#79: How to be Restored to God

The 5 Minute Discipleship Podcast

We’ve all known Christians who are no longer walking with the Lord. They have fallen away. At one point their hearts were warm and on fire for God, but today they are no were to be found. We all know the struggles of our own hearts. We face temptations. We live with ups and downs.
The good news is that God offers to us Restoring Grace. When we have blown it, when we walk away, when we stumble and fall. The grace of God is available to restore us and to bring us back to where we need to be in God. Lamentations 5:21 – “Restore us to yourself, Lord, that we may return; renew our days as of old.”
Maybe today, you are at a place in your life where you need God to restore you. Ps. 23 – “He restores my soul.” Perhaps you were once walking with God. Possibly you once knew God in a personal way, but somehow you allowed yourself to drift away. Maybe you willfully rejected God and went back into a lifestyle of deliberate sin. I want you to know that the same grace that brought you to Christ in the first place, is the same grace that will restore you.
Lies we believe: “I’ve gone too far.” “I’ve done too much.” “I’ve failed too many times.” “I can’t overcome this.” Romans 5:20 – “But where sin increased, grace increased all the more.”
When I think of being restored to God, I think of King David’s prayer in Psalm 51. David had committed adultery and murder. The prophet Nathan confronted him over his son. Here’s David’s prayer…
"Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions. Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight; so you are right in your verdict and justified when you judge. Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me. Hide your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquity. Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me."

1.Being restored by grace requires a change of heart.

Psalm 51:3-4 – “For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight.”
Restoration involves brokenness. Confession. Repentance. When these things are evident in our life God is incredibly gracious to restore us.
2.Being restored by grace includes a change of mind.

The principle here is that we have to change our mind about who is in control of our lives. We cannot blame our sin on anyone else. We cannot blame our sin on the Devil. We are responsible for our own lives. It does no good to say, "I am a victim of my environment, or a victim of my circumstances, or a victim of genealogy, or a victim of bad luck."
A change of heart. A change of mind. A change of direction. Do you know what all of this adds up to? Repentance.
Today’s Challenge: Do you need to be restored to God? Believe this truth: God is in the restoration business. Come to him with a sincere heart. Confess your sins. Repent. and Begin again.
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