Call to Worship: Habakkuk 3:1 “Lord, I have heard of your fame; I stand in awe of your deeds, Lord. Repeat them in our day, in our time make them known; in wrath remember mercy.”
Songs: Great I Am - Phillips, Craig & Dean
You Are / You Are Lord - Hillsong
Cornerstone - Hillsong
Scripture: Colossians 2
Song:Send the Fire - Nashville Singers
Sermon: “Restore Us”
Song:Hear Us from Heaven - Ross Parsley
Benediction: Joshua 24:14 “Now fear the Lord and serve him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your ancestors worshiped beyond the Euphrates River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”
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Sermon: “Restore Us:
Today I want to look a little more in detail about something we talked about briefly a couple of weeks ago as it really helps to understand what is happening around you and why. Paul says Romans 8:28 “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” If generation after generation goes by and only gets worse and nothing ever changes you would want to find out why. If you are reading scripture thinking that you have everything you need yet in reality God has turned His face from shining on you, you have been deceived. If what Isaiah speaks of in Isaiah 1:15 is happening, “When you spread out your hands in prayer, I hide my eyes from you; even when you offer many prayers, I am not listening,” but at the same time you think you are blessed but in fact the opposite is happening and you are in captivity, this changes how you pray. If you are thinking all things work for good, then you just continue with your life and do not change. This goes on for generations with no repentance. In fact your prayers should be cries and pleas begging God to have mercy and turn his face to shine on us once again so that the power of the Holy Spirit will flow once again so that we will be freed. Most people go through what they think is the Christian life, not understanding that there is more. This defeat by our enemies has come because of our disobedience. Today I’m not talking about perseverance, as with Job though we need to persevere. He had to persevere through insurmountable situations. This was not happening to him because he disobeyed.
I want to look at a few situations in the bible that will help us understand our position we find ourselves in. This first one is not the situation we find ourselves in. This first position is one that Paul was in. In Romans we see that Paul was filled with the Holy Spirit. Acts 9:17 “Then Ananias went to the house and entered it. Placing his hands on Saul, he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord—Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here—has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” Hebrews 2:3 “This salvation, which was first announced by the Lord, was confirmed to us by those who heard him. 4 God also testified to it by signs, wonders and various miracles, and by gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will.” Jesus said in Mark 16:20 “Then the disciples went out and preached everywhere, and the Lord worked with them and confirmed his word by the signs that accompanied it.” Now Paul was in persecution because of the gospel he preached. He was told ahead of time this would happen to him. Acts 21:11 “Coming over to us, he took Paul’s belt, tied his own hands and feet with it and said, “The Holy Spirit says, ‘In this way the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem will bind the owner of this belt and will hand him over to the Gentiles.’” Acts 9:15 “But the Lord said to Ananias, “Go! This man is my chosen instrument to proclaim my name to the Gentiles and their kings and to the people of Israel. 16 I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.” Acts 20:22 “And now, compelled by the Spirit, I am going to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there. 23 I only know that in every city the Holy Spirit warns me that prison and hardships are facing me. 24 However, I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the good news of God’s grace.”
So here we see Paul being sent out filled with the Holy Spirit, yet there is persecution, trials and people trying to kill him constantly. We see he is filled with the Holy Spirit and there is power flowing. This was not happening because of disobedience but because he was given “the task of testifying to the good news of God’s grace.” Paul says 1 Corinthians 4:20 “For the kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power.” So when he said “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose,” we see the power of God working even though he is under severe persecution. Paul understood his situation. Philippians 4:12 “I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. 13 I can do all this through him who gives me strength.” He was told by Jesus in Acts 26:17 “I will rescue you from your own people and from the Gentiles. I am sending you to them 18 to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.”
This is where I believe the church has been deceived. They think they have the Holy Spirit yet there is no power. They have even said what Paul had is not available to the church today. So then you have generations of people who do not repent because they have been taught everything is all right, even though bad things are happening, that’s just the way it is. They think God works for the good yet they are following a false gospel. So we have a church in captivity and desolation thinking they are operating as Paul did, yet deny His power and refuse to turn from their wicked ways. Isaiah 30:15 “This is what the Sovereign Lord, the Holy One of Israel, says: “In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength, but you would have none of it.” When they are told to repent and turn from their wicked ways they refuse. They don’t ask God to “Repeat them in our day, in our time make them known; in wrath remember mercy.” They don’t say, Psalm 60:1 “You have rejected us, God, and burst upon us; you have been angry—now restore us!” Psalm 80:19 “Restore us, Lord God Almighty; make your face shine on us, that we may be saved.” The deception is so bad they don’t even know they need to be restored nor do they understand about the great hope we have when we are restored. Paul said he prayed so that Ephesians 1:18 “you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, 19 and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength 20 he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, 21 far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one to come.”
The church isn’t actually going out to make true disciples but remain in captivity. The only disciples being made are ones who will do the same as what got them taken captive in the first place. Matthew 23:15 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to win a single convert, and when you have succeeded, you make them twice as much a child of hell as you are.” Because of this 2 Kings 22:13 “Great is the Lord’s anger that burns against us because those who have gone before us have not obeyed the words of this book; they have not acted in accordance with all that is written there concerning us.” Lamentations 2:14 “The visions of your prophets were false and worthless; they did not expose your sin to ward off your captivity. The prophecies they gave you were false and misleading.” So then all the while people in the church think they are in God’s will but God is not shining his face on us and we remain in captivity, so no it is not good. Sunday after Sunday they rinse and repeat, yet remain powerless. What are you being baptized into? Generation after generation is born into captivity thinking they are carrying on in the traditions of the greats who went before them yet none ask Judges 6:13 “Where are all his wonders that our ancestors told us about when they said, ‘Did not the Lord bring us up out of Egypt?’ But now the Lord has abandoned us and given us into the hand of Midian.” The church has grown accustomed to their captivity. The lights are dim and almost out, yet people carry on as if nothing was wrong.
Meanwhile the church lies in desolation and looks nothing like the early church going out in power. Yes there was persecution, yet they shared the gospel in life and death. Jesus warned us ahead of time when he said, Matthew 24:4 “Watch out that no one deceives you. 5 For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah,’ and will deceive many. 6 You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. 7 Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. 8 All these are the beginning of birth pains. 9 “Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me. 10 At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, 11 and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. 12 Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, 13 but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved.” Hebrews 11:32 “There were others who were tortured, refusing to be released so that they might gain an even better resurrection. 36 Some faced jeers and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. 37 They were put to death by stoning; they were sawed in two; they were killed by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated— 38 the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, living in caves and in holes in the ground.”
Yes living and sharing the gospel will be costly. Jesus also said Matthew 10:16 “I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves. 17 Be on your guard; you will be handed over to the local councils and be flogged in the synagogues. 18 On my account you will be brought before governors and kings as witnesses to them and to the Gentiles. 19 But when they arrest you, do not worry about what to say or how to say it. At that time you will be given what to say, 20 for it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you. 21 “Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; children will rebel against their parents and have them put to death. 22 You will be hated by everyone because of me, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved. 23 When you are persecuted in one place, flee to another. Truly I tell you, you will not finish going through the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes. 24 “The student is not above the teacher, nor a servant above his master. 25 It is enough for students to be like their teachers, and servants like their masters. If the head of the house has been called Beelzebul, how much more the members of his household! 26 “So do not be afraid of them, for there is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known. 27 What I tell you in the dark, speak in the daylight; what is whispered in your ear, proclaim from the roofs. 28 Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell. 29 Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care.30 And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. 31 So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.” 32 “Whoever acknowledges me before others, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven. 33 But whoever disowns me before others, I will disown before my Father in heaven. 34 “Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. 35 For I have come to turn “‘a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law— 36 a man’s enemies will be the members of his own household.’ 37 “Anyone who loves their father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves their son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. 38 Whoever does not take up their cross and follow me is not worthy of me. 39 Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it.” 40 “Anyone who welcomes you welcomes me, and anyone who welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. 41 Whoever welcomes a prophet as a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward, and whoever welcomes a righteous person as a righteous person will receive a righteous person’s reward. 42 And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones who is my disciple, truly I tell you, that person will certainly not lose their reward.”
So as I reminded us last week; do not be afraid be courageous and not discouraged. Romans 14:8 “If we live, we live for the Lord; and if we die, we die for the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord.” Philippians 1:21 “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. 22 If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. Yet what shall I choose? I do not know! 23 I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far; 24 but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body.” When God sends us on our mission in the authority of His name and in the power of the Holy Spirit, we will be victorious no matter what, so we need not fear. “Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.” As I said earlier I feel like Job is about perseverance and he really did not know why all these things were happening against him and his family. If we look at Israel and Judah they were warned over and over again what would happened if they turned away. They were not living for the Lord. 2 Kings 17:7 “All this took place because the Israelites had sinned against the Lord their God, who had brought them up out of Egypt from under the power of Pharaoh king of Egypt. 13 The Lord warned Israel and Judah through all his prophets and seers: “Turn from your evil ways. Observe my commands and decrees, in accordance with the entire Law that I commanded your ancestors to obey and that I delivered to you through my servants the prophets.” 14 But they would not listen and were as stiff-necked as their ancestors, who did not trust in the Lord their God. 15 They rejected his decrees and the covenant he had made with their ancestors and the statutes he had warned them to keep. They followed worthless idols and themselves became worthless. They imitated the nations around them although the Lord had ordered them, “Do not do as they do.” They were warned over and over again just as we have been warned. Ezekiel 39:23 “And the nations will know that the people of Israel went into exile for their sin, because they were unfaithful to me. So I hid my face from them and handed them over to their enemies, and they all fell by the sword.”
The rejection of God’s word has been happening for a long time. We cannot expect to go our own way and be blessed by God. We cannot hold on to verses that do not apply to us because God has turned his face on us. We only deceive ourselves by doing that. 1 Kings 8:25 “Now Lord, the God of Israel, keep for your servant David my father the promises you made to him when you said, ‘You shall never fail to have a successor to sit before me on the throne of Israel, if only your descendants are careful in all they do to walk before me faithfully as you have done.” The good news is that God will keep his promise to David and there will be a remnant come out of captivity but we must remain faithful now that we know, until he pours out his Spirit once again. The realization that we have been in captivity is shocking, I know. This is a revelation that most will not accept but there is a remnant who will. Ezra 8:22 “The gracious hand of our God is on everyone who looks to him, but his great anger is against all who forsake him.” Ezra 9:8 “But now, for a brief moment, the Lord our God has been gracious in leaving us a remnant and giving us a firm place in his sanctuary, and so our God gives light to our eyes and a little relief in our bondage.”
The understanding that we have been in captivity changes everything. It changes our prayers, persistence and our understanding of scripture. We are in captivity because we and those before us have not followed God’s word. 1 Chronicles 9:1 “All Israel was listed in the genealogies recorded in the book of the kings of Israel and Judah. They were taken captive to Babylon because of their unfaithfulness.” You see it passed on from generation to generation with each generation getting further and further from the truth. But because God is merciful he steps in and saves us. Many will perish because of a lack of knowledge. There is a massive difference between serving the lord and being in captivity. 2 Chronicles 12:1 “After Rehoboam’s position as king was established and he had become strong, he and all Israel with him abandoned the law of the Lord. 2 Because they had been unfaithful to the Lord, Shishak king of Egypt attacked Jerusalem in the fifth year of King Rehoboam. 3 With twelve hundred chariots and sixty thousand horsemen and the innumerable troops of Libyans, Sukkites and Cushites that came with him from Egypt, 4 he captured the fortified cities of Judah and came as far as Jerusalem. 5 Then the prophet Shemaiah came to Rehoboam and to the leaders of Judah who had assembled in Jerusalem for fear of Shishak, and he said to them, “This is what the Lord says, ‘You have abandoned me; therefore, I now abandon you to Shishak.’” 6 The leaders of Israel and the king humbled themselves and said, “The Lord is just.” 7 When the Lord saw that they humbled themselves, this word of the Lord came to Shemaiah: “Since they have humbled themselves, I will not destroy them but will soon give them deliverance. My wrath will not be poured out on Jerusalem through Shishak. 8 They will, however, become subject to him, so that they may learn the difference between serving me and serving the kings of other lands.”
We had better learn the difference between serving the Lord and the kings of other lands. We need Leviticus 10:10 “to distinguish between the holy and the common, between the unclean and the clean.” Now even one of the worst kings Manasseh knew enough to repent and turn back to God because of his captivity. 2 Chronicles 33:9 “But Manasseh led Judah and the people of Jerusalem astray, so that they did more evil than the nations the Lord had destroyed before the Israelites. 10 The Lord spoke to Manasseh and his people, but they paid no attention. 11 So the Lord brought against them the army commanders of the king of Assyria, who took Manasseh prisoner, put a hook in his nose, bound him with bronze shackles and took him to Babylon. 12 In his distress he sought the favour of the Lord his God and humbled himself greatly before the God of his ancestors. 13 And when he prayed to him, the Lord was moved by his entreaty and listened to his plea; so he brought him back to Jerusalem and to his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the Lord is God.”
For most they will not turn and repent in their stubbornness. They will continue to head in the wrong direction thinking it right. Romans 2:5 “But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God’s wrath, when his righteous judgment will be revealed.” But for those few who do turn and repent, God has more than we can describe whether it be in death or life. Psalm 27:3 “I remain confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. 14 Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.” Psalm 125:1 “Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion, which cannot be shaken but endures forever. 2 As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the Lord surrounds his people both now and forevermore.” Now that we know what our situation that we find ourselves in, we need to be resilient until God turns his face and frees yes. Yes you have heard of the perseverance of Job and yes you will need that plus great discernment in order to survive. Understanding we live in captivity and desolation helps us turn from our wicked ways. It helps us to be aware and spot the deception. Most have been taught they are filled with the Holy Spirit, which is simply not true because there is no power as the gifts do not flow. We cannot be content with a form of godliness as most are. Living in the truth of God’s word frees us. Malachi 3:7 “Ever since the time of your ancestors you have turned away from my decrees and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you,” says the Lord Almighty.” So we return and we wait to be freed from our captivity. 1 Chronicles 9:2 goes on to say, “Now the first to resettle on their own property in their own towns were some Israelites, priests, Levites and temple servants.” Joseph said, Genesis 45:7 “But God sent me ahead of you to preserve for you a remnant on earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance.” 2 Kings 19:4 “It may be that the Lord your God will hear all the words of the field commander, whom his master, the king of Assyria, has sent to ridicule the living God, and that he will rebuke him for the words the Lord your God has heard. Therefore pray for the remnant that still survives.” 30 Once more a remnant of the kingdom of Judah will take root below and bear fruit above. 31 For out of Jerusalem will come a remnant, and out of Mount Zion a band of survivors. “The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this.” Isaiah 10:21 “A remnant will return, a remnant of Jacob will return to the Mighty God. Though your people be like the sand by the sea, Israel, only a remnant will return. Destruction has been decreed, overwhelming and righteous.” Isaiah 11:16 “There will be a highway for the remnant of his people that is left from Assyria, as there was for Israel when they came up from Egypt.” Jeremiah 23:3 “I myself will gather the remnant of my flock out of all the countries where I have driven them and will bring them back to their pasture, where they will be fruitful and increase in number.”
We know that there is but a remnant left. Ezra 9:15 “Lord, the God of Israel, you are righteous! We are left this day as a remnant. Here we are before you in our guilt, though because of it not one of us can stand in your presence.” Malachi 3:16 “Then those who feared the Lord talked with each other, and the Lord listened and heard. A scroll of remembrance was written in his presence concerning those who feared the Lord and honored his name.” So we wait for God to turn his face and shine on us once again. Habakkuk was told Habakkuk 1:5 “Look at the nations and watch— and be utterly amazed. For I am going to do something in your days that you would not believe, even if you were told. 6 I am raising up the Babylonians, that ruthless and impetuous people, who sweep across the whole earth to seize dwellings not their own. 7 They are a feared and dreaded people;” Even though Habakkuk knew this was going to happen he feared the power of God more than the power of the enemy. He said, Habakkuk 3:9 “You uncovered your bow, you called for many arrows. You split the earth with rivers; 10 the mountains saw you and writhed. Torrents of water swept by; the deep roared and lifted its waves on high. 11 Sun and moon stood still in the heavens at the glint of your flying arrows, at the lightning of your flashing spear. 12 In wrath you strode through the earth and in anger you threshed the nations. 13 You came out to deliver your people, to save your anointed one. You crushed the leader of the land of wickedness, you stripped him from head to foot. 14 With his own spear you pierced his head when his warriors stormed out to scatter us, gloating as though about to devour the wretched who were in hiding. 15 You trampled the sea with your horses, churning the great waters. 16 I heard and my heart pounded, my lips quivered at the sound; decay crept into my bones, and my legs trembled. Yet I will wait patiently for the day of calamity to come on the nation invading us. 17 Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, 18 yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will be joyful in God my Savior. 19 The Sovereign LORD is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he enables me to tread on the heights.”
So we wait for the power of the Holy Spirit to restore us so that our enemies will be defeated and the church will once again be the church it was intended to be. 1 Samuel 20:16 “So Jonathan made a covenant with the house of David, saying, “May the Lord call David’s enemies to account.” 1 Kings 8:46 “When they sin against you—for there is no one who does not sin—and you become angry with them and give them over to their enemies, who take them captive to their own lands, far away or near; 47 and if they have a change of heart in the land where they are held captive, and repent and plead with you in the land of their captors and say, ‘We have sinned, we have done wrong, we have acted wickedly’; 48 and if they turn back to you with all their heart and soul in the land of their enemies who took them captive, and pray to you toward the land you gave their ancestors, toward the city you have chosen and the temple I have built for your Name; 49 then from heaven, your dwelling place, hear their prayer and their plea, and uphold their cause. 50 And forgive your people, who have sinned against you; forgive all the offenses they have committed against you, and cause their captors to show them mercy; 51 for they are your people and your inheritance, whom you brought out of Egypt, out of that iron-smelting furnace.”
Being in captivity and being on mission as Paul was are completely different. Yes God can strengthen you and use you while being captive as we see many times in scripture but as Daniel said, Daniel 9:7 “Lord, you are righteous, but this day we are covered with shame—the people of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem and all Israel, both near and far, in all the countries where you have scattered us because of our unfaithfulness to you. 8 We and our kings, our princes and our ancestors are covered with shame, Lord, because we have sinned against you. 5 we have sinned and done wrong. We have been wicked and have rebelled; we have turned away from your commands and laws. 6 We have not listened to your servants the prophets, who spoke in your name to our kings, our princes and our ancestors, and to all the people of the land.”
So today we wait for our desolation to be complete. Daniel 8:13 “Then I heard a holy one speaking, and another holy one said to him, “How long will it take for the vision to be fulfilled—the vision concerning the daily sacrifice, the rebellion that causes desolation, the surrender of the sanctuary and the trampling underfoot of the Lord’s people?” Daniel 9:18 “Give ear, our God, and hear; open your eyes and see the desolation of the city that bears your Name. We do not make requests of you because we are righteous, but because of your great mercy.”
