Scriptures with Stipulations-God Will Restore

December 11, 2024

Scriptures with Stipulations-God Will Restore

One of the many blessings that born again believers of Jesus Christ get to take advantage of are the Lord’s promises. They are scattered throughout the New Testament and the Old Testament passages of Scripture. God wants us to live our lives abundantly, John 10:10.

Unfortunately a lot of us don’t read the Word of God for ourselves and it prevents us from understanding the stipulations that are attached to the Lord’s promises. I had to learn this lesson the hard way as I would consistently proclaim God’s Word but would not see the Scriptures manifesting in my life. It wasn’t until I began to understand the conditions associated with the Lord’s Word that I was able to see God’s guarantees fully activated!

One of the greatest misconceptions that Christians have is that going to church once a week is going to be enough to understand the Word of God. That is so far from the truth! One sermon once or even twice a week is not equivalent to having the Lord’s daily bread. God’s Word is powerful and is an actual double-edged Sword but it has to be studied and applied to your life every single day.

When we rely on another person to spoon feed us the Lord’s Word we fail to study to show ourselves approved, 2 Timothy 2:15. What ends up happening is that we receive partial passages that do not include the key prerequisites needed for the Scriptures to be applied correctly. For instance we continually hear “you will be the head and not the tail” but you will very rarely hear “if you take heed to the commandments of God.”

What that does is make you think that because you are a Christian you are automatically the head and not the tail. This is just simply not the case. The Lord is very clear in the entire passage of Scripture that in order for you to be the head and not the tail you have to take heed to the Lord’s commandments and observe them.

We need to get to the point in our Christian walk where we study the Word of God daily asking the Holy Spirit to interpret what you’re reading. What that does is allows the Holy Spirit to personally reveal the entire Scripture in its proper context. This includes the stipulations that are attached to a lot of passages found in the Bible.

Let’s take a look at some verses of Scripture out of the book of Joel that reveal stipulations attached to them.

Joel 2:25-26

“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. You shall eat in plenty and be satisfied, and praise the name of the Lord your God, Who has dealt wondrously with you; and My people shall never be put to shame.”

Here we can see that the prophet Joel being led by the Spirit of God is breaking down some powerful passages of Scripture regarding restoration to His children. The promise and decree that the Lord is making to us is letting us know that He will restore the years that the swarming locust, crawling locusts, and consuming locusts has eaten.

Not only will He restore the years that the enemy took from you but the Lord is also promising plenty declaring that His people will never be put to shame. Those are some amazing promises that God has given His children. When the Scriptures are applied correctly you will see them working in your life.

Let’s take a closer look at the passages of Scripture that I am highlighting out of the book of Joel.

The word “restore” being used here is the Hebrew word “šālam” which means: make whole or good, restore a thing that was lost. The words “swarming locusts” being used here is the Hebrew word “‘arbê” which means: disappearing suddenly. Then Joel goes even deeper with the definition of the word locusts as he categorizes them.

The words “crawling locusts” being used is the Hebrew word “yeleq” which means: devouring. The words “consuming locusts” being used is the Hebrew word “ḥāsîl” which means: the kind of locust that is always destructive. The words “chewing locusts” is the Hebrew word “gāzām” which means: devouring and devastating.

Here we can see that the prophet Joel is disclosing to us how the Lord is in the business of restoration. He has the ability of restoring every type of destruction, and devastation that the enemy tried to hinder you with. Every one of these particular locusts was designed to cause destruction and devastation. That is exactly what the devil will do if you allow him to.

Never forget the fact that one of his main goals is to steal, kill, and destroy your life by any means necessary. God is the One that gives us life and life more abundantly, John 10:10. He does not want us to live oppressed, depressed, and bound by the enemy, He will always provide you a way of escape regardless of your situation, 1 Corinthians 10:13.

However, there are usually stipulations attached to most of God’s promises. This one found in the book of Joel does have a prerequisite connected to it that needs to be fulfilled for it to work successfully.

Let’s take a closer look at it so that we can have more of an idea of what needs to be done.

Joel 2:12-13

“Now, therefore,” says the Lord, “Turn to Me with all your heart, With fasting, with weeping, and with mourning.” So rend your heart, and not your garments; return to the Lord your God, For He is gracious and merciful, Slow to anger, and of great kindness; And He relents from doing harm.”

In order for us to have the ability to receive full physical and spiritual restoration we have to repent. We need to turn away from the sin that we were living in and truly live for the Lord in Spirit and in truth, John 4:24. The condition that God is laying out for us is that He expects us to love Him with our entire heart.

He is requiring us to fast, mourn, and rend (or tear apart with grief and distress) our hearts. He wants us to turn back to Him and turn away from our wicked ways and truly repent. The Lord represents purity and holiness and He expects His children to embody the same thing.

When we can do that it allows the Holy Spirit to renew our entire state of mind cleansing us from the inside out. When you are willfully sinning and living a life of disobedience to the Lord it will open up the door for the enemy to come in and cause destruction and devastation.

The reason that all of us need any kind of restoration in the first place is because of the damage that the devil has created over the years. He has been slowly deteriorating the lives of people since human history began with Adam and Eve in the garden.

He is no beginner at this, he has had thousands of years of practice to perfect his devices and he knows the spiritual laws of God extremely well. He knows what he can get away with and what he can’t. He will use your ignorance to the Scriptures and your disconnection with the Lord because of sin as an open doorway to get into your life to devour, damage, and cause devastation.

That is why it is vital that you study God’s Word daily so that you can have a clear understanding of what the Scripture is revealing in proper context. The Holy Spirit is your Guide and will help lead you into all Truth. He will reveal to you the stipulations that are attached to the Word of God so that you can apply them correctly!

Conclusion

The Lord has allowed us to take advantage of so many amazing promises that are laid out throughout Scripture. The unfortunate thing is a lot of Christians do not see these guarantees manifesting in their lives because they are not applied correctly.

Over and over again you will see that the Lord has attached stipulations to His Word. If you are not taking the time to study, digest, and understand the Scriptures you will miss key information. You cannot rely on a once a week sermon to get you by, you have to make sure that you have the ability to rightly divide God’s Truth, 2 Timothy 2:15!

Also, don’t forget to check out my other blogs:

Scriptures with Stipulations-There is no Condemnation

Scriptures with Stipulations-He is Your Peace

Scriptures with Stipulations-You Will be the Head and not the Tail

Scriptures with Stipulations-Resist the Devil

Scriptures with Stipulations-Trust the Lord with all of your heart

Scriptures with Stipulations-Seeking God’s Kingdom

Scriptures with Stipulations-No Weapon Formed will Prosper

Scriptures with Stipulations-All Things Work Together For Your Good

Breaking Spiritual Strongholds-Fight Back

Breaking Spiritual Strongholds-Feed Your Spirit

Breaking Spiritual Strongholds-Renouncing

Breaking Spiritual Strongholds-Confess and Repent

Recognizing Spiritual Strongholds

What are Spiritual Strongholds?

The Spiritual Laws of God-Poverty Part 1

The Spiritual Laws of God-Poverty Part 2

The Spiritual Laws of God-Restoration

The Spiritual Laws of God-The General Principles

The Spiritual Laws of God-The Power of Your Tongue!

The Spiritual Laws of God-Having an Understanding

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