JOHN BOWLIN
MINISTRIES
Preaching and Teaching Everywhere
NO MORE SHAME!
"SHAME LEADS PEOPLE TO BELIEVE THAT EVERYONE SEES THEM AS A FAILURE"
The enemy loves shame because he can use it to try and convince you that you are unworthy to receive what's already been given to you ni Christ. If you need healing or a financial breakthrough, satan will come and try to make you think, I don't have a right to receive that . But you absolutely do.
Jesus faced shame head-on: I gave my back to the smiters, and my cheeks to them that plucked off the hair; I did not hide my face from share and spitting. For the Lord God will help me, therefore shall I not be confounced: therefore have I set my face like a flingt, and know that I shall not be ashamed" (Isaiah 50:6-7).
When you made Jesus your Lord, you became someone who is in Christ. Now, God wants to set you free from shame through Jesus becoming your shame substitute. He paid for your sins once and for all. He didn't just cross them out. He erased them (Colossians 2:14). They were nailed to the Cross so you wouldn't have to experience them. Jesus has already become the object of your shame. He has completely dealt with it. Now it comes down to whether you believe what Jesus has already done, or the condemnation that the enemy sends your way.
WHAT IS SHAME?
Shame is the sense of failure in the eyes of another person. It carries with it the intense pain of feeling unworthy, disconnected and unloved, both by God and by people. It's different from guilt. Guilt is an awareness of a failure. Guilt is feeling bad about what you do; shame is feeling bad about who you are. Guilt says, "I made a mistake and I need to confess it so I can get it off my chest." Shame says, "Iam a mistake, so I must hide what I have done so others don't find out.
Shame must be dealt with because hiding it has serious consequences. First, shame can lead to paranoia. Shame leads people to believe that everyone sees them as a failure. They find themselves afraid to go places, afraid others will reject them because of their failure.
They find themselves afraid to go places, afraid others will reject them because of their failure. Shame can also lead to excessive perfectionism. Some people hide behind perfectionism because they don't want anyone to see who they really are. Others find shame turns them into doormats for people to walk on.
Shame ties people to a point of shame in the past, affecting the way they act in the present and sabotaging the future God has for them. It will extinguish hope. They find themselves walking around with no earnest expectation, because they feel unworthy of anything more. They feel like they fall shot, that they are not the ideal spouse, parent or minister. Shame is a weight designed to keep people down. It will so occupy their attention that they find it hard to receive God's finished work in their lives.
Fear is tied to shame. You can see that at work in Adam and Eve after they sinned int e Garden. Right after they ate the forbidden fruit. God called to them and Adam said, "I heard your voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself" (Genesis 3:10). He was ashamed.
But shame can only control and define you when you live in fear of it. Isaiah 54:4 says " Do not fear, for you will to be ashamed; neither be confounded, for you shall not be put to shame: for you shall forget the shame of your youth...."
You must stay free from this fear because the worst bondage in the world is people bondage. When you are afraid of what people think about you, you can't do what God's told you to do because you are so occupied with what people are going to think about it. How can you dare step out and be bold about doing something that's our of the norm, if you are preoccupied by what people are going to say? When you are bound by that fear, you only feel safe doing what's already been done. God wants you to break down barriers, but if you are focused on the past, how are you going to discover what God is trying to do right now? It is shame that keeps you in that place, walking in the fear of it and allowing it to control and define you. Luke recount the account of a young girl who met with Jesus and suddenly faced shame:
When a certain immoral woman from that city heard he was eating there, she brought a beautiful alabaster jar filled with expensive perfume. Then she knelt behind him at his feet, weeping. Her tears fell on his feet, and she wiped them off with her hair. Then she kept kissing his feet and putting perfume on them. When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would know what kind of woman is touching him. She’s a sinner!” (Luke 7:38-39).
Then Jesus said to the woman, “Your sins are forgiven.” And Jesus said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.” (Luke 7:48,50).
How did Jesus help this woman battle the crippling effect of shame? He gave her a promise. Suddenly, how the woman responded became a matter of belief or unbelief. She had to choose between believing Jesus and accepting the condemnation from the Pharisees.
It is the same for you and me. In our lives, every time there is a potential for shame, God has provided a promise. It is up to us to believe it. Just "Believe."
Shame remains because of unbelief in the promises of God and His finished works. We battle unbelief by taking hold of God's promises. Romans 10:11 For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.” That's talking about you. You are in Christ. You are the righteousness of Christ. You are redeemed. You have wisdom. Your identity is in Him..and you shall not be ashamed!
When you got born again, an instant miracle took place. The old man died, and the new man came alive. You are now in Him, in Christ. Instantly, He made you righteous. You are righteous right now. You are holy right now. Your identity is in Christ, even thought the fruit of your identity may not be seen in your behavior yet.
You are the righteousness of God even when you don't do right. You are as righteous right now as you're ever going to be and when you do something unrighteous it doesn't unto the righteousness that you have by faith in Jesus Christ. You are not righteous because you behave righteously. You were made righteous first, and then out of that you began to behave righteously. Don't allow shame to work it's way in when you do something unrighteous. You are righteous right now. Accept that and watch things change.
You overcome shame by taking hold of the revelation in Hebrews 12:2 looking unto Jesus, the [a]author and [b]finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God".
What does it mean to despise the shame? It means you call shame a despicable fool, unworthy of your attention. That's what Jesus did. Don't allow shame to influence your identity. Don't allow it to influence your actions toward others or even your perception of them. Despise it. Then allow God to begin His work in your life.
Don't try to deal with shame on your own. Cast your care on Him and take hold of His promises. Remember, the battle against shame is a battle against unbelief. It is a battle to make sure you stay with the promises of God. " For this reason I also suffer these things; nevertheless I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have committed to Him until that Day" (2 Timothy 1:12).
When you do, you will make a way for the great blessings of God to come your way!
HOW? NO MORE SHAME.