Restoration: Week 3 - Assignment
Restoration
Week 3: Assignment
Sunday, February 1st, 2026
Apostle Mike Herzog
We have been learning about restoration for the past couple of weeks. Restoration is to receive back more than what was lost. Forgiveness and gentleness are necessary parts of restoration. We should be displaying the fruits of the Spirit when helping to restore others rather than displaying hypocrisy, casting judgment, or condemning one another.
Galatians 6:1
Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted.
We all want to know our purpose for being placed on this earth. The assignment God has for us is restoration. Each of us has a unique path to fulfill that assignment. When we approach the day of judgement, we long to hear our heavenly Father tell us, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” Hearing those words will confirm we have received, understood, and fulfilled our assignment. He reveals our assignment to us in many ways. Signs of your calling could include your passion, specific gifts or abilities, desires, burdens (which are things you feel compelled to do to make a difference), prophetic words that may provide direction, or even dreams from God.
Genesis 37:5
Now Joseph had a dream, and he told it to his brothers; and they hated him even more. So he said to them, “Please hear this dream which I have dreamed: There we were, binding sheaves in the field. Then behold, my sheaf arose and also stood upright; and indeed your sheaves stood all around and bowed down to my sheaf.” And his brothers said to him, “Shall you indeed reign over us? Or shall you indeed have dominion over us?” So they hated him even more for his dreams and for his words. Then he dreamed still another dream and told it to his brothers, and said, “Look, I have dreamed another dream. And this time, the sun, the moon, and the eleven stars bowed down to me.” So he told it to his father and his brothers; and his father rebuked him and said to him, “What is this dream that you have dreamed? Shall your mother and I and your brothers indeed come to bow down to the earth before you?” And his brothers envied him, but his father kept the matter in mind.
Joseph's dream was a prophecy of his future, but the part he told his brothers about them bowing to him was not the most important part of God's assignment for him. Joseph wasn’t quite ready to walk in his purpose when he received the dream. First God had to work on his character by putting him through a type of “God University” that would test and ultimately strengthen his faith. He had lessons to learn before he could advance to fulfilling God’s divine purpose. God has us face trials to instill wisdom within us. Faith is the key to walking in our assignment, and the struggles we endure refine our faith. If you have gotten a word from God that He is going to provide, you need situations that look like God isn’t going to provide to grow your faith.
James 1:2-5
My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.
I Peter 1:6-7
In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ
Genesis 37:18-28
Now when they saw him afar off, even before he came near them, they conspired against him to kill him. Then they said to one another, “Look, this dreamer is coming! Come therefore, let us now kill him and cast him into some pit; and we shall say, ‘Some wild beast has devoured him.’ We shall see what will become of his dreams!” But Reuben heard it, and he delivered him out of their hands, and said, “Let us not kill him.” And Reuben said to them, “Shed no blood, but cast him into this pit which is in the wilderness, and do not lay a hand on him”—that he might deliver him out of their hands, and bring him back to his father. So it came to pass, when Joseph had come to his brothers, that they stripped Joseph of his tunic, the tunic of many colors that was on him. Then they took him and cast him into a pit. And the pit was empty; there was no water in it. And they sat down to eat a meal. Then they lifted their eyes and looked, and there was a company of Ishmaelites, coming from Gilead with their camels, bearing spices, balm, and myrrh, on their way to carry them down to Egypt. So Judah said to his brothers, “What profit is there if we kill our brother and conceal his blood? Come and let us sell him to the Ishmaelites, and let not our hand be upon him, for he is our brother and our flesh.” And his brothers listened. Then Midianite traders passed by; so the brothers pulled Joseph up and lifted him out of the pit, and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty shekels of silver. And they took Joseph to Egypt.
Joseph’s brothers hated him, were jealous, and they betrayed him. It is very likely that he was devastated and wondered what he did to deserve this betrayal. Often God will use the people closest to us to assist with initiating a trial for us. He will allow the enemy to inflict suffering for God to then turn those plans for His good works. Joseph’s brothers had evil plans that God used to teach Joseph long-suffering, patience, and the testing of his faith.
Genesis 37:36
Now the Midianites had sold him in Egypt to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh and captain of the guard.
Genesis 39:1-6
Now Joseph had been taken down to Egypt. And Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, captain of the guard, an Egyptian, bought him from the Ishmaelites who had taken him down there. The LORD was with Joseph, and he was a successful man; and he was in the house of his master the Egyptian. And his master saw that the LORD was with him and that the LORD made all he did to prosper in his hand. So Joseph found favor in his sight, and served him. Then he made him overseer of his house, and all that he had he put under his authority. So it was, from the time that he had made him overseer of his house and all that he had, that the LORD blessed the Egyptian’s house for Joseph’s sake; and the blessing of the LORD was on all that he had in the house and in the field. Thus he left all that he had in Joseph’s hand, and he did not know what he had except for the bread which he ate. Now Joseph was handsome in form and appearance.
Joseph was aware that God was watching his diligence even when no one else was. He made the decision to try his hardest at everything. He held fast to the hope that someday God would deliver him. The evidence of God was clear because Potiphar’s home was being blessed. Amid suffering God is always with us, but where God is working the enemy tries to show up with temptation. Potiphar’s wife noticed Joseph and persistently tried to distract him with lust and seduction. Being a man of honor, Joseph denied her. This rejection angered her, so she falsely accused him of taking advantage of her.
Genesis 39:19-23
So it was, when his master heard the words which his wife spoke to him, saying, “Your servant did to me after this manner,” that his anger was aroused. Then Joseph’s master took him and put him into the prison, a place where the king’s prisoners were confined. And he was there in the prison. But the LORD was with Joseph and showed him mercy, and He gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison. And the keeper of the prison committed to Joseph’s hand all the prisoners who were in the prison; whatever they did there, it was his doing. The keeper of the prison did not look into anything that was under Joseph’s authority, because the LORD was with him; and whatever he did, the LORD made it prosper.
Joseph was imprisoned after being falsely accused. He met a butler and a baker while he was held captive. Each of these men had an incomprehensible dream. Because of the experience God had given him, Joseph knew how to interpret dreams, so he assisted these men by doing so. He was confident that by doing God’s work, he would be freed from prison.
Genesis 40:8-14
And they said to him, “We each have had a dream, and there is no interpreter of it.” So Joseph said to them, “Do not interpretations belong to God? Tell them to me, please.” Then the chief butler told his dream to Joseph, and said to him, “Behold, in my dream a vine was before me, and in the vine were three branches; it was as though it budded, its blossoms shot forth, and its clusters brought forth ripe grapes. Then Pharaoh’s cup was in my hand; and I took the grapes and pressed them into Pharaoh’s cup, and placed the cup in Pharaoh’s hand.” And Joseph said to him, “This is the interpretation of it: The three branches are three days. Now within three days Pharaoh will lift up your head and restore you to your place, and you will put Pharaoh’s cup in his hand according to the former manner, when you were his butler. But remember me when it is well with you, and please show kindness to me; make mention of me to Pharaoh, and get me out of this house.
Genesis 40:21
Then he restored the chief butler to his butlership again, and he placed the cup in Pharaoh’s hand.
Joseph explained to the butler that in three days he would be restored to his position in Pharaoh’s house and explained to the baker he would be hanged in three days. Both of his interpretations came to pass.
Genesis 41:1
Then it came to pass, at the end of two full years, that Pharaoh had a dream; and behold, he stood by the river.
Joseph pleaded with the butler not to forget him when he regained his proper position with the Pharaoh, but regrettably, he did. In due time, Pharaoh had a dream that he needed help interpreting, and the butler recalled Joseph’s gift. The butler suggested Pharaoh speak with Joseph. When Pharaoh shared his dream with Joseph, he was informed that it meant the land of Egypt would have seven years of abundance and a seven-year famine. Joseph advised how to manage the coming famine.
Genesis 41:37
So the advice was good in the eyes of Pharaoh and in the eyes of all his servants.
Pharaoh finally recognized Joseph had the Spirit of God working within him, that all he’d predicted came true, and that his instructions saved the people. The famine not only affected Egypt but also spread as far as Canaan, affecting Joseph’s family.
Genesis 45:4-8
And Joseph said to his brothers, “Please come near to me.” So they came near. Then he said: “I am Joseph your brother, whom you sold into Egypt. But now, do not therefore be grieved or angry with yourselves because you sold me here; for God sent me before you to preserve life. For these two years the famine has been in the land, and there are still five years in which there will be neither plowing nor harvesting. And God sent me before you to preserve a posterity for you in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance. So now it was not you who sent me here, but God; and He has made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and a ruler throughout all the land of Egypt.
Joseph explained God sent him on an assignment to help restore his brothers and many more. He recognized that the trials he endured were a part of preparation, as God chose him as a vessel for restoration. Pain can cause you to grow closer to God or to turn away from God. God trusted him with pain, as He knew the pain would not turn him cold. We can either choose to blame God for our pain, or we can choose to understand God is with us in the pain. As we learn His heart and get closer to Him, He moves from being with us to working from within us. God is not orchestrating evil in our lives; that is the enemy. Satan comes to kill, steal, and destroy. God can turn that for good and use that to help you fulfill your assignment. Our assignment is to restore others.
Genesis 50:20
But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive.
Week 3: Assignment
Sunday, February 1st, 2026
Apostle Mike Herzog
We have been learning about restoration for the past couple of weeks. Restoration is to receive back more than what was lost. Forgiveness and gentleness are necessary parts of restoration. We should be displaying the fruits of the Spirit when helping to restore others rather than displaying hypocrisy, casting judgment, or condemning one another.
Galatians 6:1
Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted.
We all want to know our purpose for being placed on this earth. The assignment God has for us is restoration. Each of us has a unique path to fulfill that assignment. When we approach the day of judgement, we long to hear our heavenly Father tell us, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” Hearing those words will confirm we have received, understood, and fulfilled our assignment. He reveals our assignment to us in many ways. Signs of your calling could include your passion, specific gifts or abilities, desires, burdens (which are things you feel compelled to do to make a difference), prophetic words that may provide direction, or even dreams from God.
Genesis 37:5
Now Joseph had a dream, and he told it to his brothers; and they hated him even more. So he said to them, “Please hear this dream which I have dreamed: There we were, binding sheaves in the field. Then behold, my sheaf arose and also stood upright; and indeed your sheaves stood all around and bowed down to my sheaf.” And his brothers said to him, “Shall you indeed reign over us? Or shall you indeed have dominion over us?” So they hated him even more for his dreams and for his words. Then he dreamed still another dream and told it to his brothers, and said, “Look, I have dreamed another dream. And this time, the sun, the moon, and the eleven stars bowed down to me.” So he told it to his father and his brothers; and his father rebuked him and said to him, “What is this dream that you have dreamed? Shall your mother and I and your brothers indeed come to bow down to the earth before you?” And his brothers envied him, but his father kept the matter in mind.
Joseph's dream was a prophecy of his future, but the part he told his brothers about them bowing to him was not the most important part of God's assignment for him. Joseph wasn’t quite ready to walk in his purpose when he received the dream. First God had to work on his character by putting him through a type of “God University” that would test and ultimately strengthen his faith. He had lessons to learn before he could advance to fulfilling God’s divine purpose. God has us face trials to instill wisdom within us. Faith is the key to walking in our assignment, and the struggles we endure refine our faith. If you have gotten a word from God that He is going to provide, you need situations that look like God isn’t going to provide to grow your faith.
James 1:2-5
My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.
I Peter 1:6-7
In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ
Genesis 37:18-28
Now when they saw him afar off, even before he came near them, they conspired against him to kill him. Then they said to one another, “Look, this dreamer is coming! Come therefore, let us now kill him and cast him into some pit; and we shall say, ‘Some wild beast has devoured him.’ We shall see what will become of his dreams!” But Reuben heard it, and he delivered him out of their hands, and said, “Let us not kill him.” And Reuben said to them, “Shed no blood, but cast him into this pit which is in the wilderness, and do not lay a hand on him”—that he might deliver him out of their hands, and bring him back to his father. So it came to pass, when Joseph had come to his brothers, that they stripped Joseph of his tunic, the tunic of many colors that was on him. Then they took him and cast him into a pit. And the pit was empty; there was no water in it. And they sat down to eat a meal. Then they lifted their eyes and looked, and there was a company of Ishmaelites, coming from Gilead with their camels, bearing spices, balm, and myrrh, on their way to carry them down to Egypt. So Judah said to his brothers, “What profit is there if we kill our brother and conceal his blood? Come and let us sell him to the Ishmaelites, and let not our hand be upon him, for he is our brother and our flesh.” And his brothers listened. Then Midianite traders passed by; so the brothers pulled Joseph up and lifted him out of the pit, and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty shekels of silver. And they took Joseph to Egypt.
Joseph’s brothers hated him, were jealous, and they betrayed him. It is very likely that he was devastated and wondered what he did to deserve this betrayal. Often God will use the people closest to us to assist with initiating a trial for us. He will allow the enemy to inflict suffering for God to then turn those plans for His good works. Joseph’s brothers had evil plans that God used to teach Joseph long-suffering, patience, and the testing of his faith.
Genesis 37:36
Now the Midianites had sold him in Egypt to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh and captain of the guard.
Genesis 39:1-6
Now Joseph had been taken down to Egypt. And Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, captain of the guard, an Egyptian, bought him from the Ishmaelites who had taken him down there. The LORD was with Joseph, and he was a successful man; and he was in the house of his master the Egyptian. And his master saw that the LORD was with him and that the LORD made all he did to prosper in his hand. So Joseph found favor in his sight, and served him. Then he made him overseer of his house, and all that he had he put under his authority. So it was, from the time that he had made him overseer of his house and all that he had, that the LORD blessed the Egyptian’s house for Joseph’s sake; and the blessing of the LORD was on all that he had in the house and in the field. Thus he left all that he had in Joseph’s hand, and he did not know what he had except for the bread which he ate. Now Joseph was handsome in form and appearance.
Joseph was aware that God was watching his diligence even when no one else was. He made the decision to try his hardest at everything. He held fast to the hope that someday God would deliver him. The evidence of God was clear because Potiphar’s home was being blessed. Amid suffering God is always with us, but where God is working the enemy tries to show up with temptation. Potiphar’s wife noticed Joseph and persistently tried to distract him with lust and seduction. Being a man of honor, Joseph denied her. This rejection angered her, so she falsely accused him of taking advantage of her.
Genesis 39:19-23
So it was, when his master heard the words which his wife spoke to him, saying, “Your servant did to me after this manner,” that his anger was aroused. Then Joseph’s master took him and put him into the prison, a place where the king’s prisoners were confined. And he was there in the prison. But the LORD was with Joseph and showed him mercy, and He gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison. And the keeper of the prison committed to Joseph’s hand all the prisoners who were in the prison; whatever they did there, it was his doing. The keeper of the prison did not look into anything that was under Joseph’s authority, because the LORD was with him; and whatever he did, the LORD made it prosper.
Joseph was imprisoned after being falsely accused. He met a butler and a baker while he was held captive. Each of these men had an incomprehensible dream. Because of the experience God had given him, Joseph knew how to interpret dreams, so he assisted these men by doing so. He was confident that by doing God’s work, he would be freed from prison.
Genesis 40:8-14
And they said to him, “We each have had a dream, and there is no interpreter of it.” So Joseph said to them, “Do not interpretations belong to God? Tell them to me, please.” Then the chief butler told his dream to Joseph, and said to him, “Behold, in my dream a vine was before me, and in the vine were three branches; it was as though it budded, its blossoms shot forth, and its clusters brought forth ripe grapes. Then Pharaoh’s cup was in my hand; and I took the grapes and pressed them into Pharaoh’s cup, and placed the cup in Pharaoh’s hand.” And Joseph said to him, “This is the interpretation of it: The three branches are three days. Now within three days Pharaoh will lift up your head and restore you to your place, and you will put Pharaoh’s cup in his hand according to the former manner, when you were his butler. But remember me when it is well with you, and please show kindness to me; make mention of me to Pharaoh, and get me out of this house.
Genesis 40:21
Then he restored the chief butler to his butlership again, and he placed the cup in Pharaoh’s hand.
Joseph explained to the butler that in three days he would be restored to his position in Pharaoh’s house and explained to the baker he would be hanged in three days. Both of his interpretations came to pass.
Genesis 41:1
Then it came to pass, at the end of two full years, that Pharaoh had a dream; and behold, he stood by the river.
Joseph pleaded with the butler not to forget him when he regained his proper position with the Pharaoh, but regrettably, he did. In due time, Pharaoh had a dream that he needed help interpreting, and the butler recalled Joseph’s gift. The butler suggested Pharaoh speak with Joseph. When Pharaoh shared his dream with Joseph, he was informed that it meant the land of Egypt would have seven years of abundance and a seven-year famine. Joseph advised how to manage the coming famine.
Genesis 41:37
So the advice was good in the eyes of Pharaoh and in the eyes of all his servants.
Pharaoh finally recognized Joseph had the Spirit of God working within him, that all he’d predicted came true, and that his instructions saved the people. The famine not only affected Egypt but also spread as far as Canaan, affecting Joseph’s family.
Genesis 45:4-8
And Joseph said to his brothers, “Please come near to me.” So they came near. Then he said: “I am Joseph your brother, whom you sold into Egypt. But now, do not therefore be grieved or angry with yourselves because you sold me here; for God sent me before you to preserve life. For these two years the famine has been in the land, and there are still five years in which there will be neither plowing nor harvesting. And God sent me before you to preserve a posterity for you in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance. So now it was not you who sent me here, but God; and He has made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and a ruler throughout all the land of Egypt.
Joseph explained God sent him on an assignment to help restore his brothers and many more. He recognized that the trials he endured were a part of preparation, as God chose him as a vessel for restoration. Pain can cause you to grow closer to God or to turn away from God. God trusted him with pain, as He knew the pain would not turn him cold. We can either choose to blame God for our pain, or we can choose to understand God is with us in the pain. As we learn His heart and get closer to Him, He moves from being with us to working from within us. God is not orchestrating evil in our lives; that is the enemy. Satan comes to kill, steal, and destroy. God can turn that for good and use that to help you fulfill your assignment. Our assignment is to restore others.
Genesis 50:20
But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive.
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