Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Home
Evangelical
Courageously Restoring Others

Courageously Restoring Others

Last updated on: August 27, 2021 at 12:48 pm by Pastor Kelly M. Williams

Courageously Restoring Others 2021-08-27T12:48:18-06:00 Pastor Kelly M. Williams

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

COURAGEOUSLY RESTORING OTHERS

If you have ever tried to restore someone back to God like Jeremiah did with the nation of Israel, you know it is no easy task, but it is a noble and high calling from our Savior Jesus Christ.

God wants people to be restored to Himself.

He does not want to judge and destroy them.

He wants to reclaim and restore them for His glory and their good.

God says in Jeremiah 26:2, “Stand in the court of the Lord’s house, and speak to all that come to worship in the house of the Lord, speak to them; do not hold back a word.”

If people are going to be restored to God, they must hear everything God has to say.

Why is this? God says in Jeremiah 26:3, “It may be they will listen, and turn from his evil way.”

People need to hear the whole counsel of God, if they are going to walk as God intends them to walk. But know that not everyone will appreciate your commitment to the whole counsel.

Jeremiah 26:8 says, “And when Jeremiah had finished speaking all that the Lord had commanded him to speak, then the priests and the prophets laid hold of him, saying, “You shall die!”

They wanted to literally kill Jeremiah for what He said to them. Jeremiah responds in Jeremiah 26:12, “The Lord set me to prophesy against this house. 14 But as for me, behold, I am in your hands. 15 Only know if you put me to death, you will bring innocent blood upon yourselves.”

When you are courageously restoring people to God, you must stay focused on telling them the truth.

The people respond to Jeremiah in Jeremiah 26:16, “This man does not deserve the sentence of death, for he has spoken to us in the name of the Lord our God.”

You have to “let go” of protecting yourself physically and emotionally if you are going to help restore people back to God.

It is important to keep seeking to restore people back to God. And remember it is with God you are restoring them, not to yourself. Jeremiah spoke for God to the people and said in Jeremiah 27:5, “It is I who by my great power and my outstretched arm have made the earth, and I give it to whomever it seems right to me.”

When people are being restored back to God, they need to be reminded God created them and is sovereign over them.

Whenever you are helping someone be restored to God, the enemy will always send seemingly “godly” people to tell them the opposite of what you are telling them.

Jeremiah tells the people not to listen to prophets who tell them there are no consequences for their sin. Yes, God loves you, but God’s love does not exempt you from consequence. Restoration back to God removes the condemnation but not the consequences.

All of us have to learn to live with the mess we have made of our lives. God will bring good out of it, but we will more than likely still experience great pain due to our past poor choices. This is how we grow.

Jeremiah reminded the people that consequences are still a part of their future equation in Jeremiah 27:22, “They shall be carried to Babylon declares the Lord. Then I will bring them back and restore them to this place.”

Don’t be surprised if everyone is not happy with you when you tell them that repentance and restoration still involve consequences.

Jeremiah 28:10 says, “The prophet Hananiah took the yoke-bars from the neck of Jeremiah and broke them. 11 And Hananiah spoke in the presence of all the people, saying, “Thus says the Lord: Even so will I break the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon from the neck of all the nations within two years.” But Jeremiah the prophet went his way.”

Hananiah contradicted Jeremiah’s prophecy. Jeremiah did not respond. It takes great commitment to Christ not to re-buttle someone when they have maligned you to others. Jeremiah only spoke what God told him to say, that is, until God spoke again to him.

Jeremiah speaks again in Jeremiah 28:13 “Go, tell Hananiah, 15 the Lord has not sent you. 16 ‘Behold, I will remove you from the face of the earth. This year you shall die’ 17 In that same year, in the seventh month, the prophet Hananiah died.”

God took care of Hananiah’s opposition to Jeremiah.

Israel goes off into bondage with Babylon. You would think it was over for Israel, but that is when God begins his restoration. God tells them in Jeremiah 29:5, “Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat their produce. 6 Take wives and have sons and daughters; multiply there and do not decrease.”

The nation of Israel had been carried off into bondage because they refused to repent. It seemed over. But God tells them to live, love, pro-create, get a job, and go on with your life. God reminds them to keep living. And not only that but be intentional!

God says in Jeremiah 29:7, “Seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile. 10 “When seventy years are completed, I will fulfill to you my promise and bring you back to this place. 11 For I know the plans I have for you, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.”

God wanted Israel to know He had not forgotten about them.

Remind people that God’s grace creates a hopeful future for them.

God wants us to remind people of His promises while they are suffering the consequences of their past sin.

God wants us to remind people that regardless of how bad they have been, He wants to restore them.

Restoration takes time.

It can be messy.

Don’t give up on walking with others back to restoration.

God hasn’t!

Blessings,

Pastor Kelly

Previous Post

August 27, 2021

Courageous Shepherds For God

Next Post

August 27, 2021 A KIND HEART FOR OUR ENEMIES

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category 1 Peter Abortion Asbury Revival Bearing Burdens Blessings of God BOOK OF MICAH charlie kirk Charlie Kirk and Steven Furtick Christmas Church Church Scandal Covid disicpleship Dr. James Dobson Ezekiel Fear Finances Francis Chan Gender Gender and Sexuality Gospel Grace Hearing the Voice of God Heart For God Homosexuality Israel Jesus Kayne West Kayne West and Joel Osteen Lauren Daigle Lauren Daigle and Steven Furtick Lauren Daigle and Steven Furtick Leaving Your Places Of Shittim Live Courageous Love Making A Name For Yourself For God Pastors and Churches Peace and Encouragement Personal Philip Yancey Politics Presidential Election Real Relationships Same Sex Ceremonies Sexual Abuse in the church Song Review Southern Baptist Churches and Women Teachers Suffering Thanksgiving Day The Bible The Good Pastor The Mystery of 23: God Speaks The Mystery of 23: God Speaks Again Uncategorized Visions and Dreams William Tyndale Woke Women Pastors

Select a Month September 2026 August 2026 July 2026 March 2026 February 2026 January 2026 December 2025 October 2025 September 2025 August 2025 July 2025 June 2025 May 2025 March 2025 February 2025 January 2025 December 2024 November 2024 October 2024 September 2024 August 2024 June 2024 April 2024 February 2024 January 2024 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 June 2023 May 2023 February 2023 January 2023 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Who said, "Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?"

Select your answer to see how you score.

Jeremiah Moses Job Solomon