Theme:       Divine Restoration, Joel 2:25

Week 1       June 3

Topic:         What Restoration Means

1.       To restore means giving back

a.       What has been taken away to the owner, Lk 19:8

b.       What was acquired in ignorance as in the case of Sarah, Abraham’s wife that King of Gerar wanted to add to his harem. Gen. 20:1-14

2.       At the spiritual level to restore is to give you the favour and privileges which God had withdrawn as punishment for disobedience, Joel 2:23-26.

Week 2                 June 10

Topic:                  Job: The Loss And The Gain

1.       Job was a wealthy man, a man of influence who loved God with all his heart. He never put his faith on his great wealth but on God the creator, Job 1:1-5

2.       God acknowledged his loyalty, Job 1:7-8

3.       Like most humans, including some children of God, Job never reckoned with the crafty presence and envy of satan. God gave testimony of Job’s perfect obedience to Him. Satan claimed that it was all due to God’s blessings. If He subjected him to a little stress then he would see a different Job, Job 1:9-11

4.       God as the claymaker, Isaiah 64:8, knew Job through and through but He allowed him to prove his worth. So He gave satan the opportunity to subject him to a hard test knowing that at the end of it all he would learn a lesson or two from his experience, Job 1:12

5.       That was the beginning of Job’s travails, the kind that few people , if ever, would pray for, Job 1:13-22

6.       God was proved right, the devil failed to destroy Job or rubbish his faith. He learnt valuable lessons in the course of his suffering, Job 42:1-6

7.       God restored him materially and spiritually, Job 42:10-17. He became a reference point for undivided loyalty despite unprecedented anguish, James 5:11

Week 3       June 17

Topic:         The Loss At The Garden. The Return To Eden

a.       God created man in His image and likeness. He gave him dominion over everything else on earth, Gen. 1:26-28, Gen. 2:19-20

b.       However Adam sinned when he gave in to satan’s tricks and thereby lost all that God had invested in him, Gen. 3:1-6, 17-19, 23-24

c.       Whatever effort man made to return to God was futile. He could not fully obey the Mosaic Law, Ex. 20:1-17, John 7:19. And when the Jewish leaders sought to implement it they emphasized the letter but not the spirit of the Law, John 7:23

          God sent Prophets demanding repentance but they were ignored or were murdered, Matt. 23:30-31

d.       To reconcile man to himself God had to send His only begotten son, Jesus Christ, to redeem and return him to His kingdom, I Cor. 15:45-47

e.       However although redemption is available to everyone only those who accept Jesus Christ, as Lord and savior, would return to spiritual Eden, John 3:16-18, Rom. 8:14-17

That is restoration.

Week 4                 June 24

Theme:                Divine Restoration, Joel 2:25

Ministering:         Dr. Biodun Sotunmbi

Anointing Service

Testimonies / Announcements

Closing Prayer