YOU ARE A RESTORER - Open heavens devotional by Pastor E. A Adeboye

BIBLE IN A YEAR: 1 Cor 4-6
YOU ARE A RESTORER Tuesday, August 24, 2010
MEMORIZE: “While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name: those that thou gavest me I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition; that the scripture might be fulfilled  (Jn 17:12) READ: 1 Samuel 30:1-8 Another very salient responsibility of a good shepherd is restoration. Psalm 23:3 says, “He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake”. A shepherd is a restorer. He restores what the sheep has lost. Most sheep have suffered losses of various sorts. In fact, many come to our churches because of such losses. Some have lost peace, joy, good health, job, promotion, children, material assets, etc. to the thief - the devil (John 10:10). The degree to which such losses are recovered under your ministry will determine what kind of shepherd you are. In today’s reading, David and his men returned from a battle only to discover that whole families and flock had been taken captive. As a good shepherd, he asked God for the strategy to use and immediately went into action. He did not return until he recovered all that was lost (Verses 9-20). They even got more than what they lost. He had great spoils to share to all (verses 21-31). All loses must be recovered. To what extent has your ministry enabled those under it to recover their losses? Is there a member or subordinate who has lost the hope for a higher education? It is the duty of the leader to restore that hope. You have to follow them up and ensure they are back to school. If a member has lost the hope of overcoming poverty, it is your duty to resuscitate that hope. That fellow must have a change of mindset ( Rom. 12:1-2), and must be encouraged to enter into God’s abundance. The hopes of many in our churches today are dead or dying. What are you doing about this? A more important aspect of restoration is spiritual. It is the duty of the shepherd to follow up converts. Our perfect example - the Lord Jesus Christ did not lose any of His disciples except the one who betrayed Him according to earlier prophecies on that issue (John 17:12). We are losing members and the pastors and leaders do not care about it. Find out why some are leaving, and take appropriate steps to stop them. Every soul is priceless to the Owner. If you start a church from the scratch, you will appreciate every soul you have. Stop turning away members. If it is your character, change. Start to seek for the lost and bring them back. Ensure that backsliders are spiritually restored. ACTION POINT: Prayerfully identify five people who need to be restored in any area of life. Go ahead and help restore them.