Turning Back
Good Morning,
Judges 7:3 “Whosoever is fearful and afraid, let him return…” None of us would want to be one of those who quit.
Do you remember the story? Gideon had so many soldiers (although terribly outnumbered), and God did not let him go to battle. God wanted Gideon weak enough that the victory was most clearly one of Divine origin. Thousands of soldiers were sent back; and one reason was because they were afraid and willing to quit. The magnificent events that followed were occasions of indescribable victory and thrill.
When the soldiers who had gone back heard of the incredible victory, I am sure they wished they had stayed!
Imagine sitting in Heaven and listening to the tales of those who had stayed true to the things of God. Amazing stories will be told of God providing needs, saving souls, and delivering from evil! We will hear centuries-worth of the glory of God and His marvelous works. What will those who turned back be thinking? I mean, they trusted Christ, they are saved, and maybe, they even taught Sunday school for a while, but they walked away for fear of pressure, economic trouble, or persecution. They turned away from the church or the service of God for years and now they sit in Heaven listening to stories and wishing they had stayed faithful.
It bothered God that He called Saul, for he turned back.
1 Samuel 15:11 “It repenteth me that I have set up Saul to be king: for he is turned back from following me..."
David made the confident statement that his heart had not turned back from God.
Psalm 44:18 “Our heart is not turned back, neither have our steps declined from thy way;”
Some of the people of God were criticized and their weakness was pointed out when they turned back.
Psalm 78:9 “The children of Ephraim, being armed, and carrying bows, turned back in the day of battle.”
vs. 41 “Yea, they turned back and tempted God, and limited the Holy One of Israel.”
vs. 57 “But turned back, and dealt unfaithfully like their fathers: they were turned aside like a deceitful bow.”
When I first began attending Bible college, a certain verse was often referenced when a note of any kind was written, whether it was a reminder of an appointment or a thank you; the note closed with, “Luke 9:62 - Don't Quit." We were frequently reminded to stay, to press on, and to not turn back into the life we had left behind. Among friends (not staff or teachers) or young believers who pushed one another to stay the course, we constantly wrote, “Luke 9:62 - Don’t Quit."
Luke 9:62 “And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.”
Quitting and turning back to the things of the world is displeasing to God.
Hebrews 10:38 “Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him.”
The truth remains, and the principles are still true to this day. We will regret having quit on God; we will lose rewards when we quit; and God is unhappy and perhaps ashamed when we quit.
Pastor