09/26/2019
Have you ever wandered from God? Have you strayed and no longer heard the voice of Jesus, or felt the pull of the Holy Spirit as it drew you back? Are you in this distant place now, or is someone you know there? Well you might feel as though you can’t return, and that your life is too far gone, but that isn’t true. The Lord sends you this message... “return to me, and I will return to you.”
“Therefore say to them, Thus declares the Lord of hosts: Return to me, says the Lord of hosts, and I will return to you, says the Lord of hosts.”
Zechariah 1:3 ESV
Satan would have us believe that we have strayed too far, or committed unforgivable sins; he tries to convince us that God has given us over to a reprobate mind, and no longer thinks of us, but if we will take the first step of contrition, and return to Him, then He will return to us.
“And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient;”
Romans 1:28 KJV
Isaiah felt that he was too far removed from God, and he even cried out “Woe is me!”, just as we would do in our great sin. Listen to him...
“Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts.”
Isaiah 6:5 KJV
God makes a way for us to return to Him. For Isaiah his cleansing came from a coal taken from the altar, but for us it comes through the mercy and grace that flows from Jesus Christ.
“Then flew one of the seraphims unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar: And he laid it upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged.”
Isaiah 6:6-7 KJV
Our forgiveness glorified God. In the New Testament we read that Paul considered himself to have been the worst of sinners, and yet through his belief in Jesus he was saved. If this is true of Paul, then it is equally true for us today...
“The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost. But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life. To the King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.”
1 Timothy 1:15-17 ESV
Satan is a liar, and would conceal from us the signs which point us towards home... towards God, but despite his lies, that way is always open to us if we will simply turn away from the life we are leading, and call out to Jesus in contrition. We might say to ourselves, as many do, that we don’t know how to pray any longer, but if we will turn to the Holy Spirit, and ask Him to pray with us, and for us, He will open up our hearts, and release the prayers that have been waiting there...
“Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.”
Romans 8:26-27 ESV
Then in our moment of contrition Jesus Christ Himself will pray the prayer of contrition for us before God.
“Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.”
Hebrews 7:25 ESV
His words can be heard in greater detail in John 17 as He speaks of us with His Father. Jesus desires that we be saved, He makes intercession for us, and prays our cause before God the Father, so that we would be with Him.
“And for their sake I consecrate myself, that they also may be sanctified in truth. "I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me. Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world.”
John 17:19-24 ESV
So are you ready to return to God? Are you ready to be met on the road like a prodigal Son... with open arms? Well God desires you to return, the Holy Spirit is waiting to open up your heart in prayer, and Jesus longs to have you with Him, and to abide in you. Turn your back on Satan’s lies, and let the light of Jesus shine full on your face.
“Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."”
John 8:12 ESV
Prayer:
Father, I thank you for the patience with which you wait for my reawakening, for my return home, and for me to fall to my knees in remorseful prayer and contrition before you. I thank you for your Holy Spirit that opens my spirit and prays those prayers for me that have been longing to be released from my once hardened heart. I thank you for your Son Jesus who intercedes for me in prayer, and lifts me up before you. I thank you for His life, death, and resurrection, and the merciful forgiveness I receive through His sacrifice. I thank you for your mercy, and the grace which flows out to me through Jesus. Holy, Holy, Holy, are you my God who’s patience is without end, and whose grace abounds. Praised be your name for sending your Son Jesus, and your Holy Spirit. Great are you who defeats the lies of Satan, and opens my eyes to your ever waiting love, and desire for my return. All glory is yours Father as your grace makes a way for me, even when I am the worst of sinners like Paul, by extending the blood of Jesus to me by your grace.
“For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”
2 Corinthians 5:21 ESV
Rich Forbes