I was so excited to share this message today
on this series of control, alt, delete. Actually,
control, alt, and delight, but sometimes we have
wanted to control, alt, delete, right? And bear
with me because my sermon notes are always long.
but I try to condense them. And I am so honored
to have my dad here, who's been my inspiration
and my example, a pastor of over 25 years at
Spanish Mennonite Church. And my family and my
friends are here today, too. And so I'm so thankful
for everything that's been instilled into my
life to be able to pour out into community the
way that my dad did all of my life. So thank
you guys for being here. So in this sermon, we're
going to talk about freedom from shame and guilt.
And I remember growing up and being in youth
circles, and they would start conversations,
you know, as icebreakers, and they would want
to hear what your testimony was. And as a young
person, I felt like I really didn't have much
of a testimony because I grew up in church. I
grew up helping my dad out. I kind of, you know,
pretty much stayed on the narrow path of, you
know, if you want to call me a square, you can
call me a square. But I kind of felt like I really
don't have anything to testify about. And then
I realized that the testimony is a service unto
God, right? But believe me, I was about... 16
15 16 years old at that time I can tell you that
at age 47 I have a lot to testify about I have
a huge things that I have gone through under
over in many different ways you know we've gone
through things and are thankful for the grace
of God in our life right for his forgiveness
and his mercy that is new every day. And so I
asked you guys, if you had a superpower, what
would it be? You know, what did some of you answer?
Teleportation. Anybody else? Patience. That could
be a superpower. It's a superpower. Anybody over
here? Teleportation. They took it? All right.
Well, at that point in my life, a couple, some
years ago, I'll say over 15 years ago, I wished
that my superpower could be to be invisible,
to hide in a cave, to never come out, for nobody
to ever see me again. I literally wanted to control
alt and delete and start over. But I'm so thankful
because look at where I am now, right? Look at
where we are now. By the grace of God, I stand
here today and I glorify in knowing that he is
God and he is merciful and graceful. So in digging
into shame and guilt, I have to tell you that
I'm a bit of a psychology nerd. I love psychology.
I studied psychology a little bit. And so there
is a difference between shame and guilt. Shame
is something that is internal. Shame says, I
am something wrong. Shame focuses on self and
it focuses on your identity. Where guilt, it
becomes external. It says, I did something wrong.
It focuses on a behavior and a violation of personal
values. So shame is internal. Guilt is external.
Shame is a weapon when it keeps us in hiding,
it causes defensiveness, and sometimes it even
leads us to project hurt onto others. Where guilt
being external can be a gift when it leads to
repentance. It can often lead to apologizing,
repairing, and taking responsibility. You see,
shame affects our desired self -image. It really
affects who we want to be, who we aspire to be.
So when we feel shame, there's this sense of,
that's not who I wanted to be. And when we feel
guilt, we are acknowledging what we've done.
And it leads us to repentance and repairing and
taking responsibility. So in essence, we want
this. Spiritual transformation from internal
to external. And we want to realize that your
mistakes are what you did. They're not who you
are. They're not your identity. Your identity
is in Christ. So I'm going to say that one more
time. Your mistakes are what you did. They are
not who you are. Your identity is in Christ.
I had plenty of testimony in my life. And so
from the very beginning, the enemy has used shame
to separate people from God. We see that in the
story of Adam and Eve. Do you guys remember that
they went to hide because they realized that
they were naked? And so I can imagine they sewed
some leaves together and some twine, and they
covered their bodies. God comes looking for them,
and it says they didn't turn towards God. They
hid from him. They said, I was afraid because
I was naked. And before sin, nakedness was innocence,
right? After sin, nakedness felt like they were
exposed. And so shame will make you feel like
you have to avoid people, places, things. Shame
definitely doesn't allow you to delight in your
life. It makes you feel like you have to avoid
prayer. Like you have to avoid worship, avoid
fellowship, avoid community, avoid your calling.
But something that God did when he was walking
in the garden, he said, where are you? Not because
he didn't know where they were. I mean, God is
omnipresent. He's omnipotent. But because he
wanted them to say, we are here. You know what
we are here? It's a sense of restoration. Lord,
here I am. I'm exposing myself. So he wanted
their restoration. So know this, that God does
not abandon you in your shame. He comes looking
for you. He pursues you, even when you're hiding,
even when you wish that your superpower was to
disappear. God comes looking for you, and he
pursues your heart. See, guilt is cleansed and
shame is covered. In Psalms, we look at the story
of King David and he said, do you guys remember
the story where King David understood deeply
what his guilt was after his sin with Bathsheba?
If you guys want to know more about it, come
talk to me and we could sit down and talk about
it. But in Psalms 51, he cries out, wash me.
And I will be whiter than snow. Guilt says I
need cleansing. Guilt is external. It recognizes
what has been done. It recognizes offenses. And
the blood of Jesus provides this. So let's read
some scripture together. If you guys want to
stand with me. When I was studying how to do
sermons, a lot of the time I love to grab scripture
and take it apart. But sometimes there's a theme
that needs to be read. And so then there's scriptures
that come together in different ways. So we're
going to look at two different scriptures today.
The first one is Romans 8, verse 1. And then
if you want to follow along with me, it'll be
Isaiah 61, verse 7. So Romans 8, verse 1 says,
There is therefore now no condemnation to them.
which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after
the flesh, but after the spirit. And in Isaiah
61, 7, it says, instead of your shame, you will
receive a double portion. And instead of disgrace,
you will rejoice in your inheritance. And so
you will inherit a double portion in your land
and everlasting joy will be yours. Amen. Let's
pray real quick. Father God, we thank you so
much for your word, your message, and for what
we have to take away today. Allow us to focus
on you. Allow us to focus on delighting in you
and our freedom in you. Amen. I promise I'll
move right along. So when we read, therefore,
there is now no condemnation for those who are
in Christ Jesus, notice it says no condemnation.
It doesn't say now there is now some reduced
condemnation or half -off condemnation or clearance
condemnation. It says there is no condemnation.
For those who are in Christ Jesus. And it also
makes it a point to say, therefore, now. So the
condemnation isn't delayed. It's now. It says
a present moment, immediate reality for the believer
rather than a future hope. So Jesus took the
punishment for our sin. And the condemnation
is not delayed. It's now. So therefore now there
is no condemnation for those who are in Jesus
Christ. So through Jesus Christ, your guilt is
forgiven. Your record is cleared. Your sentence
is canceled. And so we don't have to sit there
and worry that, what about what I did? What about
this shame that I feel? Your first step is recognizing
guilt externally. And knowing that through Jesus
Christ, there is no condemnation. And he kind
of did a big thing. He died on the cross for
our sin, for our guilt, for our shame. And he
didn't do this secretly, you guys. He did this
publicly. He was humiliated. He was shamed. He
was beaten. It was a public display. Do you think
that at any moment that Jesus was enduring all
of this humiliation that he wanted to go hide?
Didn't you think at one moment that he said,
God, take this cup away. I don't want it. He
wanted to hit that delete button. I'm sure, I'm
sure of it. At one point when he was enduring
all of the pain and all of the humiliation publicly,
I am absolutely sure that at one point he didn't
want it. The cross was not just painful, it was
humiliating. It was public stripping, public
mocking, public rejection. Jesus took your shame
so that you would not have to live in it. The
enemy wants you to remember your worst moment.
He wants you to believe the false narrative of
your identity in shame. He wants you to remember
all of the bad things that you've done. He wants
you to remember all of the embarrassing moments.
He wants you to remember all of the shameful
moments. He wants you to remember that you need
to sit in guilt. But you know what God wants
you to remember? That Christ finished work has
cleansed you of your sins. That him dying of
that on the cross. has taken all of your guilt
and your shame and it has wiped you clean as
snow. That fresh snow. Not the snow after the
dirt and the mud and the animals have gotten
to it. Clean as snow. Not the snow where the
tires have run through the mud and there's speckles
on the snow. Clean as that fresh fallen snow.
Isaiah 61, 7 says, instead of your shame, you
shall receive a double portion. Everlasting joy
will be yours. Do you think that's delight? Do
you feel like that's delight? A double portion
of everlasting joy will be yours. So instead
of a double portion, instead of double shame.
So God makes an exchange. God makes this amazing
exchange. He doesn't just remove shame. He replaces
it. Double portion instead of double shame. God
makes an exchange. Where you were embarrassed,
he gives honor. Where you were rejected, he gives
acceptance. Where you were broken, he gives purpose.
When I read this every single time that I got
to this part, every time that I moved things
around, tweaked this message, every time that
I got to this part where you were broken, he
gives purpose. So how do we walk in freedom?
We want shame to... be from an internal place
to an external place where we realize that guilt
is not our identity, that there's forgiveness,
that our identity is in Christ, children of God.
So we confess, honestly, like... Sometimes it's
really hard for adults to just be honest about
who they are and all of the uglies that they've
done. And sometimes there's moments of who they
are in secrecy that maybe their spouse, their
family doesn't even know about them. But a freedom
from shame and guilt comes from honesty, an honest
self -reflection of who we are. And if we can't
be honest with ourselves, then who can be honest
for us? We have to expose our guilt when it comes
out of shame. We have to be accountable for the
things that we've done. We have to replace shame
with accountability. We have to replace shame
with... Letting people know, I need prayer. I
need help. I need Jesus. I need my broken pieces
to feel whole again. So if we confess our sins,
he is faithful and just to forgive. That's 1
John 1 .19. Receive forgiveness fully. Stop asking
God over and over to forgive what he's already
forgiven. You have to reject that false identity
that you are not what you did. You are who God
says you are. You are his child. You stand firm
in your identity in him. He wants you to feel
his grace, his love, and his presence new every
morning, every day. He gives us his gift. We
need to step out of hiding. Step out of wanting
to delete those parts in our life. They formed
us. They created us in who we are now, right?
Shame survives in secrecy. It breathes in darkness.
And freedom grows in light. Guess what? The cross
was enough. You're not disqualified. You're not
permanently stained. Your shame is removed. Your
identity is restored. Your future is secure.
So we lift our head. Psalms 34 .5 says, Those
who look to him are radiant. It doesn't just
say those who look to him are good. Those who
look to him are okay. It says those who look
to him are radiant. It's that inner joy, that
inner freedom. Their faces are never covered
with shame. That's in the Bible, you guys. If
there's anything that you can write down today,
Psalms 34, 5. Those who look to him are radiant.
Their faces are never covered with shame. That's
freedom. That's delighting in the Lord. And freedom
belongs to us. There is freedom in having a relationship
with Jesus Christ. There might not be freedom
in religion, but there is freedom in relationship.
There is freedom in standing firm in your identity
in Christ and who he has called you to be. And
freedom belongs to you. Amen? Amen. I promised
it was going to be short and sweet. Let's pray.
Father God, thank you so much. for healing us
from our shame and our guilt. And healing is
constant. Healing is every day. And if it wasn't
for your healing grace, I don't know where we
would be. Thank you for coming into our lives
when you did. Thank you if you've always been
in our lives. Because that is a testimony. Thank
you for freedom. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.