Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that He may send Jesus Christ, who was preached to you before, whom heaven must receive until the times of restoration of all things, which God has spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the world began.
Acts 3:19-21 (NKJV)
These passages speak of restoration of all things. The Amplified version says, "Complete restoration of all that God spoke." In fact, this reveals to us that the only thing that's holding the Father from sending Jesus is, there needs to be RESTORATION of ALL things. May it be concerning your family, relationships, finances, business deals and especially your health, all these will be restored.
2010 was the Year of God's Rest but it didn't end when 2010 ended. It's just the start and God's Rest will continue for all of us in the years to come. When we get rested the next thing that's going to happen is we're going to be restored. And so, 2011 is the Year of God's Restoration. Times of refreshing and restoration are available for all of us.
"Repent therefore and be converted," talks about a change of mind concerning what we believe so that the times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord. The refreshing of the Lord is permanent. How? Through the finished work of Jesus Christ! John 1:16 tells us that, "His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace." Through the grace of God we have the best refreshing times.
Jesus is the only one who can truly refresh us. Jesus is the living water and the bread from heaven. With Him, you'll never get hungry and you'll never get thirsty. The Times of Refreshing is found in His presence.
Restoration means to bring back to its original condition. But God's definition of restoration is not only this but blesses you much more. When God restores, the minimum is twice as much than before. He never does less than twice fold. The Lord will restore you more than your previous state!
Even from the beginning it has been His plan that whatever has been stolen should be restored. Proverbs 11:31 says, "The righteous will be recompensed on the earth." Recompense in Hebrew means restored, rewarded, compensate, repay, reimburse, make up for. It simply means it is payback time! It's time for us to get offensive towards our adversary. Don't let the devil go easily. Demand him for payback! Demand your rights! Make him pay! The devil is the thief and he must pay you back seven times more than before according to Proverbs 6:30-31.
You are too expensive for the devil to mess with. He should think twice before he steals from you! The Christian that Satan fears the most is the Christian who knows his rights. If you know your rights as a child of God, he will fear you. So let the devil know that you know who you are in Christ. Be on the offensive side.
As we also look in Isaiah 66:12-14, we can see that the hand of God brings blessings to us but judgment to our adversary. For example, in one instant the hand of God restored the 430 years worth of pay due to His people, the Israelites, when they went out of Egypt. They plundered, meaning they acquired something by superior strength, the Egyptians' goods and they didn't leave Egypt empty handed. Jesus Christ's victory at the cross is expressed as the hand of God in judgment to the devil and blessing to us His people. We need to demand Satan to pay us back just like the Israelites demanded from the Egyptians.
The restoration available to us believers comes through the grace of God by the finished work of Jesus and our knowledge of the truth of who we are in Christ. This is our victory over the devil and now that we have it, we need to know our rights: what we have, who we are and what we can do through Him. As a child of God you are always positioned for victory!
2011 is the Year of God's Restoration. Receive Restoration for your health, your family, your children, your relationships, your finances and everything that belongs to you in the Kingdom of God!
Rev. Michael C. Bunye
He is the Senior Pastor of Jesus Faith Christian Fellowship Church Inc. (Imus, Cavite)
a.k.a. FAITH CENTER IMUS.
With his wife Pastora Me-Ann Bunye (Senior Associate Pastor);
Their ministry is to reach and teach the people to get closer to God, meet their needs and help bring change in their lives through the Word of God.
