David [00:00:01]:
You know, back during the Easter season a few weeks ago, I stated that the journey to redemption, reconciliation, and restoration began in the Garden of Eden. Actually, Paul in Ephesians first chapter, said, our Father God planned for our redemption, reconciliation, and restoration before the foundation of the world. When I read that, this tells us how much, tells me how much God loves us and cares for us. God’s heart to redeem mankind was fulfilled in his son, Jesus Christ. Jesus came to restore back to us what Satan had stolen from us.
David [00:01:21]:
Today we are focusing on the power of restoration. The last couple weeks we talked about redemption. Then last Sunday we talked about reconciliation. And today we’re looking into restoration. What we see as we study these three processes is they all work together. Redemption is working in reconciliation, and redemption and reconciliation are working in restoration. Jesus is our redeemer, and he has reconciled us to God our father. And today we look at Jesus our restorer.
David [00:02:09]:
He has worked restoration in us and for us. And since we are in him, he now works the power of restoration through us also. And we’re going to see that as we get into the word today. Let’s talk about Jesus, our restorer, Jeremiah 3017. Now, God started talking about who he was back in the Old Testament. Jeremiah 3017 says this, for I will restore health unto thee, and I will heal thee of thy wounds, saith the Lord, because they called thee an outcast, saying, this is Zion, whom no man seeketh after. So God is coming in behalf of Zion, Israel to restore them. That word restore there being.
David [00:03:11]:
So I will restore health unto thee. It means to bring up. It means to cause, to ascend or climb. It means to cause, to go up, to excel, to be superior to. Here in Jeremiah, the Lord is not only talking about our physical health, he’s also talking about our spiritual health, our mental health, our soul, our whole being. He is bringing us up. He’s saying here he is causing us to ascend, to go up in spirits, soul and body. By his restoring power, he is causing us to excel and be superior.
David [00:04:05]:
That’s the heart of God for us. He is. He always has been and he always will be our restorer. Our restoration. In Luke 640, we see this. Jesus said, the disciple is not above his master, but everyone that is perfect shall be as his master. Now, that word perfect, there in the Greek is the same word translated, restore or restoration. And it means this to render sound and complete.
David [00:04:45]:
When God has healed you, spirit, soul and body. Body, when he has restored you, when he has perfected you, you are rendered sound and complete. So in him we are made perfect. In him we are restored. In him we are sound and complete. Spirit, soul and body, we are, are the restored ones now, so we know that Jesus is our redeemer, but he’s also our restorer, and we’re going to see more about this as we move forward. But there’s a power to restore that works not only in us, like I said a moment ago in the beginning, but also works through us. Paul talks about this in Galatians six one, two.
David [00:05:50]:
He says, brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual, restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself, lest you also be tempted, bear one another’s burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ. I said earlier that the word the Lord works through the power of restoration in us. And through us we have the power to bring restoration to one another. Restore here, this word here in the Greek, in Galatians, means this. It means to strengthen. You have the power to strengthen those around you or be strengthened by those around you. You have the power. It also means to perfect.
David [00:06:50]:
You also have the power to bring someone back into that place of oneness with God and Christ, and perfection. It means to complete. We have the power to help someone be complete again, to be whole again, spirit, soul and body. And I love this part of this definition, to make one what he ought to be. You have the power to help someone become all they were meant to be, to restore to them all God intended for them from the beginning. That’s what discipleship is all about. That’s what teaching and training is all about. That’s what we call coaching today.
David [00:07:40]:
That’s what that’s all about, is to help one become who they ought to be. It means to fit out or to outfit, to help furnish them with all they need, to go forth and be all that God’s called them to be. Be. It means to put in order as we minister to those around us and love on them. We help them put everything in order so they’re one with God and they’re walking in harmony with him. It means to arrange or adjust, to make sound and complete. There it is again. We’re helping people be sound and complete, spirit, soul and body.
David [00:08:31]:
I believe this is a great definition of loving one another. You know, Jesus said, to love your neighbor is yourself. This is one of the ways we do that. It’s also a great definition of ministry. That’s what ministry is all about, is loving one another and building one another up, edifying one another other, as Paul said in Ephesians 416, from whom the whole body joined and knit together by what every joint supplies according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself and love. There it is again. I just said it, so let me say it again. That word Edify here means to build up.
David [00:09:28]:
We are empowered to build up one another and to build up the things God called us to. So restoration, a part of restoration is building up. It’s raising up. It’s lifting up those around us, encouraging them to be all they were created to be. But it just doesn’t stop there. The power of restoration also works through us to see what God has ordained, return and come into operation again, or into being again. We see this in Isaiah. Isaiah prophesied this in Isaiah 58, he said this.
David [00:10:16]:
Isaiah 50 812. Those from among you shall build the old waste places. They shall raise up, or you shall raise up the foundation of many generations, and you shall be called the repairer of the breach, the restorer of streets to dwell in. And that word restorer there in the Hebrew means to bring back, to return, to give back, to refresh, to repair, to bring back home again, to rescue, to recover. And that’s what we do. That’s what we do when we bring back. We function in the ministry of reconciliation, and we bring people back home again. We bring them back into relationship with God, their father.
David [00:11:18]:
We build up what’s before us. There are things God has ordained to be, and for whatever reason, as we see here, he calls them the old waste places or the foundations of many generations. One translation says, ancient ruins. And God says, no, I intended for that to be there to serve humanity. And so he inspires us to bring those things back. There are things God has ordained to be. He works through his people to restore them for his glory and for our blessing. Now, there’s something else we hear a lot about.
David [00:12:08]:
We hear a lot about generational cursings, you know, generational curses. But there’s also generational calling, generational anointings that need to be fulfilled. I know in my family there and in my wife’s family, we have relatives in our past, great grandfather, great great grandfathers, and aunts and uncles. Kanye and I both have people in our past who are part of seeing the church built. I remember one time we were being prayed for, and the person praying for us in this line we were in, looked at both of us and said, your family has an anointing to help inspire and build up the church, don’t they? And we both kind of grinned and said, yes, they do. And she said, you both have that same anointing. We have a generational calling, a generational anointing that we’re walking in, and so we want to fulfill that. And God has given us that to restore that anointing and calling from generation to generation.
David [00:13:34]:
I know there are people, young people in my family, I know two or three of my nephews that are already walking in it, and God is doing great things through them. So not only are there generational curses, there are generational callings and anointings that God wants to bring back and restore to us. Now, as we look at this word restoration, I found that there are five words that are used to define and describe restoration. And so today I’d like us to look at each of those and see how they are applied in scripture and what God wants to say to us through them and inspire us in them. The first one is this. The word restoration means returned, returned, or returned. First Peter 225 says this, for ye were as sheep going astray, but are now returned unto the shepherd and bishop of your soul. That word return there in the greek means to cause, to return, to bring back, to come back.
David [00:15:01]:
It means return to the love and obedience of God, return to the love for the children of God, return to love, wisdom and righteousness. When we returned, we come back into a loving relationship with God and are restored to him. Hallelujah. God has returned us to the place that was rightfully ours in the beginning, being one with him, one with him. And so all that Satan took from us in the beginning, through Christ Jesus, has been restored to us, and we’ve been returned to our proper place and position in Christ Jesus. We have been returned. The second word that defines restoration is the word recovered. Recover.
David [00:16:07]:
Mark 16 1718 says this. And these signs will follow. Those who believe in my name, they will cast out demons, they will speak with new tongues, they will take up serpents, and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them. They will lay hands on the sick and they will recover. Recover their means, in the Greek, to do good, to be well, to recover health. And so, as we pray over people, that power of restoration is working in us and through us. That healing, anointing is working in us and through us to recover health, well being and good to those that we’re praying for. Second Timothy 225 26 says this in meekness, instructing those that oppose themselves if God preadventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth, that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil who are taken captive by him and his will.
David [00:17:26]:
Now the greek word there, translated, recover, means to become sober, to return to one’s senses, to change and renew your thinking and realize the path you’re on. Following the enemy is leading you to death and destruction. And so come back and be recovered. Recover yourself out of the snare of the enemy. And that’s what happens when we get saved. We’re recovered out of the snare of the enemy. And God uses us, people around us, to recover. The power of restoration is working in us and through us to help recover those around us who need to be recovered.
David [00:18:28]:
Think about that. We are working with the Lord to see restoration happen and people’s lives be recovered physically through their health and and spiritually to them coming back into Christ. What we see again from these two definitions of recover is that we are restored spirit, soul, and body. Now the third word here that defines what restoration is is the word renewed means to renew, be renewed. Psalm 135 says this, who satisfies your mouth with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagles. Renewed there means to make anew, to repair. We shed all the old feathers that aren’t good or working anymore, and we grow new ones, and our youth is renewed and we soar again. I also like who satisfies your mouth with good.
David [00:19:41]:
That word good there means the highest order, the most excellent, the best there is. When God’s power of restoration is working in us and through us and for us and with us, he’s bringing about his best. He is blessing us. He is renewing our youth. Second Corinthians 517 says this. Therefore, if any man is in Christ, he is a new creation. Old things have passed away. Behold, all things have become new.
David [00:20:19]:
If you’re in Christ today, everything’s new. You’re a new creation. And that word there, new or renew, means you’re of a new kind. Unprecedented, novel, uncommon, unheard of. You’re one of a kind. You’re God’s child, and you’re one of a kind. You’re unique. God has restored you to your uniqueness, who he made you to be.
David [00:20:51]:
Receive it. Walk in it today. Hallelujah in Christ. You are one of a kind, and a good kind, too. Not a weird kind. Romans six four talking about being renewed and newness. Therefore we were buried with him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so, we also should walk in newness of life. We’ve been raised with him.
David [00:21:36]:
That word in the Greek there newness means in the new state of life, in which the Holy Spirit places us so as to produce a new state, which is eternal life. When God restores us and makes us new again, not only do we get life here and now, we have eternal life. Eternal life. Eternal life is yours now. A lot of times we don’t realize it because we still live in a finite body. But you are an eternal being. I challenge you to get up every day and tell yourself, I mean an eternal being. I am an eternal being.
David [00:22:32]:
This body that I lived in may die, but I will not because I am an eternal being. When our body dies, all we do is transition to heaven and walk in the fullness of our eternalness. And from what I hear, you look a lot better too. But we are eternal beings. We’ve been made new. Romans twelve two talking about renew us or the renewal says this, and do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. That word renewing there means a renewal, a renovation, a complete change for the better. When your mind is renewed, the word totally renovates your mind.
David [00:23:47]:
The word brings about a complete change in your thinking for the better. That’s why we need to stay in the word. As the Lord told Joshua. First chapter of Joshua. There he says, let the words, this word, the law, meditate on it day and night. Keep it in your mouth, mutter it, and do all that it says to do. Then you shall make your way prosperous and be successful. Stay in the word.
David [00:24:26]:
Stay in the word. Stay in the word. And your mind will be renewed, it will be renovated. Your thinking will be changed for the better. Hallelujah. When that happens, we begin thinking more and more and more like God our father. Hallelujah. Now, the fourth word that describes restoration is what we call reestablished, which means confirmed again.
David [00:24:59]:
Something is confirmed again. Now in scripture, the word is established. But we see here in Genesis 916 and 17, after the flood, the Lord says to Noah, the rainbow shall be in the cloud, and I will look on it to remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth. And God said to Noah, this is the sign of the covenant which I have established between me and all flesh. That is on the earth. And so what he did was say, this covenant hasn’t ended. It still is. It’s established.
David [00:25:51]:
But I’m giving you a new sign. That rainbow there reminds you. It reestablishes to you once again. It confirms again that we have an everlasting covenant. That word established there in the Hebrew means to stand, to be fixed, unmovable, to be valid, to be proven, to be fulfilled, to persist, to be set, to be fixed. Guys, when you see a rainbow in the sky, that’s the Lord saying to you, my covenant is everlasting. It will stand, it is, it is valid, it is proven, it is already fulfilled, and it will persist. It is set again, it is fixed in place.
David [00:26:47]:
God has done everything he needs to do so that we can be in covenant with him. Hebrews eight six says this, but now he has obtained a more excellent ministry, inasmuch as he is also mediator of a better covenant, which was established on better promises. The word established here in the Greek means sanctioned by law. It means to enact a law. God is put into place through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, his son. Everything has been taken care of and restored to the right place and re established so that we could have relationship with him and walk in the fullness of our covenant with him. Now the fifth word that describes and defines restoration is the word restitution. In Exodus 22, one, the Lord said, if a man shall steal an ox or a sheep and kill it or sell it, he shall restore five oxen for an ox and four sheep.
David [00:28:14]:
Four sheep. So there was restitution. You had to give back proverbs 630 and 31. We’ve all heard this one before. Men do not despise a thief if he steals to satisfy his soul when he is hungry. But if he is found, he shall restore sevenfold. He shall give all the substance of his house if necessary. Restitution means and then some.
David [00:28:50]:
It means all you took, plus some, all you took and more. And you probably heard this preached before. Everything the enemy has taken from you, God will see that it’s restored to you. Seven, God has redeemed us. God has reconciled us. God has restored us by the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on our behalf. But it doesn’t stop there. The power of redemption, reconciliation and restoration is still working in us.
David [00:29:37]:
It’s working through us. It’s working for us and with us every day. Amen. Let the redeemed of the Lord say so. I am redeemed, I am reconciled. I am restored to the fullness of who? Who God created me to be, and I walk in all that he has for me. Amen. You are restored.
David [00:30:16]:
Let’s bow our heads in prayer today. Father, we thank you for your power that is even working in us right now at this time. We thank you for redeeming us, for reconciling us into relationship with you. And we thank you for your power of restoration that restored us to you and is still working in us, restoring us, spirit, soul and body, every day. The power of restoration is working in us, through us, for us and with us. And we thank you for it. Father, we thank you that as we go forth, Father God, that you use us to pour into other people and to love them in a way that restoration flows to them. And father, I thank you that as we go forth, that you use other people to speak into us and pour into us so that restoration flows to us and is ignited in us.
David [00:31:16]:
Lord, we thank you for your restoring power. Father God. Thank you, Lord, for loving us beyond measure. With all you have. You love us and care for us, and we thank you for it today. In Jesus name, so be it. Amen. All right, have a great week.
David [00:31:48]:
Go out there and share some restoration with someone you know. Pastor Kanye is coming with a closing word in prayer. God bless.
