REALIGNED
Shaken #3
Pastor Brandon Cross
Woodland Church
Sunday, September 20, 2026
(2 Chronicles 7:12-18) “Then the Lord appeared to Solomon by night, and said to him: “I have heard your prayer, and have chosen this place for Myself as a house of sacrifice. When I shut up heaven and there is no rain, or command the locusts to devour the land, or send pestilence among My people, if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land. Now My eyes will be open and My ears attentive to prayer made in this place. For now I have chosen and sanctified this house, that My name may be there forever; and My eyes and My heart will be there perpetually. As for you, if you walk before Me as your father David walked, and do according to all that I have commanded you, and if you keep My statutes and My judgments, then I will establish the throne of your kingdom, as I covenanted with David your father, saying, ‘You shall not fail to have a man as ruler in Israel.’”
Main Idea:
Before we can adequately carry out our mission of making disciples by sharing the Gospel, living like Jesus, and serving our neighbors, we must make sure that we are aligned to what God expects of us, especially in difficult seasons, uncertainty and outright opposition.
QUESTION:
How does God expect His people to respond to chastening, judgment or sin?
1. Humility – Confess our weaknesses, wrong attitudes, and wrong priorities
(1 John 1:8, 10) “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.”
- Willingness
- Courage
- Gratitude
2. Pray – Communicating honestly with God through vocal or internal requests, confessions, and worship.
(1 John 1:9-10) “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
- Repent
- Seek His Face
3. Turn – Return to full devotion to God. We are to make His mission and glorifying Him in all areas of our lives our top priority.
- Decision – God designed us to have Freewill and leaves us the choice to obey or disobey His commands.
- Re-Prioritize our lives! (Matthew 6:19-21)
QUESTION:
How does God respond to our obedience?
1. God hears us
2. God forgives us
- The Finality of Forgiveness Hebrews 10 explains that Jesus’ sacrifice was so perfect that it never needs to be repeated.
- The Power to Change: The New Testament promises that the Holy Spirit lives inside believers, giving them the actual desire and power to “turn from wicked ways.”
3. God heals us
- From “Heal the Land” to “Heal the Soul”: The New Testament promises the cleansing of the conscience and freedom from the spiritual guilt of sin. (1 John 1:9)
- Context of this promise: God responds to humility and repentance with mercy and restoration in individual and communal lives.
It is time for us to be willing to take an objective look at our heart condition and our priorities to make sure that God’s mission is first and foremost.
Call to Action:
- Repent
- Reprioritize
- Rededicate