Restoring God's Glory

God’s plan includes a restoration of His glory, a time of restoration of His power, and a time of restoration of his gifts and ministries to the church. There are times I have seen God’s glory working in a church. There are times when I have seen God’s presence in a church come in like a cloud of the Holy Spirit hovering over its people, looking like waves working on his people. 

As we get closer to the end of time, I believe we will see more of this happening in today’s churches. In Ephesians 4:11 we see when Christ accented on high, he gave gifts to men: some apostle, some evangelist, some profits, some pastors, and teachers for the perfecting or maturing of the Body of Christ. Our mistake is we only recognize three of these ministry gifts: the pastor, the evangelist, and the teacher. For the church to be whatever it ought to be, and for us to have the ministry God has intended, we must recognize the fivefold ministry. We must recognize the ministry gifts, honor them, and permit them to function the way God wants them to function.  

For to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, and to another the word of knowledge according to the same Spirit; to another faith by the same Spirit, and to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, and to another the effecting of miracles, and to another prophecy, and to another the distinguishing of  spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, and to another the interpretation of tongues. (1 Corinthians 12:8-10).  The next verse 1 Corinthians 12:11 But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually just as He wills. He is not dividing the gift he is dividing the manifestation of the gift. There is going to be a renewal of the spiritual gifts. 

Look at Luke 5:36-38 Jesus told them this parable: “No one tears a piece of cloth from a new garment and puts it on an old garment; otherwise, he will both tear the new, and the piece from the new will not match the old.  And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; otherwise, the new wine will burst the skin, and it will be spilled out, and the skins will be ruined. But new wine must be put into fresh wineskins. 

You must understand the illustration Jesus is using. These wine” containers” were made of skin. Once wine was put into them, they would swell up and change shape. As the skin became old, it became brittle, and if wine were put into an old skin, it would burst. They would renew those old wineskins. First, they’d soak them in water for a long time. Second, they’d take olive oil and rub it into the skin until it became soft and pliable again. Then the skins were like new again; they could put new wine into them, and they would not burst. 

Jesus was saying that individuals, local churches, or denominations often are just like those wineskins: old, empty, dead, and brittle. How can we be soaked in water to be renewed? Paul talking to the church, said in Ephesians 5:26 so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word.  

There must be a fresh saturation of the word of God. God has raised up the teaching ministry for this purpose. 

Many of us have been saturated with the word of God.  Others need to be. Otherwise, they’ll never be able to hold the new wine. 

We know that after they soaked skins in water, they rubbed olive oil into them until they became soft and pliable. Oil is a type of Holy Spirit! The Psalmist said” I shall be anointed with fresh oil” (Psalms 92:10). That is what we need today: a fresh anointing of oil. 

Is a new wave coming? Some people are looking for something brand new; something that has never happened before. There is never going to be a new wave. God is going to do everything he has done before. 

Go down by the ocean and watch the waves come in. You may say that’s a new wave. It’s a different wave from the one that came in before, but it’s still the same water, even though it’s higher than the first wave. 

The move of God often comes in gently. But it keeps pushing in until, before you know it, it covers a whole territory.  God’s wave is gathering momentum.  It is going to continue to sweep in, even greater power, a greater move of the Spirit, power, authority, and character of God.

 You can see a move of God going on in some communist countries, and in places where the word of God is not aloud.   We need to forget about worldly things and focus on the gifts God has already given us.  Go and set an example of how to live.  Do not straddle the fence. When God tells us to stand up and shout, we need to get over our fears and stand up and lead others in the praise for God. We need to quit thinking about what if, God has already planned it all out we just need to trust him. 

In closing just as I do, just think about the wind that blows the trees, and you feel it, but you cannot see it. Just think of it as just like the Holy Spirit, you cannot see it but you sure can feel it! You just have to follow where it leads you.  When you don’t know what to say, just trust that God has sent the Holy Spirit to give you knowledge what to say.