Will God Heal Our Land? By Bruce W. Robida

 

Immediately after the World Trade Center towers were destroyed by terrorists on September 11th, 2001, a certain Scripture came to my mind. 

“...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.” 2 CH 7:14

The following Sunday all across America, preachers quoted that same verse.  I heard it quoted at work by friends and even heard it quoted on television as people gathered in cathedrals and stadiums for public prayer.  Was it a coincidence that so many people would have the same Scripture come into their minds, or could this have been the work of the Holy Spirit?  It was impressed upon my heart that the Holy Spirit was trying to tell us something.  I wasn’t sure about what it was that He trying to say at first.  Some try to blame these terrible events on the bad behavior of certain people who live in this country.  You know, homosexuals, abortionists, and the like.  Now, more than two weeks after these tragic events, I have been able to come to some very definite conclusions.  Like most people, I’ve been trying to make sense out of what’s happened.  Like most people, I’ve been playing the blame game.  But I wonder how many are willing to look in the mirror when placing blame.  You might be thinking that you had nothing to do with the horrendous attacks on our nation.  These were acts of great violence by people who have been called cowards, even by our own President.  While that might be true for the most part, there is also a group of Americans who are not so innocent.  Believe it or not, I belong to that group.  I call myself a Christian.

When Solomon had finished the temple of the LORD and the royal palace, and had succeeded in carrying out all he had in mind to do in the temple of the LORD and in his own palace, 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. 2CH 7:11-15

So Jesus said, "When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am the one I claim to be and that I do nothing on my own but speak just what the Father has taught me. The one who sent me is with me; he has not left me alone, for I always do what pleases him." JN 8:28-29  

I believe that it was Jesus who appeared to Solomon after he had finished the temple.  Just as His Words were relevant to the people of Solomon’s day, they are just as relevant to us today.  I think we could easily and accurately translate 2 Chronicles 7:14 to say, “ ...if my people, who are called Christians [by my name], will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from My Father [heaven] and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” I believe that it was Jesus who made these promises to Solomon.  Jesus made it clear that He does nothing on His own, but only what the Father tells Him, and that He always does what pleases Him.

We who are the people of God, people who are called Christians, are told that if we will humble ourselves and pray and seek His face and turn from our wicked ways, then He (Christ) will hear from heaven (the Father), He will forgive our sin, and He will heal our land.  Jesus promises to act on the instructions that He receives from Our Father in heaven, to forgive our sin and heal our land, but He will only act on the will of the Father because He only does what the Father tells Him.  It is at the Father’s discretion whether to heal our land or not.  But there is a price to pay in order for that healing to take place.  We have an obligation to follow the dictates of God for this special blessing. 

The first obligation we have if we want God to heal our land is that we must humble ourselves.  Some, who profess to be Christian leaders, are the most responsible for teaching their members to exalt rather than to humble themselves.  They are arrogant and teach that because we were created in the image of God, we possess certain godlike attributes, mainly the ability to speak things into existence. They call this ability, faith, but if it worked, those same preachers could just speak and those hearing would instantly, miraculously understand, and acquire the same ability.  The preachers could say something like, “I command that everyone who hears my voice will understand this power of faith and claim it for themselves, in the name of Jesus.”  Instantly, everyone would receive the same ability.  They could also say something like, “I command that the offerings each week will overflow to such an extent, that no one in the congregation or in the community will have a need for anything, in the name of Jesus.”  If what they teach is true, why do they not make such commands?  Why do those ministries frequently hound its members for money when all they have to do is speak it into existence?  If they could, they would.  But the truth is, we have no such ability.  God can bestow that gift on anyone He chooses, and I believe He has in the past, but only to those apostles that He could trust to preach and teach the Gospel in its fullness.  But today we have arrogant men and women who exalt themselves by making fantastic claims about certain abilities, which they really don’t possess.  Some claim to heal the sick, to have the ability to prophesy, to speak in tongues, to receive special visitations from angels, and even God Himself, receiving revelations rivaling even the Revelation of Jesus Christ, given to the apostle John.  These people call themselves prophets and apostles.  They sit in special places high above the congregation. They make grand entrances so that they can be recognized. They hire bodyguards so that they are unapproachable.  They teach their followers that they are special servants of God and that no one should question their authority. They exalt rather than humble themselves, and by their example and direct teaching, they lead their congregations to do the same.  These preachers and teachers need to be corrected and if they refuse correction, they should be rebuked sharply (Titus 1:13) and then rejected because they are full of arrogance.  So the first obligation we have if we want Christ to hear from God to heal our land is to humble ourselves.  All, who are called Christians, have that responsibility, but leaders will especially be held accountable.

The second obligation that we have if we want God to heal our land is that we must pray.  We have seen the tragic events as they unfolded and the response all around the county was that people from every religious persuasion have come together, even filling a stadium, to pray.  But to whom did they pray? Was it the God of heaven; the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; the One true God; the God who created all things; the God who sent His only begotten Son to die on the cross so that all men may be saved?  In the name of political correctness, Christians of every denomination, as well as Muslims and Jews, came together as one voice.  Did the One true God hear those prayers despite the fact that Orthodox Jews and Muslims reject Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior and Mormons and Jehovah’s Witnesses have a different view of who Jesus is, even denying His deity? How effective were those prayers?  Certainly, some of those who do pray to the One true God will be heard, but their prayers should be in the pattern, which we received from Christ.

Jesus said, "This, then, is how you should pray: " `Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.  And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.  For yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.” MT 6:9-13

Our prayers cannot be arrogant, commanding things, or demanding anything from God. Our prayers must be made with thanksgiving (PHP 4:6), humble and sincere, knowing that God does what He wants and when He wants and that we are at His mercy (RO 9:18).

So the first obligation we have if we want God to heal our land is to humble ourselves, the second is to pray.

The third obligation that we have if we want God to heal our land is that we must seek His face.  We who are called by His name, Christian, have a responsibility to know God; to see Him as He really is.  It is a disgrace to the true Church of Christ that His Church is so divided.  The divisions include Roman Catholicism, Eastern Orthodox, and Protestantism. Protestantism is even further divided into thousands of denominations.  Why is this so?  Because people have decided to pervert the Word of God and in some cases even subvert it, making something that it is not and passing it off as gospel.  This problem is due to arrogance rather than humbleness.  Instead of certain Church leaders saying, “Yes Lord, that is what you said“, they’re saying, “Yes Lord, you said this, but I think you mean that.”  Or else they create their own doctrine that contradicts the Scriptures and even undermines them to suit their own needs.  Some Church leaders even hide behind what they call, Sacred Tradition, which is a category for doctrine that cannot be substantiated with Scripture.  Whatever they call it, it is arrogant to think that men’s words and ideas are superior to those of God’s Word, the Holy Bible. Can those leaders be considered, humble?  The solution to this problem is that every Christian is responsible to seek God’s face; to know who He really is; to know Him.  How is that possible?  By reading and studying His Word yourself.  By learning from Church leaders who preach and teach from God’s Word, without adding or taking anything away.  Leaders who are humble, who do the work of the Church, which after making and training disciples, involves carrying each other’s burdens, caring for the homeless, the helpless, the fatherless, the widow, and the hopeless.  Leaders who do these things are those whom you should submit to (1 COR 6:15).  By reading and studying the Scriptures yourself, you will be able to recognize those leaders who are leading many astray and it will be your responsibility to correct and rebuke them and seek a true leader to submit to if they refuse correction.  Then you will know God and you will see Him for who He truly is.  You will know what He expects from us and you will do it easily because as Christ said, “...For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." MT 11:30

So the first obligation we have if we want God to heal our land is to humble ourselves, the second is to pray, and the third is to seek His face.

The fourth obligation that we have if we want God to heal our land is that we must turn from our wicked ways. The person, who is born again, loses the desire to commit sin.  Before I was born again, not only did I desire certain sins, but I also could care less that I committed them.  Today, my desire is that I never commit sins and when I do, I hate that I did.  But it is impossible for anyone to ever reach that point of perfection that should be the desire of every Christian, while remaining in a corrupt body.  Everyone is a sinner and everyone will sin.  It is a constant struggle for the truly born again.  If it is not, then there is something wrong with the one claiming to not struggle.  Either he has given in to the temptation, thus eliminating the struggle, or he is lying about it.  But even when our desire is to not commit sin, we sometimes give in to the temptation, knowing that we are wrong even before we commit the act.  The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak. I sometimes ignore the Spirit and give in to the flesh. Then, I am acutely aware of my grievous situation. There is only one solution to this dilemma.  I am totally at the mercy of my Savior. 

For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are--yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. Heb 4:15-16

Christ is our only hope against this struggle.  Of course we should work to avoid repeating certain sins, but inevitably, we will commit them.  First, we have to admit our sins.  We must be willing to confess them.  Then, by God’s great mercy and grace, He will forgive us (1JN 1:9).  I cannot use this as a license to commit sin.  I cannot habitually commit the same sins over and over again, because it shows that I have learned nothing.  I can turn to Christ whenever I’m in need of mercy, but He won’t be mocked.  He knows what’s in the heart of every man, so we cannot be callous about sin.  Turning from my wicked ways means working diligently to overcome the sinful nature and not giving in to it repeatedly.  It means that when I do sin, I can go confidently, but humbly to the throne of grace, confessing my sins and seeking mercy from the only One who can provide it. I must do this because I know that I cannot stand on my own.  I judge myself so that God won’t have to. 

Turning from our wicked ways also means that we do not tolerate such behavior in the world.  Tolerance is a word used by people whose behavior is less than appropriate for a Christian, but used to justify, and even promote that behavior as good and normal.  Christians are commanded to change the world by preaching the Gospel and making disciples of all nations.  That is the beginning of how we are to change the world.  It is also our responsibility to go out in great numbers to change laws and create new ones that reflect Christian values and fiercely oppose those that degrade them.  But we should only do these things peacefully, using all of the legal resources at our disposal and with great shrewdness and integrity.  We should always be willing to defend the weak and the helpless and favor harsh punishments for severe crimes.  Political correctness should be set aside in favor of truth and justice.  Christians should not tolerate civil leaders who are corrupt.  They should be quickly removed from office and leaders who reflect true Christian values should be elected.  Christians should not tolerate corrupt religious leaders.  They should be corrected and sharply rebuked if they refuse correction and sent out from the congregation and leaders should be sought who will do the true work of the Church.  Turning from our wicked ways means that we have a responsibility not only for what we do directly, but also for what we do not do. 

So the first obligation we have if we want God to heal our land is to humble ourselves, the second is to pray, the third is to seek His face, and the fourth is to turn from our wicked ways.

These four obligations are not for everyone.  They are only required of those who belong to God, those who are called by His name, if we truly want our land to be healed.  It will never happen if we Christians are not all on the same page.  Our country was founded because our forefathers wanted to worship Christ without interference from the government.  They came here because of Christ.  When the founders of this great nation gave us freedom of religion, I doubt that they meant freedom to worship any god.  No!  They meant freedom to worship Christ without government interference. Initially, people who held public office had to belong to and be an active member of his local Church.  It was a requirement.  But today, many Christians don’t insist upon holding our civic leaders to godly standards, which are only found in the Bible.  Some are not even willing to hold their pastors to that standard.  So here we are today.   Our government leaders are corrupt, yet they are publicly embraced.  Our Church leaders are corrupt, yet millions follow their deceitful teachings.  While our country sinks deeper into depravity, the enemy has taken a foothold.   Contrary to what we are hearing, it is not the homosexual or abortionist who is to blame, but Christians are ultimately responsible for allowing such a decline of morality in this country.  Our voice is not loud because it is fragmented.  We do not speak with one voice, as we should.  Christians cannot even agree that the Bible is the Word of God, complete, without error or contradiction. While our numbers are strong, our voice is weak.  We can’t blame homosexuals and abortionists.  They are doing what their sinful nature demands.  What are we doing?  We ought to be doing what Christ commands.  We must humble ourselves, especially our Church leaders.  We must pray, not like pagans and not selfishly, but the way Christ taught us to pray.  We must seek God’s face so that we know who He really is, by reading and studying His Word for ourselves and by learning from preachers who are not corrupt.  We must turn from our wicked ways, first by searching our own heart, and then by standing firm on the standard that God has given us, His Holy Word, the Bible.  We must live according to God’s directives and feverishly oppose those that undermine His ways, for to condone them is tantamount to being guilty of practicing them ourselves  (ROM 1:32).

Our hope is in the return of Christ.  While we wait for Him to return, we can live in relative peace, comfort, and prosperity, or we can live in fear in a land that is no longer free.  While salvation might be assured for some, peace and safety are not.  We can look to God for protection, but unless we live according to His principles, He may not provide it.  Individually, He might be willing to protect His people, especially those who do His will, but our land may very well be destroyed if His people as a whole are unwilling to do that which we know we must do.

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