Me: Good morning Lord. Thank you for waking me this morning and for forgiving me my sins, which I confess before you. Lord I love you and I don't want to sin, so thank you for always being there for me, to forgive me. I love you Lord.
Lord: Good morning son. Stay close to me and let my forgiveness envelope you. The only answer to sin is Jesus. Walk with him and be always seeking to be like him and leave the sin to me.
It's sin and forgiveness I want to talk about with you today. All of mankind is born into, and steeped in, sin. It is a fact of life that none can escape. For a long time in history mankind did what seemed good to him, without reference to me, including the people I had chosen for my own. As you read their history you see how they oscillated between those who did what was right, and those who did what was evil. While I did notice and deal with individuals, both good and bad, I dealt mainly with 'the nation', the wider group. Unfortunately the people did not listen to me and interpreted their selection as a nation wrongly and put themselves above the Law I had laid down. This putting yourself above the law soon means that even the law maker is put aside, and the people forgot me, and all I had done for them.
The only way to bring them back was to knock their feet from under them, so they fell. For generations they had been a wandering people with no land to call their own. I gave them their land on condition they followed me. When they went their own way and refused to heed my call through the prophets, I took away their land and once again they were a landless people, first of all living on the land that I had given them, but paying from their produce to foreign kings and rulers, then being taken from the land and planted in a strange place. It took them nearly 80 years to turn back to me and cry out in their distress. The problem was now that they were so paranoid about turning away again and losing what they had regained, that they cloaked the law I gave them, which should have given them freedom, with petty rules and regulation that bound the people in a new kind of bondage. But all this did not deal with man's tendency to sin. What could I do?
I had long planned to send my Son, and this is what I did; Jesus came and turned the hearts of ordinary individuals back to me. He was not dealing with nations or even tribes, but with the individual. The great appeal of the Good News was that it offered a once-for-all-time solution to the age-old problem of sin. For the first time in their history, the people were not dependent on their kings and leaders or even the religious leaders to repent on their behalf. Every man, woman and child could come to Jesus and receive forgiveness, know the love of God for themselves and be set free. No wonder the early believers were full of joy!
This was once again spoilt by institutionalising the Church, making it the religion of the empire and forcing its laws, most of which were totally man made and nothing to do with me, upon a people who just wanted to choose Jesus for themselves and live their lives without interference from others. Once again the 'Way to God' had been hijacked and the people who wanted to walk the way had been enslaved. Sin abounds under these conditions.
I continued to work among my people, setting many free. I even worked through institutions at times, until the leaders or godless men realised that congregations were being set free. In every generation I have provided revivals, renewals and have raised up prophets and teachers, many of whom were persecuted and even killed, just like the prophets of old. However, even through the worst times of persecution I have kept the truth alive and have kept a remnant. Because I am dealing with individuals and not whole nations' I have often been tempted to abandon nations to their own sin. But in your day I am calling my Church, the individuals I have saved through My Son Jesus, to pray for the nations. Yes, to come before me and confess the sins of kings, governments and nations, because I have already made a promise in 2 Chronicles 7:14, that:
'If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.'(NIV)
That is a two-part promise, a covenant. The first part is yours:
'If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways...'
The second part is mine:
'...then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.'
I am now calling my people, the Church, those who know and love the Lord Jesus Christ, to 'humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways...' I am also asking them to pray for their leaders and the nations, because their leaders and the nations are not yet ready to humble themselves before me. Pray, believing that as you pray, I will work in your land. I promise that I will hear your prayer and I will forgive their sins and heal their land, your sins and your land.
The authority I have given to Jesus as My beloved Son, is still very firmly in His hands. No man, or ruler, or nation, can take that away from Him. All mankind is answerable to Him. Christian, Jew, Muslim, Buddhist, Hindu, and all in the other religions, even the atheist and the pagan are answerable to Him, because I have declared it so.
So, let all the individuals that are saved by the blood of Jesus stand together and pray for their leaders and their nations. Let them confess, and turn their backs to sin and wickedness, and I will forgive them and heal their land.
Lord: Good morning son. Stay close to me and let my forgiveness envelope you. The only answer to sin is Jesus. Walk with him and be always seeking to be like him and leave the sin to me.
It's sin and forgiveness I want to talk about with you today. All of mankind is born into, and steeped in, sin. It is a fact of life that none can escape. For a long time in history mankind did what seemed good to him, without reference to me, including the people I had chosen for my own. As you read their history you see how they oscillated between those who did what was right, and those who did what was evil. While I did notice and deal with individuals, both good and bad, I dealt mainly with 'the nation', the wider group. Unfortunately the people did not listen to me and interpreted their selection as a nation wrongly and put themselves above the Law I had laid down. This putting yourself above the law soon means that even the law maker is put aside, and the people forgot me, and all I had done for them.
The only way to bring them back was to knock their feet from under them, so they fell. For generations they had been a wandering people with no land to call their own. I gave them their land on condition they followed me. When they went their own way and refused to heed my call through the prophets, I took away their land and once again they were a landless people, first of all living on the land that I had given them, but paying from their produce to foreign kings and rulers, then being taken from the land and planted in a strange place. It took them nearly 80 years to turn back to me and cry out in their distress. The problem was now that they were so paranoid about turning away again and losing what they had regained, that they cloaked the law I gave them, which should have given them freedom, with petty rules and regulation that bound the people in a new kind of bondage. But all this did not deal with man's tendency to sin. What could I do?
I had long planned to send my Son, and this is what I did; Jesus came and turned the hearts of ordinary individuals back to me. He was not dealing with nations or even tribes, but with the individual. The great appeal of the Good News was that it offered a once-for-all-time solution to the age-old problem of sin. For the first time in their history, the people were not dependent on their kings and leaders or even the religious leaders to repent on their behalf. Every man, woman and child could come to Jesus and receive forgiveness, know the love of God for themselves and be set free. No wonder the early believers were full of joy!
This was once again spoilt by institutionalising the Church, making it the religion of the empire and forcing its laws, most of which were totally man made and nothing to do with me, upon a people who just wanted to choose Jesus for themselves and live their lives without interference from others. Once again the 'Way to God' had been hijacked and the people who wanted to walk the way had been enslaved. Sin abounds under these conditions.
I continued to work among my people, setting many free. I even worked through institutions at times, until the leaders or godless men realised that congregations were being set free. In every generation I have provided revivals, renewals and have raised up prophets and teachers, many of whom were persecuted and even killed, just like the prophets of old. However, even through the worst times of persecution I have kept the truth alive and have kept a remnant. Because I am dealing with individuals and not whole nations' I have often been tempted to abandon nations to their own sin. But in your day I am calling my Church, the individuals I have saved through My Son Jesus, to pray for the nations. Yes, to come before me and confess the sins of kings, governments and nations, because I have already made a promise in 2 Chronicles 7:14, that:
'If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.'(NIV)
That is a two-part promise, a covenant. The first part is yours:
'If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways...'
The second part is mine:
'...then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.'
I am now calling my people, the Church, those who know and love the Lord Jesus Christ, to 'humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways...' I am also asking them to pray for their leaders and the nations, because their leaders and the nations are not yet ready to humble themselves before me. Pray, believing that as you pray, I will work in your land. I promise that I will hear your prayer and I will forgive their sins and heal their land, your sins and your land.
The authority I have given to Jesus as My beloved Son, is still very firmly in His hands. No man, or ruler, or nation, can take that away from Him. All mankind is answerable to Him. Christian, Jew, Muslim, Buddhist, Hindu, and all in the other religions, even the atheist and the pagan are answerable to Him, because I have declared it so.
So, let all the individuals that are saved by the blood of Jesus stand together and pray for their leaders and their nations. Let them confess, and turn their backs to sin and wickedness, and I will forgive them and heal their land.
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