WEBVTT 00:00:00.479 --> 00:00:05.040 In our Advent Sermon series, we are in the book of Genesis, chapter 3. 00:00:06.160 --> 00:00:10.800 This is week three of our Advent series. 00:00:11.919 --> 00:00:15.839 I'll be reading from Genesis 3, verses 8 through 24. 00:00:17.120 --> 00:00:20.399 This is the reading of God's holy, perfect word. 00:00:21.760 --> 00:00:31.920 And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. 00:00:32.399 --> 00:00:36.560 But the Lord God called to the man and said to him, Where are you? 00:00:37.039 --> 00:00:44.479 And he said, I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself. 00:00:44.880 --> 00:00:47.200 He said, Who told you that you were naked? 00:00:47.520 --> 00:00:50.880 Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat? 00:00:51.200 --> 00:00:58.079 The man said, The woman you gave me gave to be with me, she gave me the fruit of the tree, and I ate. 00:00:58.960 --> 00:01:02.560 Then the Lord God said to the woman, What is this that you have done? 00:01:02.880 --> 00:01:06.319 The woman said, The serpent deceived me, and I ate. 00:01:06.640 --> 00:01:14.000 The Lord God said to the serpent, Because you have done this, cursed are you above all livestock, and above all beasts of the field. 00:01:14.239 --> 00:01:19.760 On your belly you shall go, and dust you shall eat all the days of your life. 00:01:20.079 --> 00:01:25.120 I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring. 00:01:25.359 --> 00:01:29.599 He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel. 00:01:30.000 --> 00:01:33.840 To the woman he said, I will surely multiply your pain and childbearing. 00:01:34.079 --> 00:01:36.959 In pain you will shall you shall bring forth children. 00:01:37.200 --> 00:01:41.280 Your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you. 00:01:41.840 --> 00:01:49.439 And to Adam he said, Because you have listened to the voice of your wife, and have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you, you shall not eat of it. 00:01:49.680 --> 00:01:51.920 Cursed is the ground because of you. 00:01:52.239 --> 00:02:09.840 In pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life, thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you, and you shall eat the plants of the field by the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken, for you are dust, and to dust you shall return. 00:02:10.479 --> 00:02:19.840 The man called his wife's name Eve, because she was the mother of all living, and the Lord God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins and clothed them. 00:02:20.159 --> 00:02:24.879 Then the Lord God said, Behold, the man has become like one of us, knowing good and evil. 00:02:25.120 --> 00:02:30.479 Now lest he reach out his hand and take also of the tree of life and eat, and live forever. 00:02:30.719 --> 00:02:35.759 Therefore the Lord God sent him out from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he was taken. 00:02:36.080 --> 00:02:47.439 He drove out the man, and at the east of the Garden of Eden, he placed the cherubim in a flaming sword that turned every way to guard the way to the tree of life. 00:02:48.560 --> 00:02:52.560 This is God's holy, infallible, and errant word. 00:02:53.360 --> 00:02:56.719 We pray for the Spirit's leading, enlightening. 00:02:57.199 --> 00:03:02.159 Holy Spirit, you are the one who inspired these words. 00:03:02.560 --> 00:03:04.159 Lord, you are the one. 00:03:10.879 --> 00:03:15.199 Our mind so that we can understand what you want us to understand. 00:03:15.840 --> 00:03:19.439 Our hearts to receive what you want to give us. 00:03:20.479 --> 00:03:24.719 Holy Spirit, grant what you have in mind for each of us. 00:03:24.879 --> 00:03:26.639 In Jesus' name, amen. 00:03:29.840 --> 00:03:39.680 This Advent Sermon series, this morning, as last week, we're posing the question that God posed to Adam, where are you? 00:03:41.520 --> 00:03:45.120 Adam and Eve, we saw last week had succumbed to temptation. 00:03:45.280 --> 00:03:48.879 They challenge God's word, they challenge God's authority. 00:03:49.360 --> 00:03:51.840 It was Satan's word versus God's word. 00:03:52.240 --> 00:03:55.919 Satan comes to Eve and says, Has God really said? 00:03:56.719 --> 00:03:58.879 Are you sure you heard that correctly? 00:04:00.960 --> 00:04:02.639 And we know what that's like. 00:04:03.439 --> 00:04:15.360 You read the Bible and you try to understand what the Bible says, and then you wonder, am I going to submit myself to the authority of God? 00:04:16.800 --> 00:04:18.879 Oftentimes we don't. 00:04:19.360 --> 00:04:26.639 We either do it intellectually and say, oh, I agree with you, God, but that doesn't mean that you obey God. 00:04:28.079 --> 00:04:35.360 You can understand, we can we can understand, we can agree, but then turn it right around and disobey them. 00:04:37.680 --> 00:04:39.120 Has God actually said? 00:04:39.279 --> 00:04:41.839 Are you sure you heard them, heard him right? 00:04:42.560 --> 00:04:50.319 Oh, how often we creatures take the word and the authority of a creature over the word and the authority of the Creator. 00:04:50.959 --> 00:04:55.360 Consequently, Adam and Eve lost their peace, as we saw last week. 00:04:55.600 --> 00:04:59.199 And we've been struggling, looking for peace ever since, haven't we? 00:05:00.000 --> 00:05:01.839 Dealing with fear. 00:05:02.879 --> 00:05:07.120 As we saw last week, it comes out of verse 10. 00:05:07.839 --> 00:05:11.120 Adam said, I heard the sound of you in the garden and I was afraid. 00:05:11.199 --> 00:05:12.800 That's what we looked at last week. 00:05:12.959 --> 00:05:15.920 Today we're going to look at next, because I was naked. 00:05:16.639 --> 00:05:18.800 Next week we're going to look at, so I hid. 00:05:22.720 --> 00:05:25.600 Yes, we struggle with fear, don't we? 00:05:25.839 --> 00:05:28.560 Fear and peace do not coexist. 00:05:28.879 --> 00:05:32.160 What we fear, we often try to control. 00:05:32.399 --> 00:05:33.920 Isn't that true? 00:05:34.399 --> 00:05:38.160 In many different ways, we try to control the things around us. 00:05:38.399 --> 00:05:41.920 Again, as last week we saw, one way is by blame shifting. 00:05:42.560 --> 00:05:44.879 It's like pass the buck down the line. 00:05:45.199 --> 00:05:46.959 You gotta blame somebody. 00:05:47.199 --> 00:05:52.800 And we're gonna actually see that shame is behind that, oftentimes. 00:05:53.279 --> 00:05:58.480 What we can't accept about ourselves, we often put on other people. 00:06:00.079 --> 00:06:01.519 Adam blamed Eve. 00:06:02.240 --> 00:06:03.839 He also believed God, blamed God. 00:06:03.920 --> 00:06:05.439 God, you gave me the woman. 00:06:05.680 --> 00:06:09.360 It's like he's saying, Why didn't you give me the right wife? 00:06:10.879 --> 00:06:12.560 You guys ever wonder that? 00:06:13.360 --> 00:06:16.160 You wives ever wonder, why didn't he give me the right husband? 00:06:16.399 --> 00:06:17.839 Well, maybe he did. 00:06:18.879 --> 00:06:20.000 Probably did. 00:06:21.680 --> 00:06:25.199 But there's a lot of growth required. 00:06:25.519 --> 00:06:29.120 There's a got a lot of learning to take place. 00:06:30.720 --> 00:06:34.000 Fear is the dominant emotion. 00:06:34.319 --> 00:06:38.720 I was afraid because I was naked. 00:06:39.199 --> 00:06:41.519 So we fear exposure. 00:06:42.639 --> 00:06:45.439 God asked Adam, who told you you were naked? 00:06:46.079 --> 00:06:47.360 He just knew. 00:06:47.600 --> 00:06:50.879 As soon as he disobeyed, he knew. 00:06:51.120 --> 00:06:53.920 He knew that he was not right inside. 00:06:54.399 --> 00:06:57.360 He knew that he needed to, he needed cover. 00:06:57.839 --> 00:06:58.240 Why? 00:06:58.399 --> 00:07:00.959 He didn't need cover five minutes before. 00:07:01.279 --> 00:07:02.959 He was okay with his nakedness. 00:07:03.120 --> 00:07:06.480 He was okay with his, he had peace, shalom. 00:07:07.360 --> 00:07:13.920 But all of a sudden he disobeyed God, and he knew that all was not right within. 00:07:15.920 --> 00:07:27.199 Ever since mankind has had to live with guilt, real guilt for real sin, shame, real shame, and misery. 00:07:27.439 --> 00:07:32.480 This morning we're going to look at the curse, the cure, and the consummation. 00:07:33.040 --> 00:07:34.000 The curse. 00:07:34.720 --> 00:07:38.480 We see Satan is cursed in verse 14 of the text that we read. 00:07:38.639 --> 00:07:40.879 Remember when God spoke to Satan? 00:07:42.000 --> 00:07:46.160 He said, Because you have done this, Satan, because you have messed with my kids. 00:07:47.680 --> 00:07:53.519 Because you have messed with my kids, cursed are you above all livestock. 00:07:54.639 --> 00:08:00.639 I find as a pastor that oftentimes, well not oftentimes, but sometimes I meet people who think that they're cursed. 00:08:02.560 --> 00:08:05.759 The curse is not given to the man or the woman. 00:08:06.000 --> 00:08:09.279 The curse is given to the tempter, the Satan. 00:08:09.920 --> 00:08:15.120 We live with the consequences of the curse, but Christian, you're not cursed. 00:08:17.279 --> 00:08:20.079 I find sometimes people don't understand that. 00:08:20.319 --> 00:08:29.759 I've met people who believe that they are cursed, and so they believe and convince themselves that they are forever trapped in their life, destined to live out their curse. 00:08:31.920 --> 00:08:33.600 That's not what the Word of God says. 00:08:35.360 --> 00:08:38.720 One of the worst consequences of the fall is shame. 00:08:38.879 --> 00:08:40.480 That's what we're looking at now. 00:08:40.639 --> 00:08:46.480 It's been said that shame is the silent killer, like high blood pressure. 00:08:46.879 --> 00:08:48.879 You don't necessarily know. 00:08:49.840 --> 00:08:56.559 You don't feel the symptoms, but something deadly is going on inside the body. 00:08:56.879 --> 00:08:59.840 Something deadly is going on inside the soul. 00:09:00.879 --> 00:09:02.080 This is shame. 00:09:02.320 --> 00:09:12.639 The difference between shame and guilt, guilt, we disobey or we do something that we know is wrong and we feel appropriately guilty. 00:09:13.120 --> 00:09:14.480 It's what we did. 00:09:15.440 --> 00:09:17.120 Shame is different. 00:09:17.440 --> 00:09:21.919 Shame is not focused so much on what I did, but who I think I am. 00:09:22.960 --> 00:09:25.360 Shame is much more personal. 00:09:27.039 --> 00:09:30.879 That's why it's so much more deadly in some ways. 00:09:31.840 --> 00:09:33.919 Shame says, this is who you are. 00:09:34.159 --> 00:09:35.600 This is your identity. 00:09:35.759 --> 00:09:39.919 It's not just what you did, it's who you actually are. 00:09:41.519 --> 00:09:44.159 And some of us know how devastating that can be. 00:09:44.559 --> 00:09:47.759 We've lived with it for a long time. 00:09:49.679 --> 00:09:52.080 Novels have been written about shame. 00:09:52.399 --> 00:09:55.600 Art has been created depicting shame. 00:09:57.759 --> 00:10:08.720 Masaccio, the Italian artist, captivated poignantly in a fresco on the wall of Branacci Chapel, Church of the Carmine in Florence, Italy. 00:10:08.960 --> 00:10:12.080 The work is called Expulsion from Paradise. 00:10:12.240 --> 00:10:14.480 Maybe you remember that. 00:10:14.639 --> 00:10:16.639 If not, maybe look it up later. 00:10:16.960 --> 00:10:18.960 Expulsion from Paradise. 00:10:19.279 --> 00:10:28.159 What he captured in this stunning piece of art is Adam and Eve being banished from the garden. 00:10:28.399 --> 00:10:30.320 And Adam is covering his face. 00:10:30.480 --> 00:10:31.519 He can't bear. 00:10:31.759 --> 00:10:33.440 He can't bear to look at anybody. 00:10:33.600 --> 00:10:34.559 Certainly not God. 00:10:34.720 --> 00:10:35.919 His head is down. 00:10:36.480 --> 00:10:38.240 I'm not going to look at God. 00:10:38.720 --> 00:10:40.159 I'm ashamed. 00:10:41.919 --> 00:10:46.320 He depicts Eve, not looking down but looking up. 00:10:47.360 --> 00:10:52.320 But her hand is just like, oh, the agony. 00:10:53.039 --> 00:10:56.000 They both have their hands strategically placed. 00:10:58.240 --> 00:10:59.759 That's shame. 00:11:01.600 --> 00:11:03.360 Shame cries out. 00:11:04.320 --> 00:11:06.879 You don't understand what I'm dealing with. 00:11:07.200 --> 00:11:08.960 It feels unbearable. 00:11:11.120 --> 00:11:13.759 And to cope, we have to look for fig leaves. 00:11:13.919 --> 00:11:18.559 Do you know that the fig leaves were the largest leaves in the Garden of Eden, as far as we can tell? 00:11:19.039 --> 00:11:20.879 Maximum coverage. 00:11:21.440 --> 00:11:23.440 And we still do that today. 00:11:24.240 --> 00:11:24.879 How? 00:11:25.840 --> 00:11:26.799 Isolation. 00:11:28.559 --> 00:11:35.279 Isolation is a favorite tool, resource for shame. 00:11:36.720 --> 00:11:41.120 There are people who don't come to church because they just can't deal with that. 00:11:41.679 --> 00:11:49.440 They can't deal with what they're fighting within, so they just don't go near, darken the door of a church. 00:11:50.399 --> 00:11:56.960 Sometimes it's isolation, sometimes it's manipulation, trying to control the circumstances around us. 00:11:57.279 --> 00:11:58.720 How do we do that? 00:11:59.039 --> 00:12:03.279 We drink too much so that we don't have to feel the shame. 00:12:04.000 --> 00:12:06.080 That's why a lot of people drink. 00:12:06.559 --> 00:12:08.720 They just don't want to feel. 00:12:09.120 --> 00:12:12.399 They don't want to feel what's hard. 00:12:13.440 --> 00:12:15.200 We can drink too much. 00:12:16.000 --> 00:12:17.919 We can eat too much. 00:12:20.159 --> 00:12:22.799 That has something to do with shame sometimes. 00:12:23.519 --> 00:12:24.879 I don't want to feel it. 00:12:25.039 --> 00:12:27.279 I don't want to be in touch with what's hard. 00:12:27.519 --> 00:12:28.879 Let me ignore. 00:12:29.759 --> 00:12:31.519 We can spend too much. 00:12:31.759 --> 00:12:34.799 We can cover up, focusing on the outside. 00:12:35.919 --> 00:12:37.600 Spend, just spend. 00:12:37.919 --> 00:12:38.799 Cover up. 00:12:40.240 --> 00:12:42.720 Spending can become fake leaves. 00:12:44.480 --> 00:12:46.879 I want to feel better about myself. 00:12:47.600 --> 00:12:53.679 So we can buy cars that we probably can't afford and houses and clothes and all kinds of things. 00:12:54.720 --> 00:12:58.559 I just want to feel better about who I think I am. 00:13:01.679 --> 00:13:03.600 And we can work too much. 00:13:05.919 --> 00:13:07.519 Some of us know that. 00:13:08.159 --> 00:13:09.919 We can work too much. 00:13:11.440 --> 00:13:16.000 Shame can sometimes drive us to have to excel. 00:13:16.559 --> 00:13:17.759 Shame can drive us. 00:13:17.919 --> 00:13:19.919 We have to finish atop the class. 00:13:20.879 --> 00:13:23.679 We have to keep climbing the career ladder. 00:13:24.080 --> 00:13:35.759 Shame can be a beast, pushing us to do things that aren't necessarily our gifts and using it for the glory of God. 00:13:38.320 --> 00:13:39.919 Shame is a beast. 00:13:42.240 --> 00:13:51.279 Like our first parents in the garden, we too have been banished from the garden because of his sin, our sin, looking to cover what we can't bear to live with. 00:13:51.440 --> 00:13:54.879 And we wonder why we can't get close to other people. 00:13:56.080 --> 00:13:59.200 And we wonder why other people can't get close to us. 00:14:02.399 --> 00:14:04.000 That's what shame does. 00:14:04.240 --> 00:14:06.480 Shame puts up walls. 00:14:07.600 --> 00:14:09.759 Shame puts up barriers. 00:14:10.480 --> 00:14:13.039 I don't really know who I am. 00:14:13.279 --> 00:14:16.879 It's really hard for me to accept who I think I am. 00:14:17.440 --> 00:14:21.360 I certainly don't want you to get too close. 00:14:21.600 --> 00:14:25.279 And so we put up walls and barriers. 00:14:26.480 --> 00:14:27.679 Do you struggle with that? 00:14:27.759 --> 00:14:29.600 Do you struggle with getting close to people? 00:14:30.000 --> 00:14:35.039 Do other people struggle really getting to know your heart because you just wall off your heart. 00:14:35.279 --> 00:14:37.039 That's what we can do with shame. 00:14:38.960 --> 00:14:40.799 God has something better. 00:14:42.960 --> 00:14:44.720 We're going to talk about that. 00:14:45.440 --> 00:14:47.360 God has a better answer. 00:14:48.159 --> 00:14:52.480 Because the people who love you really do want in. 00:14:54.240 --> 00:14:55.200 Trust me. 00:14:56.159 --> 00:15:01.519 The people who love you want more access to your heart. 00:15:01.759 --> 00:15:03.919 Do you know how to give that to them? 00:15:04.879 --> 00:15:07.039 Shame may well have something to do with this. 00:15:07.120 --> 00:15:11.039 And by the way, I didn't think I didn't say this in the first service, I wasn't thinking about it. 00:15:11.120 --> 00:15:12.960 But this is not about personality, okay? 00:15:13.200 --> 00:15:15.519 Let's just take that off the table right now. 00:15:17.039 --> 00:15:19.519 This has nothing to do with personality. 00:15:21.120 --> 00:15:27.919 I've met many strong introverts who are very good at letting people in. 00:15:28.320 --> 00:15:30.480 It's not your personality. 00:15:31.919 --> 00:15:35.120 It's something deeper in the heart. 00:15:39.519 --> 00:15:47.039 The angel came to Mary Magdalene in the tomb. 00:15:47.200 --> 00:15:48.879 You remember Mary Magdalene? 00:15:49.360 --> 00:15:52.240 One of Jesus' biggest supporters? 00:15:53.360 --> 00:15:56.000 The gospels tell us that she had seven demons. 00:15:57.679 --> 00:15:59.679 You think she knew something about shame? 00:16:00.480 --> 00:16:10.799 Seven demons she was tormented by until Jesus liberated her and cast out those demons. 00:16:11.120 --> 00:16:12.960 And what did she want to do? 00:16:13.279 --> 00:16:15.279 I'm going to follow you, Jesus. 00:16:15.919 --> 00:16:18.080 I'm a follower of Jesus. 00:16:18.559 --> 00:16:20.720 And she was until his death. 00:16:21.120 --> 00:16:23.840 But you remember she was crushed by his death. 00:16:24.879 --> 00:16:28.480 She was one of the last to leave the cross, we understand from the scriptures. 00:16:28.639 --> 00:16:33.200 She was the first one to arrive at the tomb, resurrection, Easter morning. 00:16:33.679 --> 00:16:35.919 She needed her Savior. 00:16:38.320 --> 00:16:42.080 Remember when she met Jesus and she didn't realize it was Jesus? 00:16:42.320 --> 00:16:45.759 She thought he was the gardener, Easter morning. 00:16:47.759 --> 00:16:49.600 And what does Jesus say to her? 00:16:49.840 --> 00:16:52.080 He calls her woman initially. 00:16:53.039 --> 00:16:55.840 He says, Woman, why are you weeping? 00:16:56.639 --> 00:16:58.960 She says, They've taken my Lord. 00:17:00.720 --> 00:17:02.240 That's still a good question. 00:17:02.480 --> 00:17:03.840 Why are you weeping? 00:17:04.160 --> 00:17:12.400 As we've said in this worship service from the very beginning until now, weeping is welcomed by Jesus. 00:17:13.200 --> 00:17:14.480 Did you know that? 00:17:16.559 --> 00:17:17.759 Can you weep? 00:17:20.640 --> 00:17:22.480 A lot of people can't. 00:17:23.599 --> 00:17:30.880 Can you weep over the things that are hard about your life? 00:17:31.519 --> 00:17:33.519 The pain of others. 00:17:33.839 --> 00:17:43.039 Our brother Didier just came back from Rwanda, crushed with weight over the violence that's in the eastern part of the Congo. 00:17:43.519 --> 00:17:52.160 He went there to do some things to help relieve so that the orphans could eat, and displaced other people could eat. 00:17:53.279 --> 00:17:55.599 Lamenting took him to Rwanda. 00:17:55.920 --> 00:17:58.880 Pain, weeping took him to Rwanda. 00:18:00.799 --> 00:18:02.079 Can you weep? 00:18:02.480 --> 00:18:04.799 Can you weep over your own sins? 00:18:06.240 --> 00:18:09.920 Can you weep over the work of Jesus in your life? 00:18:10.160 --> 00:18:11.599 Tears of joy. 00:18:13.359 --> 00:18:14.799 I'm going to say this. 00:18:15.279 --> 00:18:20.240 If you can't, Jesus has more work he wants to do in your life. 00:18:20.640 --> 00:18:20.960 Okay? 00:18:21.839 --> 00:18:23.519 I just want you to know that. 00:18:26.799 --> 00:18:29.519 The temptation is to wall this stuff off. 00:18:30.000 --> 00:18:42.240 The temptation is to just kind of stay so busy or so focused on the comfort you have, the comfort that you can create somehow in Washington, D.C., it's not hard to do that. 00:18:44.240 --> 00:18:46.559 Jesus says, I've got something better for you. 00:18:47.279 --> 00:18:53.680 I don't want you to wall off your heart toward me or the people you love. 00:18:56.480 --> 00:18:57.920 So where do we turn? 00:18:58.160 --> 00:19:00.160 We turn where Mary turned. 00:19:00.480 --> 00:19:03.680 Jesus saw right through her, yet he did not reject her. 00:19:03.920 --> 00:19:05.359 No, he liberated her. 00:19:05.519 --> 00:19:08.480 He forgave her and he said, Mary, I want you. 00:19:08.720 --> 00:19:10.720 Those are powerful words. 00:19:12.240 --> 00:19:15.359 When the person that you love says, I want you. 00:19:17.200 --> 00:19:18.640 Mary knew that. 00:19:18.880 --> 00:19:22.240 When he addressed her again, he didn't say woman, he said Mary. 00:19:22.799 --> 00:19:24.640 He called her by name. 00:19:24.880 --> 00:19:28.559 That's a beautiful thing when somebody you love calls you by name. 00:19:33.680 --> 00:19:36.000 That's a good place to turn for us. 00:19:36.480 --> 00:19:40.640 I wonder if the weeping in Advent matches our rejoicing in Advent. 00:19:40.799 --> 00:19:42.799 Is there room in your life for both? 00:19:43.039 --> 00:19:46.799 Is there room in your life for rejoicing because Jesus came? 00:19:47.119 --> 00:19:49.680 And Jesus loves you. 00:19:50.640 --> 00:19:52.240 He's forgiven you. 00:19:52.640 --> 00:19:53.920 He wants you. 00:19:54.880 --> 00:19:59.200 Is there room in your life, your heart, for tears of joy? 00:19:59.920 --> 00:20:04.000 Is there room in your heart for weeping out of sorrow? 00:20:04.400 --> 00:20:06.000 Because we're not home yet. 00:20:07.599 --> 00:20:09.279 We're gonna be home one day. 00:20:10.240 --> 00:20:11.440 But not yet. 00:20:11.680 --> 00:20:16.319 And there are things that we ought to be grieving over because of the consequences of sin. 00:20:18.319 --> 00:20:22.160 Like Mary, bring your wounded parts to Jesus this advent. 00:20:22.559 --> 00:20:24.799 Jesus knows what to do with you. 00:20:25.440 --> 00:20:27.200 He knows what to do with me. 00:20:27.839 --> 00:20:33.440 Corey Tenboom from the Netherlands. 00:20:33.680 --> 00:20:40.400 She and her sister were thrown into German Nazi concentration camp during World War II. 00:20:40.640 --> 00:20:44.880 And they both had to deal with some really, really hard things. 00:20:46.000 --> 00:20:52.240 Corey's sister was treated horribly. 00:20:52.559 --> 00:20:53.440 They all were. 00:20:53.839 --> 00:20:55.119 She was stripped. 00:20:55.359 --> 00:20:56.720 She was humiliated. 00:20:56.960 --> 00:20:58.079 She was abused. 00:20:58.880 --> 00:21:02.720 She went through all kinds of things that are just unimaginable. 00:21:03.359 --> 00:21:05.200 And she couldn't get over it. 00:21:05.440 --> 00:21:07.119 She wanted to know, God, where are you? 00:21:07.200 --> 00:21:08.480 I've served you all my life. 00:21:08.640 --> 00:21:09.680 Where are you? 00:21:12.079 --> 00:21:24.960 And her sister Corey, seeing her in her intense pain, went up to her one day and said, Sister, you know he was stripped. 00:21:26.720 --> 00:21:28.880 And that changed everything. 00:21:30.240 --> 00:21:32.640 You know, he was stripped. 00:21:35.200 --> 00:21:38.079 We're going to talk about this, unlock this a little bit more. 00:21:39.680 --> 00:21:47.039 The antidote to shame is not encouragement, the antidote to shame for shame is empathy. 00:21:48.240 --> 00:21:56.880 It's not just, you know, when we come alongside of people that are hurting and we care, and we say, I'm so sorry. 00:21:57.119 --> 00:21:58.640 And that's appropriate. 00:21:58.880 --> 00:21:59.759 I'm so sorry. 00:22:00.319 --> 00:22:06.000 And we want to understand, and we want to feel their pain, and we want to share their pain as much as we can. 00:22:06.960 --> 00:22:09.440 But we can never know it fully, can we? 00:22:10.400 --> 00:22:12.160 But there's one who does. 00:22:12.880 --> 00:22:15.759 And this leads to the second point, the cure. 00:22:17.920 --> 00:22:23.440 The cure is found in one person, in one person only, and his name is Jesus. 00:22:23.839 --> 00:22:33.759 Jesus Christ, who left the perfect garden above, never spoiled, and he came to this earth filled with the consequences of our rebellion, our sin. 00:22:34.000 --> 00:22:38.240 He came here knowing what was in front of him, what he faced. 00:22:40.160 --> 00:22:47.519 If you compare Genesis 3 and you compare Calvary, let's go to the mountain of Calvary, Golgotha, where Jesus was crucified. 00:22:47.759 --> 00:22:50.160 In the Garden of Eden, there was the curse. 00:22:51.039 --> 00:22:55.200 What do we find happened because Jesus went to the cross for us? 00:22:55.680 --> 00:22:58.079 Galatians chapter 3, verse 13. 00:22:59.839 --> 00:23:03.359 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law. 00:23:03.519 --> 00:23:04.160 How? 00:23:05.119 --> 00:23:08.240 By becoming a curse for us. 00:23:09.519 --> 00:23:11.680 That's why he was stripped naked. 00:23:14.640 --> 00:23:20.640 God doesn't turn his back on us because he's already turned his back on his own son, Jesus, on the cross. 00:23:20.960 --> 00:23:22.079 Do you know that? 00:23:24.319 --> 00:23:31.839 He's not going to curse you, Christian, because he already cursed his own son on the cross. 00:23:32.160 --> 00:23:34.480 He became a curse for us. 00:23:34.960 --> 00:23:39.359 Jesus knows our shame intimately because he bore our shame. 00:23:39.599 --> 00:23:42.240 He knows every area of darkness in our story. 00:23:42.400 --> 00:23:43.920 He knows the things that dog us. 00:23:44.079 --> 00:23:45.839 He knows the things that haunt us. 00:23:46.240 --> 00:23:48.079 And you know what he says? 00:23:49.039 --> 00:23:51.359 I know everything about your story. 00:23:51.920 --> 00:23:53.440 And I still love you. 00:23:54.640 --> 00:23:56.160 And I still want you. 00:23:56.880 --> 00:23:59.279 This is the power of the cross. 00:24:01.519 --> 00:24:04.720 He sees through you like nobody else sees through you. 00:24:05.279 --> 00:24:07.200 He sees stuff that you don't see. 00:24:07.440 --> 00:24:10.079 He knows stuff that you don't know about yourself. 00:24:11.119 --> 00:24:12.000 About me. 00:24:12.480 --> 00:24:15.680 He sees how we run, try to run from our story. 00:24:15.920 --> 00:24:19.680 He sees how we try to wall people off, wall him off. 00:24:20.000 --> 00:24:21.119 He knows that. 00:24:22.880 --> 00:24:24.640 He still says, I want you. 00:24:26.559 --> 00:24:27.519 I love you. 00:24:28.160 --> 00:24:29.759 This is why I went to the cross. 00:24:29.839 --> 00:24:31.359 I went to the cross to be stripped. 00:24:31.440 --> 00:24:32.880 I went to the cross to be crucified. 00:24:33.039 --> 00:24:35.119 I went to the cross to take your curse. 00:24:35.359 --> 00:24:36.799 This is the cure. 00:24:38.640 --> 00:24:41.599 Do you understand this in this Advent season? 00:24:41.839 --> 00:24:43.279 This is the cure. 00:24:43.599 --> 00:24:46.240 Thank God there's hope for you. 00:24:47.039 --> 00:24:48.640 Come out of hiding. 00:24:50.079 --> 00:24:54.240 Come out of hiding into his arms. 00:24:54.880 --> 00:24:56.720 And let him hold you. 00:24:57.039 --> 00:24:59.680 And let him speak shalom to you. 00:25:00.480 --> 00:25:02.240 He knows how to do that. 00:25:04.559 --> 00:25:09.279 As the scripture reading was read earlier from Zephaniah. 00:25:09.519 --> 00:25:11.119 The Lord your God is in your midst. 00:25:11.200 --> 00:25:13.039 He's the mighty one who will save. 00:25:13.359 --> 00:25:15.680 He will rejoice over you with gladness. 00:25:15.759 --> 00:25:17.839 He will quiet you by his love. 00:25:18.240 --> 00:25:20.559 He will exalt over you with loud singing. 00:25:20.640 --> 00:25:21.440 So you understand, right? 00:25:21.519 --> 00:25:24.319 Every Sunday you come into the sanctuary to worship and to sing. 00:25:24.480 --> 00:25:26.079 You're not the only one singing. 00:25:26.400 --> 00:25:27.440 He sings too. 00:25:29.039 --> 00:25:36.000 Hebrews tells us that he's the choir master, he's the choir director of all the choirs on earth. 00:25:36.400 --> 00:25:39.920 He sings over you with joy. 00:25:41.680 --> 00:25:43.279 Can you take that in? 00:25:44.720 --> 00:25:47.599 It's only by the work of the Holy Spirit that you can. 00:25:48.319 --> 00:25:50.480 You never reason yourself into that. 00:25:50.880 --> 00:25:52.319 We can't do that. 00:25:53.119 --> 00:26:00.000 But we can open up our hearts and we can open up our minds to believe that what the Word of God says is true. 00:26:00.559 --> 00:26:03.519 And we can accept and believe. 00:26:03.759 --> 00:26:06.240 And today might be the first time you do. 00:26:07.519 --> 00:26:09.599 That would be a good day for you. 00:26:12.160 --> 00:26:18.880 And maybe you came to know this years ago, but you still find that you're still walking away, covering up. 00:26:20.160 --> 00:26:25.759 And maybe you just aren't convinced that you're going to really ever open up to anybody. 00:26:37.119 --> 00:26:41.039 And she has a horrible, dark story. 00:26:43.839 --> 00:26:47.440 She has been hurt and harmed in many ways. 00:26:48.400 --> 00:26:49.680 But you know what? 00:26:49.920 --> 00:26:53.039 She came to Jesus just a couple weeks ago. 00:26:54.880 --> 00:26:58.480 And she sat in my office with tears coming down her face. 00:26:58.799 --> 00:27:01.920 Tears coming down her face, the joy of the Lord. 00:27:02.319 --> 00:27:04.880 Once you get Jesus, you get the joy. 00:27:07.440 --> 00:27:12.319 If we lose the joy, maybe in some way we've lost Jesus. 00:27:13.519 --> 00:27:14.880 He hasn't run away from us. 00:27:14.960 --> 00:27:17.119 But sometimes we can walk away from him. 00:27:18.640 --> 00:27:19.680 And you know what she said? 00:27:19.759 --> 00:27:20.880 This woman said to me. 00:27:21.839 --> 00:27:27.279 After she, for 30 minutes, 45 minutes, tears just coming down her face. 00:27:29.359 --> 00:27:32.240 Pastor, I believe this. 00:27:34.000 --> 00:27:36.960 And the joy of the Lord was hers. 00:27:37.759 --> 00:27:44.720 The last thing she said to me, she said, Pastor, I'm not ready yet. 00:27:46.640 --> 00:27:49.440 But there's more I want to tell you about my life. 00:27:50.880 --> 00:27:56.799 And I looked at her and I said, When you're ready, I would love and be honored to hear your story. 00:27:58.319 --> 00:27:59.599 This is shame. 00:28:02.240 --> 00:28:06.559 I learned a long time ago that only the power of Jesus can overcome shame. 00:28:06.799 --> 00:28:08.559 Encouragement is not enough. 00:28:08.880 --> 00:28:15.119 I have the gift of encouragement, at least that's what all the spiritual gift surveys tell me. 00:28:16.640 --> 00:28:30.480 I know in my own life, as I look back, that there were times that I was depending more on my gift than pointing people to Jesus more directly. 00:28:31.359 --> 00:28:34.640 You can't encourage anyone out of shame. 00:28:36.000 --> 00:28:38.319 But you can point them to the one who can. 00:28:40.720 --> 00:28:43.200