Have you grown weary standing up against people that oppose
you? Do you want to become someone stronger and freer? Ever feel like giving up when you once again
face the struggles in your life? You know, the ones that tire you out, the
secret places deep inside that you’d be ashamed to admit exist, the pain you’ve
tried and often failed to overcome, the depression that haunts you. Thankfully,
there’s hope.
Let’s cut to the chase: Without the power of God acting in
your life and on your behalf, there is no hope but only human effort.
As those who follow Jesus Christ, we know we are choosing to
go against the grain in how we live and have different priorities. This creates
a tension we can’t deny. But all these troubles are in exchange for an eternal life
with God instead of an eternity of pain and torment with Him.
This Christian life that we’ve chosen is a vigorous life-
hard but rewarding!
As a Jesus follower, we will have 3 main areas of
trials and tribulations:
1- External Battles (Living against the grain of our
culture)
2- Internal Battles (Nagging temptations, struggles, a “thorn
in the flesh”)
3- I’ll share this one a few paragraphs down the line.
Some battles we win; others we lose. But Jesus has won the
war! Let’s talk about one of our biggest battles- the fight against shame.
What creates shame in our lives?
Shame comes from many places:
· Family History
(Background, social status, ethnicity)
· Our Personal History
· Sexual and Physical
Abuse
· Our Sin - Our
Temptations - Our Secrets!
Even as you are reading this, I bet these secret, darker
places in your heart and mind are coming to the forefront! These are the same
things that cause us to walk in brokenness instead of wholeness! Now, right
now, stop and pray. Pray for God to protect your mind and heart from the
attacks of Satan, who doesn’t want you to be whole and free! Below is a key
verse to remember:
Ephesians 6:12 “For our
struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against
the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against
the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. “
The world hated Jesus first (John 15:18). He is our model as
well as Lord and Savior! Just look at the temptations Jesus faced and at the
hand of Satan no less! Look at Luke 4:1-14
Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, left the
Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, 2 where
for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing
during those days, and at the end of them he was hungry. 3 The
devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become
bread.” 4 Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not
live on bread alone.’” (Deut. 8:3)
5 The devil led him up to a high place
and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. 6 And
he said to him, “I will give you all their authority and splendor; it has been
given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to. 7 If
you worship me, it will all be yours.” 8 Jesus
answered, “It is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.’”
(Deut. 6:13)
9 The devil led him to Jerusalem and had
him stand on the highest point of the temple. “If you are the Son of God,” he
said, “throw yourself down from here.10 For it is written: “‘He
will command his angels concerning you to guard you carefully; 11 they
will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against
a stone.’” (Psalm 91:11-12)
12 Jesus answered, “It is said: ‘Do
not put the Lord your God to the test.’” (Deut. 6:16)
13 When the devil had finished all this
tempting, he left him until an opportune time. 14 Jesus
returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about him spread
through the whole countryside.
Overall, Satan offered Jesus a way to live that left God out
of the picture. Although we know Jesus is divine, the One True God, we also
know that he had very real needs as a man on this earth. Imagine being in the
desert, in the rough untamed wilderness for forty days.
· Hungry? 4 Jesus
answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every
word that comes from the mouth of God.’” (Deut. 8:3)
Satan offers: Meet your own need (the counterfeit of
trusting God’s provision)
· Power, Position,
Influence? 7 Jesus answered
him, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’”
(Deut. 6:16)
Satan offers: Power and position that comes from the
world (a counterfeit of true authority and impact that comes from obedience
to God)
· 10 Jesus
said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the
Lord your God, and serve him only.’” (Deut. 6:13)
Safety, Security, Proving Yourself to Others?
Satan offers: Trust in yourself and human wisdom (the counterfeit
of God’s wisdom)
Ultimately, Satan offers results without relationship with God!
Our enemy is trying to separate people from the Living God, the only one that
brings hope, joy, peace, and eternal life. Just like Adam and Eve in the garden,
Jesus was given and a chance to bypass obedience to God, taking glory from God.
Where Adam failed, Jesus succeeded.
We fool ourselves into thinking we can avoid a similar life
of hardship and trouble. And our very nature fights against these things. But even
if we gain some measure of success in that, we are missing out on God’s good plans
for us. Plans better than we can imagine or create for ourselves.
Obeying God brings suffering, but it brings glory to God-
and don’t miss this- we are often healed of our shame and pain in the process!
Winning the Internal Battles
1- We must know and believe the promises
of God.
o Nothing can separate us from God’s love
(Romans 8:35)
o When we look to Him, we are never covered with
shame (Psalm 34:4-5)
o Our sins are removed from us (Psalm 103:1-13)
o God has good plans for us (1 Corinthians 2:9)
o We are created intentionally and with purpose.
Created for His Glory (Isaiah 43:7)
We can know the truth, but still feel lies.
How you will choose to live will have as impact on your healing.
2- Our Identity Comes from God now,
not the world. Not from who others say we are. Not our parents, not our
society, not our boss, the news, or our political affiliation… and not even our
own self-doubt.
Proverbs 23:7- “For as he thinks in his heart,
so is he.” (American KJB translation)
3- We have power of Holy Spirit-
· Luke 11:9-14 tells us
that the Father will give the Holy Spirit to those who ask!
· God gives us the gifts
we need to bring Him glory and do His will (Hebrews 2:3-13- and We are HIS
family!)
NOTE: We have grace to succeed or fail!
Ephesians 2:8-9. “8 For it is by grace you
have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the
gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can
boast. “
Salvation doesn’t depend on our performance. It’s a gift-
but how we choose to live reflects our thankfulness for God and all he has done
through Jesus Christ.
(Need more? Read Romans 61-23. Won’t do that now.)
Let’s get practical!
Those deepest ongoing temptations are signals you need time
with the Lord. Spend a good portion of time in prayer, in reading the Bible,
in worship.
Choose obedience. You are as free as you want to be- Every
choice you make (obedience or sin) shows how free you will live. And who is
your master. When we bring God glory as we should, we receive joy!
Focus on the work of the Kingdom and your love for God- not
on your wounding! When we are self-focused, we tend to concentrate on what we
DO NOT have vs. What we DO have! This is a practical application of this verse:
Luke 9:23- “Then he said to them all, “If anyone wants to
become my follower, he must deny himself, take up his cross daily,
and follow me.”
How to Bring Healing and Wholeness
As I said earlier, you will have 3 main areas of trials and
tribulations (see Jesus’ words in John 16)
1- External battles (you are used to these living in your
culture)
2- Internal battles (thorn in the flesh, torment,
temptation)
And now the last one…
3- BATTLES AND JUDGMENTS WITHIN THE BODY OF BELIEVERS. (Yes, we can be our own worst enemy...)
1. LOVE one another!
Look at Matthew 22:37-39
“Jesus said to him, “‘Love the Lord your God
with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is
the first and greatest commandment. The second is like it: ‘Love your
neighbor as yourself.’”
“Can we love from afar?” It’s difficult! But we must go
beyond our choices to love as well!
2. We Must also ACCEPT one another!
Read I Corinthians
1:10-13
10 I appeal to you, brothers and
sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with
one another in what you say and that there be no divisions among you, but
that you be perfectly united in mind and thought. 11 My
brothers and sisters, some from Chloe’s household have informed me that
there are quarrels among you. 12 What I mean is this: One
of you says, “I follow Paul”; another, “I follow Apollos”; another, “I
follow Cephas”; still another, “I follow Christ.”
13 Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for
you? Were you baptized in the name of Paul?
We may not be divided by teacher or church, but we divide ourselves
out in other ways:
· Leader vs. Follower
· Married or single
· With or without
children
· By interests and
hobbies (athletes vs. Creatives, introverts vs. Extroverts- other examples)
· By our beliefs on secondary
theologies
· We need friendships
with those different than us! God uses those not like us to bring pain to the
surface so that he can heal! He uses our differences to conform us to
Christlikeness.
3. Forgive One Another
Romans 15:7
“Accept one another, then, just as
Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God.”
Colossians 3:12-17 (A mini conclusion to this section of the
book)
12 Therefore, as God’s chosen people,
holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness,
humility, gentleness and patience. 13 Bear with each
other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against
someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. 14 And over all
these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.
15 Let the peace of Christ rule in your
hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be
thankful. 16 Let the message of Christ dwell among
you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through
psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in
your hearts. 17 And whatever you do, whether in word
or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the
Father through him.
The hardest and sometimes most powerful? Confession.
1-Personal Confession before God (See 1 Peter 2:1-
Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy,
and slander of every kind.)
2- Confession to Each Other
James 5:16
“Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray
for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person
is powerful and effective.”
I’m going to leave the following in caps. And I hope it
makes an impact:
THE ENEMY’S PLAN IS DIVIDE AND CONQUER. SEPARATE OUT THE
SHEEP, THEY’LL SCATTER, AND THE WOLF WILL PICK THEM OFF ONE BY ONE!
Let’s not help our enemy defeat us by playing into his
hands! And let us not grow weary, but let us give God time to complete our
transformation into Christlikeness.
Yes, our past, our sins, our secrets, can leave us
living in shame! Certainly, we’ll be tempted by the enemy to meet our own needs
and not letting God do His work in His time. We’ve got to know God’s word, know
our identity, and then we must embrace His power to walk in grace!
Help us Lord to accept each other, forgive each other, and
confess our sins before God and to our family in Christ. Amen!
