WEBVTT 00:00:00.769 --> 00:00:02.350 So if I haven't said it yet, my name is Greg 00:00:02.350 --> 00:00:05.230 Hampton. I'm one of the pastors here at the house. 00:00:05.269 --> 00:00:07.929 If we have never met, I would love to meet you. 00:00:08.210 --> 00:00:10.390 I'd love to buy you a coffee or soda or whatever, 00:00:10.529 --> 00:00:13.550 get to know you, hear your story. Maybe if you'd 00:00:13.550 --> 00:00:15.130 like to talk about Jesus, I'd really like to 00:00:15.130 --> 00:00:18.390 talk about Jesus some. But we are in our last 00:00:18.390 --> 00:00:21.230 week of a series that we've been calling Desire 00:00:21.230 --> 00:00:24.070 Paths. And I'm actually, let's see, I'm going 00:00:24.070 --> 00:00:26.870 to ask, JC, will you help me out here? Will you 00:00:26.870 --> 00:00:31.039 pass one of these out to... To everyone. One 00:00:31.039 --> 00:00:35.079 of those to everyone. Every single person. All 00:00:35.079 --> 00:00:45.479 right. I'm about to hand you something that you're 00:00:45.479 --> 00:00:47.299 going to be tempted to play with for the entire 00:00:47.299 --> 00:00:54.060 sermon. Velcro is loud when you pull it apart, 00:00:54.179 --> 00:00:58.640 isn't it? All right. So if a kid has it, it's 00:00:58.640 --> 00:01:01.020 fine. Kids are kids. Let them play. But adults, 00:01:01.079 --> 00:01:02.920 I'm going to ask you not to add to that, you 00:01:02.920 --> 00:01:05.060 know, by just like 17 people sitting around the 00:01:05.060 --> 00:01:09.459 room going, shh, shh, shh. Okay? But I promise 00:01:09.459 --> 00:01:12.200 that this is going to come back, and then I'm 00:01:12.200 --> 00:01:16.239 going to have a reason for giving you Velcro. 00:01:17.239 --> 00:01:20.599 All right, so desire paths are the places that 00:01:20.599 --> 00:01:23.659 we walk. They're the shortcuts that we... Create 00:01:23.659 --> 00:01:27.219 when the sidewalk or the street that's already 00:01:27.219 --> 00:01:32.760 there just isn't fast enough. I loved that our 00:01:32.760 --> 00:01:34.980 students and our kids are part of the services 00:01:34.980 --> 00:01:37.060 with us, the kids that are older than fifth grade, 00:01:37.120 --> 00:01:39.579 because my son happens to be in that age, and 00:01:39.579 --> 00:01:41.959 he's in seventh grade. And a couple weeks ago, 00:01:42.040 --> 00:01:45.420 he sent me a picture of a desire path. Right? 00:01:45.560 --> 00:01:47.299 He wouldn't have known what to call it before, 00:01:47.439 --> 00:01:49.079 but he took a picture where he was, and he said, 00:01:49.140 --> 00:01:54.620 hey, Dad, I found a desire path. This Lent, we've 00:01:54.620 --> 00:01:56.040 been asking if there are things that we should 00:01:56.040 --> 00:01:57.879 be paying attention to that may be desire paths 00:01:57.879 --> 00:02:00.200 that we've created. And maybe over the course 00:02:00.200 --> 00:02:03.140 of the last five weeks, you've started to see 00:02:03.140 --> 00:02:05.819 more of those desire paths. Maybe you've started 00:02:05.819 --> 00:02:08.199 to see like, oh, this thing that I'm doing or 00:02:08.199 --> 00:02:10.699 this feeling that I have or that, that those 00:02:10.699 --> 00:02:13.219 things, oh, I'm creating that path for myself. 00:02:13.300 --> 00:02:15.819 Maybe that isn't the thing that God is actually 00:02:15.819 --> 00:02:22.050 hoping that we will have. And I love that the 00:02:22.050 --> 00:02:25.590 smoke just started because that'll come up too. 00:02:27.169 --> 00:02:30.229 So this Lent, we've been considering those desire 00:02:30.229 --> 00:02:32.270 paths that maybe we need to give up for a time 00:02:32.270 --> 00:02:35.449 at least and see if it's something that God wants 00:02:35.449 --> 00:02:38.969 us to be walking in, if it's actually something 00:02:38.969 --> 00:02:41.169 that God put in front of us, or if there's something 00:02:41.169 --> 00:02:44.169 else that he has for us. So far we've discussed 00:02:44.169 --> 00:02:47.550 fasting from social media, from complaining, 00:02:47.770 --> 00:02:54.099 from alcohol, From unnecessary spending and entertainment 00:02:54.099 --> 00:02:57.560 and from food. Look at me, I'm already tempted 00:02:57.560 --> 00:03:01.659 to pull it apart. But today I want to talk about 00:03:01.659 --> 00:03:03.860 something that, I don't know, it might be a little 00:03:03.860 --> 00:03:06.300 more abstract for some of us or might be close 00:03:06.300 --> 00:03:10.360 to home because it's something that I know without 00:03:10.360 --> 00:03:14.319 a doubt that Jesus wants us to give this up. 00:03:15.740 --> 00:03:17.800 Today I want to talk about the desire path of 00:03:17.800 --> 00:03:23.430 shame. Let's open our Bibles. We're going to 00:03:23.430 --> 00:03:27.129 Hebrews 12. Hebrews 12, it's in the Newer Testament. 00:03:27.530 --> 00:03:30.610 It's towards the back. It goes Hebrews, James, 00:03:30.990 --> 00:03:35.090 1 Peter, 2 Peter, 1, 2, 3 John. There are Bibles 00:03:35.090 --> 00:03:38.250 on the tables. You can download a Bible from 00:03:38.250 --> 00:03:41.229 digital app stores. These blue Bibles, they're 00:03:41.229 --> 00:03:42.710 actually out in the lobby too. You can take one 00:03:42.710 --> 00:03:44.569 home if you don't have one. It's towards the 00:03:44.569 --> 00:03:47.449 back again. It goes Hebrews, James, 1 and 2 Peter, 00:03:47.550 --> 00:03:51.020 1, 2, 3 John, Jude, Revelation. If you see those, 00:03:51.060 --> 00:03:53.219 you know you're in the right neighborhood. We're 00:03:53.219 --> 00:03:55.180 going to be Hebrews 12, starting in verse 1. 00:03:55.300 --> 00:03:56.620 We have a tradition of giving the scriptures 00:03:56.620 --> 00:04:00.139 our full attention when they're read in the context 00:04:00.139 --> 00:04:02.560 of a sermon. You can do that while you sit or 00:04:02.560 --> 00:04:05.759 if you'd like to stand with me as I read. Hebrews 00:04:05.759 --> 00:04:11.159 12, verses 1 and 2 says this. Therefore, since 00:04:11.159 --> 00:04:13.419 we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, 00:04:13.759 --> 00:04:16.459 let us throw off everything that hinders and 00:04:16.459 --> 00:04:19.709 the sin that so easily entangles. And let us 00:04:19.709 --> 00:04:22.889 run with perseverance the race marked out for 00:04:22.889 --> 00:04:27.709 us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and 00:04:27.709 --> 00:04:31.149 perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him, 00:04:31.250 --> 00:04:35.910 he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and 00:04:35.910 --> 00:04:39.889 sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 00:04:39.970 --> 00:04:42.870 Let us pray. God of every tribe, of every tongue, 00:04:43.029 --> 00:04:47.100 every color, every nation. We thank you for the 00:04:47.100 --> 00:04:49.040 scriptures that they have persisted throughout 00:04:49.040 --> 00:04:52.680 the millennia. That we have them to read, to 00:04:52.680 --> 00:04:55.339 consider, to learn from. And I just pray that 00:04:55.339 --> 00:04:57.000 whatever you have for us to learn today, that 00:04:57.000 --> 00:05:00.339 it would stick. That it would become a part of 00:05:00.339 --> 00:05:03.899 the framework of our faith. As we become more 00:05:03.899 --> 00:05:08.259 like your son, Jesus. Amen. Thanks, y 'all. I 00:05:08.259 --> 00:05:11.180 can have a seat. Okay, don't raise your hand. 00:05:11.300 --> 00:05:15.129 You heard me say don't, right? Don't. raise your 00:05:15.129 --> 00:05:17.470 hand, but my guess is that if I asked you to, 00:05:17.589 --> 00:05:22.269 if I asked you how many of us feel shame on a 00:05:22.269 --> 00:05:25.490 regular basis, that a lot of our hands would 00:05:25.490 --> 00:05:28.930 go up. If I asked if someone has shamed you in 00:05:28.930 --> 00:05:33.069 the last week or month, a lot of our hands might 00:05:33.069 --> 00:05:38.949 go up. If I asked have we used shame with someone 00:05:38.949 --> 00:05:45.629 else, if we were really, really honest, A lot 00:05:45.629 --> 00:05:49.410 of our hands might go up. Shame is a powerful 00:05:49.410 --> 00:05:55.670 tool. It pushes without the power to actually 00:05:55.670 --> 00:06:02.670 move us. Because shame doesn't motivate motion. 00:06:03.089 --> 00:06:10.110 Shame sticks you to a moment. Now, I'm not talking 00:06:10.110 --> 00:06:13.250 about guilt. We shouldn't be wielding guilt against 00:06:13.250 --> 00:06:16.290 each other. Either the guilt has its place or 00:06:16.290 --> 00:06:19.430 maybe I should say conviction. Conviction has 00:06:19.430 --> 00:06:22.769 its place. Conviction is like a smoke detector. 00:06:24.430 --> 00:06:27.290 Smoke goes up, the detector goes off. You're 00:06:27.290 --> 00:06:28.930 supposed to go, oh, there might be something 00:06:28.930 --> 00:06:32.589 wrong. That guilt or conviction is that moment 00:06:32.589 --> 00:06:36.170 of, oh, something changed. Maybe I should pay 00:06:36.170 --> 00:06:40.689 attention to that. But shame is different. See, 00:06:40.810 --> 00:06:43.939 when there's healthy conviction and we... have 00:06:43.939 --> 00:06:47.319 apologized. The fire has long been extinguished 00:06:47.319 --> 00:06:50.639 and everything has been repaired and replaced. 00:06:51.160 --> 00:06:53.699 Shame is like the smoke -covered clothes that 00:06:53.699 --> 00:07:01.259 we won't take off. And so the smell is just always 00:07:01.259 --> 00:07:09.160 with us. Either because we can't let it go or 00:07:09.160 --> 00:07:12.939 because someone told us Those clothes are the 00:07:12.939 --> 00:07:19.740 only thing that's left. Guilt or conviction is 00:07:19.740 --> 00:07:23.680 meant to be about saving you from the moment, 00:07:23.779 --> 00:07:30.879 getting you out of the fire. Shame is about convincing 00:07:30.879 --> 00:07:35.019 you that you're still in it, even when you're 00:07:35.019 --> 00:07:40.680 not. Shame tells you, everyone knows what you 00:07:40.680 --> 00:07:46.139 did. They're thinking about it right now. Shame 00:07:46.139 --> 00:07:51.720 whispers. They smell the smoke. Even if they 00:07:51.720 --> 00:07:58.079 don't know, they smell it. Hebrews 12 says, therefore, 00:07:58.199 --> 00:08:02.920 because we have such a great cloud of witnesses, 00:08:03.100 --> 00:08:06.480 let us throw off all that hinders us and the 00:08:06.480 --> 00:08:09.019 sin that so easily entangles us. There's this 00:08:09.019 --> 00:08:13.009 question of what kind of cloud are we in? Are 00:08:13.009 --> 00:08:16.110 we in a cloud of the smoke of our past mistakes 00:08:16.110 --> 00:08:21.930 or are we in a cloud of great witnesses? Listen, 00:08:22.069 --> 00:08:32.149 shame is not your skin. Shame is only the old 00:08:32.149 --> 00:08:34.870 smoky clothes that are reminding you of a moment 00:08:34.870 --> 00:08:41.679 that you no longer belong in. And you can take 00:08:41.679 --> 00:08:48.279 it off. Have you guys seen that video of, there's 00:08:48.279 --> 00:08:53.600 this guy that he left his retainers in for five 00:08:53.600 --> 00:08:58.500 or six years? He had braces. And he's an adult. 00:08:58.639 --> 00:09:01.100 He's a full -grown adult. And he got his braces 00:09:01.100 --> 00:09:04.620 off. And the video is of him with his partner, 00:09:04.639 --> 00:09:06.000 and his partner's trying to convince him, no, 00:09:06.019 --> 00:09:09.220 you're allowed to take them out. And he's like, 00:09:09.259 --> 00:09:12.129 no, I thought. I thought the orthodontist glued 00:09:12.129 --> 00:09:15.149 them in. They're like there. So you can imagine 00:09:15.149 --> 00:09:20.129 how yellowed plastic retainers might get after 00:09:20.129 --> 00:09:23.309 five or six years, no matter how many times you 00:09:23.309 --> 00:09:28.210 have brushed it. But he had never taken out his 00:09:28.210 --> 00:09:31.450 retainers. He literally says, I'm afraid that 00:09:31.450 --> 00:09:38.279 my teeth will come out if I pull too hard. Sometimes 00:09:38.279 --> 00:09:42.779 we're afraid if we let go of the shame that we'll 00:09:42.779 --> 00:09:44.899 lose something else that we think we can't replace. 00:09:51.799 --> 00:09:55.539 Eventually in the video, he tries. He kind of 00:09:55.539 --> 00:09:57.940 gets his finger in there. I don't know. We'll 00:09:57.940 --> 00:09:59.559 do a show of hands. Show of hands who had braces 00:09:59.559 --> 00:10:06.509 in their life. Yeah. So, show of hands. I'm guessing 00:10:06.509 --> 00:10:08.529 most of us have been to the dentist. If you've 00:10:08.529 --> 00:10:09.990 ever been to the dentist, that feeling right 00:10:09.990 --> 00:10:12.509 when they're done, your teeth feel like they're 00:10:12.509 --> 00:10:15.990 brand new. When you get your braces off, it's 00:10:15.990 --> 00:10:18.730 like that feeling times 10. It's like, oh my 00:10:18.730 --> 00:10:21.730 gosh, you have not felt, you've not felt your 00:10:21.730 --> 00:10:24.549 teeth with your lips or your tongue for however 00:10:24.549 --> 00:10:28.409 many years you had braces. And so it's just like, 00:10:28.429 --> 00:10:31.909 he finally, he pries and he takes it off and 00:10:31.909 --> 00:10:37.659 his teeth are perfect. clean, perfectly straight, 00:10:37.860 --> 00:10:44.019 immaculate. Therefore, since we are surrounded 00:10:44.019 --> 00:10:47.399 by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw 00:10:47.399 --> 00:10:55.120 off, cast off, take out all that hinders us. 00:10:57.179 --> 00:11:00.240 All the sin, all the things that so easily entangle 00:11:00.240 --> 00:11:03.159 us. When I was a kid, I was taught... that any 00:11:03.159 --> 00:11:06.240 time you see the word therefore, you ask what 00:11:06.240 --> 00:11:10.279 it's there for, right? If you've never heard 00:11:10.279 --> 00:11:12.519 that. Especially in the Bible, when you see the 00:11:12.519 --> 00:11:15.419 word therefore, you're supposed to go, oh, I 00:11:15.419 --> 00:11:17.460 wonder what that's there for. And so you back 00:11:17.460 --> 00:11:20.259 up. And if you back up into Hebrews 11, what 00:11:20.259 --> 00:11:23.179 you find is that the author has just finished 00:11:23.179 --> 00:11:26.340 talking about all the heroes of their faith, 00:11:26.519 --> 00:11:31.330 all the heroes of the Israelite faith. If you 00:11:31.330 --> 00:11:33.529 read the Old Testament, the Hebrew Testament, 00:11:33.649 --> 00:11:36.350 you'll see all of these people that they're talking 00:11:36.350 --> 00:11:41.330 about. The people that were this great cloud 00:11:41.330 --> 00:11:43.629 of witnesses. What's fascinating is that how 00:11:43.629 --> 00:11:47.509 many of those heroes could have carried shame 00:11:47.509 --> 00:11:54.029 instead of walking in faith. Abraham and Sarah 00:11:54.029 --> 00:11:57.529 are mentioned. Abraham and Sarah are promised. 00:11:58.090 --> 00:12:00.009 that they would have a child in their old age. 00:12:02.009 --> 00:12:05.450 But what was their response? They laughed. It 00:12:05.450 --> 00:12:08.970 says that Abraham and Sarah laughed at the idea 00:12:08.970 --> 00:12:11.570 because they did not believe that God could do 00:12:11.570 --> 00:12:19.389 what God had said God could do. Jacob was the 00:12:19.389 --> 00:12:22.950 younger of two twin brothers. He literally conned 00:12:22.950 --> 00:12:27.379 his brother and then tricked his father. into 00:12:27.379 --> 00:12:29.779 giving him the blessing that was meant to go 00:12:29.779 --> 00:12:32.519 to the oldest son. He ran for his life. Later, 00:12:32.700 --> 00:12:35.480 when he was older, he came back fearing that 00:12:35.480 --> 00:12:37.659 his brother would send out and go to war with 00:12:37.659 --> 00:12:44.240 him. Joseph is known as the hero of Egypt. The 00:12:44.240 --> 00:12:46.840 story goes that he was sold into slavery, but 00:12:46.840 --> 00:12:49.940 then he rises to the level of second in all of 00:12:49.940 --> 00:12:53.460 Egypt, and it was his plan that saved countless 00:12:53.460 --> 00:12:56.909 lives. The trouble is that it was his same plan 00:12:56.909 --> 00:13:01.110 that led the Israelites to be so poor over the 00:13:01.110 --> 00:13:03.850 course of years that they ended up being enslaved 00:13:03.850 --> 00:13:09.830 by Egypt. Moses, the man that led God's people 00:13:09.830 --> 00:13:13.350 out of Egypt, one of the first things you learn 00:13:13.350 --> 00:13:15.490 about him as an adult is that he was a murderer. 00:13:18.309 --> 00:13:20.769 When God asks him to go back and lead the people 00:13:20.769 --> 00:13:23.850 out, he questions God whether he's got the right 00:13:23.850 --> 00:13:28.970 guy. Rahab was a woman that was living in the 00:13:28.970 --> 00:13:33.490 wall of Jericho when the two spies came. She 00:13:33.490 --> 00:13:37.970 was a sort of innkeeper. Tradition has said that 00:13:37.970 --> 00:13:43.470 she was a sex worker. Samson was a mighty warrior, 00:13:43.590 --> 00:13:48.289 but he was a philanderer. The greatest and most 00:13:48.289 --> 00:13:56.210 beloved king of the Bible, King David. was both 00:13:56.210 --> 00:14:03.190 an adulterer and a murderer. This is our great 00:14:03.190 --> 00:14:12.009 cloud of witnesses. How much smoke of shame could 00:14:12.009 --> 00:14:22.250 this cloud carry if it wanted to? But in Hebrews, 00:14:22.309 --> 00:14:24.149 these are the people that we are told that we 00:14:24.149 --> 00:14:28.669 can look to. That we can take as our example. 00:14:29.889 --> 00:14:34.610 Because their failures did not define them. Their 00:14:34.610 --> 00:14:39.789 faith did. Now, it doesn't mean that we dismiss 00:14:39.789 --> 00:14:43.769 bad behavior. Forgiveness doesn't always preclude 00:14:43.769 --> 00:14:48.370 consequences. But it is to say that no matter 00:14:48.370 --> 00:14:51.710 what they did, no matter what we have done, that 00:14:51.710 --> 00:14:57.710 a repentant heart is made clean. Faith. changes 00:14:57.710 --> 00:15:04.009 the story so what if we really did what if we 00:15:04.009 --> 00:15:07.730 really did what if we believed what the bible 00:15:07.730 --> 00:15:11.529 says what if we really believed that shame does 00:15:11.529 --> 00:15:16.330 not define us what if we really believed that 00:15:16.330 --> 00:15:25.090 we can throw it off how much time how much time 00:15:26.600 --> 00:15:35.620 How much space in our brains would be freed if 00:15:35.620 --> 00:15:39.600 we really believed that we could throw it off? 00:15:45.240 --> 00:15:48.200 Maybe even just for the next week until Easter, 00:15:48.279 --> 00:15:57.250 we committed to try to fast from shame. Easy 00:15:57.250 --> 00:15:59.129 for you to say, Greg, you're a pastor. I bet 00:15:59.129 --> 00:16:02.950 you never feel ashamed. You're so close to Jesus. 00:16:05.990 --> 00:16:17.950 Listen, it is true. I am. Go on. I live with 00:16:17.950 --> 00:16:22.289 a conviction that all of my sins are forgiven 00:16:22.289 --> 00:16:28.299 by Jesus. I really do believe that the work of 00:16:28.299 --> 00:16:32.279 Jesus on the cross is complete. I believe that. 00:16:34.100 --> 00:16:36.960 And because I believe that, it is also true that 00:16:36.960 --> 00:16:40.039 I do not spend a lot of time feeling bad about 00:16:40.039 --> 00:16:44.340 mistakes that I make. Because I apologize when 00:16:44.340 --> 00:16:46.919 I need to apologize. I know that the Lord has 00:16:46.919 --> 00:16:56.059 already forgiven me. But... If I feel out of 00:16:56.059 --> 00:17:01.860 place for even a second, if I feel like I put 00:17:01.860 --> 00:17:06.599 my foot in my mouth, if I feel like the butt 00:17:06.599 --> 00:17:12.400 of someone else's joke, I might feel deep shame 00:17:12.400 --> 00:17:25.319 for hours. Sometimes days. Because... Shame isn't 00:17:25.319 --> 00:17:28.140 about the moment. It's about sticking us to a 00:17:28.140 --> 00:17:32.460 moment. Shame says, that moment, that is who 00:17:32.460 --> 00:17:34.859 you are. And for me, it's not even the moment 00:17:34.859 --> 00:17:38.059 that's happening. It's the moment where I switched 00:17:38.059 --> 00:17:44.839 to a new school in second grade. And the first 00:17:44.839 --> 00:17:47.299 kid I met said, what are you doing here, freckle 00:17:47.299 --> 00:17:59.849 face? Shame tells me that's who I am. I didn't 00:17:59.849 --> 00:18:03.390 feel like I fit in right there. I'm just that 00:18:03.390 --> 00:18:07.250 little kid. I didn't say the right thing. Not 00:18:07.250 --> 00:18:13.069 a sin, by the way. I'm just that freckle face. 00:18:16.069 --> 00:18:21.690 They made that joke at my expense. Can't wait 00:18:21.690 --> 00:18:28.319 for the next five years of being bullied. My 00:18:28.319 --> 00:18:33.359 wife, Cindy, right here, lovely, wonderful. You 00:18:33.359 --> 00:18:35.880 should all know her. She's great. She has this 00:18:35.880 --> 00:18:39.200 beautiful thing that she does for the kids when 00:18:39.200 --> 00:18:42.140 they're being too hard on themselves or when 00:18:42.140 --> 00:18:45.619 they're stuck in a moment. She says, what is 00:18:45.619 --> 00:18:56.400 true? What is true? She has this way of bringing 00:18:56.400 --> 00:19:03.000 them. Back to the truth of who they are. The 00:19:03.000 --> 00:19:07.839 truth is that they are loved. And they have nothing 00:19:07.839 --> 00:19:18.140 to be ashamed of. I wonder if maybe today that 00:19:18.140 --> 00:19:19.920 Jesus can bring you back to the truth of who 00:19:19.920 --> 00:19:28.500 you are. Because of the truth of who he is. Because 00:19:28.500 --> 00:19:32.940 of the truth of what he has done. Hebrews tells 00:19:32.940 --> 00:19:36.339 us that he is the pioneer and perfecter of our 00:19:36.339 --> 00:19:41.299 faith. For the joy set out before him, he scorned 00:19:41.299 --> 00:19:44.480 the shame of the cross. In the first century, 00:19:44.539 --> 00:19:48.200 there was no more shameful way to die than on 00:19:48.200 --> 00:19:58.240 a Roman cross. We believe, as Christians, That 00:19:58.240 --> 00:20:02.119 when he took that cross, that he also took every 00:20:02.119 --> 00:20:08.859 bit of our sin, every bit of our shame, and then 00:20:08.859 --> 00:20:17.660 he left it in the grave. Maybe today, maybe today 00:20:17.660 --> 00:20:24.319 you will believe that. That you really have no 00:20:24.319 --> 00:20:29.140 sin to carry. Because he already took it. You 00:20:29.140 --> 00:20:35.460 have no shame to wear because he bore it. Anytime 00:20:35.460 --> 00:20:41.220 you feel that you do, it can be taken off. It 00:20:41.220 --> 00:20:51.940 can be taken off. I don't know about you. A lot 00:20:51.940 --> 00:20:55.769 of this has to do with being a second year. second 00:20:55.769 --> 00:21:00.309 grader in that happening. I rarely feel like 00:21:00.309 --> 00:21:09.109 I legitimately fit in. There's never been a moment, 00:21:09.269 --> 00:21:13.210 I might be hyperbolic, but I don't, I think I'm 00:21:13.210 --> 00:21:14.970 telling the truth. There's been almost no moment 00:21:14.970 --> 00:21:17.450 in my entire life where I felt like I was cool. 00:21:20.390 --> 00:21:25.329 I'm the cool one. That's funny. A couple months 00:21:25.329 --> 00:21:29.190 ago at Comedy Sports on Friday night, I looked 00:21:29.190 --> 00:21:31.009 around at everyone that was in the green room, 00:21:31.089 --> 00:21:33.089 and I realized I was the tallest player that 00:21:33.089 --> 00:21:39.369 night. And I was like, no way. Because I'm 5 00:21:39.369 --> 00:21:42.849 '10". Like, I'm the tallest person in the room 00:21:42.849 --> 00:21:49.109 right now. There's something about being seen. 00:21:50.230 --> 00:21:53.680 Someone seeing you for who you really are. The 00:21:53.680 --> 00:21:55.839 moment where Cindy tells the kid, what is true? 00:21:57.180 --> 00:22:01.119 And I had it in my notes and I took it out. When 00:22:01.119 --> 00:22:03.299 I had it in my notes, I said, maybe I'm saying 00:22:03.299 --> 00:22:05.160 too much. And then I took it out, but I'm going 00:22:05.160 --> 00:22:08.819 to say it anyway. There was a couple years ago, 00:22:09.119 --> 00:22:10.480 maybe it was only a year ago, it might have been 00:22:10.480 --> 00:22:12.420 two years ago, we were at a community table at 00:22:12.420 --> 00:22:15.819 my house. And there was someone there that we 00:22:15.819 --> 00:22:17.259 were sitting at the dinner table. And in the 00:22:17.259 --> 00:22:18.859 community tables, we split up and we kind of 00:22:18.859 --> 00:22:21.359 subgroup. We have different conversations. And 00:22:21.359 --> 00:22:23.819 she was talking about the pastor at her old church. 00:22:23.880 --> 00:22:26.039 She was telling these, like, really lovely stories. 00:22:26.500 --> 00:22:29.440 And she had this phrase where she said, and that 00:22:29.440 --> 00:22:33.359 was kind of like his thing. And so as the night 00:22:33.359 --> 00:22:35.539 went on, maybe 20 minutes later, 25 minutes later, 00:22:35.660 --> 00:22:38.480 I said, hey, if you, earlier when you were talking 00:22:38.480 --> 00:22:40.200 about that, you said that that was his thing. 00:22:40.279 --> 00:22:44.980 And I was just curious, like, if you had to describe 00:22:44.980 --> 00:22:47.619 me to someone, what would you say is my thing? 00:22:49.409 --> 00:22:52.569 And now I'm used to people saying, oh, worship 00:22:52.569 --> 00:22:55.349 or singing. You know how many people have said 00:22:55.349 --> 00:22:57.750 like, oh, you're the social justice pastor or 00:22:57.750 --> 00:23:01.049 any number of things, which all have a measure 00:23:01.049 --> 00:23:08.869 of truth to them. But she said, oh, your thing 00:23:08.869 --> 00:23:10.769 is that you just remove all the barriers between 00:23:10.769 --> 00:23:15.210 people and Jesus. If I had to make a list of 00:23:15.210 --> 00:23:17.890 the times that I have felt truly seen in my life. 00:23:18.700 --> 00:23:22.799 That would be pretty high to the top. And there's 00:23:22.799 --> 00:23:25.299 something about being seen when someone tells 00:23:25.299 --> 00:23:29.460 you who you are. When someone tells you who you 00:23:29.460 --> 00:23:31.720 are and they are right, you have no sense of 00:23:31.720 --> 00:23:37.640 shame. You have no sense of, I wish that is really 00:23:37.640 --> 00:23:41.200 who I was. Because when people tell me I'm the 00:23:41.200 --> 00:23:44.200 social justice pastor, all I can think of is 00:23:44.200 --> 00:23:48.460 how I'm really not. I'm not nearly as much as 00:23:48.460 --> 00:23:54.119 you think, oh, man, but I wish I was. When she 00:23:54.119 --> 00:23:59.079 said that, I was like, man, no one, no one has 00:23:59.079 --> 00:24:04.480 said, man, I feel so seen right now. And when 00:24:04.480 --> 00:24:07.940 you finally feel seen, maybe today by Jesus, 00:24:08.160 --> 00:24:11.019 you will know that it is Jesus telling you that 00:24:11.019 --> 00:24:13.359 this is who you are because you will feel no 00:24:13.359 --> 00:24:16.829 sense of shame about it. Because when Jesus looks 00:24:16.829 --> 00:24:19.450 at you, he's not looking for sin. He's not trying 00:24:19.450 --> 00:24:23.470 to go, hey, you're my sinful creation. And I 00:24:23.470 --> 00:24:25.369 think that's what we're so used to people telling 00:24:25.369 --> 00:24:28.769 us. In Christianity, well, Jesus looks at you, 00:24:28.769 --> 00:24:32.309 oh, you've got to, no. I've said this before. 00:24:33.450 --> 00:24:36.630 When Jesus looks at you, he's not looking for 00:24:36.630 --> 00:24:38.750 sin. Because when the Father looks at you, he 00:24:38.750 --> 00:24:46.039 sees his Son. When the father looks at you, he 00:24:46.039 --> 00:24:49.640 sees his son because of what Jesus has done. 00:24:51.579 --> 00:24:56.799 Maybe today's the day that you believe it. Maybe 00:24:56.799 --> 00:25:00.180 today's the day that I can let go of some of 00:25:00.180 --> 00:25:05.180 the shame that I feel in the moments that I feel 00:25:05.180 --> 00:25:11.500 like I don't fit in. And so now, I told you. 00:25:12.490 --> 00:25:17.650 I'd come back to the Velcro. Shame is sticky, 00:25:17.789 --> 00:25:24.609 huh? You can do it now if you want. Shame is 00:25:24.609 --> 00:25:42.990 sticky. It doesn't want to let go. This is what 00:25:42.990 --> 00:25:48.809 I want to do. I want you to decide which half 00:25:48.809 --> 00:25:53.349 of this is you. All right? Listen, let's be honest. 00:25:53.849 --> 00:25:57.930 Some of us are prickly. Some of us are soft. 00:26:00.289 --> 00:26:03.150 Some of us are mixed, right? But I want you to 00:26:03.150 --> 00:26:05.430 decide, okay, which half of this is me and which 00:26:05.430 --> 00:26:07.269 half of this is some shame that I need to pull 00:26:07.269 --> 00:26:11.529 off? Which half of this is, all right, Jesus 00:26:11.529 --> 00:26:13.859 is going. This is just who you are. I love you. 00:26:13.920 --> 00:26:17.160 This is exactly who you are. I love you. I love 00:26:17.160 --> 00:26:19.779 you. I love you. I don't want to get all goodwill 00:26:19.779 --> 00:26:22.940 hunting right now. It wasn't your fault. It's 00:26:22.940 --> 00:26:24.880 not your fault. If you don't get that reference, 00:26:24.980 --> 00:26:27.180 go watch the movie sometime. But you are legitimately 00:26:27.180 --> 00:26:30.299 loved by God. I cannot say it enough times. You 00:26:30.299 --> 00:26:35.240 are loved by God. You are loved. God loves you. 00:26:36.000 --> 00:26:41.539 God loves you. And this is not your life. What's 00:26:41.539 --> 00:26:44.180 going to happen is when we bring these trays 00:26:44.180 --> 00:26:48.660 around, when you receive the elements, when you 00:26:48.660 --> 00:26:53.700 take a cup, I want you to take the half that 00:26:53.700 --> 00:26:57.019 isn't you, and I want you to put it in the space 00:26:57.019 --> 00:27:02.140 where you took your cup from. Give it to God. 00:27:05.400 --> 00:27:09.819 Receive the elements. Receive Jesus and give. 00:27:10.220 --> 00:27:14.259 God all of your shame. Give God all of the sin 00:27:14.259 --> 00:27:16.500 that you've convinced, that someone has convinced 00:27:16.500 --> 00:27:22.319 you is just you. And just keep you in Jesus. 00:27:23.920 --> 00:27:26.880 And let today be the day that we begin to fast 00:27:26.880 --> 00:27:32.240 from shame. To begin to fast from believing that 00:27:32.240 --> 00:27:37.339 our sin defines us. Fast from the moment that 00:27:37.339 --> 00:27:40.220 we are stuck in because the moment of Jesus' 00:27:40.420 --> 00:27:43.460 death and resurrection is what we actually live 00:27:43.460 --> 00:27:52.259 in. Because he rose, we live. You do not need 00:27:52.259 --> 00:28:00.059 to carry your shame anymore. Amen? Let's pray. 00:28:02.940 --> 00:28:05.339 Father, we thank you and we glorify you and we 00:28:05.339 --> 00:28:08.910 lift up your name. Because when you look at us, 00:28:08.910 --> 00:28:14.210 you do not see our sin. Because it is gone. It 00:28:14.210 --> 00:28:21.930 fell on the back of Jesus. It died. Went to the 00:28:21.930 --> 00:28:29.269 grave. And as Jesus rose to new life, so we are 00:28:29.269 --> 00:28:39.250 raised to new life. Clean. Forgiven. New. Clean, 00:28:39.250 --> 00:28:46.829 forgiven, and new. By the power of your Holy 00:28:46.829 --> 00:28:50.849 Spirit, I ask that you convince our hearts of 00:28:50.849 --> 00:28:56.450 that now. That we hear the sounding alarm and 00:28:56.450 --> 00:28:59.410 that we move towards the safety of your love. 00:29:07.440 --> 00:29:07.980 Amen.