Restored | Pastor Darren Palmer | Faith Church

If you could turn in your Bible with me to 2

2 Corinthians 13 · chapter mention

Corinthians chapter 13, I want to share something

I never saw before until this week. And it's

actually kind of part two to what I brought last

week. I believe that God is a God of restoration.

Everybody say restoration. And I'm reading from

the New International Version this morning, 2

Corinthians 13. And I want to read verse 11.

It says, finally, brothers and sisters, rejoice.

We've been doing that this morning, right? And

then it says this, strive for full restoration.

Isn't that good? Strive for full restoration.

I think the New King James says something like,

be complete. Be complete. Strive for full restoration.

That's our text, but I want to read the rest.

Encourage one another. Be of one mind. Live in

peace. And the God of love and peace will be

with you. Greet one another with a holy kiss.

We're going to practice that right now. Dale,

will you stand right now? No, I'm just kidding.

It's deep in here this morning. All God's people

here send their greetings. May the grace of the

Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the

fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

Father, we thank you for your word today. We

ask God that it will be real in our hearts and

that you would set people on a path today of

restoration. There is a Japanese art form. It's

called Kintsugi. Kintsugi. Anybody ever heard

of that? Some of you have. Kintsugi is when they

take broken pottery and they repair the cracks

with liquid gold. And the process makes the cracked

vessel stronger than it was before. And way more

valuable than it was before. This is the process

of restoration. Kintsugi. A noted artist, Lord

Landseer, tells a story about how he stayed in

a guest room. And there was a pitcher of soda

water that was accidentally spilled on the decorated

wall. And it left an unsightly stain. But while

he was staying there and when the family left,

he took out his charcoal, whatever you call them.

and begin to stroke that stain. And when it was

done, it was a beautiful waterfall bordered by

trees and wildlife. And that began a trend in

that room of whoever would stay there would put

their art on that wall. That is restoration.

If an artist can turn a stain into a masterful

work of art, and if a Japanese process can make

a broken piece of pottery worthy of a museum,

then how much more can the blood of Calvary Bring

restoration to a life and make something broken,

beautiful, and glorious. I feel like I can just

stop preaching right now and give the altar call.

Okay, somebody go kiss that man. Yes. Yes. Greet

one another with a holy kiss. Yeah! I feel the

Lord in this house. And I want to say too, Brother

Tom, I want to thank you for all the work that

you put into this lawn this summer. And just

when I drive up, it looks great. Thank you. Thank

you. And others as well, but Tom has kind of

taken up the mantle. And it has been amazing.

Why does God need to restore us? Adam. The first

human had a perfect eternal body, lived in a

perfect world, had perfect fellowship with God,

had a perfect spouse like I do. Hallelujah. And

when he fell into sin, He paid an incredible

price. It cost him everything. And do you know

what he needed? Restoration. He suddenly became

totally aware of right and wrong and evil. He

lost the glory that God covered him with. He

knew the shame of nakedness. He traded immortality

for aging and death. He needed restoration because

of everything that he had lost. And we see, if

you read in Genesis, you see that God killed

an animal, created clothing for him, and covered

him because he's a God of restoration. Humanity

now needs to be restored. Every single one of

us. needs restoration. Many wandering through

life just think that this is all there is. But

when you are restored into right relationship

with your creator, then you realize that your

eyes are opened and you go, whoa, there's way

more to this than crawling around this planet

just taking care of my family and making money.

God wants to restore you into right relationship

with Him. And so, the Father did not mess around

with the fragility of humanity. The Father, from

the beginning, planned to send His Son to the

cross. Four or five thousand years after Adam

fell, Jesus went to the cross. The veil of the

curtain was torn in two so that you and I could

be restored into right relationship with the

Father. Restoration. Restoration. What is it?

What does the verse say? Strive for full restoration.

I love that. The English Standard Version says,

aim for restoration. The Voice Bible, which is

a newer translation, says this, repair whatever

is broken. My wife is going to apply this verse

to our house. It's not going to be good for me.

I want to just walk through a couple of characters

in the Old Testament that needed restoration.

Joseph. Joseph, the favorite of his father. but

hated by his brothers. His wicked brothers lied

to their father about his death and sold him

into slavery. And as a slave, he was falsely

accused of adultery and thrown into an Egyptian

prison for years. But through it all, Joseph

served those around him. He continued to operate

with integrity. And he was faithful for years.

Not just a day or two. But for years, he was

faithful to what God had called him to. Whatever

God had called him to. Nobody saw. Nobody remembered.

People forgot him. They forgot him over and over

and over and over again. But there was one that

did not forget Joseph. And Joseph needed one

thing. He needed restoration. And he had lost

everything. But God saw Joseph, and God did not

forget Joseph. And I want you to know right now,

in your situation, that nobody else might see,

but God sees. And God will restore you. I love

what Peter said in 1 Peter chapter 5. He said,

1 Peter 5 · chapter mention

and the God of all grace who called you to eternal

glory in Christ after you have suffered a little

while will himself restore you and make you strong,

firm, and steadfast. Hallelujah. That went into

a couple of you. I want to read it again. And

the God of all grace, who called you to eternal

glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little

while, will himself restore you and make you

strong. Isn't that Joseph's story? And Joseph,

if you don't know Joseph's story, you need to

read about it. He became a slave and he became

a, it was in an Egyptian prison, which is not

like, you know, our prisons here, even the ones

not well taken care of are posh compared to the

Egyptian prisons. And there he was in the Egyptian

prison serving faithfully. And God exalted him

to be the number two ruler of Egypt. I think

that's restoration, don't you? That's restoration.

And Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 13 to strive

for full. Restoration. Strive for full restoration.

Let's go to another one. Job. How many of you

like Job? In my devotional time, I'm in the middle

of Job right now. And I find myself strangely

relating with him in my surfacy kind of ways.

His obviously, the depth of his suffering. I've

never met anybody that could match. But Job went

through his trial, not because of his sin, but

because of his righteousness. He was striving

to live for God. And the enemy came and accused

him before God. Or he was talking with God. And

God said, have you considered my servant Job?

And Job... went through trial like none other.

He lost everything that he had spent his lifetime

building. He lost all of his animals, which was

the representation of wealth in that day. He

lost everything. His children, all of them, died.

In one day. His wealth taken from him. In one

day. I get thrown off when I have car trouble.

Job lost everything. And even so, listen to what

he said. Naked I came from my mother's womb and

naked I will depart. The Lord gave and the Lord

has taken away. May the name of the Lord be praised.

At the end of the day, he had lost his children.

And he had lost everything that he owned. And

he rose up in worship and said, God is worthy.

of my praise. Wow! And so part two happened of

his suffering and the enemy was allowed to touch

the health of Job. And he sat on a heap for seven

days, did not say a word. And then began to dialogue

with his friends about his suffering. His own

wife comes to him and says, if you'll just curse

God, you'll die. And Job needs something in this

moment. He needs restoration. I want to read

to you the end of the story. The Lord blessed

the latter part of Job's life more than the former

part. He had 14 ,000 sheep, 6 ,000 camels, 1

,000 yoke of oxen, and 1 ,000 donkeys. And he

also had seven sons and three daughters. The

first daughter he named Jemima, the second Keziah,

and the third Karen Hapuch. Whatever that means.

I guess I could find out. Nowhere in all the

land were there found women as beautiful as Job's

daughters, and their father granted them an inheritance

along with their brothers. After this, Job lived

140 years. He saw his children and their children

to the fourth generation, and so Job died an

old man and full of years. Isn't that amazing?

That's restoration. Here's a third character.

I'm trying to move through these quickly. Naomi.

Naomi followed her husband during a drought to

the land of Moab so that they could survive,

where her two sons married two Moabite women.

And while in the land of Moab, her husband passed

away, her first son passed away, and her second

son passed away, her first daughter -in -law

went back to her father's household. Ruth clung

to her. But in the end, she came back to Bethlehem

with nothing. And she said this, Don't call me

Naomi. This is the only person in the Bible that

gave themselves a new name. That gave themselves

a new name. Several God gave a new name to. But

Naomi renamed herself. You know what she renamed

herself? Mary. Mara. Bitter. That's what it means,

bitter. Bitter. And she said this, I went away

full to Moab, but the Lord has brought me back

empty. Why call me Naomi? The Lord has afflicted

me. The Almighty has brought misfortune upon

me. Wow. You know what Naomi needed? Restoration.

She needed restoration. And I thank God that

the story does not end there. Amen? Because God

used her Moabite daughter -in -law, Ruth, through

a series of miracles and a kinsman redeemer that

reflects who Jesus is in the New Testament. to

position Naomi to be the great -grandmother of

King David. The story is breathtaking. The power

of God on full display. And she, even more importantly,

was in the lineage, of the Messiah. And there

would come another Mary that would give birth

to a son that would redeem the world. Hallelujah.

She needed restoration. Now let me quickly share

some thoughts about restoration from these three

stories. Number one, being fully restored does

not mean that you quit suffering loss. Job still

lost all of his first batch of children. You

think he didn't miss them? Do you think that

they were replaced? Naomi still lost her husband

and her sons. These were the loves of her life.

But as she embraced restoration, as she embraced

it, God began to work in her a new thing. God

worked in Job a new season. Number two, full

restoration does not mean going back to the life

that we once had. A lot of times when people

say, Lord, restore me, what they're really praying

is, God, give me the life I used to have. But

God's got a different plan in the restoration.

And he's not going to do the same thing that

he did before in your life. Your life is not

on a loop of repeat. God is going to do a new

thing. Hallelujah. in your loss, is working in

your life in ways that you cannot even see. Joseph,

I know you want to go home and be with your dad

and your brother Benjamin, but hang in there,

son. I need you to stay faithful in that prison.

For one more year. I need somebody. That can

lead. The nation. Of Egypt. I know you've lost

a lot Naomi. And I know you blame me. Right now.

For what you're going through. But Naomi somehow

keep. Trusting me. Because in a couple of generations,

there's a shepherd boy that has to come forth.

He's going to be a king. Full restoration embraces

The purposes of God that are operating in the

background that you cannot see. You do not see

it, but God is at work. It means saying, God,

this thing called the kingdom, it is bigger than

my life. the ones pulling the strings, God. You're

the one pulling the strings. And I don't see

it right now, and I don't know it right now,

but I trust you. Hallelujah. I trust you. Now

these first three illustrations were illustrations

where people did not cause their own mess. Joseph

was sold into slavery by his brothers. Naomi

was the product of just tragic tragedy all around

her. A famine in the land and sickness coming

to her household. I want to talk about one now

that caused his own downfall. Samson. Samson

lost everything because of his own personal compromise.

He was full of lust and disobedience to God's

Spirit. He was unfaithful to God's calling. And

the Spirit of God ended up leaving him because

he refused integrity. He was selfish and sinful.

And his life ended up in a Philistine prison

with his eyes gouged out. And it was his own

fault. I want to tell you that you might be living,

In the fruit of your own failure. But even then,

can I tell you that God is a restorer. Listen

to what the Bible says about Samson. Y 'all,

if you read the story of Samson, you realize

that his hair was significant. He had taken a

Nazarite vow, which means he would never cut

his hair. And when his hair was cut, that was

the last straw of disobedience. The Spirit of

God left him. But listen to this in Judges 16

.22. But the hair on his head began to grow again

after it had been shaved. Can I tell you that

it's not hair that God was concerned about? But

Samson's heart changed and he repented. And I

want to read the story. The rulers of the Philistines

assembled to offer a great sacrifice to Dagon,

their God, and to celebrate saying, our God has

delivered Samson, our enemy, into our hands.

And when the people saw him, they praised their

God, saying, Our God has delivered our enemy

into our hands, the one who laid waste our land

and multiplied our slain. And while they were

drunk, in high spirits they shouted, Bring out

Samson to entertain us. So they called Samson

out of the prison and he performed for them.

And when they stood him among the pillars, Samson

said to the servant who held his hand, put me

where I can feel the pillars that support the

temple so that I might lean against them. And

the temple was crowded with men and women. All

the rulers of the Philistines were there. And

on the roof were about 3 ,000 men and women watching

Samson perform. And Samson prayed to the Lord,

Sovereign Lord, remember me, please God. Strengthen

me just once more. And let me with one blow get

revenge on the Philistines for my two eyes. And

Samson reached down toward the two central pillars

on which the temple stood and bracing himself

against them, his right hand on the one and his

left hand on the other. Samson said, let me die

with the Philistines. And he pushed with all

his might and down came the temple on the rulers

and the people in it. Thus he killed many more

Philistines when he died than when he lived.

That, friends, is restoration. Sometimes sin

disqualifies you from what you used to have.

And can I just put a word in here, especially

sexual sin. Read a verse from Corinthians. Flee

from sexual immorality. All other sins a person

commits are outside the body, but whoever sins

sexually sins against their own body. You are

stealing your own future, your own destiny, when

you live in sexual immorality of any type. There

isn't one type worse than the other. You are

sinning against your own life. And there are

some things that you will disqualify yourself

from if you continue down that path. I've seen

preachers that are disqualified from the pulpit

because of the way that they have lived. Does

this mean God cannot forgive them? No, it does

not. But they disqualify themselves from calling

and from things that God wanted them to do and

wanted them to be because they sin against their

own life and limit, limit. This is why God wants

you to walk in purity and wholeness. But can

I tell you that although God might not be able

to give you back certain things. He can restore

you to the kingdom. He can find a place for you.

This word restore is the word It's the Greek

word. I'm looking for it. I got off my notes

a long time ago. It is the Greek word. Katartizo.

Remember when Jesus came up to the disciples,

they weren't disciples yet. Peter and his brother

were there working on the nets. And you know

what they were doing? They were catartizoing

the nets. They were mending the nets. That's

the same word. Catartizo. And in Galatians chapter

Galatians 6 · chapter mention

6, Galatians chapter 6 and verse 1, we see this

Galatians 6 · chapter mention

word again, catartizo. Brethren, if a man is

overtaken in any trespass, say any trespass,

any trespass. had an open book right now and

you could see all the sins that have ever been

committed that are represented in this room,

our minds might be blown at what we read. Nobody

in here wants that to be exposed to everybody

else. And yet the church has a reputation of

condemning people. And God wants us to quit condemning

people. Because there is no trespass that is

bigger than the cross. Hallelujah. There is no

sin that you've committed that the cross cannot

overcome. that the blood of the Lamb cannot be

applied to and see your life changed forever.

Hallelujah. And this says in Galatians chapter

Galatians 6 · chapter mention

6, 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. Catartizo. Mend the

nets. Repair that which is broken. Restore. In

Joel chapter 1. In verse 2. It says, hear this

Joel 1 · chapter mention

you elders and give ear all you inhabitants of

the land. Has anything like this happened in

your days? Or even the days of your father? Tell

your children about it. Let your children tell

their children and their children another generation.

What the chewing locust left the swarming locust

has eaten. What the swarming locust left, the

crawling locust has eaten. And what the crawling

locust left, the consuming locust has eaten.

Joel is describing the stages that a locust goes

through in its metamorphosis. And it's devouring

nature. And when it finally gets to be fully

mature, it wipes out everything in the land.

These were in Joel's days the armies of the Lord

that came to judge the house. And we used to

sing that song about it. Blow the trumpet in

Zion, Zion. And we used to sing. Basically, it's

saying judgment is on the house. Judgment is

on the house. The locusts have taken everything.

We didn't understand that song. And some of you

can relate. You have been lambasted from every

direction. These locusts. Stealing and taking.

And what Israel needed was restoration. So Joel

calls them to repentance. He calls them, you

can read the different verses. Awake you drunkards

and weep. Verse 9, lament. Be ashamed, you farmers.

Wail, you vinedressers. Verse 13, gird yourselves

and lament. 14, consecrate a fast. Call a sacred

assembly. He's calling the house of Israel to

repent. And then he prays, Lord, to you I cry

out. And then in chapter 2, that's when it says,

blow the trumpet in Zion. Sound an alarm on my

holy mountain. Let the inhabitants of the land

tremble. He's calling them to repentance. There's

way more to that prophecy than what I have time

to divulge this morning. But restoration happens

in chapter 2, verse 25. It says this, So I will

restore to you the years that the swarming locust

has eaten. Now he goes backwards. He starts with

the mature locust and goes backwards. Because

he's describing full restoration. 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. And

then you shall know that I am in the midst of

Israel. I am the Lord your God, and there is

no other. My people shall never be put to shame.

Hallelujah. Now we like the next part of that

prophecy because he says, and it shall come to

pass afterward that I will pour out my spirit

on all flesh. Talking about the baptism of the

Holy Spirit in Joel chapter 2. But what does

Joel 2 · chapter mention

it talk about first? Full restoration. Hallelujah.

Hallelujah. What the enemy has stolen. What the

enemy has stolen, God is going to restore in

the name of Jesus. You have sickness in your

body. What do you need? Restoration. You have

depression that you can't get out of. What do

you need? Restoration. You have loss that you

don't know how you're going to get to the other

side of. What do you need? Restoration. Well,

God is in this place and he is a restorer. He

is one that builds back. He's the one that leads

forward in Jesus' name. He's the one that makes

sense. Hallelujah. He's the one that reveals.

He is the one that positions people right where

they need to be. So what should I do, pastor?

First of all, you should trust God with your

life and with the circumstances that you don't

understand. His purposes that you can't see are

at work. Trust God. Number two, stay faithful

in the midst of your trial. Don't give in or

give up even through the years. Even through

the years. My mom prayed for her son, my brother,

to come to Christ for 35 years. I am thankful

that she did not quit. Amen? You stay faithful

and do not give up. Number three, repent of any

known sin. The Holy Spirit will make plain. where

you are falling short, repent of any known sin

and get right with God. And number four, and

I'm going to close with this scripture. Number

four is a wonderful passage. Stay near the master.

Go with me to Luke chapter six. Turn there quickly.

Luke chapter six and verse 40. This is a powerful

passage of Scripture. And we see here again,

catartizo, catartizo, Luke 640. A disciple is

not above his teacher. But everyone who is perfectly

trained. Everybody say perfectly trained. Guess

what word that is? Catartizo. Mended. Molded.

Restored. When you are perfectly restored. Wow.

Everyone who is perfectly trained. will be like

his teacher. Wow. Anybody out there want to be

like Jesus? Anybody out there want to look like

the master? Any students and disciples out there

trying to grow up into the image of the son,

Jesus Christ? Stay near the master. Keep learning.

God is perfecting you. When you are perfectly

trained, when catartizo happens in your life,

you will look like the master. Hallelujah. Jesus

will be evident in your life. His image will

be stamped on your heart. When the father looks

at you, he will see the reflection of his son.

Hallelujah. That's what we're after. That is

restoration. God, you take my broken life. You

take my broken life. And you take me through

a process that is better than Kintsugi. You put

me back together better than I was because of

the blood of the Lamb. Naomi, at the end of her

life, when she could see the hand of God, when

she watched what happened with Ruth and Boaz,

no, she wouldn't want to go through it again.

No, she wouldn't wish any of that on even her

enemies. But she was thanking God for his perfect

plan happening in her life. Joseph, he wouldn't

want to go through all that again. He wouldn't

want anybody to go through that again. But he

told his brothers. At the end, they were afraid

he was going to kill him. And he said it was

God's plan to save life and not destroy it. God

did this, not you. Hallelujah. Oh, praise the

Lord. God did it. Job, at the end of his life,

was thanking God for his faithfulness, his goodness,

reflecting the righteousness of God back to him.

Even Samson, thankful for restoration. This morning,

God wants to restore your life. This morning,

you are seeing areas of your life that you're

going, wow, I didn't know, God, that you were

working in that area. exercising your divine

plan in that area. And this morning, you need

to declare emphatically, God, I trust you. Let's

pray. Lord, you are here. In this place. You're

speaking to hearts. Your word. Lord, you're working.

In fact, it's like you're pouring oil over people

right now. You're illuminating things by your

Spirit. Lord, I just break right now the voice

of the enemy that would condemn, that would say

there's no hope, that would say you're always

going to be where you are. We break the lies

of the enemy now in Jesus' name. Dreams that

have died. Lord, I speak life into those dreams.

Somebody here that's ready to just give up and

throw in the towel. But God is coming alongside

of you this morning saying, you're not alone.

I am walking with you. And if this word this

morning spoke to a very specific situation in

your life where you need to stand up and you

need to say, God, I trust you. I want to invite

you to do that right now. To just stand up and

just say, God, I trust you. Come on. Come on.

Come on. Come on. Jesus. Jesus. Jesus. Jesus.

Now this command in 1 Corinthians 13, strive

for full restoration. It is a command to your

own life to not settle for second best or to

just go, oh, I guess this is the way that it's

always going to be. And what that does is it

steals your faith from believing God for more.

It steals from you. And so you in your own life.

need to strive not for partial restoration, but

for full restoration in the name of Jesus. But

it is also a command for us to help others, that

we are contending for your life, that we are

believing with you and for you to be fully restored

in Jesus' mighty name. Hallelujah. And so it

is a command for you to participate in the restoration

of others in the body of Christ. And so those

of you standing right now, we are about to stand

with you in a moment. And we're going to contend

with you. We're going to strive for full restoration.

In Jesus' mighty name. I'm going to pray first

for all those standing. And then after I'm done

praying, I want to invite you to stand with somebody

that's standing. And I want to invite you to

pray with them in Jesus' mighty name. Father,

we come before you. And these that are standing

that have responded to this word are looking

at a situation in their life that they don't

like. They're looking at a situation in their

life that's possibly uncomfortable or maybe very

uncomfortable. And they're looking at that situation

that is stealing from them. And Lord, they are

lifting up their eyes to you. And they are saying,

Father, I, trust you. And God, as you are working

undoubtedly behind the scenes in ways that we

cannot see, I am asking that a great trust will

be imparted, God, to every person standing right

now in Jesus' name. A great trust in you in the

name of the Lord. Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah.

God, we're not above the possibility that we

could have contributed to this situation. And

we ask your Holy Spirit, we invite your Holy

Spirit to bring conviction and reveal things

in our lives that we need to repent of. Reveal

those things, Holy Spirit, that we might walk

rightly. with you. Wash and cleanse in Jesus'

name. And help us, God, to believe you through

to the end. Whether it's a moment, whether it's

a day or a decade, God, help us to continue to

believe in Jesus' mighty name. Hallelujah. Hallelujah.

Oh, we give you praise, God. Oh, we give you

praise, God. We magnify your name, Jesus. We

magnify your name, Jesus. We bless your name.

Hallelujah. I want to invite everybody to just

stand right now and just go to one that's standing.

And I just want you, as a brother or sister,

you don't have to pray anything phenomenal. You

just stand with them and pray as the Lord leads

you. And stand with these that are contending

for full restoration in Jesus' mighty name. Hallelujah.

Don't let anybody stand alone right now. We are

in this together in Jesus' name. We thank you,

Father. We thank you, Father. We thank you, Father.

We give you glory, God. We give you glory, God.

We magnify your name. We magnify your name. Hallelujah,

hallelujah, hallelujah. Hallelujah.