If You Will, Then I Will!

King James Version (2 Chronicles 7:13-14)

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.

1. God wants to pour out His Spirit!

King James Version (Joel 2:28)

And it shall come to pass afterward,

That I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh;

And cyour sons and dyour daughters shall prophesy,

Your old men shall dream dreams,

Your young men shall see visions:

29  And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids

In those days will I pour out my spirit.

He wants to pour His Spirit out upon His church!

He wants to pours His Spirit out on the world!

Here is the thing though! Even though we understand that God wants to and is going to pour His Spirit out it does not mean that it does not matter what the church does or does not do. We cannot just sit back and quote Joel without looking at what we are responsible for. You see, it is no good for anyone to say that nothing hinges on God’s people!

As a matter of fact the Word of God does put an heavy emphasis on what we are to do. Our text being but one example.

You see the fact is that even though God wants to pour out, will pour and is pouring out all over the world, the truth remains that;

2. He does hold the blessing at times depending on the actions of His people!

Why? Because we are His body and He has set us in this world to be used by Him! So that His Spirit although not limited to us can work through us.

This is a biblical thing. Look at our text.

King James Version (2 Chronicles 7:13-14)

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,

You have the power to impact things!

i. The Israelites

Solomons prayer

We get an idera of the resposibility that is given to humanity.

King James Version (Isaiah 58:6-8)

Is not this the fast that I have chosen?

To loose the bands of wickedness,

To undo the heavy burdens,

And to let the oppressed go free,

And that ye break every yoke?

7  Is it not zto deal thy bread to the hungry,

And that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house?

bWhen thou seest the naked, that thou cover him;

And that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh?

8  Then shall thy light break forth as the morning,

And thine health shall spring forth speedily:

And thy righteousness shall go before thee;

The glory of the LORD shall be thy rereward.

ii. Adam

King James Version (Genesis 3:17-19)

And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; 18 Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; 19 In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.

I realized something in this text and you can mark this down. Right from the beginning God gave humanity resposibility. And under that resposibility their actions had great influence not only on their own lives but on the world around them.

THAT WAS ALL OLD TESTAMENT THOUGH!

iii. The church

And we are set in this world to be salt and light.

Why is this though?

Because we are here and we are meant to be something.

The Kingdom of our God is at hand.

Go forth.

Labourers are few

The Spirit of the living God is working through the church to push back the evil

Light and salt.

Over and over in scripture we understand that who we are and who we are meant to be is important and actually affects the outcome of not only a church congregation but also a land.

If you see the land in a mess. If you see crime rising. If you see drug addiction rising. If you see depression and anxiety rising. If you see evil rising. If you see strongholds being built.

A lot of the time what we are complaining that is happening out there can be changed if we would deal with what is happening in here!

3. If we want to see a mighty move of God we have something that we must do!

i. We must humble ourselves.

There is a humility in this.

NOT THINK HIGHLY BUT HUMBLY.

What is a the true sign of humility?

PRAYER

ii. We must pray!

To not pray is to not be reliant upon Him.

To not pray is to

A praying people is a powerful people.

iii. We must seek His face!

Before we seek after the miracle we need to seek after the miracle worker!

iv. We must repent of any sin and any wicked way that is found within us.

David - A man after God’s own heart!

King James Version (Psalm 139:23-24)

Search me, O God, and know my heart:

Try me, and know my thoughts:

24  And see if there be any wicked way in me,

And lead me in the way everlasting.

King James Version Psalm 51

1  Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness:

According unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions.

2  Wash me throughly from mine iniquity,

And cleanse me from my sin.

3  For I acknowledge my transgressions:

And my sin is ever before me.

4  Against thee, thee only, have I sinned,

And done this evil in thy sight:

That thou mightest be justified when thou speakest,

And be clear when thou judgest.

5  Behold, I was shapen in iniquity;

And in sin did my mother conceive me.

6  Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts:

And in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom.

7  Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean:

Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.

8  Make me to hear joy and gladness;

That the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice.

9  Hide thy face from my sins,

And blot out all mine iniquities.

10  Create in me a clean heart, O God;

And renew a right spirit within me.

11  Cast me not away from thy presence;

And take not thy holy spirit from me.

12  Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation;

And uphold me with thy free spirit.

13  Then will I teach transgressors thy ways;

And sinners shall be converted unto thee.

14  Deliver me from ybloodguiltiness, O God, thou God of my salvation:

And my tongue shall sing aloud of thy righteousness.

15  O Lord, open thou my lips;

And my mouth shall shew forth thy praise.

16  For thou desirest not sacrifice; else would I give it:

Thou delightest not in burnt offering.

17  The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit:

A broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.

King James Version Psalm 15

1  LORD, Who shall abide in thy tabernacle?

Who shall dwell in thy holy hill?

2  He that walketh uprightly, and worketh righteousness,

And speaketh the truth in his heart.

3  He that backbiteth not with his tongue,

Nor doeth evil to his neighbour,

So why is it revival happens when not everyone does this? Because revival is not contingent on every person.

Likewise not contingent on one person.

4. If we do this then God promises that He will do something!

i. He will hear us!

Doesn’t God always hear us. Oh He always hears us alright.

The word hear in this text means He will actually do something on our behalf. He will show up, He will act, He will answer our prayers! You see because God already knows everything and hears everything does not mean that He always acts upon everything. Sometimes its a timing thing. Sometimes its a not His will thing. But sometimes it is becuase there is something serious in our lives that He wants us to deal with. And that serious thing is known to us.

King James Version Psalm 66

If I regard iniquity in my heart,

The Lord will not hear me:

They regard iniquity in their heart who practice it secretly.

They regard iniquity in their heart who entertain and indulge the desire of sin.

They regard iniquity in their heart who reflect upon past sins with delight.

They regard iniquity in their heart who look upon the sins of others with approbation (approval or praise).

They regard iniquity in their heart who are not truly willing that God Himself would search and try them.

They regard iniquity in their heart who read the Word and hear the Word buit despite hearing and reading they avoid doing.

King James Version (Matthew 5:23-26)

23 Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee; 24 Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift. 25 Agree with thine adversary quickly, whiles thou art in the way with him; lest at any time the adversary deliver thee to the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the officer, and thou be cast into prison. 26 Verily I say unto thee, Thou shalt by no means come out thence, till thou hast paid the uttermost farthing.

ii. He will forgive us!

Alright Lord I have some pride there chip it off.

Alright Lord I have not been being honest, I have been lying, break it off.

Alright Lord I am concelaing secret sin remove it.

Alright Lord I have been devisive take it away.

Alright Lord I have been living in unbelief towards what you are saying help my unbelief.

iii. He will heal the land!

King James Version (2 Chronicles 7:13-14)

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.

Drug dealers and addicts

Crime

God says if you will I will.

Conditional promise!

You know why things are happening? Because God is faithful!

Now imagine if everyone that could get in on it would get in on it! Imagine what would happen!