Coming Back To God 4

INTRO: Our subject is coming back to God. When Solomon had dedicated the temple to God, later God came to him and spoke to him. And 2 Chronicles 7:12 says:
12 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.”
And God, knowing that man is prone to wander and that he would wander, then said:
13 "When I shut up heaven and there is no rain, or command the locusts to devour the land, or send pestilence among My people…
God was so sure of what would happen that He said, “When I shut up heaven…” not “If I shut up heaven…” The principles of this passage are very applicable to the individual Christian as well as to the Church. When the Church becomes healthy, it soon begins to deteriorate again. We are in a cycle, that I hope has almost bottomed out. When such times come, God has to shut up heaven.