Faith Baptist Church
4258 Botetourt Road
Fincastle, Virginia 24090
(540) 473-2325
A nation’s preservation as a blessed nation is based upon...
1. the relationship the believer in Christ develops with God through Bible doctrine.
2. the association the spiritually mature believer has with others as they in turn bless others.
It takes a maximum intake of Bible doctrine; plus the subsequent testing of those teaching in the believer’s life to develop a mature believer. It takes knowledge of the Bible. It takes humility to sit and learn the Bible. Positional righteousness comes automatically at one's moment of salvation, but practicing righteousness [practicing the standards of God] comes through consistent, year after year obedience to God’s word. It takes obedience to the truth to create the outcome God wants for a people. Being saved is not enough to impact a nation for God. The saved must learn and obey the word of the Lord to have impact. You and I do not have impact for God just because we pray for it. We must learn it and live it. We must be willing to come to church to listen and learn before any thing else. If we come to church for any higher purpose we have failed the grace of God and we will have little to no impact for God.
II Chron.7:14 gives to us a promise the Lord gave Solomon, King of Israel. I believe the principles of this promise given by God to Solomon applies to any nation today.
This proclamation made by God has several components.
1. If my people who are called by my name: First of all, this divine proclamation is addressed to God’s people. We are the salt of the earth, not the unbeliever.
2. Shall humble themselves: We must have a right attitude toward the Lord before we pray for His help. Our motivations must be pure and sincere. Heb.4:12. We need to know our places as the children of God. Rom.9:20-21a “Nay but, O man, who are thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus? Hath not the potter power over the clay...?” I Pet.5:6 “Humble yourselves, therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time,” James 4:6-10 read.
3. And pray - We cannot bless ourselves. We need to pray for His blessings. We ask God for his guidance and his help because we acknowledge we are in desperate need of his grace and intervention. We have problems only God can solve. I Pet.5:7 “Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.”
4. And seek His face - We need to learn the will of God by learning his word. Heb.11:6 ...He is a rewarder of them who diligently seek him.”
And what do we do when we have heard from God? Do we let his admonitions and instructions be of no affect as we continue our wrong thinking and living? The first phase of true repentance is honesty before God. King David put it this way in Ps.139:23-24 “Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me, and know my thoughts; And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.”
5. And turn from our wicked ways - It’s not enough to learn God’s word and be shown our unfaithfulness and need to repent. We have actually not repented unless we have had a change of mind with a corresponding change of action. Words are cheap, but correct action speaks volumes about our intent and our intentions toward God. We are to obey the word and turn from every form of wickedness as the Bible spells out for us.
6. Then God will hear from heaven and will forgive our sins. God is no respector of persons as per Rom.2:11; Eph.6:9; Col.3:25. He expects holiness out of his redeemed people. Holiness comes about through the believer’s compliance to Bible doctrine.
I John 1:9 “If we [God’s people] confess [that is, name] present active subjunctive verb, that is name our known sins as soon as we are aware of them on a daily moment by moment basis then He is faithful and just [because of the cross] to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
7. The blessing to us is He will heal our land. The blight of biblical ignorance and the steady sins of the people of God compounded with all the subsequent suffering that goes along with disobedience to God can be changed if the people will listen and obey God.
A blessed people are a responsible people. They are a hard working people. They are a caring people. God will not waste his blessings on lazy, proud, wicked people. It is against his character. The Lord calls on all of his people to obey him at all times, and for those who do He uses them to make a real impact on their society.
Much can be said concerning the Lord’s blessings upon his people. And it seems the more hostile the enemy or the circumstances the brighter that blessing is seen. Blessings always seem to be the brightest when the positive believer’s circumstances are the darkest. For the believer who is positive to Bible doctrine this is always true. He or she has Bible doctrine in the soul to draw upon. The positive perception oriented believer finds spiritual rest in the promises of God because they have learned not only the promises, but they have developed a trust in the Lord through the consistent intake and adherence to His word. The positive believer understands that he or she is under the authority of God’s word. However, for the cosmic-negative believer they do not take Bible doctrine seriously. They are anti-authority oriented. Taking biblical orders and the doctrinal update instructions from the word of God from their right pastor teacher is a drag to them. It is boring to them. It is vexing to their soul. For this believer their dark hours bring fear and calamity, Prov.1:24-31. As the Apostle John said in I Jn.4:18 their fear brings torment [mental anguish] because they do not allow Bible doctrine to develop virtue love in their hearts.
The positive believer who really wants to walk closely with the Lord is somewhat oblivious to what his or her faith will lead them into. They do not worry about the results of their faith life, they just live it. The positive believer does not see the commandments of God as grievous, I John 5:1-3.
Our mental attitude toward the word of God is our attitude toward God himself. You cannot separate the two, and why? Because Jesus Christ is the word of God, John 1:1.