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Reverend Nelson begins by expressing gratitude for the opportunity to minister, having come to thank the congregation for their kindness during a family's time of loss. He shares that the Lord impressed upon his heart a specific word for the body of Christ—a message that has been dormant in his spirit for some time, and he prays it will transform those who hear it.
"God has a standard," Reverend Nelson emphasizes. "God will not change to please you nor me." He expresses concern that the modern church has become too comfortable compromising God's standards. We cannot do what we like when we like and expect God to accept it. The standards of Scripture—not personal preference, not the word of any minister, but what the anointed messenger and God's Word say—must be upheld.
This foundation sets the stage for understanding the sermon's central theme: God's expectation for His people to return to foundational obedience and holiness.
Reverend Nelson draws on the example of David, whom God called "a man after my own heart." Why did God say this? Because David was honest. When confronted with his sin, David did not argue or make excuses. He simply acknowledged: "It is I." He took responsibility.
Many of us, by contrast, refuse to acknowledge our faults. We argue instead of repenting. This refusal to acknowledge sin prevents us from receiving God's blessing. David was a great warrior for God and desired to build a special place for the Lord, but God told him, "No—too much blood is on your hands." Instead, God appointed Solomon, David's son, to build the house of the Lord.
Solomon followed God's instructions perfectly. When he finished the temple, he prayed to the Lord, and these prayers contained a pattern we must understand today.
Solomon requested that God would hear his people when they repent of sin. He prayed about drought—the absence of rain—which is caused by sin. Reverend Nelson explains the significance: "When there is no rain and everything starts to die, everything starts to wither. Water is a substance of life."
Water also represents the Holy Spirit. Without the Holy Spirit, the church withers spiritually. Solomon built according to God's exact design and could therefore appeal to God: "I have done what You commanded. You gave me a drawing, and I followed it to the letter. Therefore, hear me."
The critical principle emerges: When you follow what God says to the letter, you can approach God with confidence. When you follow God, you can say, "God, I have done this," and God will hear and answer.
Solomon prayed many prayers, asking God to respond when His people repent. "Sin causes every destruction we see—from top to bottom. When fathers and children fall out, it is sin. When wife and husband fall out, it is sin." The Bible declares: "The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord."
Reverend Nelson directs the congregation to 2 Chronicles 7:11-13, where God responds to Solomon's prayer:
"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 affected. And the Lord appeared to Solomon by night and said unto him, I have heard your prayer. I have chosen this place to myself for a house of sacrifice."
God heard Solomon's prayer. However, God then speaks a word that applies directly to the church today:
"If I shut up the heavens and there is no rain, or if I command the locust to destroy the land, or if I send pestilence among the people..."
Reverend Nelson pauses and asks pointedly: "Can you see? Can you see? Or would you agree that there is no rain?" He challenges the congregation to look into the churches and observe: Are we witnessing the move of the Holy Spirit as we once did? Do people enter the sanctuary so convicted by the Spirit that they run to the altar before the sermon even begins?
Reverend Nelson expresses deep concern about the spiritual temperature of the church. He recalls hearing from Pastor Sterling that he was brought into a church of "joy and happiness." But when Reverend Nelson was younger and entered the church, "you felt something unusual because there were people there who were praying and seeking God."
Today, we have forgotten how to sacrifice for the Lord. We cannot come to church because we are tired from work. We work ourselves to the bone. Yet the Bible commands: "Don't neglect gathering yourself together." God gives us 24 hours each day for our business. How much time do we give Him?
Compare the church today with years past. Those who have been in church for 40 or 50 years can testify: We are not seeing the joy of the Lord as our strength anymore. We are not seeing people lifting holy hands in praise. Instead, we have become concerned with appearance—how we look, how we dress—yet God is concerned with the state of the heart.
"The church is not firing on all six cylinders anymore," Reverend Nelson says. "It's a six-cylinder engine, and we're not firing on six. We're firing on four. Sometimes three. Sometimes not at all."
Reverend Nelson emphasizes a critical truth: Unless the Holy Spirit is speaking through you, your words are not effective. It takes the Holy Spirit to convict people of sin. You can be as eloquent as you like, as affluent and impressive as you wish, but "unless the Holy Spirit is speaking through you, your words are not effective. It takes the Holy Spirit to speak to the heart—to go beyond the mind and touch the heart of man to make the difference."
Because the church is no longer praying as it ought, and we are not spending time together as the people of God should, we have lost the spiritual power that once characterized us. We have become too concerned with things that are not spiritual. God is calling us back.
Reverend Nelson directs attention to the condition God places on blessing. God says:
"If my people who 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."
This is not directed at unbelievers. This is directed at the church—at those who are called by God's name. God is not speaking to people who have not committed their lives to Christ. He is speaking to us—to ministers, deacons, officers, members, and all those who are saved and love the Lord.
God stipulates several conditions:
First, "Humble themselves." This does not mean becoming a doormat or allowing people to walk over you. It means being humble before God and humble with your brethren. "We are too proud in ourselves," Reverend Nelson observes. "We are too upstarted. We speak harshly to one another. We are not very nice. But as Christians, we ought to be different."
Second, "Pray." Many say, "I pray. I get up in the morning and thank God for the night." But the shortest prayer is just that. Jesus demonstrated the power of brief, sincere prayer: "Lazarus, come forth," and a man dead for four days came forth. It is not the length of your words; it is the strength and honesty of your words. It is the heart that speaks that makes the difference.
Third, "Seek My face." Some argue, "Brother Nelson, I fast often. I fast five days, ten days. I'm always praying. We're always preaching. We're doing everything the Bible says." Yet Reverend Nelson identifies the missing element: There has got to be a turning.
Reverend Nelson stresses repeatedly: You can pray as much as you want. You can fast as much as you want. But God is not primarily concerned about the volume of your prayers and fasts. God is concerned about the turning—the change of heart.
"The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much," he quotes. But the church is no longer engaging in real prayer—in warring prayer. "The spirits we are dealing with now, brethren, we can't pray the other prayer. You need the Holy Ghost to take you into prayer. The force of hell we're dealing with today—nobody wants to hear any name but Jesus."
Yet the Bible declares: "At the name of Jesus every knee shall bow, every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father."
What is God saying to us this morning? There has got to be a turning point. When we turn, when we stop compromising, when we see sin and deal with sin in the church, we will see change.
Reverend Nelson addresses a word specifically to ministers of the gospel: There is a responsibility God has laid on every leader. "Your job is to be looking—not just with the natural eye, but with the spiritual eye—to see where we're at. And when we see sin, sin must be dealt with."
"Spirits don't die," he warns. "And all that spirit is waiting for somebody else to jump onto." Therefore, sin in the camp must be addressed.
God is saying to His church: "The rain that I want to pour out, I cannot give it because there is sin in the camp." You might protest, "Well, Reverend Nelson, I'm not the one with sin." But if God says sin is in the camp, then somewhere along the line something needs to be brought into focus. Somewhere, we need to see that something has gone wrong.
Reverend Nelson observes the fragmentation of the church. "This is my church. This is my pulpit." But this attitude is wrong. It is not your pulpit. It is God's pulpit, temporarily placed in your care. You have no right to make a claim on it. It belongs to Him.
The church is built on one foundation: Jesus Christ. Until all believers come to the knowledge of the truth and preach the same thing, we remain divided. "Nobody wants to preach about sin anymore. Nobody wants to preach about holy living. Without holiness, no man, no woman, no boy, no girl will see the Lord."
Reverend Nelson laments: "We have come to a place where everybody wants to hear a nice sermon. 'Tell me how God will give me money. Tell me how God will do this for me.' And the most important factor we leave out."
Jesus taught: "Don't lay treasures up on earth, where wrath and moths can destroy them. But lay treasures in heaven."
"Jesus is coming soon," Reverend Nelson declares. "Oh, I've heard it for 50, 60 years. Read your Bible. Check what the Bible says. Look at the time we are in. Redeem the time. He's not far away. We need to wake up and see what is happening around us."
God is calling us to repentance, to a turning around. We must let go of criticism, hatred, and backbiting. We must release all the things we know are hindering us from going forward.
"The pastor, your pastor, can't help you," Reverend Nelson says plainly. "He can preach the Word of God and remind you of what the Word is saying, but at the end of the day, the choice is yours. The choice is mine. Choose ye this day whom you will serve."
God is reminding us that the harvest is plenty, but the laborers are few. He calls to ministers, deacons, officers, members—all those who are saved and love the Lord—saying, "Turn. Look at yourself. See where you are. Turn around. Come back into focus."
With all the praying, with all the fasting, with all the preaching, if you don't turn, if I don't turn, if we don't see where we have gone wrong, nothing will change. Each person knows his own transgression.
"Many people don't like to hear raw preaching about sin," Reverend Nelson acknowledges. "But brethren, sin is facing us 24/7. But by the grace of God, if you want to make heaven, if we want to make heaven, then we must hear what God is saying to us, and we will turn."
The only way we will see the water, the rain, and see blessing come back into the church is when we turn from our sins, turn from the things we're doing. We think little things don't matter, but it's the little things that build up and cause the problem.
Reverend Nelson's promise: "If you sincerely ask the Lord, brethren, I guarantee you He will do it." But remember—it is not the prayer, brethren. It is the turning. Until we turn, we will not see a change.
Reverend Nelson closes with a passionate appeal: "May God change your hearts, my heart—hearts that we turn and do things that please Him. Read this lovely book not like a story book but with prayer. God will hear. God will answer, and we will see a difference in the body of Christ."
"May God bless us. May we take heed to the Word of God. Jesus is coming soon. Believe me. Be strong in the Lord. Change our ways. Search our lives and make the changes necessary. And God will bless us, and we will see others being blessed in Jesus's name."
