Restoration in progress

Owning a home can be a rewarding and satisfying endeavor. The thought that you own a piece of this planet to call your own. A roof over your head, a place of protection, a place of comfort. All of these are beautiful ideas of home ownership especially for first time home owner. But for those that have owned a home for any time knows that there is the task of taking care of the home. Paint, sheetrock, screws, nails, roofing, siding, plumbing, electrical, weather proofing, adding on and in time restorations. While some people just have a knack for taking care of certain aspects of home like in my case the electrical just comes naturally its what I do. But I am not a carpenter. I can use a tape measure and I’m handy with a speed square and a level but that doesn’t make me a carpenter. I wouldn’t trust my carpentry skills to build a house that would stand the test of time. But once that house was framed in and ready to be wired for electricity, I assure you I can more than handle the job of wiring for all the needs of a home that will be both safe and carry all the loads that will ever be demanded for anything you will every want to run electrically in a home. I have been blessed with a talent and also trained and certified to work with electricity. That being said I have no need to call an electrician, but in some cases a carpenter, depending on the problem maybe even a plumber or a roofer. I understand the limitations of my skillset and I have learned to appreciate the skills and talent of others. But I also understand it takes all of these skills and abilities at different times to not only build a house but to keep it up or in some cases return or restore it to proper living conditions. That is what I would like to speak to you about today restoring or restoration.

Restoration: Bring back to a former position or condition. Restoring to an unimpaired or improved condition.

If you have ever been involved in a house remodeling or restoration project of any kind, then you understand that what you see on the outside is not always what you get. Sometimes the house appears to be in great condition and you think all it needs is a little paint. Then as you start to do the prep work you begin to notice a little mold in the corners around the base boards so you begin to get out the bleach and scrub away the mold and you notice the boards are a little spongy and as you clean you discover that the boards are rotted. So, you begin to remove the base board only to discover that the wood behind them is also rotted with water and mold and you begin to dig deeper, then you discover that the floor joists are also rotting. As you look further there it is, a water line that runs under the wall where you are working that looks to have been slowly leaking for years and over time has caused all this damage to your home. A home that on the outside still looks amazing but on the inside is in need of some substantial repairs. That’s how it goes with restoration projects. The only way that you can ever be sure that they are completely done right is to take it all back to the bare structure and put it back together according to the original design with all new materials.

The Bible tells us in 1 Corinthians 6:19 that our bodies are temples for the Holy Spirit. As Christian’s, we are houses for the Holy Spirit. As a new Christian everything is fresh and has that new smell. There is an excitement as we begin to live for Christ and we start decorating our spiritual homes with all the things necessary to keep us in a strong relationship with God. We devour the word of God, we pray, we study to show ourselves approved. But sometimes houses and people both have unexpected things happen to them. A tree falling on the house can cause major damage. A weather event like a tornado can take the roof off the house, blowout all the windows and even do structural damage that can take a lot of time and effort to repair if its repairable. Sometimes we have no choice but to tear it all down and start over new. As Christian’s we still have to live in the world around us. When we accepted Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior the world around us did not suddenly change, we did and the way we looked at it changed, but not the world. We still live, we still love, we still laugh and we still cry. As we try to maintain a heathy relationship with God, we find ourselves having to deal with life, the normal wear and tear if you will. We often have to deal with the people we love suffering from addiction and disease. Watching good people deal with things they don’t deserve can cause us to question what we think we know. Family members turn against us or maybe they just refuse to try and understand us. Personalities clash, ill words are spoken and the heart is dealt a blow. It can be the little situations and how we did or didn’t deal with them that build up over time causing that fresh new smell to wear off our spiritual house. Maybe it’s the death of a spouse or loved one or maybe an unexpected marital setback even divorce and then the roof is blown off our spiritual house. Maybe its something horrible that shouldn’t happen to anyone or maybe it’s a deep dark secret you’ve kept for years and now that it has been exposed and instead of compassion and understanding, someone turned on you. Life happens and it doesn’t ask permission to rock our spiritual foundations. Sometimes it just does. We suddenly are no longer doing things the way a Christian should and the things we swore we would never do now happen every day. How did I get here you ask? Well it’s like the water leak that rotted the floor of the house, one drop at a time.

It is no surprise that all of us have found ourselves in part or all of these things at some time or another. It’s not surprising that good men and women mess up. We live in a sinful world that challenges the very concept of a Christian standard of living. What’s surprising is when God fearing men and women cast away the fallen among them and write them off as finished before God has even began to start a work in them. I am ashamed to say that on the whole us church folk are known more for sacrificing our own than for protecting our own and it is a shame.

In Galatians Paul is speaking directly to the church, not the world but the church. Galatians 6:1 Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourselves, lest you too should be tempted.

We are to restore……. Jesus spent His entire ministry upon this earth working on one big restoration project. He caused the dead to live, gave sight to the blind, hearing to the deaf, strength to the lame, loosed those who were bound and possessed. He tore the veil that had so long separated God and man and restored the relationship between the creator and his creation. Every step he took every word he spoke was to restore what sin had taken. I think it only natural that we who call ourselves Christ followers would look to restore life in all that we do. It should be our goal to restore life in some way to everyone we meet. Especially a fellow Christian that has fallen or been misguided. Paul goes on to tell us in Galatians 6:10 So then as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.

God placed a desire in my heart for men to be restored to their places in the home and the church and community. Men of faith, salt of the earth, real men. Protectors, providers, husbands, fathers, pillars of the church and the community. Men that fear God more than anything. Men that love with all their heart regardless of what someone else may do. Men that are sold out to Jesus. Real men, transparent men with nothing to hide but willing to give their all. Men that hold their daughters’ hand when she is scared and have her best interest at heart all the time. Men that take the time to show their daughters how to expect a man to treat them and their sons how to treat a woman by the Godly example the show in their relationship with their wives. Men that are honest and real with their sons so that they grow up to be real men secure in who they are. Men that respect their wives and honor their parents. Men people can rely on and trust with anything. Men that will tear down the gates of hell to save a soul. Some people tell me that these men are a thing of the past. Legends long forgotten, but I see them every where I go. Some have been abused, mistreated, lied to, abandoned but they are still here. They are my part of the restoration project that Jesus began many years ago. I show them love, I show them what consistency looks like, why it is important to be honest and transparent. How everything they do affects the next generation. I speak life into them every chance I get. I tell them what God thinks of them. How he sees them and how he desires to see their talents and abilities prosper and bring others to the knowledge of Jesus Christ and salvation. I stretch them to show them what they are made of and help them overcome their insecurities and fears. Some deal with addiction, anger, pride, lust, bitterness, hate, orphan spirit and a host of other things. Everyone of them has the same desire to belong and to be worth something. I’ve been hurt many times by those that were hurting and broken and don’t understand why I can’t help but see what they can be, what they have been designed to be. Its ok because for the same reason Jesus choose to be the sacrifice for the sins of the world and the restoration of life to those that would believe, for that reason, I choose restoration of my fellow man. There is coming a day when every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus is Lord. There is a day of judgement that will come to us all but until that day I will continue to walk in love and restoration because that’s what Jesus did. Even while hanging on the cross enduring a sentence He did not deserve from a world of people He was dying to save, he still sought to restore the thief.

As a church we should be the restoration professionals. As in restoring a house it takes different skill sets, different talent and abilities to return the house back to its former self, so it is with the church. When one of our own stumbles we should have the skills and talents to help them restore themselves spiritually and emotionally. When the lost come to the church for guidance our goal should be to see a soul saved and thus a death from sin restored to life thru salvation. Some have gifts of hospitality to build relationships with people and allow them to feel at home. Some have gifts of encouragement that keep breathing life into everyone they meet. Some are gifted in intercessory prayer that keep the frontlines manned and protect and cover the church. Some have gifts of teaching to help rightly divide the word of God so all may grow and benefit from it. Not everyone has the same talent and abilities but it takes each and every one to keep the restoration project on track. We need to learn to use our gifts and talents and to respect and encourage the talents and abilities of others.

John 10:10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. Jesus spoke this to the pharisees when they were questioning him about restoring sight to the blind beggar. He was telling them as He is still telling us now that anything that is not life giving is not from Him and anything not trying to restore life is death and is come to steal and kill and destroy.

It is important that we understand the power of the love of God, not just in how we receive it from the Father, but in how we share that love with others. It is the one thing that we have been given that calls everyone to reconciliation with God. That word reconciliation is just a fancy word for repairing of setting right. Without the love of God flowing through us when we are helping to restore another brother or sister, we will cause more harm than good. It is that Love that brought Jesus down to earth to hang on a cross for the covering of our sins and it is only that love being shown in his people that can restore the faith and love of another. 2 Corinthians 5:17-19 There for if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them and entrusting us the message of reconciliation. So, in case you had any doubts I pray they are now concluded in that scripture. You are to be about the father’s business. His restoration business. So the next time you come upon someone who has fallen and is down don’t pass judgement your are not the judge. Show some love and use the Love that God has shown you and set about to restore the life that God loved enough to send His only son to die for because that’s not just you He did it for all.