The Lord is calling on His people to return to Him. His desire is that we once again make a conscious effort to embrace the ways that are right, true, and holy. We must set aside sin and wrongdoing and live with eternity in mind.
This means that repentance is for the church! The bride Jesus is returning for is to be a holy bride, one that lives in a constant state of preparation. The work of the Holy Spirit to prepare us for Jesus is a co-laboring effort. The Lord does His part, and we do ours.
Our part of the process is to live in full repentance with nothing held back.
In fact, I feel the Lord calling out:
“Return, O my people, to the places from which you have left. Take up the mantle of holiness again, and live your lives in full surrender to Me and to My Spirit. Let not the things of this life or the world pull you toward the deep, but allow My Spirit to draw you toward the shore. Do not be mired in misgivings or in the bitterness of the world and its people, for they are drowning in a sea of their own choices. But My people are to be a holy people—ones who are full of the Spirit and seek My ways. Return, return, return to Me, My people. You are the love of My heart and the longing of My soul. I reach out to you; to those who are wayward, I offer a clear path. To those who are lost, I offer direction. To those who are weighed down with burdens and cares, I offer to lighten your heavy load. But none of these things will be done from a distance. It is your decision to come close to Me and return to My ways that will set you free from the bondage of the enemy. Surely, this is the hour to repent and return. For in a moment, I will come. In a fleeting instant, My word will be proven true, and the door to mercy will change. Come through the door now. Do not wait. Furthermore, I seek those who are backslidden in their hearts and have their minds blinded to My holy ways. I pull them with cords of love. I seek to bind up their wounds and heal their backsliding by removing the pain that has distanced them from Me. But this is a choice. I lay before you an open door. You must walk through it.”
I want to take a moment to emphasize this idea of “returning.” It is something that Scripture is straightforward about. Throughout the entirety of Scripture, the choice for people to return to the Lord is set forth. We see it in the story of the lost son. This story is found in the book of Luke.
Luke 15:11-19 NKJV — [11] Then He said: “A certain man had two sons. [12] And the younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the portion of goods that falls to me.’ So he divided to them his livelihood. [13] And not many days after, the younger son gathered all together, journeyed to a far country, and there wasted his possessions with prodigal living. [14] But when he had spent all, there arose a severe famine in that land, and he began to be in want. [15] Then he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country, and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. [16] And he would gladly have filled his stomach with the pods that the swine ate, and no one gave him anything. [17] “But when he came to himself, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! [18] I will arise and go to my father, and will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you, [19] and I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Make me like one of your hired servants.”’
Often, when we read this story or hear it preached, we are encouraged by the son’s choice to return to his father. We see it as repentance. However, I want to use this account to illustrate, not the son’s repentance, but the father’s love and mercy. In verse fifteen, we see the son come into a place of great trouble and distress. He is at his lowest point, yet in this state, the son’s first option isn’t his father. He simply looks for help from someone in the country he fled to. He has nothing. He has wasted his life, his father’s provision, and his inheritance. There is no hope. He is hungry. And it is in this moment of hunger that something comes into the son’s heart: He will return to the father.
Verse seventeen proves that the son isn’t returning in repentance; he just needs help. It doesn’t say that he is sorry for his choices; it simply paints the picture of a man who has finally reached a place of nowhere to turn. The son rehearses the right words to use in order to make the father happy. He knows what to say. But notice, he is not returning based on identity, but rather on need.
Even in this, we are about to see the heart of God on display.
Luke 15:20-24 NKJV — [20] “And he arose and came to his father. But when he was still a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him. [21] And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight, and am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ [22] “But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet. [23] And bring the fatted calf here and kill it, and let us eat and be merry; [24] for this my son was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ And they began to be merry.
The father doesn’t take a moment to entertain the son’s offer of being a hired hand. He relates to his son out of mercy and identity. He does not chastise the son for all his wrongdoing and terrible mistakes. In stark contrast, the father welcomes home a sinner with love and mercy because his son has come home.
I feel the Lord impressing upon me to say, “there are many backsliders He is calling back home right now.”
He longs for His sons and daughters to return home! God has strongly impressed upon my heart that there are many older men in communities who have spent years doing wrong, making poor choices, and hurting their families in many ways, and these men see no point or place of return. But the Father’s heart is calling out to them now and drawing them. And if the church will pray for these backslidden believers, God will draw them back in before it is too late.
There will be a restoring process that has to take place, yes, absolutely. But God has not and will not give up on those who have once loved Him, served Him, and walked away.
But hear me, church: it isn’t just that we backslide when we fully walk away from the Lord. Backsliding happens in stages. It is a process of time and choice. Those who are not fully on fire for Christ as they once were must return to a close relationship with Jesus. Your eternity depends on it.
There are people you know right now who used to be hot and fiery for Jesus Christ, but somewhere along the way, they began to let the fire grow dim. We must pray for them. If we find ourselves in this place, we must return to a pure love, a strong love, and a fiery love for Christ.
It is not the time to sit and dwell on the problems that led us to this place. Cast away the problems and run home!
The Cure.
The Bible gives us the cure in 2 Chronicles 7:14.
2 Chronicles 7:14 NKJV — [14] If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.
The word “turn” in this verse means: to turn back, to return, to turn back to God, to repent. It is used over 900 times in the Old Testament and is also translated as making restitution and turning to the Lord. It can also mean reverting back to a former way of living.
This is what the Lord desires from His people in this hour. Where we have allowed any degree of separation between us and Him, we are to come back to our former way of living. He is calling us to return to holiness and the fear of the Lord. God seeks us to return to a real relationship with Jesus. We are to pray and seek His face, not just His hands. God’s people demonstrate our repentance as we return to humility and fully follow Jesus Christ.
In the New Testament, John the Baptist is the first to preach this message of repentance, and what strikes me most is that he clearly defines repentance as much more than words. Repentance is action. It is a change of mind that bears and produces fruit.
Matthew 3:8 NKJV — [8] Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance,
If my actions, thoughts, emotions, responses, and ways of being still resemble the world, I am backsliding instead of pursuing repentance. Repentance will produce immediate changes in my life. Transformation takes time, but change begins as soon as I make the move to return fully to my love for Christ.
Part of the problem in the modern church is that we have mistakenly understood salvation, sanctification, and transformation as one-time events. We assume these are things that happen to us or something God does to us, when in reality they are processes that take the rest of our lives to accomplish.
You and I should be in a process of becoming more like Jesus until we leave this planet. We are to be transformed more each day into His image. Salvation is a process with a clear starting point but no ending point. The finish line isn’t even death. Throughout eternity, the effects of salvation and the blood of Christ will continue to transform us. We will learn more about Jesus with each passing moment in heaven. So how can we feel it is okay to stop moving forward here on earth?
Jesus’ core message.
This message of repentance was the core message of Jesus. It was and is the starting point for everything else.
Matthew 4:17 NKJV — [17] From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
Before Jesus spoke about loving your neighbor, He preached repentance. Before He ministered healing, He preached repentance. There is something powerful in recognizing what Jesus prioritized. Let’s not lose sight of our first love.
We need to understand that there is a point where God says, “enough.” We learn this in the book of Luke.
Luke 13:1-9 NKJV — [1] There were present at that season some who told Him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. [2] And Jesus answered and said to them, “Do you suppose that these Galileans were worse sinners than all other Galileans, because they suffered such things? [3] I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish. [4] Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them, do you think that they were worse sinners than all other men who dwelt in Jerusalem? [5] I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish.” [6] He also spoke this parable: “A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it and found none. [7] Then he said to the keeper of his vineyard, ‘Look, for three years I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree and find none. Cut it down; why does it use up the ground?’ [8] But he answered and said to him, ‘Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and fertilize it. [9] And if it bears fruit, well. But if not, after that you can cut it down.’”
The owner represents the Father. This parable could be spoken to the nation of Israel but also to us. The Father expects fruit. Jesus, the vinedresser, comes on a mission of mercy to rescue the fig tree. He wants to dig around it and fertilize it to see if it will produce. There is also an outcome-based decision that will happen. If the tree produces, it will remain in the ground, but if it still does not grow fruit, it will be cut down.
The religious spirit that believers battle against lies to us and says it will be good as long as we “look” fruitful. As long as the tree appears to be healthy, that’s all that matters. This is a lie. Fruit is what matters. The tree may look battered and weatherworn, but if it is still producing fruit, the owner will use it and care for it instead of removing it.
We need to cast the religious spirit out of our lives and stop listening to it. It is not enough to simply come sit in church, give some money, and leave unchanged. The Father is calling us to return to purity, holiness, and love for Jesus. These are the things that truly matter and produce fruit.
And just in case we don’t think the Lord will remove us, I want to remind us of the passage in the book of Revelation.
Revelation 2:4-5 NKJV — [4] Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love. [5] Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works, or else I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place-unless you repent.
The Father is reaching out to the church across the earth right now. He is asking us, from a heart of love, to return to Him. He wants to restore and renew you. The Father desires to reaffirm your identity as sons and daughters. He is not waiting to harm or chastise you. However, there will come a time when the door will close unless we return.
Don’t let anything keep you from fully following Jesus with all your heart. His door is open. Walk through it.