If my People which are called by my name,

[Walter and Deborah]

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. 2 Chronicles 7:14 

[Worship Warriors]

On 3/28/2017 at 1:15 AM, Walter and Deborah said:

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. 2 Chronicles 7:14 

Amen,  this is God's remedy in time of a national disaster.  Call for a solemn assembly gather the people. let the priest weep between the porch and the altar.

Even thought here in Australia,  the government has banned all large gathering,  yet we can still meet in smaller groups to pray.

 

 

 

Edited March 18, 2020 by Worship Warriors

[Gideon]

What a wonderful verse. But it brings up a good point. We as His people are to turn from our wicked ways. What are they? What should we be repenting of? If the culprit, the actual evil behavior is not identified, like the sin had to be that caused Joshua and the Israelites to be defeated by little Ai, then we are just begging for help without any real conviction at all as to why this is happening. 

Our gospel has evolved to one where grace makes sin a non-issue. We are  forgiven, even if we keep on sinning, and that continuing in sin has done exactly as we have been told..... hardening our hearts. Until we get to the heart of the matter, digging up and exposing the sin and confessing it before God.... and then turning from it,  our humility will not be sincere, our prayers will not be prayers of faith from a pure conscience and our repentance will be a general "I'm so sorry", while we are not even truly aware of what we are sorry for.

I pray this is not coming across as negative. There IS an answer as to where we have gone astray, and as well, how to fix it. But I would like to hear from others as to what their thoughts are. Could it be that this verse does not apply at all, and we have nothing to repent of? I think not. Or, could there be a giant underlying sin we have been oblivious to that needs to be exposed and called out clearly as sin, so that our brokenness and humility can become real, our repentance genuine? Unless this happens, the help we need from God will not be swift to come. 

blessings,

Gideon

[Marilyn C]

Read the context of that scripture.

[Walter and Deborah]

10 hours ago, Betha said:

I agree with this scripture...so why are God's people who re called by His Name still transgressing His Law and commandments 1Joh 3v4 and committing SIN ? does anyone have an answer ? 

The Lord knows everything about who is committing sin, did you read the book of 1 John Chapters 1-5? if interested, just click on the right/blue arrow for chapters on that  above linked page.

Not to get off this issue but, I found that it is not the hearers of the words of life, but it is the doers, because Faith Obeys The Word, James 1:19-27.

It is a lot of issues that Faith deals with: 

Faith Removes Discrimination: James 2:1-13, Faith Proves Itself By Works: James 2:14-26, Faith Controls The Tongue: James 3:1-12, Faith Produces Wisdom: James 3:13-17.

Faith Endures Awaiting Christ's Return: James 5:7-12, Faith Prays For The Afflicted: James 5:13-18, 

Faith Confronts The Erring Brother: James 5:19-20

Love always, Walter

Edited March 18, 2020 by Walter and Deborah
More info.

[Gideon]

7 hours ago, Betha said:

I agree with this scripture...so why are God's people who re called by His Name still transgressing His Law and commandments 1Joh 3v4 and committing SIN ? does anyone have an answer ? 

I humbly want to share what God has shown me in my miraculous visitation 13 years ago. I was a porn addict who both loved and hated it. I was the poster boy for Romans 7. I longed  for the FREE INDEED Jesus promised, but after 38 years of failing my God, I  simply had nothing left to try to actually walk pleasing and obedient to God. I was hopeless and utterly defeated.

When He appeared to me, He asked me if I had ever done what He had instructed me to do through His servant Paul in Romans 6? He did not wait for an answer for He knew I had not... thus my failure. LOL.

Immediately after telling us we must know that when Christ died, so did we, and that when Christ rose from the dead, so did we, Paul instructed us to DO something. He tells us to therefore, based upon these two truths, to  reckon ourselves dead unto sin and alive unto Him. Get out of the boat and walk on the water to Him, believing we really are new creatures.

 

To reckon is a banking and accounting term meaning 'to add to your assets'.We are asked to make these amazing truths OUR amazing truths, by an audacious declaration fo faith,  believing that the old carnal us is not in need of dying but is actually dead. Likewise, we are asked to believe that we are  new creatures this very moment.... not  "going to be once we get to Heaven". ARE.  NOW. We are asked to appropriate our new natures by a radical act of faith. 

The only problem is.... we first have to hate our old life, our failing efforts, our continuing our love for self and  our pet sins. Until that happens, we simply cannot believe such amazing truths.

So what exactly is our sin? OUR ROOT sin?  Unbelief fueled by our unwillingness to fully abandon ourselves to God, trusting Him to keep us from falling. The devil has convinced us that if we fully yield we will crash and burn, and live miserable lives as missionaries in some mud hut, penniless and without cable TV, LOL. Thus, we have not yet experienced what God has for us... the glorious liberty of the children of God.

But praise God, in these last days, the saints of God, long mired in trying to please God while we still are in our old natures, a miserable place where we think we can serve two masters, are going to awake to the truth of who we really are... new creatures!  We, ALLcHis saints,  are going to finally combine the blood of the Lamb with the words of our testimony and walk as true overcomers, victorious  over the world, the flesh and the devil. 

Why do you think Jesus said we must be born again, born from above? Why do you think we are told that nothing profits but a new creature? We are told to yield ourselves to God, not as worms, sinful to the core, but as those who are alive from the dead! Glory! 

New wine cannot be poured into old wineskins. We have tried that and failed again and again, to the point we think victory is only for Heaven, and that true obedience to God an impossibility, so why sweat our small sins? Boy, have we been wrong. 

Paul tells us clearly. Our testimony is NOT Romans 7 but Romans 8. And here, Paul declares we are  no longer in the flesh (yes, we have fleshly bodies but not fleshly natures) but in the Spirit and owe the flesh NOTHING. 

The question is not 'Can a man stop sinning?'. Rather it is 'Can our God keep us from falling if we trust Him to do so?'. It is this confidence that is our shield of faith. 

This is not sinless perfection.  That is something WE achieve through our religious efforts and self effort. Good luck with that, lol. But can God keep us from falling and giving into temptation? He says He can.... and will, if  we will but believe Him to do so. 

This putting off and putting on is no small thing. it is the key to activating God's sanctification process, where we are changed into His likeness from glory to glory, just as He promised. . Here we CAN sin, as we have our natures housed in fleshly bodies. But as we yield ourselves in faith as NEW creatures, and trust Him  to  do as He promised to do, to actually cause us to will and to do of His good pleasure, to our amazement, we find we can say no to the devil when we are tempted... every time.  Glory! 

And as we yield ourselves to Him and hold up our shields of faith, believing the promises of God are OUR promises, victory that we have believed an impossibility in this life becomes our possession. This is why, without faith, it is impossible to please Him. This is also why, with faith, nothing shall be impossible to us.

I pray this helps.

many blessings, 

Gideon

Edited March 18, 2020 by Gideon

[Debp]

23 minutes ago, Betha said:

Thank you friend for your reply but I seem to be reaching further back than the NT.....whereas you are focusing on Paul I believe we need to go back to the Foundation and start afresh.  These have been damaged and changed, the Cornerstone has been moved and people are stumbling at the Word....trying to build on sand. My belief is to first 'get right with God' and all else will fall into place ! It starts with 'doing His Will and keep His Commandments....recommended by Jesus for HIS people !   

Surely you know the Cornerstone is Jesus Christ.    

[Jostler]

12 minutes ago, Betha said:

Looks to me you DISagree with scripture 1 Joh 3v4 which plainly says 'transgressing GOD's law/Commandments IS SIN. How are they not still sinning if they have not changed and turned from transgression ? 

 

Quote

Mat 22:37-40

¶

Jesus said to him, “‘You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.'  This is the first and great commandment.   And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’

On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”

 

[Gideon]

2 hours ago, Betha said:

Thank you friend for your reply but I seem to be reaching further back than the NT.....whereas you are focusing on Paul I believe we need to go back to the Foundation and start afresh.  These have been damaged and changed, the Cornerstone has been moved and people are stumbling at the Word....trying to build on sand. My belief is to first 'get right with God' and all else will fall into place ! It starts with 'doing His Will and keep His Commandments....recommended by Jesus for HIS people !   

So.... do you keep all His commandments? If you are advocating to return to the law, good luck. It is a hard task master. Then there is always that part that tells us that if we break one of the commandments, we qre guilty of breaking all off them. 

It is a good thing to try to obey God, and to even resist unto blood, striving against sin.  Why? Because here sin becomes exceedingly sinful and we realize sin is simply bad fruits from a bad tree. Our real problem is the tree, but until stop shooting to knock off the bad fruit as fast as they come, and lay the ax to the root of the tree... our old nature.... we will simply wear ourselves out yet never actually obey as God desires.

We can try with all our might to fully obey and not sin and the best we will do is Romans 7. That is not FREE INDEED. Yes, obedience IS important and the need of it has never been done away with. The difference is, under the law, obedience is demanded. Under the new covenant, obedience is promised. And praise God, His church is finally being awakened to this glorious truth.

blessings,

Gideon

 

Edited March 19, 2020 by Gideon

[Heleadethme]

1 hour ago, Betha said:

Not arguing with them at all....FIRST GOD - then Neighbour. What we see in christianity is 'neighbour first and last...hardly any mention of doing the WILL of GOD !

Rom 13:8-10

Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law.

For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.

What we see in the letter of the law are only the types and shadows of the change of heart that the Lord gives us through the cross of Christ.....He causes us to serve in the new way of the Spirit as we are led by Him.....new creatures with a new heart and no longer serving a checklist of do's and don'ts which is self-righteousness and falls short of His GLORY (aka His Spirit).