Restoring and Renewing the people of God
Psalms 42
As we’re heading towards the last days there’s a weariness that’s settling in on the Body of Christ. People are growing weary of well doing.
Galatians 6:9 “And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.”
Those we never thought would ever wear out are laying their swords down.
There’s a battle that’s raging some can be seen with the physical eye, battles in our homes, battles at work, battles in our life, but there are those in a spiritual battle and the casualties are high.
Ephesians tells us that we wrestle not against flesh and blood but against principalities and wickedness in high places.
We’re in a spiritual battle. The enemy is attacking our homes, our finances, and our churches. He knows that his time is running out and is doing everything he can to stop God’s church and God’s people from going forward.
A report that just came out last week from the Barna Research group says that the church is stagnating. We have not seen any appreciable growth over the past year.
I know I’m painting a dismal picture, but some of you that are sitting here this morning, you’ve been under attack and you know what I’m talking about.
I do have good news for you this morning.
Isaiah 54:17 says, “No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their righteousness is of me, saith the LORD.”
But how do we make it in the middle of the battle. How do we keep standing?
There are some principals that you need to learn in order to make it through those times in your life where you feel overwhelmed, dry and lifeless.
Let me tell you church, God’s got the remedy for you if your battle weary and worn. If your tired and frustrated of being tired and frustrated, then take these principals that you learn today and put them into practice in your life.
You will find yourself being renewed and restored by God.
The first step for us to enter into a time of renewal and restoration is Worship.
God chastened His people Israel seventy years in Babylon because they had repeatedly and persistently rejected His rule over their lives.
When that period of chastening ended and the Lord set out to reestablish His covenant people in the land He had promised them, He did not begin by restoring and renewing their political establishment.
His first priority was not restoring and renewing their economy. It was not restoring and renewing education, housing, or transportation.
God restored and renewed the worship of His people as the first stage of reestablishing them as a nation.
Whenever our lives feel ineffective or stale, whenever we have experienced the chastening of the Lord, whenever we want to reach a greater level of intimacy with God, the first priority must be rebuilding or strengthening our worship of the living God.
The Holy Spirit makes His dwelling and His base of operation in hearts given to worship.
As I’ve shared with you before, so often our focus is on us when we come to church instead of focusing on God. When we’re focused on ourselves that means we’re out of focus with God.
So how do we get back to the heart of Worship?
Worship starts with an altar.
When Ezra returned to Jerusalem, the walls were still in ruin, the temple area had not been cleaned up or prepared to celebrate the feast days but the first step that they took in rebuilding their community was they built an altar.
Whenever you get off track spiritually, the first thing you need to do is rebuild an altar. We’ve taken the altar of God out of our homes and replaced it with all sorts of entertainment and amusements.
There are people who almost loose their salvation if they miss their favorite TV program, but don’t care if they miss church or not.
I’m not talking about building a stone thing in your house, or putting a wooden altar in there. But I’m talking about having you a place in your home where you can get alone with God.
I’m telling you church, we’re missing it in our homes. We need to make sure that our homes are homes of Worship to God.
We can talk all we want about going to church on Sunday morning, but if what you’re receiving in church isn’t being lived out in your homes, then you’re in serious trouble.
The filth of this world will zap the spiritual joy out of your life. If we want to get back to the heart of Worship, if we want to walk in restoration and newness of life, then you’re going to have to say no to the filth of this world, and start spending quality time with the Lord.
We wonder why our children are going wild; they seem to be going out of control, we try to blame it on the government because they took prayer out of our schools. I’ve got news for you this morning; it’s not so much because we’ve taken God out of the classroom we’ve taken God out of our homes.
You will not find the peace and joy you’re seeking until you build an altar of worship back in your home.
There’s so many homes of believers that the enemy has bound up, you can feel it when you enter into your house. But I’m here to share with you this morning, become a worshiper and you’ll find freedom in your home.
2 Corinthians 3:17 declares… “Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.”
If you want to find freedom and liberty in your home, build and altar of worship there.
Not only does worship begin with an altar but Worship needs a commitment.
Make a commitment that you’re going to be a worshiper. Worship is not governed by a feeling, Worship is the reverent response and acknowledgement of who God is.
You don’t need goose bumps to Worship God. You don’t need someone to pump and prime you to worship God, you’ve already got everything you need, you!
I don’t need a crowd to Worship God I just need me.
God doesn’t just show up here on Sunday mornings. He wants to show up in your back bedroom, at your kitchen sink, around the dinner table, and even in your bathroom.
You’ve got to make a commitment and declare, as for me and my house; we’re going to serve the Lord, we’re going to Worship the Lord, we’re going to wait upon the Lord.
When tough times comes, and situations happen that we don’t understand, don’t panic, become a worshiper.
Take time to worship God at home. Every time you begin to worship the Lord, you’re opening the door for His visitation in your home. When your praises go up, God’s glory comes down!
Next, if we’re going to be renewed we’ve got to learn how to let go and let God handle it.
I don’t have to tell you, that it gets weary when you have to constantly fight battles. How many know that this morning. You may have believed until your believer is worn out, you may have confessed the word until your confessor’s worn out.
Listen to what the Lord said to Jehoshaphat in 2 Chronicles 20:15, “And he said, Hearken ye, all Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem, and thou king Jehoshaphat, Thus saith the LORD unto you, Be not afraid nor dismayed by reason of this great multitude; for the battle is not yours, but God’s.”
The reason we get so weary is we try to fight the battles by ourselves. The first thing the Lord told Jehoshaphat was don’t be afraid nor dismayed, (dismayed means afraid and frightened), because of the great multitude.
Or in other words, don’t worry because of the size of your problem.
How many knows it’s easy to trust God for the little problems, those you know that you can handle if God doesn’t. Then there are problems that you’ve had before and God’s brought you through and you know He’ll bring you through again.
Then there are problems that you’ve never faced, and seem so big and so overwhelming that you don’t know how God is going to do it.
Let me share with you my Christian friend, it’s not up to us to worry about how God is going to do it. All we have to know is that God is bigger than all your problems, He’s bigger than all your fears, and He’s bigger than any mountain that you can or cannot see.
But there’s never been a problem so big that God can’t handle it. There’s never been a devil so powerful that could stop God from working it out.
You might be saying this morning; God hasn’t answered my prayer yet. My advice to you is to keep on praying, keep on trusting, keep on believing, sometimes it’s going to require prayer and fasting, but whatever you do, don’t quit trusting the Lord.
Sometimes you just have to wait upon the Lord. But they that wait upon the Lord shall, (everyone say shall), renew their strength, they shalt mount up on wings as eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.
Some of you haven’t been convinced yet that God can do anything He wants. That causes you to loose hope, and when hope is gone, weariness set’s in.
But I’m here this morning to share with you, God wants to restore, renew and strengthen your life.
Look at the next part of the verse, “But the battle is not yours but God’s!”
It’s easy to trust God when everything’s going our way, but what if it isn’t going our way? You just keep trusting Him!
Your job is to make sure you keep on praying, keep on reading and standing on the Word, keep on living a life that is pleasing to God. If you’ll do that, God will fight your battles!
How many knows this morning, God has never lost a battle! I guarantee, you won’t be the first one He loses with!
Finally, you must give Him access.
In Revelations 3:20, Jesus tells the church at Laodicea “Behold I stand at the door and knock”
He’s knocking this morning at your heart’s door. He wants access to your struggles, your worries and fears. Jesus goes on to say “if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.”
He wants to come in this morning and minister to your needs. Won’t you let Him in?
