Bend in the Road - Lesson 11 - Returning to God

Review of previous lessons: Light Promised and Guidance.
What would be the main point of each of those very important lessons?

Returning to God.
No matter how close we think we are to the Lord we can always be closer.
When we think we are the most spiritual person in church or
The most spiritual person in our family the Lord lets us know differently.

We can try to fight His lesson
Deny and argue what He is trying to teach us.
We can keep doing our spiritual works
With a less than perfect heart.

Or we can get our heart right and return to God.
Not just get closer to Him but truly return to Him.

I’m not talking about reading your Bible 15 minutes instead of 10 minutes.
I’m not talking about praying for 5 minutes at night instead of 3 minutes.

I’m talking about thanking the Lord for your truck breaking down
In Malta on a Saturday night with four hungry children.
I’m talking about …
I’m talking about …


What is the main reason for us returning to God?
We know it’s not for ourselves and our own vanity.
It’s not even for God, He doesn’t need anything from us.

Psalm 51:13 ‘Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto thee.’

Here David promises to endeavor,
That others by his example may turn to God.

What can we take from this verse to help us return to God?





It is only when we have the joy of God's salvation in our own hearts,
That we are qualified to guide sinners to repentance.
The believer desires God's presence and the light of his countenance,
not for his own sake alone,
but for the sake of his fellow men.


Psalm 51:7-13, ‘Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. Make me to hear joy and gladness; that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice. Hide thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities. Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me. Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit. Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto thee.’

Here’s what I learned in India.
I learned that stuff doesn’t matter.
Some people may be saying that this room is too hot or too cold.
I saw 600 people sitting in a church the size of ours
With no complaining and all smiles.

Those people were proud to be there.
Not to mention 200 of those 600 were sitting on the floor.
Also in addition to those 600 inside the church
There were an additional 200 sitting outside just to seek God’s face.

I was able to be a part of a tent meeting where there were over 1000 in attendance.
Children sitting on a tarp that was laying on the grass.
Adults sitting on red, white and blue lawn furnature.
Men on one side, women on the other.
And once again many people sitting outside the tent.
And the sound system traveled for approximately one mile.

They sang songs for over an hour.
No one got up to go the bathroom.
No one left to stretch their legs or use the phone.
I didn’t even see anyone bring candy or drink under the tent.


After the service the church fed everyone.
They waited in line, some for over an hour.
Those waiting in line were smiling as much as those who were now full.

I heard no complaints,
No fighting, no bickering.
We learned afterwards that 1,200 plates were served
And no one had seconds.

There were some people who were allowed to eat before others.
No one complained as they were ushered to the front of the line.
Second only to the orphan childred.

They were allowed to eat early because they had to leave by bus as 10:30
To catch an 11:00 train and ride for 6 to 10 hours to go home.
Those people shook our hand and said thankyou.

I saw children playing in a park for hours.
The park was less than a block away from where
an 11 year old girl was killed by a cobra less than a week before.

It was hard for me to watch,
Not only because I missed by children
but because the smell of the open sewer running down the street
was overpowering.

And here these children were, no video games,
No expensive sneakers,
Some with only a stick and a bicycle tire,
Having true fun and experiencing true joy.

That’s what I saw in India,
Any questions or comments?





So how can we return to God?

Isaiah 55:7 Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.

When Becky invites our neighbor Lena to church do you know what her response is?
I want to go to church,
I know I need to go to church,
I’m not ready yet.

Why is she and many of our neighbors not ready yet?





Now I ask you are you ready to return to God?
Truly return to God?
Or do you also have to answer, I’m not ready yet?





Isaiah 1:16-17, ‘Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil; Learn to do well; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow.’

It says ‘Learn to do well…’
Thankfully it is a process,
Sounds like the Lord gave us some time to learn how to do well.
How long should it take?

We expect the unsaved to act a certain way.
We expect new Christians to act a certain way.

From this verse how are we to act?





Jeremiah 3:12, ‘Go and proclaim these words toward the north, and say, Return, thou backsliding Israel, saith the LORD; and I will not cause mine anger to fall upon you: for I am merciful, saith the LORD, and I will not keep anger for ever.’

Keep in mind to be backsliding you must have first been saved.
How would you suggest we proclaim these words to others?





Two sayings I like…
‘Actions speak louder than words’ and
‘Your actions should speak so loudly that no one can hear what you are saying.’

Zechariah 8:16-17, ‘These are the things that ye shall do; Speak ye every man the truth to his neighbour; execute the judgment of truth and peace in your gates: And let none of you imagine evil in your hearts against his neighbour; and love no false oath: for all these are things that I hate, saith the LORD.

Everyone is our neighbor,
When you are in our house you are going to act a certain way.
Shouldn’t we act the same way we expect others to act?





The Lord hates the evil in our hearts,
Even when we try to justify it.
How can we imagine evil in our hearts less today than we did yesterday?





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