Wrg1405
Member
- Jan 4, 2016
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This morning in church the sermon was on God as the Father. Most of it revolved around the prodigal son and his brother. How the Father rejoiced on the return of his son.
My short testimony is as follows.
27 years ago I was in a mess. I was engaged to a girl in the church. I knew it wasn't right and eventually broke it off. I suddenly developed severe anxiety, I was still going to church but was finding it hard.
Eventually I said enough is enough. I stopped going to church and within a short time I packed my job in and decided to move 200 miles away so no one in the church could find me and keep in contact with me. I ran away from God. I had a friend (who had stopped going to church as well) who I moved in with for a while then found my own place. I did the prodigal thing, spent my money on booze, slept around. Even whilst doing all of this I wasn't happy and yearned for God.
One day my friend said he had started to go to a new church would I like to come along. After his umpteenth time of asking I said yes. So I went, but boy the guilt and condemnation I carried was a very very heavy burden. Someone who I had never met came up and gave me a word from God. I couldn't believe it at the time.
Still carrying the guilt and condemnation of running away from God and believing he would not forgive me (I carried around the condemnation and weight of committing the unforgivable sin)
I came before God one day. In tears and fear and desperate hope I cried out. "God please forgive me, I am so sorry I peed it up against the wall, please please please forgive me that I did this and ran away from you"
With tears in my eyes and a heavy heart I sat in the quiet of my room then God said to me.
"Oh my son, my dear precious Bill, I knew you were going to run away so I prepared a place for you to go to. You don't realise it but you are actually in the place that I knew where you needed to be, so I want you to settle in this church and where you are, oh by the way I love you very much and you haven't committed the unforgivable sin, I know what's truly in your heart"
Most of you are probably wondering what the word given to me from God by someone who I never met.
Here it is. Although for Israel this person said that God asked them to tell me this for me as a son of his.
Jeremiah 29:11-14
For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. In those days when you pray, I will listen. If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me. I will be found by you,” says the Lord. “I will end your captivity and restore your fortunes. I will gather you out of the nations where I sent you and will bring you home again to your own land.”
My encouragement.
If any of you have wandered of the level path, have run away from God and that doesn't necessarily mean that you have stopped going to church but maybe living like the prodigal son, yet want to come back but are frightened of a beating as such or even rejection then know and settle in the knowledge and fact that when your turn back on that level path the following is going to happen.
Your Father is going to see you no matter how far off the path you are (he has good eyesight) and he is going to be running down that path and give you so much love, hugging, embracing and he will be so joyful and pleased to see you.
When Jesus on the cross said "It is finished" the temple curtain was torn in two. We have access to God 24/7 and God will never ever stitch that temple curtain back up. We can though. But if we dare to look back and turn back he will remind us that when Jesus said it is finished it was in fact finished.
Then He will say to you to all of us.
Jeremiah 31:3
Long ago the Lord said to Israel:
“I have loved you, my people, with an everlasting love.
With unfailing love I have drawn you to myself.
Let us all remember
Psalms 103:9-14
He will not constantly accuse us,
nor remain angry forever.
He does not punish us for all our sins;
he does not deal harshly with us, as we deserve.
For his unfailing love toward those who fear him
is as great as the height of the heavens above the earth.
He has removed our sins as far from us
as the east is from the west.
The Lord is like a father to his children,
tender and compassionate to those who fear him.
For he knows how weak we are;
he remembers we are only dust.
My short testimony is as follows.
27 years ago I was in a mess. I was engaged to a girl in the church. I knew it wasn't right and eventually broke it off. I suddenly developed severe anxiety, I was still going to church but was finding it hard.
Eventually I said enough is enough. I stopped going to church and within a short time I packed my job in and decided to move 200 miles away so no one in the church could find me and keep in contact with me. I ran away from God. I had a friend (who had stopped going to church as well) who I moved in with for a while then found my own place. I did the prodigal thing, spent my money on booze, slept around. Even whilst doing all of this I wasn't happy and yearned for God.
One day my friend said he had started to go to a new church would I like to come along. After his umpteenth time of asking I said yes. So I went, but boy the guilt and condemnation I carried was a very very heavy burden. Someone who I had never met came up and gave me a word from God. I couldn't believe it at the time.
Still carrying the guilt and condemnation of running away from God and believing he would not forgive me (I carried around the condemnation and weight of committing the unforgivable sin)
I came before God one day. In tears and fear and desperate hope I cried out. "God please forgive me, I am so sorry I peed it up against the wall, please please please forgive me that I did this and ran away from you"
With tears in my eyes and a heavy heart I sat in the quiet of my room then God said to me.
"Oh my son, my dear precious Bill, I knew you were going to run away so I prepared a place for you to go to. You don't realise it but you are actually in the place that I knew where you needed to be, so I want you to settle in this church and where you are, oh by the way I love you very much and you haven't committed the unforgivable sin, I know what's truly in your heart"
Most of you are probably wondering what the word given to me from God by someone who I never met.
Here it is. Although for Israel this person said that God asked them to tell me this for me as a son of his.
Jeremiah 29:11-14
For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. In those days when you pray, I will listen. If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me. I will be found by you,” says the Lord. “I will end your captivity and restore your fortunes. I will gather you out of the nations where I sent you and will bring you home again to your own land.”
My encouragement.
If any of you have wandered of the level path, have run away from God and that doesn't necessarily mean that you have stopped going to church but maybe living like the prodigal son, yet want to come back but are frightened of a beating as such or even rejection then know and settle in the knowledge and fact that when your turn back on that level path the following is going to happen.
Your Father is going to see you no matter how far off the path you are (he has good eyesight) and he is going to be running down that path and give you so much love, hugging, embracing and he will be so joyful and pleased to see you.
When Jesus on the cross said "It is finished" the temple curtain was torn in two. We have access to God 24/7 and God will never ever stitch that temple curtain back up. We can though. But if we dare to look back and turn back he will remind us that when Jesus said it is finished it was in fact finished.
Then He will say to you to all of us.
Jeremiah 31:3
Long ago the Lord said to Israel:
“I have loved you, my people, with an everlasting love.
With unfailing love I have drawn you to myself.
Let us all remember
Psalms 103:9-14
He will not constantly accuse us,
nor remain angry forever.
He does not punish us for all our sins;
he does not deal harshly with us, as we deserve.
For his unfailing love toward those who fear him
is as great as the height of the heavens above the earth.
He has removed our sins as far from us
as the east is from the west.
The Lord is like a father to his children,
tender and compassionate to those who fear him.
For he knows how weak we are;
he remembers we are only dust.
