Becoming God’s Man – God Will Do What?

Posted on March 18, 2016March 11, 2016 by chgruver

So we have been looking at 2 Chronicles 7:14 and seen how as Christians we fall under the categorization of being God’s people and called by His name; then last time we saw how in this promise what we are required to do and how it is actually a progression from humility to repentance. Today we will look at what God promises to do. In the last part of 2 Chronicles 7:14 we see God stating, “then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.” There are three things that God promises to do, and again we will see that it is a progression; He will hear from heaven, forgive our sins, and heal our land.

Hear From Heaven

The first promise God makes is that He will hear from heaven. You see the main thing here is that God is always listening for us to come to Him; but He wants us to truly come to Him. I know I have been using a parent/child relationship a lot here, but think of it like this. You have a child and you hear them calling for you because they want something; you won’t answer them right away, even though you know what they want, you want them to come directly to you and ask. You see God is the same way, he know what we need and hears us but want us to truly come to Him, to seek Him out in order to present Him with our needs. It is then that He will answer us.

Forgive Our Sins

So after God hears us when we are truly seeking after Him and having turned away from our sins, He will then forgive our sins. This is the next step in God’s promise to us, and is a natural step. You see as we humble ourselves we realize our sinfulness and need for repentance. God is listening and will hear us, this includes the eventual ask for forgiveness when we realize our sinful state. It is when we are at this point of brokenness, where we realize our need for God, that He will then faithfully forgive our sins. The thing for us is unlike in the Old Testament where a sacrifice was required whenever one asked for forgiveness, Christ’s work on the cross served as the ultimate sacrifice for our sins.

Heal Our Land

So after God forgives our sins, the next step is healing and restoration. While in the Old Testament where this was the original audience, healing of the land meant helping with their livelihood, the healing of our land is that of our hearts. With the help of the Holy Spirit, God not only forgives our sins but changes our hearts to where we long for godly things. As I mentioned last time we start to desire the things God desires, we start to want to do His will rather than follow our own selfish ways. The healing of our hearts also means we find a peace and joy that is unable to be explained, even when the trials are tough and everything seems to be against us, God is there holding us up and reassuring us that He is faithful and everything will work out for His glory; and this is what we finding ourselves longing for because as those called by His name, we realize it is not about us but about Him, and seek Him to be glorified above all else.

Becoming God’s Man – We’re to do What?

Posted on March 16, 2016March 11, 2016 by chgruver

So last time we started looking at 2 Chronicles 7:14 and how it pertains to Becoming God’s Man Ministries with asking the question of are you a Christian? Today we will continue to look at this verse and see what we are called to do as God’s people in this promise. So lets take a look at the verse from the beginning, “if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways.” So as God’s people, those called by His name we are told to do four things as a part of this promise.

Humble Themselves

The first thing we are to do is to humble ourselves. Sometimes we can be our own worst enemy and stand in the way of God blessing us. This is why the author mentions humbling ourselves first. When we are thinking that everything is all about us, we are blind to everything else going on around us; we become blind to the work that God is constantly doing in our lives and ignore the blessings. You see when we humble ourselves, we stop looking at ourselves and realize there is someone greater than us. It is not until then do we realize all the blessings God has been and is constantly bestowing upon us. But the issue is also before we can do any of the other actions the author mentions we have to humble ourselves; for unless we are humble we will never pray, seek His face, or turn from our wicked ways.

Pray

The next thing we are told is to pray. The simple answer to what exactly is prayer, is that it is our way of talking with God. It how we confess our sins to Him but also how we ask Him for our needs. The thing is even though God in his sovereignty knows what we need, He still wants to hear from us, like any father He wants us to come to Him and ask. James tells us that if we lack wisdom to ask God and He will grant it to us.

Seek His Face

So we have seen that we need to first realize it is not all about us, then we need to open lines of communication; now we need to seek God’s face. What the author is getting at is now that we realize it is not about us we need to realize who should be the focus of our attention, God. Everything we do should be centered around God and His will. To seek His face would be to picture God standing next to you at all times and with every action, every thought, every word you look to see if He has a pleased expression on His face or if it is one of disappointment; just like a child is always wanting to please his earthly father, we should be seeking to please our heavenly father.

Turn From Our Wicked Ways

The next step in this progression is that of turning from our wicked ways, repenting of our sin. This is literally doing a complete about face in regards to sin. While in the flesh such an action is impossible as this is how we are naturally inclined. However, once we have been adopted into God’s family we were given the Holy Spirit, who helps us along this progression of humbleness to repentance. You see as we seek God’s face our desires change to reflect God’s desires; making it easier to turn from our wicked ways as they no longer hold power over us, our hearts no longer desire them but long for God’s will.

Now that we have seen what as those called by His name are to do in regards to this promise we will next time look at what God promises He will do for us.

Becoming God’s Man Radio Show Episode 14 – Evangelism

Posted on March 8, 2016March 8, 2016 by chgruver

Every week Becoming God’s Man Ministries records a radio show that is aired on Inspiration Radio 1110 AM on Sunday mornings at 8:30 in the St. Petersburg area. We usually have a number of the different pastors and leaders that are involved with the ministry there and occasionally a guy that the ministry has reached will join us.

This week we took a look at evangelism and reaching our neighbors with the Gospel of Christ. Air Date March 6, 2016.

Becoming God’s Man Radio Show Episode 13 – Discipleship pt. 3

Posted on March 1, 2016March 1, 2016 by chgruver

Because discipleship is such a vast and important topic we spent another week discussing our views regarding discipleship. Air Date February 28, 2016.