MAKING AMENDS And Jesus entered and passed through Jericho. And, behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus, which was the chief among the publicans, and he was rich. And he sought to see Jesus who he was; and could not for the press, because he was little of stature. And he ran before, and climbed up into a sycomore tree to see him: for he was to pass that way. And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up, and saw him, and said unto him, Zacchaeus, make haste, and come down; for to day I must abide at thy house. And he made haste, and came down, and received him joyfully. And when they saw it, they all murmured, saying, That he was gone to be guest with a man that is a sinner. And Zacchaeus stood, and said unto the Lord; Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have taken any thing from any man by false accusation, I restore him fourfold. And Jesus said unto him, This day is salvation come to this house, forsomuch as he also is a son of Abraham. For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost. Luke 19:1-10 KJV If you have taken money dishonestly, you should not pray for God to forgive you and fill you with the Holy Ghost until you make restitution. If you do not have the money now to pay back, will to do it, and God accepts the willing mind. Many people are kept in darkness and unrest because they fail to obey God on this point. If repentance is true, it will bring fruit. What use is there in my coming to God until I am willing to make it good, like Zacchaeus, if I have done any man wrong or have taken anything from him falsely? “If the wicked restores the pledge, gives back what he has taken by robbery, and walks in the statutes of life, not doing injustice, he shall surely live; he shall not die. None of the sins that he has committed shall be remembered against him” (Ezekel 33:15,16). Confession and restitution are the steps that lead up to forgiveness. Until you tread those steps, you may expect your conscience to be troubled and your sin to haunt you. I was preaching in British Columbia some years ago, and a young man came to me and wanted to become a Christian. He had been smuggling opium into the States. “Well, my friend,” I said, “I don’t think there is any chance for you to become a Christian until you make restitution.” He said, “If I attempt to do that, I will fall into the clutches of the law, and I will go to the penitentiary.” “Well,” I replied, “you had better do that then go to the judgment-seat of God with that sin upon your soul, and have eternal punishment. The Lord will be very merciful if you set your face to do right.” He went away sad and regretful, but he came back the next day and said, “I have a young wife and child, and all the furniture in my house I have bought with the money I got in this dishonest way. Would you come up and see my wife? I don’t know what she will say.” I went to see her, and when I told her, tears trickled down her cheeks. She said, “Mr. Moody, I will gladly give everything if my husband can become a true Christian.” She took out her purse and handed over her last penny. He had land in the United States, which he deeded over to the government. I do not know of any other man who has had a better testimony for Jesus Christ than that man. He had been dishonest, but when the truth came to him that he must make it right before God would help him, he made it right and then God used him wonderfully. No amount of weeping over sin, and saying that you feel sorry, is going to help it unless you are willing to confess and make restitution. ~ D.L. Moody ~
Posted on: Mon, 25 Aug 2014 13:10:54 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015