Restoration & Transformation

There is some confusion about different ‘Moves’ of God lately. We’re all used to the word ‘Revival’. The church has been through many revivals in history. The actual meaning of revival is to restore life to something that has been dead; to bring it back to life. That word sometimes applies properly to the church. But, today we’re experiencing something different in the body of Christ. It’s actually a two-stage process that’s going on. In order to fully experience what God intends for us we need to understand it better. That is the purpose of this brief study. I’m not planning to fully expound either plan of God here, but want to  introduce you to the concepts in order to help you be prepared to accept and experience both as they come to your life.
First of all, in order to experience either work of God, you have to have a real relationship with Him in Christ. If you are not Born of His Spirit you will not have the ability to understand or experience spiritual things. Therefore, if you have not met Christ yet, please go to the section on salvation and read it first. We have several messages about salvation, repentance, and faith in Christ. I encourage you to listen to them before readying this study.

Restoration is the process of returning something to it’s original condition. It means to take it back to the way it was when it was first made.

An Old Car
To restore an old car would mean to make it look like it did when it was new. You would have to remove rust; clean the seats (or even replace them). Lots of work would have to be done to the engine to make it run like it once did.

God’s People
Gen.1:27 We were created in the image of God. God is like a big diamond, having many facets. Each person created is a reflection of one facet of God. The Lord desires to restore us to that image. He wants to remove the rust of many years of hardness. He desires to cleanse away all soils of sin. Then He will repair us internally so that we can function the way we were created to function.

Rom.9:11  We were created in innocence. The Word says that, at birth, we had not done any good or evil. That is the description of innocence. We had not made a choice for either God not Satan. That is the condition the Lord will restore us to. He wants us in a state where we are not under the influence of our wounds or sins so that we can make a wise choice for good.
Like an old car, we have been in some accidents along the highway of life. We suffer some dings and dents. There has been neglect and abuse that injured our hearts and minds. Our own choices to react in sinful ways has soiled our innocence.

God’s Restoration
Ps 23:3 He restores my soul!
The soul equals the inner self. It consists of our mind, our emotions, our personality. and our will. It is who we are.
     The mind: Is corrupted and deceived, but God can restore is through
     The truth. John 8:32   Tit.3:3-8

     The Heart:   Is deceitful and corrupted, but God’s love will heal us. He will give us a new heart as we yield it to Him.
     Jer.24:6-7
     Strength: Blessed is the man whose strength is in God! He goes from strength to strength.
     Ps.84:5-7

     The Will: It is God who works in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure.
     Phil.2:13

Only God can, and will, restore our soul. He desires to forgive our sins, cleanse us from all guilt and shame. He will heal the wounded heart. But, beyond that, He can do the miracle of restoring our innocence. He can take us back to a place where we are able to choose Him. Then, in that decision He can go on to transform us into the image of Christ. That is the ultimate goal. To be transformed is to change us into something new, something we have not experienced yet. It its God’s plan to transform us into the image of His own Son, Jesus.  Continue on to read the second part of this message about Transformation. You can also listen to this sermon in the messages section of the web site under the subject of Restoration.