Last week I talked a little bit about “No Turning Back”. This week I want to talk about “Turning Back”. Many people find themselves in a time away from God. Sometimes it sneaks up on you and for others it is very intentional. Have you ever found yourself in a time where you realize you have gotten away from God?
As I read the Old Testament I found where Hezekiah gave us a pattern to follow for returning to God. When Hezekiah became King,
2 Chronicles chapter 29, he wanted to return the people of Israel to God. The first thing he did was cleanse the Temple. (2 Chronicles 29. The next thing he did was to celebrate the Passover. Found in 2 Chronicles chapters 29 and 30. The third thing he did was purify the Temple (Found in 2 Chronicles chapter 31). And finally he commanded to people to give gifts to the Levites and priests (2 Chronicles 31:5,12).
What does this mean to us? If you have been away from God the first thing you should do is:

1. Turn back to God. In the Old Testament God resided in the Temple. Now, we are the Temple of God, 1 Corinthians 6:19. The Holy Spirit is in each one of us. So where do you go to meet God again? Go back to the foot of the cross.

2. Worship Him! This was interesting to me because Hezekiah put worship before purifying the temple. Why? Let me ask you, do you have to get cleaned up to take a bath?

3. Purify the Temple. During your time of worship the Holy Spirit will convict you heart and He will clean you up. Be obedient to the leading of the Holy Spirit.

4. Give to God. Show your love and commitment to God. He says in Malachi 3:10 Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the LORD Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it.”

Here is another interesting thought. From my experience this works in the opposite direction for those who are walking away from God.
• 1st, they stop giving to the ministry of the Church.
• 2nd, they begin to allow things into their lives that are not pure in God’s eyes.
• 3rd, they stop worshipping Him because of the guilt that they feel.
• 4th, God is finally ignored.

So where do you find yourself today? I hope this challenges you to either stay close to God or to turn back to him. Hezekiah gave us this formula thousands of years ago and it still works, both ways!