“If My People”

Scripture Text 2 Chronicles 7:11-14

   

 Would you join me in day of prayer for our nation and “Persecuted Christians” this Sunday?     

 We see our nation falling away from God and His laws into the very sins that He says He hates the most which are abortion (the murder of children in the womb) and homosexuality which is a perversion of God’s law. Our government and courts are all full of perversion; corruption and lies. People are turning away from God in record numbers. The churches are declining instead of growing. 2 Chronicles 7:11-14 (NLT) ¹¹ So Solomon finished the Temple of the Lord, as well as the royal palace. He completed everything he had planned to do in the construction of the Temple and the palace. ¹² Then one night the Lord appeared to Solomon and said, “I have heard your prayer and have chosen this Temple as the place for making sacrifices. ¹³ At times I might shut up the heavens so that no rain falls, or command grasshoppers to devour your crops, or send plagues among you. ¹⁴ 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. God encouraged Solomon by the promise that if His judgment should fall on the nation for their sin, they need only turn to the Lord in earnest humility and repentance and they would find forgiveness and restoration. This promise was given because God’s presence among His people Israel is eternal, and at that time was focused particularly on the temple. We Christians are also His covenant people through the eternal covenant of blood we have in Christ Jesus and this promise is also good for the body of Christ. Our bodies are the temple of the living God and He is focused on us.

We must take these words of God’s wisdom seriously that He gave to Solomon telling him what to do when He begins to judge the nation. Today Nov. 6^th is the ‘International Day of Prayer for Persecuted Christians. Christians around the world are facing persecution in unprecedented numbers.

100 million Christians around the globe are currently suffering. They are real, and they are our brothers and sisters in Christ. 1 Corinthians 12:26-27 says that “We are one body. If one member suffers, every member suffers with it; if one member is honored, every member rejoices with it.”

      Because we have freedom of religion in the United States, we can freely and openly worship Jesus Christ. Let us stand in the freedom we have to pray for our persecuted brothers and sisters around the world. A Nigerian pastor had this to say, “Only guns of love can silence guns of hatred. What better way to love someone than to pray for them?"

During this 2016 International Day of Prayer, join me in praying for the persecuted church. We pray that God will protect believers in persecuted countries. We pray that believers would see Christ in deeper ways. Lastly, we pray that Christ would soften the hearts of their persecutors. Jeremiah 33:3 says “Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things which you don’t know.” Since we have this invitation from God, we must as the body of Christ in unity, take time to go before the Lord in prayer for our nation and our persecuted brothers and sisters all over the world. God said in 2 Kings 19:20 “I have heard your prayer.”

 Invitation: If you are reading this and you are not a Christian, you can become one by confessing your sins to Jesus and asking Him to forgive you and save you from the penalty of those sins which is eternity in hell. He will give you a home in Heaven when this life is over. If you have just asked Jesus to save you, go to church as soon as possible and tell the pastor you have received Jesus as your personal Savior and Lord and you want to be baptized in obedience to His command. God bless you in your decision to follow Him.