kNOw sin - kNOw shame

Have you ever felt shame? When you are looking to God for everything, when you are lifting your soul up to Him and fully trusting in Him to meet all of your needs all of the time, when God is sitting on the throne of your heart, there will be no shame because there will be no sin.

Learn more about the ministry of The Purity Coach at  http://www.thepuritycoach.com

Transcript

Have you ever felt shame? Have you ever experienced that painful awareness that you have dishonored God because you have chosen yet again to disobey Him with improper, sinful behavior? Have you ever, in your shame, tried to hide your sin?

Welcome to The Point of Purity Podcast. A powerful weekly study filled to the brim with the all the tools from Scripture you will ever need to build a lasting life of Biblical purity and godliness. I’m your host Steve Etner – author, National Speaker, Certified Professional Mentor TM and Purity Coach for The Pure Man Ministry and this is Episode #205 entitled “kNOw Sin, kNOw Shame.”

David exclaims, “O my God, in you I trust.” (Psalm 25:2) A simple but oh-so-powerful statement. You can trust God because “God is faithful.” 

Deuteronomy 7:9 declares, “Understand, therefore, that the Lord your God is indeed God. He is the faithful God who keeps his covenant for a thousand generations and lavishes his unfailing love on those who love him and obey his commands.”

And in Deuteronomy 32:4 we see that “[God] is the Rock; his deeds are perfect. Everything he does is just and fair. He is a faithful God who does no wrong; how just and upright he is!”

The Apostle Paul wrote in his letter to the church in Thessalonica that “Faithful is He who calls you, and He also will bring it to pass.” (1 Thessalonians 5:24)

I challenge you to choose right here and right now to lift up your soul to God. You can and you must trust Him completely. Listen to the promises God gives you when you fully trust in Him. “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.” (Proverbs 3:5-6) When you choose to lift up your soul to God and put all of your trust in Him, the promise He gives you is that “he will make straight your paths.” He will lead you; He will guide you; He will show you the way, and He will protect you.”

In Psalm 28:7 we read “The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and I am helped. My heart leaps for joy, and I will give thanks to him in song.” 

Psalm 37:5 commands us to “Commit everything you do to the Lord. Trust him, and he will help you.”

In Joshua 1:9 God says, “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” 

Isaiah 26:3 promises that “[God] will keep in perfect peace all who trust in [Him], all whose thoughts are fixed on [Him]!”

And Jeremiah 17:7-8 assures us that “blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him. He will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.”

We need to pray, as the psalmist did, “I am trusting you, O Lord, saying, ‘You are my God!’ My future is in your hands. Rescue me from those who hunt me down relentlessly.” (Psalm 31:14-15)

In Psalm 25:2 David goes on to say, “Let me not be put to shame” (). Have you ever felt shame? Have you ever experienced that painful awareness that you have dishonored God because you have chosen to disobey Him with improper, sinful behavior? Have you ever, in your shame, tried to hide your sin?

Think with me for a moment about the word “Shame.” Even the sound of it leaves a feeling of heaviness. 

You see, shame is the negative, agonizingly painful feeling arising from an awareness of having done something illegal, dishonorable, disgraceful, immoral, improper, and sinful. Simply put, shame is what most people feel after they have done wrong.

OK. So, I have a question for you. In your shame, have you ever begged God not to punish you, not to be angry with you, not to hold it against you but to be forgiving and merciful to you? Have you promised Him that if He’ll let you off the hook this time, you’ll never do it again? 

Then, when it does happen again—because you and I both know that without God’s help, it will—the feeling of shame rushes back in and floods your soul, drowning your heart in agony and misery again. You go through this cycle over and over. I’m willing to bet you know what I am talking about.

Furthermore, when you are feeling shame you tend to hide, to create walls of protection behind which you hunker down and hope no one will see the real you. Think about this: that response to shame, that desire to hide yourself, to protect yourself, that hope no one ever finds out what you really did, goes all the way back to the garden of Eden.

Genesis 3:7-8 tells us that at the moment Adam and Eve willfully chose to disobey God, at the moment they chose to worship themselves instead of God, at the moment they sinned, “their eyes were opened” and Adam and Eve suddenly felt a horrible, gut-wrenching, fear-inducing shame at their nakedness. What did they do? How did they choose to deal with their shame? “They sewed fig leaves together to cover themselves ... and they hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden.”

Shame. Even the sound of the word leaves us destitute and without hope.

Typically, along with the shame comes the fear that your true self will be seen and known by others, by those who are the closest to you, by those whom you care so deeply about, by those whose opinion you value and treasure the most. You are terrified that once they know what you have done, what you have become, and what you are, they will reject you. So, you choose to hunker down, to stay in the shadows of your sin, to put on a mask of holiness and an air of “I’ve got my act together and all is well” around those crucial people in your life so you can continue to hide your sin, your misery, your fear, your shame.

Shame. A powerful weapon in the arsenal of Satan.

However, shame can also be a powerful tool in the hands of our loving, forgiving, kind and merciful God. Shame is an instrument God wants to use in your life, not to condemn you but to rescue you; not to hurt you, but to heal you.

So, what do you do with your shame? How do you handle it? How do you typically respond to it? Often, far too often, instead of facing the guilt of your sin head-on, instead of turning to God and claiming the forgiveness and mercy He has already promised to give you when you confess your sin to Him, you hide and put on a false face.

Shame comes when you turn away from the One and only God to worship a false god. Shame comes when you choose to disobey God's commands, going against his will in favor of the whims and wishes of King Me.

Listen to what Isaiah 42:17 says about shame. “But those who trust in idols, who say, ‘You are our gods,’ will be turned away in shame.”

In what ways have you been trusting in “idols”? Isaiah is saying that when you choose to worship anyone or anything other than God, you have turned your back on the Almighty and that is a wicked and shameful thing.

When you trust in King Me to satisfy you, when you engage in sinful activity, you are trusting in and worshiping a false god. This idol is the assumed ability of King Me to satisfy your sinful pleasures. You have carved and shaped it into something essential in your life, which you believe you cannot live without. You are choosing to worship that idol as your god.

Psalm 97:7 declares, “All worshipers of images are put to shame, who make their boast in worthless idols.”

Think about that. “All worshipers of images are put to shame.” Is that not what is happening when you allow King Me to sit on the throne of your heart? Are you not worshiping an image of a false god? Are you not boasting in a worthless idol? Is it not a shameful thing?

Every time you give in to your sinful temptation, you are declaring by your choice that you believe God is not the true and only God. By your actions you are declaring God cannot, or will not, sufficiently meet all of your needs. Thus, you are claiming God to be a liar, and your sinful actions are asserting that you are convinced King Me is more qualified and capable of satisfying you than God is. Again, I ask, is that not a shameful thing? If those thoughts, feelings, and actions were exposed for the world to see, would you not be ashamed?

Listen to the words of the prophet Isaiah as he writes, “How foolish are those who manufacture idols. These prized objects are really worthless. The people who worship idols don’t know this, so they are all put to shame. Who but a fool would make his own god—an idol that cannot help him one bit? All who worship idols will be disgraced along with all these craftsmen—mere humans—who claim they can make a god. They may all stand together, but they will stand in terror and shame.” (Isaiah 44:9-11)

Isaiah said that the idols we worship are “worthless.” Do you realize, do you recognize, will you acknowledge the truth in those words? What profit have you gained from your sinful, shameful habits? What has the worship of a false god done for you? Not for your flesh but for your soul, the real you. Oh sure, you “feel good” for a moment. But then what? What benefit, what profit, what lasting value has it given you?

In Romans 6:21 Paul asks “What benefit did you reap at that time from the things you are now ashamed of? Those things result in death.”

After the feel good moment is gone you are left with nothing but an emptiness that is begging to be filled again. Please hear the heart of God speaking through the words of Jeremiah 2:13. “My people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns that can hold no water.”

What about you? Have you forsaken God, the fountain of living water, the only true source of satisfaction and fulfillment just so you can “drink” the tainted, poisoned water from the cistern of sinful habits?

It is possible to live the rest of your life without shame. Listen to what God says about the removal of shame.

As Scripture says, “Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame.” (Romans 10:11) 

And Psalm 25:3 says, “Indeed, none who wait for you shall be put to shame.”

Those words are powerful. When your focus is entirely upon God, when you are moment-by-moment choosing to dethrone King Me and surrender your soul to the lordship and leadership of God in every aspect of your life, there is no shame. You are living for God instead of King Me. Therefore, you are not sinning. Instead of being filled with shame over your ungodly behavior, you are experiencing a fullness of joy resulting from your unimpeded relationship with your Creator, Savior, and best friend.

Psalm 34:4-5 declares, “I sought the Lord, and he answered me and delivered me from all my fears. Those who look to him are radiant, and their faces shall never be ashamed.”

When you are looking to God for everything, when you are lifting your soul up to Him and fully trusting in Him to meet all of your needs all of the time, when God is sitting on the throne of your heart, there will be no shame because there will be no sin.

“But the Lord God helps me; therefore ... I know that I shall not be put to shame.” (Isaiah 50:7) 

“O Lord, let me not be put to shame, for I call upon you.” (Psalm 31:17a) 

“I cling to your testimonies, O Lord; let me not be put to shame.” (Psalm 119:31)

David goes on to say in Psalm 25:3 “Indeed, none who wait for you shall be put to shame.” (Psalm 25:3) The word David uses for “none” is what’s called an absolute negation. In other words, absolutely no one, not a single one who waits for God / who worships and serves God will be put to shame. None. That is a powerful promise. There is not one ounce of shame ever felt by the one who waits for God. Never.

To fully understand this, we need to examine what David means by the words “wait for you.” What does it mean to wait for God, and how does that guarantee you will have no shame?

The idea behind this word “wait” is not what we, in our modern-day western culture, typically think the word means. In today’s world, we see waiting as anticipating or possibly dreading something that is yet to come. We wait at a traffic light. We wait in the doctor’s office. We wait for a phone call. We wait for the results of a test. We wait for the arrival of a friend. It gives the concept of the passage of time before something important or anticipated happens.

I submit that our misunderstanding of the word “wait” in this verse contributes to our anxiety over surrendering everything to God. We are concerned that He might take His time responding to us. We worry that He will take our sinful passions away from us and then we fear we might have to wait on Him to give us something in return, something we believe will probably be of lesser value; and so, we wait, and wait, and wait.

That is not the meaning of the word David uses in verse three. We aren’t waiting for God to do something so that we will not feel shame. Here the word “wait” refers to looking at, focusing upon, placing your attention upon someone.

Think about it this way: when you go to a restaurant and sit at your table, a person comes up to you, welcomes you, and asks how they may serve you. We often call that person our “waiter” or “waitress.” They are there to wait on you; to serve you. Their primary focus is meeting your needs.

David is telling us in Psalm 25:3 that you are to put God first in everything. Place all of your attention, all of your trust upon Him. Wait, not just for Him, but also on Him. Place all of your attention, all of your trust upon Him all of the time. Your primary focus is to be upon serving Him—waiting on Him.

When you faithfully wait on Him, when He is number one in your life, when you live in complete surrender and walk in total obedience to Him, you will not be put to shame. This is because you are not sinning. No sin = no shame.

1 Samuel 12:24 says you are to “fear the Lord and serve him faithfully with all your heart. For consider what great things he has done for you.” And as you wait on Him, “whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men ... You are serving the Lord.” (Colossians 3:23-24).

When you wait on God, when He is number one in your life, when you live in complete surrender and servitude, and you choose daily, moment-by-moment, to walk in total obedience to Him, you will not be put to shame. No sin = no shame.

Malachi 3:18 tells us there is a distinction “between one who serves God and one who does not serve him.” As Matthew 6:24 reminds us, “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other.” You cannot wait upon, you cannot serve, both God and King Me.

The point David is making is that when you put your hope in God, when you rely upon Him, when you lift up your soul to Him and fully trust in Him—when you choose to make Him Lord of your entire life—you will not experience shame. No sin = no shame.

Romans 5:5 tells us that “Hope [focusing your attention upon God] does not put us to shame.”

The point is this: when you have Christ as Lord over all of your life you will not sin. Seriously. No self-centeredness = no sin = no shame. “None who wait for you shall be put to shame.”

God Himself says, “I am the Lord. Those who trust in me will never be put to shame.” (Isaiah 49:23b)

Let me repeat this simple format: No self-centeredness = no sin = no shame.

OK, we’re going to hit the pause button here until next week’s episode as we look forward to continuing this study.

In the meantime, if you would like to learn more about today’s study, or if you’re interested in learning more about The Pure Man Ministry (what we do to help men across the globe find freedom and victory over sexual sin), be sure to visit our website to see the multitude of resources we’ve made available to you – you can find our website at ThePurityCoach.com

One of those resources I would like to highlight for you today is my book entitled “The Pure Man’s Devotional Guide: A Biblical Toolbox for Purity.” You see, building a life of purity doesn’t happen overnight, and like any building project – it will be best when you use the right tools for the task. 

This book, “The Pure Man’s Devotional Guide: A Biblical Toolbox for Purity,” is a toolbox filled with nearly 700 passages of Scripture all for the purpose of equipping you with the proper tools to build a lasting life of Biblical purity.

This 5-week devotional guide will help you see how the enemy attacks and, more importantly, how to skillfully handle the Word of God as you learn to fight back. So I encourage you to visit the resource section of our website, or go directly to Amazon.com and search either for “The Pure Man’s Devotional Guide” or just look up my name, Steve Etner, and purchase your copy today.

And if you have not yet subscribed to this podcast, let me encourage you to do so today so you won’t miss any of our upcoming episodes!

So, until next time this is Author, Speaker, Certified Professional Mentor TM and Purity Coach Steve Etner for The Pure Man Ministry reminding you that if you are going to glorify God in your everyday living, He must first be glorified in your every moment thinking.