Recently I watched a world-famous “conservative, evangelical, Christian” minister explain to a television talk shop host, himself an ordained minister, what the United States needed do so that God would deliver her from the current mess in which she finds herself.  With few exceptions, when the Almighty is mentioned relative to the nation’s problems, Second Chronicles 7:14 is put forth as the solution.  This incidence was no exception.  For the sake of clarity, I will quote the passage for it is indeed the solution to any problem: “If My people, who are called by My name, will humble themselves, pray, seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, forgive their sins and heal their land.”  Here we find the Lord stating in no uncertain terms that this formula is THE key to having all of the nation’s problems resolved.  He was referring specifically to the nation that proclaims in bold letters on its currency that it is “One Nation Under God” and that it trusts in that God.  Unfortunately, two lies do not equal one Truth.

The famous evangelist, following in the steps of thousands of other famous ministers, quoted the Lord’s promise of deliverance which is recorded in 2 Chronicles 7:14.  However, as is ALWAYS the case, a specific part of verse 14 was intentionally omitted.  Ironically, the missing portion is the most important part of the passage.  Without it the rest of the verse is meaningless.  I have found that when preachers proclaim the verse, the previous verse is also omitted.  Verse 13 explains why the problem exists.  This never-mentioned verse is equally as important as verse 14.  Unless verse 13 and the missing parts of verse 14 are addressed by those who are called by God’s name, help from Him will not arrive, which is the case 99% of the time.  We will now examine the deliberately omitted parts of God’s stated solution to all of man’s individual and national problems.  We will begin with verse 13.  One will notice that, whenever His formula is voiced by church people, one will not hear the verse in which He states: “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 (disease/sickness) AMONG MY PEOPLE ….”  The church community rejects that verse.  They rely solely on verse 14, or at least part of it.  When hearing verse 14 quoted church people inevitably do not hear the Lord’s commands to “… HUMBLE THEMSLEVES, SEEK MY FACE AND TURN FROM THEIR WICKED WAYS, THEN ….” He would hear their prayers, forgive their sins and solve their national problem(s).  He goes on in verse 15 to say that, upon His commands being obeyed, He would (then) open His eyes to the people’s plight, hear their prayers and answer them.

Predictably, this “minister of righteousness,” on orders from the “angel of light” (2 Cor. 11:13-15) proclaimed to the world the religiously correct version of God’s solution for national healing.  As I listened to the false prophet’s well-rehearsed, oft-quoted mantra I imagined multitudes of church people nodding and resolving to do exactly what they have been told to do time and time again, each time to no avail.  Why?  Because in every case, what their leaders tell them to do and what God commands them to do are two totally different things.  And being ignorant of God’s Word, they do not know the difference.  Let us now examine those differences and determine WHY THE PRAYERS OF CHURCH PEOPLE ARE RARELY, IF EVER ANSWERED.  And in those extremely rare occasions in which the Lord answers a prayer, it is not because of them, but rather in spite of them.

First, let us once again determine why every personal, national, and global problem exists, why the world’s people must be continually dealing with such things as war, sickness, drought, flooding, excessing heat, excessive cold, tornadoes, hurricanes, earthquakes, tsunamies, volcanic eruptions,  disease epidemics and pandemics, billions spent on cures, desperate attempts to find new cures as germs and viruses evolve and mutate, economic and military threats from foreign nations, millions of hungry, diseased, lawless people flooding across the nation’s borders, the national administration inviting rest of the world’s needy to join them and consume what the nation’s citizens have worked for.  Why do such things continue to happen to this nation which claims to be unified under the Biblical God in Whom she claims to trust?  Verse 13 answers the question: HER GOD IS CURSING HER.  But why does He continually curse her when He created her to be blessed and to be a blessing to the world?  He explains in verses 19,21,22.

“… if you turn away from My statutes and My commandments and forsake them …. this house (nation), which is highly blessed, will become an astonishment to all who watch its downfall.  They will ask, ‘Why has the Lord done so to this land and to these people?’  And the answer will come: ‘Because they have forsaken the Lord God of their fathers ….'”  As I have often proven Scripturally, this nation’s exodus away from the Lord and His Word has at its leader the Institutional Church–Catholicism/Protestantism.  AS GOES THE CHURCH, SO GOES THE NATION.  The church long ago rejected God’s Word.  She and the nation she leads are suffering the consequences.  The law of sowing and reaping is being displayed at this very moment.

With 2 Chronicles 7:13-22 plainly written in red, why do religious leaders deliberately and repeatedly leave out the most important parts of the promise God made to His people who are called by His name, not only in the United States, but wherever they exist on earth?  We will answer that question one word at a time.

“Humble”– “Pride comes before destruction and a haughty spirit before the fall” (Prov. 16:18).  God’s admonition against pride is proclaimed 49 times in the Holy Scriptures.  Pride is the act of self-exaltation–placing oneself before God–which is idolatry.  There is only one cure for pride as stated by the Apostle Paul in a letter to Timothy the Evangelist: “All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for DOCTRINE, for REPROOF, for CORRECTION, for instruction in RIGHTEOUSNESS” (2 Tim. 3:16).  Having knowledge of, believing and obeying the Holy Scriptures is the only cure for pride/idolatry.  The cure begins with knowledge of God’s Word.  I can attest to the fact that to suggest that a church person does not know the Bible is to invite instant and permanent rejection.

Paul’s statement concerning the Lord’s Truth reveals that many in the church do not know God’s “doctrine” and therefore need to be taught it.  Proving this Truth Scripturally does not make for a pleasant situation because God’s doctrine always contradicts church doctrine.  There is no pleasant way to say, “You are wrong.”  The words hurt, for an ego wound has been inflicted.  And when the wounded person is a bastion of the church ….  Paul noted that following the initial wounding, Scriptural proof is necessary.

Presenting “reproof” is simply proving to someone that they are wrong.  Reproof is not appreciated, especially by the more religious.  This ministry is basically a 2 Timothy 3:16 undertaking.  My ministry to church people begins with rejection of their church doctrine, which is followed by reproof using the Holy Scriptures.  Needless to say, I am never invited to preach in Satan’s church system.  Note that in Paul’s letter to Timothy, following reproof comes another equally hated word: “correction.”

“Doctrine” tells one that he is wrong–creating a wound to the ego.  “Reproof” tells him how he is wrong–pouring salt into the wound.  Having shown such a one the error of his ways using the Scriptures, one now must use those Scriptures to correct his doctrine–adding alcohol to the salt.  As with doctrine and reproof, correction is invariably met with hostility.  Correction is routinely rejected with the all too familiar mantra: “But that’s not what I was always taught.”  I have found that 99% of the time, tradition trumps Scripture.

Though the aforementioned use of the Holy Scriptures produces negative responses, nothing can equal the vitriol that results when one is told that they must receive “instruction in holiness,” meaning that they must obey God’s word–all of it.  The response one usually hears goes something like this: “Human experience proves that no one can obey the Bible; no one can be holy.  Jesus died so that we wouldn’t have to obey it.  He became our holiness on the cross.  Besides, the Old Testament was done away with.  The Law was nailed to the cross.”  As the preacher on television assured the nation and the world, all we need to do is accept Jesus as our Savior.  He and others of his ilk make it abundantly clear that there is no need to include verse 13 and the rejected parts of verses 14,21,22 of 2 Chronicles 7 because Jesus died on the cross to make those harsh words null and void.  Read The Message of the Cross.  Key word–Message.  L.J.