God’s Goal
Text: Acts 3:19-21; Joel 2:12-13, 16-17, 19-20, 22-26, 28-29, 32
“Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord, 20and that he may send the Christ, who has been appointed for you—even Jesus. 21He must remain in heaven until the time comes for God to restore everything, as he promised long ago through his holy prophets.
I. Introduction
I am convinced that we need to come an understanding that God is not interested in us having revival if your definition is a series of services that interrupts our already overwhelmed and overtaxed schedule that we either enjoy or endure and then go back to normal. Nothing more than bump on our calendar. He wants more for us than that because He is not interested in us visiting places that we cannot and are unable to possess. He doesn’t want us to just have visitation; He wants us to experience and live in a habitation. So I believe that He is preparing us for what He has prepared for us!
Why I want to talk to you about God’s Goals. We must discover what He has for us. We can’t get to that level until we first understand what that level is and how to get there. Join me in Acts 3:19-21 and Joel 2.
II. Repent – Joel 2:12-13, 16-17
Prior to every great spiritual awakening and habitation there must first come repentance. Jonah, Jeremiah, John the Baptist all called first for repentance. God is a God of order. You have to operate according to His order. He is not obligated to inhabit what He has not built. His plan always starts at repentance.
Do we need to repent?
• When Christians are unloving and unforgiving we need to repent
• Christians are gossips and gluttons.
• We are more interested in possessions and pleasure than in spiritual riches and pleasing God.
• When we dishonor our parents and divorce our mates.
• When we are self-absorbed and self-promoting.
• When we are cantankerous and contentious.
• When we use profanity and pornography.
• When we can sin and do so without blushing we need to repent.
True revival always starts here!
As one man said, “We often have a tinted view of revival as a time of glory and joy and swelling numbers queuing to enter the churches. That is only part of the story. Before the glory and joy, there is conviction; and that begins with the people of God. There are tears of godly sorrow. There are wrongs to put right, secret things...to be thrown out, and bad relationships, hidden for years, to be repaired openly. If we are not prepared for this, we had better not pray for revival.”
God’s goal for us can only be reached by starting here. Notice in Joel 2 the depth of repentance. Repentance is not some short 2 minute quick stop at the altar where we flippantly say “I’m sorry.” The Word describes repentance as a painful process in which we rend our hearts and not our garments. It is not a surface thing or an outward show. If we desire to reach God’s goal for our life and church we must begin to live a lifestyle of repentance. Where we are daily involved in a change of mind, a change of life, a change in the way we walk, talk, and behave.
Some have come and cried but have not changed. There can be no revival until old things have passed away and all things are new. This is not just an emotional outburst that cleanses our conscience. No we need to plumb the depths of what repentance is. We need to go back to Joel 1:16-17 that give us a revelation of our condition. It is time to realize the depths of our depravity and condition. It is time to spend some time weeping between the porch and the altar. It is time to deal ruthlessly with sin.
Some of you may be wondering how others can stand and declare that we are in revival when you don’t see it or feel it. Perhaps you have rent your garments and have forgotten to rend your heart. Repentance will lead us to God’s goal. It positions us for the next level.
Repentance is not the end. We don’t get right and then sit down. This is just the beginning. The launching pad. The catalyst. We must start here but we can not stop here! We must go forward. If we repent the Acts promises us that the next thing that will happen is that God will send us seasons of refreshment!
II. Refreshing – Joel 2:19-20, 22
We will know we have truly repented when we begin to see the signs of refreshing in our lives and in our body!
The promise is made that if we repent, truly repent, He will refresh us. Refresh means to “renovate, revive, stimulate.” He declares in Joel that the indication that this taking place is that He will send us grain, new wine, oil, the Northern Army will be removed and the fig tree will bud.
These are the signs of refreshing!
A. Grain - Grain represents God’s Word. I Peter 2:2 says “Long for the pure milk of the Word.” Long for it. Desire it. Pursue it. The proof of desire is pursuit. We will know that we are in a season of refreshing when we begin to pursue God’s Word. We will know that we are being refreshed when we have a new desire to read, digest, and consume His Word. Oh, I know you have experienced Him around the altar but what about His Word. I know you have received words from men but what about His Word. We are showing signs of refreshment when we begin to live on every Word that proceeds out of His mouth.
I declare that He will refresh this house’s desire for the meat of God’s Word.
B. New Wine – A sure sign of us being refreshed will be significant operation of the gifts of the Holy Spirit. When the gifts begin to operate in their fullness as the norm rather than the exception we will have a clear indication that refreshing has come. We need to begin to seek the Holy Spirit and allow Him to operate in our midst!
C. Oil – If you are refreshed you will exhibit power. We will begin to have power to withstand attacks. We will have power over our tongue, our thoughts. I know you got knocked down but when you got up do you have any power? We will have power.
I declare that this will be a house of power! Power to war. Power to fight. Power to defend. Power to expand. Power to expel! Power to bind and power to loose!
D. Enemy will be rebuked – John 10:10 declares that our enemy wants to kill, steal, and destroy us. However, when we are refreshed we will see the hand of the devourer rebuked. We will stand and he will flee. Areas of bondage will be broken. Addictions will be destroyed. Chains will be severed. Habits defeated. Those bound will find freedom. If you are still bound you need to be refreshed. Not enough just to repent. Let Him refresh you so that you can go free.
E. Produce fruit – The fig tree will bud again. When we are refreshed dead areas will be revived and fruit will appear. If we don’t see love, joy, peace, self-control, meekness, then we haven’t been refreshed. We will see fruit! We will know we have been refreshed when we see the person once filled with anger and hate now filled with love. When we see the woman who was depressed now filled with joy unspeakable. When we see the teenager that was out of control now exhibit self-control. When we see the impatient controlled by patience. Then we will know that a season of refreshing has come!
III. Restoration
God send refreshing. God give us grain, new wine, oil, fruit, and freedom over our enemy. But we can’t stop there either. God wants us to repent and he desires to refresh us. However, that is not His ultimate level for us. This book is a book about restoration and recovery. We can’t stop at repentance. We can’t stop at being refreshed. Even though being refreshed feels good this is about more than goose bumps and feeling. God’s goal is to move us into restoration! If we repent He will refresh us. But if we don’t settle in the land of revival and press forward we will be restored!
What does He desire to restore to us?
A. Harvest – Joel 2:23, Amos 9:13
He will send the planting rains and the harvesting rains in the same month. Reapers will begin to overtake harvesters. He will restore the harvest. Sowers will begin looking over their shoulders to suddenly find the harvesters right on their heels. What we have prayed for for years will happen suddenly. What used to take months of work and sowing will now happen suddenly. Souls lost to the enemy will be restored. Lost husbands, sons, daughters, friends will be restored to the kingdom.
Our harvest is coming. Our harvest will be restored. Revival is never just about us. It is about preparing us to get them!
B. Lost dreams, time, trival things – Joel 2:25, Habakkuk 3:2
Notice the order of the listing of the locust. It lists them from the most severe to the least severe. He is telling us that He will restore the major things that the enemy stole. But He won’t stop there. God wants to restore even the smallest things that have been lost. Those things that you have given up on. Those things that others have told you don’t matter. You may feel like it is insignificant but hold on. God will restore those things.
In the middle of the years lost time, lost dreams, lost purpose will be restored. Missed opportunities will be reclaimed. Lost territory will be retaken. Don’t mourn over the past glory. The latter days will be greater. Quit pining over what used to be and what could have been and claim the dream and destiny He has for us now. He will restore to greater levels. The dream is not dead. The destiny is not forfeited.
C. Your Soul – Psalm 23:3 – He restores my soul. Some of you are tired in your spirit. You have fought so long. You have held on so long. You are served so long. Now you are tired. But God will restore your soul. Maybe you are experiencing a dark night of the soul but He will restore your soul. On the back side of the desert He will reach you and restore you!
D. Your Joy – Psalms 51:12 “Restore to me again the joy of your salvation”. Big deal, joy? May I remind you that the joy of the Lord is our strength. Our strength is not found in our dance. It isn’t found in our shout. Our strength is found in our joy. Some of us are weak because we have lost our joy. He desires to restore the joy of our salvation. We are set apart not by our bumper sticker but by our joy. We will be marked by our rejoicing. No more walking around like the mule who tried to suck the golf ball out of the gofer hole. Let Him restore your joy!
E. Your Body – Jesus shows us His hand when he deals with another man’s hand in Mark 3:5 “He looked around at them in anger and, deeply distressed at their stubborn hearts, said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out, and his hand was completely restored.
Romans 8:11 “And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you.” He will quicken our bodies.
Doesn’t matter what the doctor says. What matters is what the great physician says. What matters is what Jehovah Rapha says. If you think Jesus is coming for some beat up, sick, disfigured bride you are out of your mind. He is coming for a bride that is spotless, pure, well. I have news for you God wants to restore our bodies. More than a doctrine of the church. More than an article of faith. It is a reality.
I declare sickness must fall. Cancer must cease to exist. By His stripes we are healed and restored!
F. Your Goods – Don’t tell me that God doesn’t care about restoring our goods. Jesus talked more about finances than other subject. 16 of the 38 parables were about how to handle money and possessions. In the Gospels, 1 out of 10 verses deal directly with the subject of money. The Bible offers 500 verses on prayer, less than 500 on faith, but more than 2,000 verses on money and possessions. I have never seen the righteous forsaken or begging for bread. There is nothing holy about squeaking by and struggling to make ends meet. God desires to restore to all of us the goods that have been stolen by the enemy. If will plant seed we will reap in due season. He is still Jehovah Jireh.
G. Your Comfort – Isaiah 57:18 “I will lead him and restore comfort to him.” He is our Prince of Peace. He desires to bring comfort to our lives. If you are uneasy, on edge, stressed out, overwhelmed, at wit’s end, freaking out He wants to restore comfort to you. In spite of your situation, your circumstance in spite of how tough it may be at home, work, or school if we can learn to rest in Him He will restore comfort to our lives!
H. The manifestation of His Spirit through every generation – Joel 2:28-29. I know churches are trying to program out the move of His Spirit. I know we are told we need to be seeker sensitive. But I believe He wants to restore the manifestation of His Spirit and gifts. I believe He wants to begin to use young men and old men, young women and old women who will operate effectively and powerful under the anointing of the Holy Spirit. I believe He wants to restore our Pentecostal distinctive and the Pentecostal power! He will restore vision and dreams! It will be generational. It will happen in every age bracket. It will cross gender lines, status lines, and comfort zones.
The day is coming declares the Lord when I will have people who are obedient to the move and direction of the Spirit. They will open their mouth and begin to declare the Word of the Lord. They will open their eyes and see with spiritual insight. They will open their ears and hear the Word of the Lord. They will not be afraid, ashamed, or bound by the fear of man. And because of their obedience and openness to the move of my Spirit there will be deliverance in the land!
IV. Close
God’s goal is restoration. We must first start at true repentance. You can not skip to restoration. We repent and then we are refreshed. However, we don’t stop there. We move on to restoration. He desires to bring back everything the enemy has stolen from us.
Lester Summerall
That is what this about. This is about the enemy putting everything back in its rightful place!
1. Repent – some of us just need to go through old fashion repentance where we rend our heart and not our garment. Where we come face to face with our condition and turn it all over to God.
2. Refresh – Some of us need to be refreshed. We need a new desire for His Word, need power, need Holy Spirit, need enemy turned back, need fruit. Some of you are in a rut, tire and worn out. It is time to allow God to refresh and revive you.
3. Restore – We all need to be restored. Individually and as a body we need God to restore the harvest, the dreams, our soul, our joy, our health, our wealth, our comfort, and the Spirit!
