In the sermon 'Will We Repent?' by Douglas Campbell, the speaker examines 2 Chronicles 7:13-14, highlighting four conditions for national forgiveness: humility, prayer, longing for God, and repentance. While these principles were originally directed at Israel, Campbell argues they are applicable today, especially to America. He compares the current state of American Christianity to the biblical account of Sodom and Gomorrah, criticizing the church for compromising on sacred values and failing to uphold the Word of God. The sermon emphasizes the need for genuine revival, one rooted in true repentance and led by spiritual leaders rather than emotional displays. Campbell warns that without a return to these foundational principles, America may face divine judgment. He calls for Christians to humble themselves, seek God earnestly, and repent to potentially bring healing to the nation.

If you would turn with me this evening to 2 Chronicles chapter 7. This evening I'm going to read 11 through 22 but looking specifically at verses 13 and 14, which I'm sure will be common verses to most of you. Second Chronicles chapter 7, starting at verse 11. The word of God says, Thus Solomon finished the house of the Lord, and the king's house. All that Solomon had planned to do in the house of the Lord, and in his own house, he successfully accomplished.

Then the Lord appeared to Solomon in the 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 the heavens so that 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 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 opened and my ears attentive to the prayer that is made in this place.

For now I have chosen and consecrated this house that my name may be there forever. My eyes and my heart will be there for all time. And as for you, if you will walk before me as David your father walked doing according to all that I have commanded you and keeping my statutes and my rules then I will establish your throne as I have covenanted with David your father saying you shall not lack a man to rule Israel But if you turn aside and forsake my statutes and my commandments that I have set before you and go and serve other gods and worship them Then I will pluck you up from my land that I have given you and this house that I have consecrated for my name I will cast out of my sight and I will make it a proverb and a byword among my peoples And at this house which was exalted, everyone passing by will be astonished and say, Why has the Lord done this to this land and to this house? Then they will say, Because they abandoned the Lord, the God of their fathers, who brought them out of the land of Egypt, and laid hold of other gods, and worshiped them, and served them.

Therefore he has brought all this disaster on them." Let's pray. Heavenly Father, this Let's pray. Heavenly Father, this evening we once again are reminded of your sovereignty, that you reign upon the just and the unjust, that you bless and you command the locusts that you command the thunderstorms, you command the hurricanes, you command the spring rains, and the sunshine. And Father, as we ponder Your sovereignty, as we ponder Your greatness, Father, we can't help but be reminded that though you give us everything, though you bless us in ways that we can't even comprehend, Father, man still shakes his fist at you. We, Father, still shake our fist at you when our way isn't done.

Father would you have mercy upon us? Would you draw us back? Would you draw us back? This evening, Father, would you give us understanding? And Father, with true understanding, would you give us a change of heart and a change of action, a change in living out your Word.

Father we might glorify you we ask in Christ's name Amen. Amen. As we come to this text, we have to again be reminded that though we come to Specifically, I wanted to read all of this for some context, but specifically we find within this a pattern of national forgiveness. At least a pattern for Israel. In 2 Chronicles 7, 13, and 14 again.

God says, When I shut up the heavens so that 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 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." We're Within this we see that there were four conditions that God had laid out for Israel. Four conditions for national forgiveness. Those four conditions, first was humility. Israel had to find humility. Second, they had to be drawn to prayer.

Third, they were to long for God, the one true God. And fourth, we find they had to come to repentance. Now understand rightly that the promise within this is given to Israel. And so tonight as we examine where we are as a nation, America, though we look at this and we see a pattern of principles, this isn't promised directly to us. And what do I mean by that?

Let's say America, by God's grace, tonight as we leave this building is brought to humility. America begins to truly pray. Not to pray that that God would protect them from losing something. Not that they're going to be drawn to prayer to save their hospital. But that they're going to be drawn to prayer because they desire to draw near to the one true God.

That they're not losing stuff, they're losing Him. True prayer, Not the prayer of one who is, as we see in the text, we've talked about this before, godly sorrow or worldly sorrow. Not a prayer that's a result of worldly sorrow, of losing stuff, But a prayer that has the understanding that they have sinned against God. And then tonight, if God would give us grace, that America again would begin to long for God. To not begin to long for the God they have formed in their minds, but to long for the one true God of Scripture.

And finally, what would have caused all of this, that God has granted true repentance. That man's will no longer prevails. I can't remember who said it this week, I heard him say, most people don't have a problem with God being sovereign until they understand it rightly, until they understand if God is sovereign then I'm not, and then they have a big problem with God's sovereignty. But this evening, if America finds itself in humility and finds itself drawn to prayer and finds itself longing for God and finds itself in repentance, God still may carry out His wrath upon our country. Now, what we see as principles, maybe He won't.

Maybe He'll relent. Maybe He will bring us real revival. Not revival that produces people stirring up their emotions and repeating songs over and over. But revival that results in true repentance. In true, in the leaders and the pastors coming to the text and saying, we have not given this text, we have not given the Word of God, it's due, we have not desired to obey it.

If there's true revival, it'll start with the leaders, not with the college kids. Until we see the leaders repenting before God, it's very likely that revival will be nothing more than an emotional shipwreck. Yet Christianity in America has so neglected the scriptures that most don't even know what revival even looks like besides what they've seen on tv will god bring revival to America? And better question, will we repent? It's very, I haven't spent lots of time looking at the current things going on with the revivals, but just a very surface-level investigation and I find things that are quite obvious that we should be seeing and we're not seeing.

What do I mean? And I hit on this because we have just discussed this once again. If there was true revival breaking out in a university, they wouldn't be lining women up to preach. Those women would be breaking down and repenting and saying, I can't do this. Why do I say that?

Because They are the spiritual leadership. They know what the Bible says. They know what it teaches. And yet, they don't like that part. And so they form a God that they're more comfortable with.

Idolatry is still one of the top ten sins. If we won't repent of those, we won't repent of anything. Will America repent? Will America repent? These texts are so common, I wanted to bring a different point of view into them.

And so this evening I want to look specifically at Genesis chapter 18, the account of Sodom and Gomorrah. Starting at verse 16, I'm going to read and I'm going to stop and comment, and I'm going to pick back up several times. And so I'd like us to just take a little bit of time and look at this this account in Genesis chapter 18 starting at verse 16 says then the men set out from there and they looked down towards Sodom and Abraham went with them to set them on their way. The Lord said, Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do? Seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him.

For I have chosen him that he may command his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing righteousness and justice so that the Lord may bring to Abraham what he has promised to him. Then the Lord said Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great and their sin is very grave, I will go down to see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry that has come to me. And if not, I will know. Now again, pausing for just a second, notice what how God was going to accomplish his promises to Abraham. He was going to work in Abraham, that Abraham would command his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord we hit this over and over and over again and Some of you probably think you know we have our Heart our drum that we beat And we beat this family drum over and over and over again.

But the truth is, the Scriptures beat this drum. It sounds like we have picked up a drum because it's so absent from modern teaching. But the scriptures beat the family drum. We're just following along with the band. Continuing verse 22, so the men turned from there and went towards Sodom.

But Abraham still stood before the Lord. Then Abraham drew near and said, Will you indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked? Suppose there are fifty righteous within the city. Will you then sweep away the place and not spare it for the fifty righteous who are in it. Far be it from you to do such a thing, to put the righteous to death with the wicked, so that the righteous fare as the wicked.

Far be that from you. Shall not the judge of all the earth do it as just?" Now, just a side comment. I don't think that I would throw that accusation at God, but Abraham's doing it. And the Lord said, If I find at Sodom fifty righteous in the city, I will spare the whole place for their sake." Demonstrating God's patience. So Abraham answered and said, Behold, I have undertaken to speak to the Lord.

I who am but dust and ashes, suppose five of the fifty righteous are lacking. Will you destroy the whole city for the lack of five?' He said, I will not destroy it if I find forty-five there. Again he spoke to him and said, suppose 40 are found there, he answered. For the sake of 40, or sorry, for the sake of 40 I will not do it. Then he said, oh let not the Lord be angry and I will speak.

Suppose thirty are found there.' He answered, I will not do it if I find thirty there. He said, Behold I have undertaken to speak to the Lord. Suppose twenty are found there. He answered, For the sake of twenty I will not destroy it. Then he said, Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak again but this once.

Suppose ten are found there. He answered, For the sake of ten I will not destroy it. And the Lord went away. When he had finished speaking to Abraham, and Abraham returned to his place. So now the story continues on.

But notice what we've understood. If there are ten righteous to be found in Sodom and Gomorrah, God will relent in His destroying of those towns. Now Genesis 19, the two angels came to Sodom in the evening, and Lot was sitting in the gate of Sodom. When Lot saw them, he rose to meet them and bowed himself with his face to the earth, and said, My lords, please turn aside to your servant's house and spend the night and wash your feet. Then you may rise up early and go on your way." They said, no, we will spend the night in the town square.

Why are they spending their night in town square or what? Why did they say that? Well, the town square is where all the nightlife goes on. They're going to see, is there ten righteous in Sodom? But Abraham knows what's going to happen if he goes there.

So look what Abraham says. But he pressed them strongly. So they turned aside to him and entered his house. And he made a feast and baked unleavened bread, and they ate. But before they lay down, the men of the city, the men of Sodom, both young and old, all the people to the last man, surrounded the house.

And they called out to Lot, Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us, that we may know them. Now for all you adults, we understand what this means all the way back in Genesis when Adam knew Eve and bore children. The men came for the men visitors every one of them of Sodom and They're calling for them to be let out that they may know them Lot knows what they want so Lot went out to the to the men at the entrance shut the door after him and said I beg you my brothers do not act so wickedly behold I have two daughters who have not known any man let me bring them out to you and do to them as you please. Only do nothing to these men for they have come under the shelter of my roof." Are you hearing this?

This is devastating. This is devastating behavior from Abraham. I'm sorry, from Lot. I'm sorry. It's devastating.

It's devastating. He knows what they want. They want his guests. To appease them, he gives them his sacred things, his virgin daughters. Now all of you should feel in the pit of your stomach a disgust for what's going on.

You would really do this? You'd really give them your daughters? Any men here have a daughter? I'll fight until I'm dead before they get my daughter. What's Lot thinking?

Lot, Lot, what are you thinking? He's so afraid of what's going on outside, he's willing to give up what's precious to him to try to stop it. Now you and I look at this at face value and say, this isn't going to work. Why would you do this? And I would ask you tonight to look at it from a different angle.

Christianity has seemed to take the same approach. The culture doesn't like us, so let's just give up our sacred things. The culture doesn't like preaching against homosexuality, so let's just not... Let's just warp the text so it doesn't say that. Let's just give up a little more and a little more.

We saw, I saw this a number of years ago in China, and I talked to men who were going to China to be missionaries, and they would say how hard it is to do missions there. How you had to hide. It wasn't easy. People didn't like you. The culture was against you.

The government was against you. And the same year, I talked to other missionaries who said, who were missionaries in China, and they said, oh no, missions work in China is great. All you have to do is register with the government and just do what they tell you to do. All you have to do is give up some of your sacred things. All you have to do is give them your virgin daughter.

What's so hard about that? The thing that's hard about it is It's the signature of your destruction. The church can water down the Word of God to try to make the culture like you. Some of the most popular books in the Christian bookstore are exactly how to do this. How to go out into the town and take a survey and see what people don't like about the church and then make change your church to where the people will like you again.

Any CEO of a company could tell you how to build your church, that's easy. You just gotta give them your virgin daughter. You just gotta render yourself useless, idolatrous. Then you can have church and it'll be entertaining and people want to come. At the end of it all you'll find yourself destroyed.

All you'll find yourself destroyed. Friends, you and I live in a culture that this has been at work for so long that most sitting in the churches today, they don't even know what the precious things of the church are, let alone if they're there or they're missing. And Our culture evaluates church by who has the best music and who has the most entertainment. Which church do I like? How they do this or that?

I rarely talk to anyone who visits a church, and our discussion is what did they preach? Was it true or was it not? This isn't America 1910, to where every Christian denomination believes that this is the Word of God. They would say they believe it's the word of God, but so do the Mormons. And they do the same thing as the Mormons.

When it comes to something the culture doesn't like, we either don't talk about it, or we somehow mangle it to fit what the culture will like. Because after all, Jesus can't build the church, so he obviously needs us to intervene. As we see over and over throughout the text, people who think they can intervene for God and find themselves at the end of it utterly destroyed. How could we be so presumptuous to think that we know better than God does? Now secondly, Lot lives in a culture that he's been surrounded by.

You and I live in a culture that we've been surrounded by. And maybe this is a different angle, but towards the families. Our culture says everyone gives their children to those people. So you and I, hopefully none of you would teach your children that sodomy and sexual deviation is okay, but you'll send them to the people that are going to do it. What is wrong with us?

We'll send our virgin daughters to the people who will corrupt them, who will teach them to have a hundred partners before they get married, and then wonder why their marriages don't work well. Wonder why they don't attend church anymore after they get married and move out. We wonder all these things, yet We give our daughters to the government. They could surely teach them better than us. After all, how am I going to teach them about angles on a parallelogram in case they ever have to wake up and need to make?

We allow our children to go to hell, but at least they know trigonometry. It's bizarre. But maybe the culture will like us and maybe they'll relent. It was, I had heard just a while back, I think it was in Boston, The mayor actually sent Chick-fil-A a letter telling them to not come to their city because he heard them on the radio say he is the owner or CEO or whoever it was, he was on the radio and he said that he feared, I can't remember exactly how it went, essentially he feared endorsing or agreeing with the sins that America has come to agree with and endorse, because he fears the wrath of God on our country. And that was enough for the mayor of Boston to say, don't bother coming to our town, we don't want you.

Right? Because in America, everyone is accepted, everyone is tolerated, everyone is embraced except for the Christian. Friends, that is like saying two plus two equals three. It doesn't add up even logically. And what do you mean by this?

What do I mean it doesn't add up logically? What I mean by this is in Islam, if you are found to be homosexual, the penalty is death. But do you know who the Boston mayor is not writing letters to? Islam, because they are to be accepted and embraced, they're just picked on. Friends, this is outside of logic.

If it's outside of logic, it's probably because it's spiritual in nature. We can't continue to give our kids to the government. We can't continue to give our kids to Sodom. Let's continue because I don't want to preach all night. Let's go to 6.

Lot went out to the men at the entrance, shut the door, shut the door after him and said, I beg you my brothers do not act so wickedly. Behold, I have two daughters who have not known any man. Let me bring them out to you and do to them as you please. Only do nothing to these men, for they have come under the shelter of my roof." But they said, Stand back, and they said, This fellow came to Sojourn, and he has become the Judge. Now we will deal worse with you than with them.

Then they pressed hard against the man Lot, and drew near to break the door down. But the men reached out their hands and brought Lot into the house with them and shut the door. And they struck with blindness the men who were at the entrance of the house, both small and great, so that they wore themselves out groping for the door. Then the men said to Lot, Have you anyone else here, sons and laws, sons, daughters, or anyone you have in the city? Bring them out of the place, for we are about to destroy this place because the outcry against its people have become great before the Lord and the Lord sent us to destroy it.

So Lot went out and said to his sons-in-law who were to marry his daughters, get up, get out of this place for the Lord is about to destroy the city. But he seemed to his sons and sons-in-law's to be jesting. The same is true if you tell Americans to wake up, that God is about to destroy this place. They'll laugh at you and say, the government will take care of us we've seen how well that works lots of times but people still believe it as morning dawn the angels heard urged lot saying take your wife and your two daughters who are here, lest you be swept away in the punishment of the city. But he lingered.

Lot lingered. Why does Lot linger? He's corrupted by the culture. I mean, not completely, but he's corrupted. He's lived in it long enough.

It's very hard for him to even think logically. So the men seized him and his wife and his two daughters by the hand. Now those who are Arminian in your theology, you're going to want to ignore what happens here, but the men seized him and his wife and his two daughters by the hand and they drugged them out. Let me read the text. The Lord being merciful to him, and they brought him out and set him outside the city.

And as they brought them out, one said, Escape for your life, do not look back or stop anywhere in the valley, escape to the hills, lest you be swept away. And Lot said to them, Oh no, my lords, behold your servant has found favor in your sight and you have shown me great kindness and saving my life but I cannot escape to the hills lest the disaster overtake me and I die. Behold, this city is near enough to flee to and is a little one. Let me escape there. Is it not a little one?

And my life will be saved. He said to him, behold, I grant you this favor also, that I will not overthrow the city of which you have spoken. Escape there quickly, for I could do nothing until you arrive there. Therefore, the name of the city was called Zor. The sun had risen on the earth when Lot came to Zor, and the Lord rained on Sodom and Gomorrah, sulfur and fire from the Lord out of heaven, and he overthrew those cities and all the valley and all the inhabitants of the cities and what grew on the ground.

But look what happens. But Lot's wife behind him looked back, and she became a pillar of salt. And Abraham went early in the morning to the place where he had stood before the Lord, and he looked down towards Sodom and Gomorrah and toward the land of the valley, and he looked and behold the smoke of the land went up like the smoke of a furnace." Again, We see Lot's wife, though God had chosen to rescue them. God had made a promise if he had found ten righteous in Sodom that he would spare the city, and what do we find? Every single one of them is pounding on his door to commit sin.

And yet even though as the angels grabbed and drugged them out of the town because God's wrath was coming. Lot's wife still longed for what went on there. She still looked back. Brothers and sisters, those that grow up in this culture, in a culture like the ones that you and I have grown up in, we tend to have longings for things that it offers. If you're in Christ, you must turn from them.

You must turn from them and not look back. I would ask you, As I've talked to other people in the past, where is the line at? Because we get up, I hear this very often. People say, well, you know if things get much worse, I'm gonna have to pull my kids out of the public school." And my reply oftentimes is, well, how much worse? Where's the line?

Is it when they teach your children to question their gender is that the line? Or is it when they get court orders that against your wishes your your your daughter can start taking testosterone and the law will come and enforce it, where's the line? Because the line that you would have set 20 years ago was crossed about 19 and a half years ago. And the line that you set this year was crossed about two weeks after you set it. Where's the line?

Our culture is very infatuated with entertainment. They're infatuated with this actress and this actor, and I ask you, where's the line? Will you stop being infatuated with it when they put on a live worship of Satan service during their awards? Is that a big enough line? Or will you keep looking back?

Where's the line? How about during the halftime show if the entertainer is grabbing themselves in places they shouldn't do in public. Is that a good enough line? Or will our church just put the half-time show on pause while we give a little message that has no contest against all the garbage you just watched in the commercials. Brothers and sisters, where is the line?

If you keep pushing the line, you're gonna be 95 and you're gonna be 95 and you're still gonna say, well you know if they... Church, we must repent. When I look at coming back to these principles and actually I was going to list them again here at the end. I can't find them. Here they are.

Humility doesn't have to be my way. I don't have to watch entertainment. Prayer. Do you know why our church doesn't have seven prayer services a week? I'm talking to all of you.

You know why we don't? Because no one will come. This is where we are in America. If we had Ozzie Smith, you'd be here. But not just to pray to God.

Why would we do that? Friends, we are this culture. And it's not just out there. The whole point of this And the whole point of where we began is, if my people, if the Christians, if those who are in Christ, if they will humble themselves, if they will pray, if they will long for God again, if they will long for His Word, If they will repent, then God will heal the land. It's not the guy at the public school teaching your children that Adam should have been with Steve.

It's us. We are the problem. Because we offer them our virgins. We offer them our word. It's us.

Us. Finally, let's read 2 Chronicles 7, 13, 14 again. When I shut up the heavens so that 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 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." Today might have been one of The days where I had one of the sickest feelings in my stomach that I've had for quite some time, and it had nothing to do with what you think it might have to do with. To do with. Today I watched a speech that was highly, highly speculated what it was going to be by Vladimir Putin, And in this speech I found myself, I love America, but I found myself in shame.

As he as he begins to describe us over here. These people even teach pedophilia. He's right. We deserve God's judgment. We deserve to get wiped out.

We go right along with it. Kurt Cameron can't read a book at the library because it's too full of... They have to have room for the drag queens. And your taxes pay for it, and the Christians are silent because we're being entertained. It's sickening to think that I am agreeing with Vladimir Putin.

He's right. This has nothing to really do with our country. But our politicians reflect our majority. Our majority is corrupt. Our majority is corrupt because there's no salt.

The American Christianity is filled mostly with people who just want to make the world like them so they might get them to come to church and put a smile on their face. That's why we don't want to talk about the hard things of Scripture that will chase people away because it's too salty. So this evening I would close with brothers and sisters, will you humble yourself? Will you once again pray? I don't mean just thanking Him for your food.

I mean praying. Spending time with the Lord. Spending time in the Word. I know there are those out there and it does, unless God intervenes, our world will be dramatically different very quickly. And there are wise men out there saying, right now is the time to cram for the test.

And they point to their Bible and they say, if I were you, I would be cramming this as hard as you can, because the test is almost here. And it's more than just this. The world as we know it is going to change, and it could be of the effects of Sodom and Gomorrah, and it could be of the effect of real persecution is going to be here. And friends, it's going to be very soon. And if you spend all of your time being entertained, you're going to be spiritually unprepared, and it's probably going to destroy you.

Now is the time to pray. Now is the time to humble yourself. Now is the time to draw near. Now is the time to repent. Christ must not just in word.

We have to stop saying that we want to love the Lord our God with all of our hearts, minds, soul, and strength, and then do that exact thing to everything else. It's time for it to actually be God, for it to actually be Christ. It's time to repent. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, thank you that in your uncomprehended patience, Father, we still take another breath.

Father, in your goodness and your mercy, We've seen how you will even grab people by the hands and drag them. But Father, I pray that you wouldn't have to drag us. Pray that we would draw near. I pray that we would humble ourselves. I pray that you would grant us repentance.

Father, If you would bring revival about your country, Father, about our country, your land, Father, we would be so blessed. We would be so undeserving. Father, we would be so thankful. And Father, maybe these things that are going on, maybe they're just plagued with hearts being Hearts being changed, plagued with slowness of change. Father, I still hope for a genuine revival.

But Father, if you choose not to, if you choose to even wipe us off the face of the earth, you would be right and you would be good. And Father, we will still declare your praise. Father, help us to, when times get hard, to look to you. Help us, Father, to right now in this point of history that we would draw near like never before. Help us father because without it without your help we are destined to follow our same wicked flesh help us father we pray in Christ's name