The Power Of "If"

I'm gonna invite you to stand with me one more time.

We're going to the book of Second Chronicles

chapter seven, verse 14.

Second Chronicles chapter seven, verse 14,

starting a new series called, If My People.

We are in a 21 days of prayer and fasting church.

And so we started this last week.

So I'm inviting everybody to join us in these 21 days

of consecration, prayer and fasting, amen.

And anytime we purpose in our heart to do this together

as a church individually,

we know that powerful things can happen.

And this particular verse has always been one

that has stuck out to me and is familiar to all of us.

It reads, If My People, someone say,

If My People who are called by my name

will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn.

Everyone say turn, turn from their wicked ways.

Then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin

and heal their land.

I have a very simple message today

that I've entitled, The Power of If.

I'm gonna invite you to pray with me.

Father, I thank you for what you're doing in this house.

Thank you God for the blessing

that we have to come together.

Oh, how sweet it is Lord, for the people of God

to come together under the banner of love,

under the banner of your name Lord,

to worship you God, to be fed of your word.

And I pray God that you would anoint my lips of clay.

You put your word in my heart that I might preach today

to edify, to encourage and if so God,

to challenge your people in Jesus name we pray.

Some would say amen.

Now you may be seated in the presence of God.

If is a powerful little word.

And when you stop to think about it,

every great thing begins with an if.

Every achievement from the Nobel Prize

to an Olympic medal begins with a what if.

What if, every dream from the building of great edifices

like the Statue of Liberty or the Empire State Building

to landing a man on the moon began with what if.

Every innovation in medicine, science, technology

begins with an if.

This little word pushes us to look beyond the status quo,

to believe for what could be and rarely has such a small word

held such great potential.

Without a doubt the word if can be the ultimate game changer.

It is the doorway to new beginnings.

It is the bridge from potential to reality

but most of all if is God's invitation to trust his word.

It's God's invitation to trust him and his word.

There are in the Bible over 1700 ifs.

Most of them are conditional conjunctions

on the front end of God's promises,

meaning that if we meet the condition

that God will deliver on his promises.

Someone say if, that's a powerful word today.

And all throughout scripture when we read that word if,

it invites us to call on God,

it invites us to trust him.

It's a conditional promise that if we will do something

then God will do something.

For example, Matthew chapter 17 verse 20,

Matthew 17:20

if you have faith as a mustard seed,

you will say to this mountain move from here to there

and it will move, amen.

If, someone say if, if we confess our sins,

he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins

and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

But it's only on if we confess.

For in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.

These are just a few of the many of the ifs

in the word of God.

That on the other side of these ifs

are the promises of mountains removed of sins forgiven.

Beyond these ifs, away a bountiful harvest.

And I have found and discovered in my heart

and my own life and my own reading and study of scripture,

my own observations of God's work in the lives of others,

I have come to realize that that word if,

it contains and on the other side of that if

is contains all the things that God wants to give us.

All that stands between us and greater things

is that small if.

Greater things is that small if.

And one of the things that I want to convey,

what I want to transfer into someone's heart today,

into your life and the simple message,

one of the things I want to transfer into your spirit

is to understand that God is willing,

God is willing to do all the things that he has outlined

and promised to do in his word.

I want you to understand that it's not the will of God

that any man should perish,

but that all should come to the knowledge of Jesus Christ.

That God wills to bless us,

that God wills to pour out his spirit.

He wills to manifest his glory and his power

with signs and wonders in our,

he wills to revive, he wills to restore,

he wills to do great in my,

it's never, I want you to understand that if,

it's never on God's end, if is always on our end.

If is not with God, but if is with us.

God wants to bless and he wants to move.

The only question that we must wrestle with today,

the only question that we must come to terms with today

is if I am willing to do my part

and if I am willing to go where God calls me to go

and if my people who are called by my name,

the question of if today is on us.

And I believe that as we look at the example,

there was one man who knew the power of if,

his name was Solomon, whom after the dedication

of the temple heard these words

that we have uttered time and time again.

Usually during times of consecration, prayer and fasting,

our spirits will lead us back

to this sacred verse in the Bible.

But this verse, this verse didn't just,

it wasn't just spoken in isolation.

This verse in 2 Chronicles 7, 14,

it wasn't just a standalone verse.

It is surrounded by a very important context

that we must realize today.

Seven years in the making of this temple,

Solomon constructed a temple for the Lord

like no other.

Its walls were lined with cedar

and overlaid with pure gold.

Its surfaces were adorned with intricate carvings

and its furnishings were crafted

with such profound reverence to God.

No expense was spared, no detail was left undone.

This was quite a magnificent edifice created for God.

This temple, unlike anything else,

people from all over the world came

to view this marvelous structure

that Solomon had built for the Lord.

And after his dedication with the aroma

of burnt offerings and the sounds of worship

still in the air, Solomon went back into his quarters

to rest, but he couldn't rest for too long

because he was soon awakened by the voice of God

who came into his quarters and began to speak to him.

If I can just pause here for one moment

and tell you that there is something about worship.

Anytime you give God worship

and your worship costs you something,

it will always draw the presence of God.

Oh, hallelujah, with somebody who knew

what I'm talking about here today.

When worship costs you something,

it will always invite the presence of God.

If you want more of God, then offer him

more sacrificial worship, hallelujah.

And Solomon had offered the offerings

and the sacrifices unto God.

And for many days they worshiped as a people

and they burnt these offerings

and the smell of the aroma of the sacrifices

just lingered in the air and it rested the attention of God.

And so as the last embers of the sacrifices

were glowing in the courtyard,

the Lord entered Solomon's room

and he began to share with him some things.

And he starts to define his relationship with his people.

And the most important thing that God wants Solomon to know

and what he wants us to know today

is that the promises of God are great

and his healing hand is great and his wonders are great.

But there is a little if that is in the middle of it all.

And he begins to paint this picture for Solomon.

He begins to show Solomon a very dark picture at first.

And I invite you to read with me the preceding verse

in verse 13 because it is a grim situation

that God paints for Solomon.

It is a state that feels desolate,

hopeless and unpromising.

In verse 13, he says, the Lord says,

"'When I shut up heaven and there is no rain

"'or command the locusts to devour the land

"'or send pestilence among my people.'"

Solomon is hearing God tell him,

he's hearing the Lord say,

"'Solomon, there is a condition, there is such a thing

"'as a dark and desperate reality.

"'There are things that I will allow to happen

"'and these things could happen as a result of sin,

"'as a result of my people turning their backs on me,

"'as a result of idolatry, as a result of rebellion,

"'as a result that there are many things

"'or just purely as a test of your faith.'"

There are many reasons why one could end up

in the picture that God paints in verse 13.

He doesn't give all the context,

he just says, when is when?

He doesn't say when is, he just says,

"'When I shut up heaven.'"

And basically he describes a famine,

he describes sickness with pestilence

and all manner of problems.

He describes these things.

And what I wanna tell you today about the power of if

is that if is the starting point.

And that starting point is often a place

where we wouldn't think God would move, hallelujah.

It is easy to overlook the need for if

when everything is going good.

It is easy to overlook the need for if

in times of great times and prosperity and health and wealth.

But it's in those times of great trial

that that little word, that two letter word if

becomes a lifeline for our lives.

And it starts at the bottom.

What I want you to understand

is that if does not start on the mountain,

but that little word if starts in the valley.

That concept of if doesn't start when everything

is going good, but it starts when your chips are down

and the odds are against you

and you feel like you're being backed into a corner

and you feel like you don't understand.

That's where the power of if is realized.

And that gives me great consolation today

that when God starts painting the picture,

he does a start with lilies and roses and mountain tops

and beautiful seashores, but he starts in an ugly place.

He starts in a place that for me

and my wife I would never want to be.

He starts in a place that nobody would want to experience

with sickness and with problems and with disease

and with famine, but I've come to tell somebody today

that that's where the work of God always begins.

Hallelujah.

It begins in places you would never imagine.

It begins in situations you would never fathom.

It begins in places where you feel hope is all,

but hope is lost.

I came to encourage somebody today

that if you find yourself in a place like that,

you are a candidate for an if revival.

You are a candidate to see the miraculous hand of God.

You are a recipient of what God can do.

So I encourage you to do like the Psalmist said,

I will lift my head to the hills.

Lift up your eyes to the hills

and see where your help comes from today.

Can somebody clap your hands

and let's give God a praise this afternoon.

Hallelujah.

If begins in the valley, not on the mountain.

If begins in the valley of dry bones.

Hello, Ezekiel.

Can these bones live?

Oh, hallelujah.

If somebody say if.

It begins in the lions then.

Hello, Daniel.

It begins in the pig's pen.

Just ask the prodigal son.

It begins in the Philippian jail cell.

Just ask the apostle Paul.

Let me bring it home for somebody this afternoon

in this place or watching on live stream.

If begins with the cancer diagnosis.

Oh, hallelujah.

It begins with a negative prognosis.

If begins with a wayward child.

It begins in a financial struggle.

It begins with a mental health crisis.

It begins in drug addiction.

It begins in a sin sick world.

I've come to tell somebody,

don't you ever underestimate the power of an if

because even if everything is coming against you,

even if everything may be falling apart

and your world is caving in,

I've got news for you and I got news for the devil.

If I've got an if in my spirit,

that's all that I need

because my God has got the final say

and the final word.

Is there a believer in the house of God today?

That's what I believe.

That's what I believe.

That's what I see time and time again.

You see, people want miracles

but they don't wanna be in a place that necessitates one.

We wanna see blind eyes open

and the deaf speak and the mute hear

and we wanna see the greatness of God

and the manifestations of signs and wonders

and that's wonderful.

I wanna see that too.

And everybody wants a resurrection

but nobody wants a tomb.

But you can't have a resurrection without a tomb.

Whew, my God.

We want revival, that's great

but we don't wanna be around any dead things.

And the only way to have a revival

is you gotta get around dead things

or allow whatever it is that God is allowing in your life

to have its full effect.

I want you to understand the power of if today

and what faith is really all about.

Faith is like a seed.

It won't sprout until it's buried in dirt.

Ooh, hallelujah.

Can I say it like this?

Everybody wants to grow.

Somebody say, I wanna grow.

The problem is no one wants to be buried.

Man, we could just stop right there, brother.

Hallelujah.

Oh my God.

Everybody wants to grow.

And when we think about growth, we think about,

I'm going to another level.

Yeah, but before you go to another level,

you gotta get some dirt put on you a little bit.

That seed's not gonna germinate,

it's not gonna grow and sprout until you get buried.

I dare you to ask that seed,

hey seed, how do you feel being down there

underneath all of that soil and dirt?

And that seed would have an honest conversation with you

and say, well, since you asked, it's kind of lonely down here.

It's kind of dark down here.

It's kind of dirty down here.

It doesn't feel very good down here.

But oh, there's an if in my spirit

that tells me everything is gonna be all right.

Somebody shout hallelujah.

Somebody shout hallelujah.

Woo, I wanna grow, but don't bury me, God.

Don't put no dirt on me.

Oh Lord, but if you're gonna grow,

then you gotta be in a place where growth can happen.

And oftentimes that's where the dirt gets put on you.

That's where it gets dark.

That's where it gets dirty.

And that's where God does his best work.

And that's where God, his handiwork is seen

and put on display.

That's where the power of if is realized.

Woo, I can keep going on and on.

I can give you more examples.

I could talk about the Good Samaritan

and how the Levite and the priest,

they both missed their revival.

Why?

Because they didn't wanna get their hands dirty.

Woo, my God.

They didn't wanna get down to where this guy was

and say, man, I don't know, man.

You know, that's kind of funky over there.

I don't think I, I don't got time for that.

But it was the Good Samaritan,

the one that nobody else would expect,

the half breed, if you will,

that went down and served

and brought this man back to life

and then paid whatever was due

so that he can sit up in that hotel

wherever he was at.

And it cost him,

but he had to risk his reputation.

He had to risk everything.

He had to roll up his sleeves.

He had to get down in the dirt

where no one else would go.

And that's where God is calling his people.

If you want revival, then get around folks who need reviving.

If you want growth and allow the dirt to cover,

that's where if is realized.

That's the starting point.

There's a lot of things we can do to grow,

to enhance ourselves.

And all these things could be wonderful and great,

increase our knowledge, information.

Hey, you can download just about anything now and then.

But there are certain things that can only be understood,

that can only be realized in the valley.

And God tells,

he tells his servant,

he tells his servant,

Solomon, Solomon,

everything you've done for me, son, is beautiful.

I mean, I'm here because of what you did.

I wouldn't have showed up

if you didn't worship me the way you did.

But I've got to paint this picture for you, Solomon.

You need to understand,

it's not all gonna be peaches and cream, son.

It's not all gonna be good times.

It's not all gonna be,

there may be for whatever sovereign reason it is,

you may find yourself with that pestilence

and with those problems in the world around you may darken.

But, but if, someone say if.

And if, if is not only a starting point,

but it's a turning point.

Whew, Jesus.

That's all I came to preach today,

is that if it's a starting point

and it's also a turning point.

After the grim reality of verse 13 sat in,

I mean, I don't know how you would feel if you were Solomon,

God shows up to your room, starts talking,

and then he starts saying,

yeah, I'm gonna shut up the heavens

and it's gonna get bad.

Well, I don't know if I want this message.

Lord, that's not what I want to hear,

but it gets better.

After that grim reality of drought and pestilence,

the Lord revealed the power of if to shift the momentum

in that next verse, which we all love

and which we all have heard and read.

If my people who are called by my name

will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn

from their wicked ways, Solomon.

Look, there's gonna be times where it is gonna get bad,

either in your house or around your house.

There's gonna be moments where the heavens

are gonna shut up, there's gonna be sickness,

there's gonna be problems, yes, there will be, Solomon,

but if my people, I'm not gonna leave you comfortless,

I'm not gonna leave you without a lifeline,

I'm not gonna leave you nor forsake you, Solomon,

it might look bad, but I'm throwing a little if your way,

that's all right, hallelujah.

I've got an if for you, Solomon,

that if my people who are called by my name

would just humble themselves and pray,

and he tells them something that is very important about if,

because lest anyone think that I came to preach today

about wishful thinking, lest anyone think I came

just to talk about having a positive attitude

or just being an optimist,

that's not what I'm talking about here today.

It's not just about having good intentions,

about just having a dream or a personal goal.

If you're really gonna unlock the power of if in your life,

then you've gotta make a decision in your heart.

Gotta make a decision, it's not just an intention.

Good intentions are nice, they're important,

but good intentions are not good enough.

Intentions don't change anything.

I wish things would change, well, why don't we if my people?

I wish things were different,

well, you don't just have to wish that they are,

we can make a difference, hallelujah.

And that's what a complete turnaround looks like.

And that's my friend church, that's what repentance is.

God defines the terms for solemnities.

He says, if you wanna get yourself out of this,

this is what it's gonna take.

If you wanna see a change, then this is what is required.

You've got to turn, hallelujah.

You've got to turn, and this is where people get stuck.

Lord, I thought if I just called on you,

everything would be all right.

Yes, that's where it starts, you call on me,

but you've gotta turn, someone say turn.

And there are three turns,

I wanna point out before I close my message today.

There are three turns of a turnaround.

Very simply, this is simple, but very important.

And the first turn is a turn from self, amen.

Here they are, three turns of a turnaround.

Solomon, if you want things to change,

let me give you the secret.

You've got to turn from self, number one.

He said, humble, he said, will they humble themselves?

Let me tell you something today,

nothing will change unless we first humble ourselves.

Humble ourselves before the Lord.

I'm not talking about a superficial humility.

I'm not talking about fake humility.

I'm talking about truly humbling ourselves before God,

humbling ourselves before his word,

humbling ourselves before the authorities that God has over us.

I'm talking about true submission and humility before God.

And if we will do that, the Lord said,

you have done the first turn.

You need to humble yourself.

Humbling yourself is not walking around

with your head hanging low and the bottom lip,

you're almost tripping on it

because you're so sad and humble.

Man, she's so humble, look at her, man.

She just looks depressed over there, man.

She's super humble.

No, that's not what humility is.

Humility is not walking around looking sad

with your head hanging low.

No, humility is not what humility is.

Humility is the posture of your heart.

Humility is saying God is deserving of all the glory.

Humility is saying, you know, is denying myself

and picking up my cross.

Humility is saying God is in control.

Humility is denying myself what it craves.

That's why we're in a time of prayer and fasting.

That's why we're consecrating.

We're humbling ourselves before God.

We're denying ourselves whether it's sleep or whether it's food

or whether it's media, whatever it is,

we are denying our flesh what it wants

so that we can surrender to God.

Somebody give the Lord some praise here this afternoon.

Come on and clap your hands.

Oh, God, help us to humble ourselves.

Humble ourselves is to submit to Him.

And so many people miss their if moments in God

because they won't humble themselves.

I tell you, if you don't humble yourself,

God will humble you.

God will exalt the humble

and He will humble the exalted.

Humble yourself under the mighty hand of God

and He will raise you up in due time.

Turn.

The second turn is you got to turn to God.

Turn to God.

He said, pray and seek my face.

To seek God's face is an invitation

to an intimate relationship with Him.

It is an invitation to know Him.

The face of God represents an encounter with God.

He did not say seek my hands, seek my arms.

He said, seek my face.

Seek a face-to-face relationship with me.

It reminds me of the relationship

that Moses had with the Lord.

The Bible says that He would speak to him face to face

as a man speaks to his friend.

Too often we only focus on the hands of God.

Oh, what's God going to give me?

What's in it for me?

What am I going to get out of this?

Well, God is bringing us to a place

where it's not about what I'm going to get out of this.

No, God wants us to seek Him

for the pleasure of knowing Him alone,

where He is our reward.

Can we ever get to...

I think this is the high water mark of the Christian life.

God, if you never bless me again,

if I have your presence, I have everything I need.

God, if I don't get that raise that I want,

if I don't get that new contract if I'm looking for it,

if I don't get the house that I've always wanted,

if I don't get the stuff that I think I need,

if things don't kind of go according to my...

But if I have your presence, God,

if I know you like Paul said,

that I may know Him in the power of His resurrection

and in the fellowship of His suffering,

that's all that I want.

I count it all as loss that I may gain Him.

Is there somebody here today with a heart for God

that says, no matter what, Lord,

the most important thing I want is you?

God is calling us to seek Him, to turn to God.

Someone say, turn to God.

Turn to God.

I need to turn to Him.

And as I get ready to close, listen,

there is not just a turning from self

and a turning to God, but there is a turning from sin.

He said, turn, my people who are called by my name

will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn.

Can I tell you that the power of if

hinges heavily on whether we turn from self to God

and from sin, from their wicked ways?

God, help us.

If is powerless without genuine repentance.

That's why this is not just a name and inclaimant message.

Hallelujah.

It's not just a God wants to make you rich kind of message.

No, no, no.

God is not a vending machine, my friend,

where you can just punch in certain things

and get what you need.

God is spirit and He wants to be known,

but He is also a Holy Spirit.

He is the Holy Ghost.

Amen.

And the path to Him is a path of self denial,

turning from self and from our wicked ways.

How does one effectively turn from sin?

A lot of people are struggling to turn from sin these days,

wicked ways, and you say, why is that?

One of the reasons the Lord showed me is that

they're just focused on what not to do.

It's not just, let me tell you something.

Making a decision against something

is only half the battle.

Making a decision for what you're not going to do

is only half the battle.

The other half of the battle is making a decision for something.

The reason why some folks are struggling,

maybe with a sin or an area that just can't,

is because all your focus is just on not doing that,

and that's fine.

But there also has to be a focus on

not just what I'm not doing,

but what I am doing.

Paul said, do not walk according to the flesh.

But he didn't stop there.

He said, but according to the Spirit.

It's not just a matter of what you're not doing.

Some people keep sinning because they're just trying hard not to sin.

That's not enough.

You can do nothing wrong and still do nothing right.

Oh, my God.

You can do nothing wrong and still not be doing nothing right.

I'm not doing this and I'm not doing that.

That's part of it.

But the other part is turning to God.

I don't just want to be known for what I'm against.

I want to be known for what I'm for.

I don't just want to be, oh, my God,

living a life where I don't sin.

I need to be pursuing.

I need to seek Him.

Would you stand with me this afternoon?

God is waiting on our humility.

He's waiting on our willingness to seek Him.

He's waiting on someone to believe in the power of if.

But that if, oh, Hallelujah.

The only way to unlock the power of if is if we will turn.

Turn from my ways doing things.

How many of you know that His ways are not our ways?

How many of you know His thoughts are above ours?

And so sometimes turning away from myself and my ways is exactly that.

It's turning from what I think and what I know and trusting in Him.

And in this season of consecration,

in this hour we are drawing close to God, church,

the hour of seeking His will, His direction,

this is what God has prescribed for us to do.

I don't know about you, but there are some promises.

I invite you right there where you are.

If you just want to begin to pray, I invite you to close your eyes.

I feel the presence of God.

I feel God is moving in this moment right now.

Hala bobo yosham dala maya sheek alayah.

Oh, God, there have been some if moments that God is showing us.

There have been some if moments that God has showed us.

God showed us an if moment last Sunday.

This place was filled.

There was souls, almost 60 souls, men and women and children that were here.

And God showed me a what if moment.

I saw an if right before me,

but then I realized that this is just a glimpse of what God can do.

But the real question is not whether God wants to do it because He does,

but if my people, God, would humble themselves

and will they pray, will they turn from their wicked ways,

then what you saw is just a foreshadow of what I'm getting ready to do in your life.

What you see in part is going to be a reality in your life.

I wonder if there's somebody here today that's got some ifs in your family,

some ifs in your heart, some ifs in your life,

that if we will call on Him and if we will turn to Him,

if we will lift our hands in worship, if we will lift our hearts in prayer,

if we will call upon Him while He is near,

if we will call upon Him in this moment,

if God will not turn His hand and climb His ear to us and begin to move,

is there somebody in this place right now that can join me in calling upon the Lord,

that can join me in lifting our hearts in worship right now?

I invite you, come on, I invite somebody right now.

I invite you right there.

If you want to make an altar, make one right now.

If you want to make an altar, make one today.

There are some things we've got to lay down at an altar.

There are some things we've got to lay down before God

and say, here it is, Lord, I'm trusting in you, God.

I have your way in my life.