HOW GOD RELEASES US FROM THE SOLITARY CONFINEMENT CREATED BY SHAME

Grace Canberra
Building church where you are


Ephesians 2
1 As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, 2 in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. 3 All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath. 4 But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. 6 And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, 7 in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.
Ephesians 2
8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast. 10 For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.




The Recovery Story is the Story of the Bible

WHOLENESS Dealing with the whole issue not just a part of it
God wants to heal the whole person: problems in one area always affect every other area of your life - spirit, soul and body
THE CREATION Reinstating the original plan In order to recover I have to come to terms with the fact that I am a person who was created in the image of the God of heaven and earth. Recovery will only ever be the measure of how much we are able to capture and possess our intended identity and our purpose
THE FALL dealing with the cause rather than the effect
Loss of relationship with God; introduction of guilt, shame, fear, deception and judgment
THE LAW Setting aside human compensative substitutes
Human substitute coping mechanisms - performance, blame, shame and a whole raft of sources of false comfort – pleasure, money, status
THE CROSS God’s loving substitutionary solution
God’s answer is and has always been to bear the consequences himself and then to give us what he originally intended as a gift.


THE SOLITARY CONFINEMENT CREATED BY SHAME

Here are some of the statements that people make when they allow shame to build a prison for them rather than using it to point them to God's ready made plan of redemption

· What I have done or what has been done to me will always shape my future.
· I’m going to have to live with this for the rest of my life and it will colour everything I do
· I will always be second rate compared to you/others
· I will only ever deserve to expect the worst that life has to offer
· No one feels as bad about themselves as I feel about myself
· I hate myself, so I may as well do things that destroy me - and destroy anyone who loves me
· So many bad things have happened in my life that I now only expect them to continue
· I’ve tried to make things different, but it doesn’t work.
· Even trying to do life differently is too hard
· I have very little to offer
· I feel so unsure of myself that I will find someone who needs me and focus all of my effort on maintaining their need of me
· If I wasn’t so fat/thin/short/tall/plain/ugly people would naturally like me


SHAME - GOD’S EARLY WARNING SYSTEM?
God has created warning systems in our make up: e.g. anger
Shame is the warning light of the conscience. It tells us when we have done something that has adversely impacted our relationship with God
Warning lights are not tools, they are arrows that point us toward the solution



SHAME - FIVE SIGNPOSTS
EMPTY ISOLATION “you were dead in your transgressions and sins”

DEADLY SUBSTITUTES “…you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air…”

LIFESTYLE INFRASTRUCTURE “…All of us also lived among them at one time..”

WORLDLY APPEAL “…gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature..”

CHOOSING JUSTICE NOT MERCY “Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath.”


SHAME – WHAT GOD HAS DONE ABOUT IT
OUTPOURED LOVE “because of his great love for us, ”

MERCY NOT JUSTICE “… God, who is rich in mercy,..”

UNSECURED INVITATION “… made us alive with Christ even when..”

GIFT NOT PERFORMANCE “… it is by grace you have been saved..”


SHAME - WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU RECEIVE GOD’S GIFT
LIFTED TO HEAVEN “And God raised us up with Christ”

ABUNDANT NOT MEASURED “… riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus...”

INVITATION NOT COMMAND “… made us alive with Christ even when..”

PURPOSE NOT CHANCE “… created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do…”


NEW CITIZENSHIP NEW NATIONALITY

19 Consequently,
you are no longer foreigners and aliens,
but fellow citizens with God’s people
and members of God’s household,
20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets,
with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone.
1 In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple
in the Lord.
22 And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling
in which God lives by his Spirit.


We need to realize that God's plan to redeem us from the things that cause us to feel shame are not just personal and private. They involve the gift of citizenship in God's family. Participation in that family is an important part of the recovery process. It is also a challenge for the family to BE that environment of redemption. In the words from the end of Ephesians 2 the following qualifications are imperative for every expression of the body of Christ:

a. Brothers and sisters in Christ must never be treated as aliens and foreigners
b. The body of Christ must always be built out of appropriately called, consecrated and gifted leaders (apostles and prophets)
c. Jesus Christ must always be the singular reference point
d. The Spirit of God must be allowed to strategically relate people together to create a powerful and holy residing presence of Jesus.