Repair Shop

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The Repair Shop is a series on the BBC where people bring in old items and experts repair those items. It sounds a bit boring but it’s about making old things come alive, restoring and making new from the old. So stay tuned for a short talk on the repair shop!

Repair Shop on BBC website – https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b08l581p

The BBC site also has a bunch of video clips you can use legally!

Revelation 21.1-6

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” And he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment.

The Old Item

Sometimes we think about old things like they’re not worth much. Often we ignore the old person we see on the bus or in the shop. But this isn’t a great attitude. Apart from anything we’ll all be old one day if we live long! I know one ‘old’ woman who you wouldn’t think much of to look at. But she was one of the pioneers of creating sound systems and helped record The Beatles! Older people often have amazing stories to tell.

That’s the same in the repair shop. The items that people bring in to be fixed and restored often have amazing stories – like being in World War 2 or being from a famous person or just have great value to the person because it reminds them of a family member who has died.

We should never think of ourselves as not being valuable, or being too old or out of date or not being fashionable enough. Yes, God wants to take the old part of us like our bad behaviour and bad habits and change them. But God wants to use you and loves you. He doesn’t think you are too little or not enough. Someone famously said that God doesn’t (just) look for ability, what he really looks for is availability!

When someone comes to the repair shop, they bring the item with them to be restored. Sometimes that’s all we need to do with God – just bring ourselves to God and let him do the work!

And remember, one day God will re-make the heavens and the earth. He will take what is decaying or has decayed and he will make it new. This will be a physical example of what God does on the inside of us when we ask Jesus to be boss of our lives.

Restoration

In Acts 10.38, the Bible says that Jesus of Nazareth went around doing good. In a famous old daily quiet-time book called ‘Streams in the Desert’, the author points out that another valid way of translating Acts 10.38 is this:

Jesus of Nazareth went around making things beautiful

God is in the business of restoring people.

I could give you God-stories from people who have been gang leaders, prostitutes, who have been abandoned, people physically and mentally scarred, victims of sex trafficking and people who had no self esteem. All of these people had an encounter with God that completely changed their lives.

As one example, in the paper ‘Good News’ (May 2019, page 2), the story is told of Sarah Clarke who had reached a dark place – drinking too much, closing her curtains, wanting to kill herself, hearing voices, in and out of mental health centres and in deep depression treatment. She had been sexually abused and was understandably angry.

One day, she had a dream where Jesus appeared like fire and took hold of her hand and told her that he loved her and to keep persevering. She then went to Teen Challenge, a Christian ministry helping people recover from addiction where she was changed by Jesus in a deep way and found true freedom and healing. She now has peace, is free from fear, doesn’t need medication, is no longer paranoid or shaky and is working to help others.

Good News, May 2019, page 2

The story of Sarah is just one of millions and millions of stories in the world today where God restores people back to who he made them to be. Sometimes life and the devil destroys people and tears them down. But God builds us back up bit by bit. He repairs us over time but sometimes he leaves the scars so we can help others. God knows how to repair us, which bits to repair first and what ‘materials’ to use. God is the master craftsman as he made us and knows how to piece us back together when we feel broken.

Psalm 139.13-15 tells us how God created us (and therefore why he is the best one to repair us when we are ‘broken’!)

For you created my inmost being;
    you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
    your works are wonderful,
    I know that full well.
My frame was not hidden from you
    when I was made in the secret place,
    when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.

If you need help in any way, you can access God’s Repair Shop 24/7. God is always available and always wants to help us. It doesn’t matter what the problem is or when it happens. But usually we have to ‘go to the repair shop’ and ask God. So just ask God – just say ‘help!’ and really mean it and God will always help. It may mean changing and sometimes is a bit painful but the end result is always worth it…

Joy

Psalm 30.5 says this: “I’ve learned that his anger lasts for a moment, but his loving favor lasts a lifetime! We may weep through the night, but at daybreak it will turn into shouts of ecstatic joy.”

The Passion Translation

One of the amazing consequences of the repair shop is that when the items are repaired, the owner comes back to the shop and the repair is revealed to them. The owners are always happy and sometimes so happy that they get quite emotional! They see the change of the old to the new.

So here’s a few easy points for you…

  1. There should be a change when God repairs us
  2. The change always works out as a good change
  3. It should make us happier (and have a good impact on others too)
  4. Other people should notice the change for good!

So here are a few questions for you…

  1. Do you need to go to God’s repair shop?
  2. Does your life show how God has changed you? Can people tell?

Your Repair Shop Franchise?

Many food chains like KFC are run by ‘franchise’ owners. These are people who have a contract from KFC to run one of their restaurants. KFC help with the marketing and branding and take a share of the profits. The franchise owners run the business and also take a share of the profits.

God is actually calling you to be a franchise owner… A repair shop franchise owner – someone who God uses to help restore and repair people – to help the hurting, the hopeless and helpless.

Could you… would you… write your name on the picture below to partner with God to bring his change to people’s lives…?

Ready to be part of God’s Repair Shop?