Repentance to Restoration

Jeremiah 15:19 ~ "Therefore thus says the LORD: 'If you return, I will restore you, and you shall stand before me. If you utter what is precious, and not what is worthless, you shall be as my mouth. They shall turn to you, but you shall not turn to them.'"

​To understand this text, let us understand that the idea of "return" is to "repent." There is a direction away from the LORD that is always sinful. In fact, no direction away from the LORD is righteous--for when you turn away from God, you turn toward sin. Repentance, then, is the turning back toward God that He should be loved and obeyed. And when repentance happens in the life of a believer, it leads to a life restored.

And, it is the restored life that has the opportunity to serve the LORD. For to "stand before" the LORD is to stand in a place of serving Him. Did you know that when you are serving the LORD in this world, it is as if you are standing before Him. Jesus said that as we did it to the least of those who belong to Him, we've done service to Him (see Matthew 25:40). 

Restoration will always follow repentance and serving is found through a life restored. We have a wonderful God who loves us and calls us to service. However, our usefulness is limited if we have no desire to repent and live a life restored to God Almighty. Perfection is not the key to valued service in the Kingdom of Jesus Christ, restoration is. We cannot serve the living God without His restoring us to Himself, and that is found in repentance.

Consider the call of Jeremiah. He was set by God to be a prophet, speaking the very word of God to the people of God. What then must he do? He must offer the precious words from God, not worthless words of man. To make application for those who are not called to be prophets, give your very best of what God has called you to do. Have you been called to serve? Do so diligently. Whatever aspect of service is set before you, perform it in a manner worthy of the Lord Jesus Christ – working with all your heart (see Colossians 3:23). 

And, finally, do not turn to the world. Let them come to you, but you must not go to them. That is, you must not return to worldly ideas and principles that mark a person who is not restored in Christ. The world will always call to the church to come back into the muck and mire from which we've been delivered (see Psalm 40:1-2). It is a lie to think that for you to understand and communicate with a sinful world, you must participate in their sins like one of them. Let this people turn to you. You are the one following Jesus. Maintain your faithfulness to Him and don’t let yourself fall into the trap of worldliness.

The pattern is simple, beloved. Service follows restoration, and restoration follows repentance. This is the path that God has prepared for those who want to follow Him.

In His Grace,
Pastor Michael

---