God has decided that…
Our sin deserves cleansing (v. 14-15)
How does God restore His people? (Read v. 14-15)
A. So that He receives the glory
God had decided how He would return the people before He even sent them. Not only were they sent but they changed the world while they were there because they started to cling to those words – God has decided.
B. So that He receives praise
God had decided not destroy everyone in Israel and started taking remnants out of the land a little at a time. God promised never to use His full wrath again like He did when He flooded the world.
God has decided that we will get through this moment of suffering in America. God has decided to help you through your suffering in your finances. God has decided to assist you with healing from your sickness. God has decided and God will do it through his Son, Jesus Christ.
All God asks for is the credit. He wants the glory and the praise. He wants our attention in return for the attention He gives us.
There was a conference at a church in Omaha. People were given helium filled balloons and told to release them at some point in the service when they felt like expressing the joy in their hearts, but they were not free to express their joy verbally. Since they weren't free to say "Hallelujah, Praise the Lord" all through the service balloons ascended, but when it was over 1/3 of the balloons were unreleased.
Don't go through life and forget to recognize God. Don't forget to express the joy of knowing that God has great plans for your life. Let your balloon go.
(READ Psalm 150) God walked away from the Israelites because of sin, not because He wanted to leave but because they choose not to chase after Him. They refused to praise Him and as a result experienced life without His peace, love, and mercy…But God decided…
We may never like everything that God decides, but we can always rely on the fact that God decides and He is faithful. Are you ready to release your voice of praise to Him?
We should be crying out that we want God; what holds us back from the altar? If we want what God has decided, we have to believe. We have to tell Him we believe, and we have to start acting like it.
Stop living in the moment and start living in eternity. God has decided to make a place for us in the future. A place without sin. A place without sickness. A place without war. A place without financial problems, without hunger, without global warming, without nuclear threats, without terrorism, without bigotry, without sexual impurity….
Only you and I can decide if we will accept the hope that comes from God in the cleansing of our sin.
Trust God. Obey. Follow the ways of God and avoid the way that produces evil in this world. Repent and watch the restoration of a mighty and powerful God. Let Him restore you, and your life will never be the same.
Stop running from God and start running to Him. God is our only hope.
- After reading all four parts of this sermon, what are you thinking?
- How do you regularly express the joy you have for God's love, mercy, and peace in your life?
- Would you like to experience that joy?
Find a good Bible believing church and start reading the Bible (not from the beginning but from the gospel of John).
Finally, make adjustments to your life as you feel God's Spirit leading you to change.
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