Our Influence with God
In 11chronicles
7:14 It says “ 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 its My will to hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.”
Among all the other promises that God gives us in His word, this is very clear-cut and I believe
clearly stated by Him. If we ever needed a healing in the land, it is never more needed as it is today. God has called us
to stand in the gap to be a part of the healing process for this nation.
Let us tear this scripture apart and define the contents of its meaning. King
Solomon had just completed the house of the Lord. This was something God had him build so that, He could live in it here on
the earth and have fellowship with His people. God was trying to communicate with Solomon that, He wanted to have a relationship
with His people in this house.
Paul the Apostle in his letter to the Corinthian church states this in 1Corinthians 6:19-20
“our body is the temple and sanctuary of the Holy Spirit who lives within us, whom we received as a gift
from God. We do not belong to ourselves to do our own thing. We were bought with a price-purchased and paid for by Jesus sacrifice
on the cross. So now we can honor and bring glory to Him in our daily relationship with Him, because we are His children.”
The very fact that we are born again believers, have been
adopted permanently into God’s family, and are His sons and daughters, qualifies us to be called His
people. The word called in the Hebrew is gara: which means
to be addressed by name and to be met in person. Where it says my name, this represents
all that God possess.
In the book of acts 4:12 it states, “There is no salvation in anyone other
then Jesus Christ, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by and which we must be saved.”
This word saved in the Greek is sozo: meaning,
to deliver, protect, heal, preserve and make whole. We can see here how much more saved means then, Jesus
saving us from an eternity in hell by Him dying on the cross for our sins and fallen nature. It must be made perfectly clear
that this salvation starts with a very real encounter and call by God to us personally. Just like us being introduced to a
new friend, or us in our daily encounters meeting people in our daily activities. This encounter with God must be personal
and heart felt which brings us into to a new dimension into the Spirit and kingdom of God. Have you had this first
encounter with the Spirit of God?
In John 1:12-13 John states, “but to as many that do receive and welcome Jesus,
to them He gave His authority, power and privilege to become His children. That is to those who rely on all His name represents.
In turn, we do not owe our birth into the kingdom through our own willful and physical efforts. Nor can we inherit the kingdom
because our earthly father is saved and get in on his coattails, but only because we have become new born again creatures
that has been impregnated by God’s own sperm into our being.” This
has to be our rock solid foundation and roots in Jesus if, we are going to have the confidence that God is going to hear our
petitions for humanity including ourselves.
So now that we know the bases of our salvation. The next thing this scripture tells us is to
humble ourselves before we pray. This word humble
is a characteristic of the Holy Sprit and only He can motivate and initiate this type of Spirit from within us. It is only
by us allowing the Holy Spirit to operate His perfect will that puts us in the position for Him to channel His perfect petitions
to God the Father on our behalf. The word humble in the Hebrew is kana: meaning,
to bend the knee, to defeat in battle, to overcome fear, or subject our will to another. The word pray is
paisa: meaning, to judge, to intercede with a deep feeling and conviction with serious intent. Let me say that, we
will only be lightly touching this definition of prayer in this article. We see here that this is nothing like a simple prayer
over our food or saying an Our Father with no more understanding then, a ritualistic expression of words.
James 5:16
tells us, “The earnest heartfelt and continual prayer of a righteous man makes tremendous
power available and is dynamic in its working.” Prayer is us becoming one in a relationship by coming
into agreement with the mind of Christ that we received the day we were born again. Prayer
is having a continual conversation and relationship with the Holy Spirit by feeling
His passion and commitment to the world He created that was sabotaged by Satan in the Garden. Only people who are hungering
and thirsting after God can tap into this power that will be needed, to cast off the cunning deceptions of the Devil. It is
the Holy Spirit’s power operating and being energized by Him in us that breaks the demonic forces at work in people’s
lives.
This scripture goes on to say that, we need to seek God’s face. The
word seek is baqush: meaning, to search out in worship and a requesting of
the Lord.
It can only be obtain by some effort and it must be to a completed end.
The word face is paneh: meaning, many things but primarily it is
an attitude of going to war over a cause with intensity.
It also means we live in an atmosphere of divine power like the air we breath to stay alive. You can
see that, this has to be a top priority in our life and not a commitment of a casual pursuit. .
In Mathew 11:12
it states, “Since the day that John the Baptist came on the
scene, until this present time. The kingdom of heaven has endured violent assault and violent men must seize it by force as a precious prize. Our share in the heavenly kingdom
has to be sought for with the most ardent zeal and intense exertion.”
Let us remind ourselves that, this is a spiritual warfare going on with
in our minds. It is the Holy Spirits power alone working in us and showing us our weapons and how to use them that will make
us become overcomers. Being a born again Christian and standing in the gape for God, is not a game of playing church
and living a life of obligation to religious systems of legalistic observances.
This word violent man literally means that,
We need to be seized upon by the Holy Spirit and become griped with His passion
and purpose to fight a fight of restoration and deliverance from a demonic attack.
The next part of the scripture
we are using says that God wants us to turn from our wicked ways. The word turn is shuwb: meaning, many things but primarily, to
fetch home again, repent, restore, and recover or to weep. The word wicked is ra: meaning, evil,
harmful, mischievous, or being wretched. The word way is derek: meaning, a mode of action, a conversation,
a guide or a way of walking. It is very interesting to note that when we pray for something or someone how the Holy Spirit
first begins to expose any healing in our own soul that has to take place.
We need to understand that any thing contrary
to God’s will is considered wicked in God’s eyes. When we live in ignorance of God’s principals and miss
God’s perfect will it becomes harmful and we miss God’s total inheritance that He gave us when we became born
again believers. Sin in any form is defined in scripture, as missing God’s inheritance and His perfect will. It is a
cancer of the soul.
Sin is demonically induced into our thought life, which produces deeds contrary to God’s intentions
fpr us.
A lack of hungering and thirsting after
God with out passion keeps us in a state of being vulnerable to Satan’s devices. King David was known to be a man after
God’s own heart because in Psalms 139:23-24 he states, “Search me thoroughly O God, and know my heart!
Try me, and know my thoughts and see if there is any wicked and harmful way in me, and lead me in the way of your eternal
purposes.”
This is the attitude we must
have to keep our hearts pure and functioning in a loving relation with the Holy Spirit and we must not allow our camaraderie
with the Holy Spirit to be broken in any way. Our friendship of walking and grazing in God’s rich green pastures and
allowing Him to be our Shepard and Guide is the Devil’s main target that he wants to derail.
Now that we know, what it is going
to take to get God’s favor. The next part of this scripture says that it is God’s will to hear
from heaven. The word will is ratson: meaning,
a debt as something owed, a delight, and reconciliation between two parties. The word hears is shama:
meaning, indeed listening and to proclaim to be sound. The word heaven is shameh:
meaning, a lofty place and seating or celestial place where God’s providence is doled out to His people. Providence
meaning, God’s future care and nature being exercised over the entire universe.
He is a sovereign God, who as
our Father has given us His power as His heirs to dole out and proclaim His healing nature to a sick and dying humanity that
has a void of experiencing the love of God.
Scripture tells us that God’s laws of a vibrant life are already written
down from the beginning of time. It’s His extreme pleasure to reveal to us His laws and plant them deep into our lives
so that when the time is right, we can speak the completed work by God into existence by the Power of the Holy Spirit speaking
through us and bringing His kingdom into this world. When we are ignorant of God’s concepts of thinking then, we become
sheep lead to the slaughter. These constant reoccurring scenarios must end if; we are ever to take our rightful place as God’s
heirs of eternal life.
So now if we have come this far God says He will forgive their sin. We know
that the word will is ratson: meaning, a debt, as a favor owed, a delight,
and a reconciliation between two parties. These are God’s feelings and His ultimate purpose. The word forgives is calach: meaning pardon or spare. This is such an uplifting concept compared to some of the preaching
and teaching I have heard over the years.
We see here no condemnation from God, but an anticipation and delight in Him
trying to heal and restore our emotional hurts and disappointments in our endeavor to find our purpose and destiny.
This forgiveness
has nothing to do with a harsh rebuke or I told you so attitude. His forgiveness is like a soothing ointment on a sever burn
that takes away the sting and soulish pain we suffer at times throughout our lives.
I have come to believe through countless experiences in life with Him that if, we can learn to be child like,
acknowledge our limitations, and not try to help God out in the predicaments that we get ourselves into. Peace will have its perfect rule in our being.
We must come to understand that this is a lifestyle of continual feeding at
the Lords table of life.
The last part of this scripture states that “He will heal their land”
The word heal is rapha: meaning, to cure or make whole. This wholeness is in spirit,
soul and body. The word land is erets: meaning, country or wilderness world. This temporary world that we now live in
the flesh is our wilderness world. We are destined to be eternity people. It says in Mathew 4:1, “the Holy
Spirit led Jesus into the wilderness and as He was being led in His wilderness walk He was tempted by the Devil.”
Jesus example was He always fought the Devil with the word of God. He proclaimed what was already finished in the
heavenlies and walked in a security and awareness of His Fathers voice.
Acts 10:38 tells us that “God anointed and consecrated Jesus
of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with strength and ability and power; He went about doing good and in particular curing
all that were harassed and oppressed by the power of the Devil, for God was with Him.” If there is going to be any healing in this land it is going to be done by us as we allow the Holy Spirit
to use us for God’s purposes. Maybe you not pastoring a church, or not some great Prophet or have some Evangelistic
ministry. However, being one of God’s kids, do not let anyone make light of you’re giftings and great purpose
God planted in you to do and be about your heavenly Fathers business in the market places of your life.
I have personally done more ministering
outside the church structure the last forty years that I have ever done in the structure of the church. We are living I believe
in the last round up. Never before, have I seen the great need to minister to the hurting and disillusioned lost people and
I am also talking about born again believers. Individually we are to minister in the settings that God has us in. This is
being involved with our families and friends and the people we meet everyday
It is my prayer that we can put aside our denominational beliefs and focus on
God’s purposes alone.
God is and will always be faithful to His word. Scripture states that it is the entrance of
God’s word into our mind and hearts that gives us a clear vision of knowing the power we have in God to change circumstances.
It is as we get our attitudes focused on His priorities alone that, we will
receive His favor.
