Before we come to God's Word for tonight, brethren, let's once again look to this great Jesus for help in this hour. Let's pray. Our Father, we rejoice that we can be in Your presence this night. Indeed, O Lord, who are we amongst men that such a grand privilege should be given to us? And Lord, though few in number, we mind not. because where two or three are gathered, here you are in our midst. So we rejoice, O sovereign king, matchless monarch, that you are the gracious one, the one who cares for your people, the one who sustains them all of their days, and the one who gathers together with them when they meet in your name. O God, this is what we have done tonight. This is what we are doing. So come and meet with us, we pray. Strengthen us, O God. Encourage us. in the way of truth and righteousness. We ask it for Your own namesake. Amen. Would you please turn with me in your Bibles this evening to Hosea 14. Hosea 14. Please follow with me as I read this entire chapter. Hosea 14 in your Old Testament Bibles. Hosea 14, one of the Minor Prophets. As we come to our last message in our series on backsliding, would you notice with me, please, the words of the prophet and the words of God to the northern kingdom of Israel before they were taken into Assyrian captivity because of their sin. Hosea 14, picking up at verse 1. Note the words. Hosea speaking says, O Israel, return to the Lord your God. For you have stumbled because of your iniquity. Take words with you and return to the Lord. Say to Him, Take away all iniquity. Receive us graciously. For we will offer the sacrifices of our lips. Assyria shall not save us. We will not ride on horses. Nor will we say any more to the work of our hands. You are our gods. For in you the fatherless finds mercy. Now in verse 4 and following, God speaks and says, I will heal their backsliding. Praise God. I will love them freely, for my anger has turned away from Him. I will be like the dew to Israel. He shall grow like the lily, and lengthen His roots like Lebanon. His branches shall spread. His beauty shall be like an olive tree, and His fragrance like Lebanon. Those who dwell under his shadow shall return. They shall be revived like grain and grow like a vine. Their scent shall be like the wine of Lebanon. Ephraim shall say, What have I to do anymore with idols? I have heard and observed him. I am like a green cypress tree. Your fruit is found in me." Verse 9. Who is wise? Let him understand these things. Who is prudent? let him know them for the ways of the lord a right the righteous walk in them the transgressors stumble in them well as i said a moment ago we come this evening to our last message in this series on backsliding because i know that true believers can in fact be drawn away from the lord our god because of the enticements of the world the flash and the devil I thought it good for us as a congregation to take up a series on this vital subject backsliding or a temporary departing from the living God is that which can happen to even the most mature saints among us and therefore we must always be on guard because backsliding is a terrible spiritual condition which always produces in us grief sorrow shame and regret I have sought in these messages to give you various ways to identify what produces backsliding in us and what backsliding looks like if, in fact, we have been affected or overcome by it. In this series of sermons, we've considered backsliding, its definition, its metaphors, its examples, its causes, and its signs. And for this evening, we come to close by considering its remedies. If in fact we have been affected by backsliding, how can we be spiritually healed from such a malady? Now, although I know there are some of us here who are not in a backslidden condition, although tonight's message may not seem so applicable now, however, This medicine will be that which you will want to have at your disposal if you do stumble in the days ahead. So therefore, my dear friends, please listen intently and take good notes, knowing that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. And for those among us here who, to one degree or another, have moved away from the living Christ in your heart to something else, Well, then you, my friend, must begin to take the prescribed medicine even this evening. Well, as we come then to the topic at hand, would you consider with me first for tonight that a crucial remedy for backsliding is that of godly repentance, godly repentance. Now, when I speak of godly repentance, what do I mean? Well, when I stress the word godly repentance, automatically a passage should come in your mind, namely 2 Corinthians chapter 7, where Paul contrasts godly repentance versus the sorrow of the world, of which he says is what? Useless. It's vain. When I speak of godly repentance, I speak about that repentance which is not to be regretted because it is full of life, purpose, and zeal. and full of desire to turn from whatever is leading us astray from the Lord our God. Godly repentance. A godly repentance in connection to backsliding is that which says, I am done with whatever or whomever it is that has been causing me to sin and to not walk with Christ as I ought. This is what godly repentance is all about. It's about us seeing that we have departed from the living God and have violated his ways and it's about us crying out with the prodigal son in Luke chapter 15 saying I will arise and go to my father and say to him I have sinned against heaven and before you church this is the essence of what I am addressing now. This godly repentance is that repentance which is heavenward. That is to say, it is God-focused seeing sin as that which is primarily against Him, and therefore, with great grief and shame of heart, we turn from our sins. And say with David of old in Psalm 51, have mercy upon me, O God, according to your lovingkindness. Have mercy upon me according to the multitude of your tender mercies. Blot out my transgression. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity. And cleanse me from my sin. Here, dear congregation, is where true spiritual restoration begins. This is the very first step to spiritual recovery. Listen, it's not by us telling ourselves that things are not so bad. No. It's not by us telling ourselves that things will get better apart from godly repentance. No. Rather, it's by us turning to God in Christ, and with grief and hatred of sin, with full purpose of an endeavor after. new obedience, new obedience to the living God, to quote the Shorter Catechism in its definition of repentance. Church, I say that without this heartfelt repentance, unless this is done by us, nothing else, nothing else will matter. Until we see that we have gone astray from the living God and that we must break with all of our idols, like the people here in Hosea's day had to, all else will fail. Everything else is but a band-aid. But here is where we must begin. As Hosea thinks about this nation which has committed grievous sins, and because of this fact, they're going to be judged by the living God. He says, break with those things which have caused you to stumble. and return again to Jehovah. Break from those things. That is, repent. Relinquish them. Return and be restored. Let me just say here at this point, if you're here tonight and in your heart you have not been walking with the living Christ as we've been discussing over the many weeks, if something has won your heart's attachment above Jesus, then here is the first spiritual pill that you must take. Here is the first thing that you must do in your own heart even now. A Godward repentance. A heavenward repentance. I have sinned against you, O God, and have done evil in your sight. You must own your sins, my friend. You must turn from them and you must return to the living God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. Like Hosea commands the people here in this chapter in verse 2, note it again, so also you must do, my dear one, take words with you and return to the Lord. What words? He puts them in the people's mouth. Return to the Lord. Say to Him, take away all iniquity. Receive us graciously, for we will offer the sacrifices or the fruit of our lips, which is praise. Friends, I say it again this night, if any here are not in a good spiritual state, if your hearts are cold to the living God, here is where you must begin. Turn from your sins. Spiritual pill number one. Consider with me secondly then this evening that a crucial remedy for backsliding is that of godly relationships. Godly relationships. Would you please turn with me in your Bible to Galatians chapter 6 and verse 1. Galatians chapter 6 and verse 1. Galatians chapter 6 and verse 1. It's a wonderful book. The book of Galatians. Will Paul here in this last chapter, seeking to wrap things up, speaking very practically to the church, note what he says. 6 verse 1. Paul says in speaking to the congregation, Galatians 6 verse 1, Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual, restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself, lest you also be tempted. Now, although the specific sin in view is not mentioned in the passage, it's clear that Whatever it was, the Apostle Paul is now looking to the brethren, especially those who are spiritual, or those who are displaying the spiritual fruit that he's been speaking of in the previous chapter in their lives. He's calling these spiritual brethren to be involved in the process of healing the backslidden repentant. individual. You see here, dear ones, whereas unholy influences can do us great harm in our lives as Christians, this passage teaches us that the holy influence of the brethren is that which can make us spiritually well if we have fallen away from the living God. And here we see in this passage, dear congregation, that far from the church of the living God being a place where we look down our noses at those who have fallen into sin, no, that's not where to do. Rather, the church is to be a place where we lovingly care for those who have fallen into a backslidden condition. Don't look down your noses at them. No, Paul says, restore. Such a one. Don't move over. When they come and sit next to you, if you know they've been in sin, no, move next to them and speak to them about their condition. Paul says here by way of a command, brethren, that the spiritual ones in the church are to restore. Literally, they are to continually mend together as one would a broken net, the one who has been overtaken by sin. Restore such a one. Same Greek word where the disciples were mending their nets together. Paul says, be a net mender for your brethren. Church, Paul says, this is our job. He says, this is our task as the people of God. And then he describes the manner in which it is to be done. What does he say? Restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness And the climate, if you will, is considering yourselves, lest you also be tempted. Be careful, Paul says. Consider yourselves, lest you be overtaken by the same sin. Now this language here in Galatians chapter 6 is quite similar to what we read in James chapter 5. So let's turn there in our Bibles together. James chapter 5. James chapter 5. Notice with me what James says in verses 19 and 20, chapter 5. My uninspired heading in my Bible reads, Bringing Back the Erring One. It's a good title. James chapter 5. Notice with me what James says. Brethren, speaking to Christians, if any among you wanders from the truth and someone turns him back, Let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save a soul from death and cover a multitude of sins. Brethren, if any among you wanders, that is, strays away from the truth and someone turns him back, let him know that he that turns a sinner from the error of his way will save his soul from death and cover a multitude of sins. Now, there is a question as to who the sinner is here in the passage. And the commentators are split all over the place as to who this individual in view who's wandered from the truth might be. Is it a believer or an unbeliever? To me, at this point, it doesn't really matter. Because the point of the passage is plain, and it is this. Just like in our Galatian text, the point is that we as the people of God are responsible for the spiritual welfare of each other. That much I think everyone agrees upon. All of us who make up the people of God, especially those who are in good spiritual health, are to be involved in the process of restoring the brethren if in fact they have strayed. We, dear congregation, Grace Community Baptist Church, we are our brother's keeper. We are. And we are to be our brother's keeper. You see, dear congregation, this is not only the responsibility of the pastor. No. It's all of our responsibility. And I would say by way of application that if in fact you know someone in the church who was in a spiritually backslidden condition, if you know that to be the case, you might want to talk to them, having listened to the other messages, to see if in fact that's the case. If someone doesn't show up to church one week, it doesn't mean they're backslidden, okay? Someone says, I didn't read my Bible once this year, don't say, maybe you're in a backslidden condition. No, let's not overreact. Biblically, if we perceive that they may be in the grip of a backslidden condition, as defined in the first message, etc. Dear congregation, you with the grace of God in your heart and on your lips should seek to restore such a one by speaking to them. According to the Bible, according to the Apostle Paul, this is what a biblically healthy church is to be doing and this is why paul could say for example in romans fifteen in verse fourteen note the text write it down paul says no i myself and confident concerning you what are you confident about paul tells us that you also are full of goodness filled with all knowledge able also to admonish one another paul says i'm very confident of this thing immature believers I rest assured in the fact that each one of you can do the job of admonishing that is coming alongside. Speaking words of encouragement, yes, but at the same time, if need be so, speaking a word of exhortation or even rebuke to your brother with the grace of God upon your lips. You know, I spoke to a man this week was a counseling ministry in a local church here in Rhode Island. And he said to me that he desires that there would be in every church a biblical counseling ministry. Not only that of what the pastor does, no, but that amongst all of the people there would be a counseling ministry within the local congregation. I commend him for his desire. And as I thought about our congregation, dear church, I thought that there are more than enough people in this place who could be doing this very thing. And so I ask you here this evening, dear church, dear spiritual brethren, I ask you, I ask you to consider how you might be able to be part of this restorative process in this, our church. We have brethren in this church who are weaker brethren, who are prone to backsliding. Well, if you would be available to counsel people like this with an open Bible, speak to your pastors. I've said it before, I'll say it again. This is not a one-man band. It's not a one-man show. That's not the picture of the New Testament church. And we hide our gifts and our talents, brethren, if we leave the work up to the pastor and the pastor alone. I probably spent four, five, six, seven hours in the last two weeks on the phone with a person from this congregation, and that call could have been handled by one of you brethren in this church. I know it for sure. I'm thankful to have had the opportunity to do it, but as I look at it, it wasn't really necessary. That person could have been counseled by most of you here this night. So, I ask you, consider how you might be able to be part of this restorative process in our church. And if you are, and are able, speak to your pastors. According to the Bible, this is the ministry for all of God's people. And as we do what God calls us to do, I believe His glory will most clearly be magnified amongst us. What then might this mean for you? As a Christian here tonight, well, first, it's going to mean that you're going to have to be a man or woman of the Word. Okay? When we counsel people, we don't give them the stuff of our own hearts or our own heads. We give them the Word of God. We counsel them with the Scripture. to use the fancy phrase, newthetic counseling. Secondly, it's going to mean for you that if you're going to counsel people in this church, or if another church calls me, as it did some months ago, asking if I could counsel a married couple in trouble, it's going to mean for you that you're going to have to be a man or woman who has a good conscience before God and before men. We must not be hypocrites as we counsel others. Therefore, we must have blood-soaked consciences, brethren, that appear in the eyes of God and in the eyes of others. Finally, it's going to mean for you that if you do this, that you're going to have to give up a lot of your time because this is what is required. You'll have to be a selfless individual, willing to pull away from your work, willing to pull away from your family, so that you could impart good to those whom Christ loves and has died for. Friends, a powerful remedy to help the backslider become well is that of the church getting involved with the individual and helping them to that end. We as the people of God are commanded to be involved in helping our brethren back on the right path. We all, by God's grace, are to be helpers with the Lord to restore our brethren back to their former spiritual, healthy condition. Now, we might ask the question at this point. I've not dealt with this in the series, but I bring it up here. Here's the question. What about corporate church discipline? Can this be used by the church to restore a straying believer? And I would say yes, it certainly can. If the straying individual refuses godly admonition and the instruction of the brethren, and the situation is such, yes, at that time, church discipline can be enacted. And church discipline is to be restorative. It is to restore the straying individual. But for the one who is repenting and looking for help, while discipline might certainly be in order in some cases, It is not always that which is to be used. Thirdly, then, consider with me this evening that a crucial remedy for backsliding is that of a diligent use of the means of grace. A diligent use of the means of grace. Now, I have spoken about this aspect of the means of grace several times in this series, so I will not elaborate upon that now. But suffice it to say, my concern here is that we all understand that an essential step in achieving lasting victory over backsliding is the reestablishing of the personal disciplines of reading our Bibles, private prayer, and sitting under the ministry of the Word of God in a biblical local church. If, in fact, the repentant backslider is to be restored to full health, they must immediately get back to doing these things, or else they will be like a starving man who is weak and about to die. Bible reading. Why? So that we can think God's thoughts after Him. Prayers. Why? So that we can commune with the Living God through Jesus Christ our Lord and the ministry of the preaching of the Word of God in the local church. Why? So that we can be built up and edified. in our most holy faith. Dear ones, here is how we will stay strong as believers in Christ. And if we have slid away from the Lord, this is how we will grow spiritually healthy once again. And so, dear congregation, I challenge you this evening, as I have done before, not to leave off these things. I challenge you this evening to be people of the book. No read, no feed, no Bible, no breakfast. I will get into the Word and feed my soul. I will memorize the Word. I will meditate upon the Word. I will consume the Word. I will bless God for His Word. Be people of prayer. Spend time with God. Make time. I've got no time! Who does? Make time. You're not going to regret it. You're not going to walk away after 20, 30 minutes of prayer, 10 minutes of prayer. You're never going to walk away and say, oh, I shouldn't have done that. What a waste of time. No. It's going to be the very thing that's going to strengthen you for the whole day. Maybe that's why some of you now are experiencing great difficulties in your life. Because you haven't been spending time in prayer. Oh, what griefs we often forfeit. Oh, what needless shame we bear. All because we do not carry everything to God in prayer. Finally, church, I challenge you again. Be people who are committed to the local church. The local church. The place where the Word and the sacraments are upheld. Godly fellowship is given. Love is amongst the brethren. The Lord's Day is observed. Be committed to the local church. We live in a day where the local church is, ah, whatever. Go to church when I like. come and go, etc. No. The local church is where it's at, brethren. It is where it's at. It is through the church, Paul says, that God is determined to set forth His glories through the church, through the local assemblies that He has established all throughout the world. Never despise the church of God. It is at the heart of all that He is doing in the world. And as I look at my Christian life for almost 20 years now, by God's grace, every single godly man or woman that I know have been individuals who all make diligent use of the means of grace. There's no shortcuts to being a godly Christian. It takes a lot of work, a lot of prayer, a lot of discipline. Being in the church, all day long. Sometimes your flesh says, I want to stay home tonight. But you say, I know I should go. I know it will be good for me. And then when you drag your tired body to church and you leave Sunday night, you say, oh Lord, I'm thankful I went. Always that's how it is. Saturday prayer meeting. Saturday. That's not easy, right? but every time i go and come back home i'm rejoicing in the lord i'm thanking god for his mercies it's hard to get in there sometimes these guys who have got a sermon i've got a finish i've got a soccer team i've got a coach uh... yeah yeah but i'm going because this is what god would have and not a once brethren have i left the saturday prayer meeting saying uh... what a waste of time it was the travel thirty minutes each way to be with the brethren. No, I say, Lord, that was wonderful. What a blessing it was to my soul every time. My dear brethren, as I said, every godly person I know in my life has been a person committed to the diligent use of the means of grace. And I ask, do you think this is a coincidence? Just a coincidence? No, it's not. The means of grace are the channels by which God intends to do us much good. And therefore, brethren, if we leave them off, we do it to our own hurt. Well, may it never be said of you that this is so. May it never be said of me. Again, these are the channels whereby God ordains to bless us, and so may we never neglect them. Daily be in the Scriptures, church. Daily delight yourself in prayer. And may you week in and week out rejoice that you sit in a place where the Word of God is faithfully preached by His great grace and mercy alone. Congregation, continue to do all that God calls you to do. Saturate yourself in His means that He's given for your soul's good. And in doing so, you will never fall. Well, lastly then for this evening, as we consider remedies for backsliding, Not only do we have that of godly repentance, godly friendships, the diligent use of the means of grace, but lastly now, we have the crucial remedy of a wholehearted acceptance of the fact that God receives all backsliders who return to Him. And this, brethren, is a crucial point that we must never ever forget. We must never, ever forget. It may even be the most important thing that we've considered this night. While, of course, if the backslider is to be healed, they must repent. They must establish godly friendships, letting people into their lives to help them spiritually be restored. And they must diligently use the means of grace. At the same time, congregation, if they are to be made well, they must never forget that there is a God in heaven who loves to restore the one who comes to Him asking for forgiveness. You know, I think that sometimes this might be the hardest thing for the backslider to embrace. It seems to be the hardest thing. Often times, the backslider feels like, I've gone too far from God. The backslider feels like God would never receive them again. They feel like God will forever remain mad at them because they've done too much evil. Oh, friends, those are lies of the devil, not the God of the Bible. While God, in fact, may chasten us for our sins, we must remember that those things that I've just said are not true. And the reason for this is because there is no sin but that the blood of Jesus cannot cleanse. No sin but that the blood of Jesus cannot cleanse. Oh, my friends, if we ever fall into a backslidden state, we must remember the grand promise of 1 John 1 and verse 9, where we read the words which say, if we confess our sins, He is faithful. Not only faithful, but He's also just to forgive us our sins. And not only that, but also to cleanse us from what? From not some sin, but from all sin. From all unrighteousness. And my dear friends tonight, this is the promise that you must stand on and never falter. Here in this verse, 1 John 1 verse 9, is a verse that the repentant backslider must accept as true and hold on to with all their might. It's as true as any other verse in the Bible. It's as true as true can be. While indeed our sins are evil before the Lord, nonetheless, there is for the repentant believer always a fountain open for sin and uncleanness. And we come to that fountain confessing our sins, owning them before God, O brethren. He receives us with open arms. He warmly embraces us. Now, that God's arms are open to receive the backslider who comes to Him is that which the Bible says in many places. But here I just want to look at two of those places. Jump back with me, please, to Hosea chapter 14. Hosea chapter 14. This is the unanimous testimony of Scripture. God receives the backslidden sinner who comes to Him. Hosea chapter 14, where we started this night. Notice again, verses 4 to 6, after calling the people to repent, notice with me what God says. Hosea 14, picking up at verse 4, listen to these words. God is speaking. Listen closely. I will heal their backsliding. I will love them freely. Could language be plainer? For my anger has turned away from him. I will be like the dew to Israel. He shall grow like the lily and lengthen his roots like Lebanon. His branches shall spread. His beauty shall be like an olive tree and his fragrance like Lebanon." Oh, the picture is that of a shriveled up little bush and God says, I will heal. I will be like the dew to Israel. I will be like the refreshing water in the morning. And I will restore the people. I will cause them to grow. And the shriveled up roots will lengthen. The branches will spread. The beauty will be like the olive tree. And the fragrance like Lebanon. God's going to restore the backslider. Note again, 4A. Look at 4A. I, says God, I will heal the backslider. God says, I will do this myself. Here we have, dear congregation, the promise of the omnipotent, almighty God, who says He can do all of His holy will. And here He says that I will cure the one who comes to me. I myself shall heal the backslider. This is God's promise to the wanderer. This is God's guarantee that He makes to the one who wants to be healed for their crimes against God. But not only this, notice how definite the language is. God does not say, I might heal their backsliding. No. He says, I will heal their backsliding. I love the I wills of Scripture. They're so emphatic. I will do it. I will heal it. Mark my words, God says, I will cure their backsliding. I will love them freely. The one who comes to me, I'm going to embrace, God says. I'm not going to stiff-arm them. I'm not going to have them do 100 pennants. Climb the stairs of Rome on their knees. No. You come to me, God says, with your sins. Sorry for what you've done. Saying, take away my iniquity, receive me graciously. God says, I'll heal you. I'll heal you. From beginning to end, I will make you whole. I will heal their backsliding. Friends, make no mistake about it. We come to God through Christ. He will make us whole. Having saved us from our sins in Christ, our Father has covenanted to not let one of His true people perish. And so, as the Great Physician of our souls, He will make us whole. I will heal their backsliding. What a wonderful promise, right? What a great God. It's so full of hope and encouragement. We must never forget it, brethren. this is the god of the bible i will feel that there's no pauses no of fine print there's so i will be a little backsliding repent come to me and i myself will do it god says and i'm gonna love you freely but where's the uh... caveat where's the little clause of question there's nothing there there's nothing there it's plain as plain to me i will feel you're backsliding i'm gonna forgive you freely This is what I'm going to do. And I'm going to bless you, God says, if you come to me repenting. I'm going to make you grow. I'm going to cause you to smile again. Your branches, spiritually speaking, are going to spread out. You're going to be beautiful in my sight. Once again, this is an outstanding passage, brethren. Outstanding. But not only here. One other passage. Jeremiah chapter 3. verses 12-14. Jeremiah 3, you remember this passage? The passage I started with this whole series. Four sermons ago. We come back to it. Because listen to the words, Jeremiah 3, verses 12-14. God says to the prophet, go and proclaim these words towards the north and say, return backsliding Israel, says the Lord. I will not cause my anger to fall on you. That is, if you return. And why is that? For I am merciful, says the Lord. I will not remain angry forever. Only acknowledge your iniquity that you have transgressed against the Lord your God, and you have scattered your charms to alien deities under every green tree, and you have not obeyed my voice, says the Lord. Just acknowledge your sin. But God says in verse 14, Return, O backsliding children, says the Lord. Why? For I am married to you. And this is true of every Christian. I am married to you. I will take you. One from a city and two from a family. And I will bring you to Zion. Church, if you want to know your heart, rather if you want to know the heart of God towards the repentant backslider, here it is. Here it is. Here is God's disposition towards the one who repents. And as I said earlier, this is the unanimous voice of Scripture. Many other texts could be brought to bear at this point, brethren, but these two suffice. I will restore. I will heal. I'm going to make you all over again. Just come back to Me. This, brethren, is the character of our God. No backslidden condition is ever to be viewed as that which is incurable. No. Our Bible says, Psalm 37 verse 24, that though a righteous man falls, he shall not utterly be cast down. Our Bibles say that though we fall, yea, even seven times, we shall rise again. Proverbs 24 and verse 16. Friends, when we're done with our sin and our folly, And we're ready to get right with God, hopefully sooner than later, when we're done with those things. And we've seen that they've been destroying our souls, killing our communion with Christ, wrecking our consciences, when we're done with those things, brethren. And with shame-faced, we go back to the Lord our God. We must remember that He's never standing there like this, saying, uh-uh. Not again. Not again. I will not receive you this time. That is not the God of the Bible, dear church. Jesus will not beat us down if we come back to Him. Crying out with a blind beggar, Son of David, have mercy on me. The Jesus of the Bible always receives His people. Jesus is our Shepherd. Jesus is our Friend. Jesus is the Restorer and Healer of our souls. And He says that the one who comes to Me, I will by no means put aside. Don't get me wrong, He says. I'm not going to put you aside if you come back to Me. So what's the point? Come. Come. Come, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I Myself will give you rest. Cast all your cares upon Me, for I care for you. This, friends, is the Jesus of the Bible. He's kind and compassionate. He's loving and gracious. He's merciful and large-hearted. And His goodness knows no end. It knows no end. It absolutely knows no end. And so I ask you here tonight, my dear friends, believest thou this? Do you believe this to be true? I ask you here tonight, my dear friend, do you accept these as Bible truths? And will you in that day, my friend? Because as I said, this is a crucial remedy for our being restored back to God. You can tell a person he needs to repent, and he needs to have godly counsel, and he needs to be diligent in the use of the means of grace. But you must also tell him that God's heart is large towards you, my friend. And He doesn't keep anyone aside. But everyone who comes to Him in faith and repentance, He receives, He welcomes, He restores, and He says, I'm going to help you back on your way. That's the God of the Bible, dear church. Do you accept this is true? As I said earlier, many times I've had people either in front of me or on the phone in a backslidden condition, and I've shared these things with them, and yet, they did not come to receive God's pardon and forgiveness. Brethren, I say this night that the medicine is only good if it's taken by us. And this is one of the pills, as it were, spiritually speaking, that we must take in to our own souls. God receives sinners. God receives His sinful people when they're done with their sins and ready to be right with Him. May it be then this evening that if you find yourself in a backslidden condition, that you would take the invitation of Jehovah Himself. Take it to be your very own invitation. Take God seriously. Listen, God is not a man that He should lie. You say, oh, your pastor's been saying God receives sinners. It doesn't matter what your pastor says. The God of the Bible says, return to me, for I am merciful. I will not remain angry forever. This is the God of the Bible. And my friend, if your heart condemns you and says, no way, remember that God is greater than your heart. If the devil says it ain't true, God will never receive you. Tell him he's a liar and the truth is not in him. And if your conscience plagues you, tell your conscience that Jesus died for sinners. Speak to yourself. Speak to the devil. Speak to your own heart. Speak to your person the truths of God's Word and believe God more than all these things. Oh friends, we must remember that when we fall, God receives all who come to Him through Christ. And so what's my appeal this evening? Well, for those of you here this night who are not in a backslidden condition, well, might you go home this night thankful for God's grace in your life and also for the remedy that God has given for you if per adventure in the days ahead you do backslide. As I said over and over again in this series, even the most mature of us can fall from the Lord our God. And if you are in a backslidden condition this evening, I would beseech you, friend, this night to begin even now to take the medicine. Move in your heart towards God whose invitation is as real as real can be. Church, The remedies for backsliding have been given to us tonight from God's Word. May it be that wherever we are with the Lord, that all of us will be very thankful that our God cares for us so much to reveal Himself like this to the sons of men. Isn't God gracious? I mean, He opens the window to His heart. And He allows us to look in and to see His disposition towards us. This is God we're speaking of. The Creator, the Maker, the Sustainer. The One who upholds all things by the power of His Word. He's showing us His heart, His mind, His love towards His straying people. Oh, I think we should bless Him. I think we should thank Him for His great grace. Our God is so gracious that instead of leaving us to ourselves in a state of gloom and despair, as many are in this night, God by His great grace has given us these remedies to restore us when we fall and to help us to walk strong in Him by His grace. What a wonderful God we serve. And as we close tonight, we should thank Him for His great unmerited grace to us, His people. Let's pray. Our Father, we rejoice this night that we are found in Your house. And I pray, O God, for Your people. Firstly, for those who might be backslidden even now, O God, that your wide-open heart to them would be revealed, that they would see that nothing, no nothing, O God, keeps you away from them. Might they come to you this night through Christ, knowing that you love to restore such a one. And for us, O God, who have been kept by the power of your Word and the upholding influence of the Holy Spirit, might we be mindful, O God, that we do not know what a day may bring forth. And might we have this medicine, O God, near to us, for in the day of difficulty, may it be that we are not scrounging around, figuring out what we ought to do, but that the medicine will be ready at hand to take for our own souls. Bless us then this night, O God, having considered this material. We commit our ways to you through Jesus Christ, our righteous Lord, in whose name we pray. Amen.