WEBVTT - Give Me A Sign 0:00:01.920 --> 0:00:04.439 Hey, this is Stephen Ferdick. I'm the pastor of Elevation 0:00:04.720 --> 0:00:06.920 Church and this is our podcast. I wanted to thank 0:00:06.960 --> 0:00:10.280 you for joining us today. Hope this inspires you. Hope 0:00:10.280 --> 0:00:12.319 it builds your faith. Hope it gives your perspective to 0:00:12.360 --> 0:00:17.400 see God is moving in your life. Enjoy the message. Hey, 0:00:17.520 --> 0:00:19.759 you can remain standing for just a few more seconds. 0:00:19.800 --> 0:00:21.919 By now you've figured out that I'm not Pastor Stephen. 0:00:23.040 --> 0:00:25.160 My name is Larry Bride, but everybody calls me LB. 0:00:25.360 --> 0:00:28.480 I'm usually up at University City. How are we doing U? See? 0:00:29.720 --> 0:00:33.640 Love you, miss you, And I'm excited to open up 0:00:33.640 --> 0:00:36.519 God's Word with everyone today. And it's less of a 0:00:36.560 --> 0:00:38.400 sermon and more of just kind of like an insight 0:00:38.400 --> 0:00:41.080 into my journal for what God's been doing in my life. 0:00:41.200 --> 0:00:42.720 You see, about a year and a half ago, Pastor 0:00:42.720 --> 0:00:46.040 Stephen preached this incredible series Work Your Window. How many 0:00:46.080 --> 0:00:51.040 of you are here doing Work your Window? Like incredible series. 0:00:51.080 --> 0:00:53.800 He was in week three of it, the Power of Potential, 0:00:54.480 --> 0:00:56.200 Power of Potential. I could take you to the seat 0:00:56.240 --> 0:00:57.840 I was sitting in when God spoke to me through 0:00:58.160 --> 0:01:00.600 the voice of our pastor, and he spoke to me. 0:01:00.600 --> 0:01:02.920 He said you have forfeited way more potential than the 0:01:02.920 --> 0:01:06.959 devil will ever steal. He said, you'll give it away 0:01:07.000 --> 0:01:12.039 before he'll take it, specifically hiding behind the shadow of shame. 0:01:12.959 --> 0:01:14.760 And for the few minutes we have together today, I 0:01:14.800 --> 0:01:18.080 want to talk on the subject of shame because I 0:01:18.080 --> 0:01:20.240 think way too many of us are being dominated in 0:01:20.280 --> 0:01:22.760 the landscape of our life by the shadow of shame. 0:01:22.800 --> 0:01:25.199 And I am here to tell the devil he is unnoticed. 0:01:25.440 --> 0:01:28.479 No longer will you steal, No longer will you cause 0:01:28.840 --> 0:01:32.319 God's sons and daughters to hide behind that place. Today 0:01:32.440 --> 0:01:35.000 is the day that we're coming out out from behind it. 0:01:37.440 --> 0:01:40.360 Every one of you have is or will struggle with shame. 0:01:40.959 --> 0:01:44.160 It's universal, doesn't care about your bank account or your address. 0:01:44.360 --> 0:01:47.160 It's an equal opportunity employer, and it will enslave every 0:01:47.160 --> 0:01:49.560 single one of us. And the character that I want 0:01:49.560 --> 0:01:51.560 to look at through the life, through her life is 0:01:51.600 --> 0:01:54.640 this woman named Rehab. We find her story in Joshua 0:01:54.720 --> 0:01:57.240 chapter two, and the context of the story is two 0:01:57.240 --> 0:01:59.760 spies that just come into the land from the Israelites. 0:02:00.160 --> 0:02:02.160 We're walking around the city of Jericho and they came 0:02:02.160 --> 0:02:05.040 into her apartment. We pick up the scene in Joshua 0:02:05.080 --> 0:02:07.880 two verse twelve to fifteen, says, Now, then, please swear 0:02:07.920 --> 0:02:10.160 to me by the Lord that you will show kindness 0:02:10.160 --> 0:02:13.320 to my family, because I've shown kindness to you. Give 0:02:13.360 --> 0:02:15.640 me a sure sign that you will spare the lives 0:02:15.680 --> 0:02:19.000 of my father, my mother, my brothers, and my sisters 0:02:19.040 --> 0:02:21.040 and all who belong to them, and that you will 0:02:21.080 --> 0:02:23.840 save us from death, our lives for your lives. The 0:02:23.880 --> 0:02:26.040 men assured her. If you don't tell what we are doing, 0:02:26.080 --> 0:02:28.240 we will treat you kindly and faithfully when the Lord 0:02:28.760 --> 0:02:32.120 gives us the land. So she let them down by 0:02:32.160 --> 0:02:35.280 a rope through the window. For the house she lived 0:02:35.280 --> 0:02:38.520 in was part of the city wall. Here's the title 0:02:38.560 --> 0:02:42.160 for today's message. You're ready for it. Give me a sign. 0:02:42.280 --> 0:02:45.519 Say give me a sign. Now, look at your favorite neighbors. 0:02:45.520 --> 0:02:49.000 Say give me a sign that's your love me. Now 0:02:49.040 --> 0:02:50.839 give out a couple signs of love. Give a couple 0:02:50.919 --> 0:02:53.200 hugs at all of our location, give out a couple 0:02:53.280 --> 0:02:56.760 signs Thank you, worship team. After you've given a couple 0:02:56.800 --> 0:02:59.880 of hugs, you could be seated. Want to welcome all 0:03:00.040 --> 0:03:03.240 of our locations. I specially want to welcome our EPAM 0:03:03.680 --> 0:03:06.760 folks joining online from around the world. Now there's one 0:03:06.760 --> 0:03:09.640 of them. Her name is Susie. Susie is in Ireland. 0:03:10.080 --> 0:03:11.880 She is one of my favorite people to follow on 0:03:11.919 --> 0:03:14.200 social media. She is a part of our E fam 0:03:14.240 --> 0:03:16.600 with her Orange team doing chats on it. Check this out. 0:03:16.919 --> 0:03:19.960 She has opened up multiple E groups in Europe for 0:03:20.040 --> 0:03:22.520 different time zones to be able to participate with her. 0:03:22.840 --> 0:03:25.680 That's pretty incredible, isn't it. And so, Susie, we love 0:03:25.720 --> 0:03:27.600 you things for what you do. But I want to 0:03:27.600 --> 0:03:29.800 get into this character named Rahab today. We don't know 0:03:29.800 --> 0:03:31.680 a whole lot about her life, but we do know 0:03:32.160 --> 0:03:33.680 a couple of things. One of the things we know 0:03:33.800 --> 0:03:37.240 is her occupation. Now some would call her profession the 0:03:37.360 --> 0:03:41.680 oldest occupation of profession on the earth. That is prostitution. Yes, 0:03:41.760 --> 0:03:44.120 I apologize parents, if you brought your kids in here today, 0:03:44.120 --> 0:03:45.960 you had d warning to take him into E kids. 0:03:47.720 --> 0:03:50.320 But she is a prostitute. That is her profession. We 0:03:50.360 --> 0:03:52.640 also know that she lives in this city of Jericho. 0:03:52.720 --> 0:03:55.480 Jericho is a pretty small town. It's about fifteen hundred people. 0:03:55.680 --> 0:03:58.240 It's I always picture this thing like this huge city. No, 0:03:58.320 --> 0:04:00.760 it's about fifteen hundred to two thousand. Peace it's got 0:04:00.800 --> 0:04:03.680 really high thick walls about thirty to forty feet high 0:04:03.920 --> 0:04:05.640 all the way around the perimeter of the city. It 0:04:05.640 --> 0:04:08.160 makes like a circle. Jericho is the city that the 0:04:08.200 --> 0:04:10.520 Israelites marched around six times and yell in the wall 0:04:10.560 --> 0:04:12.960 still that happens just a few chapters after what we're 0:04:12.960 --> 0:04:15.960 going to look at today. And this is a small city, 0:04:16.160 --> 0:04:18.000 and we know that that there's not a whole lot 0:04:18.000 --> 0:04:19.520 of people in it, but we also know that in 0:04:19.560 --> 0:04:22.279 this story there are two spies that happen to come 0:04:22.400 --> 0:04:24.000 into the land. That's where we're going to pick up 0:04:24.040 --> 0:04:26.240 the story here today. But I want to actually recreate 0:04:26.279 --> 0:04:28.640 a little bit of what her house looks like because 0:04:28.680 --> 0:04:31.000 it's really important. So our production team is going to 0:04:31.000 --> 0:04:33.000 bring out some props for me right now, and would 0:04:33.040 --> 0:04:35.479 you help me think our production team and our e 0:04:35.600 --> 0:04:38.960 kids volunteers, and our parking team's putting up of your 0:04:39.080 --> 0:04:44.599 bad habits out in the parking lot. They're incredible. And 0:04:44.720 --> 0:04:47.200 what they're doing is they're wheeling out a door in 0:04:47.240 --> 0:04:49.040 a window, And I want to recreate a little bit 0:04:49.040 --> 0:04:51.720 of what the scene of Rayhab's house might look like 0:04:51.760 --> 0:04:54.560 because it's really important because what it says is. It 0:04:54.560 --> 0:04:58.279 says that she had a window on her house, thank 0:04:58.279 --> 0:05:02.000 you guys so much, and outside of the city. So 0:05:02.080 --> 0:05:05.560 the window is on the outer wall, so it's got 0:05:05.600 --> 0:05:07.960 access to the promised land, and she could see out 0:05:08.400 --> 0:05:11.160 out into the land. Now the door is on the 0:05:11.200 --> 0:05:12.800 inner part of the city. This is where all the 0:05:12.839 --> 0:05:15.640 activity of the city happened, and this is the life 0:05:15.920 --> 0:05:19.400 where rehab lived. She lived in this space. I have 0:05:19.480 --> 0:05:21.520 no idea if it's eight hundred square feet of hardwoods 0:05:21.600 --> 0:05:24.080 or eight thousand square feet. All of us have a 0:05:24.120 --> 0:05:26.359 space where we live. It's not just our physical address, 0:05:26.400 --> 0:05:28.760 but it's in our mind, it's in our heart, and 0:05:28.800 --> 0:05:31.560 it's in these places. Every one of you lives somewhere. 0:05:31.680 --> 0:05:33.359 And if we were to zoom in and take a 0:05:33.360 --> 0:05:35.839 picture of there's some ugly places in my life. There's 0:05:35.839 --> 0:05:37.720 some things that I would not want you to see. 0:05:37.839 --> 0:05:39.880 So those places in my life, I like to put 0:05:39.880 --> 0:05:42.480 those behind the door. I like living in places that 0:05:42.520 --> 0:05:45.240 nobody sees what happens behind here, because all of us 0:05:45.360 --> 0:05:47.920 like to have places where we hide behind closed doors. 0:05:48.680 --> 0:05:51.080 I mean, I don't want anybody to see my business, 0:05:51.080 --> 0:05:52.800 So I put that behind the door. Now the window 0:05:53.240 --> 0:05:55.200 is the play of things I want everybody to see. 0:05:56.200 --> 0:06:01.080 This is like, Hi, how you doing doing great? H crap? 0:06:01.080 --> 0:06:03.200 I had a bad day at work today. I feel 0:06:03.200 --> 0:06:05.400 like such a loser. No, I don't want anybody to 0:06:05.440 --> 0:06:09.280 see that. Like, hey, Instagram took a picture of my 0:06:09.360 --> 0:06:11.240 kids on Father's They had to take it seventeen times 0:06:11.240 --> 0:06:14.080 to get the right one, but we got it. I 0:06:14.240 --> 0:06:17.440 like controlling what people see. The things that people I 0:06:17.440 --> 0:06:19.000 don't want them to see. Now I put them behind 0:06:19.040 --> 0:06:21.120 the door. I'm hiding behind these things. I mean, sure, 0:06:21.160 --> 0:06:24.760 I might poke my head like hey, y'all, well's up, 0:06:24.880 --> 0:06:27.960 how you doing? But then it's like, nope, you don't 0:06:28.000 --> 0:06:31.960 see that. That happens behind closed doors. All have those spaces. 0:06:32.960 --> 0:06:36.320 And I think the longer we live settling for living 0:06:36.400 --> 0:06:40.640 behind closed doors, the more we're under the trap of shame. 0:06:42.720 --> 0:06:44.880 I think that's where life has lived for way too 0:06:44.880 --> 0:06:47.200 many of us. Sure you look good on the outside 0:06:47.240 --> 0:06:49.839 because you just got the new outfit and out front. 0:06:49.880 --> 0:06:53.560 I'm like, hey, brother, how you doing, But get behind 0:06:53.600 --> 0:06:56.840 the closed doors. You're cussing out your kids. Now you're 0:06:56.839 --> 0:06:58.839 talking to people on the way into church, like, brother, 0:06:58.880 --> 0:07:05.840 the Lord's gonna move to a shut up I got 0:07:05.839 --> 0:07:08.839 the parts that I want you to see, parts that 0:07:08.839 --> 0:07:12.720 are behind the closed door. I realize I've spent more 0:07:12.760 --> 0:07:14.800 of my life living behind a closed door than an 0:07:14.800 --> 0:07:18.600 open window. That's where I've forfeited more potential than the 0:07:18.640 --> 0:07:22.400 devil's ever taken from me. It's in this land of shame, 0:07:22.440 --> 0:07:24.160 and it would be important for us to understand there's 0:07:24.200 --> 0:07:27.880 a difference between guilt and shame. There really is. Guilt 0:07:28.280 --> 0:07:31.280 is I am sorry for what I did. It's actually 0:07:31.360 --> 0:07:34.240 a really healthy thing. It's actually a good thing. It 0:07:34.320 --> 0:07:37.800 is a pattern that's established in healthy relationships. It really is. 0:07:37.880 --> 0:07:40.120 It means I am sorry for what I did. Now 0:07:40.200 --> 0:07:45.240 shame Shame is I'm sorry for who I am. One 0:07:45.480 --> 0:07:48.040 is a look at my behavior. The other is an 0:07:48.080 --> 0:07:52.720 indictment of my character. One is a gift that God 0:07:52.760 --> 0:07:55.680 gives us for restoration. The other one is a scheme 0:07:55.760 --> 0:07:58.400 of Satan that is meant to destroy you. I've got 0:07:58.440 --> 0:08:00.680 to understand when I'm living in the past an open 0:08:00.760 --> 0:08:02.880 window or a closed door, and when i am living 0:08:02.920 --> 0:08:04.760 in the pattern of the closed door, I'm always under 0:08:04.760 --> 0:08:09.080 the shadow of shame. Guilt is so healthy in relationships. Actually, 0:08:09.200 --> 0:08:11.280 let's practice it the like right now because the language 0:08:11.320 --> 0:08:13.960 of guilt sounds something like this, I'm sorry, would you 0:08:13.960 --> 0:08:17.640 please forgive me? It's really healthy. Let's try look at 0:08:17.680 --> 0:08:19.800 your neighbor or your spousor who's ever say I'm sorry, 0:08:19.840 --> 0:08:25.120 would you forgive me? Now? How did that feel? Now? 0:08:25.160 --> 0:08:26.720 Some of you you needed that because of the fight 0:08:26.760 --> 0:08:28.440 you got in the park lot right before you came in. 0:08:28.520 --> 0:08:35.120 I'm just the lord provided today. He's that's healthy. And 0:08:35.160 --> 0:08:37.599 then when someone says that to you, here's the language 0:08:38.280 --> 0:08:42.000 of healthy relationships. Thank you for telling me I forgive you. 0:08:42.120 --> 0:08:46.040 Now practice that. Thank you for telling me I forgive you. 0:08:47.200 --> 0:08:50.800 Because here's the thing. What often can start as is 0:08:50.840 --> 0:08:53.840 a healthy pattern of bringing it into the light actually 0:08:53.840 --> 0:08:55.960 gets reinforced in the wrong way, and it forces it 0:08:56.000 --> 0:09:01.000 into the darkness because the way it's received often determines 0:09:01.040 --> 0:09:05.160 if it's repeated. And when your son comes to you 0:09:05.200 --> 0:09:08.040 and says, Dad, I'm struggling, when they're met with how 0:09:08.160 --> 0:09:10.679 dare you? You've just pushed him behind a closed door, 0:09:10.679 --> 0:09:12.120 and they never want to come tell you it again. 0:09:14.240 --> 0:09:16.560 That's what happens when we don't deal with things in 0:09:16.600 --> 0:09:19.120 a healthy way. Shame is in this place of I'm 0:09:19.160 --> 0:09:22.280 horrible it's not just I did something bad, I am bad. 0:09:22.480 --> 0:09:24.600 It's not I had made a bad choice. I am 0:09:24.640 --> 0:09:27.439 a bad person. And the language of those two sounds 0:09:27.520 --> 0:09:31.080 so different. And often what happens in relationships and in life, 0:09:31.240 --> 0:09:34.320 all of these little events can create cascades of big shame, 0:09:34.960 --> 0:09:37.480 little things. I mean, like there's a mom. You know this, 0:09:37.600 --> 0:09:40.000 you've felt this, This idea of shame. Shame is that 0:09:40.000 --> 0:09:43.880 feeling that washes over you, like everybody's seen you, everybody 0:09:43.920 --> 0:09:45.560 knows you, and they know you're fraud and they know 0:09:45.600 --> 0:09:49.280 your hypocrite. That feeling, like that feeling know too well, 0:09:49.400 --> 0:09:51.680 that causes us to hide. I mean some moms you 0:09:51.720 --> 0:09:55.719 experienced this. You're walking through Target and your four year 0:09:55.760 --> 0:09:59.280 old decides to act out in the worst way, like 0:09:59.280 --> 0:10:03.000 a temper chance, laying on the floor, screaming aha, And 0:10:03.040 --> 0:10:05.360 it just so happens. At that time your best friends 0:10:05.400 --> 0:10:09.760 come down there, like hey, sister, and you're so embarrassed, 0:10:09.760 --> 0:10:12.000 you're so ashamed, and you're like, oh, I'm doing great, 0:10:12.360 --> 0:10:14.319 and you just can't wait to get wait till get 0:10:14.360 --> 0:10:17.080 you boomed, like get you behind this closed door, and 0:10:17.120 --> 0:10:20.120 you're like, but nobody, you don't tell anybody about the 0:10:20.160 --> 0:10:24.400 shame you feel. And now your child is fifteen and 0:10:24.440 --> 0:10:28.720 they company and say, mom, Dad, I'm pregnant. That shame 0:10:28.760 --> 0:10:30.440 that makes you behind the closed door and you don't 0:10:30.480 --> 0:10:34.800 want anybody to see that stuff that place. And it 0:10:34.840 --> 0:10:39.280 happens in relationships so insidiously. It's like, man, I'm sure 0:10:39.280 --> 0:10:41.319 that none of you can identify with this. I'm actually 0:10:41.400 --> 0:10:43.480 using this as hypothetical. This has not happened to me. 0:10:43.880 --> 0:10:45.960 Like your wife sends you to the grocery store to 0:10:45.960 --> 0:10:47.720 get some items and you're like, I don't need to 0:10:47.720 --> 0:10:51.520 write it down. I totally got it. Like just some 0:10:51.520 --> 0:10:54.839 some sugar, like sweet grant, like white granules. Got it. 0:10:55.080 --> 0:10:56.560 Then you get in the grocery store like, oh, some 0:10:56.679 --> 0:10:59.960 pop and then some chips and oh yeah that looks cool. 0:11:00.280 --> 0:11:05.319 Now what did my wife want? Gosh, I'm so embarrassed. 0:11:05.360 --> 0:11:07.719 I don't want to call her. She just wants some 0:11:07.800 --> 0:11:14.960 kind of sweetener thing. Yeah, sweeten low, sweeten low. So 0:11:15.040 --> 0:11:18.959 I bring it home and put it on the table 0:11:19.000 --> 0:11:20.839 and she looks like, what is that. It's like, it's 0:11:20.840 --> 0:11:22.719 what you want me to get. No, it's not. You 0:11:22.760 --> 0:11:24.520 should have been more clear about what you wanted me 0:11:24.559 --> 0:11:26.920 to get done. You always do this and you never 0:11:27.000 --> 0:11:37.240 get it right. I can never please you. It's fine, 0:11:39.160 --> 0:11:42.920 and then you get behind the door. I can't believe 0:11:42.960 --> 0:11:48.640 she we never I just suck as a husband. I'll 0:11:48.640 --> 0:11:52.720 never get it right. Why did she marry me? She 0:11:52.760 --> 0:11:56.640 probably doesn't even want to be married to me. See 0:11:56.640 --> 0:12:01.160 how the language shifts so quickly. When you watch football, 0:12:01.200 --> 0:12:04.040 you know how they put that microphone, the sideline mic 0:12:04.080 --> 0:12:06.800 on the coach and on the players. If you were 0:12:06.840 --> 0:12:10.840 to put a mic on Shame, here's what Shame is saying. Oh, 0:12:10.840 --> 0:12:13.080 because Shame is in the grocery store with the husband 0:12:13.240 --> 0:12:16.679 and he's whispering in his ear. See, you're never going 0:12:16.720 --> 0:12:20.439 to get it right anyway. Don't admit to her that 0:12:20.480 --> 0:12:23.480 you don't didn't take good direction, because if you admit it, 0:12:23.480 --> 0:12:25.920 it's going to reinforce that she can't trust you. So 0:12:25.920 --> 0:12:28.360 you just go with your gut. Because because Shame is 0:12:28.400 --> 0:12:30.960 a little punk, tapping you on the shoulder before you 0:12:31.000 --> 0:12:32.680 do it, saying it's not that big of a deal. 0:12:33.880 --> 0:12:37.760 But after you do it, Oh, you dirty talk, you 0:12:37.800 --> 0:12:41.960 are horrible. That's what shame does. It's subtle, it's shifty, 0:12:42.160 --> 0:12:44.000 and it wants you to pull you into the shadows, 0:12:44.360 --> 0:12:46.520 and then when you get home, shame is on the 0:12:46.520 --> 0:12:48.840 white's shoulder, saying, oh yeah, he knows that you've been 0:12:48.880 --> 0:12:51.839 struggling with body image anyway. He knows that you've been 0:12:51.840 --> 0:12:54.560 wearing larger clothes. He actually bought the sweeten Loo because 0:12:54.559 --> 0:13:03.440 he thinks you're fat. Maybe I'm the only person that 0:13:03.480 --> 0:13:11.720 can jump to extremes. Why because shame is being exposed 0:13:12.600 --> 0:13:15.040 and I'm projecting on them what I feel about myself. 0:13:16.440 --> 0:13:20.280 Rather than having a language that's built on confession, it's 0:13:20.280 --> 0:13:24.040 actually a conversation that's built on shame. That's what happened. Shame, 0:13:24.160 --> 0:13:27.400 this divisive little thing that will come in happens in 0:13:27.440 --> 0:13:29.960 all of these ways. I remember when I first learned 0:13:30.000 --> 0:13:33.319 that I was poor. I thought I was like growing 0:13:33.360 --> 0:13:35.240 up as a kid like every other kid just yay, 0:13:35.600 --> 0:13:39.360 Like I thought, everybody just eats, you know, free cheese, 0:13:39.440 --> 0:13:45.120 and it's just seriously. I was like, h But then 0:13:45.120 --> 0:13:47.880 I was like in seventh grade and I'm in lunchline 0:13:47.880 --> 0:13:50.920 and missus Kelstrom, the lunch lady. I was like, I'm sorry, 0:13:50.960 --> 0:13:53.360 Missus Kelshrram, I forgot my money to She goes, It's okay, 0:13:53.400 --> 0:14:00.400 you're on the free lunch list anyway, what there was 0:14:00.440 --> 0:14:09.400 for poor kids. And I I heard my buddy Steve 0:14:09.559 --> 0:14:17.920 just yeah, you're poor. I'm like really, But I remember 0:14:17.920 --> 0:14:21.760 the feeling of being like a piece of clothing on 0:14:21.800 --> 0:14:28.560 the sale rack, not being good enough, second rate, second class. 0:14:30.200 --> 0:14:33.400 It's funny how that shadow of shame, because shame is 0:14:33.400 --> 0:14:36.840 his spirit, and it's like a piece of clothing. It 0:14:36.840 --> 0:14:40.680 wants you to wear it. And I remember putting that 0:14:40.720 --> 0:14:42.520 clothing on, and I carried that a large part of 0:14:42.520 --> 0:14:44.160 my life, and I still have a tendency to put 0:14:44.160 --> 0:14:46.160 it back on. It's really funny. As I was preparing 0:14:46.200 --> 0:14:49.600 for this sermon last week, sure enough, shame rolls up 0:14:49.600 --> 0:14:54.280 into my front yard. I'm getting ready. I'm here at 0:14:54.400 --> 0:14:57.600 Balantine on Thursday, practicing my sermon, like getting ready to preach, 0:14:57.640 --> 0:14:59.880 and I get a text from a friend of my says, hey, 0:15:00.160 --> 0:15:02.000 I did some work at your house a couple months ago. 0:15:02.160 --> 0:15:06.000 I was wondering if you have paid that invoice. It's like, snap, 0:15:06.040 --> 0:15:10.000 I forgot I could. I smelled the grilled cheese in 0:15:10.040 --> 0:15:16.200 the cafeteria. Don't You're not that far away from shame 0:15:16.240 --> 0:15:19.440 that you can't run back to it. It's a spirit 0:15:20.640 --> 0:15:22.680 and some of you front like you got it all together, 0:15:22.720 --> 0:15:26.600 but behind closed doors, it is wasting you away. That's 0:15:26.600 --> 0:15:29.080 what shame wants to do. Shame wants to destroy you. 0:15:29.320 --> 0:15:31.160 It doesn't want to mess you up. It wants to 0:15:31.200 --> 0:15:34.240 just completely take you out. It's in big things, like 0:15:34.240 --> 0:15:36.480 we talked about it. Some of you, the reason you 0:15:36.560 --> 0:15:39.280 do not want to go to the family gathering is 0:15:39.320 --> 0:15:42.800 because your cousin violated you fifteen years ago. You have 0:15:42.920 --> 0:15:46.280 never told anybody. You've hidden behind that door for fifteen years, 0:15:46.280 --> 0:15:48.800 and you just tell them you're busy. But the real 0:15:48.840 --> 0:15:50.960 reason is you have so much shame because you've never 0:15:51.000 --> 0:15:53.920 been able to tell anybody. Shame wants you to hide 0:15:53.920 --> 0:15:56.280 behind that door. It wants you to sit behind it 0:15:56.400 --> 0:15:58.400 because what it wants you to do. It wants you 0:15:58.440 --> 0:16:00.400 to sit behind it that you give up hoping and 0:16:00.440 --> 0:16:02.680 believing on the promises of God. It wants you to 0:16:02.720 --> 0:16:05.560 believe that that will never happen, all of those promises. 0:16:05.600 --> 0:16:07.840 It's like windows shopping. You can look at it, but 0:16:07.880 --> 0:16:10.640 you'll never touch it. You'll never get to it. That's 0:16:10.640 --> 0:16:13.760 what shame wants to do. Shame is an instrument of 0:16:13.760 --> 0:16:17.600 the enemy. It is a silent assassin, and it is 0:16:17.720 --> 0:16:20.600 meant to destroy you. And it is a quiet epidemic 0:16:20.640 --> 0:16:23.000 that is picking people off. And just because you have 0:16:23.040 --> 0:16:25.320 given your life to Christ does not mean you're inoculated 0:16:25.320 --> 0:16:29.600 against this condition and condition, by the way, Dustin Shradley 0:16:29.880 --> 0:16:32.840 great sermon last week. Hey Rono, why don't you tell 0:16:32.960 --> 0:16:37.520 Dustin Shradley you love them? That was awesome, so good, 0:16:39.680 --> 0:16:43.560 But it wants to wipe you out. Shame is connected 0:16:43.600 --> 0:16:53.840 to rates of depression, anger, addictions, eating disorders, and suicide. 0:16:53.920 --> 0:16:57.240 The ultimate aim of shame is to get you to 0:16:57.280 --> 0:16:59.520 the point that you give up hope and you want 0:16:59.560 --> 0:17:03.320 to tap and you want to quit life. The second 0:17:03.400 --> 0:17:06.280 leading costs cause of death for eighteen to twenty five 0:17:06.359 --> 0:17:11.840 year olds is suicide. And some of you logging online 0:17:11.920 --> 0:17:13.720 watching us or watching this at a later date or 0:17:13.720 --> 0:17:16.160 at one of our locations, are only at church today 0:17:16.160 --> 0:17:18.720 because this is like a last resort, it's your last option. 0:17:19.000 --> 0:17:21.320 And some of you might even been saying, God, give 0:17:21.359 --> 0:17:23.159 me a sign that you know me, give me a 0:17:23.200 --> 0:17:25.760 sign that you haven't forgotten me. Here it is, I'm 0:17:25.800 --> 0:17:28.480 your sign. I'm not very tall, but I am loud, 0:17:28.800 --> 0:17:30.600 and I want you to hear the voice of God. 0:17:30.880 --> 0:17:34.200 He loves you. He's not mad at you, he's not 0:17:34.280 --> 0:17:38.080 trying to hurt you, he's not punishing you. Please come 0:17:38.119 --> 0:17:41.800 to him. And if you are struggling under the shadow 0:17:41.840 --> 0:17:43.840 of shame, it is so dark that you want to 0:17:43.880 --> 0:17:48.080 give up, please don't do it. Please invite somebody in. 0:17:48.560 --> 0:17:50.399 You don't need to live under the shadow of that 0:17:51.320 --> 0:17:58.240 any longer. That's what shame wants to do. And you 0:17:58.280 --> 0:18:00.440 are not immune to it because of the car you drive. 0:18:01.920 --> 0:18:05.520 You are you are, You are not outside of it, 0:18:05.640 --> 0:18:09.640 just because you live inside a really big house. I 0:18:09.680 --> 0:18:12.520 think that's why God sent the spies into Rayhouse life, 0:18:12.520 --> 0:18:15.280 because she was ready to tap out. I think she 0:18:15.359 --> 0:18:17.639 was at a point that the shame was so overwhelming. 0:18:17.920 --> 0:18:21.800 Think about this, She's a prostitute. Every day, the customers 0:18:21.840 --> 0:18:25.040 would come in and out of that door, and everyone 0:18:25.080 --> 0:18:26.920 that did it took a little piece of her dignity 0:18:26.920 --> 0:18:29.640 with them. And the more that they did that, the 0:18:29.640 --> 0:18:32.080 more that she moved away that life could ever be different, 0:18:33.080 --> 0:18:34.679 and the more that she didn't believe it could ever 0:18:34.760 --> 0:18:36.959 happen to her, and the more that she just settled 0:18:37.040 --> 0:18:40.560 into this is all I'll ever be. And I think 0:18:40.600 --> 0:18:42.720 God sent some spies in it, just the right moment 0:18:42.760 --> 0:18:44.920 before she was wanting to tap out. I think God 0:18:44.960 --> 0:18:47.119 sent me as a spy into your life today to 0:18:47.200 --> 0:18:49.320 tell you that he is coming into your life. He 0:18:49.480 --> 0:18:51.520 is tired of you sitting in the shadow of shame, 0:18:51.720 --> 0:18:53.520 and he is ready for you to come out of it. 0:18:57.560 --> 0:18:59.040 I've been a part of this church, my wife, and 0:18:59.080 --> 0:19:01.280 has since we started to years ago, and I have 0:19:01.320 --> 0:19:04.440 seen Pastor Stephen standing the stage every year for twelve 0:19:04.480 --> 0:19:06.199 plus years and preach the word of God. And I 0:19:06.240 --> 0:19:08.920 have become convinced that is I've studied these spies that 0:19:08.960 --> 0:19:13.560 he is, in fact indeed a spy. He is a spy. 0:19:14.080 --> 0:19:16.640 There's no way you could explain it. He has been 0:19:16.720 --> 0:19:20.600 following you around your whole life. He's like reading your emails. 0:19:21.080 --> 0:19:23.320 He is scouting where you go. How else can he 0:19:23.359 --> 0:19:25.320 stand on stage and priests like, how did you know that? 0:19:25.880 --> 0:19:30.000 Because he's a spy. I think he is a spy. 0:19:30.400 --> 0:19:32.960 I think he's a Joshua of this generation who has 0:19:33.000 --> 0:19:35.960 seen the Promised Land and he's coming here to tell 0:19:36.000 --> 0:19:38.760 you and me that it's still available. You will get 0:19:38.800 --> 0:19:41.399 in now. We gotta do some work. What'd you help me? 0:19:41.480 --> 0:19:46.800 Thank our Pastor for being the ultimate spy, the ultimate man. 0:19:48.960 --> 0:19:55.679 Incredible love. Our Pastor faithfully done it every year. And 0:19:55.720 --> 0:19:58.000 these spies break into the city. It's at the cover 0:19:58.080 --> 0:20:00.920 of night. The doors of the city had just closed, 0:20:01.160 --> 0:20:04.359 and they're like, oh, snap, we're in trouble because they 0:20:04.359 --> 0:20:05.840 were just gonna come in and look at the city 0:20:05.840 --> 0:20:08.000 and get out, but the gates closed before they could 0:20:08.000 --> 0:20:10.320 get out. So they start looking around the city and 0:20:10.320 --> 0:20:12.399 I think they're looking for a couple of things. The 0:20:12.440 --> 0:20:14.840 first thing they're looking for is access to be able 0:20:14.880 --> 0:20:17.760 to get outside of the city. As they're sneaking up 0:20:17.760 --> 0:20:19.840 to the city all stealthy, like you don't see me, 0:20:20.400 --> 0:20:23.840 they noticed some windows on the outer wall of the 0:20:23.880 --> 0:20:26.760 city and they're like, if we can just get to 0:20:26.800 --> 0:20:28.879 the window, we'll be able to get out of the city. 0:20:29.080 --> 0:20:31.200 So they start working their way around the inside of 0:20:31.240 --> 0:20:33.679 the city like, oh, we got to get access. We 0:20:33.760 --> 0:20:35.960 got to get access to a house that's on the 0:20:36.000 --> 0:20:38.560 wall so we can get out the window. God is 0:20:38.640 --> 0:20:42.800 looking for access, and they needed access to be able 0:20:42.840 --> 0:20:45.000 to get out. You know why God is looking at 0:20:45.000 --> 0:20:50.240 you because God needs access. God needs access to your life. 0:20:50.320 --> 0:20:53.840 Because this story wasn't just about rehab. God needed access 0:20:53.880 --> 0:20:57.960 to her father, her mother, her brothers, and her sisters 0:20:57.960 --> 0:21:00.480 and all who belonged to them. Why are you in 0:21:00.520 --> 0:21:03.879 that dysfunctional family? Because God says, I need access to 0:21:03.920 --> 0:21:07.080 those people. I need access through your life. I know 0:21:07.200 --> 0:21:10.000 you've been hiding behind closed doors for a long time, 0:21:10.280 --> 0:21:12.320 but this is the moment that you now become a 0:21:12.359 --> 0:21:14.920