Restoration: Return To God

[0:00] Welcome and thank you for joining this message by David Entry at Carish Church. In this season of Great Awakening, may God pour out His Spirit through His Word, refreshing! Your heart and awakening you to His will.

[0:13] Today I want to talk about restoration. I heard that the Israelites, they had this behavioral tendency in those days where they sin against God and when you belong to God, according to Hebrews chapter 12 verse 9, if you are without disciplining or chastisement, you are a bastard.

[0:44] Yeah. He said, if you are without chastisement, you are a bastard. That means that fatherless. A good father chastises or chastenings or disciplines the child he likes.

[1:02] So that's the same. Those who call their pastors father. Daddy. The usefulness of a daddy is to chastise or discipline a child that goes off so that you don't grow off.

[1:26] So the Israelites have this behavior. They will rebel against God, follow idol worshipers, and then God will punish them and they will go into slavery.

[1:37] When they are in trouble, they call on God. They always will tend to call on God and God will restore them. And they were taken into captivity for 70 years.

[1:52] And after 70 years, Jeremiah's prophecy kicked in and Daniel prayed and fasted. And after 70 years, they were restored back into their land.

[2:07] So when they came back into their land, they were so happy that now we are building back the temple that was ruined, the walls of Jerusalem.

[2:17] They built the temple. They rebuilt the walls. And they restored worship. And the sacrifices and the priesthood in the temple.

[2:29] So they are so happy. When they were in slavery, how can we sing the Lord's song in a strange land? Psalm 137 verse 6 and 7. They said, when you are in slavery, you can feel free to worship the way you want to.

[2:44] So when they were restored to their land, they were very happy. They were a very, very happy people. Very happy that they had been restored.

[2:55] And now that worship of our true God and the pure worship of our God is restored. So sacrifices started flowing. Temple, they were going to temple for temple activities.

[3:08] And everything was flowing and they were happy. But it kept going on and going on and going on for 100 years. So they ended up going through the motions, but their hearts had not been restored to God.

[3:22] Their hearts had not been restored to God. And God spoke to them through the prophets called Malachi. Or if you want, you can say Malachi.

[3:38] In Malachi chapter 3. In Malachi chapter 3.

[3:48] God began to talk to them. He sent the prophet to go and tell them. That you have to do something and turn back to me.

[4:02] Because you are going through the motions. You've been in church for a long time. You are doing the fasting, but you are still far from me. You are doing church, but you are still not in good shape.

[4:16] He said, return to me. So I want to start from the verse 6. The verse 6 says that. For I am the Lord I changed and therefore his sons of Jacob are not consumed. Even from the days of your fathers, you have gone away from my ordinances and have not kept them.

[4:33] Return unto me and I will return unto you, says the Lord of hosts. But he said, wherein shall we return? Will a man rob God? He have robbed me.

[4:45] But he said, wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings. Ye are cursed with a curse. For ye have robbed me.

[4:56] Even this whole nation. Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse. That there may be meat in my house. And prove me. Now herewith, says the Lord of hosts.

[5:10] If I will not open the windows of heaven and pour you out a blessing. That there shall not be room enough to receive it. And I will rebuke the devourer for your sake.

[5:23] And he shall not destroy the fruit of your grounds. Neither shall your vine cast her fruit before the time in the field, says the Lord of hosts.

[5:37] And all nations shall call you blessed. For ye shall be a delightsome land, says the Lord. Amen. Amen. God, you see, after a hundred years of returning to their own land, thinking now we can worship.

[5:55] God, after a hundred years, comes to call them back to worship. So what was going on? What were they doing? They were going through rituals, activities, sacrifices, ceremonies.

[6:07] But they were still distant from God. Their heart had not turned back to God. So God says, and says that, come to me. Now, recently, I had a story about a man who reported to the police that his car had gone missing.

[6:24] Someone had stolen his car. And so the police advertised in the newspapers, put on social media, put on TV. The police put it everywhere on posters, billboards, and took it to radio stations, talk shows.

[6:47] And you know what kind of car it was? It was some old Volkswagen. Yeah. But the interesting thing is, I know what you are thinking about. Like I heard somebody say, what kind of car is this that they are so busy about?

[7:02] And the police put announcement everywhere. If you have seen the car, if you have stolen the car, please, we need to see you. The reason why the police was doing that, to see that the guy who reported the car stolen, reported that he left some crackers on the front seat, wrapped with mouse poison, to go and catch some mouse in his house.

[7:27] And so they were looking for the guy not to arrest him, but to save him. Because somebody's life was at stake. This poison will enter into somebody's stomach. When God calls you, he's not calling you to come because he wants to punish you, but he wants to help you and restore you.

[7:48] Sometimes when some preachers are coming, obviously when some of you head tight, say today, today not be today. As soon as you heard it, you knew that today.

[7:58] No, God is not going to call you to punish. Don't run away. Don't try and run from God. He is not after you to judge you, to condemn you, to destroy you.

[8:10] He wants to save you. He wants to help you. He wants you to come close. So, there are two strong imperatives, or you can call commands.

[8:25] In the text I just read, The first one is in the verse 7, and the second one is in the verse 10. The first one in the verse 7 says that, Return to me. Let's all say it together.

[8:37] Say it louder. Say it louder. And then the second one is in the verse 10. Bring all. Bring all the tithes.

[8:53] Bring all the tithes. So, two instructions. Now, both instructions are authoritative from God.

[9:08] But I submit to you, most times this scripture has been read in the light of finances. But it's not about finances. Now, you are saying, okay.

[9:25] It's not about finances. So, the second commandment, or the second instruction, is bring the tithe. The first one is return to me.

[9:37] Now, both are directly from God, but I want to submit to you, both don't carry the same weight. The first one carries the bigger weight. The first one is the problem.

[9:52] The second one is just the symptom. The first one is dealing with the sickness. The second one is dealing with the symptoms. Even though they are both authoritative from God.

[10:06] So, he said. So, let's look at the instructions. The first one is what overrules everything that is being said. After years of attempting to worship God their own way, God said, now it's time to return to me.

[10:21] So, it's all about coming back for restoration. Return to God. This period of fasting. Return. Return.

[10:32] Now, when he called them to return, there are some important underpinning statements there. Three main statements there that we can't take for granted.

[10:45] The first one is in the verse 6. The reason why we should return to God is because he said, I am the Lord. It's me. I do not change.

[11:00] Because I don't change. That's why. See. Oh. First one. In this text, we can see two things. The faithfulness of God. The faithfulness of God.

[11:12] And the forbearance of God. God has accommodated us for a long time. Not because you are so good, but because he's faithful.

[11:25] He says that, for I am the Lord. I do not change. That is why you are not consumed.

[11:36] Oh, sons of Jacob. Many times you hear that word, sons of Jacob. Those people who sell their brother. Those who sell their brother.

[11:47] Leave the promised land. Go to Egypt for bread and butter. And then, these are the people who told Aaron. Senior Pastor Moses. I don't know.

[11:58] He's gone fasting. He hasn't come back. We don't know. Maybe he's dead. We can't walk on yet. He's not emailing us. He's not calling us. He's not WhatsAppping us. There's nothing you can do. Moses.

[12:08] At this Moses, we don't know. I'm talking about Exodus chapter 32 from verse 1. They went to Aaron. They said, Uncle Aaron, make us golden calf.

[12:21] Uncle Aaron said, bring all your jewelry. Bring it. Collected the jewelry. And then molded it into a massive, giant calf. And when he finished, he said, Israel, behold your God.

[12:36] He said, he received it. And he said, then they said, this is your God, O Israel. Then they said, this is your God, O Israel. The one who brought you out of Egypt, this is he.

[12:50] Watch this. They didn't say, this is one of the gods of Egypt. They said, the actual Jehovah God, Aaron, and Moses has gone to look for his here. And the problem is not like one of the Israelites are doing this.

[13:05] It's Aaron, the priest himself. Aaron, the archbishop himself. Aaron, the archbishop himself. The daddy Jehovah himself.

[13:20] The general overseer. Yes. Or mama Jehovah. Or however you call it. The one everybody looks up to for spiritual direction.

[13:33] They went to him. Where is our God? Moses is not there. He said, bring your earrings. Make the calf. And then he said, this is your God. He said, tomorrow we shall celebrate. Look at the next verse.

[13:45] So Aaron saw it and built an altar before it. And Aaron made a proclamation. Tomorrow is a feast to which Lord, this thing. Why didn't God wipe them out?

[13:57] He said, I change not. Therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed. Not because you've always been behaving right.

[14:08] Not because you've always gotten it right. Not because you've always been prayerful. Not because you've always been reading your Bible. Not because you've always been pure. Not because you've always had the right heart. But because I am faithful.

[14:20] God said, I don't change. I don't change. I don't change. In theological terms, it is called the immutability of God.

[14:39] He does not change. He is in Hebrews chapter 13 verse 8. He is the same yesterday. Together shall gather.

[14:50] I feel like preaching. I change not. He said, I change not. For I am the Lord.

[15:01] I change not. When we say he changes not. We mean he is the omnipotent one. He has all power in himself.

[15:14] He doesn't decline in his power. He sits on the circles of the earth. And he says, let there be a devil. We are talking about the omnipresent one.

[15:27] He doesn't have to show up. He's always there. You didn't hear what I said. We show up, but he doesn't show up. He's always there.

[15:39] He is the omnipresent one. He's never late. He's never too early. He is just there. I change not. He is the omnipotent, omnipresent, and omniscient.

[15:56] When we are praying, it's not like we are telling him what he doesn't know. He's just allowing us to send sound. He says, send your sound.

[16:09] It is needed. Submit your sound. He knows everything. He, you know, there are people who like you. Now, if they find out certain things about you.

[16:26] One day, a certain senior minister. You know the way people like attacking pastors and talking against. So he's a senior minister in the 80s.

[16:37] An English man. And one day, people were saying things about him. Negative things about him. That he has done. He hasn't done. So he was broken. And he went to God.

[16:48] He was praying, God, do something. Look at what they are saying about me. God said to him that, you should be happy they don't even know the whole truth. They don't know.

[16:58] They don't know everything about you. You should be happy that they don't know everything about you. What they know about you is nothing.

[17:12] Instead, it's because of my mercies. I change not. That's why you are not consumed. Not because you have been right always. I change not.

[17:24] God is faithfulness. When we gather here, we gather on the premise of his faithfulness. Why do we pray? Because God is faithful.

[17:35] Not because we have a need. We pray because God is faithful. We fast because God is faithful. We trust because God is faithful. We give because God is faithful.

[17:46] We worship because God is faithful. We attempt to do evangelism because God is faithful. Faithful one. He's faithful.

[17:59] He said that, for I am the Lord. I change not. I possess immutability. He changes not.

[18:12] You are the Lord. You change not. You are the Lord. You change not.

[18:26] You will never ever change. You are the Lord.

[18:37] You will never change. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Oh, I thought someone is releasing some sound.

[18:49] Sound. Hallelujah. So, he said his faithfulness. He said that, that's why you are the sons of Jacob.

[19:00] With all the mess that has gone on in your life. That's why you are not consumed. Because I change not. It's not because you are good. Because I change not.

[19:11] Then the next verse is, verse 7. Yet, from the death of your fathers, you have gone away from my ordinary and have not taken them. You see?

[19:21] You have been misbehaving. But because I change not, I have forbearance. I know if you have been a Christian a little while and you are here or you are listening to me, you know God has accommodated you more than everybody.

[19:38] You remember? The early days you came to church, you didn't want to come. You were hiding on the back because you were afraid something would strike you or the pastor would say, hey, who is that person?

[19:54] So, when the pastor was preaching like I'm doing, instead of coming towards me, he said, ah, today, not today. My hour has come. I've been exposed. And nothing happened. Rather, you felt the sweetness of God.

[20:07] When you thought God should slap you, you felt an embrace from him. And God said, I change not.

[20:22] Therefore, you are not consumed. Oh, I thought somebody is saying hallelujah. God will always give you another chance.

[20:37] He will give you a second chance. Where need be, he will give you a third chance. Where need be, he will give you a fourth chance.

[20:47] Because of his faithfulness. He will forbear. He will forbear. He will forbear. He will forbear. He will forbear. He will forbear. He should have been caught a long time ago.

[20:59] should have been caught but he didn't cover your mess but he covered your future.

[21:16] That's why it's very difficult to stand in the presence of God and point accusing fingers at others. Who are you to speak about someone? You don't qualify. The only one who can.

[21:28] The Bible says in Romans chapter 8 verse 34 who is he that condemns? If there should be someone who can condemn, it's the one who never sinned. It should be Jesus. But rather he's not condemning. It's in your Bible. Who is he that condemns?

[21:44] Is he Christ who died and furthermore who is even at the right hand of God also making intercession for us? The only one who is qualified to really condemn. I said God did not send his son into the world to condemn the world.

[22:04] Stop running away from God. Stop dodging. Stop dodging. You are afraid that if you start coming to church, God will tell you break up with that girl. Break up with. So you want to keep that girl.

[22:15] You want to keep that boy. You want to keep that front. You want to keep that lifestyle. You want that soft life. God is not going to take away your soft life. But he wants to make your future softer. Come back for restoration.

[22:34] Then he tells them come back. When he tells them to come back. Because he's faithful. Then he hitched on that verse 6. One of the key signals he's trying to send to them is you have to know me.

[22:50] Know me. Know God. So he spoke about the knowledge of God. And then he spoke about robbing God. Will you rob me?

[23:01] Why are you doing this? Will you rob me? Will a man rob God? But that's what you're doing. This is not about money.

[23:13] It's about pure worship. Will you rob me? Why are you behaving like your fasting is proper? I don't know who.

[23:25] That's why I had to preach today. God wants to restore you. But he said come to me. Come back. Come back. Come back.

[23:36] I am here today because God kept me. I'm alive today only because of his grace.

[23:54] Oh, he kept me. God kept me. He kept me.

[24:06] So I will never go. Hallelujah. Amen. Well, I want to lead you in a simple prayer.

[24:20] I want to go back to where it started with you. Why are you fasting and you still have some distance from God?

[24:32] Come close. God wants you. He said come, come. So he can feel you. You can feel his breath. That's our prayer topic today.

[24:43] If we will see revival, somebody needs to return. Stop asking for breakthrough and start planning your return.

[24:54] Stop planning. Lord, I'm coming back. If I don't receive anything, I just want you. Only you.

[25:06] I just want you. I just want you. I just want to be around you. I just want to be around you. I just want to be around you. When you look at the rest of the text, it says that all nations shall see that you are the Lord.

[25:19] All nations. What I will do in your life to be more than what you can ever expect. because it's an hour of restoration. Shall we rise to our feet, please? God will shut up.

[25:33] I'm returning to you. I'm coming back. Yes. Yes. It's all about you.

[25:49] It's all about you. Remember to like, share and spread the blessing.