Divine RESET

INTRODUCTION

Life is full of battles, wars in both the physical and spiritual worlds. Even being a follower of Jesus, you may eventually come to experience what feels like nothing but loss or spiritual defeat. In the book of Ezekiel, the people of God found themselves captives of Babylon because of their rebellion against God. The prophet Ezekiel received a sign from the Lord amid their struggle. There among the rubble and bones of his people, Ezekiel is asked a question by the Lord and given a task: “Then He said to me, ‘Son of man, can these bones live?’ I answered, ‘Lord God, You Yourself know.’ Again He said to me, ‘Prophesy over these bones and say to them, ‘You dry bones, hear the word of the Lord’ Ezek 37:3-4

The people of Israel had experienced spiritual defeat and were in both a natural and metaphorical valley of dry bones. They were living as captives because of their rebellion against the Lord. Their army was hopeless, helpless and weak. What got them there? For Israel and for us, spiritual defeat is the result of distance from the Lord. As their rebellion took them further and further from God, they eventually became dry bones in a valley of defeat. Like the people of Israel, our idolatry can lead us into spiritual deserts, full of hopelessness, weakness, disconnection and spiritual ineffectiveness. When we become captives of the enemy, we cannot fight against the enemy.

Even though their own sin and waywardness brought them into this valley, the Lord was not finished with them. Spiritual defeat was an opportunity to experience the promises of God. Ezekiel knew there was nothing that human hands could do to turn the situation around, so he appealed to the only One who could do something about the situation. It was through this dependence upon the will of God, the grace of God and the faithful commitment of God that hope would begin to burst forth for the people of God.

IS 43:19 “For I am about to do something new. See, I have already begun! Do you not see it? I will make a pathway through the wilderness. I will create rivers in the dry wasteland.”

It’s time to reset and to place your focus back on who really matters.Life can come at you fast and it’s so easy to get to a point where you feel as though you're losing control or running on empty. However, one thing remains in the midst of all the demands and pressures that life brings and that’s God, your source.

It’s in Him you live, move and have your being. He is the source of your strength, the key to your peace and the reason you live.

Are you still connected to the source?

Prayer Points

Ask God for the grace to pursue Him in prayer and in the word.  Ask God to make you more aware of His presence and leading throughout your day.

Reset requires rest

As soon as you learn to rest in His work He tells you to get to work. Rest in God is not inactivity. It is the place of trust that all our labors are to flow from.

Lost Years

Sometimes we go through things and we can look back and find ourselves thinking, ‘Did I just waste all that time?’ It may be your investment into a relationship that didn’t work out, or a job failure. It may feel like it was a waste of time, perhaps even years lost. But God is a God who delights in redeeming and restoring the lost years.

There’s a story in the Bible when Israel’s crops had been destroyed by a locust invasion. They faced destruction, famine and hopelessness for a time. But God did not leave His people in such a state. He offered this promise: And I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten (refer Joel 2:25).

You may have been doing the right thing, but it looked like everything was going against you. That you were standing in your own locust-stripped field.

It’s a new day! Place your trust in God. He promises to fully restore the lost years and bring you to a place where you will be completely satisfied. This is a hope you can hold on to. And, like the children of Israel, you shall know (without any doubt) that God is on your side.

2.A Reset keeps you on your mission -

Purpose: Paul Stayed on Mission, Even in Prison

phili 1:12 “And I want you to know, my dear brothers and sisters, that everything that has happened to me here has helped to spread the Good News.”

A. Paul might have been forgiven had he chosen to take a little sabbatical as he sat in prison, awaiting his trial. Yet he used even this opportunity to advance the gospel.

B.Paul was a leader who never drifted from his mission. He determined to leave his mark wherever he went. George Washington Carver wrote, “No individual has any right to come into the world and go out of it without leaving behind him distinct and legitimate reasons for having passed through it.”

C. How did Paul’s sense of purpose keep him in the battle as he sat in prison? What did he learn behind bars? Consider the following:

A purpose will motivate you.

A purpose will keep your priorities straight

.A purpose will develop your potential.

A purpose will give you power to live in the present

.A purpose will help you evaluate your progress.

3. A Reset brings you into a personal Rivival

PSALMS 85

Mercy and Truth For the Pure and Shining One A prophetic song composed by the prophetic singers of Korah’s clan 1Lord, your love has poured out so many amazing blessings on our land! You’ve restored Jacob’s destiny from captivity. 2You’ve forgiven our many sins and covered every one of them in your love. Pause in his presence 3So now it’s obvious that your blazing anger has ended and the furious fire of wrath has been extinguished by your mercy. 4So bring us back to loving you, God our Savior. Restore our hearts so that we’ll never again feel your anger rise against us. 5Will you forever hold a grudge? Will your anger endure for all time? 6Revive us again, O God! I know you will! Give us a fresh start! Then all your people will taste your joy and gladness. 7Pour out even more of your love on us! Reveal more of your kindness and restore us back to you! 8Now I’ll listen carefully for your voice and wait to hear whatever you say. Let me hear your promise of peace— the message every one of your godly lovers longs to hear. Don’t let us in our ignorance turn back from following you. 9For I know your power and presence shines on all your devoted lovers. Your glory always hovers over all who bow low before you. 10Your mercy and your truth have married each other. Your righteousness and peace have kissed. 11Flowers of your faithfulness are blooming on the earth. Righteousness shines down from the sky. 12Yes, the Lord keeps raining down blessing after blessing, and prosperity will drench the land with a bountiful harvest. 13For deliverance goes before him, preparing a path for his steps.

A. REVIVAL IS THE RESTORATION OF THE SPIRITUAL LIFE OF GOD’S PEOPLE

God’s people must be reconnected to Him

• Connections can be lost over time and without care

• Revival is the giving back of the life lost (Psalm 85:6)

“Draw a circle around yourself and say ‘God, start revival here; revive me again.’”

B. God’s people are the main recipients of revival

• God must bring revival to His people before it can spread to others

• Misunderstanding revival is a very easy thing to do for a Christian

To overcome the spiritual defeat—to bring the dry bones of a rebellious and captive nation to life—God’s instructions were clear: hear My Word. Through the prophetic Word of God, life was restored to Israel, and it is also how it is restored to us in our own spiritual defeat. The combination of the Word of God and the work of the Spirit revives the dry bones back to life. Victory comes after the most desperate of situations reveal to us who God is.

When have you experienced spiritual defeat? What led up to that point?

Why is learning to lean on God’s promises so important in those desert valleys?

How has God used His Word and His Spirit to bring victory in your life?

In what ways do you need to experience victory, and how can you lean on His Word to do so?

Where does God want to revive dry bones in your life so that you can impact the culture for His glory?

How has He already brought life where there was once death?

“Some of us need to say ‘Revive us again’ because we remember a time when we were in love with the Lord.”

4. A reset prepares you for your destiny

GOD’S DESTINY IS WORTH PURSUING:

here was a little girl who asked her father for a nickel. He reached into his pocket but he didn’t have any change. So the father pulled out his

wallet and all he had was a twenty dollar bill. His little girl had been a good girl so he said, “Sweetie, I don’t have a nickel, but here’s a twenty dollar bill.” The little girl pouted and said, “But daddy, I want a nickel.” The father tried to explain how many nickels the twenty dollar bill represented, but she didn’t get it. Many of us are the same. We want a nickel when God wants to give us a twenty-dollar bill. We want our will so much that we miss out on God’s perfect destiny for us – one that is worth much more than twenty dollars!

A. GOD HAS UNIQUELY DESIGNED YOU FOR A DESTINY

God has woven you together intricately and uniquely to bring Him glory, bless others, and expand His kingdom.

B. GOD CREATED YOU AS A “MASTERPIECE” TO DO GOOD WORKS

Let’s look closely at Ephesians 2:10: “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.”

C. God has designed you as a masterpiece • In Ephesians 2:10, the word workmanship means masterpiece.

D. God has prepared good works for you to do

• The good works God has prepared for you are the biblically authorized activities that bring God glory and benefit others.

• As you walk in the path of good works God has laid out, you will fulfill your destiny.