The Storehouse's VISION

I found myself struggling this week for a message.

Mainly due to being in the presence of really great preachers at the ACC Conference.

Listening to all the advice they gave and testimony of how they run their church and motivate their people.

Raising $60,000 dollars for Cancer research.

Walking into buildings of millionaire business men and ending up being given the place for their church in one day.

Having 200 people turn up to the first prayer meeting.

I hear about the strategies that God has literally "DOWNLOADED" to a person 20 years ago coming to fruition now.

Things that these Christian leaders have heard from God about and listened and obeyed and are right now reaping an amazing harvest.

I was feeling extremely inspired as well as completely out of my depth.

I wondered if everything I have heard God say to me could turn out to be as successful as what it has for these guys?

Then I said to myself:

·        "But I am just a girl."

·        I said, " I am pretty young."

·        I said, "I have a pretty bad past."

·        I said, "I didn't finish High School."

·        I said, "I don't think that much of myself so why would others?"

And I began to get a bit discouraged...

But then I looked at the Word of God and:

IT SAYS (about me being just a girl): Galatians3:26 "So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus."

IT SAYS (about me being too young): 1 Timothy 4:12  "Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity." 

IT SAYS (about my past): Psalm 103:10 He does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. 11For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; 12as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.

IT SAYS (about me not finishing High School):  2 Peter 1:³ His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. ⁴ Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.

IT SAYS (about not having a puffed up idea of myself):

James 4:6 “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”

So now what is my excuse for having an inferiority complex!?

Um coz I don't believe what the Word of God says?

Well I know that I believe the Word with every fibre of my being. 

There was a speaker there named,  Martin Steel. He blew my mind. Although everything he said resounded with what I already believe but just didn't have the vocabulary to put it into words.

In a nut shell he talked about the leaders of the church needing to start empowering there congregation to view their vocation as their field of ministry.

He explained how many people think that working in a church or for a church is the epitome of doing God's work, therefore being a good Christian worker and successful Christian.

We know that sounds wrong but it is easy to get caught up in a church that requires a lot of commitment to all its programs and ministries. That is not The Storehouse's call on you.

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·        Let me share with you what our Vision is for this church again...

"To introduce people to Jesus Christ, to help them grow to be more like him, and then to reproduce the process in others."

I know that vision cannot be completed through how many people I can recruit to work in the building of the church.

But still we need the building of the church. We need somewhere we can come together and be empowered to work toward the vision.

It starts to boggle my mind how big this job is when I think about how this vision will be perpetuated.

And again I go back to the Word to encourage myself... I am not too young, I am not just a girl, I have been called and graced to be in this position right now.

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I was at PMH on Thursday, in the outpatients waiting room. AGAIN.

A lady with a file came to me and asked if I had heard about the new way they were keeping medical records now. I said no. She explained to me what it was and did I want to sign up.

Believe it or not I was saying to Steve a few years ago now that the government should come up with a digital way of keeping records as I was sick of telling the same medical story a million times to different doctors.

Anyway she was filling in my details as I was contemplating the size of the job - of converting all of peoples medical history to a digital version. Wondering how far they would go back...

I said, "Gee this is gonna be a big job hey!"

And she said something to me I still can't get out of my head,

"Well that is not my job or yours to worry about."

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That was true, for that job as well as this job. Who's job is it to build this church? Mine? Yours?

The answer to this worry came again from the ministry of Ps Martin - at the conference.

Let's turn to Matthew 16:13

 When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?”¹⁴ They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”¹⁵ “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”

 ¹⁶ Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” ¹⁷ Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven. ¹⁸ And I tell you that you are Peter,^[b] and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades^[c] will not overcome it. 

So I said to God, so what am I supposed to do then, if you're going to do everything?

He said, "Define the vision I have given you, then work to the best of your ability."

"To introduce people to Jesus Christ, to help them grow to be more like him, and then to reproduce the process in others."

Can you see how that vision is self perpetuating. It is a never ending cycle. Once we have completed it once, it should start to reproduce itself - gaining momentum the longer it goes on.

God has given us this vision for The Storehouse. So how do we define our role as individuals in this grand scheme?

Another revelation through Ps Martin... we take what is in our hand.

We look at where God has positioned us and we see that as our mission field.

The Church Building is not every bodies mission field.  

Also that a secular vocation is not everyone's calling either.

Neither is more important that the other!

·        Think about our vision:

We don't need to introduce people to Jesus - inside the church. It is outside the church.

But we grow to become more like Him by attending the church and learning His Word and being prayed for and supported in a fellowship of other believers.

So there are INSIDE THE CHURCH BUILDING jobs.

And there are OUTSIDE THE CHURCH BUILDING jobs.

To achieving the full vision.

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I don't want anybody here feeling like they are obliged to work for me. You are not. You are however obliged to work with your whole heart for the Lord.

How are we supposed to introduce Jesus to people if we don't know Him ourselves! Our relationship with Him is of ultimate priority.

That means YOUR role is to spend time with Him.

Ladies who are not married, he is your husband. Now I know that when you wake up, your husband is there the minute you open your eyes. Treat the Lord like that.

Men, he is closer than a brother or a mate. He lives with in you. Don't take on the day without connecting your heart with His.

This is MY role as your Pastor to encourage and equip you in your relationship with Him.

I am defining my role very quickly because I want to be effective fast. It was the reason I chose "Speed" as my drug of choice. I wanted everything very quickly. LOL. Funny how it worked the opposite.

I have heard many times that the Lord is going to do a "quick" work ... or He will "quicken" something to happen faster than usual.

I actually can't find any scripture that talks about Him doing this... but if I draw on my personal life in Christ, I can see how fast He can actually get things done.

Although, I think, this does depend on our level of willingness to abide in Him.

I believe The Storehouse Church has had a "quickening" to this point. We have moved very fast from conception, to birth, to nurturing a living part of Christs body.

Now we must define our role (with a element of flexibility) so that we can be effective in this vision.

I don't want to be doing a job that is better suited to someone else, at the same time I want to do the job that Christ has CALLED AND GRACED me to do - to the best of my ability.

I don't want you doing a job that you are not called and graced to do.

It says in Ephesians 2:⁸ For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— ⁹ not by works, so that no one can boast. ¹⁰ For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

So there are actually "works" prepared - by God - IN ADVANCE -for us to do.

Has anyone actually felt like they are smack bang in the middle of doing the GOD prepared work? I wonder.

I heard it said, I think it was a professional cyclist or marathon participant...

The good works that your Father has prepared you to do in advance is like picking up the bicycle that is fit perfectly for your body - height, weight etc. You will get on in and it will fit. You will be able to reach the pedals and you will ride that bike like an extension of your body.

Have you ever got on a bike that was not built to your specs? It is extremely awkward. Your back hurts and your hips hurt. You are not comfortable and you really just wanna get off before you fall off.

This is what it feels like when you are doing the works that have not been prepared for you.

The thing we have to remember - like cycling - it still requires work. It still requires you to be motivated and enthusiastic and willing.

The works God has prepared will still require commitment and determination and an expelling of your energy. You do not get to check out thinking that God will do it all through you.

You must pedal.

Will you pedal YOUR BIKE - alongside me - to work toward the introducing people to Jesus, growing to become more like Him and then replicating that process in others?

 Ps Nikki x

Mission's Sunday 27.10.13

I had a dream. I will read it to you...

I was in a stadium - like a sports stadium. It was bigger that the MCG and held quadruple times as many people too. I was in the crowd in my seat and I was sitting next to Jade Lewis. We were both enjoying the spectacle. I was looking down onto the ground, when I was suddenly out of my seat and standing in the middle of the grassed oval. I looked around to view the crowd. It was overwhelming.

Just then Joyce Myer appeared, she hurriedly took me by the arm and was saying that we have to hurry toward "the place". She took me into a large room - a storage room. In it were shelves and shelves of lovely, delicious food. I was amazed at how much there was in storage!

I said, "How come you don't eat all this food yourself! It looks so good!"

She looked at me with her finger straight up and said, "If I did that the blessing of God wouldn't come!"

I said, "Gee, what a temptation to want to keep it all to yourself!"

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I want to tell you what the Lord said to me after spending time in prayer over this dream:

"There are many people who need spiritual food Nikki. You need to share your bounty with people. If you don't, the blessing won't come. You have tasted and you know that my words are delicious, now you have enough in storage, you must get ready to start handing some of it out. Get ready!"

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The Storehouse Church is born out of this dream.

Since I met Jesus, my vision changed.

Before I met him, what I was looking forward to in my life (which by the way was very limited and quite illegal) changed significantly and very fast.

When you have that revelation of Gods acceptance of you - even in your sinful state - you begin to gravitate toward that love.

When you get to know Him and his love and forgiveness - by listening to the truth of what Jesus did on that cross. Soaking your mind in that truth and coming to a deep understanding of what this forgiveness actually means for you personally - You begin to change your priorities.

It literally feels like you are experiencing a new birth. His spirit opens your eyes and teaches you mysteries. He develops your character and you start to surprise yourself at how much better you are handling life.

When you get to a certain point of revelation, you take the step to be baptised and make a public declaration of your commitment to God. Going down into the water represents you dying to yourself and your own plans for your life - and coming up out of the water represents your commitment to obedience to him in new life Jesus died to give you.

After this happened for me, I began a journey with Jesus as my Lord. The one I follow. The one I trust with my life.

I read as much as I could about Christianity, I went to Bible College for a time but that didn't compare with the training I got at Teen Challenge that lasted almost 2 years.

I drank spiritual milk for ages and then progressed in to more substantial truths. As I showed God my willingness to Him and my desire to be more like Jesus than my own self, He poured out the revelation. He taught me, and he disciplined me and he loved me and he made me laugh and he made me cry.

My way of having a relationship with God has been very personal. I am a dreamer. So that is something on a different level. My relationship with God through my dreams is something quite boring for people to listen to. Ask my Mum or Steve! Oh I had another dream... oh yay another dream!

I am a reader and I journal. I write down every nugget of wisdom I find in books with reputable Christian authors. I immerse myself in the wisdom of seasoned mature Christians. I love to learn fast. I have proof that I am like this... ask Steve if he has any space on the bookcase aside my journals.

·        I have journals for notes out of books I read that I don't want to forget.

·        I have a dream journal actually I have 5 dream journals that I have recently converted to a Dream Blog as digital is better

·        I have 2 journals that have the last 10 years of life goals in.

·        I have a journal that sets out the goals I have up to the year 2022!

·        I have a journal that I document how to interpret symbols God shows me...

This is how my vision changed from planning out a life for myself, to storing up as much Christian wisdom as I could because I couldn't get enough of Jesus.

Reminds me of the where Jesus is talking to the disciples in Matthew 13 about what the Kingdom of Heaven is like. He explains how there are different soils that the seed falls on - meaning that our hearts need to be prepared to receive the Word.

Then goes on to explain how it is like finding a treasure ...He says that when you find the treasure of the Kingdom, how precious it is! That is me. I find it to be so precious I started hoarding all of His delicious revelations and mysteries!

I am actually quite a shy person. I feel like I stumble over my words. I have a tendency to feel like someone could do a better job than me at sharing Gods word. I just like to stick to hoarding my pearls and enjoying them in my special time with Him.

This is what He was talking about in that dream. I have become a revelation hoarder - so much so that my first thought when I saw all that food in my dream was to ask, why don't you just eat this all yourself!

The fact that there were many people outside who needed the food didn't occur to me! Until I got the Joyce Myer finger! You must share Nikki.

You know what got me - the lil hoarder that I am - is that the threat of not receiving the blessing that would come if I didn't share!! How ironic is that!

I have had many dreams since then and God continues to speak to me like that. I love his Word and His life and we call it MISSIONS SUNDAY today, but what it really is, is just being willing to share your relationship that you have with God, with other people every day.

It is hard and that's why coming to church and being part of a fellowship that supports telling people about Jesus is a good way to be a part of that without having to be the one to stand up the front.

This church is called The Storehouse based on that dream and based on the account in the Bible of Joseph.

The story is about a man who was favoured by his father and hated by his brothers but ended up 2nd in charge from Pharaoh. Pharaoh had a dream and needed an interpreter. God gave Joseph the gift of interpreting dreams and this led to favour. Joseph was put in charge of the Storehouses in Egypt because the dream predicted 7 years of very good harvest, followed by 7 years of severe famine.

He was in charge of collecting the grain to store for the entire country and beyond. He did it and the nation didn't starve.

He was wise and had very good business sense! He could handle responsibility and was a great leader. I want to be like him!

This is why we are looking at what we can give out to a world that is spiritually starving. We have to.

Take a look at this video I put together and then I'll tell you about the project we as a church are going to be committed to supporting...

Deep Tube Bore Wells - Life Giving Water

Here in Australia, we have ready access to safe, clean drinking water. But many of our brothers and sisters in India are suffering. With issues such as extreme drought, over-population and a lack of sanitation in many areas, there is a scarcity of safe drinking water in many rural towns and villages.

Water borne diseases are on the rise in India. According to Water Aid, an international organisation working to ensure safe drinking water for Indian villages, 37.7 million Indians are affected by water borne diseases annually and 1.5 million children die of diarrhoea alone.

A large population of poor Untouchables and Christians suffer needlessly from preventable illnesses and water-borne diseases during times of water shortage. Where clean water is available, discrimination often prevents the poor and marginalised from accessing it. They are not allowed to go near an existing well when rich and high caste people are present.

When they do try to collect water they often suffer physical violence and abuse. Christians are treated as outcastes due to their belief in Jesus. They live under constant oppression and discrimination.

The majority of hand pumps provided by the government in India are drilled close to Hindu or Muslim prayer houses. These wells, over time, often become part of the prayer house or get ‘sanctified’ thereby denying access to members of other religious faiths whose touch or presence could taint the sanctity of the water.

Pastor Phin* laments “we have to wait till it gets dark to go near the well and draw water. During the day we are afraid to go near the well due to verbal abuse and physical violence.”

Mamata* states “we have to walk two kilometres to get water from the well. If high caste people are present we have to wait. It may take hours to draw water and then reach home. This situation becomes worse when the temperature sores and the water level dips low.”

Through their work with rural communities, Empart Church Planters and Key Women have identified the need to provide fresh drinking water for poor communities. Empart has committed to drilling deep tube bore wells across the north and eastern states of India where chronic drought and religious extremism exist.

The aims of the Deep Tube Bore Wells Project include:

·         Providing access to safe drinking water without discrimination.

·         Releasing the poor and the downtrodden from those who hold control over basic necessities.

·         Gaining wider acceptance, appreciation and participation for the poor in their communities.

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We want to be a church that gives out to the spiritually starving and we believe that looks like finding an outreach like this.

We want to make a pledge that we commit to every month and that is a financially wise amount. Steve and I have decided that we will commit to $50 a month to start us off.

I believe that when people know their money is actually going to a good cause they are more likely to part with it. So I hope I have clearly shared what we will be putting the money you give into.

Any money over the $50 per month that we collect will go into a separate account for Missions Money and that will go on things like the Coodanup Camp Appeal and things. I will always update you on what you are supporting!

So starting from next Missions Sunday will be taking up 2 offerings from next month on.

The Temple and Ezra

 The book of EZRA which is actually a part of the next book NEHEMIAH. In the Hebrew Bible Ezra and Nehemiah are one book.

·        These 2 books make up the account of the 3 times the exiled Jews attempted to repair the Temple in Jerusalem and repopulate the Holy city - JERSUALEM.

·        It is a story we can parallel with our walk with God in these days ...so if you can, try to do that as we look at the story of the Jews who really struggled at times in their walk with God.

·         So it was 70 years since the Jews had been taken into captivity and the land had been desolate.

·         Then around that time a King named Cyrus came into power.

·         The work was initiated by God stirring King Cyrus's heart prompting him to write a letter and send it throughout his Kingdom.

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·         The first attempt at the rebuild was made by a man named, ZERUBBABEL..

·         Jews were stirred up and excited and after gathering 42,360 exiles and 7337 servants 200 singers 736 horses 245 mules 435 camels and 6720 donkeys.

·         Then 61000 gold coins 6250 pounds of silver and 100 robes for the priests they settled in the villages near Jerusalem.

·         They were afraid of the local residents but they were given time to settle.

·         Then the first job they attended to was rebuilding the altar:

o   The Altar represents a part of ourselves in our walk with God.

o   When we first come to God what is the first thing he asks of us? 

          To give ourselves to Him...

Romans 12:1 Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.

Ø  It says in 1 Corinthians: 6:19

Don't you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself.

Ø  So if our body is the Temple...what is the altar?

o   OUR MIND

Let me show you a diagram to illustrate:

The Temple (like our bodies) is made up of many "compartments". In the times of Ezra these innermost storage chambers of Solomon's Temple were supposed to be used for storing the priests' worship items for the Holy Place.  However, it was here that the priests actually stored their own personal idolatrous items, thinking that since these chambers were hidden and out of sight, no one would see and no one would know.

So to compare to this to ourselves - if our bodies are the Temple - the secret recesses of Solomon's Temple correspond to the innermost, hidden part of our own souls - the place where we hide and bury our hurts, our wounds, our painful memories, thinking that no one will see and no one will know. 

When we come to God we are full of painful experiences and wounds... I believe God wants these hidden chambers (this innermost part), in His perfect timing and in His perfect way, to be cleansed, healed and then filled with the knowledge of the Truth.  Then we will be able to genuinely walk in the Fear of God and not the fear of man.  

God wants to show us the things in our hidden chambers, so that we can "see" and understand what exactly it is that we need to give over to Him.  Again, it's impossible to give things to Him, if we don't understand what exactly they are.

This is where rebuilding the ALTAR comes in: our mind is the ALTAR

You must be willing to bring these things up and into your mind to be able to lay them on the Altar. If your ALTAR is broken you will be unable to lay your sin on it.

The second part of Romans 12 (2) but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. We need our minds or our ALTARS to be in working order in ready obedience to Christ before any transformation to take place.

The fact that we are all sitting here in church listening and continuing in fellowship with other Christians shows an outward expression of a ready and willing altar.

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·         Zerubbabel realised this so he rebuilt the ALTAR before they began laying the Foundation of the Temple. SO BACK TO THE STORY...

·         The Temple reconstruction began in the 2nd year after they arrived there.

·         All the materials were bought and everyone got to work and soon after the foundation had been laid.

·        The older Jews who remember the first temple before the exile wept with joy and the younger Jews celebrated loudly upon the completion of the foundation.

·        It say's "the joyful shouting and weeping mingled together in a loud commotion that could be heard far in the distance!".

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·         Soon after the foundation had been finished the Jews encountered their first opposition. They were people who were against the rebuilding of the Temple.

·         First they tried to trick Zerubbabel and the other leaders into allowing them to build with them - with the intention of mucking things up. But the leaders would not allow them.

·         Then the local residents tried to discourage and frighten the people of Judah to keep them from their work.

·         Then they bribed agents to work against them and to frustrate their work.

·         This went on for the entire reign of King Cyrus through the time of King Xerxes and King Artaxerxes  until the next King Darius took the throne.

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 ** must read:  LETTERS TO THE KINGS AND THE ENEMIES OF THE TEMPLE WORK

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·         After a 20 year struggle with their enemies, The Temple work ceased.

o   You see how you will encounter enemies when you try to turn your life around for God. You will come up against strong opposition and they will be ruthless. It has been like this for Gods people forever.

·         Several years later In chapter 5 you see the Prophets Haggai and Zechariah prophesy and in response, Zerubbabel begins the task of rebuilding once again. In spite of what the King may say.

·         But once again the enemies saw the work being started up and confronted them again, the asked, "Who gave you permission to rebuild this temple?" and they wanted a list of names of all the people helping.

·         But because their God was watching over them, they were not prevented from building... until a report was sent to King Darius and he returned a decision.

·     

·         Note the answer the enemies quote to the King; V11

o   You must remember your identity when your enemy wants to know who you think you are!

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·         Notice what the orders were to Tattenai - "Stay away from there! Do not disturb the construction!"

o   God will order the enemy to STAY AWAY from us if we respond with the correct identity.

·         The Temple was completed on the 12th of March, it was dedicated with great joy.

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Ø  Now 80 years after this a man named EZRA comes into the picture.

Ø  Ezra was a very intelligent man who loved God and knew the books of the law.

Ø  I would say this means that he made the correct sacrifices and lived a holy lifestyle. You could say his ALTAR was intact.

Ø It says that Ezra was a scribe, well versed in the law of Moses, which the Lord had given the people of Israel. Ezra had determined to study and obey the law of the Lord and to teach those laws and regulations to the people of Israel.

Ø  The King writes Ezra a letter...

Ø  So about 80 years after the rebuilding of the temple under Zerubbabel Ezra returned to Judah with about 2000 men and their families. He was given that letter from the King and commissioned to carry out religious instruction. The letter gave him significant power but it is Ezra's priorities we should take note of:

o    First Ezra had decided when he was young to dedicate himself to carefully studying Gods word.

o   Second, he intended to apply and obey - personally the commands he discovered in God's word.

o   And thirdly, he was committed to teaching others God's Word and its application to life.

Ø  So he arrives in Jerusalem with a whole bunch of people and stuff (again)... and what does he find?

Ø  So what does Ezra do? 9 verse 3

o   This verse was very significant to me, because I have been here quite a few times with myself. 

Ø  Then we see the people come to their senses AGAIN and the people go on to tell Ezra they are willing to fully cooperate with him to make things right again.

Ø  READ 10:11-13 Ezra instructed them what to do to make things right

Ø  but then the people point out that this "making things right" was not going to be able to happen in a day.

Ø  And it says that it took from December the 29th to March the 27th the next year to get things back in some order again. Then it lists all the priests who had married pagan wives and the Levites who were guilty and the one singer who was guilty and the 3 gatekeepers who were guilty and all the other people of Israel who were guilty after them.

Ø  And the book ends with "Each of these men had a pagan wife, and some even had children by these wives."

Ø  Then there was another 70 years before Nehemiah came on the scene...

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I think the last point I want to make is that it will take time... probably a long time for restoration to happen. It will be happening little by little  as you are willing to bring the hidden things out of the chambers and present them on the altar... and be encouraged that the Israelites continued to muck up but notice that God didn't reject them when they came back to Him. Remember that.