So if I haven't said it yet, my name is Greg
Hampton. I'm one of the pastors here at the house.
If we have never met, I would love to meet you.
I'd love to buy you a coffee or soda or whatever,
get to know you, hear your story. Maybe if you'd
like to talk about Jesus, I'd really like to
talk about Jesus some. But we are in our last
week of a series that we've been calling Desire
Paths. And I'm actually, let's see, I'm going
to ask, JC, will you help me out here? Will you
pass one of these out to... To everyone. One
of those to everyone. Every single person. All
right. I'm about to hand you something that you're
going to be tempted to play with for the entire
sermon. Velcro is loud when you pull it apart,
isn't it? All right. So if a kid has it, it's
fine. Kids are kids. Let them play. But adults,
I'm going to ask you not to add to that, you
know, by just like 17 people sitting around the
room going, shh, shh, shh. Okay? But I promise
that this is going to come back, and then I'm
going to have a reason for giving you Velcro.
All right, so desire paths are the places that
we walk. They're the shortcuts that we... Create
when the sidewalk or the street that's already
there just isn't fast enough. I loved that our
students and our kids are part of the services
with us, the kids that are older than fifth grade,
because my son happens to be in that age, and
he's in seventh grade. And a couple weeks ago,
he sent me a picture of a desire path. Right?
He wouldn't have known what to call it before,
but he took a picture where he was, and he said,
hey, Dad, I found a desire path. This Lent, we've
been asking if there are things that we should
be paying attention to that may be desire paths
that we've created. And maybe over the course
of the last five weeks, you've started to see
more of those desire paths. Maybe you've started
to see like, oh, this thing that I'm doing or
this feeling that I have or that, that those
things, oh, I'm creating that path for myself.
Maybe that isn't the thing that God is actually
hoping that we will have. And I love that the
smoke just started because that'll come up too.
So this Lent, we've been considering those desire
paths that maybe we need to give up for a time
at least and see if it's something that God wants
us to be walking in, if it's actually something
that God put in front of us, or if there's something
else that he has for us. So far we've discussed
fasting from social media, from complaining,
from alcohol, From unnecessary spending and entertainment
and from food. Look at me, I'm already tempted
to pull it apart. But today I want to talk about
something that, I don't know, it might be a little
more abstract for some of us or might be close
to home because it's something that I know without
a doubt that Jesus wants us to give this up.
Today I want to talk about the desire path of
shame. Let's open our Bibles. We're going to
Hebrews 12. Hebrews 12, it's in the Newer Testament.
It's towards the back. It goes Hebrews, James,
1 Peter, 2 Peter, 1, 2, 3 John. There are Bibles
on the tables. You can download a Bible from
digital app stores. These blue Bibles, they're
actually out in the lobby too. You can take one
home if you don't have one. It's towards the
back again. It goes Hebrews, James, 1 and 2 Peter,
1, 2, 3 John, Jude, Revelation. If you see those,
you know you're in the right neighborhood. We're
going to be Hebrews 12, starting in verse 1.
We have a tradition of giving the scriptures
our full attention when they're read in the context
of a sermon. You can do that while you sit or
if you'd like to stand with me as I read. Hebrews
12, verses 1 and 2 says this. Therefore, since
we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses,
let us throw off everything that hinders and
the sin that so easily entangles. And let us
run with perseverance the race marked out for
us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and
perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him,
he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and
sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
Let us pray. God of every tribe, of every tongue,
every color, every nation. We thank you for the
scriptures that they have persisted throughout
the millennia. That we have them to read, to
consider, to learn from. And I just pray that
whatever you have for us to learn today, that
it would stick. That it would become a part of
the framework of our faith. As we become more
like your son, Jesus. Amen. Thanks, y 'all. I
can have a seat. Okay, don't raise your hand.
You heard me say don't, right? Don't. raise your
hand, but my guess is that if I asked you to,
if I asked you how many of us feel shame on a
regular basis, that a lot of our hands would
go up. If I asked if someone has shamed you in
the last week or month, a lot of our hands might
go up. If I asked have we used shame with someone
else, if we were really, really honest, A lot
of our hands might go up. Shame is a powerful
tool. It pushes without the power to actually
move us. Because shame doesn't motivate motion.
Shame sticks you to a moment. Now, I'm not talking
about guilt. We shouldn't be wielding guilt against
each other. Either the guilt has its place or
maybe I should say conviction. Conviction has
its place. Conviction is like a smoke detector.
Smoke goes up, the detector goes off. You're
supposed to go, oh, there might be something
wrong. That guilt or conviction is that moment
of, oh, something changed. Maybe I should pay
attention to that. But shame is different. See,
when there's healthy conviction and we... have
apologized. The fire has long been extinguished
and everything has been repaired and replaced.
Shame is like the smoke -covered clothes that
we won't take off. And so the smell is just always
with us. Either because we can't let it go or
because someone told us Those clothes are the
only thing that's left. Guilt or conviction is
meant to be about saving you from the moment,
getting you out of the fire. Shame is about convincing
you that you're still in it, even when you're
not. Shame tells you, everyone knows what you
did. They're thinking about it right now. Shame
whispers. They smell the smoke. Even if they
don't know, they smell it. Hebrews 12 says, therefore,
because we have such a great cloud of witnesses,
let us throw off all that hinders us and the
sin that so easily entangles us. There's this
question of what kind of cloud are we in? Are
we in a cloud of the smoke of our past mistakes
or are we in a cloud of great witnesses? Listen,
shame is not your skin. Shame is only the old
smoky clothes that are reminding you of a moment
that you no longer belong in. And you can take
it off. Have you guys seen that video of, there's
this guy that he left his retainers in for five
or six years? He had braces. And he's an adult.
He's a full -grown adult. And he got his braces
off. And the video is of him with his partner,
and his partner's trying to convince him, no,
you're allowed to take them out. And he's like,
no, I thought. I thought the orthodontist glued
them in. They're like there. So you can imagine
how yellowed plastic retainers might get after
five or six years, no matter how many times you
have brushed it. But he had never taken out his
retainers. He literally says, I'm afraid that
my teeth will come out if I pull too hard. Sometimes
we're afraid if we let go of the shame that we'll
lose something else that we think we can't replace.
Eventually in the video, he tries. He kind of
gets his finger in there. I don't know. We'll
do a show of hands. Show of hands who had braces
in their life. Yeah. So, show of hands. I'm guessing
most of us have been to the dentist. If you've
ever been to the dentist, that feeling right
when they're done, your teeth feel like they're
brand new. When you get your braces off, it's
like that feeling times 10. It's like, oh my
gosh, you have not felt, you've not felt your
teeth with your lips or your tongue for however
many years you had braces. And so it's just like,
he finally, he pries and he takes it off and
his teeth are perfect. clean, perfectly straight,
immaculate. Therefore, since we are surrounded
by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw
off, cast off, take out all that hinders us.
All the sin, all the things that so easily entangle
us. When I was a kid, I was taught... that any
time you see the word therefore, you ask what
it's there for, right? If you've never heard
that. Especially in the Bible, when you see the
word therefore, you're supposed to go, oh, I
wonder what that's there for. And so you back
up. And if you back up into Hebrews 11, what
you find is that the author has just finished
talking about all the heroes of their faith,
all the heroes of the Israelite faith. If you
read the Old Testament, the Hebrew Testament,
you'll see all of these people that they're talking
about. The people that were this great cloud
of witnesses. What's fascinating is that how
many of those heroes could have carried shame
instead of walking in faith. Abraham and Sarah
are mentioned. Abraham and Sarah are promised.
that they would have a child in their old age.
But what was their response? They laughed. It
says that Abraham and Sarah laughed at the idea
because they did not believe that God could do
what God had said God could do. Jacob was the
younger of two twin brothers. He literally conned
his brother and then tricked his father. into
giving him the blessing that was meant to go
to the oldest son. He ran for his life. Later,
when he was older, he came back fearing that
his brother would send out and go to war with
him. Joseph is known as the hero of Egypt. The
story goes that he was sold into slavery, but
then he rises to the level of second in all of
Egypt, and it was his plan that saved countless
lives. The trouble is that it was his same plan
that led the Israelites to be so poor over the
course of years that they ended up being enslaved
by Egypt. Moses, the man that led God's people
out of Egypt, one of the first things you learn
about him as an adult is that he was a murderer.
When God asks him to go back and lead the people
out, he questions God whether he's got the right
guy. Rahab was a woman that was living in the
wall of Jericho when the two spies came. She
was a sort of innkeeper. Tradition has said that
she was a sex worker. Samson was a mighty warrior,
but he was a philanderer. The greatest and most
beloved king of the Bible, King David. was both
an adulterer and a murderer. This is our great
cloud of witnesses. How much smoke of shame could
this cloud carry if it wanted to? But in Hebrews,
these are the people that we are told that we
can look to. That we can take as our example.
Because their failures did not define them. Their
faith did. Now, it doesn't mean that we dismiss
bad behavior. Forgiveness doesn't always preclude
consequences. But it is to say that no matter
what they did, no matter what we have done, that
a repentant heart is made clean. Faith. changes
the story so what if we really did what if we
really did what if we believed what the bible
says what if we really believed that shame does
not define us what if we really believed that
we can throw it off how much time how much time
How much space in our brains would be freed if
we really believed that we could throw it off?
Maybe even just for the next week until Easter,
we committed to try to fast from shame. Easy
for you to say, Greg, you're a pastor. I bet
you never feel ashamed. You're so close to Jesus.
Listen, it is true. I am. Go on. I live with
a conviction that all of my sins are forgiven
by Jesus. I really do believe that the work of
Jesus on the cross is complete. I believe that.
And because I believe that, it is also true that
I do not spend a lot of time feeling bad about
mistakes that I make. Because I apologize when
I need to apologize. I know that the Lord has
already forgiven me. But... If I feel out of
place for even a second, if I feel like I put
my foot in my mouth, if I feel like the butt
of someone else's joke, I might feel deep shame
for hours. Sometimes days. Because... Shame isn't
about the moment. It's about sticking us to a
moment. Shame says, that moment, that is who
you are. And for me, it's not even the moment
that's happening. It's the moment where I switched
to a new school in second grade. And the first
kid I met said, what are you doing here, freckle
face? Shame tells me that's who I am. I didn't
feel like I fit in right there. I'm just that
little kid. I didn't say the right thing. Not
a sin, by the way. I'm just that freckle face.
They made that joke at my expense. Can't wait
for the next five years of being bullied. My
wife, Cindy, right here, lovely, wonderful. You
should all know her. She's great. She has this
beautiful thing that she does for the kids when
they're being too hard on themselves or when
they're stuck in a moment. She says, what is
true? What is true? She has this way of bringing
them. Back to the truth of who they are. The
truth is that they are loved. And they have nothing
to be ashamed of. I wonder if maybe today that
Jesus can bring you back to the truth of who
you are. Because of the truth of who he is. Because
of the truth of what he has done. Hebrews tells
us that he is the pioneer and perfecter of our
faith. For the joy set out before him, he scorned
the shame of the cross. In the first century,
there was no more shameful way to die than on
a Roman cross. We believe, as Christians, That
when he took that cross, that he also took every
bit of our sin, every bit of our shame, and then
he left it in the grave. Maybe today, maybe today
you will believe that. That you really have no
sin to carry. Because he already took it. You
have no shame to wear because he bore it. Anytime
you feel that you do, it can be taken off. It
can be taken off. I don't know about you. A lot
of this has to do with being a second year. second
grader in that happening. I rarely feel like
I legitimately fit in. There's never been a moment,
I might be hyperbolic, but I don't, I think I'm
telling the truth. There's been almost no moment
in my entire life where I felt like I was cool.
I'm the cool one. That's funny. A couple months
ago at Comedy Sports on Friday night, I looked
around at everyone that was in the green room,
and I realized I was the tallest player that
night. And I was like, no way. Because I'm 5
'10". Like, I'm the tallest person in the room
right now. There's something about being seen.
Someone seeing you for who you really are. The
moment where Cindy tells the kid, what is true?
And I had it in my notes and I took it out. When
I had it in my notes, I said, maybe I'm saying
too much. And then I took it out, but I'm going
to say it anyway. There was a couple years ago,
maybe it was only a year ago, it might have been
two years ago, we were at a community table at
my house. And there was someone there that we
were sitting at the dinner table. And in the
community tables, we split up and we kind of
subgroup. We have different conversations. And
she was talking about the pastor at her old church.
She was telling these, like, really lovely stories.
And she had this phrase where she said, and that
was kind of like his thing. And so as the night
went on, maybe 20 minutes later, 25 minutes later,
I said, hey, if you, earlier when you were talking
about that, you said that that was his thing.
And I was just curious, like, if you had to describe
me to someone, what would you say is my thing?
And now I'm used to people saying, oh, worship
or singing. You know how many people have said
like, oh, you're the social justice pastor or
any number of things, which all have a measure
of truth to them. But she said, oh, your thing
is that you just remove all the barriers between
people and Jesus. If I had to make a list of
the times that I have felt truly seen in my life.
That would be pretty high to the top. And there's
something about being seen when someone tells
you who you are. When someone tells you who you
are and they are right, you have no sense of
shame. You have no sense of, I wish that is really
who I was. Because when people tell me I'm the
social justice pastor, all I can think of is
how I'm really not. I'm not nearly as much as
you think, oh, man, but I wish I was. When she
said that, I was like, man, no one, no one has
said, man, I feel so seen right now. And when
you finally feel seen, maybe today by Jesus,
you will know that it is Jesus telling you that
this is who you are because you will feel no
sense of shame about it. Because when Jesus looks
at you, he's not looking for sin. He's not trying
to go, hey, you're my sinful creation. And I
think that's what we're so used to people telling
us. In Christianity, well, Jesus looks at you,
oh, you've got to, no. I've said this before.
When Jesus looks at you, he's not looking for
sin. Because when the Father looks at you, he
sees his Son. When the father looks at you, he
sees his son because of what Jesus has done.
Maybe today's the day that you believe it. Maybe
today's the day that I can let go of some of
the shame that I feel in the moments that I feel
like I don't fit in. And so now, I told you.
I'd come back to the Velcro. Shame is sticky,
huh? You can do it now if you want. Shame is
sticky. It doesn't want to let go. This is what
I want to do. I want you to decide which half
of this is you. All right? Listen, let's be honest.
Some of us are prickly. Some of us are soft.
Some of us are mixed, right? But I want you to
decide, okay, which half of this is me and which
half of this is some shame that I need to pull
off? Which half of this is, all right, Jesus
is going. This is just who you are. I love you.
This is exactly who you are. I love you. I love
you. I love you. I don't want to get all goodwill
hunting right now. It wasn't your fault. It's
not your fault. If you don't get that reference,
go watch the movie sometime. But you are legitimately
loved by God. I cannot say it enough times. You
are loved by God. You are loved. God loves you.
God loves you. And this is not your life. What's
going to happen is when we bring these trays
around, when you receive the elements, when you
take a cup, I want you to take the half that
isn't you, and I want you to put it in the space
where you took your cup from. Give it to God.
Receive the elements. Receive Jesus and give.
God all of your shame. Give God all of the sin
that you've convinced, that someone has convinced
you is just you. And just keep you in Jesus.
And let today be the day that we begin to fast
from shame. To begin to fast from believing that
our sin defines us. Fast from the moment that
we are stuck in because the moment of Jesus'
death and resurrection is what we actually live
in. Because he rose, we live. You do not need
to carry your shame anymore. Amen? Let's pray.
Father, we thank you and we glorify you and we
lift up your name. Because when you look at us,
you do not see our sin. Because it is gone. It
fell on the back of Jesus. It died. Went to the
grave. And as Jesus rose to new life, so we are
raised to new life. Clean. Forgiven. New. Clean,
forgiven, and new. By the power of your Holy
Spirit, I ask that you convince our hearts of
that now. That we hear the sounding alarm and
that we move towards the safety of your love.
Amen.