No Shame in our Game (Psalm 127)

Psalm 127

Psalms of Ascent created proper focus on God as people progressed on their pilgrimage to the temple.

Picture of temple stairs in Israel

We need a proper perspective as you ascend toward God’s dwelling.

Philippians 4:8-9 (CSB) — 8 Finally brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable—if there is any moral excellence and if there is anything praiseworthy—dwell on these things. 9 Do what you have learned and received and heard from me, and seen in me, and the God of peace will be with you.

thinking about things that are praiseworthy…today is father’s day.

Men need to feel celebrated not just tolerated. Men want to be anchored not anxious.

Men are called to be models of a life of faith.

too many men feel shame to model faith courageously.

Book Recommendation: Fighting Shadows

“When shame seeps into the cracks in your heart, you as a man will likely be tempted by a couple of false solutions.

The first is the temptation of religion.

You’ll be tempted to clean yourself up by treating your shame like a debt you can repay via religious means—sacrifice, penance, going to church that Sunday, giving to the poor . . . you get the idea. These are all good things, by the way! But they do nothing for your shame. Trying to heal your shame with religion is like trying to fight a forest fire with a kid’s water squirt gun. You won’t put out a single flame.

The second temptation is distraction.

Where the temptation of religion is to think you can self-clean your shame, distraction invites you to numb your feelings of shame.

Let’s be honest with ourselves. Shame can get very loud. It feels like real pain.

And what do we do with pain?

We medicate.

When it comes to shame, we are so easily tempted to try to make it go away by feeling something else stronger. That something else could be sex, whether illicit sex or with our spouse. It could be money whether gambling or a wise business investment. It could be food, whether an unhealthy addiction to food or just food in general.

Whether the distraction is fundamentally bad or something that is fine, if we are using it to drown and medicate the shame, it’s going to cause harm. And even if your efforts lead to temporary relief, they’re not going to solve your shame problem.

You can’t fix your shame with religion or bury it with distraction. There’s only one real solution—an invitation—an invitation from God himself.

He invites us not to religiously modify our shame or medicate our shame. He offers to heal our shame. And for that to happen, we need to drag our shame into God’s presence, where he speaks not just about us but to us, telling us the truth about who we are and how he sees us.”

Shame gives birth to stress and anxiety in us, because shame is an “evil force” not just a feeling, as a result of spirit of fear. Shame is the whisper of the spirit of fear in your life — God’s power isn’t real, so you’re helpless, God’s love isn’t for you, so you’re rejected, or God’s presence isn’t real, so you’ll always be on your own - shame most often whispers regarding the absence of love, convincing us we’ll be rejected if ___.

t.s. this psalm deals with this subject of anxiety… talking about three key areas we often stress and worry over: house/possessions, work, & family.

1. Surrender to God.

no one wants to waist their life. no one wants to live without purpose.

unless the spirit breathes on us, we become a valley of dead bones.

Surrender and submission to God help cultivate unworried reliance.

possession are false sense of glory.

…what profit is it to gain the world and forfeit your soul? (Mt 16:26)

…seek first the kingdom of God.( MT 6:33)

God is not looking for you to perform for Him; He wants you to pursue a relationship with Him.

Be a man surrendered to God.

2. Stop and Rest.

Biblically speaking, the opposite of rest is not work…it’s restlessness.

Sabbath isn’t being idle and having no activity…a finding delight and pleasure in the activity you choose to do, not have to do.

one week of vacation isn’t going to remedy all the damage done to your soul over 51 weeks of restlessness and lack of sabbath rhythm.

sabbath involves spirit, soul, & body renewal & enjoyment: stop work, enjoy rest, practice delight, and commune with God.

“Our lack of rest carries serious health consequences. Research shows that “failing to rest after six days of steady work will lead to insomnia or sleepiness, hormonal imbalances, fatigue, irritability, organ stress, and other increasingly serious physical and mental symptoms.” But it is not just the physical or mental labor itself. Even turning our attention to matters of work when we are resting has been shown to trigger stress-induced anxiety. Thinking about work can be a form of work. This cycle of exhaustion must be addressed and broken through deep rest. Weariness rarely leads to godliness.” — Beautiful Resistance, Jon Tyson

Phil 4:5-6: Let your graciousness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. 6 Don’t worry about anything, but in everything, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

Be a man who rests not lives restless.

Stop and rest or you’ll live restless and resentful. We start to resent the gifts God gave us...

3. Steward your life and gifts.

I wonder if we have spent too much time trying to warrior in our world that we have neglected our priority to train the next generation of warriors.

We relegated the forming of warriors to others, and instead modeled pursuing false glory.

arrows must be straightened, pulled back, aimed and released.

Be a man who stewards your gifts.

Matthew 5:13 -16 (MSG) — “Let me tell you why you are here. You’re here to be salt-seasoning that brings out the God-flavors of this earth. If you lose your saltiness, how will people taste godliness? You’ve lost your usefulness and will end up in the garbage. “Here’s another way to put it: You’re here to be light, bringing out the God-colors in the world. God is not a secret to be kept. We’re going public with this, as public as a city on a hill. If I make you light-bearers, you don’t think I’m going to hide you under a bucket, do you? I’m putting you on a light stand. Now that I’ve put you there on a hilltop, on a light stand—shine! Keep open house; be generous with your lives. By opening up to others, you’ll prompt people to open up with God, this generous Father in heaven.

t.s. - when it comes to being a godly man and parent, i have to admit i often can feel like it dont measure up. Shame often is how i feel…which is what this psalm is trying to get us to move beyond.

We don’t have to live in the shadow of shame, we can find life in surrender.

Shame makes us pursue false glory.

opening up to others…your life is perfect, let people see that too. Stop posturing like everything is good. It’s okay to feel weak. It’s okay to have questions. It’s struggle is often part of strength and coming to place of right conviction.

We need the SPIRIT of God and the Glory of knowing Him and being known by Him.

We need to surrender not live in shame. We need to abide not be anxious. (See phil 4 again)

We want God central. When you came to God, what did you cut out of your life? Or did you just add Him into the mixture hoping He make pure all the priorities you kept?

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PRACTICING THE WAY

As disciples of Jesus, we know our allegiance to Him as King is expressed in our daily practice. We are not pursuing perfection but want to practice our faith each day. These practices will point you toward spiritual formation as an apprentice (disciple) to Jesus.

(1) Start the Bible Recap reading plan.

(2) Recite this prayer/liturgy daily:

O God, our Sovereign and Shepherd, who brought again your Son Jesus Christ from the valley of death, comfort us with your protecting presence and your angels of goodness and love, that we may also come home and dwell with Him in Your house forever. Amen.

(3) Talk it Over (with friends, a spouse, or your Group)

Read Psalm 127. The message was about becoming someone who surrenders to God, allowing Him to remove the shame we often live under.

There are three broad categories that often bring worry, stress, and anxiety - our possession, our work, and our family. On a scale of 1(low) to 10 (high), how stressed or anxious are you right now in each of these three categories?

Read Philippians 4:5-9. What are these verses telling us?

How do you usually respond or deal with worry and anxiety?

What are some of the gifts and abilities that other’s tell you that you have? Why would God give us gifts like that (Read Matthew 5:13-16)