Restoration 2018:  Our Picture of God

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Restoration Ministry

Dee Casper

Why God Won’t Leave

Sweet Jesus, I thank you for this privilege to come into your presence in prayer, and I'm asking that you would lavish your blessings upon us today, even in greater measure than last night.

Lord, I feel an extra sense of my weakness and need, and I'm praying that you would do something for all of us today that none of us would soon forget, and that you would show us your glory.

Pray that you would bind the forces of darkness by the name of Jesus and the blood that was shed on our behalf.

And I pray, Lord, that this would be everything that you intend for it to be, and you have permission now to minister to each of us, including myself.

So this evening's message is connected to last night's message, and it's going to be entitled, Why God Won't Leave.

I alluded to this last night that many had this unfortunate picture of the Old Testament God as if it's someone different.

But God's intention this morning, I believe, is to communicate very clearly through Old Testament texts, where God himself is speaking, that he is altogether lovely, that he's altogether fair, and that he's head over heels in love with you.

And you can find that picture of God in the Old Testament.

I'd like for you to join me now in Ezekiel chapter 18.

Again, we're gonna have a Bible study today.

Ezekiel chapter 18 in verse 23, kind of dovetailing from what we covered last night about the close of salvation history, the destruction of the wicked.

Ezekiel chapter 18 and verse 23, all the references should be on the board, so whenever I start, you can still see them up there if you're still turning.

Ezekiel chapter 18 and verse 23, God himself speaking and he says, do I have any pleasure at all that the wicked should die says the Lord God and not that he should turn from his ways and live and skip a few verses over to Zekiel chapter 33 in verse 11.

Zekiel chapter 33 and verse 11, again God Himself speaking, "'Say to them, as I live, ' says the Lord God, which is from everlasting to everlasting, I have how much pleasure?

I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live.

Turn, turn from your evil ways, for why should you die, O house of Israel?

God here takes no delight, no pleasure, no enjoyment in having to destroy the wicked.

As we discovered last night, He's pursuing and wooing us, hoping we'll make a different choice, But at the end of the day, he values freedom of choice so highly that he literally is going to honor your decisions and the judgment over his.

Over his own desires and ambitions for you, he's going to honor your decision.

But he doesn't want you to make the wrong choice.

He's pleading with us in the Old Testament.

Turn, turn from me for ways, for why should you die, O house of Israel?

I have no pleasure in your death and your destruction or your misery.

2 Peter 3, 9 says something very similar, that the Lord does not slack concerning his promise.

He's not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance." Same premise.

But it should be clear here then that God does not rejoice over the death of anyone.

No 1 creates something out of love and then takes enjoyment in destroying it.

And what I'd like to do now is go to Isaiah chapter 5.

This is 1 of the most profound examples of God's astonishment at some of the choices that we make.

Isaiah chapter 5 and beginning in verse 1.

Now let me sing to my well-beloved a song of my beloved regarding his vineyard.

My well-beloved has a vineyard on a very fruitful hill.

He dug it up and he cleared out its stones.

So he's getting rid of all the hindrances, all the barriers for its fruitfulness.

And he planted it with what type of vine?

With the choicest vine, the nicest you can find with the most potential.

And he built a tower in its midst, and he also made a winepress in it, And so he expected it to bring forth good grapes.

But it brought forth what type of grapes?

And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem and men of Judah, judge please between me and my vineyard.

What more could have been done to my vineyard that I have not done in it?

Why then, when I expected it to bring forth good grapes, did it bring forth wild grapes?

And now please let me tell you what I will do to my vineyard.

I will take away its hedge, its means of protection, and it should be burned, and break down its wall, again a means of protection, and it should be burned.

And break down its wall, again, a means of protection, and it should be trampled down.

So God, in his great love and mercy, established and removed the boundaries and the barriers and the hindrances to their growth.

We as the Seventh-day Adventist Church have reforms built into our movement.

And there are things that God brought into our experience and intended to bring into our experience to make growth more easy.

To make our growth in loveliness of character and fruitfulness for Christ to make it less difficult.

And if you understood, and if we all understood, that the reforms that God gave us were solely dealing with our relationship with Jesus and our connection with Him, not manipulation, not control, not deprivation.

If it was the love of God and enhancing our relationship with Jesus, we would look at them far differently, wouldn't we?

But when they're presented in the, you can't, you shouldn't, you won't, you don't, people kind of miss a blessing.

God was actually removing the things that would keep it from growing to fruitfulness.

Health reform, modesty, whatever they may be.

They're all pointing to this, enhancing our relationship with Jesus.

He did everything necessary for the plant to turn out and it doesn't.

And he literally says, what more could I have done for you?

I removed the barriers, I planted the choices vine.

Some would say that God could stop this from happening.

Genesis chapter 2, beginning of verse 15.

Genesis chapter 2 verse 15, Then the Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and to keep it.

And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat.

You may freely eat, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day you eat of it does it say that I will kill you?

No, he says that in the day you eat of it you will surely die.

I'm giving you freedom to make a choice, but I'm informing your power of choice beforehand.

And it's because I love you that I'm doing so.

I mean if God goes through the effort to warn them about what would cause them harm if they were to do it, tells them there's another option, and they choose to do it anyway, is that God's fault?

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Why God Won’t Leave

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