sermon062506

2 Chronicles 7:12-22. Then the Lord appeared to Solomon in the 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 the heavens so that there is no rain, or command the locust to devour the land, or send pestilence among my people,

I want to stop here for this week.  I’m tempted to keep reading but you join me and learn patience.  There is much here to be said.  Lord use me at this time, in Jesus’ name Amen!

I have given you a prescription of what to do after sin, today I would like to began to look at another prescription that is labeled ‘what do you do after trouble comes’.  For if you live long enough, you will experience and go through trouble in your life.  So I ask you today, do you know what to do when trouble comes into your life?

First the ailments, the outward appearance, may not look the same even when the source, what’s on the inside, is the same.  You can have sin in your life and continue to live and function unaware, ignorant if you will, of any trouble that is in your life.  David knew about this and wrote a song about it.  Listen to some of the lyrics;

Psalm 37:1-9. Fret not yourself because of evildoers; be not envious of wrongdoers! For they will soon fade like the grass and wither like the green herb. Trust in the Lord, and do good; dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness. Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act. He will bring forth your righteousness as the light, and your justice as the noonday. Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way, over the man who carries out evil devices! Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath! Fret not yourself; it tends only to evil. For the evildoers shall be cut off, but those who wait for the Lord shall inherit the land.

But this song continues with the following lyrics;

Psalm 37:25-29. I have been young, and now am old, yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken or his children begging for bread. He is ever lending generously, and his children become a blessing. Turn away from evil and do good; so shall you dwell forever. For the Lord loves justice; he will not forsake his saints. They are preserved forever, but the children of the wicked shall be cut off. The righteous shall inherit the land and dwell upon it forever.

Evildoers may look good and appear successful, on the outside, for awhile.  Far too often you live your life by a snap shot and you base your assessment of a person by the snap shot that you have of them.  This song is about time; they will soon fade, the Lord will give to you, wait patiently for Him, and the evildoers shall be cut off.   

David tells you the result of patience and endurance but many of you here can’t see that yet, you are still in your young years.  Listen to him again; I have been young, and now am old, yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken or his children begging for bread. He is ever lending generously, and his children become a blessing.

Listen again to the application and apply this to your life; turn from evil (not toward evil), and do good.  When you walk this way, you will dwell forever, because the Lord loves justice and He will not forsake His saints, they (the saints) are preserved forever.  But the children of the wicked shall be cut off.  That is so amazing because this is found in verse 28 but back in verse 9 we find that the actual evildoers shall be cut off first.

Again the ailments, the outward appearance are not the same.  You can also have trouble in your life and continue to live and function unaware of sin or a multitude of sins that exist deep down inside of you.  Even when you feel that your walk is with the Lord, your talk is to the Lord and your service is about the Lord, there is trouble in your life, and it must be dealt with.  You may have dealt with your trouble by blaming others and other things; the economy, the school system, your race or ethnic background, your culture and upbringing, your parents or relatives, where you live, where you work, your church, or even your God.  You find it easier to look outward then to look inward.  You stay busy, always doing something, or have something on that makes noise like the radio or television, keeping your mind off the trouble but also to keep from looking inward.  Amen!

David wrote songs that we find in the Old Testaments and these songs, called psalms help you in all types of situations that you may find yourself.  The modern song writers, in our day, are not strangers to writing songs that helps in time of trouble.  Listen to the lyrics of a song written by Thomas A. Dorsey and see if these lyrics speak to your situation.  Listen to how there is an inward looking and reaction.

Like a ship that’s tossed and driven, battered by an angry sea.  When the storms of life are raging, and their fury falls on me, I wonder what I have done that makes this race so hard to run.  Then I say to my soul, take courage, the Lord will make a way somehow.

Try to do my best in service, try to live the best I can.  When I choose to do the right thing, evil’s present on every hand, I look up and wonder why that good fortune pass me by.  Then I say to my soul, be patient, the Lord will make a way somehow.

Often there’s misunderstanding out of all the good I do.  Go to friends for consolation and I find them complaining too, so many nights I toss in pain, wondering what the day will bring.  But I say to my heart, don’t worry, the Lord will make a way somehow.

The Lord will make a way some how, when beneath the cross I bow; He will take away each sorrow, let Him have your burdens now; when the load bears down so heavy the weight is shown upon my brow, there’s a sweet relief in knowing, O the Lord will make a way somehow.

You know this song don’t you?  When you listen to the words you come away saying there’s trouble in my way, I had to cry sometime, I even lay awake at night but it’s all right, Jesus, He will fix it after a while! 

Do you believe this?  Now is it enough?

For, even with songs, you need more assurance.  For if songs were all we need then we could have had the benediction after the choir concluded and be on our way somewhere else.  But songs are your spiritual appetizer that prepares you for the main meal.  Some of you because of your physical or medical conditions need to eat a snack in between meals; songs are your spiritual snack that will hold you over until the main meal.  Your song may be your first-aid until you can make it to the Spiritual Hospital, the sanctuary to hear the preach Word or make it to the Spiritual Clinic, the bible study classroom to learn the taught Word.

Listen again to what the Lord says in His Holy Word;

Then the Lord appeared to Solomon in the 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 the heavens so that there is no rain, or command the locust to devour the land, or send pestilence among my people,

The Lord says; I have heard your prayers and have chosen this place for myself as a house of sacrifice.  This is a reference to Solomon’s prayer that is recorded in chapter 6 and also 1 Kings Chapter 8, a prayer of dedication of the temple that has been built and a prayer that asks the Lord to forgive the people when they sin.  Notice that the text says; ‘when they sin’ not ‘if they sin’, and I agree with Brother Paul when he writes; “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”.  And all includes each one of you, so it is not ‘if you sin’, it is ‘when you sin’!  Amen! 

But, God is saying to you today, I have heard your prayers, they may not be published anywhere except heaven, but God has heard them.  And you also know that not only has He heard your prayers, but He has answered your prayers in a favorable way.  Your prayers for healing, He has heard and He has answered in a favorable way. 

Your prayers for your family, your son, your daughter, your husband, or your wife, your mom, your dad, your biological brother or sister, He has heard and He has answered in a favorable way. 

Your prayers for reconciliation, the Lord has heard them also and He has answered them in a favorable way. 

Your prayer for spiritual growth, He has heard and He has answered in a favorable way.  And if you pray about sin or trouble, He will hear and He will answer in a favorable way.

And that favorable way is that God gets the glory, all of the glory goes to Him!  Amen!

Surely you can join with Solomon and say Amen for the Lord has indeed heard your prayers. 

But you must also agree with the later part of this verse where it says;

‘And have chosen this place for myself as a house of sacrifice.   God responds to Solomon’s prayer that presents this situation; “But will God indeed dwell with man on the earth? Behold, heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain you, how much less this house that I have built!  God answers favorably by saying I will dwell in this place.  

New Hope you have accepted and embrace the Lamb of God who dwelt among us and takes away the sin of the world, the one who made the ultimate sacrifice, Jesus the Christ, the only begotten Son of God, the one you call Lord and Savior.  It is He who has built this place and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

This house of sacrifice is your house of worship, Amen!  And there is even greater good news and greater clarification of this, allow me to quote it for you straight from Scripture;

1 Corinthians 6:19-20. Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.

Romans 12:1. I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.

I have heard your prayer and have chosen this place for myself as a house of sacrifice. When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command the locust to devour the land, or send pestilence among my people.  Notice again that the word is not if but when.  God knows how to get the attention of His people

You have prayed and you have worshipped and now you must deal with the when part also, that time when trouble is in your way, that time when you think you can look anyone in the eye and say; Try to do my best in service, try to live the best I can.  When I choose to do the right thing, evil’s present on every hand, I look up and wonder why that good fortune pass me by. 

You need to get this today for someone here is struggling with this concept; the Lord has made it clear to you that He has heard your prayer.  You are praying, having a talk with Jesus, and He lets you know that He has heard you.  You have not forsaken the assembling of yourself with the other saints and the Lord has assured you that He is in this place and He dwells within you. 

You feel that your prayer, your worship, your service, should be enough to cancel out any sin that you have done.  But, you are also in that time when heaven has been shut up so that there is no rain.  Rain is life giving, life providing and the farmer knows that if there is no rain then there are no crops and the live stock and the family parish.  Rain is a symbol of God’s blessings poured out on you.  Let some drops, now, fall on me.  You have sent up praises in this place but the blessings are not coming down the way you think that they should.  And God is telling you in His Word, there is a time when I will shut up heaven and there is no rain in your life.  God knows how to get your attention.

I may be speaking to you with theses words today but there may be some who say; Pastor I have received the blessing but as soon as I do, it’s gone.  Something or someone comes along and devour your blessing and steals your joy.  You are blessed with a job but the low pay devours your joy or the overtime at the wrong time devours your joy.  You are blessed to meet someone who seems alright but not being a believer devours your joy.  You have prayed for it and the Lord has provide it but now you realize that it is not what you thought it was and it begins to devour your joy.  The Lord said it this way; “When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command the locust to devour the land,” It is an either or statement.  There is no rain and thus no crops in the land or there is rain and crops in the land.  And when there are crops in the land (the blessing) now the command goes out to the locust to devour the land.  Joel 1:4 gives an accurate picture of this;

Joel 1:4. What the cutting locust left, the swarming locust has eaten. What the swarming locust left, the hopping locust has eaten, and what the hopping locust left, the destroying locust has eaten.

If you want more on this illustration read, Joel 2:1-11.  The locusts are sent to bring terror and destruction and they are sent as agents of God’s judgment.  God knows how to get your attention.

The verse ends by saying; “or send pestilence among my people”. Now pestilence implies disease or suffering.  And New Hope you have had your share of disease and suffering within the fellowship.

Let me say this to you and I want you to listen closely.  You can not quickly pigeon-hole any of this.  Some of you are very fast to say just like Job friends, what sin have you not confessed because that is why you are suffering so. But apply that same question to yourself.  Your prayer should be; “show me Lord what sin or sins I have not confessed to you.”  The trouble is an outward ailment of inward sin in the camp, the fellowship, and in the individual or individuals that make up the fellowship.  For you to pass blame many time causes advance trouble instead of a simple solution.

Go back to the passage that is before us; the Lord has spoken, I have heard your prayers and I am dwelling in this place with you.  Now when trouble comes, it must be dealt with.   Please don’t over look this; yes I am preaching to you today but the passage says that the Lord appeared to Solomon by night and said to him.  He did not choose to speak through a prophet but spoke to him directly.  And even though Chronicles don’t mention it, the book of Kings does, that Solomon heard but did not obey.

My brother and my sister do you know how the Lord speaks to you?  And are you listening?  For the Scriptures say that the Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are the children of God.  Do you hear Him when He speaks to you?  Do you listen and pay attention when He speaks to you?  Because if you can’t hear and will not listen to Him then you will not be able to know and understand what to do after trouble comes.  Intercede or supplicate; intercede for someone else or supplicate for yourself.

In Solomon’s case the best time for the Lord to speak to him was at night.  Will that work for you? 

This is what you need to take away from here today; trouble is in your way but notice that this song writer said ‘I lay awake at night but it’s alright.’  You may not see or realize that trouble is in your way but it is and your trouble is not like my trouble.  Therefore, you need to establish your own quiet time and a quiet place for you to be alone with the Lord.  My brother and my sister it is good to know and realize that there is a sweet spirit in this place and know that it is the spirit of the Lord but you also need to know Him in an intimate quiet way because he dwells within you.  Your quiet time can be morning, noon, during the day, evening, or night.  Ask Him to show you when it is a good time to meet Him and be alone with Him. 

You young people don’t wait to become old people, some of you are dealing with trouble today, so establish your own quiet time now and save yourself much frustration and anxiety.  You busy mothers, teach your busy children that there is a time during the day (if the Lord leads you that way) that mom will need to be alone with the Lord and make that a regular routine in your own house, training your children in this while they are young so that when they get older they will not depart from it.

Thomas Dorsey makes a good point in his chorus; The Lord will make a way some how, when beneath the cross I bow; He will take away each sorrow, let Him have your burdens now; when the load bears down so heavy the weight is shown upon my brow, there’s a sweet relief in knowing, O the Lord will make a way somehow.

Jesus He will fix it, yes Jesus He will fix it, and New Hope I’m here to let you know, today, that Jesus He will fix it after awhile.

Let us pray.