If My People…
A Desperation for a Christ-Centered World
2 Chronicles 7:11-15
A Demonstration of God’s Power (2 Chronicles 7:1-3) Fire came down from Heaven, The glory of God was seen, and God’s people worshipped! v. 3 “For he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever.”
A Dedication of God’s Temple (2 Chronicles 7:4-10) 22,000 oxen, 120,000 sheep sacrificed. Music, feast. The temple was a symbol of God’s grace and mercy. The animal sacrifices were the foreshadowing of the ultimate sacrifice, Jesus Christ. In John 2:19-21, Jesus referred to Himself as the temple that would be destroyed and rebuilt in three days.
A Cause of Destress for God’s People (2 Chronicles 7:11-13)
We’re reminded that we must turn to God for everything. Those who were traveling to the promise land were reminded of the importance of seeing God as the great provider. We are told to never forget. The problem with comfort is that we often forget God. (Deut. 8:17-18) “Beware lest you say in your heart, My power and the might of my hand have gotten me this wealth. You shall remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you power to get wealth, that he may confirm his covenant that he swore to your fathers, as it is this day.”
I was challenged by a pastor/theologian to equip the flock that God has given me. He says this…”Imagine that America collapses. First anarchy, then tyranny — from the right or the left. Imagine that religious freedom is gone. What remains for Christians is fines, prison, exile, and martyrdom. Then ask yourself this: Has my preaching been developing real, radical Christians? Christians who can sing on death row,
Christians who will act like the believers in Hebrews 10:34: “You joyfully accepted the plundering of your property, since you knew that you yourselves had a better possession and an abiding one.” Christians who will face hate and reviling and exclusion for Christ’s sake and yet “rejoice in that day, and leap for joy, for behold, [their] reward is great in heaven” (Luke 6:22–23).
Have you been cultivating real Christians who see the beauty and the worth of the Son of God? Have you faithfully unfolded and heralded “the unsearchable riches of Christ” (Ephesians 3:8)? Are you raising up generations of those who say with Paul, “I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord” (Philippians 3:8)?
Have you shown them that they are “sojourners and exiles” (1 Peter 2:11), and that their “citizenship is in heaven,” from which they “await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ” (Philippians 3:20)? Do they feel in their bones that “to live is Christ, and to die is gain” (Philippians 1:21)?
Or have you neglected these greatest of all realities and repeatedly diverted their attention onto the strategies of politics? Have you inadvertently created the mindset that the greatest issue in life is saving America and its earthly benefits? Or have you shown your people that the greatest issue is exalting Christ with or without America? Have you shown them that the people who do the most good for the greatest number for the longest time (including America!) are people who have the aroma of another world with another King?
A Cry of Desperation for God’s Healing (2 Chronicles 7:14)
Two things keep us from healing
When we truly turn, we must turn to Christ. Jeremiah, the wiping prophet, warned the people of Judah in 25:5-6 “Turn now, every one of you, from his evil way and evil deeds, and dwell upon the land that the Lord has given to you and your fathers from of old and forever. Do not go after other gods to serve and worship them…”
God’s Devotion to His People (2 Chronicles 7:15-16) This invitation to prayer and repentance is promised with the assurance of God’s presence. What did Jesus say before he ascended into heaven? Matthew 28:20 “teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”