Moving in the Apostolic

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Moving in the Apostolic

put back, replace, reinstate, reinstall, revive, recall to life, return, to rebuild in a form supposed to be the original. This implies that there has been a departure from the original design. Things fall apart and deteriorate through neglect; decline is inevitable without constant upgrade and renovation. Restoration is then necessary to correct and change the situation. This is why some people so enjoy buying an older home and then going through the arduous process of restoring the home to its original condition. Although run-down and deteriorated, it is obvious to the perceptive eye that the house once had an elegance and charm that can be restored once again. These perceptive people relish both the process and the results of that restoration. In a sense, they exercise mercy on the old house and enter into the work of lovingly restoring it. Restoration within the Church—and that includes each of us personally—will happen as a result of God's mercy. He will not allow us to languish in the deterioration of the past. Because of His great love, He restores to us what we need to fulfill His plans and purposes for the earth. The prophets spoke of restoration. The Weymouth translation says restoration is that "of which God has spoken from the earliest ages through the lips of His holy prophets" (Acts 3:21). Be glad then, you children of Zion, and rejoice in the Lord your God; for He has given you the former rain faithfully, and He will cause the rain to come down for you—the former rain, and the latter rain in the first month. So I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten, the crawling locust, the consuming locust, and the chewing locust, My great army which I sent among you (Joel 2:23,25, NKJV, emphasis added). Joel declared a part of what would happen in the last days. We are now experiencing the greatest outpouring of the Holy Spirit the world has ever known. There are more Spirit-filled believers alive today than at any other time in history. In the midst of this outpouring comes restoration. Apostolic ministry is