The Redemptive Heart Of God - Part 2

We are doing a 3-part series called "The Redemptive heart of God". In this 3-part series, our goal is to understand and capture the redemptive heart of God, so that we will learn to view life's situations with His redemptive heart and also learn to be co-workers with God in His redemptive process for things in our own lives as well as of those around us.

Review
God's heart is redemptive in nature. God never quits on what He starts. He loves and saves to the uttermost no matter what the cost. We are called to be like Him, and hence our approach to life situations and to the problems we face must be redemptive as well.

When something deviates from its original plan and design, and is released, recovered and restored, we call it redemption.

It is important for us to understand God's redemptive heart, and how He goes about His redemptive work and the process involved, so that we can learn to co-labor with God in seeing His redemptive heart bring everything back to Himself.

Today, in part-2 of this series we focus on The nature of God's redemptive work.

Before we get into that, lets just a simple reminder about God as our Redeemer.

Psalm 103 is a very familiar Psalm. Lets say the first six verses together:

Psalm 103:1-6
1 Bless the LORD, O my soul; And all that is within me, bless His holy name!
2 Bless the LORD, O my soul, And forget not all His benefits:
3 Who forgives all your iniquities, Who heals all your diseases,
4 Who redeems your life from destruction, Who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies,
5 Who satisfies your mouth with good things, So that your youth is renewed like the eagle's.
6 The LORD executes righteousness And justice for all who are oppressed.

Here are a few declarations we can make together on who our Redeemer is. Lets say these together:

My Redeemer My Redeemer is the LORD, the King of Israel, the First and the Last (Isaiah 44:6).
My Redeemer is the God of the whole earth (Isaiah 54:5).
My Redeemer is has the whole world in His hands (Isaiah 44:24).
My Redeemer is strong; The LORD of hosts is His name. (Jeremiah 50:34).
My Redeemer is my Father, the Eternal One (Isaiah 63:16).
My Redeemer is the Most High God and my Rock (Psalm 78:35).
My Redeemer displays His mercy and everlasting kindness towards me (Isaiah 54:8).
My Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel and He will help me (Isaiah 41:14).
My Redeemer is mighty, He will plead my case (Proverbs 23:11, Jeremiah 50:34).
My Redeemer teaches me to succeed and leads me in the path I should go (Isaiah 48:17).
My Redeemer turns things around in my favor and causes the unexpected to happen (Isaiah 49:26; Isaiah 60:16).


Part 2: The nature of God's redemptive work

#1, God's redemptive work is motivated by a constant, unyielding love that knows no limits

During several seasons of Israel (and Judah) journey they wander away from God, and God raises up prophets to warn them, correct them and bring them back to God. Yet in all of these we see the redemptive work of God being carried out with utmost love for His people. We consider two passages:

Jeremiah 31:1-4
1 "At the same time," says the LORD, "I will be the God of all the families of Israel, and they shall be My people."
2 Thus says the LORD: "The people who survived the sword Found grace in the wilderness Israel, when I went to give him rest."
3 The LORD has appeared of old to me, saying: "Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love; Therefore with lovingkindness I have drawn you.
4 Again I will build you, and you shall be rebuilt, O virgin of Israel! You shall again be adorned with your tambourines, And shall go forth in the dances of those who rejoice.

Hosea 14:1-7
1 O Israel, return to the LORD your God, For you have stumbled because of your iniquity;
2 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.
3 Assyria shall not save us, We will not ride on horses, Nor will we say anymore to the work of our hands, 'You are our gods.' For in You the fatherless finds mercy."
4 "I will heal their backsliding, I will love them freely, For My anger has turned away from him.
5 I will be like the dew to Israel; He shall grow like the lily, And lengthen his roots like Lebanon.
6 His branches shall spread; His beauty shall be like an olive tree, And his fragrance like Lebanon.
7 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.

The great plan of redemption is one that is motivated by God's unyielding love.

Romans 5:8
But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Lets learn to be secure in God's love for us. He loves us no matter how much we have messed up and how bad things may have become.

When we co-labor with God in His redemptive work in the lives of those around us, we must also learn to walk in the God-kind of love.
We are empowered by the Spirit to walk in the love of God Romans 5:5, Galatians 5:22

This kind of love in our hearts, births forgiveness, empowers patience, demonstrates kindness (1 Corinthian 13:4-8).


#2, God's redemptive work is supernatural, but includes our co-laboring

God reaches out to redeem us, but we must respond and co-labor with Him in receiving His redemptive work in our lives.

Repentance : God's redemptive work seeks repentance because of His goodness

Romans 2:4
Or do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance?

Faith : We must have faith in what He can do for our lives to redeem us.

Psalm 27:13 I would have lost heart, unless I had believed That I would see the goodness of the LORD In the land of the living.

The Psalmist found himself in a horrible pit. Yet he looked to the Lord with faith and patience in his heart.

Psalm 40:1-3
1 I waited patiently for the LORD; And He inclined to me, And heard my cry.
2 He also brought me up out of a horrible pit, Out of the miry clay, And set my feet upon a rock, And established my steps.
3 He has put a new song in my mouth— Praise to our God; Many will see it and fear, And will trust in the LORD.

#3, God's redemptive work includes discipline and in some cases judgment, when necessary

God disciplines those whom He loves.

His discipline is loving correction, intended for our well being and not for our destruction. It comes from a redemptive heart, seeking to redeem us from our own folly.

Hebrews 12:5-11
5 And you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as to sons: "MY SON, DO NOT DESPISE THE CHASTENING OF THE LORD, NOR BE DISCOURAGED WHEN YOU ARE REBUKED BY HIM;
6 FOR WHOM THE LORD LOVES HE CHASTENS, AND SCOURGES EVERY SON WHOM HE RECEIVES."
7 If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom a father does not chasten?
8 But if you are without chastening, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate and not sons.
9 Furthermore, we have had human fathers who corrected us, and we paid them respect. Shall we not much more readily be in subjection to the Father of spirits and live?
10 For they indeed for a few days chastened us as seemed best to them, but He for our profit, that we may be partakers of His holiness.
11 Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.

He corrects us through His Word, through the work of His Spirit, through people around us, sometimes through situations He orchestrates for our good.

Even His divine disciplinary dealings are expressed with mercy.

Isaiah 54:8
With a little wrath I hid My face from you for a moment; But with everlasting kindness I will have mercy on you," Says the LORD, your Redeemer.

#4, God's redemptive work not only restores us to our former state, but elevates us to a realm far greater than the beginning.

Joseph
Think about Joseph. What he had after going through what he did, was so wonderful that Joseph expressed this in the names he gave to his sons:

Genesis 41:51,52
51 Joseph called the name of the firstborn Manasseh: "For God has made me forget all my toil and all my father's house."
52 And the name of the second he called Ephraim: "For God has caused me to be fruitful in the land of my affliction."

Job
Think about what God did for Job. His short time of trial (It is not clear in the Bible how long Job suffered, but it may have been at least a period of months and may have been as long as one year according to some Jewish traditions.) was nothing compared to the 140 years of double blessing he enjoyed.

Job 42:10 And the LORD restored Job's losses when he prayed for his friends. Indeed the LORD gave Job twice as much as he had before.

Job 42:12 Now the LORD blessed the latter days of Job more than his beginning; for he had fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand camels, one thousand yoke of oxen, and one thousand female donkeys.
Job 42:16 After this Job lived one hundred and forty years, and saw his children and grandchildren for four generations.
Job 42:17 So Job died, old and full of days.

The Prodigal son
What the father did for the prodigal son when he returned home was something he had never done before for either of his sons. We infer this from the way the older son reacted in Luke 15:29.

The Great Plan of Redemption
we are not only brought into God's family, but made heirs of God and joint-heirs with Christ, something the first man Adam did not experience.

Application : What is it that you want God to redeem in your life?

#1, God's redemptive work is motivated by a constant, unyielding love that knows no limits
Be assured of His love for you.

#2, God's redemptive work is supernatural, but includes our co-laboring
Co-labor with God to see His power release, restore, heal, etc.

#3, God's redemptive work includes discipline and in some cases judgment, when necessary
If there are things you need to correct, do so. Yield to God's correction. Don't resist it.

#4, God's redemptive work not only restores us to our former state, but elevates us to a realm far greater than the beginning.
Expect greater glory!