will then change the world around us.
Until our next publication, as a Bible Teacher and Prophetic Voice I speak this blessing over each and every one of you, receive it, believe it, and speak over yourself and your family by faith in Jesus name! Quit asking God to bless you, you are already blessed, you have the Blessing, give Him something to do by the words of your mouth. Once you know the will of God, decree the thing (Job 22:28, Isaiah 45:11, Mark 11:23). (The Blessing is the Holy Spirit) We have left God way to long with nothing to do in our lives.
Numbers 6:24-26 (AMP)
24 The Lord bless you and watch, guard, and keep you;
25 The Lord make His face to shine upon and enlighten you and be gracious (kind, merciful, and giving favor) to you;
26 The Lord lift up His [approving] countenance upon you and give you peace (tranquility of heart and life continually).
By: Dr. David Wood, Author, Bible Teacher, and Prophetic Voice
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