He Comes By Night
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· 6 viewsFebruary 6, 2022 Evening Worship
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
Good evening and welcome back!
It’s good to see that we’ve all made it another day in this crazy Kentucky winter.
Tonight, we are going to be looking at a passage from the book of 2 Chronicles.
And part of the focus for tonight is familiar to us, but like so many other scriptural passages, we tend to zero in on a few verses, but do not read the entire passage.
And because of this we sometimes miss important points that the author of the passage was trying to make.
And tonight we are going to actually be looking at 2 Chronicles 7, focusing on verses 12-22.
And the part of the passage that is familiar to us is verses 12-14, but there is actually much more to this conversation between King Solomon and God.
And eve though this is an Old Testament passage it really ties directly to our salvation and what I would call the full salvation experience.
Now, don’t get me wrong, to be saved we have to put our faith in Jesus Christ and only in Jesus Christ, but the full salvation experience encompasses our entire Christian walk and entire experience with God through Jesus and the Holy Spirit.
Romans 10:9-10, which is also very familiar tells us that . . .
That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.
And we always want to say that to be saved we must "confess with our mouth," however that is only half the scripture.
The second part of that is "believing in our heart that God raised Him from the dead."
It takes both of those to be, as Jesus told Nichodemus, "you must be born again."
And 2 Chronicles 7, which is Solomon's prayer to God and God's response is a model to all of us of not only salvation, but of sanctification, and growing in grace to hear those ever so faithful words . . .
“His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’
Which is the goal, is it not?
So, lets get into things this evening.
Again, 2 Chronicles 7, starting in verse 12 . . .
Scripture Focus
Scripture Focus
the Lord appeared to him at night and said: “I have heard your prayer and have chosen this place for myself as a temple for sacrifices. “When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command locusts to devour the land or send a plague among my people, 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 will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land. Now my eyes will be open and my ears attentive to the prayers offered in this place. I have chosen and consecrated this temple so that my Name may be there forever. My eyes and my heart will always be there. “As for you, if you walk before me as David your father did, and do all I command, and observe my decrees and laws, I will establish your royal throne, as I covenanted with David your father when I said, ‘You shall never fail to have a man to rule over Israel.’ “But if you turn away and forsake the decrees and commands I have given you and go off to serve other gods and worship them, then I will uproot Israel from my land, which I have given them, and will reject this temple I have consecrated for my Name. I will make it a byword and an object of ridicule among all peoples. And though this temple is now so imposing, all who pass by will be appalled and say, ‘Why has the Lord done such a thing to this land and to this temple?’ People will answer, ‘Because they have forsaken the Lord, the God of their fathers, who brought them out of Egypt, and have embraced other gods, worshiping and serving them—that is why he brought all this disaster on them.’ ”
Answered Prayers/Sin’s Consequences
Answered Prayers/Sin’s Consequences
Now, the scripture passage starts out with and introduction of how this meeting between God and Solomon took place . . .
the Lord appeared to him at night and said: “I have heard your prayer and have chosen this place for myself as a temple for sacrifices. “When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command locusts to devour the land or send a plague among my people,
Now, what’s going on here is Solomon had been engaged in building God's Temple and was growing concerned about the Spiritual condition of the people.
He had just completed the temple and dedicated it to God in chapter six, not only dedicating the temple but also asking for God's mercy and grace if the people fall into sin.
This is God's response to Solomon’s concerns.
So, God appeared to Solomon and assured him that He has heard his prayer.
He also assures Solomon that God has chosen this temple as His holy place.
God assures Solomon that the building of the temple was His will and that all things are in God's hands.
Which brings up the first questions for us as well.
What about us?
Do we have that same assurance?
Is the life we are living according to God's will?
Do we have God's assurance that it is God's will?
What about our salvation?
Do we have assurance of that?
Do we know that we know?
Which are all very important questions if we want to engage in a healthy and growing relationship with God.
Because we obtain our assurance, in one way, by offering ourselves to God and hearing Him speak to us.
Just like Solomon offers himself to God and then WAITS on God to speak to him.
And God does.
God gives Solomon assurance and also acknowledges his concerns.
Because the people were actually in a very vulnerable state at the time.
The people are on a spiritual high because their temple has just been dedicated.
But because of this they also have let their guard down, much like we do when things are going good.
We think that nothing can hurt us and we let our guards down.
However, Solomon being wise knows how prone the people were to backslide, to forget about God, forget about God's will, and go about doing their own thing.
So, this is why he is seeking out God—to stay grounded.
And this is also one of the reasons why we should be constantly seeking out God as well.
Because when we sin, regardless of our being prone to being deceived, God doesn't just say, "it'll be alright," God acknowledges that the sin will not be ignored and that there will be consequences to their sin.
Which is what verse 13 is talking about . . .
“When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command locusts to devour the land or send a plague among my people,
Redemption
Redemption
So, God is not going to just let them off the hook so to speak, but rather God is going to show them how to be redeemed when/if they fall.
Which is the familiar part of this passage for us . . .
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 will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land. Now my eyes will be open and my ears attentive to the prayers offered in this place. I have chosen and consecrated this temple so that my Name may be there forever. My eyes and my heart will always be there.
Now there are several parts to this and we need to break it down a little further here.
The first thing God tells Solomon is this "If MY PEOPLE, which are CALLED BY MY NAME."
And we need to take notice of that.
And here me clearly, I am not saying that this is for those who have never accepted Christ, because it is not.
This is God is speaking to His people, those who have known Him.
He is speaking to us, those who call Him by name, those who have "confess(ed) with their mouth the Lord Jesus"
That is who God is talking to here.
So, let’s quit blaming all of the problems of the world on those who are not Christians, because God is clearly saying here that WE bear just as much responsibility for things being the way that they are.
And if WE are responsible and WE want things to change then WE need to change and WE need to do something about it.
And it all boils down to when spiritually we are not where we need to be, when we are beaten up and beaten down spiritually, nothing in this world can change.
However, right here in 2 Chronicles 7 God gives us the formula of how we get back to where we need to be.
God says we are to:
Humble ourselves-We humble ourselves before God and before each other.
Pray-acknowledge our condition before God and pray with the heart, not the lips. (A Broken and Contrite Heart He will not deny)
Seek His face-Seek Him like we never have before.
Turn from our wicked ways-Repent. Turn around and follow Christ. Don't go backward, don’t quit and give up, but follow Him.
And this is not something that is a foreign or one time concept.
Jesus tells us in Matthew 6 . . .
But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.
And then in Matthew 7 . . .
“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.
And then again in Luke 9 . . .
Then he said to them all: “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it.
We need to stop living a life dedicated to ourselves, but rather live a life dedicated, consecrated, and given over to God.
IF WE DO THAT GOD WILL RESPOND:
He will hear from heaven
He will forgive our sin
He will heal their land (He will heal our heart)
Now my eyes will be open and my ears attentive to the prayers offered in this place. I have chosen and consecrated this temple so that my Name may be there forever. My eyes and my heart will always be there.
Now, in the Old Testament, this was a building, however we do not live under the Old Covenant.
The location of the Temple of God has changed.
We are now the temple, we are now the house that God has chosen to sanctify and to set apart.
It is in us where God desires to reside forever, our heart joined with His heart, our spirit joined with the Holy Spirit.
Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.
And . . .
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!
How Do We Get There (And Stay There)?
How Do We Get There (And Stay There)?
So, how do we get there?
And just as important, how do we stay there?
Well, we have some clues here . . .
“As for you, if you walk before me as David your father did, and do all I command, and observe my decrees and laws, I will establish your royal throne, as I covenanted with David your father when I said, ‘You shall never fail to have a man to rule over Israel.’
We “do all (God) commands and observe (His) decrees and laws.”
Simply put we OBEY God.
And, just what are God’s commandments for us to obey?
Jesus replied: “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
We do that and everything else will fall into place.
And we also have to remember that He has to be in control.
He has to be in the driver seat.
All things have to be according to His will and not the will of our flesh.
Because as Paul teaches us in Galatians . . .
So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law.
And . . .
The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.
And we need to take these things to heart and remember these things.
Because, there are consequences to sin and God will deal with sin.
“But if you turn away and forsake the decrees and commands I have given you and go off to serve other gods and worship them, then I will uproot Israel from my land, which I have given them, and will reject this temple I have consecrated for my Name. I will make it a byword and an object of ridicule among all peoples. And though this temple is now so imposing, all who pass by will be appalled and say, ‘Why has the Lord done such a thing to this land and to this temple?’ People will answer, ‘Because they have forsaken the Lord, the God of their fathers, who brought them out of Egypt, and have embraced other gods, worshiping and serving them—that is why he brought all this disaster on them.’ ”
Altar/Challenge
Altar/Challenge
And if God will deal with Israel in this way, we can be assured God will deal with us as well.
So, the question remains, where do we stand with God?
How is our relationship today?
Are we where we need to be in order for God to heal our land?
We are the only ones that can answer that question, and tonight God wants each of us to explore that within ourselves.
Let’s pray . . .