Restorations

Restorations Limit

2 Samuel 9:7

"And David said unto him, Fear not: for I will surely shew thee kindness for Jonathan thy father's sake, and will restore thee all the land of Saul thy father; and thou shalt eat bread at my table continually."

The story of Mephibosheth is a story of restoration. When news was received that Saul and his sons were killed, Mephibosheth's mother dropped him which caused him to be lame in his feet. David wanted to show kindness to Jonathan, and did so by treating Mephibosheth kindly. What you will notice in this story of restoration, though David did everything in his power to restore to Mephibosheth what was Saul's, one thing David could not restore was the ability for him to walk again.

Restoration does have limits. I believe in restoration because I believe God wants people to be able to have the capacity to serve Him again. God is certainly in the restoration business. God restored David after he fell. God restored Peter after he fell. God restored Samson after he fell. Even the prodigal son received restoration when he embarrassed his father and rebelled. Every person should make an effort at restoring the fallen because they never know if one day they may fall themselves. Sin hits everyone. Therefore, we should do everything in our power to try to restore people to the limit that we have power to restore. There were several things that David restored to Mephibosheth.

First, David restored the right spirit to Mephibosheth. David said, "Fear not." He wanted Mephibosheth to understand that he would have the right spirit towards him. One of the first things that should be restored to the fallen is for you to have a right spirit towards them. You should not have a spirit of anger, malice, superiority or of judgment, but you should have a spirit that will try to help them come back. The fallen are skittish of what people think about them already, so you must work at being sure they understand that you are not going to sit in judgement of them, but you are going to do your best to have the right spirit that will help them.

Second, David restored the right to blessings. David gave back to Mephibosheth everything that was Saul's. Likewise, when you are trying to restore people, give them the right to receive blessings again. In other words, don't punish them for the rest of their life. Let them earn the right to be used again. Just because they fell doesn't mean that they can't earn their way back to usefulness. Everybody should have the right to be used again if they will get right with God.

Third, David restored fellowship to Mephibosheth. You will notice that Mephibosheth was able to eat daily at the king's table. Likewise, the act of restoration should restore fellowship to the fallen. Yes, fellowship should be broken when they are in sin, but when they come back to God they need fellowship. Always welcome back the fallen when they come back to God.

However, though David tried to restore Mephibosheth everything, he could not restore the usefulness of his feet. Why? Because there are consequences to sin. You will never be able to come back to where you once were when you chose to sin. You can choose your sin, but you can't choose your consequences. People deserve the right to be restored, but they will never get back everything they once had. You forfeit some things when you sin, that is why there are limits to restoration.

Yes, you should do your best to restore people, but always remember there are limits to what can be restored. If you fall into sin, remember that you will never be able to go back to having everything you once had. Let this story of restoration teach you how to restore, and warn you of sin's consequences.

Noninvolvement is...

Noninvolvement is Involvement

1 Samuel 8:20

"That we also may be like all the nations; and that our king may judge us, and go out before us, and fight our battles."

The sin that the children of Israel made in this verse is the same sin that people commit today. Israel was a theocracy from its inception. God led them out of Egypt and through the Red Sea. He fed and provided for them in the forty years in the wilderness. He led them as they conquered the land of Canaan. Even through the time of the judges, God was the One Who led them.

In the verse above, Samuel had become an old man. Israel came to him and told him that they wanted a king. They gave several excuses of why they wanted a king. They said they wanted to be like the other nations. They said they wanted a king to judge them and lead them. However, the real reason they wanted a king was so that he could fight their battles. They wanted a king for no other reason other than they didn't want to do anything. They wanted the king to do everything for them. They didn't want to be involved in the LORD's work, they wanted someone else to do the work for them. They didn't want to fight the battles themselves, they simply wanted to stay on the sidelines and watch others fight the battles for them. They were simply saying that they didn't want to become involved in the battles, they wanted someone else to fight for them.

Christian, you may not want to become involved in the LORD's battles, but your lack of involvement is truly involvement. What I mean by this is if you won't fight for right, then you are aiding those who are fighting for wrong. You can sit on the sidelines and let others fight the battles, but your lack of involvement for truth is what allows truth to be attacked. When your stance is that you don't want to become involved in the fray, then your stance is one of aiding those who attack truth.

Let me apply this to where you live today. When you won't become involved in the soul-winning ministries of your church, then you are in essence aiding the Devil in sending people to Hell. Yes, this is a strong statement, but you are either leading people to Christ or you are letting people go to Hell. Your noninvolvement in the fight for souls is involvement on the Devil's side.

When preachers won't fight when truth is attacked, then their noninvolvement is involvement for the enemy. Throughout my years of serving the LORD, I have watched many preachers who won't stand for truth because they just don't want to be entangled in the battle. Let me remind every man of God and every Christian that Jude 1:3 says, "Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints." God commands us to become involved in the fight for truth. So, your noninvolvement is involvement.

Young person, when you don't want to become involved in preserving the old-time religion for your generation, then your noninvolvement is involvement. Every generation must fight their own battles. You can say that you just don't want to be involved, but you are involved by your noninvolvement.

Christian, are you like Israel who didn't want to be involved in the battles? Are you one who simply wants someone else to fight the battles? Let me remind you that your noninvolvement in involvement in the Devil's side. It's time that every person becomes involved in the battle for truth. Edmund Burke said, "The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing." Don't let evil triumph; become involved!

No Want

No Want of Anything

Judges 18:10

"When ye go, ye shall come unto a people secure, and to a large land: for God hath given it into your hands; a place where there is no want of any thing that is in the earth."

To say that there is a place that didn't lack anything is quite the statement. In the verse above, Micah's priest told the tribe of Dan that the city of Laish was a city "where there is not want of any thing that is in the earth." He told them that if they could get this city that they would have anything they wanted.

On the surface this seemed wonderful to these men. However, when you look at this city it was a place where they lacked quite a bit. They lacked defense, leadership, direction and they had a false security about their situation. These people thought they had it all, but in reality they truly lacked a lot. One of the greatest things they lacked was the presence of God.

This story reminds me of many people who often think that there is another place or person who doesn't lack anything. There are people who will leave their spouse for someone else because they think that another person is the "perfect" person. There are people who will leave their church for another church because they think the other church doesn't lack anything. There are people who will leave their place of employment for another job because they think the other place is the perfect place of employment. Yet, when they get what they want they don't like what they get. The reason is because everything always lacks something. The best thing any person could do is learn to accept what God has given them and work at making their situation better. Let me give you some thoughts that will be helpful in your life.

First, don't let the flaws of what you have cause you to forget the good that you do have. Many people lose sight of what they have because they learn about the flaws. Married couples become disgruntled with each other because they learn about each other's flaw, but they forget that the good they like in that person is still there. Likewise, people see the flaws in a church or place of employment and let the flaws become their focus. Don't let the flaws that you learn about someone or some place cause you not to see the good that you do have.

Second, always remember that the "perfect" place or person is not as good as you think. The reason you think another person is "perfect" is because you see them at a distance. You will think the other place is perfect only because you are looking at a distance. Distance has a way of causing you not to see the details. When you can't see the details, then you can't see the flaws. Just because it looks perfect at a distance does not mean that they have no flaws.

Third, realize that someone thinks what you have is perfect. There is someone right now looking at what you have who thinks you have the perfect situation. There is someone right now who wants what you have. Though you don't like what you have, they would love to have your situation. If someone wants what you have, then apparently what you have is not that bad.

Let me sum this up by simply reminding you to be content with what God has given you. Don't let your familiarity with what you have cause you not to see the good that God has given you. Stop looking at what others have and realize that God has blessed you tremendously. If what you have is not perfect, then work at making it better instead of leaving it. Realize that God showed you the flaws so that you can make it better. Working at improving things is always better than running to the "perfect" person or place.

Diligent

Diligent Heed

Joshua 22:5

"But take diligent heed to do the commandment and the law, which Moses the servant of the LORD charged you, to love the LORD your God, and to walk in all his ways, and to keep his commandments, and to cleave unto him, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul."

Success in the Christian life is not achieved by accident. If you are going to be successful as a Christian until the day you die, then you are going to have to purposely serve the LORD. God cautioned the children of Israel to take "diligent heed" in their lives. This is interesting because God did not say to simply take heed, but God expressed extra diligence in what they should do. God wanted you to take painstaking measures to be sure that you do four things in your Christian life.

First, take diligent heed to do God's commandments. You are not going to keep God's commandments by accident. One of the reasons God told Israel to write the commandments down and place them around their homes was because He wanted them to be constantly reminded to do them. One of the reasons you should read the Scriptures daily is so that you will be reminded to do God's commandments. One of the reasons you should be faithful to all the church services is so that you can be reminded to do God's commandments. If you don't watch it, you will get so busy doing everything else and your attention will be drawn off God's commandments which will cause you to soon stop doing them. If you are going to be successful in doing God's commandments, then you would be wise to place His commandments in several places so you will be reminded to do them.

Second, take diligent heed to love the LORD. This may seem strange, but because you must serve the LORD "in spirit and in truth," then you must be careful that your love for God does not wane. As humans, we are prone to love that which we see and touch. Therefore, you must be careful that you don't let anything steal your love for God. Just like a married person must be careful that they don't let another person steal their love from their spouse; likewise, you must be careful not to let people or possessions steal your love for God. You must be diligent about guarding that love.

Third, take diligent heed to walk in God's ways. There are many methods on how you can do things, but the only method you should follow is God's method. You will find in the Christian life that men come up with many ways to do things, but you must always be sure that man's ways don't disagree with God's ways. Don't follow man's ways of rearing your children, but follow God's ways of rearing your children. Don't follow man's ways to achieve position, but follow God's way of serving others. Don't follow your ways of how situations should be handled, but follow God's way of handling situations, which can be found in the Word of God.

Fourth, take diligent heed to serve God. This is interesting because you would think that this would be easy, but it's not. God warned Israel about being diligent to serve Him because He knew that man could quickly start serving man. If you are not careful, you will start serving your preacher instead of God. Though your preacher may not ask you to do wrong, you are not to serve Him. You are to serve God! NEVER let your eyes be placed on man; instead, always keep your eyes on God. Let God be the One Whom you purposely serve. Don't ever be guilty of serving man instead of God.

These four areas will never be achieved unless you are diligent about doing them. Set up guards in your life so that these four things don't slip away. Purposely choose daily to do these things. Don't get so busy in what you do for God that you allow these areas to slip. You may have right intentions, but these areas will slip if you are not diligent about heeding them.

Hospitality

Remembering Hospitality

Deuteronomy 23:7

"Thou shalt not abhor an Edomite; for he is thy brother: thou shalt not abhor an Egyptian; because thou wast a stranger in his land."

As God prepared Israel to enter into the Promised Land, He wanted to remind them of how they should treat their neighboring countries. God knew that they would eventually have the power to destroy any nation around them. In the verse above, God told Israel to be sure to treat Edom and Egypt kindly to their third generation. The were two reasons for this. First, Edom was a relation to Israel, and God wanted them to remember to be kind to them because of their connection. Second, Egypt allowed them to be fed during the great famine in Joseph's day. God wanted them to be kind to these nations because of their past hospitality.

However, you may remember that both of these nations were at one point unkind to Israel. When Israel asked Edom if they could go straight through their land while traveling from Egypt to the Promised Land, Edom would not grant them passage. Likewise, the latter years in Egypt were not the greatest years of Israel's existence. Egypt had treated them unkindly by putting them under cruel bondage. Yet, God still wanted them to treat these nations kindly because of the good that they had done to Israel.

When I look at my life, I can recall many people who have been kind and influential in my life. Of some of these I have very fond memories. These people were good to me all the time. We never had one time of disagreement. We never had one time when they mistreated me. These people were very good to me. On the other hand, there were some people who were good to me and even influenced me, but the end of our relationship was muddied with disagreement. There were some who were good to me for many years, but they turned on me and tried to destroy me. If I'm not careful, I will forget all the good they had in my life and let a few months of disagreement ruin all the good years of hospitality shown.

Christian, it is very important that you remember to be good to those who have been good to you in the past. Don't become so busy in life that you forget to remember and honor those who have been good to you. They had a part in your life, and the least you could do is take time to write them a note of thankfulness for their hospitality. It may be a teacher you had in school, a Sunday school teacher when you were growing up, a preacher in a previous church, or some person who took interest in you and helped you. Always take time to remember people who were good to you in the past.

Furthermore, don't let the bad that someone did against you cause you to forget their hospitality shown. I often have to remind myself that when people turn on me, it is not because they are bad people, in most cases it is because of sin. Sin caused them to turn. You must be careful not to let the small portion of bad erase all the good that they did. Sure, the bad is the last memory you have with them. If you are not careful you will let your last memories erase the major portion of the good. Take the whole picture in context and you will realize that the good they invested in you is greater than the bad.

Remembering hospitality will only be done by character. Set time aside each week to remember someone from the past who influenced you for good. Then, honor them or their family in some way for what they did. If you will do this, then you might rekindle a friendship. Likewise, if you will remember hospitality, then God will be sure that others will remember what you have done for them.