The Providence of Our Divine Providence

2 Chronicles 7:11-22  Thus Solomon finished the house of the LORD, and the king's house: and all that came into Solomon's heart to make in the house of the LORD, and in his own house, he prosperously effected.  (12)  And the LORD appeared to Solomon by night, and said unto him, I have heard thy prayer, and have chosen this place to myself for an house of sacrifice.  (13)  If I shut up heaven that there be no rain, or if I command the locusts to devour the land, or if I send pestilence among my people;  (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.  (15)  Now mine eyes shall be open, and mine ears attent unto the prayer that is made in this place.  (16)  For now have I chosen and sanctified this house, that my name may be there for ever: and mine eyes and mine heart shall be there perpetually.  (17)  And as for thee, if thou wilt walk before me, as David thy father walked, and do according to all that I have commanded thee, and shalt observe my statutes and my judgments;  (18)  Then will I stablish the throne of thy kingdom, according as I have covenanted with David thy father, saying, There shall not fail thee a man to be ruler in Israel.  (19)  But if ye turn away, and forsake my statutes and my commandments, which I have set before you, and shall go and serve other gods, and worship them;  (20)  Then will I pluck them up by the roots out of my land which I have given them; and this house, which I have sanctified for my name, will I cast out of my sight, and will make it to be a proverb and a byword among all nations.  (21)  And this house, which is high, shall be an astonishment to every one that passeth by it; so that he shall say, Why hath the LORD done thus unto this land, and unto this house?  (22)  And it shall be answered, Because they forsook the LORD God of their fathers, which brought them forth out of the land of Egypt, and laid hold on other gods, and worshipped them, and served them: therefore hath he brought all this evil upon them.

INTRODUCTION:           [1]  “It is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly to implore His protection and favor.”  George Washington, Thanksgiving Proclamation, October 03, 1789.

              When we read this proclamation written almost 221 years ago, there are some parallel similarities in what George Washington said and what God told Solomon.

              President Washington not only believed that God’s providence sustained him, he also knew that the same providence created and sustained the start of this nation.  “Providence” can be defined as:

Philippians 4:19  But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.

Our God in Heaven is our “Providence.”   He does supply all our needs.  There is always an however, there needs also to be a following by “…obeying His will...”

Mark 3:35  For whosoever shall do the will of God, the same is my brother, and my sister, and mother.

Only by doing His will can I expect to receive reward.   And all we do the Lord must be done with “…acknowledgement …humbly…implore[ing] His protection…”

              We each, some maybe with rose colored glasses, can see the dire straits our nation [Government] is in.  At the same our Churches, and our Families are in a similar dire strait.

              All of these creations of God, (The Family, The Church and The Government,) have had a reduction in Honour, and a reduction in character.  All based on a lack of the need of the “Providence of Almighty God.”

              For this message on the day prior to “Labor Day” I have been led to preach on this “providence of the Almighty God” that our very first President spoke about.  We not only in the Family, The Church and our Government, we are relying more and more on the Me, Myself and I, of our pride.  We are failing in all of these entities, we are failing God, we are failing ourselves. 

              God appeared to Solomon in a dream, a dream after a prayer from his heart.  I would suppose that Solomon could also say “I had a dream.”

I.            SOLOMON’S DREAM                                                     (v 12)

              A.           God Heard Solomon’s Prayer

                             1.           A prayer lacking in pride

                                           i.            An humble prayer

                             2.           Because of the prayer

                                           i.            God chose the Temple

                                                          a.           As a house of Sacrifice

B.              God Also Had A Warning                            (v 13)     

1.               If you turn your back on God

              i.            He will shut up the heavens

                             a.           No rain

                             b.           Send locusts to devour

                             c.            Send pestilence (Cancer, The                                     Plague, awfulness)

II.           GOD’S SOLUTION                                                         (vv 14-16)

              A.           If My People Called By My Name

                             1.           Shall

i.                Humble themselves

ii.               Pray

iii.             Seek His face

iv.             Turn from their wicked ways

Romans 12:1-2  I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.  (2)  And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

2.               He will hear from Heaven

3.               He will then forgive

              i.            Our sin

              ii.           Our land

John 14:23  Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.

4.               He will make our home with Him

              i.            He will reside with us

                             a.           Eternally

III.         GOD’S PROMISE                                                           (vv 17-18)

              A.           Our Walk Must Be Before Him

                             1.           Walk as David walked

                                           i.            Not as a Murderer and adulterer

                                           ii.           As a devoted believer

2.               Following His commandments

James 1:25  But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.

i.                Be a doer

ii.               Not a forgetful hearer

iii.             Be blessed indeed

Deuteronomy 6:6-7  And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart:  (7)  And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.

B.              Put God’s Word

1.               In your heart

                                           i.            Teach His Word

                                           ii.           Talk about His Word

                                                          a.           Regardless of where you are

                                                          b.           Sitting or walking

C.              God Will Then Establish His Throne

1.               All according to His Covenant

1 Kings 6:13  And I will dwell among the children of Israel, and will not forsake my people Israel.

2.               He will not forsake Israel

              i.            Neither will He fail

IV.         THE WARNING OF GOD                                              (vv 19-22)

A.              To Those Who Are Now Apostate

1.               You have forsaken His statutes

              i.            You have abandoned God altogether

                             a.           Black sliding PLUS

Matthew 7:26-27  And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand:  (27)  And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.

ii.               Becoming like a fool

a.               Fool = unbeliever

B.              The Judgment Of God

1 Samuel 12:14-15  If ye will fear the LORD, and serve him, and obey his voice, and not rebel against the commandment of the LORD, then shall both ye and also the king that reigneth over you continue following the LORD your God:  (15)  But if ye will not obey the voice of the LORD, but rebel against the commandment of the LORD, then shall the hand of the LORD be against you, as it was against your fathers.

                             1.           He will be against those in His land

                                           i.            He will remove them

                             2.           He will destroy His Temple

                                           i.            It will become a proverb

                                                          a.           It will be ridiculed by people

                             3.           It will be an astonishment

              C.           Because They Forsook Their LORD God

                             1.           The One who took them out of slavery

                                           i.            He brought sure evil upon them

CONCLUSION:               First know, I love my country, I am a Patriot, but I love my God first and foremost. 

              Lightly re-reading American History, (going back to early history, written by those who experienced the history) it doesn’t take an astute theologian to see that the United States of America is following the same path both Israel and Judah followed.  Our Bible tells us Judah whored worse than Israel.

              Both nations created by God, both grew under His “Divine Providence.”  Both Nations have become or are almost entirely apostate.  Both have left God.  We have Him locked in the basement of a courthouse somewhere in Georgia.  I do know there are remnants of believers who do follow and rely upon “God’s Providence.”

              We as a Nation are standing at the threshold that both Israel and Judah stood, just prior to Nebuchadnezzar knocking on their door.

              When we view our Government, (The Executive, The Congress, and The Judicial) it has become, for the most part, apostate. They, in their voting and their decisions, have all turned their backs on God.

              I cannot tell you who and the way you should vote.  However, I can urge you to investigate those who are running, and learn what they are about.  Know if they are for abortions (any kind), are they for the relaxing of drug laws, (any kind) or if they are a proponent of any law which is contrary to God’s law, consider what you are about to do.  Are you relying on a corrupt media system to tell you?  They will not tell you, you must dig it out.

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.

              In order for us to change our Government back to God, prayer isn’t the total answer.  First we must humble ourselves.  We must put our pride away, then we must pray and also seek Him.

              One of our biggest problems is our wicked ways.  While we maintain our ways we expect change.  We must repent of these wicked ways, so that God will forgive our sin and the, and only then will God heal our land.

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[1] “George Washington’s Sacred Fire” Peter A. Lillback, Providence Forum Press, 2006,   Chapter 11, Page 207