WHEN GOD RESTORES: STEPS TO RECOVERY & RESTORATION IN GOD
1. 2 KINGS:8 1 Now Elisha had said to the woman whose son he had restored to life, “Arise, and depart with your household, and sojourn wherever you can, for the Lord has called for a famine, and it will come upon the land for seven years.” 2 So the woman arose and did according to the word of the man of God. She went with her household and sojourned in the land of the Philistines seven years. 3 And at the end of the seven years, when the woman returned from the land of the Philistines, she went to appeal to the king for her house and her land. 4 Now the king was talking with Gehazi the servant of the man of God, saying, “Tell me all the great things that Elisha has done.” 5 And while he was telling the king how Elisha had restored the dead to life, behold, the woman whose son he had restored to life appealed to the king for her house and her land. And Gehazi said, “My lord, O king, here is the woman, and here is her son whom Elisha restored to life.” 6 And when the king asked the woman, she told him. So the king appointed an official for her, saying, “Restore all that was hers, together with all the produce of the fields from the day that she left the land until now.”
2. 2 KINGS 6: 1 The company of the prophets said to Elisha, “Look, the place where we meet with you is too small for us. 2 Let us go to the Jordan, where each of us can get a pole; and let us build a place there for us to meet.” And he said, “Go.” 3 Then one of them said, “Won’t you please come with your servants?” “I will,” Elisha replied. 4 And he went with them. They went to the Jordan and began to cut down trees. 5 As one of them was cutting down a tree, the iron axhead fell into the water. “Oh no, my lord!” he cried out. “It was borrowed!” 6 The man of God asked, “Where did it fall?” When he showed him the place, Elisha cut a stick and threw it there, and made the iron float.7 “Lift it out,” he said. Then the man reached out his hand and took it.
3. JOEL 2: 2-26 “And I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten, the cankerworm, and the caterpillar, and the palmerworm, my great army which I sent among you. And ye shall eat in plenty, and be satisfied, and praise the name of the LORD your God, that hath dealt wondrously with you: and my people shall never be ashamed.”
4. PSALM 126: 1 When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion, we were like those who dreamed, Our mouths were filled with laughter, our tongues with songs of joy. Then it was said among the nations, “The Lord has done great things for them.” 3 The Lord has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy. 4 Restore our fortunes, Lord, like streams in the Negev. 5 Those who sow with tears will reap with songs of joy. 6 Those who go out weeping, carrying seed to sow, will return with songs of joy, carrying sheaves with them.
INTRODUCTION
New is one of God’s promises to us, and we know that all of his promises are fulfilled in Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 1:20). As believers, our hope ultimately rests in the promise that Christ will come back for us one day and make all things new (Revelation 21:5). But what about the here and now? What can I hang my hope on today, tomorrow, and every other day of this new year? The Bible is full of examples showing how God makes things new for his glory and for the good of his people.
1. God Restores: He restores us to a right relationship with him through the gift of forgiveness and justification. He is able to restore earthly relationships. And he can even restore days and years that have been lost to the effects of sin (Joel 2:25). That has to be greatest evidence of the extravagant nature of God’s mercy. Not only can he renew a life and redeem its future, but he can also redeem its past. In Scripture, We See God’s Power Of Restoration Countless Times. When Jacob was finally reunited with his lost son, Joseph, he described the grief-filled days of his life as “few and evil” (Genesis 47:9). But in his last days, through God’s mercy, Jacob was able to look back on his life and see that God had been his shepherd all along and that he had been redeemed from the evil that once marked his life (Genesis 48:15-16). In the story of Ruth, we see God take a family whose name faced extinction and not only restore to them a secure future but knit them into his grand story of redemption by placing them in Jesus’ family line. In the New Testament, we see Jesus live a ministry of restoration. He restores sight to the blind, the ability to walk to the crippled, hearing to the deaf, and new clean skin to the diseased (Mark 8:22-26; Matthew 9:2-8; Mark 7: 31-37; Luke 5:12-25). In all of these accounts, Jesus didn’t just heal a condition. He restored life, security, and hope to broken people. What has God restored to you? Time? Relationships?
2. God Renames: Names carried a lot of significance in Scripture. Throughout the Bible, people are introduced to us by name and by the meaning of their name. Eve was “the mother of all the living,” Isaac was “laughter,” and Samuel was “asked of God” (Genesis 3:20, 21:6; 1 Samuel 1:20). What’s even more significant is the renaming of people in Scripture. When God gave someone a new name, it was always a sign of renewed purpose and a redeemed life. God changed Abram’s name to Abraham to signify his promise to make him the father of many (Genesis 17:5). He changed the names of Hosea’s children from No Mercy and Not My People to My Loved One and My People to symbolize his love for Israel and his plan to redeem her from idolatry (Hosea 1-2). Simon became Peter, and Saul became Paul when they became Jesus’ disciples (Matthew 4:18; Acts 13:9). They received new identities in Christ as they forsook life in the flesh. While we may not actually receive new names when we become Christ-followers, we certainly receive new identities. My name, Caitlin, happens to be a great reminder of this to me. It’s a Gaelic name that means “pure.” The irony is that my sins make me anything but pure. But because of Christ’s sacrifice, I am washed white like snow, pure and clean. I get to wake up and put on Christ’s righteousness every day as if it’s my own. So as I look at the new year ahead, I can trust and hope in my identity in Christ. I know that, no matter how I fail, God’s mercies are new every morning (Lamentations 3: 22-23). He has made me worthy of my name and called me his in Christ. If you are in Christ, you have been given a new name, a new identity. Are you living according to your new name with renewed purpose and redemption?
3. He Resurrects: God makes dead things alive again. Literally. He has power over death in every sense, and he demonstrated that to us when he raised Jesus from the grave. Scripture says that, as believers, we have that same power dwelling in us. It’s what gives life to our dead souls (Romans 8:11). I can get so easily discouraged when I think about all the times I’ve failed. But this truth, that I have the same power that raised Christ from the grave dwelling in me, gives me great hope. If I lay down my weak, flawed existence every day, I can trust that God will resurrect it with new life and new grace. Do you trust in God’s power to resurrect? Are you living in the truth that God can bring new life to your soul each day? Or are you living as one defeated by sin and shame? He restores lost time, bestows new identities, and creates new life. He offers renewed mercy to his own with each day. He promises good plans for his people, plans that include a hopeful future (Jeremiah 29:11). There will be new blessings, new trials, new failures, and new victories, but his goodness will guard them all.
HERE ARE 7 AREAS THAT GOD PROMISES TO RESTORE.
1. Your Health: In Jeremiah 30:17, the Lord says He will “restore health to you and heal you of your wounds.” The same Jesus that healed thousands in the Bible still has the power to restore your health today.
2. Your Life: Ruth 4:15 tells about the way God provided for Naomi’s life to be restored after her husband and sons died: “And may he be to you a restorer of life and a nourisher of your old age.”
3. Your Joy: David’s cry in Psalm 51:12 is that God will restore the joy of His salvation. God is praised in the psalms as the restorer of joy.
4. The Wasted Years: “I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten” (Joel 2:25). God restores the time that we spent living contrary to His truth.
5. Your Spiritual Walk: Galatians 6:1 describes that if someone is caught in sin, the spiritual community is to restore that person in a spirit of gentleness.
6. Your Paths: Both you and your spiritual family will rebuild the breach and fill the places that were once used for rubbish (Isaiah 58:12).
7. Your Damaged Soul: The Shepherd’s psalm elegantly declares that God “restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness.”
A LOOK AT THE PASSAGE: STEPS TO RECOVER WHAT YOU LOST
The company of Prophets had outgrown their meeting place and as they went to gather wood to build a new place of meeting, one of them with a borrowed axe head lost the axe head. He cried out to their leader Elisha who performed a miracle and recovered the axe head so that the work may continue. The axe head represents the power of the Holy Spirit to get whatever job in front of you done! You need the axe head, not its wooden handle to cut down spiritual trees and it takes the sharp, biting power, the cutting edge of the axe head to cut through the wood and bring down the trees. Without the cutting edge, that is the power of the Holy Spirit, believers will never be able a make a difference. Sadly many churches have lost the cutting edge, because they have become so tied to traditions and programs. Today, you might’ve lost the cutting edge but if God’s edge is still around you, all’s not lost. Steps to recover all that the devil has stolen from us.
1. Recovery Involves Concession (2 Kings 6:1)
In this passage, the company of prophets came to the conclusion that the place of meeting had become too small for them. They conceded that they needed a change of space, that they required a bigger hall; that they had outgrown where they currently met. This was a matter of increase and if you are growing spiritually, you need to expand. In Isaiah 54:2, the Bible encourages us to enlarge the place of our tent: stretch your tent curtains wide do not hold back; lengthen your cords, strengthen your stakes. Maybe you need to update your Bible and buy a good study Bible to aid you in your walk with God! The company of prophets approached their leader and told him what they thought. Do you imagine how some other leader would have reacted? Probably another leader would have dismissed the suggestions, but Elisha as approachable and humble, he knew he did not have a monopoly of wisdom. He simply encouraged them to "Go ahead". (2 Kings 6:2). This is a big lesson to many church leaders out there.
2. Recovery Involves Concord (2 Kings 6:2)
Concord is about harmony, being in one accord, coming into agreement. Even the trinity had to come into an agreement when creating man: Let us make man in our own image. Here, the company of prophets said, let us… we can build. As a Body of Christ, when we come together like the apostles came together in Acts 2, we can achieve the impossible. Look at how the builders of the Tower of Babel took giant strides, because they operated as one. Jesus made it clear that a house divided against itself cannot stand (Mark 3:25) and the Bible asks in Amos 3:3: can two walk except they agree? How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity! (Ps 133:1). Unfortunately, many times, the attitude to church work is, let someone else do it. Few do the work while the rest stand back and criticize those who are working. Ask your neighbor: are you doing your bit? Are you in concord with other brethren?
3. Recovery Involves Concern (2 Kings 6:5)
As soon as the axe head flew off its handle, the young prophet cried out in despair, because he was concerned about how the loss would affect the important work they were doing. Concern is a key step in recovering what is lost. Having the power of the Holy Spirit is not just about speaking in tongues, but realizing that we do not have it, that is actually belongs to God. Many walk through life thinking they’re filled with the Holy Spirit, when they’ve lost his power without knowing it, as Sampson sadly found out (Jug 16:20). Many are working in the power of the flesh like the church in Laodicea (Rev. 3:14-20) they are neither hot nor cold. The Lost Axe Head Meant That The Young Prophet Had To Stop Working. His reaction was the opposite of what many of us would have reacted when we lose our cutting edge. Instead of crying out to God we go on dealing ineffective blows with the wooden axe handle. That is why we preach and there are no converts, teach but no one gets blessed, counsel but no problems are resolved. We have been leaning for too long on our own understanding, we announce glibly that where two or three are gathered… Sincerely, do we really have the manifest presence of God in our churches, like the Moses had when the Bible says the presence of God came down and covered the entrance of the tent of meeting?
4. Recovery Involves Confession (2 Kings 6:5)
There are two important elements to confession: humility and honesty. Immediately he lost the Axe handle, the young prophet confessed that he had lost the cutting edge. By admitting that the axe head was lost, he was also inadvertently confessing that he could have been at fault for losing it, because he didn’t heed the warning signs that the axe handle may fly off. If you have used an axe before, you will understand what I am talking about. It doesn’t just fly off; it gets loose before flying off the handle! The young prophet’s admission of the loss was another way of saying sorry for his action or inaction. Many Of Us Often Find It Difficult To Say Sorry. We want everyone to think that we are on top; that we are not in need of anything; that we are in control. Is there someone who is honest enough to cry out and confess: Lord, I need you more than I have ever needed you? I need your power to get things done. I have lost cutting edge. I have lost touch with you Lord! What we need, perhaps more than anything else in the Body of Christ, are honest hearts who will tell the truth about their condition. The Bible says blessed are the meek (the humble), for they will inherit the earth, blessed are the poor (the honest) in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Are you humble? Are you honest?
5. Recovery Involves Comprehension (2 Kings 6:5)
Losing an axe head may not seem that big of a deal to you and I, after all we can replace it at a nearby convenience store, but such tools and other iron products those days were very scarce and quite expensive (See 1 Sam 13:22). The young prophet couldn’t afford a replacement, that’s why he borrowed it in the first place. The owner trusted him to keep it and he comprehended that it was borrowed. We need to comprehend and understand that spiritual power like the axe head is also borrowed from the God and he will bestow it on those who can withhold it Ac 1:8. Be careful with the power entrusted to you, don’t take it for granted! The owner of the power may demand it if you don’t use it wisely.
6. Recovery Involves Coming Back (2 Kings 6:6)
The Bible says when Elisha heard about the problem, he called the prophet back to the place where the axe head was lost. Before it could be recovered, they had to go to the place where it had been lost in the first place. Before we can recover the power of God in our lives and in our churches, we must return to that place where we lost the power. We must uncover the reason why we lost the power. Was it as a result of sin? Misplaced priorities? Trusting in flesh? Where did you lose it? Unholy alliance with a fraudulent business partner? Bitterness? Anger? Row with your wife? You need to backtrack and discover where you wandered off course to be able to make correction and the glory will return. If you get lost on a road, you have to retrace your step to the point where you started wandering off course and start all over again. It is the same theory for recovering things that are lost!
7. Recovery Involves Confrontation (2 Kings 6:6)
There has to be confrontation between divinity and humanity, between darkness and light, between things temporal and things spiritual, good and bad, between the real thing and its shadow. Elisha cut a stick and cast it into the river and the axe head floated to the surface. It was a miracle of monumental proportions. When it comes to miracles, human means are abandoned and divine help comes to the fore. Miracle like the one we witnessed here are contrary to natural laws. Here, God was active and a higher law, the law of the miraculous took over as natural laws were suspended. Jesus often suspended laws and conventions to work miracles. Remember the woman with the issue of blood? He wasn’t supposed to allow the woman to come near him because it was contrary to the law. But Jesus cared more about the hurting than about laws and procedures. And the 10 lepers whom Jesus healed? They were meant to be languishing beyond the city limits but Jesus was more interested in healing them than adhering to the law. Notice this: In working miracles in the name of Jesus, a piece of wood is often involved. When God wants to bring what we’ve lost within sight, he uses the wood of a tree, not the one wet with water, but wet with the blood of his dear Son! (Galatians 3:13: Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us). The cross was made with wood and what Elisha threw in the water was also made of wood! Trusting a stick to make an axe head float sounds crazy, but it worked! Stop figuring it out, start trusting God.
8. Recovery Involves Commitment (2 Kings 6:7)
The Axe head floated to the surface and the prophet reached down for it. He committed to receiving by faith what God had done. He firmly reattached the head to the handle and went back to work chopping down trees. God’s power’s available to those who’ll reach out and take it by faith; that is why I’ve titled this message Not for the faint-Hearted, but for the Faith-Hearted. When God parted the Red Sea, if Moses had not been a man of faith, it would have been difficult to ask the people to walk on the dry land for fear of the sea closing in on them. Many people are overwhelmed by the miracle of God, so much so that some even lose their mind! How committed are you to experiencing God’s manifest presence and power?
9. Recovery Involves Connection (2 Kings 6:7)
Tell your neighbor: Don’t analyze, just appropriate. This young prophet did not ask Elisha to analyze the miracle, he just appropriated it. Times of miracles are not the time for the seeking explanation, they are not the time for reasoning, but the time to exercise of faith and simply connect with the miracle. Many of us are seeking to understand all of the inner workings of God's power. Can he give me son when the doctors have written my womb off? Of course he can if you believe and are ready to receive! Just embrace the miracle and take back what you thought you had lost for good! Will you do that today? Will you put out the hand of faith and grab what you’ve lost?
CONCLUSION
