Restoration

"The Lord always desires that we be restored to Him."

Restoration: Renewal; revival; re-establishment; as the restoration of friendship between enemies; the restoration of peace after war. (Webster’s 1828 Dictionary)

Restore: To renew or re-establish after interruption; as, peace is restored. Friendship between the parties is restored. (Webster’s 1828 Dictionary)

 

I was sitting on our porch this morning, reading the Bible to my dad as he worked out on the treadmill thing and we started chatting about dreams we’ve had recently.  As we shared the two dreams we had the night before, we ask each other and the Lord what it is we should learn from them. The two things that were highlighted in the dream I had was (1) Personal Revival begins with Repentance and (2) The Lord always desires for us to choose to be restored to him and to others. From my perspective, these two things happen around the same time. As we allow Holy Spirit to work in our lives and point out areas that need to be dealt with, then we are able to repent of them and thus be restored to or be in ‘right standing’ with God.

The process of repentance is quite simple:

Repent from your actions/beliefs that are contrary to God’s Word.

Receive His forgiveness

Rebuke the lies/untrue beliefs you were living out of

Replace those lies with the truth of God’s word and of who you are in Christ.

You don’t have to make it super systematic… I’m pretty sure Jesus just wants to hear that you’re sorry for not believing the Truth of what He says and He wants to give you real freedom in your life!

I understand that sometimes it seems easier to just believe the lies, like ‘you’re not good enough’, ‘you’re not worth loving’, and ‘I’m not sure what I should do with my life’. But honestly, these are simple lies that we as humans are living out of because we still need our minds to be renewed and have HS reveal to us where we aren’t believing God’s Truth of who we are… that we are ‘accepted as his dearly beloved children’, ‘we are created in his imagine’ and our worth is in the fact that He intentionally created us with purpose!

Through believing and living out these truths, we walk in freedom and in a kingdom lifestyle. There is a greater understanding of who you are as an individual and an even greater understanding of WHO GOD IS!

I believe that repentance is a continual act. Something we are never finished doing because there are always ways that we can become more like Jesus in our actions and beliefs. But ‘What God’s Grace Leads Us To, His Grace Will Lead Us Through’. It’s not an easy task to have your thinking/belief system radically changed but we’re not called, as believers, to live easy lifestyles. We are called to be the world changers and how can we change the world if we don’t even know God’s original intentions for it! I believe that God’s desire is to have the entire world be restored to him… and I think that starts with the individual… who has a personal repentance experience with God. Once you have that repentance and restoration experience, you can’t just keep it to yourself! It needs to be shared with someone so they can see that  truth and freedom is possible!

Rev 12:10 “And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, "Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come, for the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God.”

 

Rev 12:11 “And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death.”

Rev 12:12 “Therefore, rejoice, O heavens and you who dwell in them! But woe to you, O earth and sea, for the devil has come down to you in great wrath, because he knows that his time is short!"

 Some Truths to Ponder:

Rom 15:7 “Accept one another, then, for the glory of God, as Christ has accepted you.”

Eph 3:12 “In union with Christ and through our faith in him we have the boldness to go into God's presence with all confidence.”

Eph 6:10-13 “Finally, build up your strength in union with the Lord and by means of his mighty power. Put on all the armor that God gives you, so that you will be able to stand up against the Devil's evil tricks. For we are not fighting against human beings but against the wicked spiritual forces in the heavenly world, the rulers, authorities, and cosmic powers of this dark age. So put on God's armor now! Then when the evil day comes, you will be able to resist the enemy's attacks; and after fighting to the end, you will still hold your ground.”

Jer 29:11-13 “I alone know the plans I have for you, plans to bring you prosperity and not disaster, plans to bring about the future you hope for. Then you will call to me. You will come and pray to me, and I will answer you. You will seek me, and you will find me because you will seek me with all your heart.”

Isa 11:2-3 “And the Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD. And his delight shall be in the fear of the LORD. He shall not judge by what his eyes see, or decide disputes by what his ears hear.”

Pretty much all of Ephesians Chapter 1!!!!

Eph 1:3- 14 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth. In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory. In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.

V 17-21that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come.”