Restoration
Zechariah 10:1 Ask rain from the LORD in the season of the
spring rain, from the LORD who makes the storm clouds, and he will give them
showers of rain, to everyone the vegetation in the field.
As well noted by many and recognized
publicly by Franklin Graham, the rain during the inauguration of President
Donald Trump should awaken Christians everywhere that we have entered a season
of restoration. Many have questioned how Evangelicals could vote for President
Trump failing to see that the issues are far deeper than a man. God has always
used flawed men to accomplish His tasks. The deeper issue was the need for
ideology change and spiritual change. While President Trump will not be a
perfect Christian leader, he will support larger ideological concerns that are
Biblically more in line with the support of Israel, the humble place of power
to promote peace, and policies that will not condone sin (abortion, sexual immorality,
etc.).
As we look to this season of restoration,
let us embrace the fullness of what God desires to do and not become distracted
by the cries of those caught in the traps of their sin or the political malaise
of discontent. For those entrapped by sin and sinful thinking, may the scales
from their eyes be removed. God is all about restoring those good things that
have been lost in our lives. Restoration is the returning of things once
possessed. God’s activity in the earth today should encourage us that He is
God! And God is still active and knows the outcome. Restoration is manifesting
itself in several different ways.
2 Corinthians 13:11 Finally, brothers, rejoice. Aim for
restoration, comfort one another, agree with one another, live in peace; and
the God of love and peace will be with you.
Relationship Restoration
One manifestation is the restoring of relationships. Some of
these relationships are long lost friendships. Some are broken or strained
family relationships. In either case, God wants to restore and bring to
wholeness these relationships in our lives. Restoration of these relationships is
not because there was a problem, but you have simply lost touch with one
another. This season should encourage you to reach out to those where
relationships have been strained or lost and allow God’s restoring work to
happen. Allow the Holy Spirit to help you recall relationships that have simply
faded and believe for opportunities of restoration. Have you been “holding” on
for a prodigal to come home? Well, this is the season of Restoration!
Zechariah 9:12 says
"Return to the stronghold (of security and prosperity), you
prisoners of hope; even today do I declare that I will restore double your
former prosperity to you."
Prosperity Restoration
Another manifestation is the restoring of prosperity. Prosperity is
more than finances. Prosperity is health, happiness, and peace in our lives.
Many have slipped into worry and doubt about God and His ability to keep us and
provide health, happiness and peace. His hand is not too short. He is still in
the miracle working business. Don’t lean to your own understanding, but find
yourself in His understanding. Prosperity is also about finances. God will
begin to show Himself in our lives in this area if we dare to trust Him. Be
ready to sell or rent property. Be ready to receive pay raises or even get a
new job. Focus every loss on what God can restore. Our faith in Him cannot
waver, but must remain steadfast. Trust Him completely.
Listen to me, O isles and coastlands, and hearken, you peoples
from afar. The Lord has called me from the womb; from the body of my mother He
has named my name. And He has made my mouth like a sharp sword; in the shadow
of His hand has He hid me and made me a polished arrow; in His quiver has He kept
me close and concealed me. And [the Lord] said to me, You are My servant,
Israel [you who strive with God and with men and prevail], in whom I will be
glorified.
Then I said, I have labored in vain, I have spent my strength
for nothing and in empty futility; yet surely my right is with the Lord, and my
recompense is with my God.
And now, says the Lord—Who formed me from the womb to be His
servant to bring Jacob back to Him and that Israel might be gathered to Him and
not be swept away, for I am honorable in the eyes of the Lord and my God has
become my strength— He says, It is too light a thing that you should be My
servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to restore the survivors [of the
judgments] of Israel; I will also give you for a light to the nations, that My
salvation may extend to the end of the earth.
Thus says the Lord, the Redeemer of Israel, Israel’s Holy One,
to him whom man rejects and despises, to him whom the nations abhor, to the
servant of rulers: Kings shall see you and arise; princes, and they shall
prostrate themselves, because of the Lord, Who is faithful, the Holy One of
Israel, Who has chosen you.
Thus says the Lord, In an acceptable and favorable time I have
heard and answered you, and in a day of salvation I have helped you; and I will
preserve you and give you for a covenant to the people, to raise up and
establish the land [from its present state of ruin] and to apportion and cause
them to inherit the desolate [moral wastes of heathenism, their] heritages,
Saying to those who are bound, Come forth, and to those who are in [spiritual]
darkness, Show yourselves [come into the light of the Sun of righteousness].
They shall feed in all the ways [in which they go], and their pastures shall be
[not in deserts, but] on all the bare [grass-covered] hills. They will not
hunger or thirst, neither will mirage [mislead] or scorching wind or sun smite
them; for He Who has mercy on them will lead them, and by springs of water will
He guide them. And I will make all My mountains a way, and My highways will be
raised up. Behold, these shall come from afar—and, behold, these from the north
and from the west, and these from the land of Sinim (China).
Sing for joy, O heavens, and be joyful, O earth, and break forth
into singing, O mountains! For the Lord has comforted His people and will have
compassion upon His afflicted.
But Zion [Jerusalem, her people as seen in captivity] said, The
Lord has forsaken me, and my Lord has forgotten me.
[And the Lord answered] Can a woman forget her nursing child,
that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? Yes, they may forget,
yet I will not forget you. Behold, I have indelibly imprinted (tattooed a
picture of) you on the palm of each of My hands; [O Zion] your walls are
continually before Me. Your children and your builders make haste; your
destroyers and those who laid you waste go forth from you. Lift up your eyes
round about and see [the returning exiles, ready to rebuild Jerusalem]; all
these gather together and come to you. As I live, says the Lord, you [Zion]
shall surely clothe yourself with them all as with an ornament and bind them on
you as a bride does.
For your waste and desolate places and your land [once the
scene] of destruction surely now [in coming years] will be too narrow to
accommodate the population, and those who once swallowed you up will be far
away. The children of your bereavement [born during your captivity] shall yet
say in your ears, The place is too narrow for me; make room for me, that I may
live. Then [Zion], you will say in your heart, Who has borne me all these
children, seeing that I lost my offspring and am alone and barren and
unfruitful, an exile put away and wandering hither and thither? And who brought
them up? Behold, I was left alone [put away by the Lord, my Husband]; from
where then did all these children come?
Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I will lift up My hand to the
Gentile nations and set up My standard and raise high My signal banner to the
peoples; and they will bring your sons in the bosom of their garments, and your
daughters will be carried upon their shoulders. And kings shall be your foster
fathers and guardians, and their queens your nursing mothers. They shall bow
down to you with their faces to the earth and lick up the dust of your feet;
and you shall know [with an acquaintance and understanding based on and
grounded in personal experience] that I am the Lord; for they shall not be put
to shame who wait for, look for, hope for, and expect Me.
Shall the prey be taken from the mighty, or the lawful captives
of the just be delivered? For thus says the Lord: Even the captives of the
mighty will be taken away, and the prey of the terrible will be delivered; for
I will contend with him who contends with you, and I will give safety to your
children and ease them. And I will make those who oppress you consume
themselves [in mutually destructive wars], thus eating their own flesh; and
they will be drunk with their own blood, as with sweet wine; and all flesh will
know [with a knowledge grounded in personal experience] that I, the Lord, am
your Savior and your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.
(Isaiah 49, AMPC)
Church Restoration
During this season of restoration, we will begin to see the Church thrive.
God is gathering the sheep. Congregations will begin to grow. There will be
some shifting of sheep among the individual churches. Where members have
drifted away in the past, they will return. God is wooing those sheep that have
drifted away from their primary pasture of service. He is wooing them to return
to the shepherd they have been called to serve and follow. Those Christians who
have lost their way in their journey with God will sense the need to return as
well. Be ready to welcome them all. Allow God’s restorative power through love
and acceptance to bring the church to wholeness.
Consequently, from now on we estimate and regard no one from a
[purely] human point of view [in terms of natural standards of value]. [No]
even though we once did estimate Christ from a human viewpoint and as a man,
yet now [we have such knowledge of Him that] we know Him no longer [in terms of
the flesh]. Therefore if any person is [ingrafted] in Christ (the Messiah) he
is a new creation (a new creature altogether); the old [previous moral and
spiritual condition] has passed away. Behold, the fresh and new has come! But
all things are from God, Who through Jesus Christ reconciled us to Himself
[received us into favor, brought us into harmony with Himself] and gave to us
the ministry of reconciliation [that by word and deed we might aim to bring
others into harmony with Him]. It was God [personally present] in Christ,
reconciling and restoring the world to favor with Himself, not counting up and
holding against [men] their trespasses [but cancelling them], and committing to
us the message of reconciliation (of the restoration to favor). So we are
Christ’s ambassadors, God making His appeal as it were through us. We [as
Christ’s personal representatives] beg you for His sake to lay hold of the
divine favor [now offered you] and be reconciled to God. For our sake He made
Christ [virtually] to be sin Who knew no sin, so that in and through Him we
might become [endued with, viewed as being in, and examples of] the
righteousness of God [what we ought to be, approved and acceptable and in right
relationship with Him, by His goodness]. (2 Corinthians 5:16-21, AMPC)
Evangelism Restoration
Lastly, the real work of restoration has begun the winning of the lost. Some have
prayed for years or even given up on the lost. This is a season of restoration.
God is all about restoring relationship with those who have not trusted Him in
the past. Reach out of your places of comfort and welcome those who are
searching! Welcome them in your home, your lunch times, and your schedules. Make
room for the lost. Make room for them to find hope and healing! God’s
restorative work is being released in the earth. This can be the greatest
season of restoration if we will be diligent about serving, loving and caring
for people. It is not about growing a church, but it is all about leading
people to be a part of the Kingdom of God! Be watchful of those around you and
be ready to respond to their needs.
Sing, O barren one, you who did not bear; break forth into
singing and cry aloud, you who did not travail with child! For the [spiritual]
children of the desolate one will be more than the children of the married
wife, says the Lord. Enlarge the place of your tent, and let the curtains of
your habitations be stretched out; spare not; lengthen your cords and
strengthen your stakes, For you will spread abroad to the right hand and to the
left; and your offspring will possess the nations and make the desolate cities
to be inhabited. Fear not, for you shall not be ashamed; neither be confounded
and depressed, for you shall not be put to shame. For you shall forget the shame
of your youth, and you shall not [seriously] remember the reproach of your
widowhood any more. For your Maker is your Husband—the Lord of hosts is His
name—and the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer; the God of the whole earth He
is called. For the Lord has called you like a woman forsaken, grieved in
spirit, and heartsore—even a wife [wooed and won] in youth, when she is [later]
refused and scorned, says your God.
For a brief moment I forsook you, but with great compassion and
mercy I will gather you [to Me] again. In a little burst of wrath I hid My face
from you for a moment, but with age-enduring love and kindness I will have
compassion and mercy on you, says the Lord, your Redeemer.
For this is like the days of Noah to Me; as I swore that the
waters of Noah should no more go over the earth, so have I sworn that I will
not be angry with you or rebuke you. For though the mountains should depart and
the hills be shaken or removed, yet My love and kindness shall not depart from
you, nor shall My covenant of peace and completeness be removed, says the Lord,
Who has compassion on you.
O you afflicted [city], storm-tossed and not comforted, behold,
I will set your stones in fair colors [in antimony to enhance their brilliance]
and lay your foundations with sapphires. And I will make your windows and
pinnacles of [sparkling] agates or rubies, and your gates of [shining]
carbuncles, and all your walls [of your enclosures] of precious stones. And all
your [spiritual] children shall be disciples [taught by the Lord and obedient
to His will], and great shall be the peace and undisturbed composure of your
children. You shall establish yourself in righteousness (rightness, in
conformity with God’s will and order): you shall be far from even the thought
of oppression or destruction, for you shall not fear, and from terror, for it
shall not come near you. Behold, they may gather together and stir up strife,
but it is not from Me. Whoever stirs up strife against you shall fall and
surrender to you. Behold, I have created the smith who blows on the fire of
coals and who produces a weapon for its purpose; and I have created the
devastator to destroy. But no weapon that is formed against you shall prosper,
and every tongue that shall rise against you in judgment you shall show to be
in the wrong. This [peace, righteousness, security, triumph over opposition] is
the heritage of the servants of the Lord [those in whom the ideal Servant of
the Lord is reproduced]; this is the righteousness or the vindication which
they obtain from Me [this is that which I impart to them as their
justification], says the Lord.
(Isaiah 54, AMPC)
