Restored by Grace
Grace is Enough (Day 4) // Prayer365
“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you [and approved of you as My chosen instrument], And before you were born I consecrated you [to Myself as My own]; I have appointed you as a prophet to the nations.” Jeremiah 1:5 AMP
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.” 2 Corinthians 5:17-19 NIV
During this week we’ve seen God’s grace to uncover what was hidden and to recover what was lost. Today I want to talk about God’s grace to restore. The word restore means to bring back or to put into a former state. It is God’s desire that we be restored, but restored to what exactly? By definition, to an earlier version of ourselves. Likely you’re thinking this has something to do with some special time in your life where you were so happy and didn’t have a care in the world, just happy thoughts and life was much easier. But I caution you to know that each of us were sinful at birth, sinful from the time our mothers conceived us. This is not because of something you did, nor is it at the fault of your parents, but the result of the fall of man through the original sin (Genesis 3). So it’s safe to say that God doesn’t desire to restore us to a former state in this flesh. Instead, God desires to restore us spiritually to a former version of ourselves that we are not familiar with. A time where we were in relationship with Him in eternity before making our way into this world full of sin through flesh.
In Jeremiah 1:5, we capture a glimpse of this mystery in a conversation God has with the young boy, Jeremiah. He tells him “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you [and approved of you as My chosen instrument], And before you were born I consecrated you [to Myself as My own]; I have appointed you as a prophet to the nations.” When He says "before I formed you in the womb” this predates our conception, meaning it’s prior to your mother meeting your father or even your grandmother meeting your grandfather. Yes, before your mother saw the twinkle in your father’s eye, God knew us. He knew me, He knew you, He knew everything about you. The word knew in Hebrew expresses intimacy, meaning that God was in an intimate relationship with each of us before we were formed in our mother’s womb. We were in total relationship with Him, but the thing that separated us from Him was flesh (sin).
Going further into the text I want you to see where God not only knew you, but he says he "approved of you as his chosen instrument.” This is a liberating word to know that we don’t have to fight to be approved or accepted in this world because we were already approved and accepted by God. He’s already chosen us as an instrument of the Rhythms of Grace. As "a prophet to the nations" which is the most effective of spiritual gifts, the gift of declaring His truths.
Understanding this former version of ourselves, we can see that God has no desire to simply restore us physically but to restore us spiritually. We find this restoration through Jesus Christ. In 2 Corinthians 5:17-19 it says "...if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!" Although we were born into this world of sin, separated from God, through faith in Jesus Christ we have the opportunity to be born again. This process of renewal takes place within our spirits and is the key to being reconciled to God through Jesus. "All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation." The word reconcile means to restore to friendship or harmony. God has grace to restore you, to reconcile you back to Himself, to bring you back into the full relationship you had with Him prior to being separated from Him and born into this world (of sin). God desires to bring you back into relationship with Himself. In the same reconciliation you have with Him, you've been gifted the ministry of sharing it with others.
God did not uncover us to embarrass, He didn't recover us to let us go back to where we came. But he uncovered and recovered us so that He could also restore us back to an intimate relationship with Him. Be restored today by God's grace and share this gift with others so that they too can be reconciled back to the Father.
I'm praying for you and with you,
Pastor Enrique Brooks
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.” 2 Corinthians 5:17-19 NIV
During this week we’ve seen God’s grace to uncover what was hidden and to recover what was lost. Today I want to talk about God’s grace to restore. The word restore means to bring back or to put into a former state. It is God’s desire that we be restored, but restored to what exactly? By definition, to an earlier version of ourselves. Likely you’re thinking this has something to do with some special time in your life where you were so happy and didn’t have a care in the world, just happy thoughts and life was much easier. But I caution you to know that each of us were sinful at birth, sinful from the time our mothers conceived us. This is not because of something you did, nor is it at the fault of your parents, but the result of the fall of man through the original sin (Genesis 3). So it’s safe to say that God doesn’t desire to restore us to a former state in this flesh. Instead, God desires to restore us spiritually to a former version of ourselves that we are not familiar with. A time where we were in relationship with Him in eternity before making our way into this world full of sin through flesh.
In Jeremiah 1:5, we capture a glimpse of this mystery in a conversation God has with the young boy, Jeremiah. He tells him “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you [and approved of you as My chosen instrument], And before you were born I consecrated you [to Myself as My own]; I have appointed you as a prophet to the nations.” When He says "before I formed you in the womb” this predates our conception, meaning it’s prior to your mother meeting your father or even your grandmother meeting your grandfather. Yes, before your mother saw the twinkle in your father’s eye, God knew us. He knew me, He knew you, He knew everything about you. The word knew in Hebrew expresses intimacy, meaning that God was in an intimate relationship with each of us before we were formed in our mother’s womb. We were in total relationship with Him, but the thing that separated us from Him was flesh (sin).
Going further into the text I want you to see where God not only knew you, but he says he "approved of you as his chosen instrument.” This is a liberating word to know that we don’t have to fight to be approved or accepted in this world because we were already approved and accepted by God. He’s already chosen us as an instrument of the Rhythms of Grace. As "a prophet to the nations" which is the most effective of spiritual gifts, the gift of declaring His truths.
Understanding this former version of ourselves, we can see that God has no desire to simply restore us physically but to restore us spiritually. We find this restoration through Jesus Christ. In 2 Corinthians 5:17-19 it says "...if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!" Although we were born into this world of sin, separated from God, through faith in Jesus Christ we have the opportunity to be born again. This process of renewal takes place within our spirits and is the key to being reconciled to God through Jesus. "All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation." The word reconcile means to restore to friendship or harmony. God has grace to restore you, to reconcile you back to Himself, to bring you back into the full relationship you had with Him prior to being separated from Him and born into this world (of sin). God desires to bring you back into relationship with Himself. In the same reconciliation you have with Him, you've been gifted the ministry of sharing it with others.
God did not uncover us to embarrass, He didn't recover us to let us go back to where we came. But he uncovered and recovered us so that He could also restore us back to an intimate relationship with Him. Be restored today by God's grace and share this gift with others so that they too can be reconciled back to the Father.
I'm praying for you and with you,
Pastor Enrique Brooks
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