IF MY PEOPLE

2 Chronicles 7:12-13 (NKJV)

Then the Lord appeared to Solomon by night and said to him, “I have heard your prayer, and have chosen this place for Myself as a house of sacrifice. When I shut up heaven and there is no rain, or command locusts to devour the land, or send pestilence among My people,”

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

2 Chronicles 7:1-2

When Solomon had finished praying, the fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices; and the glory of the Lord filled the temple. And the priests could not enter the house of the Lord, because the glory of the Lord had filled the Lord’s house.

2 Chronicles 7:3

When all the children of Israel saw how the fire came down, and the glory of the Lord on the temple, they bowed their faces to the ground on the pavement, and worshipped and praised the Lord, saying, “For He is good, for His mercy endures forever.”

FOR HE IS GOOD, FOR HIS MERCY ENDURES FOREVER!

1 Corinthians 3:16

Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?

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

1. Humble Ourselves

2 Chronicles 7:14a

If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves.

Humble – to bend the knee, turn away from pride and submit to God

James 4:10

Humble yourself in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.

2 Chronicles 33:12

Now when he was in affliction, he implored the Lord his God, and humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers and prayed to Him; and He received his entreaty, heard his supplication, and brought him back to Jerusalem into his kingdom. The Manasseh knew that the Lord was God.

2. Pray

2 Chronicles 7:14a

If My people who are called by My Name will humble themselves and pray.

Pray – palal – to intercede, to ask or request for a particular thing to be done

“Before God moves in extraordinary ways, He first calls His church to extraordinary prayer.” – Jonathan Edwards

2 Kings 19:19

Now therefore, O Lord our God, I pray, save us from his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that You are the Lord God, You alone.

2 Kings 19:35a

And it came to pass on a certain night, that the angel of the Lord went out, and killed in the camp of the Assyrians one hundred and eighty-five thousand.

1 Thessalonians 5:17

Pray without ceasing.

3. Seek His Face

2 Chronicles 7:14a

If My people who are called by My Name will humble themselves and pray and seek My face.

To seek God’s face is to seek His Presence.

Exodus 33:14

And He said, “My Presence [Face] will go with you, I will give you rest.”

Seek – search for, seek with diligence

“Revival is when the eternal, all-consuming presence of the Lord comes into His church. Revival is God’s arrival.” – Daniel Norris

4. Turn from Our Wicked Ways

2 Chronicles 7:14a

If My people who are called by My Name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways.

Turn – turn back, turn around, repent, complete change of direction away from sin and to God

Wicked – evil, unwholesome, troubled, morally depraved

The Holy Spirit is calling us to turn away from lukewarmness, complacency, apathy, worldliness, impurity in thought word or action, selfishness, unforgiveness, bitterness, gossip, pride, envy, arrogance, etc.

“God are my hands clean? Is my heart pure?” – Young man in prayer

Threefold Promise of God: Then, I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.

Rapha – to heal, to mend, to stitch together, to make whole, to be a physician

Jesus Christ is Jehovah Rapha! He is the Lord our Healer!

Discussion Questions:

1. What kind of picture comes to your mind when you hear the word, “revival”?

2. Does the thought of God’s presence coming in great power excite you or frighten you?

3. What can believers do to help usher in a powerful move of God in our nation?

4. Do you believe God wants to bring revival to our nation? Why or why not?

5. Which of the four conditions for revival in 2 Chronicles 7:14, is God highlighting for you?