[0:00] And thankful for it. We're in 2 Chronicles chapter 7. Let's read the entire chapter together. Let's put it in context. If you remember we put it in context. This is during the reign of Solomon. Actually this is speaking about events during the reign of Solomon. This is written to the people. Now this is so important to grasp and to hold on to because it is so much different than the setting of 1 Kings.
[0:23] In 1 Kings chapter 8 and following where we see the parallel event to this. It is kind of being written immediately following real time. We don't know who the author of 1 and 2 Kings really is. We can make some assumptions from the writings. It appears to be someone such as Jeremiah.
[0:40] That would have probably I mean that has at least some application because we know Jeremiah wrote during that time. Some of the lament and the mourning and the weeping in those works seem to parallel the writings of Jeremiah.
[0:53] Jeremiah is present when the nation falls. So he's present at the very onset of the Babylonian captivity. So now we're reading 1 and 2 Chronicles which was written following the Babylonian captivity. Again we don't know who wrote it. There are some schools of thought. One of the schools of thought in which I kind of lean more towards is Ezra or one of the scribes according to the tradition of Ezra.
[1:20] Again because we have the books of Nehemiah. And I know I throw a lot of information at you but this is good. This is why we have these nights right. So if you open up the book of Ezra you will know that Ezra is a scribe who committed himself to studying the word and to knowing the Lord.
[1:38] And it says in the book of Ezra he committed to know the Lord so that he may teach and instruct the people of the Lord. So he is one who made a commitment in his life to be able to teach.
[1:51] One of those commitments would have been the studying of the history of God's people and he would have had access to it because of the position he had within the Persian Empire. Because he had access to books and scrolls and parchments and things like that.
[2:05] So we say that that this letter these books are being written for the people who have come out of Babylonian captivity. So when they read it it's almost much like when we read it right.
[2:19] They're reading events and they say hindsight's 20-20 and they look and they go oh wow that did happen. We'll see one of those tonight.
[2:30] So if we put it in context again we know that David made ample preparations. David passed off the scene. Solomon comes. Solomon builds the temple of the Lord. He builds it on the right location Mount Moriah.
[2:45] He builds it in the right place. And it is there in this splendor and glory. And they pray and they dedicate the temple. The glory of the Lord fills the temple.
[2:56] We'll read that again tonight. But chapter 6 really gives us this bold prayer. Wednesday night we looked at this bold prayer of Solomon.
[3:06] And that he's on a platform raised above the people much like this. And he gets down and he kneels on his knees and lifts his hands to heaven and cries out to the Lord God.
[3:18] So the greatest among them assumes the humblest position before them. And he raised this prayer of boldness. And it's this prayer of petitioning God to not only inhabit the place.
[3:31] But to respond to the prayers directed to that place. And that if his people would sin and they would confess their sins. They would pray towards that place confessing their sins. That God would hear from heaven and respond.
[3:42] And if they are led into captivity and they pray towards that place. That God would hear from heaven and respond. Again we're reading that going that did happen. Daniel did that. Nehemiah did that.
[3:54] Right. And this is why the author is writing for us and showing that this was the foundation laid. So that Daniel would know I'm going to keep facing towards Jerusalem and praying.
[4:05] So that Nehemiah would say we have sinned. Not they have sinned. But we have sinned. Right. Owning the sin of the nation. Remember in scripture in particular in the Old Testament.
[4:20] You can't properly isolate the individual from the corporate body. That is the group is so connected that you are identified as the group.
[4:36] So are you. And when we get to the New Testament the church is the same way. Right. We are stone built upon stone united to one another. So it is a scriptural impossibility to speak of yourself in isolation apart from your connection to the church.
[4:56] I don't mean war trace Baptist church. I mean the church. Because you are the church. And as the church is seen so too are you.
[5:08] And this is why we should say Lord forgive us. Even if we say well we didn't do that. But if the church has done anything to cause offense. Lord forgive us. Right.
[5:19] So that's that gets us caught up. Now we're in chapter 7. We'll read chapter 7. And a very simple title this evening. I want you to see a prayer answered. We have a bold prayer in chapter 6.
[5:31] And we have the prayer answered in chapter 7. Now when Solomon had finished praying fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and sacrifices. And the glory of the Lord filled the house.
[5:43] The priest could not enter into the house of the Lord because the glory of the Lord filled the Lord's house. And all the sons of Israel seeing fire come down. And the glory of the Lord upon the house bowed down on the pavement with their faces to the ground.
[5:57] And they worshiped and gave praise to the Lord saying truly he is good. Truly his loving kindness is everlasting. Then the king and all the people offered sacrifice before the Lord.
[6:10] King Solomon offered a sacrifice of 22,000 oxen and 120,000 sheep. Thus the king and all the people dedicated the house of God. The priests stood at their posts and the Levites also with the instruments of music to the Lord.
[6:22] Which king David had made for giving praise to the Lord. For his loving kindness is everlasting. Whenever he gave praise by their means. While the priest on the other side blew trumpets.
[6:33] And all Israel was standing. Then Solomon consecrated the middle of the court that was before the house of the Lord. For there he offered the burnt offerings and the fat of the peace offerings. Because the bronze altar which Solomon had made was not able to contain the burnt offerings.
[6:49] The grain offering and the fat. So Solomon observed the feast at that time for seven days. And all Israel with him. A very great assembly who came from the entrance of Hamath to the brook of Egypt.
[7:00] On the eighth day they held a solemn assembly. For the dedication of the altar they observed seven days. And the feast seven days. Then on the 23rd day of the seventh month. He sent the people to their tents.
[7:11] Rejoicing and happy of heart. Because of the goodness that the Lord had shown to David and to Solomon. And to his people Israel. Thus Solomon finished the house of the Lord and the king's palace.
[7:22] And successfully completed all that he had planned on doing in his house. In the house of the Lord and in his palace. Then the Lord appeared to Solomon at night and said to him.
[7:33] I have heard your prayer. And have chosen this place for myself. As a house of sacrifice. If I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain. And if I command the locusts to devour the land.
[7:45] Or if I send pestilence among my people. 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.
[7:55] And will forgive their sin. And will heal their land. Now my eyes will be open. And my ears attentive to the prayer offered in this place. For now I have chosen and consecrated this house.
[8:07] That my name may be there forever. And my eyes and my heart will be there perpetually. As for you. If you walk before me as your father David walked. Even to do according to all that I have commanded you.
[8:18] And will keep my statutes and my ordinances. Then I will establish your royal throne. As I covenanted with your father David. Saying you shall not lack a man to be ruler in Israel.
[8:30] 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. Then I will uproot you from my land. Which I have given you.
[8:41] And this house which I have consecrated for my name. I will cast out of my sight. And I will make it a proverb. And a byword among all the peoples. As for this house. Which was exalted.
[8:52] Everyone who passes by it will be astonished. And saying. Why has the Lord done thus? To this land and to this house. And they will say. Because they forsook the Lord. The God of their fathers. Who brought them from the land of Egypt.
[9:03] And they adopted other gods. And worshipped them. And served them. Therefore he has brought all this adversity on them. 2nd Chronicles chapter 7. A prayer answered.
[9:14] I told you you were familiar with it. You were familiar with 2nd Chronicles 7 verse 14. That if my people pray and turn from their wicked ways. Then I will hear from heaven. And will heal their land. 2nd Chronicles 7 verse 14. Let me caution you though.
[9:27] And I will say this. And I don't want you to be offended by this. Don't take that verse out of the context in which it sits. At times we have a tendency.
[9:38] To. Want to. Claim the things. What the verse teaches us. Is the reality that God hears our prayers. And I say this.
[9:50] With the utmost respect. Of everybody I'm speaking to. It's okay. She's not being that big of a distraction. It's just every lady in the room. Is looking at you and that baby. Nobody. She's not distracted.
[10:02] And nobody's really paying attention. It's all right Harper. This is Harper's first time. You know. Talk to Pop Pop. While I preach. It's okay. Sorry. So sorry. She's not distracting me at all either. Anyway.
[10:13] Let's go back to this. Let's go back to this. The promise in that verse. Does not guarantee. God will heal. Our land. Okay.
[10:26] He said. Oh yes. It does. As if my people. To the Israelite people. Because their covenant. Was connected. To the land. There were a particular people.
[10:38] With promises. Connected to a place. Now I say that with respect. What application.
[10:50] This isn't the sermon. The application for us. Is that God answers our prayers. He hears us. Our land may not be healed. As a matter of fact.
[11:01] When we read end time prophecy. A lot of people want to find out. Where America fits into the prophetic word. End time prophecy. And if you read it correctly. You can't find America there. We're really not in it.
[11:16] And that's not despairing. Because. While I love our land. And again. I say this with all due respect. We are not.
[11:30] American Christians. We are Christians. Who are Americans. Careful where you put the adjective. Because the adjective defines the noun. Don't let our nationality.
[11:43] Define our relationship. Should we pray for our land? Yes. Because that is our responsibility. To pray for the government leaders. If we want to use a verse. To pray for our nation. Then. Use the ones where Romans says.
[11:54] Do not fail. And what Paul says in the book of Romans. Not to fail. To pray for those who lead. And rule over you. And those who make governmental decisions. That one. We can. We can say yes. That's for all Christians. Because he was not writing to the Jewish people there.
[12:05] Right. He was writing to people. That were under Gentile rule. And so. While I say this. I don't want to. Some people say. Man pastor. You mess up all kinds of Bible verses. No. I just want us to understand them accurately.
[12:20] Because I think. Too. Too often. We want to. Let our opinions. Influence scripture. Rather than let scripture. Influence our opinions. Now. Let's get to the prayer. All right.
[12:30] Look at this prayer answer. So. When we both. Pray bold prayers. Much like Solomon. Because we're not praying towards a place. By the way. We're not praying towards Jerusalem. We're not praying.
[12:40] This is why we can't claim all of this. We're not. We don't have to face Jerusalem. We don't have to face Temple Mount. We don't have to face any of those. And pray towards that place. Because now. In the New Covenant. Jeremiah 31.
[12:51] We saw it this morning. The initiation of the New Covenant. Where God has chosen to cause his name to dwell. Is among his people. Right? We are the church. We are the temple. The spiritual household of the living God.
[13:02] So we cry out to him. And he is in our midst. And he is promised to be among us. So if we don't have to face Jerusalem. Then we also can't claim the things directly connected to those who face Jerusalem.
[13:15] But we can claim the character attributes of the God that responds here. There's some things that we can say. Oh yes. That's true of us. So we can see this.
[13:26] So when we look at this prayer. And we pray these bold prayers. As a nation. As a corporate body. As a church. As individuals. And we want to know how God answers. What does it look like when prayer is answered?
[13:37] Number one. We see that it is answered first and foremost. And I believe this is priority. This is the first answer we ever ought to desire to see in prayer. And it is the very.
[13:47] Should be the very first longing of our heart. The very first ambition of our soul. It ought to be this. It is answered by his presence.
[14:01] It is answered by his presence. Look what the word of God says. Now when Solomon had finished praying. Solomon again. We've already painted the picture.
[14:13] Publicly humbling himself. And praying. And lifting up. This is a public assembly. When it says that everyone is gathered there from the region. As far as Hamath to the river. And all these other places.
[14:23] What it is saying is all of Israel is there. From the southernmost point to the northernmost point. All of Israel was there. They were gathered together. And so this has been a very public prayer.
[14:33] By the way there's three points. Two of them were publicly. One of them is private. Right? So two. Two of the first two are very public answers. And the third one. Which if we're going to just really be honest.
[14:44] Are the ones that we really want to get to. That's a private answer. But the very public one. The very first one we see. Is that God answers prayer. And it ought to be our priority. That we're longing for.
[14:55] Is by his presence. Now when Solomon had finished praying. Fire came down from heaven. And consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices. Fire fell. Now I just went back and looked at this.
[15:08] Right? Because in scripture. God uses fire to acknowledge his acceptance of a sacrifice. And the display of his glory. When Moses and Aaron.
[15:18] When the tabernacle was completed. Not the temple. The tabernacle was completed. And we go back there. And we read. When they pray. When the tabernacle was done. We're reading of it.
[15:29] In the book of Leviticus. And it's there. And they have the sacrifice there. And Moses and Aaron praying. They go into the tent. In the meeting. God answers. And shows his approval of the tabernacle. How? Fire fell.
[15:40] And consumed the offering that was on the altar. And when the fire fell. Then the glory filled the tabernacle. Now we have the temple. Stay with me. And the temple was built. Solomon's here.
[15:50] And he prays. And he cries out. Much like Moses and Aaron. And so he prays over the temple. And the sacrifice there. And God answers in the same way. Fire fell. And consumed the sacrifice.
[16:02] And the glory of the Lord filled the temple. Now the tabernacle. Now it's the temple. We go a little bit further in history. And we have Elijah. Elijah shows up. And Elijah has his showdown on Mount Carmel.
[16:13] He can't go to Mount Moriah. Because by this time. The temple of Mount Moriah is desecrated. All right. Because you have this Jezebel lady. Whose name is Jezebel. Who's doing all kinds of wicked things inside Jerusalem.
[16:24] And all these other different places. And actually they're in the northern kingdom. And so the effects of Jezebel and Ahab. Have already went all the way down into the southern kingdom. And affected the temple worship that's going on in Jerusalem.
[16:34] But the kingdom is divided. So Elijah comes during the days of Jezebel and Ahab. And he has this showdown. And he wants to show who is the true God. Is it the God of heaven? Or is it the God Baal?
[16:46] And so they go there. And they build this. And he prays. And when he prays what happens? Fire falls and consumes the sacrifice on the altar. And the God who answers by fire. He is God.
[16:57] Right? Because his presence is revealed. Now let's go through the portals of history. Just a little bit further. For the Shekinah glory departs from the temple of the Lord. We can write Ichabod across it. Ezekiel sees that.
[17:08] And he writes of it in his writings. And we understand that it is gone. And the next time we see the glory of the Lord in Temple Mount. Is when Jesus is there. And Jesus is constructing his temple.
[17:20] For he calls God his father. And the father calls him his son. And he is building the true temple. And so now the true temple. We know it as the church. Right? And so we're being built upon one another.
[17:31] The birth of the church is in most cases seen as Acts chapter 2. And the birth of the church when the church is being constructed. There's not a temple.
[17:42] There's not a building. But there are people. They're being united together. They don't have an altar. Because the sacrifice has already been. He was on a cross. Right? And that sacrifice has already been dead.
[17:53] Buried. And come back to life. And ascended to the father. And so to validate that this is the temple. Guess what happens? On the day of Pentecost. Tongues as of fire fell upon each one of them.
[18:08] And divided themselves among them. Do you see here a trend in scripture? That God is revealing and authenticating his presence by the coming of fire.
[18:20] And what God is saying is he's answering here. And he answers by his presence. And the fire of heaven falls. And it's not just some scary thing. It's just God saying I am here.
[18:31] I accept this. I acknowledge that this is. So we can see from the tabernacle. To the temple. To Mount Carmel. To now all of a sudden.
[18:43] In the upper room. On the day of Pentecost. Boom. God is moving consistently. God is such a consistent God. Scripture is so true. It does not deviate.
[18:53] And we see that he is unchanging. But what we notice by each of these. Now all of a sudden we know these people are not drunk with wine. But they are filled with the Holy Spirit. For God is here.
[19:05] Right? So it is the presence. And it says the fire fell. And it consumed the altar. And the glory of the Lord filled the house. The desire of prayer.
[19:18] Should be the presence. Of the Lord God Almighty. The utmost desire. The one thing we're aiming at.
[19:29] Is in spite of. Or probably more in light of. The thing we are requesting. The overarching desire.
[19:42] Ought to be. The manifested presence of God. Because if he is not present. Then nothing else really matters. If he gives us.
[19:55] What we want. And what we request. But we do not get his presence. Then it really doesn't matter. What did God say to Moses.
[20:06] When Moses was up on. Mount Sinai. You remember that? The people had built a golden calf. They'd worship for the golden calf. And God says to Moses.
[20:17] Go ahead. Leave here. Take this people. I'll be able to great nation. You'll be able to great nation. So here's all the promises. Right? You leave. You'll get there. You'll be a great nation. But God says. But I'm not going with you. What did Moses say?
[20:27] If you don't go with us. Then just kill me. Right? I don't want the nation. I don't want the power.
[20:38] I don't want all. I don't want the land. I don't want any of that. Without your presence. See the grand longing of prayer.
[20:50] Ought to be. Oh God. We want to see you. We want to know you. Why? Because prayer is a manifestation of the relationship.
[21:00] And it ought to be. The continuing of that relationship. It says that when the glory of the Lord filled the house. The priest could not enter into the house of the Lord.
[21:13] Because the glory of the Lord filled the Lord's house. So now. It's more about who is there. Than what we do. Or even maintaining the order.
[21:26] There are very. Very few times. Now. I'll just be honest. And. I'm not an OCD person. But when it comes to like.
[21:37] Sunday morning services. Like. I love for everything to be orderly. And to run smooth. And those that have been around me long enough. Know that. And. And it's only because. I don't want there to be any distractions.
[21:48] I don't want there to be anything. That would pull. Even bring the attention to me. Or I don't want it to. Be the attention of anything else. I just. I don't want there to be a hindrance. I don't want. I want us to gather for one reason.
[22:00] And to know. While we're there to worship. To be unhindered in our worship. So it's not really about this. Perfection thing. It's about. I just don't want there to be distractions. But then there have been a few of those times.
[22:11] Where God just hindered him. We couldn't do things the right way. And those are sweet times. When he interrupts that. And you're like.
[22:21] Wow. He's here. And all of a sudden. The presence becomes. More important than the practice. Because if we're not careful.
[22:33] Even. Me and my thinking. The practice can overrule the presence. And I can be so consumed. To making sure we're doing it right. Much like the priests.
[22:43] And the Levites. And all that. In the time of Christ. Making sure that we do it right. That we forget. While we're there. And so we understand this. The very first answer.
[22:54] To prayer. Is it is the answer. Of his presence. And it is the grandest. And greatest answer. Of it all. Secondly. We see the answer.
[23:06] Which flows naturally. From the first one. God answers. By his presence. Number two. It is the answer. Of their praise. Because. Because.
[23:17] Presence. Presence. Presence. Presence. Leads. To praise. We cannot. Be in the presence. Of the Lord God almighty.
[23:29] And not praise. Because those who do not praise. In his presence. Are cast out of his presence. Everyone in scripture.
[23:41] That we meet. That is called up. Into the throne room of heaven. We find the same response. What do they do? Fall on their faces. And cry. Woe is me. Everyone that has this encounter.
[23:54] With the angel of the Lord. What do they do? Bow down before him. It is praise. Look at what happens. It says. And the fire came down. Verse three.
[24:05] All the sons of Israel. Seeing the fire come down. And the glory of the Lord. Upon the house. So they saw this. Visible manifestation. Of his presence. What's the very next thing?
[24:15] Nobody had to tell them. To do this. Nobody instructed them. To do this. Nobody led them. To do this. What does it say? They do. When they saw this. They bowed down.
[24:25] On the pavement. With their faces. To the ground. And they worshiped. And gave praise. To the Lord. It is just natural. Right?
[24:35] To be in his presence. Naturally leads. To praise and worship. And so. The answer. That we long for. In prayer. Is God.
[24:46] Make yourself. Known among us. And. Help us. To worship. And praise you. As you are worthy.
[24:57] And I love. Here. The author. Of this. Breaks out. This is very Pauline. By the way. Because Paul. Does this quite often. One of the. My favorite things. About Paul. When Paul writes his letters.
[25:08] Is Paul gets on these tangents. And these tangents. Are usually big long run on sentences. And in Paul's tangents. It's kind of like. Where the pastor in him. Takes over. And he just goes into this. Praise and adoration. And he's usually given.
[25:19] Some of his greatest truths. On these tangents. But the author of this. Two times. He just breaks out. Spontaneous praise. Right. He says. All the people. For truly. He is good. Truly. His loving kindness. Is everlasting. And then we go a little bit further.
[25:31] And we start speaking about. The musical instruments. It says. For his loving kindness. Is everlasting. What is he doing? He's just breaking out. And praise. Thinking about. What's going on here. Right. His loving kindness.
[25:42] Hesed. Everything that is for. Our good. Is everlasting. What a joy. Right. And they're. They're saying this. They're making this declaration.
[25:53] Because God is among them. And they just break out. In this. Praise. And they praise. With humility. They bow their faces.
[26:04] To the ground. And they worship him. For he's worthy. To be worshipped. And then they praise. With obedience. They offer all these sacrifices. 22,000 oxen. 120,000 sheep.
[26:14] So much so. They have to consecrate. Or set apart. The. The. The courtyard there. Because they can't offer it all. On the altar. And so they have to. Dedicate another place. So they praise him.
[26:24] With humility. They praise him. With obedience. And then they praise him. With musical instruments. So they just break out. Into this worship session. Right. The Levites. And the musicians. Are there.
[26:35] And they're playing their instruments. And they're singing. To one another. That's okay. Why? Because one of the greatest. Answers to prayer. And too often.
[26:45] And I feel like. That we fail to understand. That it is an answer to prayer. Is that now. We as sinful man. Can go into his presence. And praise him. And we get to join.
[26:58] What is. Always. Continuously. Going on. In heaven. For there are myriads. Of angels around him. Who daily stand. Before his throne. Saying worthy. Is.
[27:09] The lamb. God. And. So we get to join. In the. Ongoing. Praise. Of heaven. And that. Is such a worship. Or such an answer.
[27:20] To prayer. We're not worthy. To be there. But when he manifests. His presence. Among us. And through the blood. Of the lamb. Who is slain. Before the foundation. Of the world. Who we know. Is Jesus Christ.
[27:31] Our king. We get welcomed. Into his presence. To praise. And adore him. And. That will be what we do. For all of eternity. It's the.
[27:44] Grandest act. That we get to do. It is the purpose of man. To obey the Lord. And to. Fulfill the word of God. In obedience. And to praise him. And to love him. With all of our hearts. And all of our minds.
[27:54] All of our strength. With all of our soul. This is the purpose of man. We were created to worship. And it is an answer to prayer. That we get the opportunity. To do that. Because. In our sinful nature.
[28:07] We should not be allowed. To do that. But by crying out to him. We are welcome. To do that. Those are the two public things. God manifests his presence. And the people. Have the opportunity.
[28:17] To praise. Then it says. Solomon sent everyone home. They celebrated the feast. They dedicated the altar. They dedicated the temple. On the 28th day.
[28:28] Of the 7th. Or the 23rd day. Of the 7th month. He sent the people. To their tents. Rejoicing. And happy of heart. Because of the goodness. That the Lord had shown. To David. And Solomon. And to his people. So everybody goes home.
[28:38] And then we get to this private thing. Which. If we're going to. Just be truthful. Is the very thing. That we longed here. We want our prayers answered. And we want this third one. Because we would long. To bypass. Just naturally.
[28:49] As we are. And we would long. To bypass the first two. We're wanting to get. To the third one. Where God speaks. Specifically. To what we requested. But. As we find.
[29:00] When Nicodemus. Approaches Jesus. By night. Jesus didn't need anyone. To teach him. About the heart of man. For Jesus knew. The heart of every man. And one thing I love. About Christ. Is people ask questions. And Jesus seems to answer.
[29:10] Everything but the question. Right. Because Jesus is giving him. What he really needs. And he's telling him the truth. And so.
[29:21] When we see this. We make these requests. Much like Solomon. Lord do this. Do this. Do this. Do this. Do this. And God answers first. By manifesting his presence. Among us. And then he answers. And allows us.
[29:31] To have the opportunity. To praise him. And then in the quietness. Of that moment. It says. Does Solomon finish the house of the Lord. In the king's palace. And he successfully completed. All that he had planned. On doing in the house of the Lord.
[29:42] And in his palace. So. Some years have taken place. Multiple years. Into his reign. Then. The Lord appeared to Solomon. At night. So often.
[29:53] It's in that stillness. Of the moment. Right. It's not. In this grand display. Of presence. In that stillness. Of the moment. And the Lord appeared to Solomon. At night. And said to him. I have heard your prayer.
[30:04] And have chosen this place. For myself. As a house. Of sacrifice. To God. Now. All of a sudden. He answered by his presence.
[30:15] He answered by their praise. And now he answers with his promise. I have heard your prayer. We could stop right there. And say.
[30:25] What an answer. For the God of heaven. To acknowledge. He has heard. Our prayer. Is answer enough.
[30:36] For what is man. That you would make him. A little lower. Than the angels. Quite often.
[30:46] I'm reminded of that. When I look up. Into the heavens. And I say. Who am I? Right. And we stand. Amazed. That he who speaks. Every star into existence.
[30:57] And calls them forth. By name. And ensures. That they maintain. Their course. And they stay there. Yet looks upon. My little. Insignificant life. And then.
[31:09] He goes a little bit further. And he says. I have heard. Your prayers. What an answer. Isn't it enough. Right there. Just for him. To acknowledge. The reality.
[31:20] I hear you. When you pray. Because too often. We are. Tried. To be convinced. That he does not hear us. And sometimes. Our feelings.
[31:30] Feel as if he doesn't hear us. And our situations. And circumstances. Seem to imply. That he is not hearing us. But we have it. Over and over and over again. In the word of God. This affirmation.
[31:41] That I hear you. And we go. Wow. He hears us. He knows. What we request.
[31:53] He knows it. Even before we ask. And even when we don't know. How to ask. Romans chapter 8. Tells us. That the spirit intercedes. In our weakness. With groanings. And moanings. Right. These things.
[32:04] That I don't know. What to say. Even though. I don't know. How to verbalize it. I'm even given. The spirit. That would help me. In my groaning. And in my moaning. And in my aching.
[32:14] And in my pain. So that God can say. I heard that. That. And we say. Well I didn't even say it. He said. But I still heard it. Man.
[32:26] That's an answer. And then he takes. A little bit further. He says. And I manifest. In my presence. That I've chosen. This place.
[32:37] If I shut up the heavens. So that there is no rain. Or if I command. The locusts. To devour the land. Or if I send. Pestilence upon my people. By the way. Each of those. The request.
[32:48] Of Solomon. He says. And my people. Who are called by my name. Humble themselves. And pray. And seek my face. And turn from their wicked ways.
[32:58] Then I will hear from heaven. And will forgive their sin. And will hear of their land. Now. Again. Not naming and claiming here. But what we do see. Is this answer. God says. I will respond. Actively. To the prayer.
[33:09] Of the repentant. That's an attribute of God. That we carry over. To the New Testament. God says. Though you sin.
[33:20] Though you rebel. Though the consequences. Of your sin. Rest upon you. And you feel their effects. I will respond. Actively.
[33:30] I will hear from heaven. And do. And answer on earth. To the prayer. Of the repentant. They turn from their wicked ways.
[33:42] What hope do we have. Of proclaiming anyone. What hope did we have. As individuals. When someone said. To turn to Christ. And you shall be forgiven. For all your sins. And you shall be redeemed.
[33:53] You shall be saved. What hope is there. Of salvation. It is the hope. Of this character. Of God. That God. Responds. Actively. To the prayers. Of the repentant heart.
[34:05] Now we know. That. We are drawn to him. And that Christ. Begins to convict us. And the spirit. Comes to. To show us. Our own depravity. And we. We are pulled to him.
[34:16] And when we cry out to him. We will not be forsaken. Right. This is. The grandest of answers. This is a promise. From God. We are not promised.
[34:27] Here that he will heal. Our land. But we are promised. That he. This attribute. Of him. Does. Is unchanging. That God. Hears this. Prayer of the sinner. That God. Hears the prayer.
[34:37] Of the repentant. That God. Would respond. Actively. Right. When we fall. And we filter. And we falter. And we stumble. And we say. Well. I got myself. Into a mess. There is this belief.
[34:48] There is this truth. There is this promise. That God. Will. Hear. And actively. Respond. To the prayer. Of sinful man. When he repents. For this is. The character trait.
[34:58] Of God. God. And he tells him. About that. He said. I will do this. I will. I will be there. For I have chosen. I have consecrated this house. And my name may be there forever. Right. But now. There is. Also another promise.
[35:10] Connected to this. Not only does God promise. That he will hear. God promises. That he will respond. To the prayer. Of the repentant sinner. But then God also promises. In 19. Because we often. Don't name and claim.
[35:21] This promise. By the way. We'd love for it to end. Right there. Before we get to verse 19. Because this is the promise. We seem to ignore. A lot of times. But. But.
[35:32] 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. Then. I will uproot you. From my land.
[35:42] Which I have given you. So. Just as God promises. That he will. Actively respond. To the repentant sinner. God also promises. He will not be mocked.
[35:55] God also promises. Judgment. For the rebellious. Individual. God also promises. That he will not. Lower his standards.
[36:08] Though he will. Receive and respond. To the ones who repent. God promises. That he will not be mocked. For the. Rebellious heart. That turns from him.
[36:19] And wants to worship. Other gods. God will judge. The nation. After Babylonian captivity. Is reading this. And he speaks specifically. To the fact.
[36:30] That the nations. Will go by. Where the temple. Used to be. And they will shake their heads. And go. What happened? And they will say. Well God. Turn them over. For they rebelled. Now those coming out.
[36:41] Of those reading. This letter. They would have had to. Clean up the rubble. Where the temple. Used to be. They were still. They were still picking up. Rocks with Nehemiah. Where the walls. Used to be.
[36:53] So this was a very. Visible reality. To them. That yes. God keeps his word. If we repent. But God will also. Keep his word. If we rebel. The temple.
[37:07] Of Solomon. In its splendor. And glory. Was laid to ruins. And the nations. Did shake their heads. And say. And why did that happen? Because just as God. Keeps his promise. For good.
[37:17] God will also. Keep his promise. For judgment. And this is how. God answers. Prayer. He answers. With his presence. He answers. By welcoming us.
[37:28] Welcoming us. Into praise. And he answers. With these. Sure promises. He actively. Responds. To the repentant. Prayer. Of the sinful man. But. He will actively.
[37:39] Judge. The rebellious. Heart. Who denies him. It's not a very popular. Subject to talk about. A lot. Because we would long. To think. That God will not judge.
[37:50] Those who rebelled against him. But God promises. That he will. Does that mean. We wag our finger. And declare that. No. That means. That we in humble submission. Say Lord. That is the punishment. That I deserve.
[38:01] And that is the punishment. That very many. That around me. That are heading towards. Lord give me. A broken heart. That I may declare to them. You will hear them. But you will also judge them.
[38:12] This is the reality. That's set for us. In prayer answered. And we find it. In 2nd Chronicles. Chapter 7. Let's pray together. And then we'll be dismissed.
[38:23] Lord God Almighty. We are so humbled. By the reality.
[38:35] That you hear us. When we pray. There are many. Weights. And burdens. That can rest upon. Each one of our shoulders.
[38:48] Care and concern. For loved ones. Concern. For. Church members. Desire. To see you move. In.
[38:59] Physical. Circumstances. In individuals. Lives. Longing. To. Know you. In a greater way. But oh God.
[39:10] Above and beyond. All these things. One thing. That we want to seek. Is your presence. Among us. So we pray. That as your people. You would manifest. Your presence. Among this church.
[39:21] For your glory. May it be seen. In the way. We respond. To one another. May it be seen. In the way. We welcome. Those. Who come.
[39:32] Into our presence. May it be seen. In the way. That we. Help the hurting. That we reach out. To the lost. That we speak. With love. And truth.
[39:43] That we encourage. The downtrodden. That we minister. To the needy. For we know. That but for Christ. There go each. And every one of us.
[39:56] May your light. Shine out. From among us. Into this community. Into our homes. Around our tables. And in our community.
[40:08] Throughout our lives. We pray. That you would touch. And impact the people. Around us. For your good. And your glory. And we pray. And we pray. For the week. Ahead of us. As we have the opportunity.
[40:20] To come before you. With bold requests. May we understand. That quite often. The greatest answer. Is that we get to come. Before you. So we adore you.
[40:32] So we adore you. For who you are. We worship you. To the best we can. Lord may our love.
[40:43] For you grow. Each and every day. As we consider this week. This passion week. Realizing that it was. For my sin. Which you suffered.
[40:54] it was my pain you bore it was my agony that you carried to the cross my death you died so that your life and your resurrection I may enjoy Lord Jesus all we can say is thank you to leave here tonight may you be glorified in all we do and we ask it in Jesus name Amen Thank you