The Vision: Restoration : Pastor Tony Samuels

Many times when people come to the Lord, they come from a place of devastation. The Bible says that the wages of sin is death. This manifests in death of relationships; death of finances; death of opportunities; and death of our self-esteem. But our God is so good! He doesn’t just want us delivered and set free; He wants to restore everything back that was stolen from our lives. When the children of Israel were delivered from captivity, the Lord gave them an amazing promise in Exodus 3:21 (KJV). It says, And I will give this people favour in the sight of the Egyptians: and it shall come to pass, that, when ye go, ye shall not go empty. It’s not good enough to just to get out of something that was destroying our lives. God wants to get back the things that were destroyed. The Lord made the Egyptians pay back all the prosperity that the people of God lost during their captivity. 

I have seen people delivered out of bondage and still have a sense of hopelessness. That’s usually because they are happy they are out, but now they are dealing with the devastation and reality of what was lost. However, the Lord has promised to restore us. Joel 2:25 (KJV) says, And I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten, the cankerworm, and the caterpillar, and the palmerworm, my great army which I sent among you. Our vision at the Lighthouse is to see the Lord restore everything the devil has stolen out of people’s lives…and that’s spirit, soul, and body.

There is another place that requires restoration when we are delivered, and that’s the area of our soul. Psalms 23:3 (KJV) says, He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. The enemy is not just interested in stealing things; he is interested in devastating our self- esteem. This is not so much about what God thinks about us; this is about how we value ourselves, how we see ourselves. The enemy is out to destroy our image.

I always wondered why the children of Israel were continually contemplating returning back to Egypt, and were never willing to fight to go into the Promise Land. I believe it was because even though they were delivered from slavery, they never stopped seeing themselves as slaves. How you see yourself will determine your direction.

God wants to restore our true image in how He sees us, and our lives will go in the right direction…toward the Promise Land. 2 Corinthians 5:17 (AMP) says, Therefore, if anyone is in Christ [that is, grafted in, joined to Him by faith in Him as Savior], he is a new creature [reborn and renewed by the Holy Spirit]; the old things [the previous moral and spiritual condition] have passed away. Behold, new things have come [because spiritual awakening brings a new life] amazing we are brand-new.

So if I were you, I would make a list of everything that has been stolen out of my life. Don’t cry about it anymore, but begin to expect the Lord to manifest His promise of restoration in your life. We are believing that God will restore back into your life everything that has been stolen!

Blessings To You,