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[Joel 2:23-32 KJV] “Be glad then, ye children of Zion, and rejoice in the Lord your God: for he hath given you the former rain moderately, and he will cause to come down for you the rain, the former rain, and the latter rain in the first month . [24] And the floors shall be full of wheat, and the vats shall overflow with wine and oil. [25] And I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten, the cankerworm, and the caterpiller, and the palmerworm, my great army which I sent among you. [26] And ye shall eat in plenty, and be satisfied, and praise the name of the Lord your God, that hath dealt wondrously with you: and my people shall never be ashamed. [27] And ye shall know that I am in the midst of Israel, and that I am the Lord your God, and none else: and my people shall never be ashamed. [28] And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions: [29] And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my spirit. [30] And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke. [31] The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the Lord come. [32] And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be delivered: for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the Lord hath said, and in the remnant whom the Lord shall call”.
Have you ever been at that place where you were hit by a series of storms and your life was reduced to a total misery? Well, many of us have accepted that life must continue as business as usual because that is what it has always been. Sometimes, children have seen so much poverty and hardship that they begin to think that that is what life must be. Life has dealt with many generations in a way that they have accepted that their lot is poverty.
Sometimes, when we see our parents, you have no idea how glorious, beautiful, full of life, and fulfilled they were until the waster gained access and began to dominate them. Many of us have seen Mara, but not Naomi. Many of us have seen the empty bitter Mum and Dad, but not the fruitful Mum and Dad. Many of us have no experience of the lovely romantic Mummy and Daddy; we have just seen the fighting quarelling Mum and Dad.
Today, the Lord wants me to teach you how to restore the wasted years. How we can raise a generation of men who know the fruitful Judah.
1. Learn the lessons of how we got here:
The first secret to restoring the wasted years is to learn how things began to fall apart. We should know how it used to be; listen to the stories of what things used to be. The Bible exhorts our parents to keep sharing the stories of what happened to us, and to tell our children and children’s children. Many of you are too young to have ever seen such things. The prophetic command is to let you know that things used to be better than this.
[Joel 1:1-4 KJV] “The word of the Lord that came to Joel the son of Pethuel. [2] Hear this, ye old men, and give ear, all ye inhabitants of the land. Hath this been in your days, or even in the days of your fathers? [3] Tell ye your children of it, and let your children tell their children, and their children another generation. [4] That which the palmerworm hath left hath the locust eaten; and that which the locust hath left hath the cankerworm eaten; and that which the cankerworm hath left hath the caterpiller eaten”.
We can restore the wasted years when we tell this generation what it used to be. There are times when the waster reduces an extreme beauty to a bloated bag of mass. You may never imagine what things used to be. There are times when many of us think that things have always been this way. Sometimes it is only prophetically right to tell of what the days gone by used to be. Such stories have a way of enlightening the now generation to apply their hearts to wisdom. The Lord said, “tell it to your children and let your children tell their children’s children”.
The Bible gives a vivid description of how we were reduced to this. Many families and generations have been hit so much that they have lost touch with the glorious past. The Bible tells us that, “that which the palmerworm hath left hath the locust eaten; and that which the locust hath left hath the cankerworm eaten; and that which the cankerworm hath left hath the caterpiller eaten.” We have been buffeted, abused and used until we lost our beauty and agility.
Job gave such an account of his life. He told of what it used to be before the Waster gained access to his life. In Job 29, the servant of God gave a vivid description of what life used to be before the waster came in. We must tell the same stories to you. It has a way of shaping you opinions and perspectives. Take time and read Job 29. As you wait upon the Lord, you shall be restored. Restoration has just begun. The least we can do is to tell the beautiful stories of yesterday.
2. Turn again to the Lord with all your heart, with fasting and with weeping:
It is not enough to just sit by the fireside and tell the stories of the glorious past; we must arise and return to the Lord as the prodigal son did. After he told the stories of what it used to be, he arose and returned to his father with remorse and repentance.
[Joel 2:12] “Therefore also now, saith the Lord , turn ye even to me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning:”
Your wasted years shall be restored when you turn again to the Lord in fasting and weeping with all of your heart.
3. Rent your hearts and not your garments:
The Lord is expecting genuine repentance with a change in attitude in all issues of life. God is seeking for a changed attitude and behavior. You can never continue in the same old ways and expect different results. If you do what your fathers did, you will die as they did. Rent your hearts not your clothes. The Lord is merciful and gracious, if you rent your hearts, He will surely leave us a blessing.
[Joel 2:13-14 KJV] “And rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the Lord your God: for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth him of the evil. [14] Who knoweth if he will return and repent, and leave a blessing behind him; even a meat offering and a drink offering unto the Lord your God?”
4. Call a solemn assembly for prayer:
Call a prayer and fellowship meeting of the people, the congregation, the elders, the children, the priest and ministers. The Lord wants us to gather as a people and plead for His mercy.
Don’t come alone, blow a trumpet, spread the word, call many to the feast of miracles.
[Joel 2:15-17 KJV] “Blow the trumpet in Zion, sanctify a fast, call a solemn assembly: [16] Gather the people, sanctify the congregation, assemble the elders, gather the children, and those that suck the breasts: let the bridegroom go forth of his chamber, and the bride out of her closet. [17] Let the priests, the ministers of the Lord , weep between the porch and the altar, and let them say, Spare thy people, O Lord , and give not thine heritage to reproach, that the heathen should rule over them: wherefore should they say among the people, Where is their God?”
5. Be glad and rejoice:
Finally, be gald and rejoice; restore the praise because God will not only restore but will pour out His Spirit upon us for increase and fruitfulness, and for bumper harvest. The agent of restoration and fruitfulness shall be poured upon us, He is the Holy Ghost. We must therefore tarry until we are endued with power from on high. The Holy Spirit is the agent of restoration.
[Joel 2:23-26 KJV] “Be glad then, ye children of Zion, and rejoice in the Lord your God: for he hath given you the former rain moderately, and he will cause to come down for you the rain, the former rain, and the latter rain in the first month . [24] And the floors shall be full of wheat, and the vats shall overflow with wine and oil. [25] And I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten, the cankerworm, and the caterpiller, and the palmerworm, my great army which I sent among you. [26] And ye shall eat in plenty, and be satisfied, and praise the name of the Lord your God, that hath dealt wondrously with you: and my people shall never be ashamed”.
Let us arise and wait for the power. When we get the power, everything else shall follow. We shall recieve power after the Holy Ghost is come upon us. We shall recieve power.
If you have lost so much and wonder whether life would ever be the same again, then I came to announce to you that all the years that the locust, the cankerworm, the cartapillar and the palmerworm have eaten, the Lord will restore.
The Lord is about to restore. This moment begins your total restoration. Fear not! Just trust and trust good. Be blessed;
I love you!
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