Naked & Unashamed

Scripture

Genesis 2:25 NKJV

25 And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.

Genesis 2:18

Genesis 2:24–25 NRSV

24 Therefore a man leaves his father and his mother and clings to his wife, and they become one flesh. 25 And the man and his wife were both naked, and were not ashamed.

Introduction

Roly Poly Story

About a week and a half ago I saw a roly poky randomly crawling over in the overflow. And so I went to go get some paper to pick it up and take it outside so it could live. I wanted to save it. But when I went to go pick it up it rolled up into a ball, which made it hard for me to pick up. I tried to get it on the paper, but then it would roll off. I tried again, and then it rolled off. The roly poly perceived me as danger so it balled up, but if the roly poly had stayed in it’s most vulnerable state, it would have been easier for me to help to it.

I wonder how much we are like the roly poly. I wonder how many times we have perceived people as danger before help. I wonder how many defenses and walls we have put up, that has made it difficult for God and people to love us completely where we are.

The first thing that God says is not good before sin comes into the world, is that is not good for man to be alone. So God takes a rib out of Adam and creates Eve. We were created with the desire to be loved, to belong, and to be known fully.

But sin messed that up.

We live inside of a world where it is difficult to show people who we really are. Since sin entered the world, guilt, shame and the fear of being judged has consumed us. Often we fail to see past the brokenness and the weaknesses of others, so we judge them and we label them as being inadequate or unqualified. We name others by how we perceive them.

We name others by how we perceive them. Likewise, we present

intentionally crafted in God's likeness, the sinful condition of our human rebellion has hindered

Many of us recognize this, so we present ourselves in a manner that is likable and acceptable. We post the good stuff on social media, but never the bad stuff. The highlights, but never behind the scenes. We want to be liked, because the desire to be loved is wired into us as human beings, so we seek approval and acceptance, only showing others the pieces of us that are put together.

Many of us live life like an iceberg. Only 10% of an iceberg is shown on the surface, while 90% of the iceberg lies beneath the surface. And so we only allow people, even some of our close friends, to only see the 10% of us that is well put together on the surface, while the other 90% remains hidden.

us, causing all of us humans to struggle in fully loving and embracing others. Often we fail to see

There is 90% of you that your friend does not know, yet you call them friend.

The problem with living like this is that it wasn’t the 10% of the iceberg on the surface that sunk the titanic, but it was the 90% that was lying beneath the surface. It’s not the 10% that ruins relationships, it’s the 90% they didn’t know about.

The problem with only showing people the pieces of you that are well put together, is that you begin to convince yourself that your 10% is all of you, and slowly but surely you begin to forget about the 90% of you that is still buried beneath the surface.

But here is the thing, that 90% of you that you don’t want anybody to know about, just might hold the key to understanding your identity in the Lord.

Our world teaches us to not be vulnerable to only show people a small piece of us, but God did not create us to be partially known and partially loved, but it created us to be fully loved and fully known.

past the brokenness and the weaknesses in others, projecting our judgment in labeling individuals

as unqualified or inadequate. We name others by how we perceive them. Likewise, we present

Naked and Unashamed

ourselves in a manner that is likable and acceptable. We seek approval and acceptance, so we

only show others the pieces of ourselves that are put together. Lingering fear and shame prevents

In the passage we read (), Adam and Eve are described as being naked. And for the sake of understanding the message, I want us to see pass their physical nakedness, and begin to wonder what it would mean for us to be emotionally, mentally, and spiritually naked.

us from being known in truth. However, what if what we are hiding is the very essence of truth

that provides a doorway of understanding into our identity in the Lord? Throughout history, our

idea of vulnerability has been skewed and tainted in a negative fashion. Though we understand

that vulnerability requires risk, there is beautiful fruit that is produced in the process of being

known and loved. Prior to the existence of sin, vulnerability presented itself in the creation

narrative, specifically by the biblical phrase "naked and unashamed."

In , Adam and Eve are described as naked. And for the sake of the message today I want us to move pass the physical body being naked and instead focus on what it means to be emotionally, mentally and spiritually naked.

To be naked is to be vulnerable. (Somebody say vulnerable)

To be vulnerable means to be open. It means to be in a position where you can potentially get hurt, but it also means that you can also be in a position where someone can fully love you because they fully know you.

There is nothing more freeing like finding a person or group where you can let your hair down, and feel free to cry and to express what’s going on on the inside, just to find out that you are not alone and that you don’t have to go through all by yourself.

Adam and Eve were naked.

But the Bible does not only say they were naked, but it says they were also unashamed about their nakedness. To be unashamed about something means to express oneself freely without the fear of being judged.

For some of us it’s so hard to be emotionally, spiritually, and mentally naked or vulnerable with other people, because we don’t even like the way we look in the mirror. We don’t want to face our own brokenness, our own weaknesses, our own insecurities, and our own emotional baggage. But if we can’t learn how to embrace and love our own selves 100%, how can we expect other people to embrace and love us 100%

Adam and Even we were both naked and unashamed.

But not only were they naked and unashamed, but they were naked and unashamed TOGETHER.

So when we read the phrase “naked and unashamed,” and we put these two definitions together, we can see that Adam and Eve could express themselves emotionally, mentally and spiritually without the fear of being judged.

Adam and Eve were naked and unashamed.

But not only were they naked and unashamed, but they were naked and unashamed TOGETHER.

You see it’s one thing to be naked and unashamed by yourself, but its another to be naked and unashamed with somebody else.

I Wonder

And I wonder, what it would look like for the body of Christ to become naked and unashamed together.

I wonder how many more people would share their testimony. And I’m not just talking about God has blessed me with another day testimony, but the testimony that says that I used to need alcohol to have fun, but now…I used to be a fornicator, but now…, I used to sell drugs, but now…, I used to hold onto things and hold grudges, but now..

I wonder

I wonder how many more people would come up to altar call for prayer if they didn’t fear people judging them for coming up here.

I wonder how many more people would come up to altar call for prayer if they didn’t fear what people

I wonder how many more people would come up to altar call for prayer if they didn’t fear people judging them for coming up here.

And I wonder, what it would take for all of us

I wonder how many of us would get delivered from our closet sins that we don’t want anybody to know about if we were vulnerable enough, to not blast it out over the microphone, but to tell somebody that we are drowning in our sin and we need some help.

I wonder what the body of Christ would be like if we became naked and unashamed together.

You see

You see some people think of church as a gas station, but it’s hard to get filled up unless you are vulnerable enough to tell somebody you’re on “E.”

Some people see the church as a gym where you come to build spiritual muscle, but it’s hard to do that unless you are vulnerable to tell someone what muscle needs to be built.

Some people see the church as a hospital, but it’s hard to be healed unless you are vulnerable enough to tell someone what your symptoms are and where you are bleeding.

This is why James, Jesus’ brother, says we ought to confess our sins to one another and pray for one another so that we may be healed ().

This is why James, Jesus’ brother, says we ought to confess our sins to one another and pray for one another so that we may be healed ().

There is healing power in being vulnerable with another person.

There is healing power in being vulnerable with someone.

And listen I know it’s hard to be vulnerable when you have confided in someone before and they broke your trust. I know it’s difficult to be vulnerable when you are in a church environment where there is a gossiping spirit. And I know that some of us have been vulnerable with the wrong people one too many times and now we are fed up and just want everybody to mind their own business. But I challenge you to not allow your bad experiences to prevent you from being vulnerable with the right person that God sends your way.

There is healing power in being vulnerable.

When God created and Adam and Eve, he created them with the ability to be naked and unashamed together.

And I wish I could say that Adam and Eve stayed that way, but in chapter 3, the human race took a drastic turn. Let’s read it.

Genesis 3:6–13 NKJV

6 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate. 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings. 8 And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. 9 Then the Lord God called to Adam and said to him, “Where are you?” 10 So he said, “I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself.” 11 And He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you that you should not eat?” 12 Then the man said, “The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate.” 13 And the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”

Genesis 3:6

The first thing that Adam and Eve learn to do after they sin is hide and blame. They hide from God and they blame everyone for their actions but themselves. They have moved from being naked and unashamed to now hiding and blaming.

So now the question now comes, “How do we move from a state of hiding and blaming, back to being naked and unashamed the way God created us to be?”

Identify and Remove Our Fig Leaves

I know some people

Identify and Remove Our Fig Leaves

The first thing we can do is to identify and remove our fig leaves. Adam and Eve took Fig leaves, sewed them together and covered themselves. The question is what are the fig leaves you are using cover yourself up? (Turn to your neighbor and ask them “What are your fig leaves?”

Obvious Escapes

Some people hide behind the obvious escapes, such as alcohol, drugs and sex to take their minds off their reality.

Technology

But now that we live in a technological world, many people can escape their lives by binge watching on Netflix or by staring at someone else’s life on social media.

Relationships

Some of us hide behind our relationships. We go into our friendships and intimate relationships with giant holes in our hearts, expecting those people to be Jesus and to fill those gaps. So when those people don’t live up to our Jesus expectations, we’re ready to jump ship all because we were using the relationship to hide our brokenness we didn’t want to admit to.

Responsibility

Some of us hide behind responsibility. We will bury ourselves in our work, in our kids, in school, and even in ministry to keep our minds off having to deal with the real issues that are going on in the inside. We tell ourselves “I don’t have time to focus on what’s going on beneath the surface because I have to make ends meet.” And then for those of us who are in ministry, we got it really bad because we will be quick to help someone take out their garbage while all of our garbage is left untouched and stinking. This is what I hid behind and to be vulnerable with you today, I’m going to read you something from my journal.

There are so many Christians that

Genesis 3:6–7 NKJV

6 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate. 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings.

Genesis 3:6-

If we are going to move from hiding and blaming back to being naked and unashamed, then we must identify and remove our fig leaves.

Embrace Your Own Nakedness

This point doesn’t come from Adam and Eve, but rather it comes from their oldest son Cain. Cain couldn’t embrace his own nakedness, and because he could not be vulnerable with himself it led to him murdering his own brother. You see Cain had a little brother named Abel and they both had given God an offering. Abel had given out of his best to God while Cain had not. As such, God had favor on Abel’s offering, but not Cain. This made Cain very angry. And God ask Cain and very crucial question that he never seems to answer for himself. “Why are you angry?”

You see it’s easy to state how you feel, but many of us don’t spend the time to figure out why we feel the way we feel. For Cain, being angry was just the top 10% on the surface, but being jealous of his younger brother was what was lying beneath the surface. If we are going to embrace our own nakedness then we must be willing to move past how we feel and begin to wonder how we are being formed.

I know you feel hurt by that past relationship, but how has it formed you?

I know you feel angry about that divorce, but how has it formed you?

I know you you feel hurt that dad wasn’t around, but how has it formed you?

If we are going to move from hiding and blaming back to being naked and unashamed, then we must embrace our nakedness.

Understand that God Can Handle Your Nakedness

If God could handle Adam taking the blame off himself for bringing sin into the world, surely God can handle your nakedness.

If God could handle Cain for murdering his brother, surely God can handle your nakedness.

If God could handle drunk Noah, surely God can handle your nakedness.

If God could handle Sarah, a woman who suggested that her husband should sleep with another woman so they could have a son, and then hated her for it, surely God can handle your nakedness.

If God could handle Rebekah, who was manipulative mother and parent, surely God can handle your nakedness.

If God could handle Jacob, who deceived his father and stole his brother’s blessing, surely God can handle your nakedness.

If God could handle Moses, who seem to always allow his temper to get the best of him, surely God can handle your nakedness.

If God could handle Eli, who was a bad father, surely God can handle your nakedness.

If God could handle Saul, who struggled with paranoia, depression and anger issues, surely God can handle your nakedness.

If God could handle David, who slept with a man’s wife, got her pregnant, and then had him killed to cover it up, surely God can handle your nakedness.

If God could handle Solomon, the world’s greatest sex addict, having 1,000 sexual partners, surely God can handle your nakedness.

If God could still send Jesus to die on the cross so that Adam, Cain, Noah, Sarah, Rebekah, Jacob, Moses, Eli, Saul, David and Solomon could have access to eternal life, surely God can handle your nakedness.

Impact our Relationship with God

It is difficult because being naked means to be vulnerable and being vulnerable means placing myself in a position where I have the potential to get hurt. And who wants to get hurt? NO ONE.

Impact our Relationship with God

And so we go through life and life’s lessons teach how to be like that roly poly that balls up and to put up our defenses. So we erect fortified walls around our hearts to keep people from hurting us, not realizing that the walls work both ways. These emotional walls don’t just keep hurt out, but it also keeps love from coming in.

When it comes to reading this Bible, is the focus on mastering the scripture, or is the focus on being mastered by it. Is the focus on learning a lot of the Scripture or is the focus on being formed by it. You can read the Bible from cover to cover and another person have only read one Scripture but meditated on it day and night and the life of the one who read one verse be more transformed than the one that read the entire Bible. It’s all because of the approach. One approaches vulnerable, willing to be transformed, while the other approaches it closed and just wants to learn more about God.

I wish I could say Adam and Eve stayed naked and unashamed but this biblical narrative takes a turn in chapter 3. Let’s read it.

Genesis 3:6-

Genesis 3:5–13 NRSV

5 for God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” 6 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate; and she also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate. 7 Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made loincloths for themselves. 8 They heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden at the time of the evening breeze, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. 9 But the Lord God called to the man, and said to him, “Where are you?” 10 He said, “I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.” 11 He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?” 12 The man said, “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit from the tree, and I ate.” 13 Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this that you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent tricked me, and I ate.”

:

Genesis 3:7–13 NRSV

7 Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made loincloths for themselves. 8 They heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden at the time of the evening breeze, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. 9 But the Lord God called to the man, and said to him, “Where are you?” 10 He said, “I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.” 11 He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?” 12 The man said, “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit from the tree, and I ate.” 13 Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this that you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent tricked me, and I ate.”

Genesis 3:6–7 NKJV

6 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate. 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings.

After Adam and Eve sin, the first thing they do is hide their nakedness. They sew some fig leaves together and cover up who they really are.

Isn;t that what we do? We cover up who we are and the more we keep telling ourselves that lie the more we begin to belive it.

And I want to challenge you today to think deeply about the fig leaves you may be using to cover up who you really are.

Examples here

Your relationship with self - shame and guilt

-Iceberg. For some os us we don;t even know the other 90% below the surface.

relationship with God - they hid from God

relationship with people - the woman you gave me.

Maybe that’s why God said it wasn’t good for man to be alone.

Cain

Feeling to Formation

Genesis 3:

Genesis 3:8–13 NRSV

8 They heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden at the time of the evening breeze, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. 9 But the Lord God called to the man, and said to him, “Where are you?” 10 He said, “I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.” 11 He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?” 12 The man said, “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit from the tree, and I ate.” 13 Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this that you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent tricked me, and I ate.”

Adam and Eve sin, their eyes are opened and they are no longer naked and unashamed.

But this task is very difficult.

It is difficult because being naked means to be vulnerable and being vulnerable means placing myself in a position where I have the potential to get hurt. And who wants to get hurt? NO ONE.

And so we go through life and life’s lessons teach how to be like that roly poly that balls up and to put up our defenses. So we erect fortified walls around our hearts to keep people from hurting us, not realizing that the walls work both ways. These emotional walls don’t just keep hurt out, but it also keeps love from coming in.

It is difficult because being naked means to be vulnerable and being vulnerable means placing myself in a position where I have the potential to get hurt. And who wants to get hurt? NO ONE.

And so we go through life and life’s lessons teach how to be a roly poly and put up our defense. So we erect fortified walls around our hearts to keep people from hurting us, not realizing that the walls work both ways. These emotional walls don’t just keep hurt out, but it also keeps love from coming in.

Today my challenge is for all of us to begin to locate the emotional, mental and spiritual walls that we have

Jesus was vulnerable