Restore week 5B

“Give Yourself Permission”

**Introduction:**

One of the key aspects of receiving God’s restoration is giving ourselves permission to do so.

This may sound funny at first, but it’s a reality for many people.

They find it hard to believe they deserve restoration from God.

As a result, they hold themselves in a place of prolonged guilt, shame, and self-punishment. In today’s message, we are going to explore how self-punishment blocks us from receiving God’s restoration, and how we must surrender to His grace in order to be truly restored.

### 1. **The Trap of Self-Punishment**

Many people are held back from receiving the restoration of God because they believe they don’t deserve it.

This belief often stems from a misunderstanding of God’s grace and forgiveness.

- **Misunderstanding Grace:** Some of us think we need to "earn" God's forgiveness through good deeds or self-inflicted suffering. When we fail, we enact punishment on ourselves, thinking it’s the righteous thing to do. But this belief is rooted in our human thinking, not in God’s Word.

- **Self-Punishment as a Deterrent:** The more we beat ourselves up over past mistakes and failures, the harder it becomes to receive the Father’s restoration of lost years. God’s grace and restoration are freely given, but when we refuse to forgive ourselves, we keep ourselves locked in a place of brokenness.

### 2. **The Consequences of Prolonged Unforgiveness**

When we fail to forgive ourselves and continue living in guilt and shame, we eventually begin to shape our identity around it.

Unforgiveness becomes a lifestyle, and shame becomes a constant companion.

**Living in Shame:**

Prolonged unforgiveness causes us to live in a state of perpetual shame.

Instead of viewing ourselves as redeemed and restored by the love of Christ, we identify as unworthy, undeserving, and unlovable.

This mindset becomes a prison of our own making.

- **The Identity of Shame:**

When shame becomes central to our identity, we close ourselves off to God’s blessings and restoration.

We might even convince ourselves that God’s promises of restoration are for others but not for us.

This is a lie from the enemy, designed to keep us from stepping into the fullness of what God has prepared for us.

### 3. **The Role of External Voices and Relationships**

Often, the voices of others around us contribute to our inability to receive restoration.

We surround ourselves with people who confirm our inner voice of guilt, shame, and unworthiness.

- **Support from Negative Voices:**

Whether it’s family, friends, or even our own inner critic, there are voices that tell us we are undeserving of God’s grace.

These voices reinforce the false belief that we must remain in a place of loss and devastation.

- **Breaking Free from These Voices:**

Part of receiving God’s restoration involves distancing ourselves from the voices that keep us in bondage.

We must instead turn our ears to the voice of God, who declares, "You are forgiven, you are restored, and you are worthy because of Christ."

### 4. **Self-Punishment as Spiritual Pride**

We may think that punishing ourselves for past sins is a form of humility, but in reality, it’s a subtle form of pride.

Why? Because it diminishes the finished work of Christ on the cross.

To believe that we can punish ourselves into forgiveness is to deny the sufficiency of Christ’s sacrifice.

Jesus alone has purchased our forgiveness through His blood.

When we refuse to accept that and attempt to "earn" forgiveness through self-punishment, we place ourselves above the work of Christ.

Some people reject the grace of God not because they don’t believe in God, but because they don’t believe they deserve His grace.

This intellectual or emotional resistance to grace is actually rooted in pride—the pride of thinking we must contribute to our own salvation and restoration.

### 5. **The Necessity of Receiving Grace**

The final and most important point is that grace extended must become grace received.

Jesus has already made the way for our restoration, but we must choose to accept it.

- **Acknowledging Our Need for Grace:**

Receiving God’s restoration requires us to humble ourselves and acknowledge that we cannot restore ourselves.

Only God can restore what has been lost. When we receive His grace, we acknowledge that He alone is worthy of praise and recognition.

### Moving from Shame to Restoration

Restoration begins the moment we stop defining ourselves by our failures and start seeing ourselves through the lens of Christ’s sacrifice. Often, shame holds us captive because it distorts our view of who we are, convincing us that our past mistakes and sins define our worth. But in Christ, this is not the case. The woman caught in adultery, as we saw in John 8, is a perfect example of this transformative shift from shame to restoration.

#### 1. **Defining Ourselves by Christ’s Sacrifice**

When Jesus encountered the woman, He didn’t deny the reality of her sin, but He also didn’t let it define her. Instead, He extended grace and gave her a new identity—not as an adulterer, but as a forgiven child of God. The same is true for us.

- **Our Identity in Christ:** We must learn to see ourselves through the lens of Christ’s finished work on the cross. Jesus’ sacrifice means that our sins—past, present, and future—have been paid for in full. When we focus on His sacrifice rather than our failures, we begin to experience the freedom of restoration.

- **Letting Go of Shame:** Shame tries to tell us that we are beyond redemption, that we are unworthy of restoration. But the cross tells a different story. It tells us that Jesus took our shame upon Himself so that we wouldn’t have to carry it anymore. When we let go of the identity of shame and embrace the identity Christ gives us, we begin to walk in the restoration He offers.

**Illustration:** Imagine carrying a heavy backpack filled with regrets, mistakes, and shame. Every step is exhausting because of the weight. But Jesus comes along and says, "Let me carry that for you." We are only restored when we allow Him to take the weight of shame off our shoulders and walk freely in the grace He provides.

#### 2. **The Command to "Go and Sin No More"**

After extending grace to the woman, Jesus tells her to “go and sin no more.” This command wasn’t just about changing her behavior; it was about changing her mindset. She was no longer to be defined by her sin but was called to live in the newness of life that Christ offered.

- **Leaving the Past Behind:** True restoration requires us to leave the past behind. Jesus’ instruction to the woman to "go and sin no more" was an invitation to start fresh. He didn’t leave her condemned or trapped by her past mistakes. In the same way, when God restores us, He calls us to walk away from the patterns of sin and guilt that kept us bound.

- **Walking in the Newness of Life:** Restoration is not just about being forgiven for the past; it’s about stepping into a new future. Paul echoes this truth in 2 Corinthians 5:17 when he says, "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!" We are not just forgiven sinners; we are new creations in Christ, restored to walk in the fullness of life that God intended for us.

**Application:** When we stop defining ourselves by our failures, we allow God to bring us into the fullness of restoration. This means leaving behind old mindsets and behaviors, embracing the new identity Christ offers, and living in the freedom of His grace.

#### 3. **Restoration is a Journey, Not a Destination**

Restoration is not a one-time event but a journey of continually embracing the grace of God. Every day, we are faced with the temptation to slip back into shame and self-condemnation. However, restoration means continually reminding ourselves of who we are in Christ and walking in that truth.

- **Renewing Our Minds:** Romans 12:2 reminds us, “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” The world tells us that we are defined by our past, but God calls us to be transformed by His Word. Daily, we must renew our minds with the truth of the Gospel—that we are forgiven, restored, and made new.

- **Progress Over Perfection:** Restoration doesn’t mean we won’t struggle or make mistakes in the future. But it does mean that when we stumble, we don’t have to fall back into shame. Instead, we return to the grace of God, confident that He is continually at work in us. Philippians 1:6 assures us, “He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” Our restoration is ongoing, but it’s secure in God’s hands.

**Illustration:** Picture a damaged house being slowly rebuilt. The process takes time, but every day, new progress is made. That’s how God works in our lives. He restores us piece by piece, healing the broken areas and strengthening the foundation until we are fully restored.

#### 4. **Restoration Empowers Us for Ministry**

Once we have experienced the restoration of God, we are called to help others move from shame to restoration as well. Just as Christ extended grace to the woman caught in adultery, we are called to extend grace to others who are trapped in shame.

- **Becoming Agents of Restoration:** God’s work of restoration in our lives is not just for us—it’s also for the people around us. When we walk in the freedom of restoration, we become living testimonies of God’s grace. Our story of moving from shame to restoration can inspire others to seek the same healing from God.

- **Restoration as a Witness:** The world is filled with people who are carrying the weight of shame and guilt, believing that they are beyond God’s reach. But when they see us living in the freedom of God’s restoration, it serves as a powerful witness. Our lives become a demonstration of the fact that God can restore anyone, no matter how far they’ve fallen.

**Application:** Just as Jesus told the woman to "go," we too are sent out to live as restored people in a broken world. Our restoration becomes a platform for us to share the message of hope, grace, and restoration with those who are still bound by shame.

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**Conclusion:**

Restoration begins when we stop letting shame and failure define who we are and start seeing ourselves through the eyes of Christ’s love and sacrifice. As we move from shame to restoration, we step into the fullness of life that God has promised. Just as Jesus told the woman caught in adultery to "go and sin no more," He invites each of us to walk in the newness of life that comes from being restored by His grace.

Let us commit today to stop carrying the weight of shame, to release ourselves from the cycle of self-punishment, and to walk forward in the restoration that Jesus has freely offered. Remember, grace extended must become grace received. And once received, that grace will empower us to live in the fullness of God’s restoration and to share that restoration with the world around us. Amen.