What If? | Critical Thinking Ministry

welcome welcome to critical thinking Ministry thank you for tuning in I'm not going to belabor the time um the Lord laid it on my heart to give this message to my ctm family and so I don't want to waste any time because it's going to be uh about a 30 minute presentation so I want to get right into it I'll be reading today out of the book of 2 Chronicles the 7th chapter uh verse 14 it's a familiar one but I think it is so timely it reads If my people which are called by my name shall humble themselves in 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 land that is a familiar passage of scripture and today I want to talk with you with a thought of what if on one hand I readily admit it is somewhat of an incomplete thought and on the other it is an inom question but regardless of the grammatical deficiency if you are serious about life about doing better about being your best whether you consider it a question or a thought everyone at some point in their lives will be forc to confront what if you think about it what if comes in all shapes and sizes and your what if may not actually be the same as someone else's for someone else who is just starting out in life and they're finding themselves tossed between one bad job and another bad job and while you're on this job with no future in sight something hits you and you say to yourself what if I had studied in school like I should have what if I would have listened to the teacher like I should have instead of playing dice in the back of the class or daydreaming about being in a Beyond say video what if I can go to any prison in America and all of them are filled with what else what if I have actually chosen better friends listen to my parents gone to church like They begged me would I be serving 25 years to life like I am now H what about those get up in age and you're starting to reflect again you are forced to confront what if I had moved maybe to a different city what if I had surrounded myself with different types of people would my life have turned out differently oh well we will never know because some things in life if you don't get it right the first time it's hard to recover and it's very hard to rebound and once you are in that situation now becomes you whether you know it or not you now have become known by that situation you're no longer known by your name but you are now a 30-year-old dude with three other roommates because you all didn't prepare you're no longer the name your mother gave you but you're are now inmate 765 323 what about those who are unequally

yolked with the wrong partner you were actually once considered most likely to succeed but now you find yourself spinning your wheels because you are not living up to your potential dealing with the wha ifs on life is not a new phenomenon the entire history of the nation of Israel could be summed up in two words what if you look at it the historical setting of the text today is centered around the rule and reign of Solomon it is more specifically s centered around Solomon's rule when he was at his spiritual best H all of us know Solomon's life was not a dull one not indeed not with 700 wives and 300 concubines I'm not going to touch that one help me out married men no indeed it was not Dull life was marked by a series of spiritual highs and unfortunately several lows Solomon's life was really if you think about it was like yours and mine his life displays the best and worst of the human condition on one hand he was a well of knowledge and then on the other he was a fountain of foolishness now Scholars tell us the Book of Proverbs testifies to his wisdom and the Book of Ecclesiastes testifies to his foolishness but in spite of his shortcomings God allowed him to build the temple anyhow you know when you read the Bible it becomes santly clear if God wants to accomplish anything through us he has to do it in spite of our imperfections yep I said it I know you've been told you're perfect but guess what Solomon was imperfect Abraham was imperfect Noah was imperfect all of the disciples were imperfect and guess what so are we and it is at this time in history there was a great excitement in the land of Israel Over the completion of the temple this Temple was breathtaking it was furnished with nothing less than the best the priest had been instructed to bring the Ark of the Covenant and now all that was left was the service of dedication now to put it in context at the service of dedication God lays out some ground rules the Lord says 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 will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and heal their land h what a beautiful Proclamation let me start with the word if now the word if is such an interesting word on so many levels on one level it's a small word only two letters but on another it has big implications the Theologian monkman says of the word if it's the difference between a dream and reality it's being so close and yes so far so much potential so much promise but always coming up short he goes on to say if is the quintessential cat and mouse game of Life One is always chasing the

other although I readly admit I do agree with monkman's assessment of the word if obviously having africanamerican um history I like to keep it real today I like what the oldtimers had to say about the word if and I'm sure you've heard it if you've had any older relative around that used to drink they would say if was a fifth drunk we all be H from a natural point of view whenever someone uses the word if most of the times there are strings attached to it do you agree and unfortunately too often whatever follows the word if rarely comes to pass so whenever I hear the word if used in a conversation I tend not to hold my breath you know the pl way somebody says to you let me hold $200 I should be able to pay it back next week if my money comes through well next week rolls around and surprise no that money didn't come through and not only did that money not come through you can't even find the person and now you are out $200 because you put your trust in an empty h but one of the things I found through experience and reading the word of God When God says done When God says if it's already completed he's just waiting on you to fulfill your part of the Covenant H when God made this promise to Israel it wasn't a generic blanketed promise that applied to everyone no got new news for you not everybody who was in the nation of Israel was truly of and not everybody who is in watch this the body of Christ is truly of the Christ if you notice God didn't say if people who are called by my name no no he said If my people who are called by my name if you were of the children of Israel the question now becomes how would you prove to God that you were indeed his child well it's easy you would diligently observe his laws you would intentionally celebrate the Feast you would adhere to all of the dietary restrictions and you would hold up the standard of mandatory prayer because this is what it meant to be a true child of Israel now fast forward to the body of Christ God cannot consider us his people if we have not trusted in his son as Savior now again the question becomes how do we know one has trusted in his Jesus as lord well that's kind of easy you start to produce fruit indicative of the tree you see I know this is going to surprise some people but God is not interested in how long you've been a member of a church

God is not impressed that you purchased a Pew although it's a good thing you did it he's not standing in awe necessarily because you intended every convention that you couldn't afford by the way every convocation every meeting that you couldn't afford but Jesus said in the end I want to see your fruit because your fruit should reflect my glory because I am the vine and you are the branches and if you remained in me and I remain in well the rest is history one of the things I've noticed as I've gotten older and walked with the Lord sometime I'm starting to understand that those who tend to be successful in Walking with the Lord they know their real name H the question of the day is who are you and what is your name because whether you know it or not names mean something you watch this are more than just man Big Mike L Ron nie stinky poo red bone fat boy poo and any other name you can think of us some people we only know by their nicknames and you couldn't tell their official name even if your life depended on it names mean something because they shape us they mold us they lay the foundation of what we can become names mean something that's why Jacob was willing to wrestle with God all night long because he grew tired of being known as a trickster but he wanted a closer walk with God and for that God honored him and declared you will no longer be known as Jacob the trickster but from this day forth you are now Israel meaning triumphant with God that's why scripture was quick to point out yes Abraham was born in a pagan home with Pagan parents with traditions and in spite of all of that Abraham believed God at his word and scripture declares him a friend of God what if Abraham wouldn't have believed what if he would have stayed in Cala doubted the promises of God well got news for you no Israel no Abraham no Christianity no Abraham no Islam because God changed his name and he declared to him you will be known as the father of many nations it is so beautiful that God was faithful in that if people who are called by my name you notice when one reads the Bible you realize it is known by several terms you can call it the word of God bread of life you can call it scripture the sword of the spirit and many others but whatever you decide to call it in the end all the terms seek to offer the only prescription for the healing of our souls I don't want to lose anyone by saying this but alcohol won't heal pills won't heal again I don't want to offend anyone

but drugs won't heal only the word of God can heal but what use is a prescription from God if you don't know and follow his exact orders you will never experience healing as long as you do it your way watch this how many times have we rushed someone to the hospital because they didn't follow prescription the prescription called for you to take one pill once in the morning and again in the evening but you have declared yourself healed so you stopped taking your medication and now you done passed out in the store with some Str stranger blowing foul air into your mouth giving CPR because you didn't follow the prescription but I am convinced today if we do our part watch this God will do his I'm convinced God will keep his word our part is simply to Humble ourselves and follow the prescription If my people will call by my name will humble themselves you know God really can only use you when you know that you don't know more than he does God can't use you if your life is driven by the idea of big eye and little use got some news for you are living check to check just like the rest of us I know that's shocking your family is just as screwed up as ours but for some reason you have the nerve to look down somebody now from a Biblical point of view humility is that virtue that causes us not to think more highly of ourselves than we ought to because humility is a sign of character meaning a truly humble person has something going for themselves down on the inside where it counts those watch this who are truly humble are usually filled who are not with sinful Pride these people are shallow narcissistic and empty they have plenty of style we've all seen but they are running low on substance there is nothing authentic about them everything about them is Trivial and superficial you drive a band and you live in subsidized housing you got Michael core's bag you got red bottoms you got do Cabana you got your nails done you got your hair done and when you go to pay for your groceries you whip out an EBT card they looked the part but that's all they're doing because there's nothing on the inside the same way unfortunately I have to say this in the body of Christ some people have a form of godliness But ultimately they deny the power thereof they know all the sings they know the lingo they know how to give a good image but watch this mess up and call them by the wrong title you're about to see the real deal make the mistake and call a bishop an elder or an elder a minister and get ready to be corrected because

those are fighting words but in the kingdom of God I got news for you titles won't matter positions won't matter how large your church was won't matter the only thing that will matter is did you have a humble Spirit servant's spirit because Jesus says he who is greatest among you shall be your servant and whoever exalts himself will be humbled and whoever humbles himself shall be exalted H what if what if now that you have a humble heart what is a person to do I think this is a good time to pray If my people who call by my name humble themselves in prayer you know prayer is the only form of communication God has established between him and us the songwriter was correct when he said he has the whole world in his hand but unfortunately God isn't on social media if you want to get in contact with God you have to get in a position of prayer if you want a divine intervention there has to be a human invitation you know some problems if you think about it we could have gotten rid of a long time ago if only we had gone to God In Prayer but now watch this we have become known by that problem you don't believe me listen your mother MAA named you Mike not Mike The Hustler your name is Gerald not Gerald the sex offender your name is Jackie not Jackie the Junkie because it it's possible because you didn't give it over to God In Prayer you are now recognized by your problems if you notice something in the chronology prayer follows humility in the prescription I found this to be true you can't pray right unless you first humble yourself an attitude of humility prepares you for communication with the righteous God again we are talking about what if because when you look back on life you start to understand no event in your life is isolated just like a domino effect everything has influence on the next phase of your life so what if you knew your real name what if you were humble what if you got into a position of prayer these events will force you to seek his face if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face well what does it mean to seek God's face well we know that technically speaking no one can look at God and live now God the father doesn't have and probably the spirit doesn't have a features like us per se or at least we don't think they do but it could be wrong but saying if they don't I doubt he has a Waterhead like me cankles two chins high blood pressure gout but God is a spirit and they that worship Him guess what must worship Him in spirit and in truth the Apostle Paul puts it this way set your affections on things

above and when you do that guess what you're then seeking God's face you know it's easy to get off course living this rat race of life I heard a preacher say about 40 years ago don't get too excited about winning in the rat race of life because in the end it just proves you were the biggest rat when living this life we ought to develop our thinking in terms of Eternity this life if you think about it is nothing more than a vapor here today gone tomorrow but there is no end to Eternity H life is nothing more than a vapor that's true but there is no end to Eternity this is where our focus should be we should focus on things and get excited about things that God winning Souls now that excit it's God feeding the hungry there you go now that excites God comforting the confused there you go that excites God's help to the hurting now that's God's love language you want to seek God's face then be about God's be business seek the Lord while he may be found call upon him while he is near guess what God is just a prayer away what if you know the author of 2 Chronicles must have thought the same thing what if because he said to the children of Israel turn from your wicked ways for those of you who think man is basically good could you do me a favor could you watch your local news and then after watching your local news give me opinion man is very flawed in every sense of the word and that's putting it nicely and hate to say this church folk are not exempt because the word says all have sin and fall short of the glory God you know with church folk most of us don't drink too much we try not to smoke too much and hit up the casino too much again I'm allowing us to say face today but you know one of the things that we're notorious for church folk we can kill you with our words church folk love the gossip church folk love hearing the latest news in the body of Christ I've learned good news travels fast but bad news faster let me start a business the word will eventually get out but let me get caught in a hotel with a woman at 6:00 p. m. by 700 p. m. the entire Community will know about it again this forces us like a domino to fall to the next part of the Covenant because he has promised to forgive us of our sins one of the things I love about God when we fall God watch this likes to rub that stain out while man likes to rub it in man will never allow you to forget

your downfall that thing that embarrassed you and every time they see you they'll bring it up you haven't seen a person in a while and they already know your situation but they bring it up anyway oh how's your wife well you know I'm divorced oh how's your son doing you know my son sons in prison you know I drove by your house the other day did you move oh you know I got foreclosed quit bringing up my past and reminding me of all of my hurts all of my pain all of my disappointments but I you know I thank God he isn't like that he isn't in the business of reminding us of our failures but he's in the business watch this of restoring when we fall short of his glory he still wanted to use Peter after he denied him he still have a he still had a plan for David even after adultery and murder he didn't throw Jacob away because he was a trickster because any people who consider themselves God's people watch this must deal with the issue of sin and this is what made the song writers say what can wash my sins away and they replied nothing but the blood of Jesus what can make me whole again and again the reply nothing but the blood of Jesus let me bring this to a close as a Hebrew people I've noticed we are always looking for a messiah other than the real Messiah to save us this was biblically true then and is true now in the Bible God wanted to be ruler over us but we said we want a king like everybody else so he gave us Saul and unfortunately it didn't work out the most high wanted us to be different than others he and peculiar people he didn't want us to do it like everyone else participating in all of their celebration ations and performing their child sacrifices and etc etc the same is true today we are looking for messiah to save us as a people If we're honest we thought Obama would do it but he didn't no he didn't it didn't come to pass the lgbtq community were the benefactors of Obama's presidency we are constantly looking for someone to save us outside of the most high himself but 2 Chronicles shows us clearly what we need to do for deliverance what if we humbled ourselves in turn burned from our Wicked Ways what if we stopped all this foolishness in our community the black community's land will never be healed until we humble ourselves what if we actually walked upright as a people what if we raised our children not to kill each other in the streets not to cjack innocent people not to go into stores like a mob destroying everything until we walk upright a dark cloud would continue to follow us as a people I don't like it but it's true until we walk upright we will continue to see our community be the laugh stock of the world

so let's ask for forgiveness and let's turn from our Wicked Ways so our father can heal our land I hope you got something out of this what if so as always remember Faith plus critical thinking will always lead you to truth God bless you