RESTORATION IS LIKE A TWO-EDGED SWORD 
TODD BENTLEY
 

Our Father in Heaven is good, and He is the Great Restorer. You should have high hopes about that and believe it, no matter what happens. Believe that God not only wants to restore what has been robbed and plundered in your life and in other people's lives, but He also wants to add blessings to that which is restored. "Blessings are on the head of the righteous…" (Proverbs 10:6). That's your head!

When God restores and blesses, He wants you to see His intervention as evidence of His love for you in a personal way. So let's remember that one important aspect about restoration is that you would draw closer and closer into God's heart of love. His biggest purpose for restoration is intimacy with you. He wants an intimate relationship with you. Wow!


RESTORATION IS LIKE A TWO-EDGED SWORD

If my body needs healing, not only does God want to heal and restore my body to health, but He also wants me to have divine health. And then I'm going to minister healing to the sick because I am getting a healing anointing in the process!

So, restoration is like a two-edged sword. One sharp edge reveals our own personal restoration victories and the other edge cuts off the plans of the enemy over other people's lives. What a double blessing!

But we need to remember that in the process of restoration there is always a divine test. Before Joseph's freedom was restored, and he took the throne in Egypt (second only to Pharaoh), he was taken into a great God-ordained time of testing (Gen. 37-50). Psalms 105:19 says: "Until the time that his word came to pass, the word of the LORD tested him." Joseph had the prophetic word of the Lord but until it actually came to pass, this word tested him.

Likewise, many of you have the prophetic word of the Lord concerning areas of restoration coming upon your lives; however, today, the fulfillment has not manifested--it's still on its way. Stand your ground in the time of testing, the time of waiting. God will surely come and bring restoration exactly at the perfect moment.

Listen. I believe that God is going to stir up the gifts of the Spirit in your life. God is going to restore your anointing. For some of you, He is going to restore your vision and your purpose. For some of you, God is going to restore your marriage. Some of you today will experience God restoring your finances and giving you jubilee and supernatural cancellation of your debt. Say, "God, I want you to restore my soul. Anoint my head with fresh oil." The anointing is going to restore your soul, your mind, your will, and your emotions.

"God's blessing makes life rich; nothing we do can improve on God" (Proverbs 10:22). Hallelujah! Your restoration looks like a two-edged sword! You won't only receive the blessing of restoration, you will be a minister of restoration!


THE MINISTRY OF RESTORATION TRANSFORMS

Walking in the ministry of restoration is like being a minister filled with a message of hope that transforms "what was" into the "reality" of what God desires. Look at what God says through Isaiah (the prophet).

"And they shall rebuild the old ruins, they shall raise up the former desolations, and they shall repair the ruined cities, the desolations of many generations" (Isaiah 61:4).

It's the rebuilding, it's the raising up, and it's the repairing of ruins and ruined cities and the desolations of many generations. It's a transformation process into the reality of what God desires. This is no small thing!

Looking at Isaiah 61:1-4, it's rare that Christians consider the part about "The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me" in the context of not only being anointed to bring restoration, but also to contend for the increase. God wants to bring the increase, even a "seven-fold" blessing (Proverbs 6:31).

Listen. Without the prompting of the Holy Spirit we don't think about restoring or about repairing "ruined cities." We don't think about repairing destinies. (There aren't many believers ministering in restoration.) Most of the time we seem to focus on the first few verses of Isaiah 61, but there is a ministry called the ministry of restoration, beginning in verse 4. To paraphrase, it's like God is saying, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me because He wants me to rebuild the old ruins. God wants me to raise up former desolations."

Do you know what the old ruins and former desolations are? Plans. Purposes. Destiny. Gifts. Promises. Some of these examples concern churches and ministries or positions you have operated in before. These areas can be likened to "ruined cities" and "former desolations." God wants to restore and repair these ruins and desolations.

Look at the end of verse 4. God wants to restore to the church the desolations of many generations. I'm talking about past revivals that were cut short. Evangelism and healing ministries that ended with the death of the ministers-Charles Finney, Smith Wigglesworth, Jack Coe, and A.A. Allan. Some of these ministries became desolate. Some of them had their reputations ruined by things that may not even be true. But God wants to restore their legacies.


RESTORATION OF FAMILY INHERITANCES

This word is also to restore godly family heritages. Some of you need to apply this to your life in a personal way. You may have people in your family tree who loved the Lord, that were in the ministry even as prophets and evangelists. Believe and ask God for the spiritual destiny that your dad had, that your grandfather had (or whomever in your family line that the Holy Spirits brings to your attention). You have rights. They sowed, they labored, and they died probably not yet receiving their promise, or seeing everything they thought God was going to allow them to see. You need to see it.

God wants to bless and bring restoration to the children and the children's children. Your blessing might go back three generations. You need to take it. There is an anointing to restore the desolations of many generations. What am I talking about? I am talking about restoring old wells. How is that going to happen? The anointing. You need to believe God and say: "My God, let their calling and ministry be restored in my generation."

I believe that there is coming a generation that will receive the restoration of the desolations of many generations and that this will come in one last generation. Could it be us? Could we be that generation that receives much of what was lost in those former generations? Could we be that generation that digs up the wells of all those mighty men and women of God and all those great revivals?

by Todd Bentley
Fresh Fire Ministries
www.freshfire.ca  

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Todd's Itinerary:

March 8 - 10
Amber Rose Healing Conference
Gateway Church, Southlake, TX
www.amberroseministries.com/healing2006

March 29 - April 1
Healing School with Randy Clark
Palmer, AK
(866) 292-5364

April 5 - 9
Dayspring Church
Sydney, Australia
www.dayspring.com.au