Wednesday, June 11, 2008

The Road to Restoration

The Road to Restoration



Mark 3:1 And he entered again into the synagogue; and there was a man there which had a withered hand.

The first step on the road to restoration is to wait on the lord. This man was in the temple seeking the kingdom.

He could have been sitting at home bitter about his situation.

He could have been somewhere complaining about his situation.

He could have given up on the Lord out of frustration about his situation.

He didn’t go ask Oprah, Dr. Phil or Tyra. He held his head up high and came to the house of the Lord. He came to do service unto the lord. He didn't come there looking for his hand to be restored he came seeking the kingdom of God.

The word says

Matthew 6:33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

So we know that the second step in restoration is seeking the kingdom or rather the growth of said kingdom in our own lives. No matter what life throws at you keep God as your focus on a daily basis. If you find yourself lost in a situation the first step in the right direction is always a step toward God.

Mark 3:2 And they watched him, whether he would heal him on the Sabbath day; that they might accuse him. 3 And he saith unto the man which had the withered hand, Stand forth.

When the Lord commands you must obey.

The word says

Deuteronomy 13:4 Ye shall walk after the Lord your God, and fear him, and keep his commandments, and obey his voice, and ye shall serve him, and cleave unto him.

Jeremiah 7:23 But this thing commanded I them, saying, Obey my voice, and I will be your God, and ye shall be my people: and walk ye in all the ways that I have commanded you, that it may be well unto you.

Job 36:11 If they obey and serve him, they shall spend their days in prosperity, and their years in pleasures.

Genesis 22:18 And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.

The word tells us to obey and also tells us when to obey

Deuteronomy 11:27
A blessing, if ye obey the commandments of the Lord your God, which I command you this day:

If God gives you a word it’s for right now, don’t consider it, act on it.

Romans 2:13 For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified.

James 1:22 But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.

Your delayed obedience could mean a delayed blessing or not seeing that blessing at all. Don’t allow yourself to delay in being a doer of the word and don’t allow people or their opinions to delay you.

1 Samuel 15:24 And Saul said unto Samuel, I have sinned: for I have transgressed the commandment of the Lord, and thy words: because I feared the people, and obeyed their voice.

A lot of us are influenced by the people around us. The man with the withered hand was surrounded by Pharisees who wanted nothing more than to see Jesus fail. When Jesus called out to him I am sure their was someone in the crowd telling him not to go. I am also sure that if he had sat down and thought about it he would have worried about making enemies among the Pharisees. We all need to remember that no one can relate to God for us. I love, honor and submit to my pastor and my church leadership but I have to talk to god for myself. I love the people in the prayer room but I have to go to God myself. Your relationship with God is personal and individual. God relates to us as individuals so that we may individually relate our personal testimony of our relationship with him to the masses. So when you are given a word from God it may be a word that no one else understands. Your pastor might not understand, your favorite deacon might think you are out of your mind. But you must act on that word. When Noah was told to build that ark in the middle of dry land do you think anyone else in the world understood? That word was just for him and if he had listened to others instead of the lord he would have been calling in a claim to his flood insurance. The man with the withered hand simply obeyed the word he knew was from God when it was given to him. The next step on our road to redemption is developing a right now faith that prepares us to hear and obey the word of the lord no matter what the world thinks.

Mark 3:4 And he saith unto them, Is it lawful to do good on the sabbath days, or to do evil? to save life, or to kill? But they held their peace.

A lot of us are stuck in the wilderness on the way to our blessing because of distractions. The enemy has set situations and adversaries in front of us to distract us from Jesus. But the man with the withered hand was focused on the Lord and notice the enemies had no choice but to hold their peace. If we will but focus ourselves on Jesus he will see to our situations.

The word says

Proverbs 16:7 When a man's ways please the Lord, he maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him.

Bobby McFerrin was almost right. He said “don’t worry be happy” but he should have said “don’t worry be happy in Christ”.




Don’t concern yourself with your situations or adversaries.

I’m not telling you to ignore your bill collectors.

I’m not telling you to stop taking your blood pressure pills.

I’m telling you not to worry.



Ephesians 3:13 Wherefore I desire that ye faint not at my tribulations for you, which is your glory.

Your problems seem unsolvable.

They may seem big.

But you serve a God who is bigger.

Mark 3:5 And when he had looked round about on them with anger, being grieved for the hardness of their hearts, he saith unto the man, Stretch forth thine hand. And he stretched it out: and his hand was restored whole as the other.

God may ask you to do something you think you can’t do. In the case of the man with the withered hand the lord asked him to stretch out a hand that was withered and useless. His hand was a closed fist hard and unused. A fist in most cultures is a tool or symbol of war or anger. The Lord had him to open that hand. An open hand gives, greets and helps but more importantly it receives. The man with the withered hand had enough faith to try and receive the impossible and he was restored. He would never have tried unless he believed the word he just heard. So we can say the final step on our road to restoration is believing that we have received.

You might say to me, well that’s great but Jesus has never given me a word about restoration? Sure he has, he gave us all a word about restoration at Calvary. He paid the price for the restoration of us all that day.

If you can wait on Lord , because he knows the perfect timing

If you can be obedient and seek the kingdom of the Lord instead of your own agenda.

If you can obey the Lord, when he tells you its time.

If you can believe the word you just heard.

You can finish the road of restoration.



________________________________________