TEXT:Ezra 9:6-15
6 saying: “O my God, I am ashamed and blush to lift my face to you, my God, for our iniquities have risen higher than our heads, and our guilt has mounted up to the heavens. 7 From the days of our fathers to this day we have been in great guilt. And for our iniquities we, our kings, and our priests have been given into the hand of the kings of the lands, to the sword, to captivity, to plundering, and to utter shame, as it is today.
8 But now for a brief moment favor has been shown by the Lord our God, to leave us a remnant and to give us a secure hold[a] within his holy place, that our God may brighten our eyes and grant us a little reviving in our slavery. 9 For we are slaves. Yet our God has not forsaken us in our slavery, but has extended to us his steadfast love before the kings of Persia, to grant us some reviving to set up the house of our God, to repair its ruins, and to give us protection[b] in Judea and Jerusalem.
10 “And now, O our God, what shall we say after this? For we have forsaken your commandments, 11 which you commanded by your servants the prophets, saying, ‘The land that you are entering, to take possession of it, is a land impure with the impurity of the peoples of the lands, with their abominations that have filled it from end to end with their uncleanness.
12 Therefore do not give your daughters to their sons, neither take their daughters for your sons, and never seek their peace or prosperity, that you may be strong and eat the good of the land and leave it for an inheritance to your children forever.’ 13 And after all that has come upon us for our evil deeds and for our great guilt, seeing that you, our God, have punished us less than our iniquities deserved and have given us such a remnant as this, 14 shall we break your commandments again and intermarry with the peoples who practice these abominations? Would you not be angry with us until you consumed us, so that there should be no remnant, nor any to escape? 15 O Lord, the God of Israel, you are just, for we are left a remnant that has escaped, as it is today. Behold, we are before you in our guilt, for none can stand before you because of this.
English Standard Version (ESV)
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
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Showing posts with label 2 Chronicles 7:14. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 2 Chronicles 7:14. Show all posts
Friday, May 8, 2020
PRAYERS OF REPENTANCE LEADS TO REVIVAL
Saturday, May 7, 2016
PRAYERS OF THE BIBLE SERIES: THE BOOK OF NUMBERS #1
LET THE LORD DEFEAT YOUR GIANTS
35 Whenever the ark set out, Moses said, Rise up, Lord; let Your enemies be scattered; and let those who hate You flee before You. And when it rested, he said, Return, O Lord, to the ten thousand thousands in Israel. (Numbers 10:35-36)This great prayer of the Warrior Moses could be one used by God's generals today - those who are in spiritual battle on all fronts, all across the world. Three things are happening which we need to take a note of, since it has relevance to us, in these last days.
In the first place, we see the Ark of the Covenant, signifying the Presence of Holy God and its foremost place leading the people of God. Secondly, we see this same Ark, coming to a resting place - a stop - showing the people of God where they should make their stand and stand their ground.
Third, Moses is praying for the following: that the Lord takes on all who hate His Words, Commands and ordinances and worship pagan gods and for their complete annihilation and dispersion in the atmosphere. Then he wants the Lord to again favor His wayward people.
There are parallels here to 2 Chronicles 7:14 (if My people who are called by My Name..."). In 2 Chronicles 7:14, God is laying down the conditions for Him to heal, bless and favor. These conditions have a foundation of true repentance BEFORE God will do what He says He would do. In this prayer of Moses from Numbers 10:35-36 we see the symbols of the actual Presence of God right before millions of people's eyes creating the environment for Moses to go boldly before the Throne of Grace and make His request.
For us, the lessons are for the defeat of the giants and enemies in our lives - whether they be circumstances like depression, hopelessness or doubt....or worse - is to KNOW that GOD is with us. We, who are Christians, already have the same Spirit Who raised Jesus from the dead. He - the Holy Spirit - is the symbolic Ark of the Covenant. The Presence of the Holy Spirit in the Christian is proof that God is with us, even unto the ends of the earth, meaning until we go to be with Him.
The second lesson is this - God, in the form of the Spirit, has gone before us and fought our battles if we have turned from our wicked ways (2 Chronicles 7:14) and surrendered all our evil circumstances and giants to Him. We must commit our ways unto the Lord for Him to handle. By doing this, the "return of the Lord" which Moses prayed for in verse 36 will be realized by the ocean of peace we experience because He has caused all His (thus our) enemies to scatter. This peace from the Lord dealing with these giants who persecute us, can only come about if we do what Psalm 46:10 says "cease striving (be still) and know that I AM GOD"!
Monday, July 7, 2014
777 - SEVEN DAYS OF PRAYER (JULY 1-7, 2014)
DAY 7 - RESTORATION
Come, and let us return to the Lord;
For He has torn, but He will heal us;
He has stricken, but He will bind us up.
2 After two days He will revive us;
On the third day He will raise us up,
That we may live in His sight.
3 Let us know,
Let us pursue the knowledge of the Lord.
His going forth is established as the morning;
He will come to us like the rain,Like the latter and former rain to the earth....(Hosea 6:1-3)
Our rebellion against God is breathtaking. As a people we are more broken, more corrupt and more in desperation than anyone can imagine. The people meet in high places and bow down to strange gods. They dance around every green tree and burn incense to foreign gods, then come before the Holy One of Israel and think He will be there for them. We take His changing the weather patterns, because He can, and call it "climate change" or "global warming", when all we are doing is what Lucifer did when he tried to mount a mutiny with 1/3 of the angels in heaven and got tossed out - as recorded in Isaiah 14.
Decades and decades of turning away from the God of the Bible is now coming home to roost. America and the world are facing a future and a judgment of horror while they - we - bury our heads in our respective sand castles. We pretend this is not happening and it will all go away. We pretend God is okay with all our sin. We are people broken by sin and torn apart at the seams. But there is hope!
God showed His Prophet Hosea how he should pray as an example for us, on a day of fasting and prayer, how we should go about doing what 2 Chronicles 7:14 says "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".
So Come Let us return to the Lord - Father God, most Holy One in Heaven, we repent in the middle of our sin for all we have done to cause You pain. We cry out as individuals and a people and plea that as we repent, You will accept our confession and bring us back from the precipice of hell as a people. Though we in the remnant may be personally saved, too many of our brethren and our entire country are being led off the cliff by those who should know better. So we pray that as we cry out, many will hear this call and want to turn back to you at this very hour in Jesus Holy Name, amen
He has torn us, but He will heal us - Father God, I believe that with all my heart as we approach you in the spirit of Brokenness. Break us now, bend us now that we may be remade, remolded and restored in Your Image, for Your Glory, forever and ever, amen.
He has stricken, but He will bind us up - Lord we are a people under the Judgment of Heaven and are too blind to see it. Open the eyes of our heart Lord, that we may see You the One True God of the Universe, and surrender to YOUR Will for our Lives, in Jesus Holy Name.
On the third day He will raise us up, That we may live in His sight - Holy Father, just as You raised the King from the grave, three days after He was crucified, You will revive, resurrect and restore if we seek you NOW...if we see Your Restoration NOW and as we do that Lord, may You accept our sacrifice of praise and let us live in Your Sight once more. We beg and beseech You, oh Most Glorious God in Heaven to the Praise and Glory of Your Name, oh God Who revives and restores, amen and amen.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH TO ANNE GRAHAM LOTZ FOR HER LEADERSHIP IN THIS POWERFUL AND INSPIRATION PRAYER MOVEMENT ACROSS THE FRUITED PLAIN!
For He has torn, but He will heal us;
He has stricken, but He will bind us up.
2 After two days He will revive us;
On the third day He will raise us up,
That we may live in His sight.
3 Let us know,
Let us pursue the knowledge of the Lord.
His going forth is established as the morning;
He will come to us like the rain,Like the latter and former rain to the earth....(Hosea 6:1-3)
Our rebellion against God is breathtaking. As a people we are more broken, more corrupt and more in desperation than anyone can imagine. The people meet in high places and bow down to strange gods. They dance around every green tree and burn incense to foreign gods, then come before the Holy One of Israel and think He will be there for them. We take His changing the weather patterns, because He can, and call it "climate change" or "global warming", when all we are doing is what Lucifer did when he tried to mount a mutiny with 1/3 of the angels in heaven and got tossed out - as recorded in Isaiah 14.
Decades and decades of turning away from the God of the Bible is now coming home to roost. America and the world are facing a future and a judgment of horror while they - we - bury our heads in our respective sand castles. We pretend this is not happening and it will all go away. We pretend God is okay with all our sin. We are people broken by sin and torn apart at the seams. But there is hope!
God showed His Prophet Hosea how he should pray as an example for us, on a day of fasting and prayer, how we should go about doing what 2 Chronicles 7:14 says "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".
So Come Let us return to the Lord - Father God, most Holy One in Heaven, we repent in the middle of our sin for all we have done to cause You pain. We cry out as individuals and a people and plea that as we repent, You will accept our confession and bring us back from the precipice of hell as a people. Though we in the remnant may be personally saved, too many of our brethren and our entire country are being led off the cliff by those who should know better. So we pray that as we cry out, many will hear this call and want to turn back to you at this very hour in Jesus Holy Name, amen
He has torn us, but He will heal us - Father God, I believe that with all my heart as we approach you in the spirit of Brokenness. Break us now, bend us now that we may be remade, remolded and restored in Your Image, for Your Glory, forever and ever, amen.
He has stricken, but He will bind us up - Lord we are a people under the Judgment of Heaven and are too blind to see it. Open the eyes of our heart Lord, that we may see You the One True God of the Universe, and surrender to YOUR Will for our Lives, in Jesus Holy Name.
On the third day He will raise us up, That we may live in His sight - Holy Father, just as You raised the King from the grave, three days after He was crucified, You will revive, resurrect and restore if we seek you NOW...if we see Your Restoration NOW and as we do that Lord, may You accept our sacrifice of praise and let us live in Your Sight once more. We beg and beseech You, oh Most Glorious God in Heaven to the Praise and Glory of Your Name, oh God Who revives and restores, amen and amen.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH TO ANNE GRAHAM LOTZ FOR HER LEADERSHIP IN THIS POWERFUL AND INSPIRATION PRAYER MOVEMENT ACROSS THE FRUITED PLAIN!
Sunday, May 4, 2014
NATIONAL DAY OF PRAYER 2014 - SEAMLESSLY POWERFUL (IN PERSON & TO 1000's ON RADIO!)
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| Illinois State Senator Sam McCann (R-Springfield) declares his full allegiance to the Savior - Jesus Christ |
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| Scott Beauchamp Springfield House of Prayer |
The following were the invited prayer leaders: Scott Beauchamp (Director of the Springfield House of Prayer, which is doing amazing missions work in Israel, Brazil and other places); Pastors Paul Rose (Calvary Temple); Johnnie Standard (Springfield Bible); Kevin Carothers (Rochester First Baptist); Bob Armstrong (Living Water and Brian Williams (SpiritRiders and Broken Chains Church). The main emphasis on Repentance; Obedience; Humility and Salvation remains as our community event here grows in outreach and influence. We all know that God does NOT hear the prayer of an unrighteous man, so for several years now I have either given a message on how to be saved or another minister has. This year, the main wrap up speaker/pastor was Brian Williams of Broken Chains Church and he put the entire exercise of worship and intercession in perspective by showing perfectly why sometimes our prayers do not seem to be effective and how we sometimes just use 2 Chronicles 7:14 as a flag, without understanding just what it demands.
That verse says "and (if) My people who are called by My name humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin and will heal their land". The message from Pastor Brian was that the "humble themselves" part starts with church and ministry leadership...and especially with those who think that "their" church or "their" ministry is actually "theirs"...and not the Lord's! Hence, the need here is for absolute Repentance. Repentance precedes forgiveness and therefore, restoration with God.
Worship music was an inspiration from our good brother Don Hunt of the Chosen Generation Gospel group. I also am so grateful for Christian Radio station and Moody Radio affiliate WLUJ of Springfield for their 9th year of working with us to bring this off and then broadcasting the service for those many thousands to listen to at night, from anywhere in the world. Next year will be Year 10 since the Lord led me to assume the role of lead servant of this ministry, on behalf of Springfield Business Men in Christ and, Lord willing, it will be time of humility, more prayer and rejoicing with choirs and intentional worship songs.
We held this year's event inside the Auditorium of the Secretary of State's office at the Howlett Building, on purpose, so as not to compete with an ongoing Police Memorial event, close to our usual site by the Lincoln State on the State Capitol's East Steps. This move was also prophetic as the weather turned cold and the rain sprinkled! Next year's National Day of Prayer will be on Thursday May 7, 2015. Bookmark this.
Tuesday, March 18, 2014
HOW WE CAN REGAIN FAVOR WITH GOD, PART 1
Two main passages of Scripture demonstrate the current condition of the American soul if it wishes to avoid a fate worse than Sodom on Judgment Day. Today, we examine 2 Chronicles 7:14 to begin our journey back to the Throne Room of God
Everything in Scripture, as we know is given for our personal edification. 2 Timothy 3:16 says all Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness. That means ALL. You either have to believe and accept ALL of it or you believe none. I know people who say they believe in Jesus, but not the Old Testament or the Book of Revelation etc..."just the Beatitudes, man...just the Beatitudes".....
Therefore when Scripture says that in the days of the Judges (Judges 21:25) there was no king - there are lot of similarities. We know there are government leaders, what Scripture means - there was NO spiritual leader! Can you name the "spiritual leader" of America? The closest thing we have had to a prophetic voice calling for Repentance is the late great David Wilkerson. His warnings are from the Lord and directly out of the Bible. The living legend Billy Graham is 95 and in ill health.
No one will ever call Andy Stanley, Steve Furtick, Joel Osteen, Copeland or others the spiritual teacher of America, as Jesus called Nicodemus. Actually a lot of modern day celebrity preachers are more like Nicodemus than they would admit, because the majority of them do not preach on sin, repentance, the total depravity of man and the coming Judgment. The words "rejuvenation" "born-again" "transformation" and "new creature" in Christ hardly fill their words as they balance keeping tithing flocks in their seats, with pop psychology or prosperity gospel mindless pap passing for powerful preaching.
As a result of this modern day evangelical slide away from Biblical truth, and the century old abandonment of the Pure Gospel by the almost-defunct mainline protestant churches, we have the current generations of milennials walking away from churches and embracing the modern day philosophies of the flesh and New Age mysticism ("Christian Yoga" and other such deviations from the Gospel).
We are now at the point doing your own thing (what is right in your own eyes). Everything seemingly, is now considered "spiritual" and the sky is the limit. Apart from the very obvious remnant, it is extremely difficult to distinguish between the corrupt Hollywood/New York driven pagan culture and some of the crazy things you see in churches these days. Biblical discernment is a premium with less than 9% of the country with a Biblical worldview.
BUT, GOD HAS GIVEN US THE ROADMAP AND THE GPS COORDINATES TO GET THERE:
2 Chronicles 7:14-15:....and My people who are called by My name humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin and will heal their land. 15"Now My eyes will be open and My ears attentive to the prayer offered in this place".
Now remember to WHOM God the Father said this - HIS people - Israel in the Old Covenant and Church in the New Testament. For American, and other Christians in the west to halt or slow down this slide into oblivion, we must follow His instructions in the order He prescribed!
Briefly, here are the steps from 2 Chronicles 7:14:
#1 - Answer the call. If you call yourself on of His people, and if you are truly saved, you will KNOW you're His as His Spirit lives in you. Thus, you will immediately know when He is calling you to intercession, repentance, prayer and fasting for such a time as this.
#2 - Humble yourself. God resists the proud (especially religious pride) and gives grace to the humble. Pride and especially misplaced spiritual pride such as the evil pharisees had is a horribly fatal thing. But this is not just for the ancient pharisee however, but for the puffed up worship leader with his or her new cds and tours; celebrity preachers with their books as well as the successful Sunday school teacher or head usher or greeter...everyone is susceptible to pride! So check yourself - before you wreck yourself!
#3 - Pray. God’s people know they should pray, but prayer services are now done in less than 1% of churches and what passes for prayer in the rest of them is a laundry list of requests which take up most Sunday school classes or Wednesday night services, at the expense of teaching and worship. God is calling His people back to prayer – which is the only way to maintain a real relationship with Him!
#4 - Seek My Face: Seeking the Face of God is more than just perfunctory prayer and
intercession. It is active and intentional pursuit of the Holy. Apart
from the small portion of the Remnant, the majority of even church folk have no
idea what “seeking the Face” of God is about. So let's now begin the process of reaching up to our Life-Giving Creator.
Please start here: "In my distress I called upon the LORD; to my God I cried for help. From his temple he heard my voice, and my cry to him reached his ears...", Psalm 18:6
Friday, September 28, 2012
FORTY DAYS OF PRAYER FOR AMERICA
STARTS TODAY SEPTEMBER 28 TO NOVEMBER 6, 2012
Today, Friday September 28, 2012 marks exactly 40 Days to the most pivotal election season in American history. Regardless of who wins or loses, America is in a horrible place...and spiritually decadent or lost. In some instances (not all) we are not unlike the Northern Kingdom of Israel, which had no good king and bowed down to the false gods of this corrupt world. The soul of America - corporate and personal - is in mortal danger. For the next forty days, until the November 6 General Elections, a growing number of U.S. Christian ministries have called for and are actively engaged in Intercessory Prayer; Fasting and Crying Out in desperation to the ONLY One who can redeem and change us - the HOLY ONE OF ISRAEL.
Many of these ministries are using the much quoted verse from 2 Chronicles 7:14 as the platform for corporate intercession, as the Body of Christ. However, for this verse to apply from its context where Solomon had prayed to the Lord, and the Lord then answered him, to where prayer warriors wish to extrapolate it to America in 2012 could take some doing! I encourage the reading of this portion of Scripture by clicking here. For the many Christian ministries who are this verse (2 Chronicles 7:14), please read the full context here:
Many of these ministries are using the much quoted verse from 2 Chronicles 7:14 as the platform for corporate intercession, as the Body of Christ. However, for this verse to apply from its context where Solomon had prayed to the Lord, and the Lord then answered him, to where prayer warriors wish to extrapolate it to America in 2012 could take some doing! I encourage the reading of this portion of Scripture by clicking here. For the many Christian ministries who are this verse (2 Chronicles 7:14), please read the full context here:
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, if my people who are called by my name 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. Now my eyes will be open and my ears attentive to the prayer that is made in this place. For now I have chosen and consecrated this house that my name may be there forever. My eyes and my heart will be there for all time. (2 Chronicles 7:12-16 ESV)
A thorough reading of this portion indicates that this is really a call for Repentance. If the hundreds of thousands of American intercessors who are pressing into the Throne Room of God, for these next forty (40) days just so that there is only some kind of an economic turnaround, with no spiritual factor in the equation, this will crash and burn big time! As I wrote here two weeks ago, America was in a similar place in the early 1850's when the Lord led a man named Jeremiah Lanphier to start a simple prayer meeting on Fulton Street in New York City, which exploded in a hurry into the Third Great Awakening. The question is, do we have that fire in the belly for the Lord, as we have for the latest iPhone5 or the NFL referee controversies?
In the hearts of serious men and women of God, there IS that passion and zeal for His House, which consumes us. Our hearts are aligned with the Holy Spirit and therefore, the Lord Jesus Christ. We see HIS big Heart breaking over the condition of His children in the west, while His saints in the persecuted church stand strong and firm in the Faith. The fire in the belly in the persecuted church is the same one we should have....and the fruit of that passion for the Christ, is sown with Repentance.
So, we say with the great prophet Joel here, in our call to National Repentance, as Day 1 starts:
Consecrate a fast;
call a solemn assembly.
Gather the elders
and all the inhabitants of the land
to the house of the LORD your God,
and cry out to the LORD.
Alas for the day!
For the day of the LORD is near,
and as destruction from the Almighty it comes.
Is not the food cut off
before our eyes,
joy and gladness
from the house of our God?
The seed shrivels under the clods;
the storehouses are desolate;
the granaries are torn down
because the grain has dried up.
How the beasts groan!
The herds of cattle are perplexed
because there is no pasture for them;
even the flocks of sheep suffer.
To you, O LORD, I call.
For fire has devoured
the pastures of the wilderness,
and flame has burned
all the trees of the field.
Even the beasts of the field pant for you
because the water brooks are dried up,
and fire has devoured
the pastures of the wilderness.
(Joel 1:13-20 ESV)
NOTE:
Over the next forty days, we will occasionally update, and post Scripture or prayer concerns, as the Spirit leads and the wider body of intercessors read the times, and proclaim a word to be prayed into. We WILL be praying Scripture regularly...and more on this, this coming Sunday. Amen.
Friday, November 11, 2011
THINK ON THESE THINGS - FRIDAY
11-11-11
WEEKEND OF PRAYER BEGINS
A CITY ON OUR KNEES
November 11, 2011 is Veterans Day as America celebrates those who wear the uniform as well as past service members. Just yesterday, we celebrated the 236nd Birthday of the United States Marine Corps (USMC)! All Veterans are revered in this great country and Marines hold a special place, in this Land of Free and the Home of the Brave.
God bless America and LONG may its flag wave.
Our citizenship however, is not of this world, but we are actually in transit to our future and eternal home - with the Father in Heaven. We do thank God for this great country which has given so much to the world - all in the cause of Liberty.
As in the case of July 7, 2007 or 7-7-7, these kinds of numbers like today: 11-11-11 carry significance. Over four years ago, THE CALL, a national prayer movement had a major prayer event in Nashville at the Tennessee Titan stadium, replete with shofars, intercession and worship.
Today, the THE CALL moves North to one of the most blighted and evil cities in America - Detroit! Together with local pastors of all races and backgrounds,THE CALL (led by Kansas City-based prayer leader Lou Engle) will be calling for fasting and prayer for not just Detroit but for the nation to return to its root - The Lord; righteous living; holiness and more (see video in this article) here:
Two days later, on Sunday November 13, we have the Annual International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church. The Lord Jesus said ""Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. (Matthew 5:11) NASB.
Many in the secular world do not understand Christ, the Word of God and the Holiness of God. They have no idea what Repentance is. They mock and deride and scorn the People of God.
This Call to Prayer and Fasting, a constant command in the Bible, is being called hate speech, anti-American and unChristian by liberal social justice clergy and their moslem allies, none of whom follow Christ. But God has call us to a different thing in this new season....and it is actually an old thing - a Sacred Assembly.
In your own way, in the next several days, join in the Call for Prayer for the nation of America and then remember the saints who are persecuted for believing and boldly proclaiming the Name of Christ, across the globe, in the Name of Jesus, amen.
JOEL 2:15-17
15 Blow the trumpet in Zion,
declare a holy fast,
call a sacred assembly.
16 Gather the people,
consecrate the assembly;
bring together the elders,
gather the children,
those nursing at the breast.
Let the bridegroom leave his room
and the bride her chamber.
17 Let the priests, who minister before the LORD,
weep between the portico and the altar.
Let them say, “Spare your people, LORD.
Do not make your inheritance an object of scorn,
a byword among the nations.
Why should they say among the peoples,
‘Where is their God?’”
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