WEBVTT - A Restoration Mentality | Joel Osteen 0:00:00.440 --> 0:00:02.760 It's another great day to be alive, and we are 0:00:02.800 --> 0:00:05.360 so blessed to be here with you today, Victoria my 0:00:05.400 --> 0:00:08.039 beautiful wife, and we're just praying for you. Guys, I 0:00:08.080 --> 0:00:11.160 have a blessed summer. I sure hope you enjoy the podcast. 0:00:11.280 --> 0:00:14.560 I know I always enjoy these messages. They're so uplifting 0:00:14.600 --> 0:00:17.840 and encouraging and inspiring, So we hope you enjoy the 0:00:17.920 --> 0:00:21.639 message today. Well, God bless you. It's always a joy 0:00:21.680 --> 0:00:24.040 to come into your homes. And if you're ever in 0:00:24.120 --> 0:00:26.480 our area, I hope you'll stop vying be a part 0:00:26.520 --> 0:00:29.240 of one of our services. I promise you we'll make 0:00:29.240 --> 0:00:31.400 you feel right at home. But thanks so much for 0:00:31.480 --> 0:00:34.440 tuning in, and thank you again for coming out. I 0:00:34.560 --> 0:00:36.880 like to start with something funny, and I heard about 0:00:36.920 --> 0:00:40.839 this elderly couple. They had been married for over sixteen years. 0:00:41.360 --> 0:00:44.159 They were at a church fellowship and someone asked them 0:00:44.200 --> 0:00:47.640 the secret of their success. The man told how he 0:00:47.800 --> 0:00:51.159 always treated his wife with respect. Andy took her on 0:00:51.280 --> 0:00:54.360 trips all over the world, he said. In in fact, for 0:00:54.440 --> 0:00:58.200 our twenty fifth wedding anniversary, I took her to Beijing, China. 0:00:58.680 --> 0:01:02.160 Everyone politely applies. Then someone spoke up and said, what'd 0:01:02.200 --> 0:01:05.560 you do for your fiftieth wedding anniversary? He said, I 0:01:05.600 --> 0:01:10.080 went back and picked her up. Hold up your bible, 0:01:10.640 --> 0:01:13.240 say it like you mean it. This is my Bible. 0:01:13.560 --> 0:01:14.479 I am what it says. 0:01:14.520 --> 0:01:14.840 I am. 0:01:15.280 --> 0:01:17.560 I have what it says I have. I can do 0:01:17.680 --> 0:01:20.160 what it says I can do. Today I will be 0:01:20.240 --> 0:01:23.880 taught the word of God. I boldly confess. My mind 0:01:23.959 --> 0:01:27.080 is alert, my heart is receptive. I will never be 0:01:27.160 --> 0:01:31.920 the same. In Jesus' name, God bless you. I want 0:01:31.920 --> 0:01:35.720 to talk to you today about having a restoration mentality 0:01:36.760 --> 0:01:41.120 in life. We all experience times of loss, situations where 0:01:41.120 --> 0:01:45.360 it feels like something was taken from us. Sometimes it's 0:01:45.400 --> 0:01:49.160 because of other people's choices. A friend does us wrong, 0:01:49.680 --> 0:01:53.640 a spouse walks out of a relationship. Other times it 0:01:53.680 --> 0:01:56.800 is because of our own choices. Maybe we get involved 0:01:56.840 --> 0:02:00.520 with the wrong crowd, develop bad habits, we end up 0:02:00.560 --> 0:02:04.000 with broken dreams. We hear that voice telling us again 0:02:04.080 --> 0:02:07.559 and again, it's your fault. You blew it too bad. 0:02:07.640 --> 0:02:09.880 This is as good as it's ever going to be. 0:02:11.000 --> 0:02:14.320 Many people are living with regrets, thinking about what they 0:02:14.480 --> 0:02:18.000 should have done. If I've just spent more time raising 0:02:18.040 --> 0:02:20.840 my children. If I've just been more disciplined and not 0:02:20.919 --> 0:02:24.079 hung around those people, or if I just stayed in school, 0:02:24.400 --> 0:02:28.080 where would I be today? They don't realize that defeated 0:02:28.160 --> 0:02:31.960 mindset is keeping them from God's best. Then there are 0:02:32.000 --> 0:02:36.160 times it's not somebody else's fault, it's not our own fault, 0:02:36.600 --> 0:02:40.560 it's just life. You're a good person, you're honoring God, 0:02:40.639 --> 0:02:44.240 and all of a sudden you're facing an illness caught 0:02:44.280 --> 0:02:47.880 you totally off guard. You lost your health. Or maybe 0:02:47.919 --> 0:02:50.800 you're being your best each day. You're going to work, 0:02:50.840 --> 0:02:54.160 giving it your awe, but business starts to slow down. 0:02:54.840 --> 0:02:57.240 You had more than enough at one time. Now you're 0:02:57.240 --> 0:03:02.800 struggling to get by counter loss. It's easy to get discouraged, 0:03:03.160 --> 0:03:06.480 to settle where we are and to not expect anything better. 0:03:07.360 --> 0:03:10.440 But the good news is our God is a god 0:03:10.480 --> 0:03:15.040 of restoration. He never said we wouldn't have unfair situations. 0:03:15.400 --> 0:03:18.600 He never promised we wouldn't experience lass, But he did 0:03:18.680 --> 0:03:22.440 promise if we would stay in faith, he would restore 0:03:22.919 --> 0:03:27.399 everything that was stolen. When God restores, he doesn't bring 0:03:27.440 --> 0:03:30.560 you out the same. He makes the enemy pay for 0:03:30.639 --> 0:03:34.560 bringing the trouble into your life. God is so merciful, 0:03:35.040 --> 0:03:38.280 whether it was your fault, somebody else's fault, or just 0:03:38.400 --> 0:03:41.320 life in general. He says, He's not only going to 0:03:41.320 --> 0:03:43.600 bring you out, He's going to bring you out better 0:03:43.680 --> 0:03:46.720 off than you were before. Get that down in your spirit. 0:03:47.440 --> 0:03:51.400 You may have made mistakes. You brought the trouble on yourself, 0:03:51.880 --> 0:03:55.640 but God's mercy is bigger than any mistake that you've made. 0:03:55.920 --> 0:04:00.400 Don't settle there, have a restoration Mentality's not only going 0:04:00.440 --> 0:04:02.640 to bring you out, He's going to bring you out better. 0:04:03.720 --> 0:04:06.960 In the Scripture, if someone stole an ox they had 0:04:07.000 --> 0:04:10.160 to pay that person back with five oxen. If they 0:04:10.200 --> 0:04:12.520 stole a sheep, they had to pay them back with 0:04:12.600 --> 0:04:16.960 four sheep. Another place, they had to repay seven times. 0:04:17.600 --> 0:04:20.599 In Isaiah, God said he would pay us back double 0:04:20.920 --> 0:04:26.040 for the unfair situations. Notice the principle God never brings 0:04:26.120 --> 0:04:28.880 us out the same. If we say we're going to 0:04:28.960 --> 0:04:32.120 restore this old car, that means we're going to bring 0:04:32.160 --> 0:04:35.280 it back to the original condition. We're going to make 0:04:35.320 --> 0:04:37.400 it look like it did when it was brand new. 0:04:38.080 --> 0:04:42.640 But that is not how God defines restoration. His idea 0:04:42.720 --> 0:04:47.880 of restore is to increase, to improve, to promote to 0:04:47.960 --> 0:04:51.000 make better now. You may have gone through a loss, 0:04:51.400 --> 0:04:54.360 somebody did you wrong, or maybe it was your fault. 0:04:54.800 --> 0:04:57.800 You made poor choices. The enemy would love for you 0:04:57.880 --> 0:05:01.320 to sit around your whole life and listen to his lies. 0:05:01.920 --> 0:05:05.200 It's never going to change. It's been this way too long. 0:05:05.480 --> 0:05:08.719 It's your fault. Just settle where you are. Shake off 0:05:08.760 --> 0:05:11.880 that doubt, shake off that self pity. You may have 0:05:11.920 --> 0:05:15.120 suffered a loss, but your attitude should be I know 0:05:15.640 --> 0:05:18.480 my God is a god of restoration, and I'm not 0:05:18.520 --> 0:05:22.080 only coming out, I'm coming out stronger. I'm coming out promoted. 0:05:22.240 --> 0:05:25.520 I'm coming out increase better off than I was before. 0:05:26.560 --> 0:05:29.159 If you're going to see God restore, you have to 0:05:29.200 --> 0:05:33.920 have this restoration mentality. That means you're not sitting around 0:05:34.200 --> 0:05:38.160 nursing your wounds, thinking about what you lost and how 0:05:38.160 --> 0:05:41.080 many bad breaks you've had. No, you've got a smile 0:05:41.120 --> 0:05:45.040 on your face, a spring in your step. You're expecting 0:05:45.120 --> 0:05:48.280 things to change in your favor. Somebody may have done 0:05:48.360 --> 0:05:52.320 you wrong, walked out of a relationship, but you're expecting 0:05:52.360 --> 0:05:55.839 to meet somebody better. The loan may not have gone through, 0:05:56.120 --> 0:05:59.120 didn't qualify for the new house, but you're expecting a 0:05:59.160 --> 0:06:03.320 new door, expecting a better deal. The medical report doesn't 0:06:03.360 --> 0:06:06.359 look good, but you've got another report. You're expecting to 0:06:06.400 --> 0:06:10.400 get well. You're expecting your child to straighten up. You're 0:06:10.400 --> 0:06:14.920 expecting to have a blessed, prosperous year. For everything that 0:06:14.960 --> 0:06:19.680 you've lost, every person that did you wrong, every unfair situation, 0:06:20.080 --> 0:06:23.640 every sickness you had to endure, God is saying that 0:06:23.800 --> 0:06:27.280 is not the end. It is not over. I still 0:06:27.440 --> 0:06:30.720 have something amazing in your future. If you will have 0:06:30.760 --> 0:06:34.479 the right attitude, God will take the loss and use 0:06:34.520 --> 0:06:38.000 it to promote you. God will use the person that 0:06:38.040 --> 0:06:40.239 did you wrong to take you to a new level. 0:06:40.920 --> 0:06:44.480 God can even use the mistake you made. You brought 0:06:44.520 --> 0:06:48.600 the trouble on yourself. But God is so merciful He's 0:06:48.640 --> 0:06:51.280 going to make the enemy pay. He can use that 0:06:51.360 --> 0:06:53.760 mistake to take you higher than if you had not 0:06:53.839 --> 0:06:56.320 have made it. Now do your part and get your 0:06:56.360 --> 0:07:00.760 hopes up quickly. Living all your disappointments. Quit telling your 0:07:00.760 --> 0:07:03.080 friends how it's never going to work out, and how 0:07:03.120 --> 0:07:05.680 you should just settle where you are. No, shake that 0:07:05.800 --> 0:07:10.200 off and have this restoration mentality. I know this couple, 0:07:10.600 --> 0:07:14.320 they were living a very blessed life. Very successful. Everything 0:07:14.440 --> 0:07:18.640 was going great. Then the perfect storm hit. The business 0:07:18.680 --> 0:07:22.280 went down, the lady had some health issues. One of 0:07:22.280 --> 0:07:26.000 their in laws suddenly died. One bad thing after another, 0:07:26.720 --> 0:07:30.400 long story short, they ended up losing their house. It 0:07:30.480 --> 0:07:33.840 was foreclosed on, and they were so discouraged. They were 0:07:33.840 --> 0:07:36.400 having to live with some friends, and the lady had 0:07:36.440 --> 0:07:38.720 been in the hospital for several weeks. When I saw her, 0:07:39.400 --> 0:07:41.720 she said, Joel, they say there's light at the end 0:07:41.760 --> 0:07:44.160 of the tunnel, but we can't even see the tunnel. 0:07:44.480 --> 0:07:46.640 We don't see how this is ever going to work out. 0:07:47.480 --> 0:07:50.440 I told them what I'm telling you. Our God is 0:07:50.480 --> 0:07:54.160 a god of restoration. Nothing you're facing is a surprise. 0:07:54.600 --> 0:07:57.560 He had the solution before you had the problem. He 0:07:57.600 --> 0:08:01.080 wants to bring you out better. They would have been 0:08:01.120 --> 0:08:03.600 happy to come out like they were before, to have 0:08:03.680 --> 0:08:06.360 her health back, to have a place to live, to 0:08:06.400 --> 0:08:09.080 have money to pay their bills. I said, that's great, 0:08:09.320 --> 0:08:12.600 but that's not how God works. He doesn't bring you 0:08:12.680 --> 0:08:15.840 out the same. He never restores you back to the 0:08:15.880 --> 0:08:20.280 original condition. He brings you out better. And at first 0:08:20.720 --> 0:08:24.240 they couldn't really receive this. The scripture says the people 0:08:24.520 --> 0:08:28.960 had become too discouraged to believe, And if you're not careful, 0:08:29.080 --> 0:08:31.600 you could let negative thoughts play in your mind so 0:08:31.800 --> 0:08:35.800 long that they become ingrained in your thinking and you 0:08:35.920 --> 0:08:40.040 become too discouraged to believe. When I tell you God 0:08:40.120 --> 0:08:44.160 wants to bring you out better. In your spirit down 0:08:44.200 --> 0:08:47.840 in here, something comes alive, something says, yes, this is 0:08:47.920 --> 0:08:51.199 for me. I have not seen my best days. God 0:08:51.240 --> 0:08:55.439 has greater things in my future. Your spirit will receive it. 0:08:55.600 --> 0:08:59.920 That's where God lives. But many times our mind will 0:09:00.080 --> 0:09:02.200 try to talk us out of it. This is not 0:09:02.400 --> 0:09:05.720 for you today. You never get any good breaks, You'll 0:09:05.760 --> 0:09:09.120 never be healthy, you'll never be successful. No, do yourself 0:09:09.120 --> 0:09:13.800 a favor, at least temporarily turn your mind off and 0:09:13.920 --> 0:09:17.360 receive what God is saying. You may have gone through 0:09:17.400 --> 0:09:24.400 a loss, but God is going to bring you out better, promoted, increased, healthier, stronger, 0:09:24.679 --> 0:09:29.600 wiser than you were before. Receive it by faith. I 0:09:29.679 --> 0:09:32.480 finally convinced this couple to get in agreement with God 0:09:32.559 --> 0:09:35.400 and start expecting things to turn around. And it didn't 0:09:35.440 --> 0:09:39.680 happen overnight, but about three years later I saw them 0:09:39.679 --> 0:09:42.520 in the lobby. They brought a picture of the brand 0:09:42.559 --> 0:09:45.880 new house they had moved into. The lady was weeping 0:09:45.960 --> 0:09:50.319 and weeping, so grateful. Her husband had started a new business. 0:09:50.640 --> 0:09:53.640 It was much more successful than the one they lost. 0:09:53.960 --> 0:09:57.280 They have three children. In their first home, two of 0:09:57.320 --> 0:10:00.560 the children had to share a bedroom. In this home, 0:10:00.760 --> 0:10:03.840 each child had their own bedroom, plus there was a 0:10:03.920 --> 0:10:07.880 spare guest bedroom. She said, Joel, it's in a better location, 0:10:08.360 --> 0:10:11.679 closer to our business. It's on a bigger lot. Plus 0:10:11.679 --> 0:10:14.440 our payments are less on this house than on the 0:10:14.480 --> 0:10:20.560 original house that we lost. Friends, God knows how to restore. Now, 0:10:20.679 --> 0:10:24.040 don't talk yourself out of what God wants to do. 0:10:32.800 --> 0:10:35.719 You may have gone through a loss. It was painful. 0:10:36.040 --> 0:10:38.760 You could be discouraged. No, put on a new attitude. 0:10:39.360 --> 0:10:42.360 It's not over until God says it's over. And God 0:10:42.440 --> 0:10:46.960 says I'm bringing you out, promoted, increased, improved, better than 0:10:47.000 --> 0:10:50.400 you were before. Can you get a vision for it? See, 0:10:50.440 --> 0:10:53.319 it's easy in the tough times to get discourage and 0:10:53.840 --> 0:10:57.560 bitter settle where we are not expect anything good. But 0:10:57.720 --> 0:11:00.880 this is what faith is all about. You've got to 0:11:00.920 --> 0:11:04.600 believe it even when you can't see it. You've got 0:11:04.640 --> 0:11:08.120 to thank God even when you feel like complaining. You've 0:11:08.120 --> 0:11:10.800 got to say, I know it's on the way, even 0:11:10.840 --> 0:11:13.720 when every voice is telling you it's never going to happen. 0:11:14.520 --> 0:11:17.200 I know many people that watch have been affected by 0:11:17.320 --> 0:11:20.920 Hurricane Sandy, and you could be sour, bitter, no joy. 0:11:21.559 --> 0:11:24.720 But if you'll have the right attitude, God will take 0:11:24.840 --> 0:11:27.280 what was meant for your harm and use it to 0:11:27.360 --> 0:11:32.280 your advantage. That storm was meant to defeat you, but 0:11:32.400 --> 0:11:35.240 God will use it to promote you. You're going to 0:11:35.280 --> 0:11:38.160 come out with a better house, with better furniture, with 0:11:38.320 --> 0:11:42.440 new carpet. God is in the restoration business. Don't talk 0:11:42.520 --> 0:11:47.160 yourself out of it. Get up every morning, Father, I 0:11:47.200 --> 0:11:50.000 want to thank you that you're a god of restoration. 0:11:50.520 --> 0:11:53.000 I know I've been armed with strength for this battle. 0:11:53.280 --> 0:11:56.640 You said you'd make the enemy pay. My declaration is 0:11:56.800 --> 0:12:00.440 I'm coming out stronger. I'm coming out promoted, I'm coming 0:12:00.440 --> 0:12:03.720 out increase, I'm coming out better off than I was before. 0:12:04.960 --> 0:12:08.440 That's what allows the most powerful force in the universe 0:12:08.480 --> 0:12:12.520 to go to work. It may not happen overnight. God 0:12:12.559 --> 0:12:15.240 doesn't say I'll do this in twenty four hours, or 0:12:15.280 --> 0:12:18.800 two weeks or seven months. God doesn't put a timetable 0:12:18.800 --> 0:12:22.959 on it. He simply says in due season, you will 0:12:23.080 --> 0:12:26.679 rip if you don't give up. When you go through 0:12:26.720 --> 0:12:30.960 a loss, when you suffer a setback, God immediately establishes 0:12:31.120 --> 0:12:34.520 a due season, a set time to pay you back. 0:12:35.200 --> 0:12:38.240 But along the way, God is watching. What do they say. 0:12:38.960 --> 0:12:41.559 Do they still believe it's going to happen? Are they 0:12:41.600 --> 0:12:44.640 still talking about how it's going to turn around? Or 0:12:44.880 --> 0:12:48.480 have they gotten discouraged and settled where they are now? 0:12:48.520 --> 0:12:51.240 Pass the test all through the day, Father, thank you 0:12:51.320 --> 0:12:55.840 that you're restoring back everything that belongs to me. Young 0:12:55.880 --> 0:12:58.520 man about twenty years old told me how when he 0:12:58.640 --> 0:13:02.320 was a child, he was passed from relative to relative. 0:13:02.880 --> 0:13:06.760 Nobody really wanted to raise him. He can't ever remember 0:13:07.240 --> 0:13:10.560 laughing and playing as a child. He said, Joel, I 0:13:10.559 --> 0:13:15.160 feel like somebody stole my childhood, and it's easy to think, well, 0:13:15.360 --> 0:13:18.240 too bad, just my luck. Nothing I can do about that. 0:13:19.160 --> 0:13:22.080 But God said in the Book of Joel, I will 0:13:22.160 --> 0:13:26.679 restore the years that have been stolen. Friends. God knows 0:13:26.679 --> 0:13:30.000 how to make up for years of your life. No, 0:13:30.160 --> 0:13:33.080 you can't relive your childhood, but God can make the 0:13:33.120 --> 0:13:37.080 rest of your life so rewarding, so fulfilling, that you 0:13:37.160 --> 0:13:40.480 don't even miss the years that you lost. You may 0:13:40.520 --> 0:13:43.559 feel like you wasted years in a relationship that didn't 0:13:43.600 --> 0:13:46.960 work out. But God can bring somebody into your life 0:13:47.080 --> 0:13:52.000 so great, so fun, so friendly, so attractive, that you 0:13:52.080 --> 0:13:55.600 don't even remember the years that you've lost. You may 0:13:55.640 --> 0:13:57.880 have spent years on a job that turned out to 0:13:57.920 --> 0:14:00.400 be a dead end. You are working your way to 0:14:00.440 --> 0:14:03.199 the top. Things didn't turn out like you had hoped, 0:14:03.200 --> 0:14:05.559 and now it looks like there's a big waste of time. 0:14:05.920 --> 0:14:08.120 You don't see how you could ever get to where 0:14:08.160 --> 0:14:11.360 you want to be now. Don't believe those lies. God 0:14:11.480 --> 0:14:14.800 knows how to make up for lost time. God can 0:14:14.920 --> 0:14:20.280 accelerate things. God can bring opportunities back across your path 0:14:20.560 --> 0:14:24.160 that you missed that will thrust you years ahead. It 0:14:24.200 --> 0:14:26.520 may not have happened the first time, but God will 0:14:26.560 --> 0:14:30.320 always give you another chance. I know this man. For 0:14:30.400 --> 0:14:32.920 the first forty years of his life, he was a 0:14:32.960 --> 0:14:36.640 cocaine addict. He came from a good family. He had 0:14:36.680 --> 0:14:40.160 a lot of opportunity, but he blew his marriage, blew 0:14:40.160 --> 0:14:44.160 his education. He thought it was all over. But today 0:14:44.240 --> 0:14:48.400 he's in his late fifties, he's very successful, he's happily married. 0:14:48.640 --> 0:14:51.720 He volunteers for us on the weekends. He said, Joel, 0:14:51.840 --> 0:14:56.320 I never dreamed God would give me another chance. What's happening. 0:14:56.760 --> 0:15:00.840 God is restoring the years. His ladder day are going 0:15:00.880 --> 0:15:03.840 to be greater than his former days. That's the way 0:15:03.920 --> 0:15:06.760 our God is. He knows how to make up for 0:15:06.880 --> 0:15:11.600 lost time. Here's the amazing thing. Even when it's your fault, 0:15:12.080 --> 0:15:15.840 God is so merciful he'll still give you another chance. 0:15:16.640 --> 0:15:19.760 Why don't you quit worrying about what you lost and 0:15:19.800 --> 0:15:23.200 how you're not where you think you should be and say, God, 0:15:23.560 --> 0:15:27.200 I believe you can restore the years that I lost, 0:15:27.840 --> 0:15:31.200 even when it was my fault. That takes a lot 0:15:31.200 --> 0:15:35.040 of boldness. The enemy will bombard your mind, saying, man, 0:15:35.080 --> 0:15:38.920 you're a hypocrite. You can't expect anything good. You should 0:15:38.920 --> 0:15:41.320 have been out studying, you should have been working, you 0:15:41.360 --> 0:15:44.600 should have been more disciplined. No, this is what mercy 0:15:44.800 --> 0:15:48.120 is all about. You don't deserve it. You could live 0:15:48.160 --> 0:15:52.120 guilty and condemned. When you shake it off and say God, 0:15:52.160 --> 0:15:56.320 I'm coming boldly to your throne, not because I'm perfect, 0:15:56.520 --> 0:15:59.760 but because your son made me worthy. And God, I'm 0:15:59.760 --> 0:16:03.000 asked you to turn back time and give me every 0:16:03.240 --> 0:16:07.520 opportunity that I have missed. See, God is not moved 0:16:07.600 --> 0:16:11.960 when we have that weak, unworthy, poor old me mentality. 0:16:12.280 --> 0:16:15.840 I don't deserve anything good. I've made too many mistakes. No, 0:16:16.040 --> 0:16:20.120 God wants to restore. He's full of mercy. But you've 0:16:20.120 --> 0:16:22.840 got to have the right attitude. And some of you 0:16:23.160 --> 0:16:26.560 have given up on your dreams, thinking about the years 0:16:26.560 --> 0:16:29.000 you wasted in the first marriage, and how you didn't 0:16:29.000 --> 0:16:32.440 spend enough time with your children, how somebody hurts you. No, 0:16:32.720 --> 0:16:37.520 quit blaming yourself, quit blaming others. God can still get 0:16:37.560 --> 0:16:40.320 you to where you're supposed to be. He knows how 0:16:40.360 --> 0:16:44.720 to restore the years. Our daughter Alexandra, was two months 0:16:44.760 --> 0:16:47.240 old when my father went to be with the Lord. 0:16:48.080 --> 0:16:50.840 During that time, my dad was on dialysis and I 0:16:50.960 --> 0:16:53.000 was taking him up to the clinic and bringing him 0:16:53.040 --> 0:16:56.840 back home. Was a very busy season. Then two months later, 0:16:56.880 --> 0:17:00.760 when Daddy died, our whole world changed. We were thrust 0:17:00.760 --> 0:17:03.840 into this new position and I was doing my best 0:17:03.840 --> 0:17:07.000 to just try to keep my head above water. I 0:17:07.080 --> 0:17:11.440 don't really remember the first few years of Alexander's life 0:17:11.720 --> 0:17:15.080 that well. We were in such a transition and I 0:17:15.160 --> 0:17:18.159 was learning how to minister trying to figure everything out. 0:17:18.600 --> 0:17:21.000 One day, we were looking at her baby pictures and 0:17:21.560 --> 0:17:24.479 I realized that I don't have the same memories of 0:17:24.520 --> 0:17:26.959 her the first few years of her life as I 0:17:27.000 --> 0:17:31.120 do our son Jonathan, and just under my breath, almost 0:17:31.160 --> 0:17:34.920 in passing, I said, God, I'm asking you to restore 0:17:35.040 --> 0:17:38.879 the years that I lost being so busy and so 0:17:39.000 --> 0:17:43.520 preoccupied with other things. That time, Alexander was about six 0:17:43.640 --> 0:17:47.200 years old, and it seemed like from that time forward 0:17:47.600 --> 0:17:49.800 all she wanted to do was to be with me, 0:17:50.160 --> 0:17:53.399 her father. She'd rather go out in the backyard and 0:17:53.480 --> 0:17:56.280 let me watch her turn cartwheels than to have her 0:17:56.320 --> 0:18:00.000 friends over to play. In fact, sometimes I needed a brain. 0:18:01.359 --> 0:18:03.479 I would say, Alexandra, are you sure you don't want 0:18:03.480 --> 0:18:05.720 to go to your cousins. You can go swimming. You're 0:18:05.720 --> 0:18:08.320 sure you don't want to invite your friends over? She said, no, Daddy, 0:18:08.359 --> 0:18:11.160 I just want to stay here with you. Even now 0:18:11.280 --> 0:18:13.840 she's fourteen years old, we're still the best of friends. 0:18:14.119 --> 0:18:16.639 She'll come up during the day at the house and 0:18:18.840 --> 0:18:21.919 put her arm around me and we'll laugh, talk, have 0:18:22.000 --> 0:18:24.800 a good time. She's like Victoria, she can't keep her 0:18:24.800 --> 0:18:28.840 hands off of me. But you know, what that is. 0:18:30.920 --> 0:18:36.960 That's where we're thinking what that is? Seriously, that's God 0:18:37.119 --> 0:18:43.280 restoring the years. That's God turning back time. Why don't 0:18:43.400 --> 0:18:48.439 you ask God to restore any opportunities that you've missed. 0:18:48.840 --> 0:18:52.479 Why don't you ask him to restore relationships that are 0:18:52.520 --> 0:18:55.600 not what they should be. God knows how to restore 0:18:55.640 --> 0:18:59.520 the years. Second King's Chapter eight, there's the story about 0:18:59.640 --> 0:19:02.720 a life. This lady that was good friends with him 0:19:02.840 --> 0:19:06.000 and her son died and Elisha came prayed for the 0:19:06.040 --> 0:19:08.920 boy and he came back to life. Later, there was 0:19:09.000 --> 0:19:12.520 a great famine in the land. Elisha told this woman 0:19:12.600 --> 0:19:15.200 that she needed to move to another city because the 0:19:15.280 --> 0:19:18.200 food was going to be so scarce. So she left 0:19:18.320 --> 0:19:22.000 there and went to the land of the Philistines. Seven 0:19:22.119 --> 0:19:25.520 years later, the famine was over. She was so excited 0:19:25.560 --> 0:19:29.320 about coming back home, but when she arrived, she found 0:19:29.359 --> 0:19:33.560 that somebody was living in her house, farming her land, 0:19:34.000 --> 0:19:37.119 making money off of her property. She couldn't believe it. 0:19:37.520 --> 0:19:39.680 She said, what are you doing here? This is my house. 0:19:39.880 --> 0:19:43.200 I built this place. They wouldn't budge. They weren't about 0:19:43.200 --> 0:19:45.760 to leave. She didn't know what to do, so she 0:19:45.920 --> 0:19:49.359 decided to go see the King. Now, this king wasn't 0:19:49.359 --> 0:19:52.239 a godly man. She didn't have any connection with him. 0:19:52.280 --> 0:19:54.399 She didn't even know if the king would see her. 0:19:55.160 --> 0:19:58.680 But when she arrived, it just so happened that Gehzei, 0:19:59.359 --> 0:20:02.720 that was this assistant to Elisha, he happened to be 0:20:02.840 --> 0:20:06.560 there visiting with the king. The King was very intrigued 0:20:06.600 --> 0:20:09.959 by the prophet Elisha. He asked Gehza to tell him 0:20:10.000 --> 0:20:14.280 some stories about the miracles that Elisha had performed. Just 0:20:14.359 --> 0:20:17.679 so happened that gehes I started off telling this story 0:20:17.800 --> 0:20:20.920 about this little boy that died and how Elisha prayed 0:20:20.960 --> 0:20:23.760 and he came back to life. Right as he was 0:20:23.880 --> 0:20:28.040 telling it, perfectly on cue, this lady walked in the room. 0:20:28.800 --> 0:20:32.000 Gaehes I was amazed. He said, King, that's the lady 0:20:32.080 --> 0:20:34.879 I'm talking about right there. It was her son that 0:20:35.040 --> 0:20:37.760 came back to life. The King said, is this true? 0:20:37.960 --> 0:20:41.480 She said, exactly true. The King was so moved not 0:20:41.640 --> 0:20:44.240 only by the miracle, but by the fact that this 0:20:44.400 --> 0:20:48.160 lady had shown up unannounced, perfectly on cue. He said 0:20:48.200 --> 0:20:50.240 to the lady, ma'am, what can I do for you. 0:20:50.960 --> 0:20:53.879 She explained her situation, how she had gone for seven 0:20:53.960 --> 0:20:56.520 years and now she's back home and somebody was living 0:20:56.600 --> 0:20:59.720 in her house. The King said, no problem, I'll take 0:20:59.800 --> 0:21:03.400 care of that. He instructed his officials to make sure 0:21:03.480 --> 0:21:06.040 that she not only got her house back, but he 0:21:06.119 --> 0:21:09.399 said see to it that she gets all the money 0:21:09.960 --> 0:21:13.879 from any crops that were harvested during the seven years 0:21:13.920 --> 0:21:16.880 that she was gone. What she had lost by being 0:21:16.960 --> 0:21:20.120 away for seven years was returned to her in one day. 0:21:20.760 --> 0:21:24.600 That was God restoring the years, paying her back for 0:21:24.720 --> 0:21:28.959 what should have been heard. Now, some of you are 0:21:29.040 --> 0:21:33.200 due payback. You've lost some things. The good news is 0:21:33.520 --> 0:21:37.120 they still have your name on them. Your health, your dreams, 0:21:37.280 --> 0:21:41.959 your finances, your relationships. If you'll have this restoration mentality 0:21:42.640 --> 0:21:46.280 like this lady, God will pay you back for everything 0:21:46.400 --> 0:21:49.520 that should have been yours. God can make up for 0:21:49.720 --> 0:21:53.600 seven years of loss with one good break. God can 0:21:53.680 --> 0:21:57.520 take fifteen years of struggle and lack and cause one 0:21:57.640 --> 0:22:00.159 person to show you favor. That will make up for 0:22:00.240 --> 0:22:03.520 those fifteen years You may have struggled. In your health, 0:22:04.119 --> 0:22:07.640 in a relationship, in your mind, no peace for get 0:22:07.680 --> 0:22:11.399 this down in your spirit. It's payback time. God is 0:22:11.480 --> 0:22:14.439 going to start restoring everything that should have been yours. 0:22:15.640 --> 0:22:19.080 Some of you are raising a child that's difficult. You 0:22:19.240 --> 0:22:22.960 never complain. You love your child, but it's taken your joy, 0:22:23.560 --> 0:22:27.240 your passion. God is going to pay you back. He 0:22:27.440 --> 0:22:30.639 knows exactly what you're owed. He's going to give you 0:22:30.840 --> 0:22:35.199 greater strength, greater joy. You may have missed out temporarily, 0:22:35.560 --> 0:22:38.359 but you need to get ready. What your ode is 0:22:38.440 --> 0:22:40.880 still in your account, and God knows how to get 0:22:40.920 --> 0:22:43.320 it to you. You may have put up with an 0:22:43.359 --> 0:22:46.360 illness for a long time, worked at a job where 0:22:46.359 --> 0:22:49.480 you're not being treated right, struggled with an addiction for 0:22:49.600 --> 0:22:54.200 many years. Be encouraged. Today payday is on its way. 0:22:54.800 --> 0:22:57.480 God's not only going to turn it around. He's going 0:22:57.560 --> 0:23:00.679 to restore everything back to you that should have been yours. 0:23:01.359 --> 0:23:04.040 The rest of your life is going to be more rewarding, 0:23:04.560 --> 0:23:16.760 more fulfilling than anything you've experienced before. That's what it 0:23:16.840 --> 0:23:19.880 says Psalm sixty six twelve. We went through the fire, 0:23:20.600 --> 0:23:23.879 through the flood, but God brought us out to a 0:23:24.000 --> 0:23:27.840 place of great abundance. That's what God is going to 0:23:27.880 --> 0:23:30.040 do for you. You've been through the famine, through the 0:23:30.160 --> 0:23:33.560 tough time, but you passed the test. Now God's going 0:23:33.600 --> 0:23:36.320 to bring you not to a place of abundance, but 0:23:36.440 --> 0:23:41.720 a place of great abundance, great joy, great friendships, great health, 0:23:42.240 --> 0:23:46.159 great income. Our attitude should be God, I'm ready. I 0:23:46.320 --> 0:23:49.600 know it's payback time. Now. I'm not sitting around focused 0:23:49.640 --> 0:23:52.280 on what I lost and who hurt me and where 0:23:52.320 --> 0:23:55.320 I missed it. I'm focused on the fact that you're 0:23:55.320 --> 0:23:58.600 a God of restoration. You're full of mercy. You know 0:23:58.760 --> 0:24:01.840 exactly what I'm ow and you promised you would pay 0:24:01.880 --> 0:24:05.679 me back and bring me to a place of great abundance. 0:24:06.160 --> 0:24:10.160