[Acts 3:14-21 KJV] “But ye denied the Holy One and the Just, and desired a murderer to be granted unto you; and killed the Prince of life, whom God hath raised from the dead; whereof we are witnesses.”
“And his name through faith in his name hath made this man strong, whom ye see and know: yea, the faith which is by him hath given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all. And now, brethren, I wot that through ignorance ye did it, as did also your rulers.”
“But those things, which God before had shewed by the mouth of all his prophets, that Christ should suffer, he hath so fulfilled. Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord;”
“and he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you: whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began”
We are believing God for the times of refreshing and result in total restoration. The apostle taught that the times of refreshing shall only come after Repentance, Conversion, and Purging. I know many of us wish for restoration but this restoration can only come when we repent and are converted, and our sins are blotted out.
In the times of refreshing certain things happen: Jesus does certain things for us, God expects certain things of us, and people will relate to us differently. Isaiah 61 reveal these three things;
- What Jesus will do for us
- Why He is doing it? What He expects of us!
- What the results will be!
“The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound;”
“to proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn; to appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he might be glorified.”
In the days of refreshing Jesus Christ, our anointed Lord shall;
- Preach the glad tidings to the meek. Jesus Christ does not speak to the proud, arrogant and conceited. He speaks to the meek, God is expecting us to be meek and humble.
- Bind the brokenhearted
- Proclaim liberty to the captive
- Open the prison to them that are bound
- Proclaim both the acceptable year and the day of vengeance
- Appoint unto them that mourn in Zion beauty for ashes, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness,
This is so that those of us who are touched with grace and power shall;
- Build the old wastes
- Raise the former desolations
- Repair the waste cities and the desolation of many generations
“And they shall build the old wastes, they shall raise up the former desolations, and they shall repair the waste cities, the desolations of many generations.”
When we do this;
- Men shall call us trees of righteousness and plantings of God
- Strangers shall stand and feed our flocks
- The sons of aliens shall be our plowmen and our vinedressers
- We shall be called the ministers of God
- We shall eat the riches of gentiles
- Our seeds shall gain recognition.
“And strangers shall stand and feed your flocks, and the sons of the alien shall be your plowmen and your vinedressers. But ye shall be named the Priests of the LORD: men shall call you the Ministers of our God:”
“ye shall eat the riches of the Gentiles, and in their glory shall ye boast yourselves. For your shame ye shall have double; and for confusion they shall rejoice in their portion: therefore in their land they shall possess the double: everlasting joy shall be unto them.”
“For I the LORD love judgment, I hate robbery for burnt offering; and I will direct their work in truth, and I will make an everlasting covenant with them.”
“And their seed shall be known among the Gentiles, and their offspring among the people: all that see them shall acknowledge them, that they are the seed which the LORD hath blessed.”
“I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels.”
“For as the earth bringeth forth her bud, and as the garden causeth the things that are sown in it to spring forth; so the Lord GOD will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations” [Isaiah 61:1-11 KJV]
The times of refreshing comes after repentance.
Stay blessed
