*SERMON* Nov 30th - Insecurity/shame

*DEAL WITH IT*

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🦃 Were coming off of thanksgiving and I love thanksgiving, the rolls, the mashed potatoes, turkey, ham, pie, all the things! so good! I hope everyone had a great thanksgiving! But as i was thinking about this message

🤔 It dawned on me… Insecurity and shame are like those certain relatives that show up at that thanksgiving or holiday dinner… You don’t want them there… you dread thinking about them being there… and they always seem to show up when you least expect them too —

& You know something will be brought up … you just don’t know when… You feel like.. I just have to DEAL WITH THEM until its time to leave…..

I know that’s a funny way to put it when we’re talking about shame and insecurity —

but when you really think about it, it’s how a lot of us experience shame and insecurity in our lives..

📲 Because maybe for you, you’re scrolling TikTok, Instagram, or the news feed… maybe you see a picture of that person you compare yourself to. maybe you remember a past conversation thats been playing on loop in your head or comes up randomly. and those things trigger the past or current shame and insecurity you feel or felt.

or evem a seemly harmless statement can bring you right back to something someone said or did to you years ago.

Its like these emotions resurfaced, since rather than *Dealing with them* You pushed them down hoping they wouldn’t come back up or believing it was just a feeling you had to simply manage - letting shame be a constant feeling.

There comes a point were we have to *deal with it*

or shame and insecurity will always find their way back into our lives, our thoughts and our identity of how we see ourselves and even how we see God.

So let me give you a direct definition of shame:

📖 SHAME is a subtle feeling that goes beyond specific actions, attacking our core identity by making us believe we do not—and perhaps never will—measure up to who we are meant to be.

Shame

+ causes us to question or doubt ourselves, + changes how you see and interact with other people + & it can also cause us to doubt God.

In Genesis 3:8-13 We come into this point of the story where Adam and Eve have eaten from the tree of the knowledge of Good and Evil, the 1 tree that God said do not eat of, &Even when God said you can eat of ALL and ANY of these other trees ***Bonus if time ***— Shame and insecurity will always get you to focus on that ONE THING what you don’t have, cant have, or focusing on the feelings of shame and insecurity that you feel…. rather than seeing the freedom and healing you can walk in!

The serpent used shame subtly and made Eve question….

God’s word when he said (“Did God really say…?”)

Their identity when he said (“You will be like God…”)

So lets read —

Genesis 3:8–13 “Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden at the time of the evening breeze, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden. So the Lord God called out to the man and said to him, “Where are you?” And he said, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked, so I hid.” Then he asked, “Who told you that you were naked? Did you eat from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?” The man replied, “The woman you gave to be with me—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate.” So the Lord God asked the woman, “What have you done?” And the woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”

But we see God is searching, wanting to be near to Adam and Eve, He knows whats been done but still searches.

but we have a choice

to be near or hide from him in shame.

They made a decision to hide rather than heal

Shame then turned from subtle feelings to full blown insecurity

we read that Shame turned to blame , isolation, and feeling of needing to hide.

as soon as they ate the fruit and made that decision

Shame then became the FILTER in which they saw themselves and God.

& Shame becomes a filter in how we see ourselves , our worth, and even how we believe God feels about us.

And once shame becomes the filter… insecurity becomes an identity we live with.

Let me ask some questions that may help bring awareness to areas, these aren’t meant to bring condemnation but opening the door to allow healing and freedom to begin:

Do you often feel like you don’t measure up?

Do you replay conversations and feel like you need to explain or fix what you said?

Do you struggle with insecurities?

Has God given you a ministry vision you don’t feel equipped for?

Do you feel like you’re never good enough?

Do you battle the same sin over and over after repenting sincerely?

Do you think you’ve committed a sin no one could forgive?

Simply put 🔒Shame puts you in shackles… and insecurity keeps you in them.

Shame makes SIN the centerpiece of our lives and our thoughts. Shame keeps us in a cycle and pattern we want to get out of but somehow always circle back to.

Shame keeps replaying what happened in our minds

But today God wants to break shame off your life — not with striving… not with “trying harder”… but by His Grace, forgiveness and His Presence can shame be broken.

🔑 those are the Three keys that can loose the shackles of shame of your life:

Key #1 Receive God’s Grace

Key #2 Forgive freely

Key #3 Pursue His Presence

🔑 Key # 1 — RECEIVE GOD’S GRACE

*Not on the screen*

Ephesians 2:8–10 “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”

I encourage you to read all of Ephesians 2:1-10. But God in his Rich mercy raised US up with him and seated US with HIM Because of His Great Love for US, for YOU for ME, he made us alive and its by GRACE you have been SAVED. Its Gods Plan to show the RICHES OF HIS GRACE AND KINDNESS toward US ALL.

Its a posture of RECEIVING not a RIGHT TO EARN.

Its Not Do enough to DESERVE Its I already have it, I just have to receive it, believe it and rest in Gods grace for my life.

That you are his workmanship, Gods masterpiece! See through the filter of Gods grace and call on your life not through shame!

🔑 Key # 2 — FORGIVE FREELY

The blood of Jesus has power. its by his blood theres the Power to be forgiven … and gives us the power to also repent where needed

Forgiveness goes both ways.

There might be someone you need to forgive. There might be someone you need to ask for forgiveness from

And if reconciliation isn’t possible — forgiveness can still happen.

What I know from my own life is this:

I’ve learned that wherever I was holding onto unforgiveness — shame was there. & It held me captive.

🔒 we tend to think that Unforgiveness holds the other person captive. but in all reality you’re the one who’s captive.

& I don’t know who dishonored you… I don’t know when or where you were embarrassed, cast out, shunned, or betrayed… maybe it was a father, mother, friend, or someone you deeply trusted.

But I do know this: When you receive the forgiveness Jesus offers, shame loses its grip on your life.

Some of you need to receive Gods forgiveness for you today. Some of you need to forgive yourself or maybe you need to go to that person and ask for forgiveness. Because shame is still chained to something you have never let the blood of Jesus touch.

& Forgiveness is a key to releasing the shackles of shame and insecurity.

**** ( Band can come up)*******

🔑 Key # 3 —Pursue His Presence

Pursue is an active word, its a choice to pursue, its a choice to Go Toward someone or something.

Righteousness is the way we walk in freedom from shame.

Its the establishment in our lives and beliefs that Jesus has put us in RIGHT STANDING with God.

Its not based on my own works, its based on what God has already done!

It’s a confidence in being in right standing with God, being near to God.

And Scripture over and over tells us God is near to us.

in James 4:8 it says:

James 4:8 Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you.

Maybe you’ve struggled with shame and insecurity silently. or you thought you’d “grow out of it.” or maybe thought it would eventually just go away.. But it keeps coming back.

but Let me remind you: God is Jehovah Rapha — your Healer.

God’s will is to heal.

God’s will is to set the oppressed free.

He Clothes us, and and covers us!

Like we read in Genesis earlier — Adam and Eve saw their nakedness, they were ashamed… and they hid from the presence of God.

Maybe you’ve hidden yourself from God. Maybe you feel like hiding now. Maybe you’ve let shame hold you in shackles.

But listen to what Isaiah 61:10 says:

‘I will greatly rejoice in the Lord; my soul shall exult in my God, for He has clothed me with the garments of salvation; He has covered me with the robe of righteousness…’

Where you once were ashamed, Christ has now covered you — clothed in salvation and wrapped in righteousness.

this morning i felt god speak as we worshiped - preach it like i feel it…

“You have turned for me my mourning into dancing; you have loosed my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness, that my glory may sing your praise and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give thanks to you forever!”

Psalm 30:11-12 ESV

God has taken the sackcloth of shame and covered you in a garmet of praise of gladness of joy!

your mourning to dancing

What shame used to keep you from dancing in the presence of God he now looses you to have a heart full of gladness

That you once were feeling you were silent in shame but now your in a posture of praise

its time to DEAL with the Shame and insecurity you feel and release the shackles of shame over your life.

He covers you in his grace, mercy, forgiveness, and empowers you to walk in holiness and being set apart for Him on this earth!

But the QUESTION IS ….. are you open to it?

that If you would open your heart… if you let the Holy Spirit touch the places you’ve guarded for years…

God can do in this moment what years of counseling couldn’t do.

And like Pastor Aaron said in his message a few weeks back: It’s okay to weep. It’s okay to cry. It’s okay to let the pain flow out

<<PAUSE>>

so the Holy Spirit can flow in.

<<<Please stand>>>

We are going to have our prayer team and pastors available to pray with you on the sides of the stage if you are ready to deal with the emotions of fear, anxiety, anger, bitterness, shame and insecurity. Us three also will be available to pray with you on the sides as well.

Also us 3 will be available to pray on the sides as well!

So if thats you, we ask that you come receive prayer and other than that we hope you have a great rest of your sunday and week!