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 window because the blessing of God is meant to flow 0:21:15.000 --> 0:21:17.560 through you. You are a window and God is looking 0:21:17.600 --> 0:21:19.760 at you because he needs access, because he's got to 0:21:19.800 --> 0:21:23.720 get something through you. See what God can do through you. 0:21:23.720 --> 0:21:25.879 You've been wondering why you're in that job you hate. 0:21:27.280 --> 0:21:30.840 It's not about your income. It's about his access. He 0:21:30.920 --> 0:21:33.560 needs to get his glory in and the only way 0:21:33.560 --> 0:21:36.199 he's gonna do it is through your life. God is 0:21:36.280 --> 0:21:41.399 looking for people to have access, but the access of 0:21:41.440 --> 0:21:43.359 the glory of God will never be given out when 0:21:43.400 --> 0:21:50.359 it's hidden behind closed doors. Hiding behind that door, God's 0:21:50.359 --> 0:21:53.119 access does not come out behind the closed door. I 0:21:53.119 --> 0:21:55.040 think the second thing they're looking for is someone they 0:21:55.040 --> 0:21:59.320 can trust, say trust. What's interesting to me is they're 0:21:59.359 --> 0:22:02.080 looking around this. They've never been there. They're outsiders. They're 0:22:02.119 --> 0:22:04.520 looking at this whole deal. But they get said, we 0:22:04.560 --> 0:22:07.960 got to find somebody that that we can trust, So 0:22:08.080 --> 0:22:11.400 let's pick the people that nobody else would trust. It's 0:22:11.400 --> 0:22:14.080 funny because because in First Corinthians one twenty seven and 0:22:14.200 --> 0:22:16.560 twenty eight it says this. And what's funny is you 0:22:16.600 --> 0:22:20.399 know what God is into shame. He's into shaming shame. 0:22:20.760 --> 0:22:23.240 He's into taking something that the world calls shame and 0:22:23.320 --> 0:22:26.000 he's gonna throw some shade on it, and he's gonna say, nah, 0:22:26.160 --> 0:22:28.199 I'm actually gonna shame the shame because he said in 0:22:28.200 --> 0:22:30.840 First Corinthians one twenty seven says, but God shows the 0:22:30.840 --> 0:22:34.200 foolish things of the world to shame the wise. He 0:22:34.359 --> 0:22:37.439 chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. 0:22:37.720 --> 0:22:39.639 God shows the lowly things of the world and the 0:22:39.640 --> 0:22:42.359 despise things and the things that are not to nullify 0:22:42.440 --> 0:22:45.120 the things that are. And if you have been overlooked, 0:22:45.320 --> 0:22:47.440 if you have been sitting under the shadow of shame, 0:22:47.680 --> 0:22:49.960 you need to know that God is so attracted to you. 0:22:50.200 --> 0:22:54.240 God is attractive to shame. Your shame is attractive. And 0:22:54.240 --> 0:22:56.600 he's looking for somebody he can trust, because he says, 0:22:56.600 --> 0:22:59.359 when my glory comes through you, somebody who's proud will 0:22:59.400 --> 0:23:01.960 think they did it themselves, with somebody who's lowly will 0:23:01.960 --> 0:23:04.280 know that it is only God that did it. That's 0:23:04.280 --> 0:23:07.439 why God has picked you. He's looking for you to 0:23:07.480 --> 0:23:11.840 have access, and you've always seen yourself untrustworthy because of 0:23:11.880 --> 0:23:14.159 the shame. No God says, those are the conditions for 0:23:14.240 --> 0:23:18.080 my blessing to fall in your life. But I wondered, 0:23:18.119 --> 0:23:21.280 how did these men know that this is a prostitute. 0:23:21.520 --> 0:23:23.359 I mean, they'd never been to the city, they didn't 0:23:23.400 --> 0:23:25.919 know anybody. They're hiding under the shadows of night, and 0:23:25.920 --> 0:23:27.919 they're sneaking around because they don't want to be found. 0:23:28.440 --> 0:23:31.520 I bet they were religious folks and they were like praying, like, God, 0:23:31.680 --> 0:23:35.080 give me a sign. I mean, you've prayed that too, 0:23:35.760 --> 0:23:37.960 But God, give me a sign. We keep asking God 0:23:38.000 --> 0:23:39.680 for a sign to get out of something. Maybe he's 0:23:39.720 --> 0:23:41.760 asking us for a sign to use us in the 0:23:41.760 --> 0:23:44.919 middle of it. Maybe that's what God's doing. And I 0:23:44.920 --> 0:23:47.520 started to do some study about this because the way 0:23:47.520 --> 0:23:52.199 that prostitutes would advertise their open for business in ancient 0:23:52.200 --> 0:23:53.760 cities was this. Have you ever heard the term red 0:23:53.840 --> 0:23:57.520 light district. There's a real thing. It is a real thing. 0:23:57.800 --> 0:23:59.720 And so what prostitutes would do is they would have 0:23:59.800 --> 0:24:03.119 a court and this is like there, I'm open for 0:24:03.200 --> 0:24:06.399 business sign, and so they would take the sign and 0:24:06.440 --> 0:24:08.880 they would put it on the front door, advertising we're 0:24:08.920 --> 0:24:12.680 open for business. So as the spies are coming through, 0:24:12.720 --> 0:24:15.840 Lord give me a sign. They saw the sign. Now 0:24:15.960 --> 0:24:19.200 this is the sign of her shame, but it will 0:24:19.200 --> 0:24:24.920 become the sign of his salvation. I know you're ashamed 0:24:24.960 --> 0:24:26.680 of it, but God says, at the end of this, 0:24:26.800 --> 0:24:29.320 I'm gonna hold it up as a sign of my glory. 0:24:30.080 --> 0:24:33.960 And so these men show up and they it's darka 0:24:34.080 --> 0:24:38.800 side there, time out little dating advice, ladies. It's the 0:24:38.840 --> 0:24:40.600 only time that guy is calling you is after dark. 0:24:40.640 --> 0:24:44.360 You know he's not in it for godly game. Amen. 0:24:47.040 --> 0:24:50.800 And so she thinks she's just welcoming in the first 0:24:50.800 --> 0:24:55.960 customers of the night. Hello, because shame can't even look 0:24:56.000 --> 0:24:57.600 somebody in the eyes at this point, she's not even 0:24:57.600 --> 0:25:01.399 making eye contact. This is just in exchange, and she 0:25:01.440 --> 0:25:04.520 welcomes them in first customers of the night. She did 0:25:04.520 --> 0:25:06.400 not know she was inviting the presence of God into 0:25:06.400 --> 0:25:10.840 her life. Did not know these are the first men 0:25:11.480 --> 0:25:14.200 that came in through the door. But didn't go back 0:25:14.200 --> 0:25:17.000 out the same way they came. These men were going 0:25:17.040 --> 0:25:19.840 to go back out through the window. Every other man 0:25:19.880 --> 0:25:22.520 comes into your life to get something and leaves with it. 0:25:23.480 --> 0:25:27.119 But the person of Jesus, the god man named Jesus Christ, 0:25:27.640 --> 0:25:29.439 is a man who comes into your life, but then 0:25:29.480 --> 0:25:32.240 he goes through your life. And she has this encounter 0:25:32.320 --> 0:25:35.080 with these men, and she realizes, yes, you are of God. 0:25:35.320 --> 0:25:37.359 Yes I know I couldn't get to it, but God 0:25:37.440 --> 0:25:40.840 came to me. I know I couldn't get myself over there, 0:25:40.880 --> 0:25:43.160 but God came to me to get me there. So 0:25:43.240 --> 0:25:46.040 it is with you. And she has these encounter and 0:25:46.080 --> 0:25:50.119 she recognizes these are men of God in life. Maybe 0:25:50.160 --> 0:25:53.760 this isn't just a mirage. Maybe that could be a reality. 0:25:54.080 --> 0:25:56.120 Maybe the thing I've been dreaming about my whole life 0:25:56.160 --> 0:25:58.879 actually could become the promises of God fulfilled in my life. 0:25:59.440 --> 0:26:04.400 And she believes. But here's the fascinating part about this story. 0:26:04.560 --> 0:26:08.160 This woman was a prostitute for years, decades, maybe even 0:26:09.359 --> 0:26:13.240 every night the sun would set over the city, darkness 0:26:13.280 --> 0:26:16.760 would invade her home and it would be filled pitch black. 0:26:19.119 --> 0:26:23.320 Shame grows in the dark, shame grows in the hidden places, 0:26:23.560 --> 0:26:25.200 and some of you are in a very dark place 0:26:25.400 --> 0:26:27.800 right now, and you know it, and you can feel it. 0:26:27.800 --> 0:26:30.840 You can feel the shame willing up. But then I 0:26:30.880 --> 0:26:33.280 got excited. I knew the sun set and it was 0:26:33.359 --> 0:26:35.520 darkness behind the door. But then I started to think 0:26:35.520 --> 0:26:38.159 about the window, and I started to think about the 0:26:38.359 --> 0:26:40.399 way that God created the cycle of the earth and 0:26:40.400 --> 0:26:43.000 how his grace works, and has started to realize, I 0:26:43.040 --> 0:26:46.919 know the sun is going to set, but I also 0:26:47.040 --> 0:26:50.520 know that the sun is going to rise. And I 0:26:50.560 --> 0:26:53.240 started to think about Lamentations three twenty two. It says, 0:26:53.400 --> 0:26:55.720 because of the Lord's great love, we are not consumed, 0:26:55.760 --> 0:27:00.000 for his compassions never failed. They are new every morning, 0:27:00.000 --> 0:27:03.760 and great is your faithfulness. And in the Good News translation, 0:27:03.880 --> 0:27:07.040 it says, this fresh as the morning, as sure as 0:27:07.080 --> 0:27:09.879 the sun rise. Here's the image. She went to bed 0:27:09.920 --> 0:27:13.800 with shame for decades. Say every day, no, no, say 0:27:13.840 --> 0:27:17.520 every day, and every day the grace of God would 0:27:17.560 --> 0:27:20.120 rise in her life. Every day the sun would illuminate 0:27:20.119 --> 0:27:21.920 her apartment. So it is with the grace of God 0:27:22.160 --> 0:27:26.520 it was available every day, Say every day, But this day, 0:27:26.600 --> 0:27:29.840 say this day, this day, she just didn't look at it. 0:27:29.840 --> 0:27:32.400 She was about to receive it this day. Some of you, 0:27:32.400 --> 0:27:34.879 you've been staring at it for years, thinking it was 0:27:34.920 --> 0:27:37.840 for other people, people who are taller, better, not struggling 0:27:37.840 --> 0:27:39.960 with shame. But today is the day, this day that 0:27:40.000 --> 0:27:41.800 you are going to receive the grace of God. This 0:27:41.920 --> 0:27:44.679 day you gonna move out of the shadows of shame 0:27:45.040 --> 0:27:49.160 and into His marvelous light, because the grace of God 0:27:49.320 --> 0:27:52.320 is greater than the darkness of shame. God is not 0:27:52.440 --> 0:27:56.320 intimidated by your ugliness. He is not intimidated by your darkness. 0:27:56.400 --> 0:27:59.600 In fact, he never looked away from it. You can't 0:27:59.600 --> 0:28:01.760 look at it. But God never looked away from you 0:28:02.440 --> 0:28:05.280 because He loves you, and he loved Rayhab and he 0:28:05.320 --> 0:28:08.040 knew she couldn't get herself to the door. That's why 0:28:08.080 --> 0:28:10.639 he sent some spies into the land to do it. 0:28:10.680 --> 0:28:14.600 And these men encounter this woman and she realizes, Wow, 0:28:14.720 --> 0:28:18.520 this is different. These men are not like other men. 0:28:19.080 --> 0:28:22.479 And she realizes, maybe, just maybe life could be different. 0:28:22.800 --> 0:28:25.840 And then she releases them, and the story continues, and 0:28:25.880 --> 0:28:28.280 she lets him out the window, and she goes. Now 0:28:28.440 --> 0:28:31.160 the men's had said to her, this oath we swear 0:28:31.200 --> 0:28:34.000 to you will not be binding on us unless when 0:28:34.040 --> 0:28:38.280 we enter the land. You have tied this scarlet cord 0:28:38.840 --> 0:28:40.680 in the window. Through it. She let us down. Unless 0:28:40.720 --> 0:28:42.400 you have brought your father, your mother, your brothers, and 0:28:42.440 --> 0:28:45.640 your sisters, and all your family into your house. If 0:28:45.680 --> 0:28:49.200 any of them go outside your house into the streets, 0:28:49.360 --> 0:28:51.360 their blood will be on your heads. We will not 0:28:51.400 --> 0:28:53.960 be responsible as for those who are in your house 0:28:54.000 --> 0:28:56.640 with you. Their blood will be on our head if 0:28:56.680 --> 0:29:00.840 a hand is laid on them. These men ready to leave, 0:29:01.680 --> 0:29:03.680 and they say we need a sign. They looked at 0:29:03.680 --> 0:29:07.400 her and said, give me a sign, the sign of 0:29:07.440 --> 0:29:13.200 her greatest shame. They said, we want that that shame 0:29:13.240 --> 0:29:17.160 you've been hiding behind, that shame that happened thirty two 0:29:17.240 --> 0:29:19.080 years ago, when you have that abortion, and you've never 0:29:19.120 --> 0:29:22.680 told anybody that thing that you said. I'd pray that 0:29:22.720 --> 0:29:24.680 nobody ever else finds out. I know you don't do 0:29:24.680 --> 0:29:26.840 background checks anymore because you don't want people to see 0:29:26.880 --> 0:29:29.400 you had the DWI fifteen years ago. God said, I'm 0:29:29.440 --> 0:29:31.560 ready to deal with that shame. I'm no longer going 0:29:31.640 --> 0:29:33.560 to let you hide behind it. That thing that was 0:29:33.600 --> 0:29:36.080 a sign of your greatest shame will become a sign 0:29:36.120 --> 0:29:46.040 of my salvation. It will be a sign. I know 0:29:46.160 --> 0:29:49.680 you're so ashamed behind it, and some of you are 0:29:49.680 --> 0:29:51.600 in this room. You're like, there's some men in this 0:29:51.720 --> 0:29:54.200 room that you know this feeling. That your son grabs 0:29:54.240 --> 0:29:58.800 your cell phone and he's like, Dad, what's this And 0:29:58.840 --> 0:30:01.200 your blood runs cold as you you had cleared your history, 0:30:02.800 --> 0:30:05.600 and he just said, Dad, look at our fantasy football team. 0:30:07.040 --> 0:30:10.840 And you're thinking, freedom is not being found out, freedom 0:30:10.880 --> 0:30:15.800 is no longer hiding. God says, you couldn't do it yourself, 0:30:16.720 --> 0:30:18.280 but I'm going to bring some people in your life 0:30:18.280 --> 0:30:20.480 to do it. And she puts the cord in the 0:30:20.520 --> 0:30:23.720 window and she's waiting, and sometime went by, days went by. 0:30:24.000 --> 0:30:25.800 She could have been tempted to take the sign back 0:30:25.840 --> 0:30:27.480 down and put it on the door, because I know 0:30:27.520 --> 0:30:29.520 we're getting a little low on funds. God, so maybe 0:30:29.520 --> 0:30:31.640 you're not going to come through. No, God said, put 0:30:31.680 --> 0:30:33.520 it out and leave it there. You don't have to 0:30:33.560 --> 0:30:35.680 return to the shadow of shame any longer. You can 0:30:35.720 --> 0:30:37.520 live in my life. You can live in my glory. 0:30:38.480 --> 0:30:40.760 And then she starts to hear the hundreds of thousands 0:30:40.800 --> 0:30:43.120 of Israelites that were camped eight miles away, who had 0:30:43.160 --> 0:30:45.040 just crossed the Jordan River. Were about to come into 0:30:45.040 --> 0:30:47.680 the Promised Land. And she starts to hear the sound 0:30:47.720 --> 0:30:50.760 of God, and she starts to get excited. While everybody 0:30:50.760 --> 0:30:53.240 else in the city was filled with fear, she had excitement. 0:30:54.280 --> 0:30:56.840 I know your heart is running cold today because of shame. 0:30:57.120 --> 0:30:59.680 There is a day coming where you will have great 0:30:59.760 --> 0:31:02.200 joy and you will no longer be driven by fear. 0:31:02.280 --> 0:31:04.640 That day is coming, and she's looking out at them 0:31:04.680 --> 0:31:07.800 and saying, God, could it be? Could it be? There's 0:31:07.800 --> 0:31:10.959 a better day. And what's funny is the Israelites are 0:31:10.960 --> 0:31:15.320 looking back at her. Joshua's out front with the two spies, 0:31:15.800 --> 0:31:18.600 and they come over the crest of the hill and 0:31:18.640 --> 0:31:21.080 they see the city and the spies like that, said Joshua, 0:31:21.320 --> 0:31:23.920 that's the red cord. And all the Israelites saw it. 0:31:24.160 --> 0:31:27.280 And here's where it hit me. You see, the Israelites 0:31:27.360 --> 0:31:30.960 had seen this before they got out of Egyptian slavery 0:31:31.040 --> 0:31:34.120 forty years earlier. God did a mighty work in them 0:31:34.160 --> 0:31:38.160 with a knight called the Passover. And at the Passover 0:31:38.200 --> 0:31:39.840 they would take a lamb, and they took some of 0:31:39.840 --> 0:31:41.080 the blood of the lamb, and they put it on 0:31:41.120 --> 0:31:43.880 their house. And in Exodus twelve thirteen. It says, the 0:31:43.920 --> 0:31:46.800 blood will be a sign for you on the houses 0:31:46.840 --> 0:31:48.960 where you are, and when I see the blood, I 0:31:48.960 --> 0:31:51.680 will pass over you. No destructive plague will touch you 0:31:51.920 --> 0:31:55.040 when I strike Egypt. This isn't the first time that 0:31:55.080 --> 0:31:57.480 God did a sign like this, because they got it 0:31:57.560 --> 0:31:59.800 on the front of their Store of the Israelites and 0:32:00.080 --> 0:32:02.200 on the back end of their story. So it is 0:32:02.240 --> 0:32:05.000 with grace. You are going to receive it, but then 0:32:05.080 --> 0:32:07.480 you are called to give it. We breathe it in 0:32:08.360 --> 0:32:10.959 and then we breathe it back up. That's the cycle 0:32:11.000 --> 0:32:13.720 of grace. God wants you breathing in because you need it, 0:32:13.760 --> 0:32:16.360 but he wants you breathing it out because somebody else 0:32:17.160 --> 0:32:23.440 needs it. The sign sign of shame can become God's 0:32:23.480 --> 0:32:26.800 sign of salvation. And as God was looking to the 0:32:26.840 --> 0:32:31.280 world to redeem it, God is into taking a sign 0:32:31.320 --> 0:32:35.120 because he's into shaming shame. He's into taking a sign 0:32:35.120 --> 0:32:37.680 the world would see a shame. He wants to flip 0:32:37.720 --> 0:32:41.080 it some jiu jitsu on it, and he wants to 0:32:41.120 --> 0:32:43.560 hold it up as a sign of his salvation. And 0:32:43.600 --> 0:32:45.680 as God was thinking about sending his son Jesus to 0:32:45.720 --> 0:32:49.840 the earth, he said, what sign could I pick, I 0:32:49.880 --> 0:32:52.400 could pick any signs. What's the sign of the greatest destruction, 0:32:52.640 --> 0:32:55.240 torture on the face of the earth. Oh, I got it. 0:32:55.280 --> 0:33:00.680 God said, it's the cross. It's the cross. And God said, 0:33:00.720 --> 0:33:04.040 I'm going to take a sign sign of torture shame, 0:33:04.800 --> 0:33:09.520 because at the time when Jesus died, nobody wore crosses 0:33:09.560 --> 0:33:11.440 on their neck because it was an instrument of death. 0:33:12.120 --> 0:33:14.720 We do today as a sign of his salvation, but 0:33:14.800 --> 0:33:16.840 at the time it was a sign of significant shame. 0:33:17.360 --> 0:33:20.680 God wants to flip it. And the author of Hebrews 0:33:20.680 --> 0:33:23.560 says this in Hebrews twelve. One says, therefore, since we're 0:33:23.600 --> 0:33:26.640 surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us 0:33:26.640 --> 0:33:28.920 throw off everything that hinders in the sin that so 0:33:29.000 --> 0:33:32.120 easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance marked out 0:33:32.160 --> 0:33:35.000 for us. And it started to think about that great 0:33:35.000 --> 0:33:38.000 cloud of witnesses that's referenced in verse one. There, it's 0:33:38.000 --> 0:33:41.920 actually referencing chapter eleven of Hebrews. It's like the hall 0:33:42.000 --> 0:33:53.240 of faith, these Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses. Wait now verse 0:33:53.280 --> 0:34:00.520 thirty one. No, surely this is a typo by faithsute 0:34:00.560 --> 0:34:06.080 reheb welcome the spies, was not you mean God could 0:34:06.160 --> 0:34:09.799 use somebody who's a prostitute to be a person of 0:34:09.800 --> 0:34:14.000 great faith. Yes, you and me, God can use us 0:34:14.000 --> 0:34:17.279 as people of great faith. And verse two goes on 0:34:18.200 --> 0:34:20.760 Hebrews twelve two. It says, fixing our eyes on Jesus, 0:34:20.760 --> 0:34:23.080 the pioneer and perfector of our faith, who for the 0:34:23.280 --> 0:34:28.280 joy set before him, endured the cross, scorning its shame, 0:34:28.640 --> 0:34:31.680 and sat down at the right hand of the throne 0:34:31.719 --> 0:34:35.319 of God. God said, I'm gonna take that sign of 0:34:35.440 --> 0:34:40.080 shame and it will become my sign of salvation. That's 0:34:40.080 --> 0:34:42.480 what God wants to do in your life. That thing 0:34:42.520 --> 0:34:45.279 you've been hiding behind, that thing that you're ashamed of, 0:34:45.560 --> 0:34:48.359 that thing that you hope will never be exposed. God 0:34:48.400 --> 0:34:56.319 wants to hold it out with everybody standing at all 0:34:56.320 --> 0:35:02.160 of our locations. At the end of the story, we 0:35:02.239 --> 0:35:08.160 have verse twenty one. Rayhab is talking to the spies 0:35:09.680 --> 0:35:13.920 and she says this. She says, agreed. She replied, let 0:35:13.960 --> 0:35:18.399 it be as you say. You see, there's a lot 0:35:18.400 --> 0:35:23.080 of words that have been spoken over your life. Dumb, stupid. 0:35:23.080 --> 0:35:26.480 Some kid has been bullied, and you have come to 0:35:26.520 --> 0:35:29.880 the point that you want to give up There's been 0:35:29.880 --> 0:35:31.560 a lot of words that have been spoken over you. 0:35:32.080 --> 0:35:34.120 But there is a better word that's been spoken over you. 0:35:34.840 --> 0:35:38.480 That's by our God saying he loves you. Say let 0:35:38.560 --> 0:35:42.440 it be as you say. Say, Let it be as 0:35:42.480 --> 0:35:46.399 you say. Let it be the cry of your heart today, God, 0:35:46.480 --> 0:35:48.640 let it be as you say. I know I'm hiding 0:35:48.719 --> 0:35:52.640 behind the shame, says So she sent them away and 0:35:52.680 --> 0:35:56.040 they departed, and she tied the scarlet cord in the window. 0:35:57.080 --> 0:36:00.160 You see shame, we want to keep on the inside. 0:36:00.840 --> 0:36:05.120 We don't want anybody to see it. Hide behind it. 0:36:05.200 --> 0:36:08.719 Freedom that it's not discovered. Freedom is that you no 0:36:08.760 --> 0:36:14.080 longer hide behind it. God said, I want that. I 0:36:14.120 --> 0:36:15.880 know you can't even look yourself in the mirrors for 0:36:15.920 --> 0:36:18.480 some of the things you did. God said, I want that. 0:36:20.400 --> 0:36:22.960 And you become like a woman at University City. Her 0:36:23.000 --> 0:36:27.399 name is Denise. She had an abortion many years ago, 0:36:27.760 --> 0:36:30.800 never told anybody, and hid behind it. Now she actually 0:36:30.840 --> 0:36:33.520 has an e group for women who are struggling with 0:36:33.560 --> 0:36:35.840 the same thing. What was a sign of her shame 0:36:36.120 --> 0:36:39.239 became a sign of God's salvation. So what God wants 0:36:39.320 --> 0:36:41.759 to do in your life, So God wants to do 0:36:41.800 --> 0:36:50.400 in you it's possible. It's not just for the spiritual elite. 0:36:51.480 --> 0:36:53.200 It's not just for the ones who get it right. 0:36:53.360 --> 0:36:55.080 It's for the ones who give it to him. God 0:36:55.120 --> 0:36:56.600 wants to take it from you, but you have to 0:36:56.600 --> 0:36:59.880 give it to him. And so what we're going to 0:36:59.960 --> 0:37:01.719 do in just a second, actually, would you buy your 0:37:01.719 --> 0:37:06.440 heads and close your eyes? Very specific assignment dealing with 0:37:06.480 --> 0:37:09.120 the subject of shame. The first thing you must do 0:37:09.200 --> 0:37:12.920 is give it to God. You can either settle to 0:37:12.960 --> 0:37:16.399 live behind shame or you can sacrifice it and see 0:37:16.400 --> 0:37:23.240 God's blessings. And if you need to give something to God, 0:37:23.880 --> 0:37:26.719 would you just raise your hands up? If you're struggling 0:37:26.760 --> 0:37:28.879 under the shadow of shame, I want to know who 0:37:28.880 --> 0:37:31.640 I'm praying for it all these locations. Just lift your 0:37:31.640 --> 0:37:35.200 hands up. Then, the second thing you need to do 0:37:35.719 --> 0:37:37.600 so you no longer hide behind the shadow of shame 0:37:37.640 --> 0:37:40.480 is to share it with somebody, one person, not everybody. 0:37:40.880 --> 0:37:43.920 Don't put it on Facebook, but invite one person in 0:37:43.960 --> 0:37:47.000 who's earned the right to hear your shame. And I 0:37:47.000 --> 0:37:49.040 want to pray very specifically that you would no longer 0:37:49.080 --> 0:37:52.040 hide behind that shadow. The battles you fight today, dads 0:37:52.040 --> 0:37:55.160 are the battles your kids will avoid tomorrow. Don't hide 0:37:55.200 --> 0:37:57.520 behind it and force them to fight it. Today is 0:37:57.560 --> 0:37:59.560 the day you bring it out front. And so Father, 0:37:59.640 --> 0:38:03.040 we come to you, We thank you. We take this 0:38:03.120 --> 0:38:05.920 sign of shame, and we hold it out as a 0:38:05.960 --> 0:38:08.600 sign of your salvation. I pray for the courage of 0:38:08.640 --> 0:38:10.960 every man and woman and child under the sound of 0:38:11.000 --> 0:38:14.520 my voice, that they would no longer hide behind this 0:38:14.680 --> 0:38:17.799 shame God, that they would lift it up and bring 0:38:17.880 --> 0:38:20.560 it to you. And when we do, God, we know 0:38:20.680 --> 0:38:23.120 that you will take it from us. We know God 0:38:23.120 --> 0:38:26.600 that when we stretch our hands towards you, you stretch 0:38:26.680 --> 0:38:29.920 your hands towards us, and it creates a great exchange, 0:38:30.160 --> 0:38:33.840 a place where our shame can be exchanged for your grace. 0:38:34.080 --> 0:38:36.680 So give them the courage God, right now to invite 0:38:36.680 --> 0:38:40.120 somebody else into them, embolden them, Lord, to step into 0:38:40.120 --> 0:38:43.120 your presence so no longer live behind the shadow, that 0:38:43.160 --> 0:38:46.200 they would step into the light of Christ. God, we 0:38:46.320 --> 0:38:49.799 honor you, we praise you, We thank you, and all 0:38:49.880 --> 0:38:55.520 God's people said, Amen, Now praise him, Now, praise him 0:38:55.560 --> 0:39:03.160 now praising a praising you are who is well. I 0:39:03.160 --> 0:39:05.600 hope you enjoyed the podcast today. If you did. There 0:39:05.600 --> 0:39:07.920 are just a couple things I'd love for you to do. 0:39:08.120 --> 0:39:11.640 Number one, subscribe to our show. That way, the most 0:39:11.640 --> 0:39:14.840 recent episode will always be in your feed, waiting for 0:39:14.960 --> 0:39:18.480 you ready when you are. And secondly, if this ministry 0:39:18.480 --> 0:39:20.960 has impacted you and you'd like to help us continue 0:39:20.960 --> 0:39:23.040 to reach others, you can click the link in the 0:39:23.040 --> 0:39:25.920 description and you can give now and I'll see you 0:39:26.040 --> 0:39:28.560 next time on the Elevation podcast.