Restoration

You got to love hinges!   What would we do without them?   Every time we walk through a door way hinges are our best friend.  While some doors slide on rollers, most doors move on hinges.   You pull or push a door and you move from one place to another.

I'm sitting today at RTC Melbourne listening to a number of talks on the Biblical book of Ezekiel.   What do you do with a prophetic book like Ezekiel?  The opening pages of this book read like a science fiction novel, with four multi-headed and multi-winged creatures riding some celestial chariot which has wheels within wheels, the wheels rimmed with eyes the entire circumference.   There is fire and lightning everywhere.   Ezekiel sees all of this and is awestruck for he knows that what he sees is the likeness of the glory of the LORD God.  

I know this was a preaching conference, and we were learning lots how to preach Christ from the prophets.   But when I heard about the 'hinge', at least for me, this prophetic book took on new significance.   Ezekiel has lots to say to me/us about church renewal.   Back to the 'hinge'.   We learned that the 48 chapters of this book are divided into two major sections.   The first part is all about God's judgement against Israel and the nations because of their sins.  The second part is all about how God would bring restoration to Israel.  What was dead would come alive again!   The glory of the LORD would return to his temple.   Salvation would come: "... I will save them from all their sinful backsliding, and I will cleanse them. They will be my people, and I will be their God. (Ezekiel 37:23)  The book ends with enduring hope.

The 'hinge' is chapter 33.   As you move from judgement into restoration, in chapter 34 God outlines how he would bring about this restoration in Israel.   Like a good shepherd he will look after his precious flock.   God spells out his strategy to bring about this restoration:  "I will search for the lost and bring back the strays. I will bind up the injured and strengthen the weak ..."  (Ezekiel 34:16)   The very thing that God would do was what the leaders of God's people were failing to do(see Ezekiel 34:4).   Their lack of shepherding resulted in the downward spiral into sin and depravity.

This 'hinge' confirms something that I often talk about when churches ask me about church renewal.   Some churches have little life left in them and they long for restoration, for renewal, for the Spirit of God to breathe new life back into their dry and dusty bones (see Ezekiel 37).  Elders and pastors ask me, "What should we do?"   My advice to them is for them to get on with the gospel, with God's mission in this world.  What does this look like?   Well, search for the lost.   Bring back the strays.   Bind up the injured.  And strengthen the weak.    In Australia there are more than 21 million people who are lost, who are not committed followers of Jesus Christ.   Search for the lost.   You won't have to search very long before you find them.

There are also people who might be on our church books, but who have strayed away from the truth.  They are no longer in fellowship with God's people.   Rather than write them off our church books, and forget about them, bring back the strays.   You might leave the 99 and go after the one sheep that has gone astray, but that is what good shepherds do (see Luke 15).

Do not stop with the lost and those who have strayed; our cities are full of people who are injured, who are hurting, who need comfort, healing, forgiveness, community, and new beginnings.  Bind up the injured.   Meet the needs of others.  Those who need healing, point them to Jesus (see Luke 5:31).

And finally, there are people in our churches are weak in their faith, weak in their Christian commitment, weak in their knowledge of the truth.  We are to strengthen the weak. Help the weak to become strong, as Paul also urges NT Christians: "And we urge you, brothers, warn those who are idle, encourage the timid, help the weak, be patient with everyone." (1 Thessalonians 5:14)  This is the task of growing disciples, and it is ongoing, and takes perseverance and lots of patience.

Last week I met with a pastor who has gone through some tough times in his church over the past year.   He believes, however, that they are over the hump and moving into better times.   It is like he was on the other side of the hinge.   What was my advice to him?   Search for the lost in your community.   Go after the strays.   Help the needy in your community and show them love of Christ.   And grow disciples and multiply your leaders; help the weak!    This sounds a lot like God's restoration plan for Israel in Ezekiel 34.   This sounds like a good plan for church renewal.   For restoration.