I hope you have really enjoyed part 2 of Don’t Panic as you have been seeking the Lord. Did you see the results? Now we are going to talk about the church’s role because the church is the body of Christ and has its purpose. Our buildings are the facilities, but we are the church. The church is to please God, to seek God, worship, to pray and to bring revival by speaking what God says. If it doesn’t line up with God’s Word, it was not God.
DON’T PANIC, Part 3
Bishop John D. Ritcheson
In part 3, I will be dealing primarily with 2nd Chronicles chapter 7, verses 11 through 16, but first I feel I must deal a little with chapters 5 and 6 which leads right into what God says in chapter 7.
2nd Chronicles Chapter 5:1: “THUS ALL the work that Solomon made for the house of the Lord was finished and Solomon brought in all the things that David his father had dedicated, and the silver, and the gold, and all the instruments, put he among the treasures of the house of God.”
King Solomon has finished the temple after great effort and expense, but being the wisest man who ever lived, he realizes, as we all do, that although the temple is magnificent, it means nothing if God is not in there. Why would anyone want to go to church and not have an encounter with God? That has never made sense to me. I have seen hundreds of times when the Spirit of God starts moving and some people get nervous, some don’t like it and leave. Why? We are here to have an encounter with God.
2nd Chronicles Chapter 5:2-10:
2. “Then Solomon assembled the elders of Israel, and all the heads of the tribes, the chief of the fathers of the children of Israel, unto Jerusalem, to bring up the ark of the covenant of the Lord out of the city of David, which is Zion.”
3. “Wherefore all the men of Israel assembled themselves unto the king in the feast, which was in the seventh month.”
4. “And all the elders of Israel came; and the Levites took up the ark.”
5. “And they brought up the ark, and the tabernacle of the congregation, and all the holy vessels that were in the tabernacle, these did the priests and the Levites bring up.”
6. “Also king Solomon, and all the congregation of Israel that were assembled unto him before the ark, sacrificed sheep and oxen, which could not be told nor numbered for multitude.”
7. “And the priests brought in the ark of the covenant of the Lord unto his place, to the oracle of the house, into the most holy place, even under the wings of the cherubims:”
8. “For the cherubims spread forth their wings over the place of the ark, and the cherubims covered the ark and the staves thereof above.”
9. “And they drew out the staves of the ark, that the ends of the staves were seen from the ark before the oracle; but they were not seen without. And there it is unto this day.”
10. “There was nothing in the ark save the two tables which Moses put therein at Horeb, when the Lord made a covenant with the children of Israel, when they came out of Egypt.”
They brought back the ark. The ark in the Old Testament represented God’s glory or manifested presence. Wherever the ark was, if Israel was living for God, there was prosperity, health and victory; just as it is now – where God’s presence is, there is prosperity, health and victory. Oh, how we need God’s presence. Notice the ark was carried on the backs of the Levites (or praisers). The glory always comes when men and women of God praise Him.
10. “There was nothing in the ark save the two tables which Moses put therein at Horeb, when the Lord made a covenant with the children of Israel, when they came out of Egypt.”
Notice here in verse 10, that in the ark there was nothing by the Ten Commandments, the covenant with God. Originally there was the budded rod of Aaron, which represented God’s delivering power because where God is there is deliverance. Please understand and know that God is everywhere, but He is only manifested where He is praised and when He is manifested, good things begin to happen. There was also manna that came from heaven which was God’s provision. Why now are there just the Ten Commandments? Because when you keep the Commandments you get the protection, provision, His favor and His blessing. I am just touching on this right now, but I will cover a lot more in detail in the book I am writing based on this message, but for time sake I am limited as to what I can cover on the website.
2nd Chronicles 5:13-14
13. “It came to pass, as the trumpeters and singers were as one, to make one sound to be heard in praising and thanking the Lord; and when they lifted up their voice with the trumpets and cymbals and instruments of music, and praised the Lord, saying, For he is good; for his mercy endureth for ever that then the house was filled with a cloud, even the house of the Lord;”
14. “So that the priests could not stand to minister by reason of the cloud; for the glory of the Lord had filled the house of God.”
They started praising (seeking God) and BAM, God fills the house with a cloud. They were praising with thanksgiving for His goodness (as we all should do) and His mercy. God must have liked this, huh. Beloved, when God shows up like this, my job as a minister becomes very easy. God never just shows up, He shows up and always blesses. One more thought – if He did it then, He will do it now! They had no cross, no blood of the Lamb or the Baptism of the Holy Ghost, or New Testament. If they could have all that then, then we can have it now if we will seek Him
2nd Chronicles Chapter 6:1
“THEN SAID Solomon, The Lord hath said that he would dwell in the thick darkness,”
Do not be afraid, God is in the cloud. I am really not into seeing clouds, but that would be cool. However, the important thing to remember is that God is in the cloud.
13. “For Solomon had made a brazen scaffold of five cubits long, and five cubits broad, and three cubits high, and had set it in the midst of the court; and upon it he stood, and kneeled down upon his knees before all the congregation of Israel, and spread forth his hands toward heaven.”
14. “And said, O Lord God of Israel, there is no God like thee in the heaven, nor in the earth; which keepest covenant, and showest mercy unto thy servants, that walk before thee with all their hearts:
King Solomon begins to pray. Remember, this is the wealthiest, wisest man in the world, but notice how humble he is here. He knelt and raised his hands. Notice how he prays. Please read the entire chapter for yourself as I will just highlight some of the things. It is very interesting because it sounds a lot like what we are going through as a nation at this time. King Solomon knew the people were overjoyed at God’s presence but as all people do at some time or another, if we get out of that presence or take is for granted we may start to slip.
24. “And if thy people Israel be put to the worse before the enemy, because they have sinned against thee; and shall return and confess thy name, and pray and make supplication before thee in this house;”
25. “Then hear though from the heavens, and forgive the sin of thy people Israel, and bring them again unto the land which thou gavest to them and to their fathers.”
All Christian homes everywhere, all churches everywhere of all denominations were all the same at the foot of the cross. Denominations are for accountability (which I agree with), not separation. Imagine what would happen if all of God’s children came together to seek the Lord. It would be awesome!
1. If war is not going well because they had sinned, if we repent and seek you, you will give us victory. I am not writing this to bore you. It will be very important later. Please know this, God hears and answers prayer.
26. “When the heaven is shut up, and there is no rain, because they have sinned against thee; yet if they pray toward this place, and confess thy name, and turn from their sin, when though doest afflict them;”
27. “Then hear thou from heaven, and forgive the sin of thy servants, and of thy people Israel, when thou hast taught them the good way, wherein they should walk; and send rain upon thy land, which thou hast given unto thy people for an inheritance,”
2. Did you know that good weather is a blessing of God? (I will really cover this more in the book.) When there is unusually bad weather over a nation for a prolonged length of time, it can be a sign that God’s blessing may have lifted and the evil one comes in to destroy. Notice again God’s people had sinned, but in verse 27 if we repent will you do something? And, if we dare say we are sinner, then we are really in trouble.
28. “If there be dearth in the land, if there be pestilence, if there be blasting or mildew, locusts, or caterpillars; if their enemies besiege them in the cities of their land; whatsoever sore or whatsoever sickness their be:”
29. “Then what prayer or what supplication soever shall be made of any man, or of all thy people Israel, when every one shall know his own sore and his own grief, and shall spread for his hands in this house:”
30. “Then hear thou from heaven thy dwellingplace, and forgiven, and render unto everyman according unto all his ways, whose heart thou knowest; (for thou only knowest the hearts of the children of men;)”
3. Now if you are a farmer you will find this very interesting as I am sure you did the part regarding the weather. Notice in verse 28, “dearth” means hunger or famine, “blasting” means blight. I have an orchard and blight gets a lot of my pears, apples and peaches. Mildew means paleness to the leaves – yellow spots and black spots comes to mind. Pestilence means contagious or deadly disease. Locusts and caterpillars represent insect infestation and I think of Japanese beetles. Notice in verses 29 and 30, people have to seek God and change their ways.
34. “If thy people go out to war against their enemies by the way that thou shalt send them, and they pray unto thee toward this city which thou hast chosen, and the house which I have built for thy name;”
35. “Then hear thou from the heavens their prayer and their supplication, and maintain their cause.”
War is mentioned again. If it is not going well and we turn to you, will you maintain or give us the victory. Beloved, our young men and women are doing their part, it is now time for the church to do its part.
36. “If they sin against thee, (for there is no man which sinneth not,) and thou be angry with them, and deliver them over before their enemies, and they carry them away captives unto a land far off or near;”
37. “Yet if they bethink themselves in the land whither they are carried captive, and turn and pray unto thee in the land of their captivity, saying, We have sinned, we have done amiss, and have dealt wickedly,”
38. “If they return to thee with all their heart and with all their soul in the land of their captivity, whither they have carried them captives, and pray toward their land, which thou gavest unto their fathers, and toward the city which thou hast chosen, and toward the house which I have built for thy name;”
39. “Then hear thou from the heavens, even from thy dwellingplace, their prayer and their supplications, and maintain their cause, and forgive thy people which have sinned against thee.”
40. “Now, my God, let I beseech thee, thine eyes be open, and let thine ears be attent unto the prayer that is made in this place.”
41. “Now therefore arise, O Lord God, into thy resting place, thou, and ark of thy strength; let thy priests O Lord God, be clothed with salvation, and let thy saints rejoice in goodness,”
42. “O Lord God, turn not away the face of thine anointed; remember the mercies of David they servant.”
36. “If they sin against thee, (for there is no man which sinneth not,) and thou be angry with them, and deliver them over before their enemies, and they carry them away captives unto a land far off or near;”
Notice here in verse 36, that all have sinned and sin leads to bondage if we are unrepentant. We must repent of our sins as a nation and we must return our hearts to God so our loved ones in captivity to drugs, porn, alcohol or whatever sin they are captive to will be set free by the power of God and He will set our nation free in the process.
40. “Now, my God, let I beseech thee, thine eyes be open, and let thine ears be attent unto the prayer that is made in this place.”
41. “Now therefore arise, O Lord God, into thy resting place, thou, and ark of thy strength; let thy priests O Lord God, be clothed with salvation, and let thy saints rejoice in goodness,”
42. “O Lord God, turn not away the face of thine anointed; remember the mercies of David they servant.”
Please arise God as we rejoice in your goodness.
2nd Chronicles 7:1 & 3:
1. “NOW WHEN Solomon had made an end of praying, the fire came down from heaven, and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices; and the glory of the Lord filled the house.
3. “And when all the children of Israel saw how the fire came down, and the glory of the Lord upon the house, they bowed themselves with their faces to the ground upon the pavement and worshipped , and praised the Lord, saying, For he is good; for his mercy endureth forever.”
Notice in verse 3 when the people saw the fire they bowed and worshipped. Revival starts in the house of God, but men must be brought to their knees. Oh God, let Your fire fall in every hungry church and home in America. We must have revival. We need revival for survival. Understand, the best way to stop the sins that are destroying our country is to bring the sinner to God and God will produce Godly sorrow which produces repentance, which releases God’s forgiveness and mercy which will result in Him blessing us as a nation again.
11. “Thus Solomon finished the house of the Lord, and the king’s house; and all that came into Solomon’s heart to make in the house of the Lord, and in his own house, he prosperously effected.”
Notice the results – imagine finishing everything you ever thought of doing and being prosperous and effective in all you did. Well, God did it for King Solomon and He will do it for us.
12. “And the Lord appeared to Solomon by night, and said unto him, I have heard thy prayer, and have chosen this place to myself for an house of sacrifice.”
Now is this not awesome? God appears to this man and tells him that He heard his prayer. The next few verses is God’s answers to the prayers Solomon prayed in chapter 6. They are almost word for word answers.
13. “If I shut up heaven that there be no rain, or if I command the locusts to devour the land, or if I send pestilence among my people;”
Notice that God is speaking here. Some Christians today may not like this, but it is here. There are people who live in open disobedience. God can and does use some things to get our attention. This is not harsh or mean, no more so than when we as loving parents use discipline to correct our children before they really get into trouble. Now notice what is says here that He had rather bless than discipline – as any parent would. Not everyone will do this, but notice “my people,” the church.
First, they must humble themselves, submit to the Word, get rid of their pride. You cannot pray and worship when you are full of self pride. Prayer brings you into the presence of God and all men, both great and small, bows in His presence.
Secondly, pray and ask Him what is wrong, get directions. Prayer is more listening than talking. I have learned that as I have gotten older to do what He says and that King Solomon is listening here.
Thirdly, “seek my face.” It is called face-time. The Lord of the universe is inviting all Christians to have face-time with Him. Seek his face, not stuff or blessings, but Him. Adore Him, love him!
Fourthly, and this is the hard one, “and turn from their wicked ways.” I must explain this or none of it will work. First, I asked God to show me my own flaws, not your flaws. I asked Him if there was anything in my life that offended Him. I allowed the Word to speak to me. But, nationally what are some of the problems with the church? The lack of time for Him is probably the most common. We must return to our first love. Remember when we couldn’t wait to get to church, to pray, to read the word, or to worship?
As a nation, I believe the most glaring flaw is abortion. If any adult walked into a room and someone was killing a baby, I believe you would do whatever you had to do to stop whoever from killing the baby. We all would. Our Father in heaven is the same. Beloved, those who support abortion are not bad or evil, but they are horribly deceived. They believe it is not a human yet. In this country if you destroy an eagle egg you can go to prison and pay a huge fine. Why? Because the government believes there is an eagle in that egg. It is absurd to even suggest that a baby developing in the womb is not a person. It defies logic. Then why do so many believe abortion is okay?
Now to something I did not want to address, but I must. I believe things are getting worse and will get far worse if God’s people join the abortionists. I will tell you why in a minute. If you hire someone to commit murder and they are caught you are also charged and tried for murder just as if you also committed the murder. You face the same judge and judgment right along with the person who carried out the actual murder. ‘Well, Bro. John, that’s only fair and just.’ You are right. Is God not a just God? If we hire a politician that we know if pro-abortion, then our vote hired them. You would be shocked how many Christians have told me they are going to vote for abortionists because of the economy, housing, etc. Beloved, that would be a huge mistake. We would then lose God’s blessing. In a sense we are saying our faith is in a man more than God, or ‘I know it is wrong, but we have to have this guy or we are doomed.’ That is idolatry. There are also other issues such as porn and homosexual marriage. Folks, if we want God’s blessings we have got to repent of this – all of this. ‘But Bro. John, I don’t do those things.’ No, most of the church does not do those things, but when we repent for our nation, conviction will come on the people of the nation and God begins to deal with them and many repent. ‘Bro. John, are you judging?’ No! I am declaring the word. This is not about a party, it is about God. It is not about politics it is about right and wrong. God will not bless a nation that calls wrong right. He never has and He never will. No matter who is in charge. Notice what God will do if we return from our wicked ways.
14. “If 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.”
Fifthly, I will hear from heaven, I will forgive their sin, which removes judgment for all who repent and replaces it with a blessing. Notice at the end of verse 14, “and I will heal their land.” The word here for seek is “to search out.” “God, we search for you, we search your word for your healing.” It means to “worship.” God, we worship you for all your blessings and benefits and for making America great. Thank you God.” It means to “pray.” Ask and listen in return. If Solomon had not listened, he would not have known the mind of God. It also means to “strive after” with great effort. He is worth is. Strive is like what I was doing when I was courting Roxanne. I would do anything to win her heart and 34 years later she is still worth it. It also means to “ask of” even to the point of begging. God is not telling us to beg, but we as a nation should be desperate enough to beg. We need to plead with God. It means to “desire.” “God I desire more of you. God correct me because it is good for me.” I do not judge others, but I judge me. However, I do proclaim His truth as He directs me. “God Only God can heal America. Only God can solve our problems. He will implore men and women to do so, but only God can do the miraculous. My motives in putting these articles on the website is simply please God, please heal our land for my children’s sake, for your children’s sake. I’m sorry God for not saying more about these things before. Please God, we do not know what to do, but you do God, so we seek your face. Please God, heal our land and be Lord over America again. Convict us of our sins so you can forgive us as we repent.” Now is the time to seek God’s face. Our future and the future of our loved ones depend on it. Let us ask a question or two. If not now, when? If not us, who? If not here, then where? It is up to us. God is ready to heal America if we do our part, He will do His part.
15. “Now mine eyes shall be open, and mine ears attent unto the prayer that is made in this place.”
If we turn to God, we will have the ear of God. Watch anyone with great power, the people that can walk to them and whisper in their ear. They also have great power. It is a privilege and honor to have the ear of God.
16. “For now have I chosen and sanctified this house, that my name may be there for ever; and mine eyes and mine heart shall be there perpetually.”
You have God’s attention. You have a special place in God’s heart and you will also have the heart of God; what He likes, you like. Only God can do that; what makes Him happy, makes you happy.
Beloved, I ask, I plead that you will join me and many others as we seek God for the remainder of 2008. I know that if we do, God will heal the Land.
Love,
Bishop John D. Ritcheson
Your Servant in Christ
