Humble Yourself, Pray, Seek, and Ask

Our message this week was a special one with celebrating our 130th year as Sparta Baptist Church.  The message fit perfectly as we reflect on the years past we also reflect on the four pillars of being a Christian.  Our message comes from:

2 Chronicles 7:14

King James Version (KJV)

 ¹⁴If 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.

There are 4 main things we must safeguard as Christians in this scripture. 
1.) Humility
2.) Pray
3.) Seek
4.) Ask

Let's begin with humility.  Why is it so difficult for people to humble themselves?  We all battle this even though we KNOW that Satan uses our pride agaist us.  Satan knows he has you when your pride gets between you and the Lord.  If you have read this blog before you have already read about the importance of doing things for the glory of God alone and not for the glory of yourself.  If you are there doing a service only so people will glorify you, then you are in trouble.  How many real blessings has God sent your way but you missed because of your pride?  How many times have you robbed ourself the grace and blessings of God because you are too worried about what people think of you?  It is time to humble yourself before God and do things for the right reasons.  I encourage you to read James 4:10. 

Next, lets talk about something Christians don't do enough of......and that is.....Talk to God!  Think about this...Do you answer God as quick as you answer your cell phone when it goes off?  Do you talk to God as much as you should?  We are told to pray without ceasing.  That means continuously talking to God because He is there every minute of every single day and night.  Why wouldn't we talk to Him?  It is like a marriage or relationship where you are giving your partner the silent treatment.  Think of how God must feel to be ignored.  Do you like to be ignored?  Would you like it very much if God decided to ignore you when you needed Him?  We should never ignore God and pretend He isn't there.  Pray without ceasing!  I encourage you to read John 14:13, Ephesians 6:18, and 1 Thesalonians 5:17.

Seek!  How often do we judge ourselves as being weak if we are Christians?  Have you ever really just sat and thought about what people think of Christians?  They see us as being weak and push overs.  Being a Christian does not mean we tuck our tails between our legs and become a whimp.  We are to stand up for what we believe in.  We are to boldly seek His face and His will for us.  And here is something to think about:  If you are married how often do you seek your spouse's attention and approval?  Most likely more than you seek out God's attention and approval!  We are to look to God for everything.  Read Psalms 27:8.

Lastly, Ask for Forgiveness!  We are ALL sinners.  We have to daily repent our failures.  We hide too much behind our pride somtimes to ask for forgiveness.  Sin is like a cancer that eats away your life.  You can't do anything on the outside of the world till you take care of your own heart!  We keep no secrets from God.  It is impossible to do so.  Everything we do is clear and lies open before him, and to him we must explain the way we have lived.  Read Hebrews 4:13.  It is important for us to understand that confession is simply agreeing with God that our acts were wrong.  I think so many times people are scared to tell God what they did but really we have it all wrong.....He already knows what we did.  Read Nehemiah 15:9.

2 Chronicles 7:14 tells us that these 4 things are important in the Christian walk.  He will hear us only if we do these 4 acts together.  It is also important to remind those we witness to that no sin is too big to forgive.  I think sometimes people who have never stepped inside a church feel they could never step into a church because their sins are just too big and there are so many but we have to let them know He does forgive and He throws our sins as far as the East is from the West.  We can no longer allow ourselves and others to hide behind their pride.  It is time to get things right.  God WANTS to forgive your sinful deeds and thoughts through His grace.  When we fall, we can dismiss it, deny it, distort it, or we can deal with it.  God wants us to deal with it.  Humble yourself, pray, seek God's will instead of your own, and ask for forgiveness!