Restoration in the Kingdom of God

You may recall what it looked like here at that time, 1st of August. In Oklahoma and in Arkansas, we were having drought, and we still could use quite a bit more rain. But at least it's greened up quite a bit. You may remember that at least in Tulsa, Oklahoma, it was 115 degrees.

And we missed that because we were in Alaska where the high was 65 degrees, I think, on that particular day. So it was glorious to be there and to be away from the scorching hot temperatures and the drought that we were having here in Oklahoma and in Arkansas.

In Homer, Alaska, which is where my daughter lives, my daughter married a commercial fisherman from Alaska. He's a salmon fisherman. And actually, he was away, and our son was with him fishing with him this summer near Kodiak Island. And Jamie was home with the baby, so it was a perfect time for Barbara and I to go visit.

And while we were there in Homer, Alaska, which is about four hours southwest of Anchorage, mostly south of Anchorage, it was just amazing the beauty of the water, the mountains, and the glaciers. My daughter lives in a house where they have a big picture window, and you can see three or four glaciers. And you can see the Kachimak Bay. You can see the Kenai Mountains, the mountain range behind that.

And it's really just very, very beautiful.

And the glaciers were so close, it seemed like you could just about reach out and touch down, although they were several miles away, but they looked very close. The grass was extremely green. The wildflowers were beautiful. They were very tall.

And even though the growing season is very, very short in Alaska, anything that does grow grows big, and it grows in a hurry there in the summertime.

Now, shortly after arriving in Alaska, my daughter was telling me about a house that was very close to their house, and it was a three- or four-bedroom home that sold for $43,000.

And it had a beautiful view also of the Kachimak Bay and the glaciers and the mountains.

$43,000. It sold on auction. So I wasn't a bit surprised when my daughter and I went down there to look it over.

We were curious. We wanted to go see it. And sure enough, it was in pretty bad shape. It needed some help.

In fact, it needed restoration desperately. It was in desperate need of restoration.

Becca, I'd like to show you some pictures of the new picture of this little workforce.

That's one of the pictures. You can see, you know, I took the picture from the outside. Now, that other picture looked a lot worse.

These cabinets don't look too bad. You know, the floor is in pretty bad shape, and all the flooring would have needed replaced.

There were holes in some of the walls. You can see the view. You can't see it very well here, but it would have been beautiful.

But notice this. It says something to believe in. I was struck by that in that pile of rubble. It says something to believe in.

Now, this is Alaska. That's the picture. Something to believe in, and it looks like, you know, it's pretty bad shape.

This is the view, though, outside the windows. Very beautiful scenery.

But this house was in desperate need of restoration. And frankly, this whole world, I think that takes care of the pictures.

I believe that's the last one, except one I'll show you a bit later.

But anyway, the point I'm trying to make is this house, even though it was a three or four bedroom home and sold for a great price, it still needed a lot of restoration.

It was in desperate need of restoration. And the world that we live in is in desperate need of restoration.

It's really run down in so many ways. God's kingdom, of course, is a fabulous time of restoration.

And I want to prolong the feast feeling for a little bit longer, because today I want to talk about restoration in God's kingdom.

That's the theme of today's sermon. I want to talk about something to believe in.

And it's not just a run down house, but it's a house that's going to be restored, a spiritual house that is going to be restored in a dramatic way.

And we need to keep the vision alive of God's feasts.

We're going to run into some down times to some degree as it gets colder out and we get snow on the ground.

We're several months away from the spring holidays. We're going to have a little time gap here.

But we need to keep this feast feeling alive as long as possible.

So anyway, we'll try to keep that going as long as possible.

Now, God's Word, the Bible, is a book of restoration. This book right here is all about restoration.

And we need to realize that God is in the process of restoring what has been broken in defiance, in rebellion, and in disobedience to Him and His laws.

That's why this world is in bad shape. It's because we've gone against God as a people, as a men and women all around the world for all time.

It has rebelled against God and we're paying the consequences for it.

And that's what we need to understand. This world became broken because people defied God, they rebelled against God, they disobeyed God.

They disobeyed His laws. But thankfully, the Bible does speak of many types of restoration that will occur once Christ returns and once His kingdom is established.

God's kingdom will restore in many physical and spiritual ways.

Now, in the very beginning, I think it's safe to say that the creation was very good.

We know the re-creation was very good, that talks about in Genesis 1.

But the very beginning creation, the angelic creation, in the very beginning it was very good.

It was wonderful. Lucifer was a light-bringer, remember that? Lucifer and the angels, no one had sinned, and things were very good.

But Lucifer rebelled against God, and the earth became chaotic. It became tohu and bohu, as the Hebrew words are, that talk about becoming chaotic and confused.

The world became chaotic, and it became confused after Lucifer sinned, and a third of the angels followed him.

So the Bible in Genesis 1 is mainly about a re-creation. It talks about how God re-created the earth.

And he pronounced it again, very good. After each day, it was all very good.

And then Adam and Eve were created, and of course they were very good, in that sense from the very beginning.

They were told to tend and cultivate and keep the garden.

Adam was to maintain the garden. Eve, of course, was to be his helper, along with him. They were to make it even more beautiful.

And that's one thing about Alaska. I noticed where things grow wild, it's beautiful, but it's a lot more beautiful when man does a good job of grooming it.

Some of those places were absolutely gorgeous, where the flowers were planted all around the homes, and they were just absolutely beautiful.

And the landscaping, just mowing the lawn and making it look nice, it really does look better when man does his job, along with what God has done.

But Adam and Eve, of course, sinned against God, and they were cast out of that beautiful garden that they were supposed to tend and keep.

And everything changed, and it changed dramatically. They had rejected God's government when they decided to disobey him. It was a choice.

God had told them to eat. He said, you can eat of every tree in the garden, but do not eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

He made it very clear. He told them, don't eat of it, because if you do, you shall surely die.

Adam and Eve were disobedient to God. Eve, it says, was deceived. And Adam went along with her, and they both ate of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

So they listened to Satan's lies. They did die. They're not alive now, are they?

Satan was the author. He's the first liar. He's the father of lies. He lied to them, and they followed in his footsteps.

And mankind became subject to the God of this world. Satan became the God of this world. And they had chosen to follow him.

So let's ask the question, what is going to be restored at Christ's return and the establishment of the kingdom of God?

Let's go to Acts chapter 3. Acts chapter 3. And let's read verses 19 through 21.

Acts chapter 3. And I'm sure we all realize this was shortly after the day of Pentecost.

It talks about that first day of Pentecost when the New Testament church began when God poured out His Spirit.

And then in chapter 3, if we drop down to verse 19, and here it says, Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out.

And that was, of course, what Peter had told them on the day of Pentecost.

Repent and be baptized, every one of you, for the remission of your sins.

Here it says, Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord.

We all need to be refreshed. We all need to be restored.

And that He may send Jesus Christ, of course, He's talking about the Second Coming of Jesus Christ, that He may send Jesus Christ, who was preached to you before, whom heaven must receive until the times of restoration of all things.

Christ is in the heavens with the Father, He's at the right hand of the Father, and we are awaiting His return, which God has spoken by the mouth of all of His holy prophets since the world began.

So we're certainly looking forward to Christ's return.

We're looking forward to the establishing of the Kingdom of God, and that's one of the things that we talked about a great deal at the Feast of Tabernacles.

We talked about God's government being restored, God's Kingdom being restored, and actually the first point, the first restoration that I would like to talk about is God's government being restored.

God's government will be restored to the earth.

God allowed Satan the devil to be the God of this earth.

Now God is still in charge, and God's government is supreme, and God does rule in the third heaven.

But down here on earth, He allowed Satan to have rulership.

Of course, Satan is just a pawn in God's hands.

God is allowing Satan to help perfect those he's calling now.

God is in the process of calling firstfruits.

Satan has a role in that. We have to resist Satan. We have to flee from Satan's influence.

Satan is a great deceiver and a tempter.

So we have to pull away from him.

We do have to look to God's government because we all fall under God's government now.

We have chosen to obey God. So we have come under the government of God.

But in the fullest sense, the Kingdom of God and God's government will be restored at that time when Christ returns.

Satan has greatly affected this world. So we see the world in bad shape.

We see things falling apart all around the world.

Billions of people have died throughout the ages of famine and of disease and of war and pestilence and all kinds of evil.

Man's inhumanity toward man and just the mass killing throughout the years that have occurred.

So we desperately need God's government to be restored.

In many ways, this earth is full of corruption. It's full of sin. It's full of chaos.

And eventually, it's going to bring destruction upon the earth unless God intervenes. The Bible says God will have to intervene, otherwise all mankind would die, but they would all perish.

Now, thankfully, Christ is coming again to restore God's government. So let's go to Isaiah 2, and I don't know exactly what you heard at your fiside. I'm sure you probably heard this verse at least once or twice. I know we did in Puerto Vallarta.

Isaiah 2. And actually, what we're going to be doing is we're going to be going through a lot of prophecies today.

These are prophecies. If you like prophetic sermons, this is a prophetic sermon.

We're going to be going through a number of prophecies regarding restorations that will take place in God's kingdom.

Isaiah 2, verse 2.

Now, it shall come to pass in the latter days, and that is a phrase, the latter days, that is prophetic. It's talking about the latter days when Christ returns to the earth.

It shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the Lord's house shall be established on the top of the mountains. Now, mountains are symbolic of government. They're often used in reference to governments. And that's what this is talking about here, that the government of the Lord's house shall be established on the top of the mountains, on all other governments. God's kingdom will reign supreme. All nations will become subservient to Christ, the King of Kings. In fact, all nations will become one under Christ.

There won't be anyone rebelling against God, at least not for long. We know the Bible says that if they don't come up to keep the Feast of Tabernacles, God is going to withhold reign from them. They're not going to have any reign. They'll be forced to come forward and obey God. And that's going to be healthy for them. It's going to be a different kind of a world, and God is going to take full control in the kingdom. It doesn't mean that He's going to be a dictator. I mean, we still will have free moral agency. You don't have to come up. I mean, if you don't mind dying of starvation, if you don't mind dying of... I mean, you still have free moral agency. You can still choose to rebel if you'd like, but it won't go well for you or anyone that rebels against God once that government is established.

So again, we see the mountain of the Lord's house will be established and shall be exalted above the hills, and all nations shall flow to it. All nations will come up to Jerusalem where God will establish His headquarters. There will be one world-ruling government at that time.

Now, in Isaiah 9, a few pages over, verse 2, the people who walked in darkness have seen a great light. Now, Christ referred to Himself as the light of the world. In fact, we talked about that some on the Day of Atonement.

The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light, those who dwell in the land of the shadow of death.

Now, we really live in the land of the shadow of death. Everyone is going to die here on earth. That's the way it happens. You know, we all grow old, and eventually we all die. So we all live in the land of the shadow of death. Upon them a light has shined. Christ came the first time, and that's what it's talking about. It's talking about Christ's first coming.

It's also, it takes that theme further in verse 6. It says, For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given. It's for our benefit that Christ came the first time. Unto us a son is given, and the government will be upon his shoulder. Now, the government is not yet fully upon Christ's shoulder by any means. Satan is still the God of this world, and that's why we see the world in such desperate shape today. But upon Christ's shoulders will be the government of God. He will become King of Kings. He will be Lord of Lords. His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

And of the increase of his government and peace, there will be no end. God's government will be established, and it will continue forever. There will be no end of his government. 7. Upon the throne of David and over his kingdom, to order it and establish it with judgment and justice, from that time forward, even forever, the zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this. Again, this is prophetic. God is going to perform this. We can count on these things happening. They are prophecies that will be fulfilled. Satan will no longer be the God of this world. We talked about that on the Day of Atonement, that Satan is going to be bound.

He will be restrained for the thousand-year period when Christ is reigning on the earth. And of course, we know that the firstfruits will reign along with Christ. Now, King David is going to be among the firstfruits. King David is a man that is referred to as one who is a man after God's own heart. David had a good heart. David was wholehearted in his approach toward God. But even David, because he no doubt became lax in his faithfulness and his obedience toward God, even a faithful person can fall if they are not careful.

That really is the lesson that we should learn from David. Not that it's okay to sin, because David could have lost out eternally had he not repented of that sin. But he was a repentant person. But he got away from God, and he lost sight of things.

He should have known better. He did know better. He knew it was against the law of God to commit adultery. He knew it was against the law of God to murder. And yet, that's what he did. So we should all be careful that we don't get away from God, lest we find ourselves as David, one who has fallen in God's sight. He had to go before God in Psalm 51. And let's read it here. It is a Psalm of repentance. He had to go before God and repent of his sin. And he paid desperately for his sins.

David's family was a mess. And a lot of it had to do with David's sins. There were consequences for his sins. In Psalm 51, verse 1, David says, Have mercy upon me, O God, according to your loving kindness, according to the multitude of your tender mercies. Blood out my transgressions, and wash me thoroughly from my iniquity. Notice that David did admit that he had sinned. Now, he was blinded to that sin. He blinded himself for months, until God sent Nathan the prophet to open up his mind and to tell him directly that he was the one who was sinning.

And David did repent, though, and he did admit it. Blood out my transgressions, wash me thoroughly from my sin, and cleanse me from my sin. For I acknowledge my transgressions. My sin is always before me. So David did repent, thankfully. He even asked God not to take his spirit away from him. Because David knew that he was in jeopardy of having God take that Holy Spirit away. So sin is not something that we should ever take lightly. David did not take it lightly once he owned up to it and admitted that he had sinned. In verse 12, restore to me the joy of your salvation. David had fallen from grace.

David needed to be restored. And he asked God, he said, restore to me the joy of your salvation and uphold me by your generous spirit. And thankfully, God did exactly that because David was repentant. Now, David was not perfect by any means. We just read about his sins. He was a sinner, but again, he was a repentant sinner. And that's what it's going to take to enter in God's kingdom. We're all sinners, but we have to be repentant sinners. We have to be growing in grace and in knowledge.

We have to be changing our lives. The Scripture says you have to be an overcomer. That means you have to put sin out of your life. You need to be making progress. Never take sin lightly. You see, King David is a representative of all firstfruits. We're all going to hopefully join David and be firstfruits with him.

We're all sinners like David. Maybe we haven't sinned to the degree that David has, but certainly we have in our hearts and in our minds. Christ showed us that if you look at a woman to lust for her, you've committed adultery with her. He also said if you harbor hatred or resentment towards someone, you murdered them in your heart.

So we're all guilty of sin, and sin is the transgression of God's law and the wages of sin is death. So we all need to pray that God will restore us to his salvation. There are times when we have to pray that God will restore us. God is going to restore his government, and we are going to have to bend the knee to God and to Christ. David was broken by his sin, but he was restored spiritually. And when God's government rules, all people are going to have to come to repentance.

They're all going to have to bend their knee before the great God and repent of their sins. So the first very important restoration is that God's government is going to be restored to the earth. Now that house that we saw pictures of in Alaska, it frankly needs someone to take control there. Whoever bought it, hopefully they will do something with it. Hopefully they will restore that home.

It has potential. The outside looked pretty good over all, except it badly needed paint. It was in desperate need of a good paint job. You saw some of the inside, and you didn't see everything. There was one place, I don't know why I didn't take a picture of it. It had a big hole in one of the floors. But anyway, that house in Alaska needs someone to take control and to deliver it. It needs someone to restore it. God's government is going to be restored because God is going to take charge. Whoever bought that house, I hope they take charge of it and do something with it.

They may decide to level and build a brand new home. I don't know what they're going to do there. But I hope they don't just let it stay there and rot and do nothing. God is restoring His children to salvation, to a life with Him and with His Son in God's kingdom forever. We can have faith, and we should have faith, in God who will truly restore us and again save us from our sins like He did David. God is the one who delivers, and God will deliver us into His kingdom.

So again, the first point is God's government will be restored. We all have to yield to the government of God. A second important restoration is that God's truth, which goes right along with the first part, the government will be restored, and God's truth and true worship is going to be restored in the kingdom of God. If we go back to Isaiah 2, and read verse 3 now, we'll see that it talks about His government. In verse 3, it talks about His truth and true worship being restored.

Isaiah 2, verse 3, shall go forth the law of God and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. So God is going to teach us His ways, and we're going to walk in His paths, and frankly, we will become the teachers along with Christ, those of us who are first fruits and remain faithful. To the end, we'll teach along with Christ. We will follow His lead, and we will say, this is the way, walk you in it. And God's truth and His true worship will be restored. In Isaiah 26, let's go to Isaiah chapter 26, because it talks about what's going to happen when God's judgment is upon the earth.

God's judgment is going to be restored in His kingdom. Isaiah 26, verse 7, See, right now, God's judgments are not in the earth. Man's judgments are upon the earth. Man's government is upon the earth, and Satan's government is upon the earth. God's government isn't upon the earth, and so we don't have the judgments of God, the righteous judgments of God going forth. Otherwise, the inhabitants of the world would learn righteousness, but most inhabitants of the world aren't learning righteousness.

In God's kingdom, all people will learn righteousness, because God's truth and true worship will be restored. Now, I'm not going to go to Matthew 5 through 7, but it talks about the Sermon on the Mount, and I already discussed that somewhat, talking about the spirit of God's law. When you harbor hatred and resentment, you've broken the spirit of God's law. You've murdered someone in your heart. God's law is to be binding, and so we in the Church of God, in the United Church of God, we believe in teaching the laws of God.

We believe in teaching the commandments of God, the statutes of God. The Feast of Tabernacles was a statute and a law that God had established. These are my feasts. That's why we went up to keep the feasts around the world, because God tells us to do that. God's government has been restored within the Church in that sense. We all come under God's government now.

We all know the truth, and we know true worship, and we worship God in spirit and in truth. We can be very grateful for that, but that's not true around the world right now. The whole earth is groaning for the return of Jesus Christ when these laws will be established, and God's kingdom will come, and people will know how to worship God properly.

The second point, the second restoration, is that God's truth and true worship will be restored. That's going to be very, very important when the truth of God is restored. Let's go on to a third point. The earth's productivity is going to be restored.

Right now, this earth is amazing. The abundance that we have on the earth today, given the fact that we've mistreated the earth, and we've abused the earth in so many ways, and so much of the earth isn't inhabitable. Much of the earth isn't fertile. It's not being used. There's deserts. And there's so much that isn't being used. Just think about how productive the earth will be when God brings all of the earth into productivity. Now, we're not going to go there, but in Genesis 3, it said that there was a curse put upon the ground because of Adam and Eve's sin.

When they sinned against God, there was a curse that man had to produce food by thorns and thistles, by the sweat of his brow. It wouldn't have to be so hard to make a living today had we not sinned against God.

This earth will be very productive in God's kingdom. It's going to be so abundant and so wonderful in those respects. It's not that we won't be working. We will be working in God's kingdom. But it's going to be easier in many respects. It's harder. Life's hard. It's tough. Farmers have to work from sun up to sun down and often into the night to try to make a living, scratch out a living.

Things are going to be different in God's kingdom. In Isaiah 5, there's actually a parable that's given here. Isaiah 5, and it's also a prophecy. Isaiah 5, verse 1, it talks about God's disappointing vineyard. Here it says, Now let me sing to my well beloved a song of my beloved regarding his vineyard. My well beloved has a vineyard on a very fruitful hill. He dug it up and cleared out his stones and planted it with the choicest vines.

He built a tower in its midst, and he also made a winepress in it. So he expected it to bring forth good grapes. Everything was going well. Everything was in its favor. It should have produced good grapes, but it brought forth wild grapes. And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem and men of Judah, judge, please, between me and my vineyard. So God says, Where's the problem? Is the problem with me, or is it with my vineyard? Where's the problem? Verse 4, What more could have been done to my vineyard that I have not done in it?

Why then, when I expected it to bring forth good grapes, did it bring forth wild grapes? The problem has never been with God. It's always been with the people, hasn't it? The people who refuse to obey God and follow his directives and his commandments.

See, we brought forth wild grapes as a people because of our disobedience and our unfaithfulness to God. We haven't been productive. Spiritually, we haven't been productive, and even physically, we haven't been productive. We brought a curse upon us. Verse 5, Now please let me tell you what I will do to my vineyard. I will take away its hedge, and it shall be burned. I will break down its wall, and it shall be trampled down. I will lay it waste. See, these are prophecies that will come upon the earth. When you read the book of Revelation, and it talks about those plagues that will come upon the earth, the wrath of God will be poured out. This is what we're talking about here. This is a prophecy of what's going to happen. The earth is going to be laid waste. The earth is going to be in bad shape. It's going to really be in need of restoration when Christ returns. If you think it's bad now, it's nothing like it's going to be, because those plagues are going to decimate the earth. Plague after plague after plague, just like Egypt, was decimated by all the plagues when they brought the children of Israel out of Egypt. The same thing is going to happen to the earth. The earth is going to be laid waste. It will not be pruned or dug, but there shall come up briars and thorns. I will also command the clouds that they rain no rain on it. There will come a time when there will be tremendous famine on the earth. That's one of the four horsemen of the apocalypse that's going to ride. There will be famine, as we've never seen it before, because there will be no rain.

This drought that we've gone through will pale into insignificance when the real droughts happen on the earth. Verse 7, For the vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah are his pleasant plant. They were a chosen nation, a chosen vessel. They were to be a chosen country or a people to God.

They were to set an example of God's way, and yet they rebelled against God and disobeyed him. So this parable is about the house of Israel and the house of Judah, and how they turned against God and sinned against God. And of course, all of mankind has gone in the same direction, but God chose the house of Israel and Judah as a special people.

He gave them his commandments. He brought them out of Egypt. He was working with them in a special way, and they betrayed him. And finally, he allowed them to go into captivity, and the house of Israel was lost. The identity of the house of Israel was lost, and only the house of Judah kept their identity because they continued to keep the Sabbath day. Others were scattered. The other nations were scattered. The other peoples of Israel were scattered around the earth. So in verse 7 again, it says, For the vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah are his pleasant plant.

He looked for justice, but behold, oppression. He looked for righteousness, but behold, a cry for help. So again, we see that we have disappointed God. We have not been a productive people. The earth has not been producing as it would, as it could, because of the sins of mankind and the curses that came upon mankind. Now in God's kingdom, God's vineyard will produce wonderful wine, both physically and spiritually. So again, we have so much to look forward to in God's kingdom, because the earth will be producing as we've never seen it produced before. If you want to take some time later to look up Isaiah 24, verses 1-6, and also verses 17-23, it shows how the earth will be totally decimated before God's kingdom is established.

The earth is going to go through some very difficult times. It'll be the time as we've never seen before, is how the Bible describes it. It will be Jacob's trouble. It will be horrible. It will be entirely emptied and plundered in every possible way. Few men will be left, it says. You can read about that in Isaiah 24. There will be more women around than men at that time. And they'll be looking for men. And there won't be hardly any, because they've all died in war, and they've all been snuffed out. Now, let's go back to Isaiah 2.

We've gone there a couple times. Let's go back another time here to verse 4. He shall judge between nations. He will rebuke many people. He shall beat their swords into plowshares, their spears into pruning hooks. Nations will not lift up sword against nation, and neither shall they learn war anymore. Frankly, war has been a big reason why there's been so much famine on the earth, and so much starvation on the earth, because in many of these countries, there's so much war going on, they don't have time to plant their crops. Or they plant their crops, and then an invading army comes in and destroys their crops.

And so that's the way history is gone. Oftentimes, war disrupted the planting and harvesting of the food, and so the people suffered as a result. Of course, in God's kingdom, they're going to beat their swords into plowshares.

And things are going to go well. The crops will be so abundant that there will come a time when they won't have one crop harvested, and it's time to plant another one. Now, that's what it says in Amos chapter 9. Let's go there briefly. Amos chapter 9. There will be such great abundance in God's kingdom that they're barely going to get one crop harvested, and it's time to plant the other one. Amos chapter 9. In fact, they won't even get it completely harvested. Amos chapter 9 verse 13. Another prophecy. Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when the plowmen shall overtake the reaper.

The plowmen will overtake the reaper, the treader of grapes, him who sows seed. The mountains shall drip with sweet wine, and all the hills shall flow with it.

So that time is coming when there will be great abundance. There will be rain in due season. The plowmen will overtake the reaper. They will barely get things harvested, and it's time to plow and start planting again. Now, this house that I showed you in Alaska needs someone who will make it productive again. I suppose when it was first built, and who knows exactly what happened there, if there was a thriving family that ever lived in that house. I suppose there was, maybe for a while, but something happened. I have no idea what happened there. But they moved out, they abandoned the place. Like I said, it was sold at auction. I don't know how long it laid vacant.

But whoever bought the house, hopefully they will do something to make it productive again. Again, it needs someone to go in there and cut its weeds. It needs someone to plant flowers again.

We stayed at... there really wasn't enough room to stay with our daughter, so we stayed at one of her husband's relatives. They had these flowers that were absolutely gorgeous. They were this tall, and all around the house, they were just beautiful. That's what this house is going to need. Someone to make it productive again, someone to make it beautiful.

It is possible that that home could look pretty good if the right person moves in and takes over and does something with it. It needs to be restored. A garden needs to be planted, fruits and vegetables harvested. Someone to fix those floors, fix the plumbing, fix the place. Make it productive again.

That's the third point. That's an important restoration that needs to take place in God's kingdom. There needs to be, again, a restoration that will take place and that there will be productivity on the earth once again. Real productivity. Let's go on to a fourth point. I don't know if I told you. I've got seven restorations that we're going to be talking about. This is the fourth one.

There will be widespread healing of sickness, of injuries and of disease in God's kingdom. Now, I know we all look forward to that because we're hit, it seems, every day. Hearing more about sickness and more about disease, and some of us are going through some very severe trials right now. Mrs. Worrell, obviously, you know, she isn't suffering any longer, but she's not with us either. So that's sad. We look forward to the time when these sicknesses will be restored and people will be whole again. Back before the Flood, people lived to be nearly a thousand years old.

God's going to change things. I'm wondering, during the kingdom, are people going to be living like that again for a long time?

It'll be interesting. There's a thousand years Methuselah lived to be almost a thousand years old. Noah was nine hundred and thirty years old, I believe, when he died. So it'll be interesting to see, you know, human beings. Will they live to be nearly a thousand years old? Or some, will they live a thousand years in God's kingdom? Or is he going to change them in the spirit sooner than that?

You know, the Bible doesn't really tell us. So we can only speculate on that.

But we're familiar with Leviticus 26 and also Deuteronomy 28, where it talks about the blessing and cursing chapters. All types of sickness and disease came upon the earth's inhabitants because of man's sin.

That's what Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 8 tells you, that the reason there's been so much sickness and disease is because mankind has refused to obey God. They've sinned against him, and so they reaped the whirlwind in terms of sickness and disease upon the earth.

And we're still human beings in God's church. You know, we're not spirit beings yet.

So we all have our maladies. We can end up with our legs amputated.

Things can happen in this life. We're still a part of the world in that sense.

Now, when Christ walked the earth as a human being, he healed all who came to him.

Let's go to Matthew 4 and look at that a moment. Matthew 4.

Matthew 4, verses 23 to 25. Matthew 4, verse 23.

And Jesus went about all Galilee teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease among the people. Now, that's going to happen again in God's kingdom. That's going to be restored. Christ is going to be the king of kings. He's going to bring that healing with him.

And all kinds of disease among all the people are going to be healed at that time. And undoubtedly, the firstfruits will have the power to heal.

Those who are firstfruits that are changed in the spirit will become born into the God family. They will be instruments healing people. Physical maladies that will take place in the kingdom of God.

All kinds of disease, all kinds of sickness. Now, I don't believe there will be near the kind of sickness and disease that there is now because there's not going to be near the sin. Things are going to be a lot better. But it's going to be a process. It's going to take some time for people to learn to obey and not to be as sinful and just get their minds right.

So many things are going to be restored. We're only talking about seven things today. But there are probably hundreds and hundreds of different things that will be restored. Like proper entertainment, godly entertainment. We don't see that on the earth today. That's not one of the seven points I'm going to talk about. But there are many other points where things could be so greatly improved.

Well, healing will be one of these areas that will certainly be restored. It says that Christ's fame went throughout all Syria and they brought to Him all sick people who were afflicted with various diseases and torments and those who were demon-possessed, epileptics and paralytics, and He healed them. And He healed all of them. There wasn't anything that was too great for Christ. He healed everyone that came to Him. Every single person who came to Him, they were healed.

Great multitudes followed Him from Galilee, from Decapolis, from Jerusalem, Judea, and beyond to Jordan. And again, that's what would happen today. If someone had the power to heal like Christ did, no matter where He went, He would have a crowd of people around Him. Because people love to be healed, don't they? In fact, when I was going through Tulsa today, I saw a bulletin board that had a picture of Richard Roberts. And it said, A Place to Be Healed. You know, Oral Roberts, the great faith healer, you know, years gone by. This is the real thing that we're talking about here. This is the real thing. When Christ healed everyone who came here.

And if we had such a person who had that power today on the earth, it wouldn't take long before they were very well known. I don't think the time is right. The time isn't ripe right now for that kind of power in God's Church, but perhaps God will give us more and more of that power as we draw closer to Christ's return. I know we'll have that power in God's Kingdom, and people will be restored. Now, in Matthew 9, let's go there for a moment, Matthew 9, verse 35, When Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people.

But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered like sheep, having no shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore, pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest. That's something that we should be praying for. I'm praying that God will allow us to have a greater impact on the earth before Christ returns. That God will call more people, that this room will be one day too small for this area.

That would be nice. I don't mean just this room, but I mean that part of the room, too. I don't know that that's going to happen again. If it did happen back in the 60s and the 70s, this room wouldn't have been big enough for all the people that God was calling at that time.

Now, whether or not we see that happen again, we'll just have to wait and see. That's primarily up to God, and it's also up to us to some degree, as we please God, perhaps he will call more people. We should become more unified in our approach toward God and toward God's truth. I think I gave an example. I think I told the example here not too long ago about the man who tried to commit suicide and was healed. I think I told that here. He laid down by his car all night long, and he should have been dead in the morning, but he wasn't dead.

He was taken to the hospital, and he was in a coma for four days. I had no idea I had him. I prayed for him. I visited him. I fasted for him. There were other people praying and fasting, and God gave his life back. He had a sore throat when he came out of that coma. He had a sore throat. He should have been brain dead, according to what the doctors told me. They said if he ever comes out of his coma, he has so much carbon monoxide in his bloodstream that he's going to be a vegetable.

So there was really no hope that he would be functioning again. They thought he was likely just going to die and would never come out of that coma. So God does still heal today, but not the way Christ healed everybody and everything and every disease. God does show us that there is power still. God still has power. God's the one that healed him. No one else did. I certainly didn't. God's the one who healed him. God still does that. There are many examples of people who have been healed, but there will come a time when everyone will be healed. That will be a wonderful restoration. I know we're looking forward to that.

When all of our bodies are strong and healthy. We might live to be, if we're physical, flesh, maybe eight, nine, hundred years, a thousand years. That house in Alaska that I showed you pictures of, it's really sick. It looks bad. It's sick. It needs healed. It needs restored. It needs, again, a healer to take care of it, to repair it.

It's run down. So I'm looking forward to going back and seeing the progress of that house. I wonder what I'll see when I go back. I'm going to go back to visit my daughter, my son-in-law, my grandson, and I'm going to check on that house every time I go back.

They only live a couple blocks away from it now, but I'll try to get back, even if they move somewhere else, if it's not too far away. To check on the progress, because I'm really quite interested in seeing what will happen. Let's go on to the fifth important restoration.

That is, the house of Israel and the house of Judah is going to be restored. We talked somewhat about the house of Israel and Judah when we talked about the disappointing vineyard. Israel and Judah were a big disappointment to God. Abraham was the father of the faithful. They should have followed their father Abraham's. They should have followed in his footsteps. But they were unfaithful, and eventually divorced them because of their unfaithfulness. He divorced the house of Israel and Judah. There are many scriptures, and for the sake of time, I don't think I'm even going to go to them.

I'll just refer to a few of them. In Isaiah 11 and verse 11 and 12, it talks about how the dispersed of Judah will be gathered from the four corners of the earth. It says there will be a highway for the remnant of his people. God is going to bring the house of Judah and the house of Israel back. He's going to restore them because he still has a great love for them. There's still descendants of Abraham.

Abraham, the friend of God. God's going to show that they can be restored. They're going to have a special place. David is going to rule over the tribes of Israel. King David. In Isaiah 27, you can go there. It talks about how the eternal is going to punish Leviathan, a twisted serpent. It's talking about Satan the devil, obviously. And those who shall come shall take root in Jacob and in Israel. Israel shall blossom and bud, and will fill the face of the world with fruit.

So again, it shows that the house of Israel and the house of Judah will be restored. They shall come to worship in the holy mount at Jerusalem. Isaiah 41 is another prophecy. You Israel are my servant. Verses 8 through 10. You Israel are my servant, Jacob, whom I have chosen, the descendants of Abraham, my friend. I have chosen you and not cast you away. I will strengthen you with my right hand. And then in Zechariah 10, verses 6 through 12, God says, I will strengthen the house of Judah, and I will save the house of Joseph. I will bring them back because I will have mercy on them.

So the house of Israel and the house of Judah will be restored. The house of Judah and the house of Israel, again, that house in Alaska, hopefully is going to be restored. Either they're going to bulldoze it down and put something new and beautiful on that spot, or they're going to restore that home. I actually hope they restore the house. I would rather see them do that. Although, you know, God sometimes starts brand new.

So he may do it that way, but I'm looking forward again to visiting that home and seeing what kind of progress. So the fifth restoration is the house of Israel and Judah. The sixth restoration is the peaceful nature of animals. The peaceful nature of animals. Now, I'm sure, did anyone not hear Isaiah 11 about the animals during the feast?

Branson, they read it, right? Probably just about every feast site. You know, someone read it once or twice. Isaiah 11, 6-9, it shows the nature of the animals, how the little child will lead the wolf and the lion. I should have put some other pictures up here of Barbara and I playing with tigers and lions because I have them. I have them on my iPad. We actually went to a zoo in Puerto Vallarta that's unlike any zoo here in America, probably because they don't have all the restrictions.

They're not as afraid of being sued as we are here in the U.S. But there, they had five... they had four tiger cubs and one lion cub, and they were this big. They were like 80 pounds apiece. They were hefty little cats. But we got to go in a room with those five cats. They did have them on a short leash. There was like a chain. It was only about that long. But there's one here and one in that corner.

No, there are three on the back wall. One over here, one over here, and then there were three monkeys on top. First, we played with the monkeys. They let us play with the monkeys. They were hilarious. One of them stuck his hand down my pocket. I had some peanuts in my pocket. He pulled those peanuts out and he broke the paper sack and spread it out all over the floor. Then he jumped down and started gathering up all the peanuts. So that was pretty funny.

But the tigers were really amazing. We got to pet them. I put one up on my lap. They were really cool. When they get older, I won't be able to do that unless Christ returns and changes their nature.

Because it's just not going to happen. Let's go on to one other point. First, I did want to add that I'm hoping when I go back to Alaska that whoever moves into that house will have some pets, some cats and some dogs. And that there will be peace in that family. The cats and dogs will get along well. I used to have a dog that would let the cats sleep on him.

The cats would just sleep right on him. He was a collie, big dog. And the kittens would just curl up and sleep right on him. So I'm hoping when I go back to Alaska I'll be able to see some pets there at that house. And they'll be getting along well. It will be symbolic to me of what's coming in the kingdom. When the peaceful nature of animals is going to be restored.

Alright, the seventh point. Peace in general will be restored. Now there will be peaceful animals, but also peace in general is going to be restored. And it will spread throughout God's kingdom. Let's go to Isaiah 32. Let's read a couple of verses here. Again, this is a prophecy of what's going to happen in God's kingdom.

Isaiah 32 verse 16. Then justice will dwell in the wilderness, and righteousness remain in the fruitful field. The work of righteousness will be peace. This is talking about the peace of God's reign when Christ reigns on the earth. The work of righteousness will be peace. That's what's going to happen. When everyone is learning righteousness, then there will be peace. People aren't going to be fighting with one another. They're not going to be envious and jealous of one another. They're going to learn to care for each other, to love each other. And the work of righteousness will be peace, and peace will spread throughout the world. And the effect of righteousness will be quietness and assurance forever. Quietness and assurance forever. So that's what we have to look forward to. That will be restored in God's kingdom. Peace will be restored. And then let's go to one final scripture as we conclude today's sermon in Isaiah 51. Isaiah 51. Verse 1. Listen to me, God speaking here, you who follow after righteousness. So God is talking to you and me. He's talking to those He's calling now, those who are called and chosen, and who will remain faithful. Listen to me, you who follow after righteousness, you who seek the Lord. Look to the rock from which you were hewn, and to the hole of the pit from which you were dug. Look to your roots. Look to Abraham, your father, and to Sarah, who bore you. For I called him alone, and I blessed him and increased him. For the Lord will comfort Zion. He will comfort all her waste places. He will make her wilderness like Eden. God is going to restore the earth. He's going to make the wilderness like Eden. Her desert, like the garden of the Lord. The deserts will blossom like a rose. There will be tremendous abundance in the deserts. When I was flying back from Mexico, I looked down, and I could see... It was a very clear day. I could see all the way from Mexico. A two and a half hour trip from Port of the Arte to Dallas. And there was a lot of desert down there. There was also a lot of jungle. There was a lot of inhabited land. Jungle and a lot of desert. In God's kingdom, it's all going to blossom like a rose. And there will be an abundant garden, like the garden of the Eternal. And joy and gladness will be found in it. Billions of people are going to come up. They're going to need a place to live. In the Second Resurrection, in the Great White Throne Judgment. So we're going to have to get this earth prepared and ready for billions and billions of people. Verse 4, Listen to me, listen to me, my people, and give ear to me, O my nation, for law will proceed from me. And I will make my justice rest as a light of the peoples. My righteousness is near. My salvation has gone forth. And my arms will judge the peoples. The coastlands will wait upon me. And on my arm they will trust. And speaking of God the Father and Jesus Christ, working together in unity, and all of us being there as well, working with Christ. Lift up your eyes to the heavens and look on the earth beneath. For the heavens will vanish away like smoke. The earth will grow old like a garment. And those who dwell in it will die in like manner. But my salvation will be forever.

My salvation will be forever. And my righteousness will not be abolished. The earth is going to pass away. But God's kingdom will never pass away. And God's salvation will be forever. And God's righteousness will not be abolished. Listen to me, you who know righteousness, you people in whose heart is my law. Again, the law is important, isn't it? The law continues.

To the very end, God's law continues. You people in whose heart is my law, God is going to write His laws in our hearts and minds. Do not fear the reproach of men. Do not be afraid of their insults. For the moth will eat them up like a garment. And the worm will eat them like wool. But my righteousness will be forever. And my salvation from generation to generation. And again, the fruit of righteousness will be peace forever and ever. Now, the house in Alaska that we've been talking about needs a peaceful family coming together. A good mom and a good dad. And good children. And a peaceful family. Dad and mom and children building something worthwhile. I'd love to see that. I'd love to come back, see a house restored. Flowers, kittens, dogs playing together. Maybe a lion and a wolf.

A bear. A moose. And then children and parents getting along. That's going to be a restoration that I'm going to look forward to seeing. I don't know if I'll see it in this life. But I'm going to see a wonderful restoration in God's kingdom. I'm looking forward to that because, you know, God's kingdom is going to be so glorious. You know, if you've never been to Alaska, you'll be impressed if you go. Especially if you go in the summertime. Because Alaska is beautiful, the scenery is spectacular. That old dilapidated, rundown house perhaps is going to be restored. If it isn't restored, again, maybe something brand new will be built on that site. We'll see. I'll check on the progress. We'll see what will happen. I hope it's remade again. But more importantly, what are you going to do with your life? Are you in the process of being restored? You know, that's a lot more important to me personally as your pastor. What are you going to do with your life? What am I going to do with my life? Now, is my life going to be restored fully in God's kingdom? Will I become born into God's family? Will I be a spirit being that will rule and reign with Christ and will live forever? Now, that's really what's important because the Bible talks about your house. It talks about the temple, the Spirit of God. You are the temple of God's Spirit. God's Spirit dwells in you. God has given you a life. He has given you a house. So what you do with that house is very, very important. How you treat that house, how you take care of that house. God tells us how to take care of our house. He tells us that He will restore our house now. In fact, every one of us have been restored. If you stop and think about it, I've been restored. I was not walking this way. As a teenager, I was going in a different direction. God woke me up and He restored me. Some of you have come out of certain backgrounds. You weren't always in God's church. You weren't always obeying God. You didn't always keep the Sabbath. You didn't always keep the Holy Days. When God reveals truth to you, then you should act upon it. You should live by it. So what are you going to do with your house? Individually and collectively, we are the house of God. God dwells in us. God dwells in His church. He is restoring us. As we grow and overcome and walk faithfully with Him, we will be fully restored. Judgment has begun on the house of God. That's what Scripture tells us. This church is to become a church without spot or wrinkle, or any such thing. I think we have a ways to go yet as a church. I'm hoping that we will yield to God and allow ourselves to be restored.

In God's kingdom, there will be amazing acts of restoration. There will be amazing acts of salvation that will bring peace and prosperity forevermore. So let us all strive to please God and to enter His glorious kingdom, a kingdom of awesome restoration.