restore

The years wasted
Taking what we ruined and letting God break and bless it!

Let me share with you a story. In this story we have a young man who without his knowledge was shown his future. His future had two options to it. At the time of his experience he was in the peak of his youth. The young man was a preacher who God was using at a small church North of Tampa, Fl on the Gulf coast. At the close of one service there was a lonely, older gentlemen who looked quite pitiful. The young man had pity on this lonely gentlemen and went up to him after service to see if he could be of any assistance. The older gentlemen , in a pitiful kind of way said he was alone and had no one. He pitifully asked the younger man to come visit him and share a meal. The young man obliged and later in the afternoon the two generations shared a spaghetti dinner. The spaghetti dinner and the older gentlemen taught the young man a powerful lesson about life, choices, and results. The young was given a chance to see the fruits of bitterness, resentments, and regrets. The young man would never understand what this experience meant until he was in a position to look at his years spent and make his own decision about the years wasted. The young man in this story is me.

We will all face this day now and when the books are opened and our lives are put on review in the presence of a Holy God who holds eternity in His hand. Thankfully if you're reading this you're still here on this planet and it's not too late! Thankfully for me I had the experience and seeing the living results of bitterness and regret in the heart of the older gentlemen has caused me to cry out to God to make right choices and embrace the grace to become what He would have me to be for the generation behind me. I'm writing this in obedience because my hearts cry is to bring life and grace to a younger generation! As the scripture says broad is the way which leads to destruction but narrow is the way and few that find it, which leads to life. ( Matt. 7:14 ) Bitterness, regret, blame and all its cousins is the easy, broad way out. Humility, brokeness, repentance, and forgiveness is the narrow way and few who find it. Just take a minute with me right now and stop.... let the Spirit of God speak.. Let God take you to the greatest point of your regret..Let him take the spirit of blame and turn it into the spirit of brokeness...Bitterness into blessing....regret into restoration! Are you with me?! Lets let God change us to be a instrument of grace and blessing not bitterness and regret.

A life of sin and general disobedience have a peculiar way of sucking life and joy right out of you. There are blatant sins such as drugs, alcohol, and a immoral lifestyle. As the scripture says..God is not mocked ..What is sown to the flesh shall reap corruption. There is general disobedience where the life of God's spirit wanes from a soul because of poor stewardship of one's time, talent, and resources. ( Matt 25:14-28 ) In simple terms a life becomes self serving, the root of it all is a heart which loses the love of God. We live in a world now where iniquity abounds and yet will increase! The scripture foretold of this time with a promise of not so encouraging words.. "Because iniquity will abound the love of many will grow cold."( Matt. 24:12 ) All is not lost, God is always faithful to leave on earth a remnant! Those who hide His word in their heart will not sin against thee. ( Psams 119:11 ) Saints our coasting days are over..If we want to be counted as on the Lord's side we must humble ourselves and digest in our souls the riches of God's unchanging Word! ( ( James 1:21 ) As we are soon to see, any restoration blessing comes as we present ourselves bare before God, no sin is covered, no lame excuse is uttered from our mouth. We recognize we deserve God's justice.

To get a better picture of the ways of God we need to look at the scripture in context. I would, just as much as the next person, want to look only at the scripture concerning restoration if in fact that is what I was seeking from the Lord. It may be more important concerning the ways of God to look more closely at conditions for promises to be fulfilled prior to making the request of the Lord. In my years of reading God's Word I've seen a pattern concerning God on which my personal prayer requests for myself and family are based on. What I've seen in God's word is, God operates Himself inside contracts and agreements He has made with creation. Our responsibility inside these agreements is to fulfill our end or better said accept the grace to fulfill our end. The first step in this process for us as mere mortals is to uncover any covered sin. ( 1 John 1:9 ) To allow the Spirit of God to reveal and remove any wicked way from us. There is no short cut to this! Not responding to the conviction of God's word is the door way to deception and beginning of a self righteous life.( James 1:19-27 ) God help us all!!

The following passage of scripture in context reveals this pattern: ( Joel 2:12-32 )

The restoration scripture pertaining to our message is verses 25-27

18 Then will the LORD be jealous for his land, and pity his people. 19 Yea, the LORD will answer and say unto his people, Behold, I will send you corn, and wine, and oil, and ye shall be satisfied therewith: and I will no more make you a reproach among the heathen: 20 But I will remove far off from you the northern army, and will drive him into a land barren and desolate, with his face toward the east sea, and his hinder part toward the utmost sea, and his stink shall come up, and his ill savour shall come up, because he hath done great things. 21 Fear not, O land; be glad and rejoice: for the LORD will do great things. 22 Be not afraid, ye beasts of the field: for the pastures of the wilderness do spring, for the tree beareth her fruit, the fig tree and the vine do yield their strength. 23 Be glad then, ye children of Zion, and rejoice in the LORD your God: for he hath given you the former rain moderately, and he will cause to come down for you the rain, the former rain, and the latter rain in the first month. 24 And the floors shall be full of wheat, and the fats shall overflow with wine and oil. 25 And I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten, the cankerworm, and the caterpiller, and the palmerworm, my great army which I sent among you. 26 And ye shall eat in plenty, and be satisfied, and praise the name of the LORD your God, that hath dealt wondrously with you: and my people shall never be ashamed. 27 And ye shall know that I am in the midst of Israel, and that I am the LORD your God, and none else: and my people shall never be ashamed.

28 And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions: 29 And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my spirit. 30 And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke. 31 The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the LORD come. 32 And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the LORD shall be delivered: for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the LORD hath said, and in the remnant whom the LORD shall call.

You know what I don't care so much what God would do with us. What I do care about is if what we are doing is a righteous work in regards to this web site. We prayerfully post these messages as an act of our own obedience to redeeming our time given to us on earth now. It would be a great encouragement to us to hear from one of you. Especially a young person feeling the call of God and running into a lot of opposition from an older generation. It's my personal hearts cry to be the hand up for young people and not a foot down. I have often prayed; God let me have my rewards in heaven. Let me hear the stories of your word affecting the hearts of people on the streets of gold. This time my request is different, I'm asking to hear from one person touched and changed by the power of God's word! Am I discouraged? No! We are considering taking this thing to another level so we are trying to get a feel of our effect in the Spirit. God wants to use everyone of us! Let's throw off our fears and limitations and let God be God!!

May God richly bless you and strengthen your heart!!

Pete

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