TOPIC: HOPE FOR THE BACKSLIDDEN
MEMORISE:
“I will heal their backsliding, I will love them freely; for mine anger is turned away from him.”
Hosea 14:4
READ: Jeremiah 3:22-23 (KJV)
22 Return, ye backsliding children, and I will heal your backslidings. Behold, we come unto thee; for thou art the LORD our God.
23 Truly in vain is salvation hoped for from the hills, and from the multitude of mountains: truly in the LORD our God is the salvation of Israel.
MESSAGE:
After Jesus was crucified, Peter thought that it was the end of His ministry on the earth. Therefore, in John 21:3, he told his colleagues, "You know what, if I can't go forward, at least I can return to where I am coming from. Brethren, I am going back to fishing," and they decided to follow him. However, while he was fishing, the Lord met him and restored him. The same Peter, who thought that the end had come in his walk with Christ, began to heal the sick with his shadow, as we see in Acts 5:15:
Insomuch that they brought forth the sick into the streets, and laid them on beds and couches, that at the least the shadow of Peter passing by might overshadow some of them.
If you have failed God at one time or the other, or you feel that God cannot use you again because of the sins you have committed, let me tell you, if you repent and forsake your old ways, God can still use you mightily. He specialises in using the most unlikely people in powerful measures.
Beloved, don't be like Samson, who disappointed God. He deviated from the path that God laid out for him and started engaging in sin. Eventually, the enemy captured him, and he lost the connection he had with God. However, when he prayed to the One whose mercies are new every morning (Lamentations 3:22-23), that connection was restored. Not only was the connection restored, Samson also received the power he had lost. In one day, he killed more Philistines than he had killed in his entire life. God had apparently forgiven and restored Samson, but he never forgave himself, and so, he asked to die along with his enemies (Judges 16:17-30). If you are backslidden, the Lord can still restore you if you will allow Him to. Go back to Him in prayers, start studying your Bible, and begin to walk with Him in obedience in fellowship with other Christians. You will see that as you take one step towards Him, He will take 99 steps towards you.
I have seen many backsliders completely restored by God. In fact, you will never know that they were once backslidden. When they genuinely repented, God took charge of their lives and used them powerfully. Beloved, if you have strayed from God's path, He can do the same for you if you repent genuinely and come back to Him.
KEY POINT:
God is able to completely restore a backslidden believer if he or she repents genuinely and returns to Him.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Exodus 21-23
AUTHOR: PASTOR E. A. ADEBOYE
HYMN 17 - PRAISE MY SOUL, THE KING OF HEAVEN
1 Praise, my soul, the King of heaven;
to his feet your tribute bring.
Ransomed, healed, restored, forgiven,
evermore his praises sing.
Alleluia, alleluia!
Praise the everlasting King!
2 Praise him for his grace and favor
to his people in distress.
Praise him, still the same as ever,
slow to chide, and swift to bless.
Alleluia, alleluia!
Glorious in his faithfulness!
3 Fatherlike he tends and spares us;
well our feeble frame he knows.
In his hand he gently bears us,
rescues us from all our foes.
Alleluia, alleluia!
Widely yet his mercy flows!
4 Angels, help us to adore him;
you behold him face to face.
Sun and moon, bow down before him,
dwellers all in time and space.
Alleluia, alleluia!
Praise with us the God of grace!
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