Yahweh. The God Who Restores. | Week 3 | Pastor Kevin Kringel
YAHWEH
Week 3
"The God Who Restores"
BIG IDEA: Yahweh is a God of reconciliation.
Reconciliation isn't something God does only occasionally.
Reconciliation flows from who God is.
And if we are becoming like Him, reconciliation cannot merely be something we receive from God. It must become something we practice intentionally.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
WE LIVE IN A WORLD OF BROKEN RELATIONSHIPS
Some of life's deepest wounds aren't physical or financial.
They're relational.
A friendship falls apart.
A marriage becomes distant.
A child stops calling.
Siblings stop speaking.
Someone betrays your confidence.
A church relationship becomes painful.
Someone you trusted wounds you.
What does Yahweh do when there seems to be no way for a relationship to be restored?
The Bible gives us an extraordinary answer: God moves toward reconciliation.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
RECONCILIATION IS THE WAY OF GOD
Psalm 103:8–10
“The LORD is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love. He will not always accuse, nor will he harbor his anger forever.”
The word translated LORD is Yahweh.
This is His nature.
He moves toward mercy. He moves toward restoration. Even when we rebel against Him.
Isaiah 1:18
“‘Come now, let us reason together,’ says the LORD. Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be like wool.”
Humanity has sinned against God, and God initiates the conversation for restoration.
Matthew 23:37
Jesus looks over Jerusalem and says:
“How often I have longed to gather your children together... and you were not willing.”
Notice both sides.
That is the reality of human freedom.
God desires reconciliation, but people can resist it. If they resist God, they will at times resist us as well.
Romans 12:18
“If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.”
Scripture recognizes that reconciliation isn't always possible.
You cannot control another person's response.
Not just an occasional act, it’s one of our callings:
2 Corinthians 5:18 (A ministry of reconciliation)
“God... reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation.”
We haven't simply experienced reconciliation. We've been given the ministry of reconciliation.
We are reconciled people who become reconciling people.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
1. RECONCILIATION IS WHAT GOD HAS DONE FOR US
2 Corinthians 5:18–20
“God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people's sins against them.”
The Gospel itself is a story of reconciliation. Sin separated us from God.
God came looking for us.
Jesus opened the doorway home.
And now Paul says:
“We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us.”
How can I celebrate:
“God forgave me!”
while saying:
“But I'll never forgive them”?
We don't reconcile because people deserve it.
We attempt to reconcile because we are learning and imitating the ways of the God who reconciled us.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
OLD TESTAMENT IMAGE: JOSEPH AND HIS BROTHERS (One of the most broken family stories)
Genesis 37–50 (Please see Yahweh in this arc. Genesis begins with the fall of a family and ends with 20 percent of the book concluding in a story of forgiveness and restoration of a family. It’s the gospel!)
Joseph's brothers hated him.
Genesis 37:4 “They hated him and could not speak a kind word to him.”
Can we feel the betrayal, rejection, abandonment, loss, injustice in this story?
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
2. GOD CAN REDEEM WHAT PEOPLE HAVE BROKEN- Genesis 45:1-8
Years later there is famine. Joseph's brothers come to Egypt looking for food.
And standing in front of them is the brother they betrayed.
Except now Joseph has power.
They don't recognize him, but he recognizes them.
The roles have completely reversed.
Joseph is no longer the powerless teenager in the pit.
He has authority. He has resources. He has power. And now Joseph has a choice.
What will I do with the people who hurt me when I finally have the power to hurt them back?
Genesis 45:1–2 “Then Joseph could no longer control himself before all his attendants... And he wept so loudly that the Egyptians heard him.”
Reconciliation doesn't mean it didn't hurt.
Biblical reconciliation does not require pretending nothing happened.
You can forgive something that genuinely wounded you.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
3. RECONCILIATION TELLS THE TRUTH ABOUT THE WOUND
Joseph says: Genesis 45:4 “I am your brother Joseph, the one you sold into Egypt!”
He names it. You sold me.
Reconciliation isn't pretending.
It isn't denial.
It isn't calling evil good.
Joseph can simultaneously say: “You hurt me.”
And “I still want a relationship with you.”
Grace doesn't deny the wound. Grace refuses to allow the wound to determine the future.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
4. RECONCILIATION SEES GOD'S STORY AS BIGGER THAN THE OFFENSE
Genesis 50:20: “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good.”
He says:
“You intended harm, but God was doing something bigger than you could see.”
Somewhere along the line Joseph saw beyond the hurt and began to see God at work in something larger in his life. I believe it was that lens that opened the door for this moment of reconciliation.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
NOW WATCH THE SAME HEART REVEALED IN JESUS
Then we come to John 21:9-19. Different century. Different relationship. Same God.
Peter had promised Jesus: “Even if I have to die with you, I will never disown you.”
Hours later, Peter denies knowing Jesus three times.
And after the third denial: “He went outside and wept bitterly.” Matthew 26:75
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
5. JESUS MOVES TOWARD THE PERSON WHO FAILED HIM
John 21:9 “They saw a fire of burning coals there with fish on it, and some bread.”
Jesus is there, waiting and with breakfast ready.
The offended One prepares the table.
Peter failed Jesus. Yet Jesus creates the opportunity for restoration.
Bring it up at the right time- Jesus had been with the disciples 2 times before this. Now was the right time to deal with this relationship issue regarding Peter.
God's heart moves toward restoration.
Think about your salvation.
Who initiated? God did.
Romans 5:8: “While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
We didn't climb our way back to God. God came to us.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
6. JESUS TAKES PETER BACK TO THE PLACE OF HIS FAILURE
There is a remarkable detail in John's Gospel.
John describes the fire in John 21 as a charcoal fire.
The Greek word is anthrakia.
That word occurs only twice in the New Testament.
The other place?
John 18:18 Peter was standing beside a charcoal fire when he denied Jesus.
Now Jesus has Peter beside another charcoal fire.
The smell. The smoke. The memory.
Jesus is taking Peter back to the scene of his failure.
Jesus is going to write a different ending at this fire.
Some of us want God to restore us without ever touching the painful place.
But sometimes Jesus brings us back, not to shame us, but to heal us.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
7. JESUS DOESN'T JUST FORGIVE PETER, HE RESTORES HIM
John 21:15 “Simon son of John, do you love me?”
“Do you love me?” 3 times…
Three denials. Three questions. And three commissions:
Peter,
You're still called.
You're still useful.
We're not finished.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
JOSEPH AND JESUS
Joseph is wounded by his brothers.
Jesus is wounded by Peter.
Joseph has the power to retaliate.
Jesus has every right to reject Peter.
Yet in both stories:
The wounded one chooses the possibility of relationship over the satisfaction of revenge.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
8. BUT RECONCILIATION CANNOT ALWAYS BE COMPLETED
Remember: Romans 12:18 doesn't say: “Live at peace with everyone.”
It says: “IF IT IS POSSIBLE, AS FAR AS IT DEPENDS ON YOU, live at peace with everyone.”
There are relationships where reconciliation may not presently be possible.
There may need to be boundaries.
There may need to be repentance on their part.
Trust may need to be rebuilt.
Safety matters.
And sometimes the other person simply refuses.
Remember Jesus:
“I have longed to gather your children together... and you were not willing.”
You cannot make another person reconcile with you.
You can make sure the obstacle isn't living in you.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
9. RECONCILIATION ISN'T JUST SOMETHING WE RECEIVE, IT'S A MINISTRY WE CARRY
2 Corinthians 5:18
God: “gave us the ministry of reconciliation.”
Every follower of Jesus carries a ministry of reconciliation.
This should characterize Christians.
We should be people who attempt to bring enemies toward peace.
People who attempt to help families heal.
People who forgive.
People who apologize.
People who don't spread offenses.
People who refuse to keep conflicts alive.
People who create pathways home.
We say: “I want to be like Jesus. “To imitate God is to become reconcilers.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
LEAVE THE DOOR OPEN
Joseph's brothers thought the relationship was finished.
Peter probably thought his calling was finished.
But Yahweh wasn't finished.
Maybe there is somebody in your life where you've decided:
“It's over.”
I'm not telling you every relationship will be restored. Or that it will be restored to what it once was. It may look different.
I'm not telling you to return to unsafe situations.
I'm not telling you to pretend nothing happened.
I'm asking:
Have you allowed God to make you a reconciler? Romans 12:18: “As far as it depends on you...”
Forgive where you need to forgive.
Apologize where you need to apologize.
Make peace where you can make peace.
Establish boundaries where boundaries are necessary.
Leave the outcome with God.
But as far as it depends on you: LEAVE THE DOOR OPEN.
Week 3
"The God Who Restores"
BIG IDEA: Yahweh is a God of reconciliation.
Reconciliation isn't something God does only occasionally.
Reconciliation flows from who God is.
And if we are becoming like Him, reconciliation cannot merely be something we receive from God. It must become something we practice intentionally.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
WE LIVE IN A WORLD OF BROKEN RELATIONSHIPS
Some of life's deepest wounds aren't physical or financial.
They're relational.
A friendship falls apart.
A marriage becomes distant.
A child stops calling.
Siblings stop speaking.
Someone betrays your confidence.
A church relationship becomes painful.
Someone you trusted wounds you.
What does Yahweh do when there seems to be no way for a relationship to be restored?
The Bible gives us an extraordinary answer: God moves toward reconciliation.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
RECONCILIATION IS THE WAY OF GOD
Psalm 103:8–10
“The LORD is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love. He will not always accuse, nor will he harbor his anger forever.”
The word translated LORD is Yahweh.
This is His nature.
He moves toward mercy. He moves toward restoration. Even when we rebel against Him.
Isaiah 1:18
“‘Come now, let us reason together,’ says the LORD. Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be like wool.”
Humanity has sinned against God, and God initiates the conversation for restoration.
Matthew 23:37
Jesus looks over Jerusalem and says:
“How often I have longed to gather your children together... and you were not willing.”
Notice both sides.
That is the reality of human freedom.
God desires reconciliation, but people can resist it. If they resist God, they will at times resist us as well.
Romans 12:18
“If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.”
Scripture recognizes that reconciliation isn't always possible.
You cannot control another person's response.
Not just an occasional act, it’s one of our callings:
2 Corinthians 5:18 (A ministry of reconciliation)
“God... reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation.”
We haven't simply experienced reconciliation. We've been given the ministry of reconciliation.
We are reconciled people who become reconciling people.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
1. RECONCILIATION IS WHAT GOD HAS DONE FOR US
2 Corinthians 5:18–20
“God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people's sins against them.”
The Gospel itself is a story of reconciliation. Sin separated us from God.
God came looking for us.
Jesus opened the doorway home.
And now Paul says:
“We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us.”
How can I celebrate:
“God forgave me!”
while saying:
“But I'll never forgive them”?
We don't reconcile because people deserve it.
We attempt to reconcile because we are learning and imitating the ways of the God who reconciled us.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
OLD TESTAMENT IMAGE: JOSEPH AND HIS BROTHERS (One of the most broken family stories)
Genesis 37–50 (Please see Yahweh in this arc. Genesis begins with the fall of a family and ends with 20 percent of the book concluding in a story of forgiveness and restoration of a family. It’s the gospel!)
Joseph's brothers hated him.
Genesis 37:4 “They hated him and could not speak a kind word to him.”
Can we feel the betrayal, rejection, abandonment, loss, injustice in this story?
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
2. GOD CAN REDEEM WHAT PEOPLE HAVE BROKEN- Genesis 45:1-8
Years later there is famine. Joseph's brothers come to Egypt looking for food.
And standing in front of them is the brother they betrayed.
Except now Joseph has power.
They don't recognize him, but he recognizes them.
The roles have completely reversed.
Joseph is no longer the powerless teenager in the pit.
He has authority. He has resources. He has power. And now Joseph has a choice.
What will I do with the people who hurt me when I finally have the power to hurt them back?
Genesis 45:1–2 “Then Joseph could no longer control himself before all his attendants... And he wept so loudly that the Egyptians heard him.”
Reconciliation doesn't mean it didn't hurt.
Biblical reconciliation does not require pretending nothing happened.
You can forgive something that genuinely wounded you.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
3. RECONCILIATION TELLS THE TRUTH ABOUT THE WOUND
Joseph says: Genesis 45:4 “I am your brother Joseph, the one you sold into Egypt!”
He names it. You sold me.
Reconciliation isn't pretending.
It isn't denial.
It isn't calling evil good.
Joseph can simultaneously say: “You hurt me.”
And “I still want a relationship with you.”
Grace doesn't deny the wound. Grace refuses to allow the wound to determine the future.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
4. RECONCILIATION SEES GOD'S STORY AS BIGGER THAN THE OFFENSE
Genesis 50:20: “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good.”
He says:
“You intended harm, but God was doing something bigger than you could see.”
Somewhere along the line Joseph saw beyond the hurt and began to see God at work in something larger in his life. I believe it was that lens that opened the door for this moment of reconciliation.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
NOW WATCH THE SAME HEART REVEALED IN JESUS
Then we come to John 21:9-19. Different century. Different relationship. Same God.
Peter had promised Jesus: “Even if I have to die with you, I will never disown you.”
Hours later, Peter denies knowing Jesus three times.
And after the third denial: “He went outside and wept bitterly.” Matthew 26:75
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
5. JESUS MOVES TOWARD THE PERSON WHO FAILED HIM
John 21:9 “They saw a fire of burning coals there with fish on it, and some bread.”
Jesus is there, waiting and with breakfast ready.
The offended One prepares the table.
Peter failed Jesus. Yet Jesus creates the opportunity for restoration.
Bring it up at the right time- Jesus had been with the disciples 2 times before this. Now was the right time to deal with this relationship issue regarding Peter.
God's heart moves toward restoration.
Think about your salvation.
Who initiated? God did.
Romans 5:8: “While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
We didn't climb our way back to God. God came to us.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
6. JESUS TAKES PETER BACK TO THE PLACE OF HIS FAILURE
There is a remarkable detail in John's Gospel.
John describes the fire in John 21 as a charcoal fire.
The Greek word is anthrakia.
That word occurs only twice in the New Testament.
The other place?
John 18:18 Peter was standing beside a charcoal fire when he denied Jesus.
Now Jesus has Peter beside another charcoal fire.
The smell. The smoke. The memory.
Jesus is taking Peter back to the scene of his failure.
Jesus is going to write a different ending at this fire.
Some of us want God to restore us without ever touching the painful place.
But sometimes Jesus brings us back, not to shame us, but to heal us.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
7. JESUS DOESN'T JUST FORGIVE PETER, HE RESTORES HIM
John 21:15 “Simon son of John, do you love me?”
“Do you love me?” 3 times…
Three denials. Three questions. And three commissions:
Peter,
You're still called.
You're still useful.
We're not finished.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
JOSEPH AND JESUS
Joseph is wounded by his brothers.
Jesus is wounded by Peter.
Joseph has the power to retaliate.
Jesus has every right to reject Peter.
Yet in both stories:
The wounded one chooses the possibility of relationship over the satisfaction of revenge.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
8. BUT RECONCILIATION CANNOT ALWAYS BE COMPLETED
Remember: Romans 12:18 doesn't say: “Live at peace with everyone.”
It says: “IF IT IS POSSIBLE, AS FAR AS IT DEPENDS ON YOU, live at peace with everyone.”
There are relationships where reconciliation may not presently be possible.
There may need to be boundaries.
There may need to be repentance on their part.
Trust may need to be rebuilt.
Safety matters.
And sometimes the other person simply refuses.
Remember Jesus:
“I have longed to gather your children together... and you were not willing.”
You cannot make another person reconcile with you.
You can make sure the obstacle isn't living in you.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
9. RECONCILIATION ISN'T JUST SOMETHING WE RECEIVE, IT'S A MINISTRY WE CARRY
2 Corinthians 5:18
God: “gave us the ministry of reconciliation.”
Every follower of Jesus carries a ministry of reconciliation.
This should characterize Christians.
We should be people who attempt to bring enemies toward peace.
People who attempt to help families heal.
People who forgive.
People who apologize.
People who don't spread offenses.
People who refuse to keep conflicts alive.
People who create pathways home.
We say: “I want to be like Jesus. “To imitate God is to become reconcilers.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
LEAVE THE DOOR OPEN
Joseph's brothers thought the relationship was finished.
Peter probably thought his calling was finished.
But Yahweh wasn't finished.
Maybe there is somebody in your life where you've decided:
“It's over.”
I'm not telling you every relationship will be restored. Or that it will be restored to what it once was. It may look different.
I'm not telling you to return to unsafe situations.
I'm not telling you to pretend nothing happened.
I'm asking:
Have you allowed God to make you a reconciler? Romans 12:18: “As far as it depends on you...”
Forgive where you need to forgive.
Apologize where you need to apologize.
Make peace where you can make peace.
Establish boundaries where boundaries are necessary.
Leave the outcome with God.
But as far as it depends on you: LEAVE THE DOOR OPEN.