MEMORISE:
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. Jeremiah 30:17
READ: 2 Samuel 19:11-15
11 And king David sent to Zadok and to Abiathar the priests, saying, Speak unto the elders of Judah, saying, Why are ye the last to bring the king back to his house? seeing the speech of all Israel is come to the king, even to his house.
12 Ye are my brethren, ye are my bones and my flesh: wherefore then are ye the last to bring back the king?
13 And say ye to Amasa, Art thou not of my bone, and of my flesh? God do so to me, and more also, if thou be not captain of the host before me continually in the room of Joab.
14 And he bowed the heart of all the men of Judah, even as the heart of one man; so that they sent this word unto the king, Return thou, and all thy servants.
15 So the king returned, and came to Jordan. And Judah came to Gilgal, to go to meet the king, to conduct the king over Jordan.
MESSAGE
God’s desire is to completely restore all those who apply His principles of restoration to any aspect of their life wherein they suffer loss. The degree of restoration a person experiences depends on their level of adherence to the details of these principles. For example, Samson only experience partial restoration because that was what he asked for. He prayed to God in Judges 16:28, saying:
“O Lord God, remember me, I pray thee, and strengthen me, I pray thee, only this once, O God, that I may be at once avenged of the Philistines for my two eyes.”
Sadly, he died with his enemies. You will not die with your enemies in Jesus’ Name. in contrast to Samson, Naaman experience total restoration. Speaking on how God restored wholesomeness to him, 2 Kings 5:14 says:
“Then went he down, and dipped himself seven times in Jordan, according to the saying of the man of God: and his flesh came again like unto the flesh of a little child, and he was clean.”
Naaman’s example is a model for those who want their restoration to be compete. The first thing to note about his restoration in 2 Kings 5:14 is that he went down before restored. We must get off our high horse of self-importance if we desire complete restoration after suffering any form of loss. The next thing to consider is that Naaman dipped himself seven times according to the instruction of God’s prophet, not five or six time. In other words, our obedience must be complete as we wash in the Blood of the Lamb. We must forget our self-righteousness if we want to experience complete restoration spiritually or physically. Many Christians who fall from grace are never completely restored because they did not thoroughly confess or restitute their ways completely, some have been caught in extra-marital affairs that produced children out of wedlock, and under the pretext of taking care of the children produced by such illicit relationships, they still involve themselves in semi-polygamous lifestyles with their mistresses. There is no way such Christians can be fully restored, and as a matter of fact, they are gambling with eternity in hell. Some so-called children of God are even still riding cars they stole before their new birth! They have not completely repented of their old ways and therefore cannot experience the restoration described in today’s memory verse, like David did in our Bible reading. Beloved, you can also be totally restored if you completely return to God. Your health that is failing because of your extra-marital wandering will return if you dismiss all your concubines and other strange women in your life. Have you fully restituted your ways?
PRAYER POINT:
Father, I believe in the possibility of complete restoration; please restore me to wholeness in all areas of life today in Jesus’ Name.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: 2 Chronicle 9-10
Revelation 11
AUTHOR: PASTOR E. A. ADEBOYE
HYMN 8: MY FAITH LOOKS UP TO THEE.
1. My faith looks up to Thee,
Thou Lamb of Calvary,
Savior divine!
Now hear me while I pray,
Take all my guilt away,
Oh, let me from this day
Be wholly Thine!
2. May Thy rich grace impart
Strength to my fainting heart,
My zeal inspire!
As Thou hast died for me,
Oh, may my love to Thee
Pure, warm, and changeless be,
A living fire!
3. While life’s dark maze I tread,
And griefs around me spread,
Be Thou my guide;
Bid darkness turn to day,
Wipe sorrow’s tears away,
Nor let me ever stray
From Thee aside.
4. When ends life’s transient dream,
When death’s cold, sullen stream
Shall o’er me roll;
Blest Savior, then in love,
Fear and distrust remove;
Oh, bear me safe above,
A ransomed soul!
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