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Restore Church
BREAKING THE SPIRIT OF HEAVINESS - PART III
Song Of Solomon 2:10-13 NASB 2020
My desire is to speak prophetically over you today and encourage
God gave my assistant, Michelle Saurbek, these verses for us when
we had just come through a very difficult season
I want to share what I have learned from these verses
We will discover that God’s desire is for us not to remain long in
seasons of heaviness, mourning and despair
How fitting that we’ve just come through winter and are in spring
Notice the bridegroom is speaking here (Jesus) to the bride
Jesus encourages us to “come along” too
Why? Because winter is past and the rain is over
New life is springing up all around if we’ll only look and see
I love the exhortation to “come along” is spoken at the beginning and
the end
Turn to I Samuel 16:1 to see what God told Samuel
Samuel had been mourning King Saul’s disobedience to God
I think it significant that we can mourn another’s failures
God asks Samuel “how long are you gonna mourn for Saul?”
God then tells Samuel to fill his horn with oil
Notice how heaviness kept Samuel from doing what he was supposed
to do
He was supposed to go anoint the next King (David)
Let look at Habakkuk 3:17-19
Can we see that Habakkuk’s joy was not circumstantial
The Prophet determined to rejoice in the God of his salvation no
matter what
Are you open to God telling you your winter season is over?
Are you open to God telling you you may have mourned long
enough?
Are you open to putting on praise in the midst of unpleasant
circumstances?
Lets finish with Revelation 22:17
This exhortation goes out in three different ways:
To the one hears
To the one who is thirsty
To the one who desires
To all three types the Spirit and the bride say “come”.
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BREAKING THE SPIRIT OF HEAVINESS - PART II
I Kings 19:9-16 NASB 2020
Spiritual leaders can struggle with a spirit of heaviness
Elijah has just come off his Mount Carmel experience
He has seen fire fall from Heaven and consume a wet-soaked sacrifice
He has killed 450 prophets of Baal
Jezebel threatens his life and he flees in fear and succumbs to a spirit
of heaviness
In prophetic circles this is called “spiritual backlash”
After mountain top experiences with God we have a tendency to drop
our guard and become vulnerable to enemy attacks
What we won’t confront we flee from in fear
When we run from our callings, graces and assignments we end up in
a cave where God never called us
Fear has a way of making you feel all alone like Elijah did
Even though there were 7000 others Elijah felt alone (I Kings 19:18)
Twice God asks Elijah what he’s doing in a cave (I Kings 19:9,13)
Both times Elijah tells God he is all alone
When we run from the call and commission God raises others up
Notice how it took three individuals to replace Elijah
God told Elijah to anoint two kings and a prophet to succeed him
When we prematurely leave it takes three times as many to fill the
void
We are not called to flee, we are called to fight
Paul didn’t tell Timothy to flee the fight of faith, but to fight the good
fight of faith (I Timothy 6:12)
Proverbs 28:1 says the wicked flee, but the righteous are as bold as a
lion
Lets look at Acts 18:9-10 and what God told the Apostle Paul
What can we learn from God’s instructions to Paul:
That we are not to be afraid any longer
That we are not to remain silent
That God is with us
That He has many people
We are never alone in the fight
If we feel alone its because we have left the fight and taken to flight
Fears must be faced to continue doing what God has asked
The God who calls and leads us will not leave or abandon us
We do not run from the responsibilities God has given
Personally I do not believe in retirement for the Christian
I believe in refirement for the Christian
Lets finish with Romans 11:29
If God’s gifts and callings are irrevocable where’s the retirement
If he has given us responsibilities how can we quit
You could be here and have decided to pull back
I am asking you to sign back up and get back in the game
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BREAKING THE SPIRIT OF HEAVINESS - PART I
Isaiah 61:1-3 NKJV
There is such a thing as a spirit of heaviness
ESV calls it a “faint spirit”
NASB 2020 calls it a “disheartened spirit”
The Message calls it a “languid spirit”
In the original Hebrew heaviness can mean a burning fire without
flame or despair that pertains to being in a state of anxiety and silent
hopelessness (that’s why the NLT uses “despair”)
Lets look at some current stats today regarding depression
Depression has been called the common cold of mental illness
In the U.S. each year 11,000,000 suffer from it
According to the Practical Encyclopedia of Christian Counseling, “A
person becomes depressed when he follows his feelings instead of
his responsibilities.”
It goes on that unfinished tasks pile up, the higher the stack the lower
the spirit
It (PECC) finishes by saying that this is avoided by following
responsibilities no matter how we feel
So where does praise fit in, in all of this?
Notice praise is like a garment (NKJV, ESV) cloak (NASB 2020)
Praise isn’t just something we do IT’S SOMETHING WE WEAR
Praise is put on, no matter how we feel or what we are facing
Garments are essential when it comes to facing the elements
How much more when facing spiritual opposition
What are some other things we put on like clothing?
We put on spiritual armor like military apparel (Ephesians 6:11)
We clothe ourselves with humility (I Peter 5:5)
We are to put on the new man (Ephesians 4:24; Colossians 3:10)
Look at Revelation 19:7-8 and the bride Jesus is returning for
Jesse Tracy has been teaching the men about redemptive realities,
what are our redemptive responsibilities?
With the spiritually depressed “can’t” is a favorite word
Common expressions according to the PECC are “I can’t go on”, “I
can’t take it anymore”, “I can’t do anything”
As Christians we must go on and we can do all things through Christ
who strengthens us (Philippians 4:13)
Being a husband or wife, mother or father, remaining employed,
Continuing to go to church, reading your Bible, praying to God, loving
your neighbor, forgiving one another, etc… should not be optional for
the believer in Jesus Christ
Whenever quitting or stopping is a part of your language a spiritual
influence that is not from God is messing with you
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Monday-…”He steadfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem..”
Luke 9:51 NKJV
Contemplate what would be your ‘bucket list’. Are those things consistent or might they conflict with the call to ‘lay down your life’?
Pray for the change in your heart necessary to embody the heart of Christ that would endure suffering to fulfill purpose.
Tuesday- “..and He overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who were selling doves… And those who were blind and those who limped came.. and He healed them.”
Matthew 21:12, 14
Contemplate that we are the temple of God. He is zealous for us to be pure and holy (Jer 7:1-15). His heart is to purify and heal His people, often in that order.
Pray the Lord examine your heart, help you to open it to Him, forgive and purify you, and heal what needs to be healed, internally and externally.
Wednesday- “And He was teaching daily in the temple; but the chief priests and the scribes and the leading men among the people were trying to put Him to death…” Luke 19:47
Contemplate that while facing certain death, Jesus spoke in the temple largely of removing the Kingdom of God from the unbelievers, and then to His disciples (the new covenant temple) about awaiting watchfully and with lasting endurance for His return.
Pray for the focus, sobriety, and endurance needed to remain faithful to the Lord until the end.
Thursday- “You call Me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord’; and you are correct, for so I am. So if I, the Lord and the Teacher, washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet.” John 13:13-14
Contemplate that Jesus modeled for us, with the crucifixion looming, what prominence in the Kingdom of God requires- servanthood. Cleanliness in His temple requires both assembly and serving one another.
Pray for opportunities, provision, and a pure heart and motive to serve those around you as Christ’s ambassador.
Friday- “..Jesus took some bread.. He broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is My body.” ..He gave [the cup] to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you; for this is My blood of the covenant, which is being poured out for many for forgiveness of sins.” Matthew 26:26-28
Contemplate that Jesus went to the cross for us all on Friday. The only begotten Son of God giving Himself up as a sacrificial Lamb whose blood would provide for us the remission of our sins.
Pray for a deeper understanding of what Jesus’ death on the cross accomplished. Ask for help truly receiving forgiveness and for the skill and opportunities to share this gospel to someone else.
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THE POWER OF THE RESURRECTION - PART I
Philippians 3:10 NASB 2020
This verse was on the front of every bulletin in our early years
Based on the fact that our original name was Resurrection Life
Church
Then ten years ago we changed our name to Restore Church
Why? Because one name told you where we came from
But our new name tells you who we are and why we exist
Notice Paul’s emphasis first and foremost is “knowing Jesus”
In order to arrive there Paul experienced and acknowledged two
things found in Philippians 3:7-8
The loss of all things (mentioned three times by Paul)
Notice Paul says twice he counted all things as loss and once that he
suffered the loss of all things
Rick Renner believes that Pauls use of the word “unmarried” when
describing himself denotes that he once was married (I Cor. 7:8)
Count the loss of all things as mere rubbish
Pauls heart was that nothing compared to knowing Jesus
To the Apostle Paul everything was garbage compared to knowing
Jesus Christ (NLT)
Paul considered his former life as rubbish (NKJV, ESV, NASB)
The word rubbish is a strong word meaning excrement, dung
KJV uses “dung” and The Message even says “dog dung”
It’s as if Paul was disgusted with his former life now that he knew
Jesus
For Paul you cant separate power from intimacy
All too often the focus is on the anointing or signs and wonders
None of this is ever realized apart from intimately knowing Him
That word “know” in our text means to experience, to understand, to
delight in, to cherish
In II Timothy 3:5 the last days church that is on fire is marked by
power, a power that will not be denied
That power is accessed through relationship, intimate relationship
Have we counted all things as dung, garbage, rubbish
Or are still hanging onto garbage and walk with Jesus
There’s an old song one of my faves, KNOWING YOU, the words go:
“ All I once held dear, built my life upon
All this world reveres and wars to own
All I once thought gain I have counted loss
Spent and worthless now, compared to this
Knowing you, Jesus
Knowing you
There is no greater thing
You’re my all, You’re the best
You’re my joy, my righteousness
And I love You, Lord”
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December 17, 2023 The sound cuts out for a few minutes between the 35-41 minute mark.
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May 14, 2023 We apologize for the technical difficulties. The sound begins at 33:27.
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This series is about the Amazing Grace of God. A grace that not only saves us but continues to work in us after we are saved.