Turn From

II Chronicles 7:14 

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 I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.

Turn from: To cause one to abandon, quit, disown, or be repelled or repulsed by someone or something. To move or cause to move in a different direction so as not to face something

We are living in a crucial time period. Our next move will determine a lot. We have prayed. We have fasted. We didn’t close the churches, we just moved to a different venue to deliver God’s word (online). We have adhered to somewhat of a shelter in place. We have somewhat followed the guidelines of the CDC, WHO, National, State and local officials. However, the above scripture highlight something that is the make or break of it all. The Word of God clearly states that after we have submitted to authorities, after we have prayed and prayed, after we have sought the face of God there is still one major thing we all must do. TURN FROM.

I personally think it is amazing how the Word of the Lord allow us to do the cute, simple things first and then The Word tells us that after we do all of those things we still must turn from our wicked ways.

To turn from something is not the same as to turn around. To turn around means we go back. But to turn from means to move in a different direction.

I was awaken early this morning as I do each morning, but I listened for the voice of God and this is what I heard. “I have heard all of the praying going on. I have watched as some try to be obedient. But what I’m looking for is a people that have made the commitment to turn from the same old wicked things they were doing before the pandemic started. A people whose heart is turned towards Me.”

Those things that I have witnessed are those things that took My children away from Me, those things that My children loved more than loving Me, those things that My children lusted for more than longing for Me, those things that became first priority before coming to church to worship Me, those things that ripped families apart, those things that turned school houses into war zones, those things that turned a nation that loved Me and put Me on their currency, that started their school days, their general assemblies, their sport arena events with prayer to now a nation I don’t recognize.

Before the virus we were a sinful nation, during the virus there has been a small change, but what will we do when God cleanse this earth of the virus? Will we “go back” to that sinful nation again? Will we go back to putting God on a dusty shelf and only turn to Him on Sunday? Will we go back to saying right is wrong and what’s wrong is now right(legal)? Will our homes go back(although some never stopped) to being unhealthy places for our children?

Hey guys if now is not the time to change there never will be. God is calling for His People again to turn from our wicked ways. He’s calling for a complete stop to all of the things He has not ordained. What happens next if America/this world does not “turn from” where she is now?

Well I am reminded of Sodom and Gomorrah found in Genesis 19th chapter. Two cities that forgot God and grew in sinful deeds. God being such a forgiving and merciful God searched the cities for people that loved Him, people that were striving daily to do what was right, but what He found were people that were caught up in their own lust, people that neglected the rules of right and wrong. So God destroyed these cities. The cities were not destroyed because God didn’t love them, but because the people did not love God.

Jeremiah tells of a sad time when the people displeased God because of their deeds. Jeremiah 44:22 says, “So the LORD could no longer endure the evil deeds and detestable acts you committed, and your land became a desolation, a horror, and an object of cursing, without inhabitant, as it is today.”

This right now is our turning point in time. The all merciful, all caring God is waiting on His people to turn back to Him. He has given an awakening alert to this world and He declares I Am, That I Am. He declares that if we turn from our wicked ways He will heal this land.

So let’s get it right. Let’s go home, get out of the streets, leave the parties, don’t go near the clubs, stop the large street/back yard gatherings, go home to truly seek God and turn from those old ways. We can not do business as usual. We have to change our mindset. This world will never be the same again. We must pick up the pieces from where we are now, turn from our old ways and seek after a relationship with God like we never have before. Just being a member of a church or singing in the choir is not enough. Seeking God is not a Sunday morning event. There must be a heart cleansing. We can’t go back to where we were. We have to cleanse our spirit. We can not become Sodom and Gomorrah. It’s now time to TURN FROM.