America at 250 Years; If My People—“We the People” 

 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.”

 As we come to the close of this series for America’s 250th year, we have heard a united message from the Lord. We have been reminded that God’s people must understand the times and know what to do. We have been reminded that in a troubled hour, we must remember the Lord and labor faithfully with the confidence that our God shall fight for us. And we have been reminded that we must not remove the ancient landmark, but hold fast the truth, righteousness, and spiritual inheritance that God has entrusted to His people. Our nation’s founding language begins with the words, “We the People,” but this text reminds us that before we speak as a people, we must bow as God’s people. America did not begin in strength alone, but in dependence upon Almighty God. She was born on her knees, and whatever good foundation has supported this land was laid upon the strong truth of God’s Word. If there is to be healing, renewal, and help in this hour, it must begin with the people of God humbling themselves before Him.

2 Chronicles 7:14 is one of the clearest calls to spiritual awakening in all the Word of God. It was first spoken to Israel, but the principle still speaks with power to every generation of God’s people: when sin abounds, when hearts grow cold, when a land is troubled, the answer is not first found in politics, programs, or public noise. The answer begins when God’s people get right with God. The Lord does not begin by addressing the wicked nations around His people. He begins with His own people. He says, “If my people.” That is a sobering reminder that revival does not start out there. It starts in here. It starts in the house of God. It starts in the heart of the believer. The Constitution opens with the words, “We the People,” reminding us that a nation is shaped not only by its laws, but by the character of its people. America has long been understood as a Christian nation in the sense that her moral vision, her public life, and her liberties were deeply shaped by biblical truth. She was born on her knees in seasons of prayer and dependence, and she was built upon the strong foundation of God’s Word in homes, churches, and communities across this land. 2 Chronicles 7:14 takes us deeper still, reminding us that the moral and spiritual condition of a people cannot be healed apart from God. If we want to see God work in our families, our churches, our communities, and our land, then we must listen carefully to what God requires of His people.

I. THE PEOPLE ADDRESSED: “IF MY PEOPLE, WHICH ARE CALLED BY MY NAME” God’s call is directed to His own people. That means responsibility begins with those who bear His name. It is easy to point at the world, easy to talk about darkness, and easy to complain about the condition of the culture. But the Lord’s word comes first to the church. Judgment begins at the house of God, and so does restoration. Those who claim the name of the Lord must live in a manner worthy of that name. We cannot expect a dying world to act like the redeemed people of God. But we should expect the church to be different. We should expect God’s people to walk in reverence, obedience, and sincerity before Him. America has known the influence of Christian conviction in her laws, her customs, her homes, and her public life, but none of that heritage can help us if the people of God themselves grow cold and careless. When there is compromise among God’s people, there is prayerlessness among God’s people; when there is coldness among God’s people, we should not be surprised that the land is hurting. The first question is not, “What is wrong with everybody else?” The first question is, “Lord, what is wrong with us?”

II. THE FIRST RESPONSE: “SHALL HUMBLE THEMSELVES” Humility is where revival begins. Pride keeps people from seeing their need. Pride makes us defend ourselves, excuse ourselves, and compare ourselves with others. But when the Lord says, “Humble themselves,” He is calling for honest brokenness before Him. Humility says, “Lord, I need You. Lord, I have not loved You as I should. Lord, I have not prayed as I should. Lord, I have not obeyed as I should.” God’s people do not stumble into revival while holding on to independence. We must bow low before God; totally dependent. A proud church will never be a powerful church. A proud heart will never be a praying heart. Before there can be healing in the land, there must be humility in the soul. America was born on her knees, and she will never be helped by pride. The foundation of this land was strengthened by reverence for God and respect for His Word, and the path forward is not arrogant self-confidence, but humbly returning to the Lord.

The Wizards of Ahh's have duped many Pastors and Churches into a false sense of fatalism. Believing that the letters to the seven Churches of Asia represent seven distinct eras of the Church in history. The Bible clearly teaches that all of these Churches existed simultaneously in John's time, and the picture is clear that throughout all of Church history there will be Churches of each stripe and flavor, and even some that represent a mixture of them, in all seasons of Church history. It is a fact that as the end nears, there will be more that appear Laodicean or Lukewarm as Jesus described. That does not prevent the other Churches from being present as contemporary with them. Anytime a Church takes that first step of leaving their first Love, they begin a trip down a slippery slope that can end in Lukewarm, but they do not have to continue that path. Revival can happen if My People will follow the prescription of 2 Chronicles 7:14. 

In the Revelation of Jesus Christ, chapter 2, the Lord spoke to the church at Ephesus and said, “Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love.” That is a sharp word for the church in any generation. Notice[BR1]  carefully that the Lord did not say they had lost their first love, as though it had slipped away without their knowing it. He said they had left it. That means there had been a departure. There had been movement away from what they once knew. Love for Christ had not vanished by accident; they had walked away from the warmth, tenderness, and devotion that once marked their relationship with God. Ephesus had many things in place. They had labor. They had patience. They had discernment. They had endurance. Outwardly, there was much to commend. But the Lord looked past the activity and saw the heart. He saw that their love for Him was no longer what it had once been. And that is often where decline begins—not first in open scandal, not first in public collapse, but in the quiet cooling of love for Christ. A church can keep its schedule, maintain its form, defend its doctrine, and still drift from the tenderness, fervency, and devotion it once knew. A believer can still attend, still serve, still speak the right language, and yet inwardly leave his first love.

That is why humility is so necessary. Humility does not merely admit that society is in trouble; humility admits that the church needs revival and that I need revival. It says, “Lord, somewhere along the way, we have lost tenderness. We have lost brokenness. We have lost hunger. We have left our first love.” And if we left it, then we must stop pretending it was beyond our reach or outside our responsibility. We must own the fact that our affections have drifted, our priorities have shifted, and our devotion has cooled. When first love is gone, prayer becomes thin, worship becomes routine, obedience becomes mechanical, and service becomes duty without delight. But when God’s people humble themselves, they begin to see what pride has hidden. They begin to mourn what they once excused. They begin to long again for the nearness of Christ. If America is ever to know true healing, it will not come merely by recovering old language or admiring religious heritage. It will come when the people who bear the name of Christ return to their first love with repentance, devotion, and humble hearts before God.

The call to humble ourselves is more than a call to feel small; it is a call to come back. It is a call to remember from where we have fallen, to repent, and to return to the love, reverence, and surrender that once marked the people of God. We need the kind of humility that lays aside appearance, reputation, and self-protection and simply says, “Lord Jesus, bring us back to our first love.”

III. THE SECOND RESPONSE: “AND PRAY, AND SEEK MY FACE” God does not merely tell His people to think about Him. He tells them to pray and seek His face. Prayer is not a formality. It is not a closing custom. It is not an occasional gesture. Prayer is the lifeline of the church. To seek God’s face means we want more than His help; we want His presence. We want more than His blessings; we want Himself. Far too often, we seek God’s hand but neglect His face. We want Him to fix the problem, heal the burden, calm the storm, and bless the nation, but the Lord calls us first to Himself. The great need of the hour is not more religious talk, but more genuine prayer. Not more noise, but more kneeling. Not more confidence in man, but more dependence on God. America’s strongest hours have not been when she trusted in her own might, but when she acknowledged her need of heaven. Because she was born on her knees, prayer is not a weakness in our history; it is one of the deepest strengths of our heritage. If we truly understand the times, then we will know what to do: we will pray. If we truly believe the battle is spiritual, then we will seek the face of the Lord. If we truly believe our God shall fight for us, then we will call upon His name in faith.

IV. THE THIRD RESPONSE: “AND TURN FROM THEIR WICKED WAYS” This is repentance. God does not call His people simply to feel bad about sin. He calls them to turn from it. Repentance is not only sorrow; it is surrender. It is not only confession; it is change. We cannot ask God to bless what we refuse to forsake. We cannot ask God to heal while we cling to the very things grieving His heart. The church must never minimize sin in order to appear modern, comfortable, or accepted. Sin still destroys homes, hardens hearts, weakens churches, and dishonors God. If we want healing, we must turn from wicked ways. That means secret sins must be confessed. Bitter spirits must be laid down. Worldly compromise must be forsaken. Cold worship must be replaced with sincere devotion. We cannot preserve ancient landmarks with sentimental language while living in practical disobedience. Because America has been built upon the strong foundation of God’s Word, that foundation is not honored by empty claims, but by obedience. The old path of blessing is still the path of repentance.

V. THE PROMISE OF GOD: “THEN WILL I HEAR FROM HEAVEN, AND WILL FORGIVE THEIR SIN, AND WILL HEAL THEIR LAND.” What a gracious promise this is. God does not command humility, prayer, and repentance in order to mock His people. He invites them into a path that leads to mercy. He says, “I will hear.” Heaven is not deaf to a broken and contrite heart. He says, “I will forgive.” There is cleansing for confessed sin. There is mercy for those who come honestly before Him. He says, “I will heal their land.” That healing may touch homes, churches, communities, and a nation, but it begins with the restoring work of God among His people. We are not called to despair. We are not called to throw up our hands and say nothing can change. God is still able to send awakening. God is still able to revive His church. God is still able to restore what sin has damaged. He can heal what pride has wounded. He can renew what compromise has weakened. He can strengthen what fear has shaken. Because America’s foundation has truly been laid in the truth of God’s Word, the greatest hope for this land is not to abandon that foundation, but to return to it in humility and faith. The same God who called His people to return is the God who stands ready to receive them when they do.

As we close this series and mark America’s 250th year, I want us to hear the Lord’s invitation clearly. We have considered the times, and the times are serious. We have been reminded to remember the Lord, and He is still mighty. We have been warned not to remove the ancient landmark, and the truth of God still stands. We have spoken of “We the People,” and rightly so, because nations rise or fall through the character, convictions, and conduct of their people. We have also remembered that America has long understood herself to be a Christian nation in the sense that her liberties, morals, and public life were deeply shaped by the Bible, and that she was born on her knees in dependence upon Almighty God. But today we are reminded that the deepest need of “we the people” is to become again a humble and praying people before God. The question is this: what will we do with what we have heard? Will we leave with stirred thoughts only, or will we leave with yielded hearts? Will we only admire these truths, or will we obey them? If God’s people will humble themselves, if God’s people will pray, if God’s people will seek His face, if God’s people will turn from their wicked ways, then God has promised to hear, forgive, and heal. That is our hope as we complete this series for America at 250 years. Our hope is not in ourselves. Our hope is not in the culture suddenly correcting itself. Our hope is in the Lord. Psalm 20:7 says, “Some trust in chariots, and some in horses: but we will remember the name of the Lord our God.” Psalm 33:12 says, “Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord.” Psalm 146:3-5 warns us, “Put not your trust in princes, nor in the son of man, in whom there is no help… Happy is he that hath the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in the Lord his God.” Jeremiah 17:5-7 draws the line even more plainly: “Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm… Blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is.” Those verses remind us that the strength of a nation is never finally secured by human power alone. Armies have their place. Laws have their place. Leaders have their place. But none of those can take the place of God. When a people make flesh their arm, they will always be disappointed. When a people trust in the Lord, they stand on a foundation that cannot be shaken. Our hope is in the Lord because He does not change when the times change. Our hope is in the Lord because He is not weakened by the confusion of men. Our hope is in the Lord because He still hears prayer, still forgives sin, still revives His church, and still shows mercy to those who call upon Him in truth. If America is to have any future, it will not come because men have become clever enough to save themselves. It will come because God was merciful to a people who humbled themselves before Him. So let this church say it clearly as we bring this series to its end: our confidence is not in Washington, not in parties, not in programs, not in public applause, but in the living God. He is our refuge. He is our help. He is our hope.

Maybe today the Lord is speaking to an individual heart that has grown cold. Maybe He is dealing with a home that needs restoration, a believer who needs repentance, or a church that needs fresh fire from heaven. This altar is a good place to answer Him. Let us not wait for somebody else to move. Let us not point at another person’s need. Let us begin with ourselves. Let us humble ourselves before God. Let us pray as though heaven is our only hope, because it is. Let us seek His face until our hearts are right before Him. Let us turn from every wicked way and ask the Lord to send the kind of revival that changes us from the inside out. And as we finish this series for America’s 250th year, let this be our closing testimony: if “We the People” are to have any lasting hope, and if this nation is to remain strong, then we must return to the God upon whom this land knelt in its beginning and to the Word upon which its strongest foundation was laid. May the Lord stir us, soften us, cleanse us, and revive us again for His glory. Amen.

 [BR1]Many Pastors and Churches have been duped by the Wizards of Ahh's into a false sense of fatalism. Believing that the letters to the seven Churches of Asia represent seven distinct eras of the Church in history. The Bible clearly teaches that all of these Churches existed simultaneously in John's time and the picture is clear that throughout all of Church history there will be Churches of each stripe and flavor, and even some that represent a mixture of them, in all seasons of Church history. It is a fact that as the end nears there will be, because of corruption, more that appear Laodicean or Lukewarm as Jesus described. That does not prevent the other Churches from being present as contemporary with them. Anytime a Church takes that first step of leaving their first Love they begin a trip down a slippery slope that can end in Lukewarm, but they do not have to continue that path. Revival can happen if My People will follow the prescription of 2 Chronicles 7:14.