Sunday 7th July

Lawrence Kirby shared a message titled, 
'The Restoration of All Things'

Acts 1 is about Jesus having resurrected from the dead and spending time teaching the disciples about the Kingdom of God and he says don't go anywhere until the Holy Spirit comes upon you. 

It goes on to talk about the early Church gathering to pray while they wait. 

In Acts 2 during the Festival of Pentecost (about 50 days after Jesus' resurrection), the Holy Spirit indeed came and touched them! A large number of people committed themselves to following Jesus at this time... 

This brings us to Acts Chapter 3. We see the disciples going to the Temple and they encounter a lame beggar. Peter says he has no money to give, but commands him to get up and walk in the name of Jesus, and he is healed! The man makes a big deal about his healing and celebrates it loudly! 

Peter & John are confronted by the priests and addresses them in this way:

Acts 3:12-26
Peter saw his opportunity and addressed the crowd. “People of Israel,” he said, “what is so surprising about this? And why stare at us as though we had made this man walk by our own power or godliness? 13 For it is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob—the God of all our ancestors—who has brought glory to his servant Jesus by doing this. This is the same Jesus whom you handed over and rejected before Pilate, despite Pilate’s decision to release him. 14 You rejected this holy, righteous one and instead demanded the release of a murderer. 15 You killed the author of life, but God raised him from the dead. And we are witnesses of this fact. 16 “Through faith in the name of Jesus, this man was healed—and you know how crippled he was before. Faith in Jesus’ name has healed him before your very eyes.17 “Friends, I realise that what you and your leaders did to Jesus was done in ignorance. 18 But God was fulfilling what all the prophets had foretold about the Messiah—that he must suffer these things. 19 Now repent of your sins and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped away. 20 Then times of refreshment will come from the presence of the Lord, and he will again send you Jesus, your appointed Messiah. 21 For he must remain in heaven until the time for the final restoration of all things, as God promised long ago through his holy prophets. 22 Moses said, ‘The Lord your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from among your own people. Listen carefully to everything he tells you.’ 23 Then Moses said, ‘Anyone who will not listen to that Prophet will be completely cut off from God’s people.’ 24 “Starting with Samuel, every prophet spoke about what is happening today. 25 You are the children of those prophets, and you are included in the covenant God promised to your ancestors. For God said to Abraham, ‘Through your descendants all the families on earth will be blessed.’ 26 When God raised up his servant, Jesus, he sent him first to you people of Israel, to bless you by turning each of you back from your sinful ways.”

Peter knows his audience in this speech. He's talking to Jews who knew the ancestral history and understood the call of God on them as His People. 

A zoom in on verses 19 - 21 shows us that transformation has it's ultimate end in the restoration of all things. This is when Jesus as the Messiah will return. 

Peter had a revelation that the Messiah was not all about a person coming to overtake and rule the world, it was about a better thing which was the restoration of all things. 

Our personal transformation is part of the journey towards the restoration of all things! God wants to start with you and I! 

Romans 8:21
"But with eager hope, 21 the creation looks forward to the day when it will join God’s children in glorious freedom from death and decay."

Romans 8:28
"And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them."

Tikkum olam is a Hebrew saying meaning 'repairing of the world'. 

Human wisdom is not going to solve all the issues of this world. Restoration of all things requires the wisdom and presence of God, manifest through us, His People. 
Jesus wants us to represent Him well in the environment that we are in. 

- Repent (change your mind to align with the way God thinks).

- Treasure, cultivate and understand that the Presence of God is vital for us in the process of transformation. In the presence of God there is refreshing and strength to allow you to journey through life. 

- Be people who live aware of the fact that we are on a journey toward the restoration of all things!

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