“IF MY PEOPLE”
by Pastor Mark Taylor
“If My people, who are called by My name, shall humble themselves and pray, and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from Heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land” (2 Chronicles 7:14).
This was a message directly from God to the Children of Israel in the Old Testament. But It is also a message to you and I today. In that time, God was dealing with a nation. Today, God deals with individuals. In the the verse above, God is talking to Israel. But today, He is speaking to you personally. You can insert your name in the verse and quote it as “If _____ who is called by My Name shall….” If we have been “born again”, “believe on the name of Jesus”, and have a personal relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ, then you are one of God’s “My People”.
Today, if you are not sure you are one of “My People”, receive Christ as your personal Savior. If you been waiting for the right time to start serving the Lord, or have wasted time, listen to God’s Word: “This also, knowing the time, that it is already time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand; therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light” (Romans 13:11-12).
You may be missing many blessings that God wants to give you by failing to understand some spiritual principles by which our Heavenly Father operates. You may know you are a child of God but wondering why you are not being blessed, you are not happy, or your life is in constant drama and chaos.
One of God’s “If My People” principles is that we must understand is that of reaping and sowing. “Be not deceived; God is not mocked; for whatsoever a person sows, that shall they also reap.” Everything bad thing in life that happens to us not a result of this law. There are natural disasters that hit that affects the Just and the unjust. There are physical illnesses and financial and personal losses that happen to those serving the Lord and to those who do not. There are persecutions and injustices that happen to the righteous and to the unrighteous.
God is good enough and loving enough to let it “rain on the just and the unjust”. I do not believe bad things happen to God’s children because we disappoint Him with our lives. Evil comes from Satan and good comes from God (John 10:10). On the other hand, the promises of special blessings and answered prayer from Heaven happen to “My People”. God has promised that “If My People…” will do certain things He will help them get through the difficulties of life with His presence and His power. One of the greatest things about God is that He continues to work with men and women despite their own limitations and failings.
What should God’s people do to continue to receive God’s blessings?
We must begin by putting aside our pride to help others, and humble ourselves in the sight of our God. “God resists the proud, but gives grace unto the humble” (James 4:6). Our Lord said: “Whoever exalts themselves shall be humbled, and those that humbles themselves shall be exalted.” (Luke 14:11). How do you humble yourself? Our Lord said: “Whoever shall humble themselves as this little child, the same is the greatest in the kingdom of God.” (Matthew 18:4). This is one of those “If My People.” conditions to please God and receive His favor and blessings. The Lord's Prayer is repeated daily by millions who have not the slightest intention of letting anyone's will be done but their own.
The next condition is to “Pray and seek My Face”. Someone has said “Wishing will never be a substitute for prayer.” Prayer makes a difference in what we can receive from God. “You have not because you ask not” (James 4:2). Prayer makes a difference in our relationship with our Heavenly Father. “The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and His ears are attentive to their prayer”. (I Peter 3:12). If you are right with God, people are depending upon your prayers. It is the most effective thing you can do for others and for yourself. We do not pray to tell God what he does not know, nor to remind Him of things He has forgotten. Prayer is a cooperation with God, a consent that opens the way for grace to work.
The third condition for “My People” is to “turn from their wicked ways”. If you are one of “God’s People”, you know what the Holy Spirit speaks to your hearts about. If it seems you are not getting answers to your prayers, then maybe God is speaking to you about issues and attitudes in your life that need to change. “If I regard sin in my heart, the Lord will not hear me.” (Psalm 66:18).
The Lord lets you know that there are many incentives for being “called by His Name.”. He will give you joy and peace now, and a home in Heaven later. He will hear your prayers and meet your needs now, and reward you with eternal life later. He will give you power to overcome when you do get behind now, and will present you to the Father later. “Then everyone who shall confess Me before men, I will confess him before My Father who is in Heaven” (Matthew 10:32).
Today our Lord “is willing” to help those who are willing to come to Him. Spread the good news that our Savior is ready to help those who cannot help themselves and when others have no desire to help them. "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance." (Mark 2:17).
