Complete Restoration

“Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.  And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.” -  1 Corinthians 6: 9-11

Our God is a God of complete restoration; a God of hope, of perfection, of betterment.  We should all be thankful that God does not choose us the way the world chooses us.  The world does not accept, or embrace what we could be, but rather what we are.  It loves those who by reason of strength, charm, or good fortune, have exalted themselves above the rest; given the masses something to aspire to, or at the very least something that will entertain.  God’s selection process is completely different; he cries “whosoever will.”  He takes broken, sinful, vile, unholy us, and makes us anew.

Imagine with me for a moment, imagine if a radical Muslim, known world over for hunting and killing Christians, say Bin Ladin, if he was still alive.  His fame, his person, everything that he is, centers on his zeal for persecuting Christians.  What if this man walked into your church Sunday morning?  What if he strolled right up to the pulpit opened the Bible and began to read Matthew chapter seven, verses seven and eight?  What would you do?  Would you believe him?  Would you be terrified of him?  Don’t think it can’t happen?  It has already happened; Paul the Apostle was such a man.  A man that vehemently persecuted the church, imprisoned preachers of the gospel; made it his life’s work to alienate Christianity.  Then one day Jesus stopped him in his tracks, and changed his life forever; are we not thankful that God’s selection process is somewhat different than the worlds?  I ask, if God can take a man such as Paul, a man that killed Christians.  If he can sanctify this man, if he can make a: preacher, teacher, minister, apostle, out of this man.  What can he do for you in your life?  Jesus does not see us as the world does.  As one preacher said: “He doesn’t see you for what you are, but for what you will be.”  You see a filthy, ruined, broken life.  He sees a white, clean, complete, testimony.  You see a sin enslaved prisoner.  He sees a prime candidate to be an ambassador.  A preacher of the ministry of reconciliation.  A person that can proclaim to all who will hear “he did it for me and he can do it for you!”  Simply put, Jesus can change your life, if you give it to him.  As the old hymn goes “give up, and let Jesus take over.”  I don’t always know who reads this tract every week.  I don’t always know who you are, or where you come from.  But I do know this, for a person who is truly repentant, utterly sold out to Jesus Christ.  When that person gets up from an altar of prayer, they will not be the same person who knelt to begin with.  That’s why it’s called conversion, and when God puts his Spirit in that vessel, it will burn out the desire to sin, and make instead a “want-to” follow Christ.  God will take out hat part of you that naturally “wants-to” disobey God, and put in a new “want-to.”  A want-to that wants what he wants, and desires what he desires.  He will make you a holy vessel sanctified and meet for the master’s use. 

This is the gospel, and it is for whosoever will, not for whosoever is qualified.  You don’t get your life in order so you can come to God; you come to God because he can put your life in order, and give you eternal life to come.  Like a rose among the thorns, God can make something beautiful blossom from a sharp, barren, harsh, vine………If you let him.  If you let him, God can make something beautiful out of your life.