We have examined just what it was that God required of Israel by way of a means of deliverance. It was a turning unto Himself amongst the wayward and wicked people of the land.

That very familiar verse in 2 Chronicles is but another form of the same truth as is expressed here in verse 30.

"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 will forgive their sin, and will heal their land," 2 Chronicles 7:14.

The history of the Free Presbyterian Church is illustrative of our text. I recall men whose stand for God initiated a time of blessing in their own areas. Hugh J Adams (Crossgar), Sandy McAuley (Cabra, Ballymoney), Samuel Logan (Rasharkin), Andy Evans (Limavady), Abraham Nelson (Armagh & Dungannon), Sandy lennox (Magherafelt), Ernie Monteith (Omagh), William Foster (Lisbellaw).

There were men in other churches (the list is too long to fully recite) we could also name, not least of which are the men and women in this area, who stepped out in submission to God and dedication to His service in the early '70s and saw the beginning of this congregation.

Such a stepping out is what we should be looking and praying for again. It was not a mere leaving of an apostate denomination but a yielding to God's rule which, among other things, necessitated a separation from apostasy and an open stand for the truth of God.

Tonight, we come to the solemn consideration of what happens when there is none willing to step out.