WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.150 --> 00:00:04.790 There is only one solution. It's not a political solution. 2 00:00:05.740 --> 00:00:09.480 It's not an economic solution. It's not an educational solution. 3 00:00:09.800 --> 00:00:13.500 It's not a psychological solution. It is a spiritual solution. 4 00:00:13.880 --> 00:00:17.609 Our hearts must be changed by God, and only he 5 00:00:18.309 --> 00:00:22.629 can change hearts. We need a national healing. And you 6 00:00:22.670 --> 00:00:26.750 know what? I agree 100%. And I've actually thought this 7 00:00:26.789 --> 00:00:31.109 for years, that our nation is And many nations need healing. 8 00:00:33.390 --> 00:00:37.570 I immediately thought of Psalm 60, where David cries out 9 00:00:37.630 --> 00:00:42.689 to God in a national time of conflict in those days. 10 00:00:43.750 --> 00:00:46.890 And in Psalm 60, verse two, listen to this. It's 11 00:00:46.929 --> 00:00:50.509 in the New Living and in the Living Bible. David 12 00:00:50.549 --> 00:00:57.090 says this, you have shaken this nation and split it open. Now, Lord, 13 00:00:57.509 --> 00:01:03.289 heal the cracks before it completely collapses. That is a 14 00:01:03.329 --> 00:01:08.269 verse for our time. Lord, heal the cracks before it 15 00:01:08.310 --> 00:01:13.150 completely collapses. In the message translation, that verse says, heal 16 00:01:13.170 --> 00:01:16.159 the breaks because everything is coming apart at the seams. 17 00:01:18.840 --> 00:01:20.920 And in the next verse, Psalm 60, verse 3 says, 18 00:01:23.180 --> 00:01:27.739 It says, you have shown your people desperate times. We're 19 00:01:27.760 --> 00:01:32.879 staggering like we're drunk on wine. What a picture. But 20 00:01:32.900 --> 00:01:35.680 then verse four and verse five gives us some hope. 21 00:01:36.599 --> 00:01:39.920 And it says this, but you, talking about God, but 22 00:01:40.060 --> 00:01:45.120 you have given us a banner to rally to. All 23 00:01:45.180 --> 00:01:49.349 those who love truth will rally to it. And then 24 00:01:49.390 --> 00:01:54.109 you can deliver your beloved people. Use your strong right 25 00:01:54.409 --> 00:01:59.969 arm to rescue us. Now, anytime you see the phrase, 26 00:02:00.109 --> 00:02:03.109 but you, in the Bible, and it's talking about God, 27 00:02:03.790 --> 00:02:05.519 you can get ready for a good dose of hope. 28 00:02:06.079 --> 00:02:09.780 But God, or but you. Because God's word is filled 29 00:02:10.080 --> 00:02:17.000 with examples of how God heals hurts, heals brokenness, heals conflict, 30 00:02:17.360 --> 00:02:22.000 and actually heals a broken nation. He did it many, 31 00:02:22.069 --> 00:02:24.919 many times with the nation of Israel. And there is 32 00:02:24.960 --> 00:02:27.199 a clear pattern. When you look at this book and 33 00:02:27.219 --> 00:02:29.960 you study this book, there is a clear pattern. And 34 00:02:29.979 --> 00:02:34.000 there is even a specific promise that God gives us 35 00:02:36.139 --> 00:02:38.379 in the nation that we live in and when it's 36 00:02:38.419 --> 00:02:42.280 in trouble. Now, it's not a promise to any specific nation. 37 00:02:42.479 --> 00:02:45.520 The United States is never mentioned in this book, neither 38 00:02:45.560 --> 00:02:50.210 is Germany or Argentina, Philippines or China, where other Saddleback 39 00:02:50.250 --> 00:02:54.310 members live. We're an international church. But it is a 40 00:02:54.370 --> 00:02:59.349 specific promise to the people of God. It's a promise 41 00:02:59.379 --> 00:03:03.879 to Christian believers who live in any country. And that's 42 00:03:03.900 --> 00:03:06.280 what we're gonna look at today, how God heals a 43 00:03:06.319 --> 00:03:10.530 broken nation. 3,000 years ago, God made a promise to 44 00:03:10.610 --> 00:03:14.830 Solomon at the dedication of the new temple in Jerusalem. 45 00:03:15.610 --> 00:03:17.909 And as I said, it's not a promise to America 46 00:03:17.949 --> 00:03:20.439 or to any other specific nation, but it is a 47 00:03:20.469 --> 00:03:24.759 promise to God's people anywhere. And it gives us a 48 00:03:24.819 --> 00:03:32.539 specific path to the healing of any nation. 2 Chronicles 7, 49 00:03:32.539 --> 00:03:35.039 14 is the verse I'm talking about. And it goes this, 50 00:03:35.099 --> 00:03:37.680 you've heard this verse many times, but we're gonna tear 51 00:03:37.699 --> 00:03:42.270 it apart word by word today. If my people, if 52 00:03:42.430 --> 00:03:46.469 my people, he's not talking to politicians. If my people 53 00:03:46.949 --> 00:03:52.430 who are called by my name will humble themselves and 54 00:03:52.610 --> 00:03:58.530 pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, 55 00:03:59.050 --> 00:04:02.370 then That's the path that here's the promise. Then I 56 00:04:03.090 --> 00:04:06.849 will hear from heaven and I will forgive their sins 57 00:04:08.060 --> 00:04:14.879 and I will heal their land. Now with every promise 58 00:04:14.919 --> 00:04:18.839 of God, there's always a premise. There are conditions, there 59 00:04:18.860 --> 00:04:22.790 are requirements. And that's what we're gonna look at today. 60 00:04:22.810 --> 00:04:25.329 You know, this nation, along with many, many other nations 61 00:04:25.910 --> 00:04:30.250 needs a miraculous healing. Right now we need healing in 62 00:04:30.310 --> 00:04:33.160 our culture. We need healing in our government. We need 63 00:04:33.199 --> 00:04:36.180 healing in our economy. We need healing in our businesses. 64 00:04:36.480 --> 00:04:39.459 We need healing in our schools, in our cities, in 65 00:04:39.519 --> 00:04:43.339 our families. We need healing in our marriages, in our hearts. 66 00:04:43.920 --> 00:04:47.980 We need healing everywhere. And the good news is that 67 00:04:48.019 --> 00:04:50.639 the wounds that we can see around us today are 68 00:04:50.689 --> 00:04:56.689 not fatal and healing is available. So what's it gonna take? 69 00:04:57.389 --> 00:05:00.100 What's it gonna take to turn things around? How does 70 00:05:00.160 --> 00:05:04.980 God heal a broken nation? Well, in 2 Chronicles 7, 14, 71 00:05:04.980 --> 00:05:07.339 the verse we just read, God gives us, as I said, 72 00:05:07.579 --> 00:05:10.399 the pathway and the promise. He gives us four prerequisites 73 00:05:10.779 --> 00:05:14.560 or conditions for national healing. And then, and by the way, 74 00:05:14.660 --> 00:05:18.139 it's not just for national healing. This can heal relationships. 75 00:05:18.610 --> 00:05:21.490 You got a broken relationship? Do these four things. It 76 00:05:21.509 --> 00:05:24.670 can heal a relationship. It can have personal healing in 77 00:05:24.689 --> 00:05:27.639 your own life. So let's look at them. Number one, 78 00:05:28.939 --> 00:05:32.860 first condition for healing. We must humbly confess our sins. 79 00:05:33.740 --> 00:05:37.279 If my people who are called by my name will 80 00:05:37.379 --> 00:05:41.250 humble themselves. Now, again, this is not a promise for everybody. 81 00:05:42.230 --> 00:05:45.689 It's a promise for followers of God, followers of Christ. 82 00:05:45.769 --> 00:05:48.490 If my people called by my name, you call yourself 83 00:05:48.529 --> 00:05:52.310 a Christian, you're called by Christ's name. If my people 84 00:05:52.329 --> 00:05:55.019 who are called by my name will humble themselves. The 85 00:05:55.160 --> 00:06:00.990 number one cause of all our problems. is pride, arrogance, self-sufficiency, 86 00:06:01.230 --> 00:06:04.230 thinking we don't need God. We think we're God. We 87 00:06:04.250 --> 00:06:06.850 don't even think about consulting God in much of the 88 00:06:06.889 --> 00:06:11.009 time in what we're doing. James 4, 6 says, God 89 00:06:11.050 --> 00:06:15.189 opposes the proud, but he gives grace to the humble. 90 00:06:16.579 --> 00:06:21.170 And so we start with the humble humility of confessing 91 00:06:21.199 --> 00:06:23.529 our sins to God. First John 1.8 says, if we 92 00:06:23.589 --> 00:06:26.910 claim we're not sinning, we deceive ourselves and the truth 93 00:06:26.970 --> 00:06:29.509 is not in us. It's self-deception for me to look 94 00:06:29.550 --> 00:06:32.170 at the sins of everybody else, worry about the sins 95 00:06:32.189 --> 00:06:33.930 of all my enemies, worry about the sins of all 96 00:06:33.949 --> 00:06:36.870 the people I disagree with and not think about me. 97 00:06:36.970 --> 00:06:41.329 You've heard the phrase, hate the sin, love the sinner, 98 00:06:41.740 --> 00:06:43.759 love the sinner, hate the sin. I got a better 99 00:06:43.819 --> 00:06:46.610 one for you. Love the sinner and hate your sin. 100 00:06:48.529 --> 00:06:51.189 Love the sinner and hate my sin. I should hate 101 00:06:51.290 --> 00:06:53.879 my sin. I shouldn't worry about hating everybody else's sin. 102 00:06:54.180 --> 00:06:56.800 Let me worry about just hating the sin in my 103 00:06:56.860 --> 00:07:00.420 own life. See, the problem is instead of practicing humility, 104 00:07:01.139 --> 00:07:04.339 we spend more time. You might write this down. The problem, 105 00:07:04.959 --> 00:07:06.920 the first of these four problems that we're looking at 106 00:07:07.680 --> 00:07:12.420 is that we spend more time accusing others and excusing ourselves, right? 107 00:07:13.509 --> 00:07:18.149 than we spend practicing humility. We spend more time accusing 108 00:07:18.269 --> 00:07:22.870 others and excusing ourselves than we do practicing humility. Now 109 00:07:22.889 --> 00:07:24.709 let me show you some verses where God talks about 110 00:07:24.730 --> 00:07:28.449 this tendency. James 4.12, God gave us his laws so 111 00:07:28.550 --> 00:07:31.709 he alone can rightly judge us. God is the only 112 00:07:31.769 --> 00:07:33.750 one who has the right to judge us. And he 113 00:07:33.790 --> 00:07:36.269 alone has the right to save or destroy. So who 114 00:07:36.310 --> 00:07:39.800 do you think you are to judge and condemn your neighbor? Hmm. 115 00:07:42.209 --> 00:07:43.660 I don't have a right to judge you. You don't 116 00:07:43.680 --> 00:07:46.100 have a right to judge me. The Bible says God 117 00:07:46.139 --> 00:07:50.519 is the only judge and lawgiver. Romans 2, 3 says this. 118 00:07:50.759 --> 00:07:53.939 So when you, a mere human, pass judgment on others, 119 00:07:54.250 --> 00:07:56.009 and yet you do the same similar sins, how do 120 00:07:56.029 --> 00:08:00.019 you think you're going to escape God's judgment? We often 121 00:08:00.620 --> 00:08:03.639 try to take the focus off of our failures and 122 00:08:03.720 --> 00:08:06.889 our sins and our mistakes by pointing at everybody else. 123 00:08:06.949 --> 00:08:09.290 But as the old saying goes, when you're pointing a 124 00:08:09.350 --> 00:08:12.069 finger at somebody else, I got three of them pointing 125 00:08:12.110 --> 00:08:17.329 right back at me. 1 Peter 4, 17, for it 126 00:08:17.389 --> 00:08:22.129 is time for judgment to begin. Everybody's going, yeah, yeah, 127 00:08:22.209 --> 00:08:24.829 judge those people, God. Judge those people. Well, let's read 128 00:08:24.860 --> 00:08:26.480 the rest of the verse. For it is time for 129 00:08:26.540 --> 00:08:31.120 judgment to begin and it must begin with us. Judgment 130 00:08:31.149 --> 00:08:35.779 must start with the family of God. Did you know that? 131 00:08:36.559 --> 00:08:39.039 If God's gonna judge America or any other nation, he's 132 00:08:39.059 --> 00:08:41.960 gonna start with the Christians in it. He's gonna start 133 00:08:41.980 --> 00:08:45.159 with those who claim his name. I call myself a Christian, 134 00:08:45.200 --> 00:08:50.169 a Christian, a little Christ. The family of God, a 135 00:08:50.210 --> 00:08:53.210 judgment has to start. If it's gonna start anywhere, change 136 00:08:53.230 --> 00:08:56.350 is gonna start, it's gonna start in the church. Not 137 00:08:56.370 --> 00:09:00.669 in politics, not in anything else. Proverbs 28, 13, people 138 00:09:00.710 --> 00:09:02.990 who try to cover up their sins will not succeed. 139 00:09:05.129 --> 00:09:07.889 Why can't we learn that verse? The coverup's always worse 140 00:09:07.929 --> 00:09:10.129 than the sin. People who try to cover up their 141 00:09:10.149 --> 00:09:13.250 sins will not succeed, but if they confess and forsake them, 142 00:09:13.490 --> 00:09:19.169 they will receive mercy. So the first step to any 143 00:09:19.230 --> 00:09:22.649 kind of healing, the first step to any kind of recovery, 144 00:09:22.990 --> 00:09:27.279 national or anything else, in your home, In your marriage 145 00:09:27.860 --> 00:09:31.399 is humble confession. That's the first step. So let me 146 00:09:31.440 --> 00:09:34.759 just be frank. Let me ask you a question. Do 147 00:09:34.799 --> 00:09:40.480 you want to be healed? Do you want your family 148 00:09:40.500 --> 00:09:45.340 to be healed? Do you want your marriage to be healed? 149 00:09:47.590 --> 00:09:51.610 Do you want your nation to be healed? Then you 150 00:09:51.789 --> 00:09:58.129 must take the hard first step of humble confession. If 151 00:09:58.210 --> 00:10:02.330 my people will humble themselves James 5, 16, confess your 152 00:10:02.370 --> 00:10:05.029 sins to each other and pray for each other so 153 00:10:05.070 --> 00:10:09.990 that you may be healed. If you're taking notes, circle 154 00:10:10.029 --> 00:10:14.210 the phrase each other. Confess to each other. Pray for 155 00:10:14.289 --> 00:10:17.529 each other. Write this down. I need others to help 156 00:10:17.549 --> 00:10:21.720 me change. I need others to help me change. You 157 00:10:21.779 --> 00:10:24.940 can't change simply by yourself. If you could, you would, 158 00:10:25.860 --> 00:10:28.559 but you can't, so you won't. There are a lot 159 00:10:28.580 --> 00:10:30.379 of things in your life you don't like about you, 160 00:10:30.720 --> 00:10:32.590 and you've tried to change them, but they don't change. Why? 161 00:10:32.610 --> 00:10:35.490 Because God has wired the world and wired the universe 162 00:10:35.529 --> 00:10:37.289 in a way that we only change with the help 163 00:10:37.309 --> 00:10:41.549 of others. That's why we have recovery groups, Saddleback, and 164 00:10:41.570 --> 00:10:44.879 support groups at Saddleback, and small groups at Saddleback, and 165 00:10:45.009 --> 00:10:46.559 online groups. And if you wanna be a part of 166 00:10:46.600 --> 00:10:50.230 an online group, we literally have... I don't know, seven, 8,000 167 00:10:50.230 --> 00:10:53.250 small groups spread out all over America. We'll help you 168 00:10:53.289 --> 00:10:56.789 get in one. But he says, confess your faults to 169 00:10:56.830 --> 00:11:00.330 each other and you will be healed. Revealing your feeling 170 00:11:01.129 --> 00:11:04.610 is the beginning of healing. So here's your homework. Make 171 00:11:04.649 --> 00:11:08.529 sin list. This week, sit down and say, Lord, show 172 00:11:08.570 --> 00:11:11.149 me anything in my life that's unpleasing to you. And 173 00:11:11.169 --> 00:11:15.379 be specific. Don't just say, forgive me for all my sins. No, 174 00:11:15.700 --> 00:11:18.720 make a list. Be specific. Jealousy there. If it's gossip, 175 00:11:19.289 --> 00:11:22.120 write it down. If it's slander, write it down. If 176 00:11:22.580 --> 00:11:26.559 it's impatience, write it down. If it's anger, outburst, write 177 00:11:26.580 --> 00:11:30.539 it down. And then confess it. Cross them all out 178 00:11:30.580 --> 00:11:36.460 and burn the paper. That's the first step. We must pray. 179 00:11:36.480 --> 00:11:40.240 We must humbly confess our sins. Number two, we must 180 00:11:40.340 --> 00:11:46.750 not only confess humbly, we must pray sincerely. Pray sincerely. 181 00:11:46.789 --> 00:11:50.820 This isn't mouthing you know, prayers that we've prayed all 182 00:11:50.860 --> 00:11:54.259 our lives. It's praying from the heart. If my people 183 00:11:54.279 --> 00:11:57.039 who are called by my name shall humble themselves and 184 00:11:57.220 --> 00:12:01.100 pray and pray. This is not half-hearted praying. This is 185 00:12:01.139 --> 00:12:04.590 not thoughtless praying. This is not meaningless praying. This is not, 186 00:12:04.750 --> 00:12:06.690 now I lay my down to sleep, bless the gift 187 00:12:06.730 --> 00:12:08.590 and the giver. Thanks for this food and bless it 188 00:12:08.629 --> 00:12:11.850 to our bodies. Not ritual praying. It's praying from the heart. 189 00:12:13.190 --> 00:12:16.799 Sincere praying is authentic praying. It's passionate praying. It's sincere. 190 00:12:17.179 --> 00:12:21.440 It's even desperate praying. God, you gotta help us now. 191 00:12:22.200 --> 00:12:27.840 We're in deep trouble. We need this healing now. Example 192 00:12:27.860 --> 00:12:30.159 in the Bible is Jacob who says to God, I'm 193 00:12:30.210 --> 00:12:33.539 not gonna let go of you till you bless me. Now, 194 00:12:33.590 --> 00:12:36.429 what's the problem? How did we get ourselves in such 195 00:12:36.470 --> 00:12:38.350 a mess? I'll tell you how we got ourselves in 196 00:12:38.370 --> 00:12:41.870 such a mess. We spend more time complaining than we 197 00:12:41.889 --> 00:12:47.080 do praying. We spend more time complaining than we do praying. 198 00:12:47.289 --> 00:12:55.200 Praying changes things. Complaining, worrying, being anxious, griping, never changes anything. Now, 199 00:12:55.220 --> 00:12:57.899 this is not a new problem. This was a problem 200 00:12:57.940 --> 00:13:03.399 back in Hosea's days, years and years ago. Hosea chapter seven, 201 00:13:03.419 --> 00:13:08.320 verse 14 says this. They do not cry out to 202 00:13:08.360 --> 00:13:12.490 me with sincere hearts. Instead, they sit on their couches, 203 00:13:13.029 --> 00:13:17.110 and they wail. That word in Hebrew, wail, literally means 204 00:13:17.409 --> 00:13:23.779 complain loudly. It means I'm griping. How many times have 205 00:13:23.820 --> 00:13:27.220 you sat on your couch, looking at the television, griping 206 00:13:27.259 --> 00:13:31.210 about what's going on in your society, griping about what 207 00:13:31.250 --> 00:13:34.570 you see on the news, complaining about what's happening in 208 00:13:34.590 --> 00:13:37.909 the world? How much has that changed anything? How many 209 00:13:37.950 --> 00:13:41.070 times have you complained on social media? about what you 210 00:13:41.110 --> 00:13:43.629 see going on in our nation or our world or wherever. 211 00:13:44.889 --> 00:13:49.490 He says, they don't cry out to me sincerely. Instead, 212 00:13:49.509 --> 00:13:55.480 they sit on their couches and complain. Let me ask you, 213 00:13:57.139 --> 00:14:00.679 do you spend more time watching the news or on 214 00:14:00.740 --> 00:14:04.730 social media commenting about the news or in prayer talking 215 00:14:04.750 --> 00:14:08.509 to God about what's going on? One of them can 216 00:14:08.549 --> 00:14:14.750 change things. The other two, are worthless. Colossians 4.2, be earnest, 217 00:14:15.549 --> 00:14:19.389 that's sincere, and unwearied and steadfast in your prayers. This 218 00:14:19.429 --> 00:14:22.870 is the amplified translation. Be earnest and unwearied and steadfast 219 00:14:22.909 --> 00:14:25.710 in your prayers, being alert and intent in your prayers. 220 00:14:25.750 --> 00:14:27.509 In other words, I don't put my mind in neutral 221 00:14:27.549 --> 00:14:30.950 and just start mouthing off spiritual words. Be intent in 222 00:14:30.990 --> 00:14:36.570 your prayers with thanksgiving. She says, okay, how do I 223 00:14:36.629 --> 00:14:42.460 be more sincere in my prayer? by being more specific. 224 00:14:44.919 --> 00:14:48.620 How do you be more specific in your prayer? Write 225 00:14:48.659 --> 00:14:53.000 down a prayer list. Nothing becomes specific until you write 226 00:14:53.019 --> 00:14:55.899 it down. Then all of a sudden it becomes very, 227 00:14:55.940 --> 00:14:58.460 very specific. You know, when I was in college, I 228 00:14:58.519 --> 00:15:01.220 remember in my dorm room, I took a big piece 229 00:15:01.259 --> 00:15:04.730 of butcher paper and I covered my wall and on 230 00:15:04.809 --> 00:15:07.820 it I wrote the date, and then I would write 231 00:15:07.879 --> 00:15:10.700 my prayer request and then I would wait. And then 232 00:15:10.740 --> 00:15:12.720 I would, when it was answered, I'd write the answer 233 00:15:13.639 --> 00:15:15.620 down and I would write the date it was answered. 234 00:15:16.879 --> 00:15:19.500 And at the end of that year in college, I 235 00:15:19.570 --> 00:15:24.250 had on that wall, 56 specific answers to prayer. You 236 00:15:24.269 --> 00:15:26.750 think that built my faith? Of course it did. Why? 237 00:15:26.769 --> 00:15:30.490 Because I could see, I prayed specifically, I got specific 238 00:15:30.629 --> 00:15:35.350 answers and that built my faith. Ephesians 5, 18 says this, 239 00:15:35.649 --> 00:15:40.379 pray in the spirit. At all times, with all kinds 240 00:15:40.399 --> 00:15:44.940 of prayers, asking for all you need. To do this, 241 00:15:44.980 --> 00:15:48.820 you must always be ready and never give up. Always 242 00:15:48.899 --> 00:15:52.250 pray for all God's people. If you're taking notes, go 243 00:15:52.279 --> 00:15:54.750 back and circle all the all's and always in that verse. 244 00:15:55.210 --> 00:16:01.429 That's sincerity. Jesus said it like this. Luke 18, verse 1. 245 00:16:01.429 --> 00:16:04.090 Jesus said to his disciples, told them a story about 246 00:16:04.129 --> 00:16:07.309 how they should keep on praying and never give up. 247 00:16:07.870 --> 00:16:10.269 You're always doing one of those two things. One or 248 00:16:10.309 --> 00:16:14.899 the other. You're either praying or you're giving up. You're 249 00:16:14.919 --> 00:16:17.340 praying or you're giving up. You look at the world 250 00:16:17.379 --> 00:16:19.879 right now, you feel like giving up on it. You 251 00:16:19.899 --> 00:16:21.799 look at our society, you look at our government, you 252 00:16:21.820 --> 00:16:27.539 look at the paralysis of our government. Well, you can 253 00:16:27.559 --> 00:16:30.750 pray or you can give up. If you prayed as 254 00:16:30.809 --> 00:16:32.610 much as you worried, you'd have a lot less to 255 00:16:32.649 --> 00:16:38.960 worry about. So if you're serious about seeing our nation healed, 256 00:16:39.080 --> 00:16:42.700 it isn't gonna happen through the voting booth, the ballot box. 257 00:16:43.000 --> 00:16:45.940 It isn't gonna happen through politics. If you're serious about 258 00:16:45.980 --> 00:16:50.039 seeing our nation healed, here's your homework. Make a prayer list. 259 00:16:50.960 --> 00:16:53.820 Make a prayer list of some specific things you're going 260 00:16:53.840 --> 00:16:57.840 to ask God to do this year in your life, 261 00:16:59.600 --> 00:17:03.679 And in your family, in our church, in your church, 262 00:17:03.860 --> 00:17:07.529 in the whole world, in our nation, make a prayer list. 263 00:17:08.089 --> 00:17:10.410 This is your homework. Make a prayer list for this 264 00:17:10.490 --> 00:17:14.450 new year. Now we come to the third condition for 265 00:17:14.509 --> 00:17:17.650 national healing, or for that matter, any other kind of healing. 266 00:17:18.329 --> 00:17:20.980 It says, if my people, which are called by my name, 267 00:17:21.019 --> 00:17:26.720 shall humble themselves, that's one, humbly confess, and pray, pray 268 00:17:26.759 --> 00:17:31.650 with sincerity, sincerely, Then third, and seek my face. Here 269 00:17:31.670 --> 00:17:36.539 it is. We must seek God intensely. We confess our 270 00:17:36.579 --> 00:17:43.380 sins humbly and we pray sincerely and we seek God intensely. 271 00:17:44.759 --> 00:17:47.720 If people will humble themselves and pray and seek my face. 272 00:17:47.759 --> 00:17:54.940 Now this kind of seeking God is not some casual pastime. 273 00:17:54.960 --> 00:18:00.599 It's not a pursuit in your spare time Seeking God 274 00:18:01.700 --> 00:18:05.200 intensely means you're not doing it in your spare moments. 275 00:18:06.299 --> 00:18:08.680 It's not some low priority. Well, if I get the time, 276 00:18:09.069 --> 00:18:12.650 I'll seek God intensely. No, it must be a serious pursuit. 277 00:18:13.289 --> 00:18:18.230 It has to become your primary focus. Now, why should 278 00:18:18.269 --> 00:18:20.630 I make seeking God my primary focus in my life? 279 00:18:21.170 --> 00:18:24.490 Because in Hebrews 11, six, it says this, God rewards 280 00:18:24.549 --> 00:18:30.170 those who earnestly seek him. not in their spare time, 281 00:18:30.450 --> 00:18:37.789 but earnestly, sincerely seek him, intensely seek him, earnestly. You know, 282 00:18:37.809 --> 00:18:42.119 you don't become an Olympic athlete in your spare time. No, 283 00:18:42.339 --> 00:18:46.640 you gotta make it your primary motivation in life. Somebody 284 00:18:46.700 --> 00:18:48.599 asked me one time, do you play golf? I said, no. 285 00:18:48.839 --> 00:18:51.259 I said, I play at it, but I'm just not 286 00:18:51.299 --> 00:18:54.140 willing to invest the time to be good. To be 287 00:18:54.180 --> 00:19:00.000 a pro at anything requires intensity. So let me ask you, 288 00:19:00.039 --> 00:19:02.559 what does God want from you this year, in this 289 00:19:02.599 --> 00:19:06.440 brand new year? What does God want from me more 290 00:19:06.480 --> 00:19:09.000 than anything else in this new year? I'll tell you 291 00:19:09.019 --> 00:19:11.859 what he wants from you. He wants that you intensely 292 00:19:12.000 --> 00:19:18.019 seek him, that you seek him intensely. Not that you 293 00:19:18.059 --> 00:19:22.819 seek his blessing, not that you seek his gifts, not 294 00:19:22.839 --> 00:19:26.059 that you seek his favor, but that you seek him. 295 00:19:26.980 --> 00:19:31.500 You want to know him. Now, what I'm talking about 296 00:19:31.539 --> 00:19:35.119 right now is so rare among people. Most people seek 297 00:19:35.160 --> 00:19:39.460 God's blessing. They seek God's favor. They seek God's goodness. 298 00:19:40.180 --> 00:19:44.529 They don't seek God. Psalm 14 verse 2 says this, 299 00:19:44.849 --> 00:19:46.930 the Lord looks down from heaven on the entire human 300 00:19:46.990 --> 00:19:49.670 race and he looks to see if there is even 301 00:19:49.690 --> 00:19:56.289 one one person with real understanding who seeks for God. 302 00:19:56.309 --> 00:20:00.730 So I can't find people like that. Everybody wants my blessing. 303 00:20:00.759 --> 00:20:03.740 They don't want me. Very few people, the truth is 304 00:20:03.799 --> 00:20:10.069 very few people really seriously make knowing God the goal 305 00:20:10.089 --> 00:20:13.809 of their life. And that's why we get stuck in 306 00:20:13.910 --> 00:20:19.710 cycles year after year after year. What's the problem? Okay. Well, 307 00:20:19.759 --> 00:20:22.099 just like I told you, there's a problem with, you know, 308 00:20:22.160 --> 00:20:25.579 we do more complaining than we do praying. The problem 309 00:20:25.680 --> 00:20:29.200 is write this down. We spend more time seeking everything else. 310 00:20:30.859 --> 00:20:36.069 We spend more time seeking literally everything else, but God 311 00:20:36.109 --> 00:20:41.069 gives us a wonderful promise in Deuteronomy chapter four. Deuteronomy 4, 312 00:20:41.069 --> 00:20:44.150 29 says this. If you seek the Lord, your God, 313 00:20:44.990 --> 00:20:48.869 you'll find him. You'll find him. If you look for 314 00:20:48.930 --> 00:20:52.009 him with all your heart, that's intensity. And with all 315 00:20:52.049 --> 00:20:56.259 your soul, that's intensity. And when you're in distress and 316 00:20:56.339 --> 00:20:58.460 all these things have happened to you, you will return 317 00:20:58.480 --> 00:21:01.480 to the Lord, your God, and you'll obey him. For 318 00:21:01.539 --> 00:21:04.539 he is a merciful God and he will not abandon 319 00:21:05.680 --> 00:21:09.549 or destroy you. That's a verse. for what's going on 320 00:21:09.569 --> 00:21:12.950 this past week and in the days ahead. How do 321 00:21:13.039 --> 00:21:20.119 I seek God with intensity? By making the knowing of 322 00:21:20.180 --> 00:21:25.049 him my first priority and my daily passion. Those of 323 00:21:25.069 --> 00:21:27.349 you who listened to the James series I taught, know 324 00:21:27.369 --> 00:21:32.309 that I taught you a little habit called HWFW and HWLW. 325 00:21:32.349 --> 00:21:34.789 His word, first word, his word, last word. That the 326 00:21:34.829 --> 00:21:36.789 first thing you do in the morning is you open 327 00:21:36.829 --> 00:21:38.910 up this book and you read a little bit of 328 00:21:38.970 --> 00:21:40.640 it till God speaks to you. It doesn't matter how 329 00:21:40.680 --> 00:21:43.019 long it is. You just read till God says something 330 00:21:43.059 --> 00:21:46.819 to you. And then you leave your Bible open by 331 00:21:47.359 --> 00:21:49.160 your bedside. When you get up in the morning, the 332 00:21:49.319 --> 00:21:51.559 first thing you do is not look at your phone. 333 00:21:52.500 --> 00:21:54.559 It's not look at the TV. It's not look at 334 00:21:54.619 --> 00:21:59.440 social media. It's look to the truth. Seek first his word. 335 00:22:01.009 --> 00:22:03.569 His word, first word. And you read and you just, 336 00:22:03.849 --> 00:22:06.089 you know, you pick a book like Psalms or Proverbs 337 00:22:06.150 --> 00:22:10.309 or Philippians and you read until God speaks to you 338 00:22:10.369 --> 00:22:12.809 and then you stop. Sometimes it's just one verse. You go, 339 00:22:12.829 --> 00:22:15.230 I need to think about that. And you read until 340 00:22:15.410 --> 00:22:18.509 something comforts you or something challenges you. Both of them 341 00:22:18.529 --> 00:22:23.230 will fill your soul. Comfort or challenge. And then you 342 00:22:23.269 --> 00:22:25.049 leave it open and at night, right before you go 343 00:22:25.069 --> 00:22:27.430 to bed, the last thing you do is you read again. 344 00:22:28.349 --> 00:22:31.009 His word, first word, his word, last word. And you 345 00:22:31.029 --> 00:22:33.809 just read till something speaks to you. And then you 346 00:22:33.849 --> 00:22:38.069 go to sleep with that on your mind. Matthew 6, 33, 347 00:22:38.069 --> 00:22:43.579 Jesus made this promise. Seek first his kingdom. Seek first 348 00:22:43.619 --> 00:22:46.980 his kingdom and his righteousness. And all these other things 349 00:22:47.000 --> 00:22:49.200 will be given to you as well. He says, I'll 350 00:22:49.240 --> 00:22:53.349 take care of the rest in your life. So, What 351 00:22:53.369 --> 00:22:58.900 do we do? We confess our sins humbly. We pray sincerely. 352 00:22:59.720 --> 00:23:03.539 We seek God intensely. Now we come to the fourth 353 00:23:03.579 --> 00:23:06.769 condition for a national healing or any other kind of healing. 354 00:23:07.609 --> 00:23:11.950 We must turn back to God completely. We turn back 355 00:23:12.029 --> 00:23:16.799 to God completely, not half-heartedly. If my people who are 356 00:23:16.900 --> 00:23:21.000 called by my name will humble themselves and pray and 357 00:23:21.160 --> 00:23:26.289 seek my face and turn from their wicked ways. He says, 358 00:23:26.309 --> 00:23:29.289 then I'll hear from heaven and I'll forgive their sins 359 00:23:29.329 --> 00:23:32.950 and I'll heal their land. Land. Now he says, turn 360 00:23:32.990 --> 00:23:36.529 from their wicked ways. You know, that word turn, the 361 00:23:36.650 --> 00:23:39.369 Old Testament's written in Hebrew, the New Testament's written in Greek. 362 00:23:39.690 --> 00:23:43.450 The word in Greek is the word metanoia, which literally 363 00:23:43.490 --> 00:23:47.450 means meta, to turn, and noia, to change your mind. 364 00:23:47.519 --> 00:23:52.599 Noia is noose, your neuron, your neuropathways comes from that. 365 00:23:53.599 --> 00:23:56.759 And it means, repentance simply means to change your mind. 366 00:23:56.779 --> 00:23:59.119 This is the way I used to think about that. 367 00:23:59.140 --> 00:24:02.640 This is the way I think about it now. Turn 368 00:24:02.700 --> 00:24:07.470 from your wicked ways, make a U-turn. Now, when I 369 00:24:07.630 --> 00:24:10.990 say that phrase wicked ways, I know what you're thinking. 370 00:24:11.109 --> 00:24:13.130 You're thinking about there are people out there who are 371 00:24:13.190 --> 00:24:15.450 wicked and there are people out there who are good 372 00:24:15.539 --> 00:24:17.799 and I wanna hang out with the good people and 373 00:24:18.240 --> 00:24:22.759 I wanna condemn and criticize and point my finger at 374 00:24:22.799 --> 00:24:26.880 the wicked people. It is a mistake. Listen, it's a 375 00:24:26.880 --> 00:24:32.960 mistake to categorize people as either good or wicked. Why? 376 00:24:33.640 --> 00:24:38.779 Because the reality is we all have wicked ways. I 377 00:24:39.019 --> 00:24:44.359 have wicked ways. You have wicked ways. The Bible says, 378 00:24:45.400 --> 00:24:47.250 not a just man upon the earth that doeth good 379 00:24:47.349 --> 00:24:50.670 always and sinneth not. The Bible says all have sinned 380 00:24:50.690 --> 00:24:53.150 and fallen short of the glory of God. And the 381 00:24:53.190 --> 00:24:55.329 Bible says, if we say, I have not sinned, we 382 00:24:55.369 --> 00:24:57.650 deceive ourselves. The truth is not in us. We all 383 00:24:57.670 --> 00:25:02.359 need a savior. So guess what? I'm wicked. you're wicked. 384 00:25:03.519 --> 00:25:05.720 We're all in the same boat on that one there. 385 00:25:06.000 --> 00:25:08.259 Now here's the problem. I've given you a problem in 386 00:25:08.299 --> 00:25:12.000 each of these. Here's the problem. We don't see, we 387 00:25:12.140 --> 00:25:16.940 just don't see our own wicked ways. We don't see it. 388 00:25:16.960 --> 00:25:19.549 It's very clear. We can clearly see the wicked ways 389 00:25:19.609 --> 00:25:21.950 in other people. Oh, we can point them out quickly, 390 00:25:23.430 --> 00:25:28.730 but we don't see our own wicked ways. So let 391 00:25:28.750 --> 00:25:33.309 me just give you for your own personal edification and evaluation, 392 00:25:34.230 --> 00:25:37.369 one of the many lists of sins in scripture. It's 393 00:25:37.369 --> 00:25:43.410 2 Timothy 3. In 2 Timothy 3, verses two to five, 394 00:25:44.059 --> 00:25:49.579 Paul gives us a laundry list of 19 specific wicked ways. 395 00:25:50.259 --> 00:25:52.579 He says, people are gonna be acting this way in 396 00:25:52.619 --> 00:25:56.329 the last days. I wanna recommend that you might wanna 397 00:25:56.450 --> 00:25:59.410 use this as a checklist for personal evaluation and confession. 398 00:26:00.089 --> 00:26:04.769 Here's what it says, 19 different things to check myself. 399 00:26:05.329 --> 00:26:07.990 It says that in the last days, it says people 400 00:26:08.059 --> 00:26:14.740 will be self-absorbed. Hmm, am I ever self-absorbed? Loving only themselves. 401 00:26:15.319 --> 00:26:19.180