GOD RESTORES

As we read the Bible we find that God RESTORES!  He loves taking broken people and RESTORING their lives to the beauty in which He created them for.

I love the this definition of the word restore!  

Restore- healing of a wound.  The new flesh that grows at the wounded spot.  Health, perfected, soundness, wholeness.  

 One of the most beautiful pictures of RESTORATION is found in the following Bible verses.

 “The word which came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying:  “Arise and go down to the potter’s house, and there I will cause you to hear My words.”  Then I went down to the potter’s house, and there he was, making something at the wheel.  And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter; so he made it again into another vessel, as it seemed good to the potter to make. Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying: “O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter?” says the Lord. “Look, as the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are you in My hand, O house of Israel!"  (Jeremiah 18:1-6)

Do you feel marred in the hand of the potter?  Wounded in the hand of the potter?  Broken in the hand of the potter?  Damaged in the hand of the potter?  Cracked in the hand of potter?  

Were you sexually, physically or verbally abused as a child?   Wounded by a friend?   Wounded by a church, a pastor?   Abandoned by a mother or father?  Lost or broken dreams?  A divorce?  Have you  been raped?  Forsaken by a friend?   A broken marriage or ministry?  Rejected by others?   An abortion or a miscarriage?

Wounded in the hands of the Potter and you don't understand why?

 “But now, O Lord, You are our Father; We are the clay, and You our potter; And all we are the work of Your hand.” (Isaiah 64:8)

The failures in life are never final!  Even though you're messed up you're still in the grip of the Potter!  

THREE LESSONS FROM THE POTTERS HOUSE

 I.  THE POTTERS POWER

God is powerful.  Nothing in your life is beyond His ability, His reach and His desire to restore and heal you!

 “He (Jesus) personally carried our sins in his body on the cross so that we can be dead to sin and live for what is right. By his wounds you are healed. Once you were like sheep  who wandered away. But now you have turned to your Shepherd, the Guardian of your souls.”  (1 Peter 2:24-25)

“The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul;” (Psalms 23:1-3)

Is there an area of your life that is still wounded?

THE POTTER HAS THE POWER TO RESTORE!

II.  THE POTTERS PURPOSE

God always starts with the end in mind!  God has a vision for your life.  He has a plan and a purpose!

No matter how ugly our life seems, God takes us in His hand and loves us with an everlasting love!

 “I knew you before I formed you in your mother’s womb. Before you were born I set you apart and appointed you as my prophet to the nations.” (Jeremiah 1:5)

“But even before I was born, God chose me and called me by his marvelous grace. Then it pleased him 16 to reveal his Son to me so that I would proclaim the Good News about Jesus to the Gentiles…..” (Galatians 1:15-16)

Even though you've been wounded, the Potter has a purpose for your life!  

 “And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.”  (Philippians 1:6)

GOD NEVER QUITS ON YOU!  HE’S PURSUING YOU!

THE POTTER HAS A PURPOSE TO RESTORE YOU!

III.  THE POTTERS PROCESS

“For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him.” (Philippians 2:13)

The Potter has a process!

Jesus came looking for you!  He brought me out of the miry clay and He set my feet on the rock to stay!

HERE’S THE POINT!

STAY ON THE POTTER'S WHEEL!  THE POTTER HAS A PROCESS TO RESTORE YOUR LIFE!

Here’s what staying on the wheel looks like!

 “And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him. 2 Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.” (Romans 12:1-2)

 Are you marred in the Potter’s hands today?  Do you still feel wounded from the pain of the past?  

If the power, the purpose and the process is from God, what is my part?

TO CONSECRATE MYSELF!  

Consecration is a complete surrender to the lordship of Jesus Christ.  We relinquish  everything to God!

The word consecrate means “to set apart.”  It means to be designated for a special purpose.  It means to be completely dedicated to God!

The Son of God, that was wounded so you can be restored, set the standard.  He gave all of himself at Calvary and He expects nothing less in return!

Consecration means we no longer call the shots.   God is the Potter and I am the clay.  I surrender my life to the Potter!

There's no pain that is greater than the Potter's power, purpose and process! Trust Him and you will soon be able to say "GOD RESTORES!"

Dreaming.......Again with the help of the Potter,

Ken Woolf