Sermon – “Prayer, Part 3: If My People Will Pray and Seek My Face…”

¹² Then the Lord appeared to Solomon by night, and said to him: “I have heard your prayer, and have chosen this place for Myself as a house of sacrifice. ¹³ When I shut up heaven and there is no rain, or command the locusts to devour the land, or send pestilence among My people, ¹⁴ 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. ¹⁵ Now My eyes will be open and My ears attentive to prayer made in this place. ¹⁶ For now I have chosen and sanctified this house, that My name may be there forever; and My eyes and My heart will be there perpetually. ¹⁷ As for you, if you walk before Me as your father David walked, and do according to all that I have commanded you, and if you keep My statutes and My judgments, ¹⁸ then I will establish the throne of your kingdom, as I covenanted with David your father, saying, ‘You shall not fail to have a man as ruler in Israel.’

¹⁹ “But if you turn away and forsake My statutes and My commandments which I have set before you, and go and serve other gods, and worship them, ²⁰ then I will uproot them from My land which I have given them; and this house which I have sanctified for My name I will cast out of My sight, and will make it a proverb and a byword among all peoples.

²¹ “And as for this house, which is exalted, everyone who passes by it will be astonished and say, ‘Why has the Lord done thus to this land and this house?’ ²² Then they will answer, ‘Because they forsook the Lord God of their fathers, who brought them out of the land of Egypt, and embraced other gods, and worshiped them and served them; therefore He has brought all this calamity on them.’ ”

⁴⁴ “Our fathers had the tabernacle of witness in the wilderness, as He appointed, instructing Moses to make it according to the pattern that he had seen, ⁴⁵ which our fathers, having received it in turn, also brought with Joshua into the land possessed by the Gentiles, whom God drove out before the face of our fathers until the days of David, ⁴⁶ who found favor before God and asked to find a dwelling for the God of Jacob. ⁴⁷ But Solomon built Him a house.

⁴⁸ “However, the Most High does not dwell in temples made with hands, as the prophet says:

⁴⁹ ‘Heaven is My throne,
And earth is My footstool.
What house will you build for Me? says the Lord,
Or what is the place of My rest?

21 And when he had consulted with the people, he appointed those who should sing to the Lord, and who should praise the beauty of holiness, as they went out before the army and were saying:
“Praise the Lord,
For His mercy endures forever.”
22 Now when they began to sing and to praise, the Lord set ambushes against the people of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, who had come against Judah; and they were defeated.

23 For the people of Ammon and Moab stood up against the inhabitants of Mount Seir to utterly kill and destroy them. And when they [a]had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, they helped to destroy one another.

24 So when Judah came to a place overlooking the wilderness, they looked toward the multitude; and there were their dead bodies, fallen on the earth. No one had escaped.

touching heaven, changing earth. How are we going to do that? How’s it begin? All right, I’m glad the answer was on the board. I’m glad somebody got it. prayer, part 3. I don’t know how long it’s going to last. I don’t know how long we’re going to keep talking about prayer. You know, many, many years ago. I think it was pastor gary trail. I’m not certain it holy cross gave a little a little estrace about a young pastor went to a new church in his 1st set 1st sunday their 1st year he talked about pride and he really priest, a powerful message about prod, 2nd week preacher. Same message, that prod, man, he really later on. 3rd week came he starts the speaking about prod, same thing. And irving scratch and head. So he just let him have a message over. Somebody was told me said pastor, i mean we’re a little concerned here. You’ve reached the same message for 3 weeks. So when you get it, I’ll move on to the next one. When you get it how long ago be talking about prayer, i don’t know till we get it. And then till we get it. Because prayer so important. If my people will pray that speaks of the importance of a right there. God says, if my people will pray and seek my face, we’re going to turn the 2nd chronicles chapter 7 versus 12 through 22. And I know that part of this is very familiar with a lot of people, but it’s a great passage description here the word of the Lord. Then the Lord appeared to solomon by 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 heaven, and there is no rain or command the locus to divide the LAN or send pestilence 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 sins and healed our land. Now my eyes will be opened and my ears attentive to prayer, made in this place. For now I have chosen and sanctified this house that my name bay. My name may be there forever in my eyes, and my heart will be there perpetually. And if you, as for you, if you walk before me as your father, david, walk, and do, according to all that I have commanded you, and if you keep my statutes and judgements, then I will establish the throne of your kingdom as I covenanted with David your father say you shall not fail to have a man as ruler in israel. But if you turn away and forsake my statutes and my commandments, which I have said before you, and go and serve other gods and worship them, then I will up route them from my land, which I have given them. And this house, which I have sank, applied for my name. I will cast out of my sight and will make it a proverb and a byword among all peoples. And as for this house, which is exalted, everyone who passes by it will be astonished and say, why has a lord done thus to this land? And this house, then they will answer because they foresaw the Lord God of their fathers who brought them out of the land of Egypt and embraced other gods and worship them and serve them. Therefore, he has brought all this calamity on them. May god add his blessings in his hearing to the reading of his holy word and let us pray. heavenly father, i do praise you and magnify you. I thank you, father, for your word. I thank for this word of instruction that you have given us. Your people, while those who are called by your name, that you instruct us and how we should live and how we should seek you, father. We thank you for your holy spirit, and may your spirit be present in this place today? father is the cloud would come down on the tabernacle. May your cloud for god be present here today? father mayor hearts receive what you have forced. May your truth be spoken and may your name be lifted high in jesus name? amen. So as we continue our discussion on prayer, this topic, you know, there are so many things that must be considered to gain a firm understanding of prayer to understand the importance of prayer, the proper attitude that we as his people need to have. When we go into prayer, there is a question that we can ask, or there are things that will prevent god from hearing our prayers are there are things eyes in actions or things in our character that will prevent god from hearing or prayer. I believe we know the answer is yes, but on the other side of that, are there things that we can do to ensure that god, here is our prayers? And again, the answer is yes. You know, there was a lot of communication going on between god and king solomon, not just in this passage that I read. I know it’s a little bit long, but chapter 6, chapter 7, and on there was a lot of communication going on between god and solomon. And there’s a lot of useful instruction that we can glean from that instructions that god gave solomon instructions that can help us as individuals can help us as a church is a whole can help us as a nation instructions that will ensure that god will hear a prayers Wouldn’t you like to have great confidence that when you pray that god is hearing your prayers? I got one a man. Wouldn’t you like to have the confidence god, here’s your prayer, raise your hand if yes. Alright, and at least somebody well, all right, good. Of course you would of course you want god to hear your prayers. Second chronicles contains a lot of history concerning the relation to the relationship between god and the nation of israel, between god and the kings of israel solomon. So blessed to be the king chosen to build the temple. We know that his father david long to build the temple for god. He longed to build the god will not allow it because he was a man of war. He had shed much blood. But he promised that his son would be the one who would go the temple for him, and it would be solomon david was blessed to be able to gather a lot of the material for the building the temple. So he had a little bit of a hand in it, but solomon was blessed to be able to do it. You remember the tabernacle when they wandered in the wilderness, that portable temple with you will that god gave him. The instruction gave moses the instruction forwarded, had the curtains in the pose and it was very unsure is very beautiful because of description. It is amazing, but they would erect the tabard of the tabernacle and they would worship god, come down and commune with them. They say it’s time to move, so he would lead them by the fire night or cloud by day to the next spot. For the temple back up, but there was no permanent dwelling place for god because they was wandering around really when one thinks about this, when think about the temple tabernacle, whatever, think about the temple could man really build a place to contain god for god to dwell truly, i believe that the temple was not meant to be a place to contain god, but it was meant to be the designated place where god would meet with man a man. Here’s why I’m going to meet you here at this designated places. place that I have blessed that I have sanctified and made holy David was a man after god’s heart man, after god’s heart solomon, he was faithful. We know that in the end there was times he became on faithful, but it was faithful. God said, ask what you will and I will give it to you. He could have asked further, great wealth and riches, but he said, father, getting the wisdom and understanding that I may lead these people of yours. And God gave him that he was the wisest man ever wisest man, I believe ever to live. And God gave him the other also what he saw god 1st and the wisdom to lead to people. And God gave him the wisdom to build the temple and gave him a lot of gifted men to be able to do it. stone masons, and ortiz, and your name and God provided not only the supplies the material, but the people, they will to build that temple. There is another amazing thing about solomon. He gathered the people of israel together once they completed the temple so many years, but they completed the temple and he called all of israel together. What do you think was the 1st thing he did? A man he prayed, he prayed, he prayed a prayer of consecration upon the temple in 2nd chronicle, 612 and 14. Then solomon stood before the altar of the Lord in the presence of all the semblance of israel and spread out his hands. For solomon had made a bronze platform, 5 cubits long, 5 cubits wide, 3 cubic feet high. And he said it in the midst of the court, and he stood on it and knelt down on his knees before all of the assembly of israel. And he spread out his hands toward heaven and said, lord God, of israel, there is no god in heaven or on earth like you who keep your covenant and mercy with your servants, who walk before you with all their hearts. And the prayer went on, there was more, there’s much more to the prayer. But here’s the king of israel before all of the assembly, the of the people of israel. And what did he do? He got on his knees and prayed to God. My friends was the last time you witnessed the president of the United States calling the people together and himself getting on his knees and praying to God. Why don’t know that I’ve ever seen a my lifetime. I haven’t oh, that are leaders would I could go on and on about kings and leaders and nations and all that. But I’m not here to be critical of our leaders. My goal here is what can we as the people of god learn from our past today? What can we glean from this? What can we the church learn from this? We can learn a greg doctrinal truth that the god of israel, our god, the same god we serve. Is a bean of in comparable perfection that there is none like him in heaven on earth. There is no god like our god that he is infinitely above all. And overall we learn that he is the bless god forever. He is eternal. We learn that he will be true to every word that he speaks. He says I will keep covenant with them. I will keep covenant and mercy with those who walk before me. He’s all these promises. You walk before me. I will honor what I tell you. I will do. We enter into marriage. What are we doing? We’re in into a covenant agreement one another. To be faithful to one another. God saying it’s the same thing. Enter into that union with me. Be faithful to me and I promise you, I will be faithful. But those who walk before me with all their hearts, that means to walk with all of one’s will in one’s heart and soul in line with his will. That’s what that means, friends. Being faithful to him. For he desires to dwell with men. He desires to come in dwell with men to commune with men. Yes, solomon was consecrating the temple the place where god would meet his people. But yet it was much more than that. God was instructing the people and how they were to be consecrated before him. How they could make, maintain that right relationship with him, that right relationship that he desires to have with each of us to consecrate means to make or declare something sacred. To be dedicated for a divine purpose. I believe is not only consecrating the building the temple, but I believe is consecrating the people my friends, the church is not, this is not these walls and drywall and siding and who before’s or 6 us, whatever to honor. But it’s the people is the people we are to be consecrated before god. You know, there is an act that we do as baptists. We dedicate our children to God. Don’t we? When the reference we dedicate to, we don’t typically baptize. We dedicate we reserve baptism for when they reach an age where they can make a conscious decision of themselves that they want to follow after god that they want to give their hearts to him. But we dedicate them. And as pears, we are committing that we will pray with them that we will read god’s word to them. We will bring them to church. We commit to set a godly example for our children to follow. It takes a lot of dedication, doesn’t it? And it has eternal and divine implications, doesn’t it? It teaches our young people that god desires to commune with them. To have that relationship that we his church are the dwelling place of his holy spirit is having a relationship with the father. Remember jesus conversation with a woman at the well, he said there are the iris coming and now is when the true worshiper will worship the father and spirit and in truth for the father seeks such to worship him to worship him in spirit and truth. God is spirit and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth. We remember the woman’s response to him. You do say that isn’t israel, where you’re supposed to worship at the temple, right? I mean, they built a temple that’s where god was going to meet with them. It was a designated place. You know, a lot of people will get bored with 1st and 2nd chronicles. I did get your 1st carnival 2nd chronicles. I think I found better. But it’s showing the relationship between god and the kings. And you have one king that was faithful. His son will be unfaithful. His son then would be faithful. That his son would be on faith, which is kinda like this up and down, up and down. And the ones that were most fe for, I’m kind of get myself off track here. Remember my place, the ones that were most faithful were not only the ones that really would move the sure poles in the bales and all the idols. But the ones that remove the high places and you say water, the high places, well the high places is where they would go and sacrifice to God. But it wasn’t at the temple. It was places that they set up in their communities where they would go and offer their sacrifices and worship god. But god want him to come to the temple, but they didn’t want to be inconvenienced to go to the sample. So the things that were most faithful said, you’re going to have to sacrifice a little because we’re going to remove the high places we’re going to remove the bales, remove all these false idols. You’re going to come and worship god. sacrifice a little man. It’s not supposed to be easy, but that was the faithful ones. The remove all that even the high places, god call them very faithful way. men enact 744 to 49. This is speaking that we are the temple. Not the building made with hands, but friends. We are the temple of god, says our fathers had the tabernacle witness and wilderness as he appointed, instruct moses to make it according to the pattern that he had seen. What’s your father’s having received it in charm? Also brought with Joshua into the LAN, possessed by the gentiles who god drove out before the face of our fathers until the day of david, who found favor before god, and asked to find a dwelling place for the god of jacob. But solomon built him a house. However, however, the most high does not dwell in temples made with hands. As a prophet says, heaven is my throne and earth is my footstool. What house will you build for me? Says the Lord, or what is the place of my rest? What house will we build for god? Yeah, us. My friends. Yes, that’s the house we’ll build for god. A broken and con reinhardt is the house that we need to build for god, also to go along with This is the fusions to vs 19 through 22. Now therefore, you are no longer strangers are and foreigners, but fellow citizens with a st. And members of the household of god having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, jesus christ himself being the chief cornerstone in whom the whole building being fit together grows into a holy temple of the Lord in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of god and the spirit he’s talking about the church you, you friends are being built together for a dwelling, place of god, in the spirit in the holy spirit. In our scripture lesson in chapter 7, 2nd chronicles. God gave the israelites a word of caution. A word of warning. He said I will or not, if he says when I shut up heaven, then there is no rain. When I command the locus. Karen had mentioned locust in c. Remember there good source of protein? When I command the locus to devour the land or US and pestilence among my people, what’s up with this? I mean, does god delight in sending you things? Now, he doesn’t. But he wants to be aware what can happen, right? That goes along with what we’re talking about and Saturday school last week, it’s about discipline. It’s about correction for misbehavior. If you will write what parent is not going to correct or ground their child when they don’t. A beta rose said in the household, what a which pair the are responsible parents. The one that lays down the road and said, you’re going to be ground are going to be do this. If you don’t have a, the rules and then that way I did. So you know that kids going to push that parent as far as I can push them My friends, god is not a responsible parent. God is responsible. He’s a loving and responsible father. He will discipline his children. And that’s what that warning is about. He’s telling the children of israel, if you turn from me and follow after the foreign gods of the neighbors. If you turn from following my statutes commandments, that I will send these punishments against you. Why? Because my friends, god describes himself as a jealous god. In exodus 3414 says for you shall worship. I’m not sure if I sent that one. You saw worship, no other god for the Lord whose name is jealous is a jealous god. What’s the name of your god? jealous? jealous. He is my for his god. breed the breath of life in the adam, he poured him of the dust with the earth and he breathed his breath into miss beard in every single person that is live or madam to now is blessed with that same breath. The breath, it comes from the breath of god and he jealously or yearns and desires for us to have a relationship with the one has given us bread. There’s nothing wrong with that. He has that right. He has that authority. James, 4 or 5 this or do do you not think that the scripture says in vain to spirit who dwells in US, yearns jealously that spirit at Wells in US yearns jealously. God desires us to be faithful. He wants to come with us. Well with us. You know, there are times we refer to the time period that we’re living in as the dispensation of grace. Whereas god is always been gracious. Does not a scripture and 2nd chronicles reveal god’s grace. God tells them if you mess up, if you do go off and follow these other gods. If they turn back to him, if they will, humble themselves and pray says if you humble yourselves and pray and seek my face. If you turn from your wicked ways, what is that asked repentance. Then I will hear from heaven and I will forgive their sins and he will their land. There’s the assurance that god will hear a prayers. I said, do you want to competence? God, we’re prayers. humble yourselves before god repent before god, and he will hear our prayers. suppress confession to confess our sins to God solomon praying 2nd chronicle. 624 and 25 river people. israel are defeated before an enemy because they have sinned against you and return and confess your name and pray and make supplication before you in this temple. Then hear from heaven and forgive their sins are forgiven. Save your people israel, and bring them back to the land which you gave them. And their father’s sat saw him and praying to God pray for confession. If your people confess, here are their prayers. lord james tells us confessor prayers. James 51360 through 16. Is any one among you suffering. letting pray is anyone cheerful that in thing psalms is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church and let them pray over him, anointed him with oil in the name of the Lord, and the prayer of faith will save the sick and overrate them up. If he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. confess your trespasses to one another and pray for one another that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much your pass each had a lot of if senate To simplify. God said if you turn from May expect that there will be corrective disciplinary actions against you. But if you are a faithful to follow my ways, these will be your blessings. God, one of them just to be true to him. He wanted them to continue to come to him, to come to that temple and worship him sacrifice to him. He wanted them to do it, they after day, month after month, year after year. That was the desire of his heart. But he said, but if you turn your turn away and forsake my statutes and my commandments was said before you go worship other gods. He says, and I will up route them from my land, which I had given to them. And this house, which I had sanctify for my name, I will cast out out of my site and it will be a proverb, any by word among all the peoples my friends, the same is true today. Jesus said, no one can serve 2 masters for either he will have one and love the other or else he will be loyal to one and despise the other. In matthew 13, jesus tells a farewell about what the game of god is like. And he uses the illustration of a man. So in good seed, he went out and he paid his workers a so good seed in the field. But someone come out at midnight and sewed tears among the good. See jesus says let both grow together until the harvest. And at the time of the harvest, i will say to the reapers 1st gathered together the tears and bind them into bundles and burn them. But gather the wheat into my barn for as god was telling solomon this, and if there unfaithful of this, let this building be up rooted if their own faith while operated there unfaithful to me and turn from following my ways, my friends, the same things are waiting to tear the tears of the unfaithful, they’ll be uprooted and cast into the fire. This re lessons found in 2nd chronicles. Again, I say is so amazing. I did pick out one good example of a king that was faithful. His father wasn’t but he was to host a fat was a very faithful king. His father was very wicked and thankfully he didn’t fall in his father’s footsteps. Maybe he looked to his grandfather in 2nd, chronicles 2 verses, one through 4, and then verse 21 through 24. And it happened after this that the people of mo, ab, with the people of amman and others with them besides the ammonite, came to battle against your host effect. Then some came and told joseph by saying a great multitude is coming against you from beyond the sea, from syria, and they are in houses onto mar, which is in good I and joseph at fear and set himself to seek the Lord. Okay, he said himself to pray, set himself to seek the Lord and proclaim they fast throughout all judah. Sir judah gathered together to ask help from the Lord, and from all the city of judah, they came to seek the Lord. Moving to verse 21. And when he had consulted with the people, he had pointed those who should sing to the Lord. And he should praise the beauty of beauty of holiness. And as they went before the army and were saying, praise the Lord for his mercy endorse forever. Now, when they began to sing at the praise, the Lord said ambushes against the people of amman and moab amount, sir, who had come against judah, and they were defeated for the people of amman and mo, ab sit up against the inhabitants of mount, sir, to utterly kill and destroy them, and when they had made an end of the inhabitants, sir, they help to destroy one another. My friends, you see the benefits of a humble heart before god. jehovah fare, called on the people to fasten the prey. seek the Lord our god. He know that his army was nothing compared to those that have come against him. These 3 great armies that come down against him. seek the Lord. They faster than they pray. And I find it absolutely amazing that they’re on their way out. The Lord said to them, go out against them, delivered them into your hands of delivered his great army into your hands, on the way out. He points people to thing and praise the god. And as soon as I began to praise god, those armies turn on themselves. They didn’t have to lift a finger. israel didn’t have to lift the finger against that great army that came against them. God, can you imagine that? I mean to me I just when I read that is so amazing, you know, we fret and fear and worry. Our god is a great and awesome god. He can cause moab in amman to turn and destroy him out, sir. And then they turned on one another until they’re all destroyed In israel this days, or they were probably amazed. I mean, we’d probably be amazed because that’s also ma, you know, how mazing you are. God amazed us. But it begins when we humble ourselves. That’s the key word to describe what we have to do to have that right relationship with him to have that communion that he desires with us humble. If my people will humble themselves and seek my face for that is the 1st thing we have to do is home or sell home that pri humble, that whatever that last, whatever we’re dealing with, it’s bringing one’s prod down. It’s bringing our last one is that whatever, whatever is against god, we need to get rid of it. First. Once we’ve done this, I can assure you, his word promises us. That if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. My God does not break any this promises he is faithful and true. We must pray. We must pray that prayer of confession, and we must pray that prayer of consecration that we consecrate ourselves to God. He does. It won’t at temple any more. He dwells right here. And he’s not going to dwell in a temple that’s walking in sin, practicing sin. So we must humble ourselves and repent. He said, my eyes will be open to my years. attentive to the prayer made in this place. Then he was speaking to the temple. For now, there is a new place of dwelling, right? Right here. His eyes will be opening his ears of the 10 of to the prayer made in this place the pur made and his humble heart. If we haul more sales before god, he will hear our prayers. He will answer our prayers If they are in line with his will, not our will, not my will, but his will. May we be faithful to seek him? That’d begin here. That begin in the church. We get it right here, the maybe they’re all spread to the the nation in the leaders, right. Let us humble ourselves. And then we’ll Set the example for the leaders of follow