2 chronicles 7 14 is not for us

8/8/2019 2 Chronicles 7 14 is Not for Us

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2 CHRONICLES 7:14

IS NOT FOR US!

I recently received an email (for like the fifth time) urging me to

listen to Andrea Bocelli sing "The Lord's Prayer," and to read

text on the screen asking all Christians to turn to God in the

spirit of II 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 fromheaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land."

Now this disturbs me greatly; how do I count the ways? Maybe

most of all because I see that this time the forward originated
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from a grace believer who has attended a Mid-Acts

Dispensational church for several years.

Let's see. Shall we begin with the fact that the scripture quoted

is from Israel's Law Program?Israel was (and will be in future) under an "if, then" relationship

with God. "If you do that, then I will do this." The whole human

race was under that system beginning with the test of

obedience in the Garden! Israel had a chance to change all

that when God conveyed to them by his providential care of

them in their escape from Egypt that he was willing to be a

"blank check" they could cash for their every need if theywould but trust him. Of course, they didn't want to trust him

and displayed a "Look, ma, I can do it myself!" attitude all

through their history; so God gave them what they asked for

by issuing the ten big ones and the 613 small ones and treated

them according to their performance level. Israel's refusal to

trust and rest in their God was the very sin he promised to

forgive in the 2nd Chronicles verse!

When God cast Israel's program aside for a time after their

rejection of his Son, Jesus Christ, their promised Messiah, he

began a new relationship with the human race through a

series of messages through the Apostle Paul. He proclaimed

through Paul (2 Cor. 5:19) that the sacrificial death of his Son

has reconciled the world to himself and has given everyone a

permanently clean slate as far as sin is concerned with only

one question left to answer: Do you believe my Son did this for

you? Those who let him know they do are instantly sealed into

Christ and given not only the Holy Spirit but "all spiritual
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blessings in heavenly places in Christ." (Eph. 1:3) If we have

all the blessings we're ever going to receive, then the blessing

of "healing" our land isn't one of them or we'd already have it!

One of the "all spiritual blessings" that we do have upfront is

forgiveness of sins! (Eph. 1:7; Col. 1:14). So, to pray to God,humble ourselves, and turn from our wicked ways in order to

obtain his forgiveness istotally unnecessarytoday and anyone

who has actually read Paul's letters should already know this!

The language is certainly not hard to understand.

Now, don't get me wrong; it's always okay to pray and ask God

for anything we want. He wants to hear from us. Paul

writes, "Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and

supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made

known unto God."(Php. 4:6). But God's message to us

through Paul contains no certain promises that our requests

will be granted. We need to keep in mind that we are here to

"suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together." (Rom.8:17).

In addition to its use of a promise made to another people in

another dispensation, the forward also has "The Lord's Prayer"

being sung as if it's something we should use today. These

words of Christ to his little flock, who were to have shortly

gone through the time of "great tribulation," do not reflect thegrace relationship we have with God today, but are a reminder

to them of the "if you do this; I'll do that" relationship Israel had

with God until they complete all the courses of punishment

and testing laid out in Leviticus 26 (which will conclude in the

kingdom). For believers today to pray this prayer is an
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admission by them that they have an inadequate

understanding and appreciation of the grace we have in

Christ. (Please see: "Why I Would NEVER Pray the Lord's

Prayer!").

Please don't think I don't understand the heartfelt sentiment

behind this attractively packaged presentation; I do. But, come

on, Christians everywhere, let's not encourage other

Christians to waste time asking God to do something he's

made it clear he's not doing today in this dispensation of the

grace of God; and let's instead do things that make known to

the world the reconciliation they've been granted by God's

grace through his Son's accomplishments at Calvary, and how

easy it is for them to partake of the blessings of the

inheritance God is offering in Christ to those who will simply

believe what has been done by him on our behalf, and be

reconciled to God. This kind of grace won't be offered forever;

and after we're gathered to our federal head, Jesus Christ,

perilous times will come on the earth for those who were not

found in him.

P. S. Those blonde-haired "Jesus" images are, in my opinion,

more likely a representation of how Satan appears as an

"angel of light," than the Lord Jesus Christ! Do not be

deceived: We shall see his face in glory and not before.

See also: "What on Earth is God Doing?""How Then Should We Pray?"

"Do We Need Forgiveness on the Installment Plan?"
http://midactsdisp.blogspot.com/search/label/Why%20I%20Don't%20Pray%20the%20Lord's%20Prayerhttp://midactsdisp.blogspot.com/search/label/Why%20I%20Don't%20Pray%20the%20Lord's%20Prayerhttp://midactsdisp.blogspot.com/search/label/What%20on%20Earth%20is%20God%20Doing%3Fhttp://midactsdisp.blogspot.com/search/label/How%20Then%20Should%20We%20Pray%3Fhttp://midactsdisp.blogspot.com/search/label/Do%20We%20Need%20Forgiveness%20on%20the%20Installment%20Plan%3Fhttp://midactsdisp.blogspot.com/search/label/Why%20I%20Don't%20Pray%20the%20Lord's%20Prayerhttp://midactsdisp.blogspot.com/search/label/Why%20I%20Don't%20Pray%20the%20Lord's%20Prayerhttp://midactsdisp.blogspot.com/search/label/What%20on%20Earth%20is%20God%20Doing%3Fhttp://midactsdisp.blogspot.com/search/label/How%20Then%20Should%20We%20Pray%3Fhttp://midactsdisp.blogspot.com/search/label/Do%20We%20Need%20Forgiveness%20on%20the%20Installment%20Plan%3F

2 chronicles 7 14 is not for us

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