Unashamed: Changing what you Believe

6 April 08

1. Introduction:

· The entrance of shame into the world = Adam believe a lie.

· Genesis 3:5 - “God knows that in the day you eat of it – eyes opened – be like God”.

· Adam believed lies:  God is not good; God can’t be trusted to meet my needs; I must act on my own behalf to establish my own identity!

· When Adam sinned – guilt, shame, fear, ‘hiding’ all entered.

· Adam experienced:   1)  Loss of identity (mask)     2)  Loss of intimacy

2. God’s Provision for Shame:

a) In the Garden – Skins.

· Genesis 3:21  -  “Also for Adam and his wife the Lord God made tunics of skin and clothed them”.

· God demonstrated His kindness and goodness to Adam.

(1) Innocent animal slain by God.

(2) Skins to cover were provided by God.

(3) Adam had to remove his own covering.

(4) Adam had to receive and put on God’s covering.

· This was a prophetic picture of what God would do at Calvary.

b) At Calvary – Righteousness.

· Matthew 27:50-54 -  “God accepted Jesus as the offering for sin”.

(1) Veil of the temple rent – All may have access to God.

(2) Earth shook, rocks split -  The devil’s power over creation broken.

· Earth = the entire earth, all of the land, entire creation shook in violent response to the shedding of the Saviour’s Blood.

· Shook = to agitate, tremble, come in cosmic disturbance, throw into tremor.

· Rocks split = to divide, rend, tear, split apart.

· A power confrontation in the spirit realm – Colossians 2:14-15 - cause of the devil to loose his hold on creation.

(3) Bodies arose from the dead - Jesus offering accepted, consequence of sin overcome.

· Romans 3:21-26

· O.T.  Righteousness =  to be right morally, to be declared to be right

                                       = legal term involving process of justice.

· Man who is just is cleared of all charges and accusations.

· N.T.  Righteousness = to approved acceptable to God and declared innocent. 

· God’s provision for Shame to clothe us with righteousness and put His Spirit (His Glory) back within us.

3. Freedom comes by embracing the Truth:

· John 8:31-32 - “you shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free”.

· Know     = mental understanding or agreement to truth.

= experiential knowledge of the truth.

= to be intimate with so as to reproduce. 

· When truth is in your heart and spirit your life is changing.

· Faith       = not just meaning ‘to believe’ – give mental agreement to.

= to put you trust in and to lean on from within the heart.

= trusting from the heart in such a way that your life changes.

· Romans 10:10 - “With the heart – man believes unto righteousness”.

How can Truth get from the Head to the Heart?

• Meditation – creative to repetitive use of imagination.
• Meditation = repetitively picture and embrace the truth by imagining it.
• Your imagination is a gateway to your heart and spirit.
• Gateway of imagination must be cleaned and used properly.
• Imagine the truth     - picture how it looks.

- How it feels

• Imagining and embracing the truth allows it to conceive in heart.
• As you do this, the lies that are held in the heart may arise in reaction:

- identify them

- speak and break their power

- dwell on the truth – embrace and confess it

• NB  -  I am who God says I am!

4. Key Truths that Free From Shame:

i) God loves me -  “I am loved!”

· 1 John 4:7-10

· The major remedy for shame is to know the love of the Father.

· God loves you passionately and desires connection with you.

ii) God has made me righteous in Christ -  “I am accepted!”

· Ephesians 1:3-6

· Because of what Christ did I am totally accepted.

· Acceptance becomes reality as I trust and lean on truth.

iii) God is good and can be trusted - “I am a child of God!”

· Exodus 33:6

· Romans 8:15-17

iv) God has made me a unique ambassador - “I am an ambassador of Christ!”

· 2 Corinthians 5:17,20 

· Shame causes us to focus on self.

· Now – new focus = God – representing Him, serving people.