Restoration
Restoration
Pastor Keith Hassell
Foundation Scripture: Acts 3:19-21
I. The process of God
A. Repentance---Turn from evil
B. Be converted---Turn to what is right
C. Times of refreshing from the presence of the Lord
D. Restoration
E. The return of Christ
II. RESTORATION: The Biblical concept of restoration is not simply bring something back to a former or original condition, but always includes the idea of something being increased, multiplied, or improved so that the latter state is better than its former state.
A. Job 42:10-12 Job was restored double what he had lost
B. Joel 2:21-26 God will restore the years that the enemy has destroyed
C. Haggai 2:9 The glory of the latter temple will be greater than the former
D. God’s ultimate desire in restoration before Christ’s second coming is to return the church, the Bride of Christ, to the splendor and glory God intended for her (Ephesians 5:25-27)
III. The GOAL of Restoration for the church is to return it to New Testament:
A. Purity
B. Position
C. Principles
D. Patterns
E. Purposes
F. Pursuits
G. Passion
H. Power
IV. The PROMISE of Restoration
A. God has promised to restore all things spoken by the prophets before Christ returns (Acts 3:20-21)
B. God has promised restoration as a part of our heritage
1. Isaiah 58:12 “Those from among you shall build the old waste places; you shall raise up the foundations of many generations; and you shall be called the Repairer of the Breach, the Restorer of streets to dwell in.”
2. Isaiah 61:4 “And they shall rebuild the old ruins. They shall raise up the former desolations., and they shall repair the ruined cities, the desolations of many generations.”
C. The restoration of the church to be without blemish, spot, or wrinkle must occur before Jesus returns (Ephesians 5:27)
V. The PROCESS of Restoration
A. God’s people must repent and submit wholly to Him (2 Chronicles 7:14)
B. God will shake everything that can be shaken
1. Jeremiah 1:10 “See, I have this day set you over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root out and to pull down, to destroy and to throw down, to build and to plant.”
2. Matthew 21:12-16 Cleansing the temple
a. House of purity (drove out the moneychangers and those who bought and sold)
b. House of prayer (My house shall be called a house of prayer)
c. House of power (the blind and the lame came to Him in the temple, and He healed them)
d. House of praise (the children crying out in the temple, “Hosanna to the son of David”)
3. Hebrews 12:26-29 “Whose voice then shook the earth; but now He has promised, saying ‘Yet once more I shake not only the earth, but also heaven.’ Now this ‘Yet once more,’ indicates the removal of those things that are being shaken, as of things that are made, that the things which cannot be shaken may remain. Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear. For our God is a consuming fire.”
C. God’s Holy Spirit must be released in power and purity in and through the church in order to rebuild and restore lives around us
1. Joel 2:28-29 “And it shall come to pass afterward (Acts 2:17ff “in the last days”), that I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions. And also on My menservants and on my maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days.”
2. Zechariah 4:6 “Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit, says the Lord of hosts.”
3. Acts 1:8 “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
VI. RESTORATION includes restoring
A. Holiness, righteousness, and the fear of the Lord to the church
B. The “gospel of the kingdom of God”
1. The Lordship of Christ
2. Government of Christ extended through His church
3. Citizenship of believers
4. Culture of the kingdom
5. Service in the kingdom
6. Consummation of the kingdom
C. The ministry of Jesus (Luke 4:18-19a)
1. Preaching the Gospel to the poor
2. Healing the brokenhearted
3. Proclaiming deliverance to the captives
4. Bringing recovery of sight to the bling
5. Setting at liberty those who are oppressed
6. Proclaiming the acceptable year of the Lord (Jubilee)
D. The Ministry of the Holy Spirit
1. Work of the new birth
2. Baptism with the Holy Spirit
3. Gifts of the Holy Spirit
4. Manifestations of the Holy Spirit
5. Fruits of the Holy Spirit
6. Guidance of the Holy Spirit
E. The Word of God as supreme standard of Truth over all other doctrines of men and religious traditions.
F. New Testament Church government (Theocratic: God leading His church through divinely appointed leadership with built in checks and balances)
G. The Five-Fold equipping ministries of Jesus in the church (Ephesians 4:11-12)
1. Apostles
2. Prophets
3. Evangelists
4. Pastors
5. Teachers
H. The priesthood of all believers (Ephesians 4:11-12; I Peter 2:5,9)
I. New Testament worship in spirit and truth (John 4:23-24)
J. The church is God’s people and not a building.
K. The pattern of meeting in the temple and house-to-house (Acts 2:46; 20:20)
L. The restoration of emphasis on the Great Commission (winning souls and making disciples)
M. The restoration of the Great Commandment (Loving God and loving people)
N. Recognition and cooperation among the body of Christ throughout East Texas, our nation, and the world
O. Restoration of divine destiny in the lives of individuals, families, generations, churches, cities, and nations
VII. God is calling forth vessels of restoration
A. People who have repented from sin
B. People who have embraced the way of righteousness
C. People who have experienced times of refreshing from the Lord
D. People who have experienced restoration in their own lives
E. People who are willing to build up the old ruins, to raise up the foundations of many generations, to be repairers of the breach, and restorers of streets to be dwelt in.