America and The Church; Restore Us, Heal Us!
Acts 17:24–27 “The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands. 25 And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything, because he himself gives all men life and breath and everything else. 26 From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. 27 God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us.
Isaiah 59:1–8;12-15 Surely the arm of the Lord is not too short to save, nor his ear too dull to hear. 2But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear. 3For your hands are stained with blood, your fingers with guilt. Your lips have spoken lies, and your tongue mutters wicked things. 4No one calls for justice; no one pleads his case with integrity. They rely on empty arguments and speak lies; they conceive trouble and give birth to evil. 5They hatch the eggs of vipers and spin a spider’s web. Whoever eats their eggs will die, and when one is broken, an adder is hatched. 6Their cobwebs are useless for clothing; they cannot cover themselves with what they make. Their deeds are evil deeds, and acts of violence are in their hands. 7Their feet rush into sin; they are swift to shed innocent blood. Their thoughts are evil thoughts; ruin and destruction mark their ways. 8The way of peace they do not know; there is no justice in their paths. They have turned them into crooked roads; no one who walks in them will know peace.
12 For our offenses are many in your sight, and our sins testify against us. Our offenses are ever with us, and we acknowledge our iniquities: 13rebellion and treachery against the Lord, turning our backs on our God, fomenting oppression and revolt, uttering lies our hearts have conceived. 14So justice is driven back, and righteousness stands at a distance; truth has stumbled in the streets, honesty cannot enter. 15 Truth is nowhere to be found, and whoever shuns evil becomes a prey. The Lord looked and was displeased that there was no justice.
1 Timothy 2:1–6 (ESV) First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, 2 for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. 3 This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, 4 who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. 5 For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, 6 who gave himself as a ransom for all…
Psalm 85:4-7 (NKJV) Restore us, O God of our salvation, And cause Your anger toward us to cease. 5 Will You be angry with us forever? Will You prolong Your anger to all generations? 6 Will You not revive us again, That Your people may rejoice in You? 7 Show us Your mercy, LORD, And grant us Your salvation.
America needs a spiritual awakening, a restoration, a healing.
Our wounds are not fatal.
God can take that which is meant for evil and turn it for good for His glory.
2 Chronicles 7:14 Then if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and restore their land.
We must confess our sins and failures with humility. “If my people will humble themselves…I will heal their land.”
James 4:6-10 “…Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” 7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 9 Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. 10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.
1 Peter 5:5–6 “In the same way, you who are younger, be subject to the elders. All of you clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble., 6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God, so that he may exalt you at the proper time,
We will never find personal or national healing if we try to hide our sins from God.
God’s people must own and admit that we’ve strayed from him.
We must pray with tenacity. “If my people … will pray…I will heal their land.”
God wants us to pray in the Spirit and in His strength refuse to give up.
Matthew 17:20 He said to them, “Because of your little faith. For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you.”
Matthew 21:21-22 And Jesus answered them, “Truly, I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what has been done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ it will happen. 22 And whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith.”
Doubt that our prayers do any good, that prayer really works, keeps us from experiencing all that God wants for us in our own lives, our families lives, our church life and in our nations life.
The tenacity of your prayer life will say a lot about your faith and how serious you really are with God.
Pray without ceasing!
We must seek God with intensity. “If my people … will seek my face … I will heal their land.”
God wants us to seek him.
Proverbs 8:17 I love those who love me, and those who seek me diligently find me.
Jeremiah 29:13 You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.
God doesn’t want to be our profession. He wants to be our passion.
Most people want just enough of God to bless them but not bug them.
Your job description can be simplified to this – seeking God intensely and helping others do the same. But remember, that starts with you.
We must repent with sincerity and genuineness. “If my people… turn from their wicked ways… I’ll heal their land.”
If we want healing in country, we must genuinely and sincerely repent.
Literally, repent means to change your mind, to change how you think.
National repentance must begin with personal repentance.
God will heal out land when his people – the church – confess, pray, seek him, and repent.
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