Order

We often don’t stop to realize that when things are listed in the Scripture, it is generally in the order that it needs to be followed.

For the purpose of this teaching I will address 2 Chronicles 7:14 If my people, which are called by my name, shall 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.

Although this certain Scripture verse is addressing many (God’s people), it has great application to the individual as well, and even to the lost. I will address the individual relation first.

For the sake of teaching this personal application, I will skip the direction of which it is addressed to. The act of humbling oneself is a realization of sinfulness and an understanding of God’s greatness.

When a lost person becomes aware of their state of hopelessness and gains the understanding of the Lord’s immense power to cleanse them of that unrighteousness and they cry out to God for their salvation, this act is an act of true humbleness, or humility.

To be humble before the Lord God we must understand our sorry state of inability and His complete capability to heal, forgive, and save… Humbleness is the honest condition of understanding my abilities in comparison to, or in relationship to, God. In the salvation experience, once we have become humbled we begin to seek God’s face by crying out from our lost state in a prayer of repentance, and by doing so are turning from our wicked ways to begin the new life.

Our rebirth marks the beginning of a new person—a person who is saved by Grace through the faith we have through the understanding of who Jesus Christ is and of His redeeming blood. Having become saved by Grace through our Faith in God, our soul has become healed, cleansed by the righteousness of Christ.

Now let us discuss the meaning of the verse and its implied audience and application.  I will say this, there are many people out there who claim to be Christians who are as far away from Christ as the Earth is from the Sun, and others who, in all likelihood, have never been saved.

However, I will relate to the verse as if all are saved believers. “If my people who are called by my name.” We are all God’s people, and if we are saved, we are indeed called by His name. We are referred to as Christians or followers of Jesus Christ. As Christians, we should be of like mind. Seeking God’s face is knowing and understanding the Word of God.

To seek God’s face is to comprehend the expectations of God, and our desires should fall in line with God’s will. When a Christian humbles themselves, he or she is, in fact, understanding their gross lack of ability and God’s absolute capability in all things.

Praying is a crying out to our Creator with knowledge that He, and He alone, can accomplish that which we are asking or is the one true God to whom we speak. Recognition of the omnipotence of God is the key factor of becoming a dedicated follower and believer.

Repentance is not a once and done event for the Christian. No, it is an ongoing duty done from the heart. We are housed in a fleshly vessel and that vessel was corrupted in sin. Sin is the nature of man, but it is not the nature of the soul.

The flesh was created and then became corrupted beginning in the Garden. The living soul, however, is the breath of God. If understood properly, it has the power to override the flesh, but this takes training and dedication to God. True Repentance is the act of turning from our wicked ways.

When we Love the Lord God enough to follow the teachings of the Scripture, our obedience comes with a promise from God—He will heal our land.

The determining factor is our realization of who God is! If God is absolute, if God is the “I Am” in our hearts and minds, then becoming humble before God, seeking God’s face, praying, and turning from our wicked ways will be our desire and our nature. It will not be a forced compliance or a burden in our minds.

“Call to me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you know not.”   Jeremiah 33:3

Kenneth Kellar
A Man Called by God to Teach and Disciple