The Path of Restoration for the Body of Christ
Lloyd Gardner
December 27, 2018
The theme of this ministry is the restoration of the church, the body of Christ. We often use the words “body of Christ” in reference to the church because many people mistakenly think of the “church” as the program-oriented institution with its many organizational facets. We are not seeking the repair of the human program we think of as church but rather the spiritual restoration in the hearts of the people of God, the body of Christ. We cannot simply adjust the outward structure invented by men and expect restoration but must seek to begin with our hearts. When hearts are restored, we are on our way to true restoration.
Many have come to think of this restoration as an impossibility and have shifted into a passive mode waiting for the end time apostasy to be fully realized and then Jesus will return. Often these precious believers see themselves as participants in a mission to get people ready for the ultimate rescue – the rapture of the saints.
We believe, on the other hand, that the Bible clearly teaches Christ is coming back for a completed church, a bride made ready for her Groom (Eph. 5:25-33; 4:11-16; John 17:20, 21; Rev. 19:7, 8). Not all of what we think of as “church” will be restored but a faithful remnant that will not forsake the Lord or His word and will persevere to the end as the Holy Spirit leads and empowers (2 Tim. 2:12; Heb. 12:7; 2 Cor. 1:6).
With this hope in mind we must see that God has promised a pathway of restoration for those who desire to be faithful to Him and be part of the renewal of a remnant of His people. A wonderful summary of that process is given in 2 Chronicles 7:13, 14:
When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command the locust to devour the land, or send pestilence among my people, if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.
Israel under King Solomon had just finished the temple and its dedication was underway. Solomon, knowing the weakness of humanity, feared that there might come a time when the people would become unfaithful and disobey God. So, he inquired of God concerning what Israel should do if that time came. God’s answer is given in the passage quoted above.
God lists some judgments of this unfaithfulness in the first part of the passage: “When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command the locust to devour the land, or send pestilence among my people.” In other words, if God’s people should wake up one day and realize that they have lost the blessing of God and that they are experiencing judgment as a result, this is how they are to respond.
Today, we the church have awakened and discovered we have lost the blessing of God and are indeed experiencing the judgment that results from disavowing God. Our families are torn apart. The divorce rate spirals among us. In our effort to gain material riches we sacrifice ourselves to our work abandoning our life with God and His people. We eat and drink in gluttonous style as our bodies deteriorate and we suffer disease and infirmity. Instead of being the light of the world and preserving salt we have conformed to the world and suffer as a result. So clearly the answer that Solomon received from God is a message to us as well.
God’s answer begins, “if my people who are called by my name.” Our first concern should be that we have abandoned the unity that flows from being called by the one name of God. We have taken the denominational names that exalt great Christian leaders, important doctrines, religious practices, and much more, while deemphasizing our oneness in Christ. We are not to be under the name Baptist, Presbyterian, Pentecostal or any number of other name but must come to see that we are under the name of Jesus. We are to call upon Him and be called by His name. Any other action is called heresy by Paul (1 Cor. 11:19; 1:10-13; the word often translated factions or sects is the Greek word “heresy.”). To rename portions of the body of Christ on personal grounds is divisive and therefore heresy.
So, our journey to restoration begins with the commitment to oneness with one another under the name of Jesus. As long as we remain divided on non-essential things, we merely prove our selfishness which keeps us from even beginning the journey to restoration. We must understand that the corporate body of Christ is the place of restoration. This is an individual commitment but it will manifest in the coming together of many faithful in a unified, empowered church.
Secondly, the Lord said to Solomon that the people of God must humble themselves. This means stepping down from our lofty position as our own god and bowing down to the One who is God. We must conclude that He is God and we are not and our lives must begin to reflect that we submit to Him and to His word. The American church is spoiled to the point where we think everything is about our own glory and not that of our God. We cannot even begin the process of restoration until we step down from our throne and allow God to be Lord of all.
Thirdly, the Lord told Solomon that His people must pray. True prayer comes from a humble heart that seeks God’s will. Prayer is connecting with God on a personal one-on-one level. We must leave behind all of the religious jargon and ritual word-crafting and come to God with open, sincere hearts to fellowship with Him and let Him guide us.
Then God said to Solomon that His people must “seek my face.” To seek the face of God is to seek Him in His fullness. To see Him is to look away from ourselves as we desire to know Him as He is. Once we begin to see Him as He is and realize that His eyes are upon us (Ps. 34:15). When we begin to see ourselves as He sees us, our restoration will begin.
The words that follow should wake us up: “and turn from their wicked ways.” We like to think that the word “wicked” refers to someone else, not us. We think of wickedness as adultery, pornography, stealing, etc. as they truly are but wickedness is much subtler than that. An account from James will make this point:
Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”—yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil (James 4:13-16).
James uses the Greek word for evil that is the equivalent of the Hebrew word used by God for wicked ways. It speaks of the most serious kind of sin and is anathema to the believer. So James is saying that simply ignoring what God wants for our lives and going about our business trading and making a profit without consulting with God and then going about it with a boastful attitude is evil. It is evil or wicked to think that we can be independent of God and just do as we please without His fellowship. In doing so we are like Adam and Eve – making ourselves out to be God knowing good and evil, knowing what’s best regardless of what He says.
In brief, we must turn from this independent, self-seeking attitude which is the way of the world but not to be the way of followers of Christ. We must abandon our personal ambitions to God and let Him guide us to His will for our lives. Too many of God’s people have gone about their lives leaving God out completely. Even our organized churches have simply built according to human ideas and personal preferences instead of consulting with God to find His will.
Actually, all of these actions that God calls for tie in to this matter of selfish independence. Selfish ambitions will keep us from humbling ourselves, praying, seeking His face and turning away from wickedness. When we are broken before God, we will begin to seek His will instead of our own. Restoration will follow.
When we have come to this place of turning in our lives, we will begin to see God’s eyes again. He will hear our praying cries of humility reaching out to Him. He will forgive our sins. He will heal our land.
God does not hear us when we approach Him in our arrogance with everything figured out ahead of time. He hears us when we are humble and broken enough to abandon ourselves to Him. When He hears cries of repentance He always forgives. “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). He not only forgives us but cleanses us from all unrighteousness. When He cleanses healing comes—healing to our hearts, our relationships and our place in His body.
To Israel the healing of their land spoke of healing from the devastations mentioned by God: “When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command the locust to devour the land, or send pestilence among my people.” When the consequences of sin begin to destroy the land God’s people awaken to the need to return to Him with a contrite heart ready to forgiven and healed.
This will affect our land which is our lives, families, jobs, neighborhood, cities, states, economies and our nation with its government and national laws. We Christians do not realize the authority God has given us. He told His disciples that they were the salt of the earth and the light of the world (Matt. 5:13, 14). That applies to us as well as His disciples. We are meant to make a big difference in the world we live in. Our presence is the presence of the Christ who lives within us. When we are letting Him live in us and in His body the fullness of God is manifest (Eph. 1:23).
When we abandon our posts, Christ goes with us for He lives in His body. Adam and Eve were given all authority over the planet when they were created (Gen. 1:26, 27). Sin has created havoc with that authority but Jesus reinstituted it in His body (Matt. 16:19; 28:18f.; Ps. 4:4-8; 115:16; Eph. 1:19-23).
Is restoration of the church possible? If we believe what He has promised and the authority He has given us and repent of our selfish arrogance, the answer is a resounding YES! In fact, it is our destiny if we simply take Him at His word and step out in faith.
Lloyd Gardner
December 27, 2018
The theme of this ministry is the restoration of the church, the body of Christ. We often use the words “body of Christ” in reference to the church because many people mistakenly think of the “church” as the program-oriented institution with its many organizational facets. We are not seeking the repair of the human program we think of as church but rather the spiritual restoration in the hearts of the people of God, the body of Christ. We cannot simply adjust the outward structure invented by men and expect restoration but must seek to begin with our hearts. When hearts are restored, we are on our way to true restoration.
Many have come to think of this restoration as an impossibility and have shifted into a passive mode waiting for the end time apostasy to be fully realized and then Jesus will return. Often these precious believers see themselves as participants in a mission to get people ready for the ultimate rescue – the rapture of the saints.
We believe, on the other hand, that the Bible clearly teaches Christ is coming back for a completed church, a bride made ready for her Groom (Eph. 5:25-33; 4:11-16; John 17:20, 21; Rev. 19:7, 8). Not all of what we think of as “church” will be restored but a faithful remnant that will not forsake the Lord or His word and will persevere to the end as the Holy Spirit leads and empowers (2 Tim. 2:12; Heb. 12:7; 2 Cor. 1:6).
With this hope in mind we must see that God has promised a pathway of restoration for those who desire to be faithful to Him and be part of the renewal of a remnant of His people. A wonderful summary of that process is given in 2 Chronicles 7:13, 14:
When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command the locust to devour the land, or send pestilence among my people, if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.
Israel under King Solomon had just finished the temple and its dedication was underway. Solomon, knowing the weakness of humanity, feared that there might come a time when the people would become unfaithful and disobey God. So, he inquired of God concerning what Israel should do if that time came. God’s answer is given in the passage quoted above.
God lists some judgments of this unfaithfulness in the first part of the passage: “When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command the locust to devour the land, or send pestilence among my people.” In other words, if God’s people should wake up one day and realize that they have lost the blessing of God and that they are experiencing judgment as a result, this is how they are to respond.
Today, we the church have awakened and discovered we have lost the blessing of God and are indeed experiencing the judgment that results from disavowing God. Our families are torn apart. The divorce rate spirals among us. In our effort to gain material riches we sacrifice ourselves to our work abandoning our life with God and His people. We eat and drink in gluttonous style as our bodies deteriorate and we suffer disease and infirmity. Instead of being the light of the world and preserving salt we have conformed to the world and suffer as a result. So clearly the answer that Solomon received from God is a message to us as well.
God’s answer begins, “if my people who are called by my name.” Our first concern should be that we have abandoned the unity that flows from being called by the one name of God. We have taken the denominational names that exalt great Christian leaders, important doctrines, religious practices, and much more, while deemphasizing our oneness in Christ. We are not to be under the name Baptist, Presbyterian, Pentecostal or any number of other name but must come to see that we are under the name of Jesus. We are to call upon Him and be called by His name. Any other action is called heresy by Paul (1 Cor. 11:19; 1:10-13; the word often translated factions or sects is the Greek word “heresy.”). To rename portions of the body of Christ on personal grounds is divisive and therefore heresy.
So, our journey to restoration begins with the commitment to oneness with one another under the name of Jesus. As long as we remain divided on non-essential things, we merely prove our selfishness which keeps us from even beginning the journey to restoration. We must understand that the corporate body of Christ is the place of restoration. This is an individual commitment but it will manifest in the coming together of many faithful in a unified, empowered church.
Secondly, the Lord said to Solomon that the people of God must humble themselves. This means stepping down from our lofty position as our own god and bowing down to the One who is God. We must conclude that He is God and we are not and our lives must begin to reflect that we submit to Him and to His word. The American church is spoiled to the point where we think everything is about our own glory and not that of our God. We cannot even begin the process of restoration until we step down from our throne and allow God to be Lord of all.
Thirdly, the Lord told Solomon that His people must pray. True prayer comes from a humble heart that seeks God’s will. Prayer is connecting with God on a personal one-on-one level. We must leave behind all of the religious jargon and ritual word-crafting and come to God with open, sincere hearts to fellowship with Him and let Him guide us.
Then God said to Solomon that His people must “seek my face.” To seek the face of God is to seek Him in His fullness. To see Him is to look away from ourselves as we desire to know Him as He is. Once we begin to see Him as He is and realize that His eyes are upon us (Ps. 34:15). When we begin to see ourselves as He sees us, our restoration will begin.
The words that follow should wake us up: “and turn from their wicked ways.” We like to think that the word “wicked” refers to someone else, not us. We think of wickedness as adultery, pornography, stealing, etc. as they truly are but wickedness is much subtler than that. An account from James will make this point:
Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”—yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil (James 4:13-16).
James uses the Greek word for evil that is the equivalent of the Hebrew word used by God for wicked ways. It speaks of the most serious kind of sin and is anathema to the believer. So James is saying that simply ignoring what God wants for our lives and going about our business trading and making a profit without consulting with God and then going about it with a boastful attitude is evil. It is evil or wicked to think that we can be independent of God and just do as we please without His fellowship. In doing so we are like Adam and Eve – making ourselves out to be God knowing good and evil, knowing what’s best regardless of what He says.
In brief, we must turn from this independent, self-seeking attitude which is the way of the world but not to be the way of followers of Christ. We must abandon our personal ambitions to God and let Him guide us to His will for our lives. Too many of God’s people have gone about their lives leaving God out completely. Even our organized churches have simply built according to human ideas and personal preferences instead of consulting with God to find His will.
Actually, all of these actions that God calls for tie in to this matter of selfish independence. Selfish ambitions will keep us from humbling ourselves, praying, seeking His face and turning away from wickedness. When we are broken before God, we will begin to seek His will instead of our own. Restoration will follow.
When we have come to this place of turning in our lives, we will begin to see God’s eyes again. He will hear our praying cries of humility reaching out to Him. He will forgive our sins. He will heal our land.
God does not hear us when we approach Him in our arrogance with everything figured out ahead of time. He hears us when we are humble and broken enough to abandon ourselves to Him. When He hears cries of repentance He always forgives. “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). He not only forgives us but cleanses us from all unrighteousness. When He cleanses healing comes—healing to our hearts, our relationships and our place in His body.
To Israel the healing of their land spoke of healing from the devastations mentioned by God: “When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command the locust to devour the land, or send pestilence among my people.” When the consequences of sin begin to destroy the land God’s people awaken to the need to return to Him with a contrite heart ready to forgiven and healed.
This will affect our land which is our lives, families, jobs, neighborhood, cities, states, economies and our nation with its government and national laws. We Christians do not realize the authority God has given us. He told His disciples that they were the salt of the earth and the light of the world (Matt. 5:13, 14). That applies to us as well as His disciples. We are meant to make a big difference in the world we live in. Our presence is the presence of the Christ who lives within us. When we are letting Him live in us and in His body the fullness of God is manifest (Eph. 1:23).
When we abandon our posts, Christ goes with us for He lives in His body. Adam and Eve were given all authority over the planet when they were created (Gen. 1:26, 27). Sin has created havoc with that authority but Jesus reinstituted it in His body (Matt. 16:19; 28:18f.; Ps. 4:4-8; 115:16; Eph. 1:19-23).
Is restoration of the church possible? If we believe what He has promised and the authority He has given us and repent of our selfish arrogance, the answer is a resounding YES! In fact, it is our destiny if we simply take Him at His word and step out in faith.
