Fear Not, For I Am With Thee
God says,
“Whom heaven must receive until the period of restoration of all things about which God spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets from ancient time.”
Acts:3:21
The Bible is full of rivers of truth. These range from mere streams to mighty flows of revelation that issue from under the threshold of our Father. One of these rivers is the notion of “restoration.”
Where God is, sickness cannot exist
When you think of it, does it ever mention in the scriptures when any of Jesus’s disciples were sick? No, not even so much as a cold. What happened when the woman with the issue of blood merely touched the hem of His garment? She was instantly healed. Likewise, when Jesus would enter a room demons would immediately cry out and say,
“What business do we have with each other, Son of God? Have You come here to torment us before the time?”
Matthew 8:29
Why are we, which are alive and remain at His coming, changed? Why, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, do we put off mortality and put on immortality?
Restoration: the Jesus effect
The reason that all these “effects” take place is simply because where the Spirit of God is there is restoration, there is liberty, there is life. Sin and its effects cannot exist where God dwells. Sickness and physical infirmities cannot continue in the presence of the Almighty. People cannot remain hungry when God is among them. Demons, creatures of outer darkness, cannot abide the light of His Creation.
Restoration is a natural result of being in the presence of God. When we acknowledge our sin and ask Jesus to come into our hearts, fellowship with God is restored. When believers lay hands on the sick they will recover and be restored to health.
God says,
“This He said, and after that He said to them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I go, so that I may awaken him out of sleep.”
John 11:11
Where Jesus is death cannot exist
The truth was that Lazarus was dead. In fact by the time that Jesus arrived he had been dead four days. Then Jesus said with a loud voice,
“Lazarus, come forth.“
John 11:43
And Lazarus was raised from the dead and came out of his tomb.
What happened? Well, besides one of the greatest miracles that Jesus ever performed, what took place was restoration! When Lazarus was far from Jesus, he died. When Lazarus was near Jesus, he lived again. The reason his friend passed from death to life is because where “Emmanuel” is, death could not exist.
This is essentially what will happen when our Lord descends with a shout and the dead in Christ are raised incorruptible (glorified and immortal). Those who come into the presence of Christ must be changed because imperfection cannot exist in the presence of our perfect Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Therefore, my friends, our goal is not to fill our heads with the knowledge of God but rather to come into His presence.
God will make all things new
Finally, God says,
“And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.
Revelation 21:3