6 years ago...Kenya erupted in a violent political and racial civil war.
· 1300 were killed and ½ million became refugees in their own country
· the whole nation was a tinder box waiting to be ignited again
It was at this tense and dangerous moment the church arose. Under the leadership of Oscar Muriu of Nairobi Chapel The “Msafara” (caravan) was launched.
· 100s of pastors boarded buses to travel NW from Mobasa thru Nairobi to Kisumu
o Along the way they offered humanitarian aid for the displaced and hurt
o They encouraged unity and reconciliation and peace
o And they did one more thing essential to moving the mountain of hatred that was suffocating their country. They repented.
In full abject humility, as one, in city after city they fell to their knees together beseeching God to forgive, to heal and to move the mountains of fear and racism.
They fully believed that Mountains will move when we repent.
How does that sit with you?
· does it resonate? …or does it make you bristle a bit?
o sound old school harsh?
o sound like something that only REAL screwed up people should do…not respectable, generally good people, like you should ever have to mess with?
Well, hang on sparky…we might just discover the reason your mountain won’t move. I want to show you clearly that…
Mountains will move when we repent.
But before we go deeply into that…let’s review…Last week a story of a dad who was desperate and brought his son to Jesus.
· child was physically, emotionally, spiritually deeply ill
…if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us." "'If you can'?" said Jesus. "Everything is possible for him who believes." Immediately the boy's father exclaimed, "I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief! Mark 9:21
· and Jesus healed the boy…but later:
19 Then the disciples came to Jesus in private and asked, "Why couldn't we drive it out?" 20 He replied, "Because you have so little faith. I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you. Matthew 17:14-20
Mountains will move when we have faith.
Let’s review what we learned about faith…
A person with great faith assumes God can do impossible things.
· heal, change hopeless relationships, stop huge issues of injustice
· Stop right there…with that definition do you have faith?
A person with great faith believes there is more going on in this world than they we can see with their eyes.
· stuff is happening all around us - we wrestle with “principalities and powers” always battle going on
· again…how are you with that?
A person with great faith believes even as they doubt.
"I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!
· Look…no one has to have monstrous levels of faith
o only a mustard seed size is required
o and you can even harbor some skepticism
· the disciples did not even have a teeny amount… and neither do many of us.
Unlike the father in the story our cry is
"I don’t believe; I can’t overcome my unbelief!
Clearly many of us have some spiritual work to do to ask God to plant within us a seed of faith.
PRAY?
Mountains will move when we have faith.
but faith is not the only pre-requisite for mountains to move…
Next week Mountains will move when we walk in the Spirit.
Feb 16-17 Mountains will move when we pray.
Feb 23-24 Mountains will move when we act.
and Today …day we’ll see the role of repentance
Mountains will move when we repent.
2 Chronicles 7
BACKGROUND:
· Chronicles (1 and 2) – summarized history of Israel focusing on the monarchy, the kings of Israel.
· 2 Chronicles begins with Solomon and building of the Temple for God (insert picture )
· end of Chapt 5 tells us about the conclusion of the building process: Then the temple of the LORD was filled with a cloud, 14 and the priests could not perform their service because of the cloud, for the glory of the LORD filled the temple of God. 2 Chronicles 5:13-14
· in Chapt 6 you can see Solomon’s prayer of dedication (which we’ll look more carefully at in a minute)
· Chapt 6 concludes with these words which gives me goose bumps…Solomon then prayed "Now arise, O LORD God, and come to your resting place, you and the ark of your might.
7:1 When Solomon finished praying, fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices, and the glory of the LORD filled the temple. The priests could not enter the temple of the LORD because the glory of the LORD filled it. When all the Israelites saw the fire coming down and the glory of the LORD above the temple, they knelt on the pavement with their faces to the ground, and they worshiped and gave thanks to the LORD, saying, "He is good; his love endures forever."
God showed up and fire rained down
I want that. Do you? Just once do you suppose we could have enough faith to believe that God can and will show up?
I long for a time that his presence would be so palpable we’d be forced to change our posture in the presence of the glory of God…
…perhaps we need something else in addition to our faith…?
Some time later God appeared to Solomon
11 When Solomon had finished the temple of the LORD and the royal palace, and had succeeded in carrying out all he had in mind to do in the temple of the LORD and in his own palace, 12 the LORD appeared to him at night and said: "I have heard your prayer and have chosen this place for myself as a temple for sacrifices.
13 "When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command locusts to devour the land or send a plague among my people, 14 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 will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land. 15 Now my eyes will be open and my ears attentive to the prayers offered in this place. (i.e. I’m watching and waiting) 16 I have chosen and consecrated this temple so that my Name may be there forever. My eyes and my heart will always be there. 2 Chronicles 7:13-16
What is it that God is watching and waiting for…repentance
Mountains will move when we repent.
But…what is it? …It sounds so old school…
…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 will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.
1st Repentance assumes that at some point we will do some kind of sinful thing.
· Something Solomon in his dedication prayer just assumed:
6:36 "When they sin against you--for there is no one who does not sin--and you become angry with them and give them over to the enemy, who takes them captive to a land far away or near; 37 and if they have a change of heart in the land where they are held captive, and repent and plead with you in the land of their captivity and say, 'We have sinned, we have done wrong and acted wickedly'; 38 and if they turn back to you with all their heart and soul in the land of their captivity where they were taken, and pray toward the land you gave their fathers, toward the city you have chosen and toward the temple I have built for your Name; 39 then from heaven, your dwelling place, hear their prayer and their pleas, and uphold their cause. And forgive your people, who have sinned against you. 2 Chronicles 6:36-39
· Sin is ubiquitous – it is inexorable – it is relentless – it is inevitable.
o you say you’re not a sinner I say – right.
· We commits acts of commission and omission – we sin.
And when we do…we must repent…and since we sin all the time we must repent all the time.
What is repentance?
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 will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.
1st element in repentance is found in the phrase “humble yourself”:
· to surrender – lay down your sword
o those things that we use to solve our problems and make life work: brains/intellect, authority and credibility, connections, perfectionism and work ethic
o These are our swords to take on the mountains of our lives – and they need to be surrendered and replaced with empty palms
· This is not a clinical act – it is emotional at its core
o In OT the word for repentance sounds like “groan” or “sigh” – came to imply grieving.
· If there is not some kind of emotion – there is no repentance.
Therefore:
Repentance is an emotional process of humble surrender
2nd crucial element found in the phrase “seek his face”
· the phase implies a begging…beseeching…enquiry
· it lit. means to seek an audience with… look him in the eye
· repentance not just humble head down but terrifying look into the face of God.
this should strike fear in our hearts because God told Moses "you cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live." Exodus 33:20
Are you a little afraid of God – you should be.
Does anyone have the foggiest idea what sort of power we so carelessly invoke? It is madness to wear ladies’ straw hats to church; We should be wearing crash helmets. Ushers should issue life preservers and signal flares; they should lash us to our pews. For the sleeping God may wake some day and take offense or the waking God may draw us out to where we can never return. Annie Dillard, Teaching A Stone to Talk
Repentance is a dangerous decision to seek an audience with God.
3rd phrased that is crucial is “Pray”:
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 will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.
· prayer here is not a silent prayer of quiet imagination but an out loud supplication … not just a mumbled “I’m sorry” but a laying out of your case
o here’s what I’ve done…here’s how I’ve disappointed you..and I’m sorry!
· prayer is making our case for forgiveness
Repentance is an act of passionate confessing prayer.
Let’s review…
Repentance is an emotional process of humble surrender.
Repentance is a dangerous decision to seek an audience with God.
Repentance is an act of passionate confessing prayer.
Finally there’s this phrase – “Turn from their wicked ways”:
· the word “turn” lit . means to “return”… implies a return to the direction you once walked.
o change of direction not just a humbling emotional feeling sorry
· true repentance shows up in a clear lifestyle shift – true repentance is ALWAYS visible to others.
Repentance is an unmistakable change of direction.
Our friends in Kenya understood the need for repentance...for them
Repentance is an emotional process of humble surrender.
Repentance is a dangerous decision to seek an audience with God.
Repentance is an act of passionate confessing prayer.
Repentance is an unmistakable change of direction.
And when they repented and exercised faith…mountains moved.
And Lord willing they will for you and me. Mountains will move when we repent.
Perhaps we should begin today…