What will happen to you in 2026: are the outcomes already decided?

Time to implement 2 Chronicles 7:14 ?

Staff blogger Steve C Green

Opening Prayer

Heavenly Father, we come to you in the name of Jesus. As we open your word to read your scriptures, we pray, Lord, that they would be life-changing to us, that you would come into our hearts and change us. Focus our eyes on you through your word and show us what tomorrow looks like, Lord. Any words that come from my mouth, Lord, I pray that they would fall by the wayside—let only your truth be preached today. In Jesus' name, amen.

Introduction

I'll start off with some good news: I think this is going to be quite a short sermon today. I thought I was going to be preaching on the prayer life of David today, but towards the end of the week, the Lord started to speak to me. This word we're going to go through is challenging, but I feel the Lord is speaking  to the room today. This is a word of love. He saw your tears, He's felt your despair, and He's heard your prayers. This is a word of love from the Lord. So take it as that—take it as your heavenly Father putting out His hand to help you move one step forward.

Reflecting on the New Year

Has the outcome been decided for 2026? Now we are nearing the end of January 2026, the first month's gone,  I don't know if you would agree—it doesn't really feel like a new year anymore. New Year's is like a distant memory. It feels like 2026 is old hat. Maybe we're focused on 2027 to get something exciting in our life. But it's not; it's all still to play for. There's over 11 months in this year, and so much more can happen.

I don't normally quote secular music, but as The Carpenters said, "We've only just begun." And I'm quoting them because of the demographic in the room. I'm sure there are a few people who liked The Carpenters in their youth.

Key Themes

I want to focus on some key areas of our life—themes I hear when I speak to you, themes that I feel when I pray. Let's look at these themes, and then let's talk about how 2026 could change them.

Your home town

I want to speak about Your home town —your area, your community, your church-to-be. The Lord put such a burden on my heart for my home town. When I walk around the town and see the empty shops, when I hear of mosques that are growing and thriving, when I hear of people that have just been kicked around by the devil, it puts such a burden on my heart.

I'll speak more later on in the coming weeks about it, but I've downloaded a list of every single street in my home town and how many houses there are in each street. Over the coming weeks, in a format that I've not decided—we'll all decide together—let's get praying for it. Let's pray for every single street in our town. Let the gospel be preached in every street.

Our Families

There are very few bigger issues in our lives than our families. There are things that we would like to see the Lord doing. Let's make 2026 the year. I'm going to run through this, but I am convinced by the Lord that there is a method in which we can see real change in our families.

Our Loved Ones Who Are Non-Believers

That's a really difficult issue. It's ironic—the people who are closest to you, you think you would feel the most motivated to pray for, but sometimes in these scenarios, and I'm speaking from personal experience, it feels hopeless. Sometimes you're on a beach with a teaspoon trying to clear the sand and you're just like, "What am I doing here?"

God's Will for Your home town and Our Families

Let's go back to point one. What will 2026 look like for Your home town? Will God's will be done in Your home town in the next year? It wasn't in 2025. I don't think Your home town knew the positive things that the Lord had for them. Was there full employment? Was there an end of crime and violence? Was every child loved, protected, and safe? Was everyone with mental health issues set free so they could take deep breaths and enjoy their life?

In 2026, is there going to be less lonely people in Your home town? What will happen to the crime rates in Your home town? Is addiction going to be wiped out? Is the Lord going to move so powerfully in Your home town that it'll end?

Mental Health and Spiritual Freedom

Mental health—a plague on our modern society. Society doesn't really have an answer for it, let's be perfectly honest, but praise the Lord, He does. He does—when the Lord sets free, He sets free completely.

Let's talk about our families. What's going to happen in 2026 there? Are they going in the right direction? How's their relationship with God? How's their relationship with us? Do we have loved ones that are non-believers? What's the best time for your loved ones to get saved? Today—it's got to be today. We don't know about tomorrow.

And as I said earlier, praying for your family, praying for their salvation, it's such a big issue. Maybe it means so much to us, that's why we feel hopeless. But that hopelessness can end. The Lord has given us a plan to end the hopelessness when we pray for our family.

Turning to Scripture

This is the Lord's words. So let's turn to the Lord's word. Let's see what God says about praying for your families.

So what I'm going to do, I've got two scriptures. I'm going to read through them: Luke 4:18 and 2 Chronicles 7:14. Then we'll go back and we'll break them down and we'll understand what the Lord's saying.

I should set the scene here. Jesus is in the synagogue. It's busy, it's packed, all eyes are on him. The “important” people in the community, the Pharisees are there. There'll be people who are mocking and scoffing. There'll be people that have heard about him. Some are unconvinced, some are disbelieving. And the Lord comes out, and oh my word, what a statement he makes. I don't think there was a bigger entrance. I'd love to go back and see this event, this is Jesus speaking, quoting Isaiah 61.

Luke 4:18

The spirit of the Lord is on me because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favour.

Verses 20: "Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him. He began by saying to them, 'Today, this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.'"

We're going to review these verses and break it down because this is powerful.

2 Chronicles 7:14

"If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sins, and I will heal their land."

Breaking Down the Scriptures

Let's go back to Luke 4:18 and let's start to break this down. As I said, Jesus is reading from Isaiah 61. He's fulfilling this messianic promise. He's standing in front of a group of people and many of them would have been hostile to him. Some may have been curious. But as Jesus' ministry came in, and as he rose from the dead and he created a new covenant, the Pharisees were over, they were finished, because there was a church where every man was a priest before God.

Jesus had been sent on a mission by God, and this is where he announces it. This is the missio Dei in Latin—God's mission. And there's no ambiguity in the statement. There's no talk of, "See, when you get down to earth, just have a look around and see what you think needs done. I'm not sure how long it's going to take, but hopefully if you could be up and running in the first few years..." That isn't what it says.

Jesus' ministry only lasted three years on earth. For the past 2000 years, he's been in heaven, continuing that ministry, but he was only on earth for three years, and this statement is unambiguous. There is no missing around, and this is absolutely what is going to be done. It's spoken as fact.

"The spirit of the Lord is on me because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners."

It's factual. This is going to happen. This is Jesus' will. This is Jesus' ministry. He'd been anointed for this. Just as in the Old Testament, we saw kings and high priests were anointed. Jesus has been anointed. Messiah comes from the Hebrew word "Mashiak," literally meaning "anointed one," referring to someone chosen and consecrated by God for a special role.

Jesus only had one role, and that was to bring us back into fellowship with our Lord. It was a big mission. He had to die and he had to be raised again. He had to create a church. He has to spend every day helping us and interceding for us. But that's one of the things that's always amazed me about Jesus—that when there was a moment of need, the Old Testament, the New Testament, he was always there. He always delivered. He was always faithful.

Who Is Jesus' Message For?

Let's go back to who Jesus has taken this message to. He's been anointed and set aside by God, but who's his message to? To the poor. The idea of being poor in spirit goes beyond financial poverty to describe a state of humility and openness to God.

In Matthew 5:3, in the Beatitudes, Jesus says, "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of God." This beatitude clarifies that the poor who are particularly blessed in God's kingdom are those who recognize their spiritual poverty.

Let's put this in simple terms: they understand the need for God's grace. They know that they can't do it on their own. In many cases, they'll have tried to do it on their own and it just didn't work.

Who are the poor in spirit? People who know they can't achieve righteousness or salvation on their own. They need God's help. If we go back to our three categories, that certainly applies to all those. And we'll come back to that.

This is how we need to pray for our loved ones. This should be our prayer for them because this is God's word. God's kingdom is able to come to those who are poor in spirit. When I'm praying for my family that aren't saved, I say, "Lord, make them spiritually humble. Open their eyes so they can see the need for you in their life. Let them understand, they can't do it on their own. They need you, Lord Jesus." Make that a prayer point into their lives so that the Lord can come and set them free.

The Pharisees and the Spiritually Proud

The Pharisees and the religious leaders of Jesus' time were not poor in spirit. They considered themselves spiritually well-to-do, and a class above. They relied on their strict adherence to the law, and their status within their community to confirm their righteousness before God.

To counter such thinking, Jesus tells us the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector in Luke 18:9. The parable illustrates the difference between the spiritually proud and the spiritually poor. The Pharisee in the story thanks God that he is not like others. He boasts in his self-righteousness. Meanwhile, the tax collector stands at a distance, beating his chest and praying, "God have mercy on me, a sinner." That was in Luke 18:13.

Jesus concludes that the tax collector, who humbly acknowledges his spiritual poverty, went home justified before God. The person who can say, "Lord, have mercy on me. I can't do it on my own. I need you." That's the person whose life the Lord can touch.

And this should not only affect how we pray, but how we counsel people. See, people who think they can do it on their own—and it's unfortunately a disease of our generation—people that are headstrong, people who go, "No, no, no, no, no, no. I've got it covered." The Lord can't come in and touch their life. It's only when you know that you've failed, you're short of the pass mark, you've fired at the target and you've missed—it's only when you get to that point in your life that the Lord can change us.

So this must be the focus in our prayer: bring our loved ones to the point where they say, "God have mercy on me. I'm a sinner."

The Power of Humility

I just want to throw this scripture in here. I love the language in Isaiah 66:1, where the Lord is using language that we understand:

"Heaven is my throne. The Lord doesn't actually sit in the skies, but he's using language we can understand to explain his power and might. 

Isaiah 61:1

Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool. Where is the house you will build for me? Where will my resting place be? Has not my hand made all these things so that they came into being, declares the Lord?"

The Lord, because he loved us, has just benchmarked himself. He says who he is. He's all-powerful. He made everything. Nothing is too difficult for our God.

"These are the ones I look on with favour," God's telling us who pleases him. He is  just about to make a very powerful statement. I'd like to think if I was in this sermon or this lecture, that's the point where I would look up and I'd listen.

"Those who are humble and contrite in spirit, and who tremble at my word." That's pleasing to the Lord. People who know they can't do it on their own. That's not weakness, that's a strength. That pleases the Lord, because he knows he can step into your life and make a difference.

"Who tremble at my word." I spent some time at a Theological College recently, and I meet young people who believe they're on fire for the Lord. People who call out for revival, wholist making statements such as  "I'm not sure the Battle of Jericho really happened. I'm not sure that Noah really built an ark. I think it's maybe all just a story. I'm not sure that this letter written by Paul should really be in scripture." And it saddens me because I know that, 

A. They've lost their testimony because how can you share that you believe in the Bible if you don't really believe in the Bible? 

B. I think they remove their power. I think what the Lord would like to do in their life is weakened.

I accept the word of God as being inspired in truth and useful for correcting, for teaching and rebuking. When I hear the word of God, it excites me and it changes my life.

When you're speaking to your family and when you're praying for Your home town, always know where you stand in terms of the word of God. And have a respect for it. Speak of the scripture with love and with reverence. Praise the Lord. God can look upon it with favour. When you speak God's words into people's lives, the Holy Spirit will move and change their lives because it's God's words.

God wants us to have a respect for the Bible. God wants us to live our lives in a biblical way.

The Promise of Change

Is someone in your life lost to sin? Are they currently under a demonic attack? Are they drowning in guilt or just blind to the things of God? The day they will humble themselves before God and say, "I can't do this on my own. I need you, Lord," He will step in and from that moment there'll be change. From that moment there'll be change.

Why? Because God is a God of covenant. He made us a written promise. He's almost saying, "Hold me to this." If anyone will humble themselves before me, God will turn up immediately. He'll always be there. He's not a tradesman, he's not a human, who may pr may not turn up. God will always be there. He's faithful. It's part of his character.

Spiritual Liberation

After the poor, he talks about proclaiming freedom to the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind. This is how Matthew Henry describes recovery of sight for the blind, and I love it:

"If our prayer be, 'Lord, that our eyes may be opened,' his answer shall be, 'Receive your sight.' There are no conditions. There's no ifs, buts, and maybes. It's not dependent on us. We just need to get down on our knees and say, 'Lord, give me my sight,' and he will come in. It will be done."

To proclaim freedom for the prisoners—that's how it's described in the NIV. The KJV talks about the deliverance to the captives. This is a spiritual liberation from the bondage of sin, demonic oppression, guilt, and the darkness of spiritual blindness. That's what Jesus is here to deal with.

We don't have problems in our lives and our family  that are out with Jesus’s scope. We have the problems that Jesus came to deal with. God knew these were an issue, and he sent his only begotten Son to deal with these issues. Is that in doubt? These are the words of Jesus. He stood up in the synagogue and he announced his ministry. He let this be known to everyone on earth, in the heavens, and down below. This is why he's here. This is the missio Dei. This is God's mission for his life.

Our Part and God's Part

Let's look at 2 Chronicles 7:14. We know why the Lord's here. We know who he wants to help. Let's see what part we have in it. The scripture is clearly split in to two parts, Our responsibilities and God’s responsibilities.

Our Part: If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; 

God’s Part: then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.

Amen

Personal Prayer