Talk
Today, we’re going to do something a bit different. I know we have been walking around the different gardens in the Bible.
But today, I thought it would be a prelude when we open the book of Numbers next week. I know we said that last week– that we’re going to study a new book today. But we’re extending The Garden series just a bit. But instead of walking in the Garden, we’re going to take you back to the journey in the desert.
We’re going to read a very special story in Joshua 11, starting from Verse 11, onwards. And I’m going to introduce to you a character in the Bible who’s going to bless you. It says here:
Story of an Outcast
Now, some context: The story in Joshua 2 is the part where God had actually promised the Israelites a land of their own. And on their way to that Promised Land, Jericho was the first city they would cross over. But the problem was that when the Israelites came to the exterior f Jericho, they saw that the city was fortified. It had high walls. And they weren’t equipped to defeat Jericho’s army. You know, the Israelites were just regular people. And so, what they knew was God promised something.
But what do you do when you believe that God promised you something but then you hit a barrier so big? So that now, you’re questioning whether God’s promise was really true or not.
The Israelites were in this position. This was also where they met this woman by the name of Rahab.
Now, Rahab was a woman of shame. The Bible says she was a prostitute. Prostitution is not a 21st century invention. It’s one of the oldest occupations in history.
At this moment, we’re going to find out that although Rahab was a citizen of Jericho, it would seem she was not part of Jericho. Because she would do something in the next verses.
But first, I want to point out that somebody here may feel the same way Rahab felt… You might have the same surname as the people you’re living with under the same roof– but you feel you’re an alien in that family. Because you might have a different set of beliefs, or a different set of priorities, different set of values…
Or maybe, in that company that you joined, you feel like you’re an outcast because you don’t do the same things that other people do. I wonder if there’s anybody here who feels the same way as Rahab who belonged to the city of Jericho but she was somewhat removed– because she didn’t feel like she belonged…Which makes the next verse quite interesting…
This is how Rahab responded to these two spies who came into her home:
Rahab’s Response
Question: How many of you feel that there’s a sense of certainty in the voice of Rahab?
This is her first time encountering the God of Israel. Rahab was actually a pagan– she was a non-believer. But there was a certainty in her response: She said when — not if– Jericho would be conquered.
You know, there are a lot of people in our life, people who you’ve known all your life, and they’ve been Catholics, and they practice the doctrines and the Sacraments. But you know, sometimes it’s hard for us to put our faith into practice.
But there are some people you meet for the first time– who are non-believers– yet when they hear about God, all of a sudden, they just believe in Him.
There are some people who are new to the faith and yet they believe in God more than you do. This was Rahab.
And this is my bold declaration for all of us today: that as you sit here and open your heart to the Lord, that God will use this moment to grow your faith more and more. Not just for your behalf, but that others would be saved too.
Just like Rahab. Her family, you will find out, will be saved– because of what she will do.
That’s my prayer. If you believe in that prayer, just shout Amen! Amen Continue to bask in the Presence of the Lord…
Father, this is Your moment to shine, not mine. And I pray that your army of angels would come and deliver this message together with me. I pray that they would not hear my voice. But they would hear Yours. So, remove me from this platform. Remove the Worship team. We’re not here to entertain anybody but we’re here to deliver Your message, Lord. And, so I pray for somebody here, Lord, who is in need of this message to be set free and to feel Your Presence.
In Jesus’ Name. Amen.
One more time, Everybody:
Thy Word is a Lamp unto my feet And a Light unto my path.
Struggles, Struggles
Can you clap your hands for our servants?
Thank you for serving in the Ministries… You know, my son Ethan and I, we were sitting backstage and we started talking about Church. He’s five years old and I’ve started telling him all about Jesus Christ. I know that he struggles in understanding Jesus.
But one way that I tell him about Jesus is through the Avengers. You know, he loves the Avengers.
So, I tell him, “You know all about our superheroes, right? Jesus is the
superhero.”
And then we started talking about ministries here at The Feast. I started telling him about our ushers who serve and the people here who minister in the Liturgy, and people who sing during the Mass and the Worship, and people who work in the background, and I who preach here, and all the other Feast Builders.
Then I asked him this question: “When you grow up, what kind of ministry do you want to serve in?”
And you know what he said?
“Daddy, you know what I really wanna do? I want to give pan de sal to people outside.”
Ha-ha.
The message that we prepared for you today is for somebody who has been struggling for quite some time…
You’ve had some difficulties…Maybe you’ve been sick for quite some time and you don’t know when you’re going to get healed. Or maybe you’ve been having the same heartache again and again, and you experience breakups.
Or maybe you’ve been going job after job and that’s been the pattern of your life. Or maybe there’s somebody here who’s been battling with addiction and you seem to be succeeding but from time to time you backslide.
So, this will be an encouraging message to you. Because you’ve been asking the Lord, “Is this it? Is this how my life is going to be? Is this how it’s always going to be? Am I always going to be broke? Am I always going to be broken? Am I always going to be depressed?”
And maybe that’s you, sitting there. So, I pray that this message will encourage you.
I need you to preach this to somebody. I want you to turn to somebody right now, and say, “Friend, if in case that’s you, I want you to know that your story is not over.
Your story is not over. God is not finished with you yet. God is still writing a beautiful script for your life. And so, whether or not you’re struggling in some areas in life, I want you to believe that God is going to reveal to you today that the best is yet to come.
So, like I said, we are going to walk around the desert for a few moments… We’ve travelled the Garden of Eden, the Garden of Gethsemane, the Garden
Tomb, the Garden of Paradise – since the Holy Week. We studied this since we started Genesis.
But today, I don’t want to focus on a specific location. I want to focus instead on disposition—asking the question:
What was life like for Adam and Eve to have walked in the Garden of Eden?
Have you ever wondered that—what life must have looked like for those two people?
In my research this week– it took me back to Genesis where it reveals to us what life was like for Adam and Eve. Genesis 2:25 says:
Now, take note: This verse is not about physical nudity. Okay? The author’s intention when he wrote this was to show all of us that in the beginning,
in the Garden of Eden, where God and man dwelled together, there were no limitations between each other. There was no need for Adam to hide from Eve and Eve to hide from Adam.
First Things First…
I want you to think about this: That in the beginning, God never intended for all of us —for you and me—to be ashamed. There was no shame. They were naked but they felt no shame. And that’s really the design of God—that you would not have the need to feel embarrassed, or feel inferior, or feel inadequate.
That was really God’s intention.
By the way, shame is a product of sin–
Remember what happened? When Adam and Eve bit the forbidden fruit?
Their eyes were opened and when they realized that they were naked, what was the first thing that they did? The first instinct? They sewed together fig leaves and they covered themselves up. Why? Because they were afraid, because they were ashamed.
Now, notice this: The first thing that they did when they felt shame was, they covered themselves with clothes. You want to know what the modern-day version of fig leaves? Social media.
Walk with me a bit—this is going to be real talk, okay? I want you to look at this photo:
I want you to tell to me very quickly: What is the first thing that you see when you look at this photo? Loving marriage? Happy couple?
Relationship? Yes? Sweetness? Yes. Forever.
There’s no right or wrong answer.
We can actually paint a story from this picture. It’s a happy loving couple, they’re probably retired, the kids have moved out, it’s an empty house, but they’re not empty deep inside, they’re happy.
And notice, they’re standing by the window.
Isn’t it true that in social media, we live in that four-squared window? That little window where you show little pictures of your vacation, updates about your family, your kids, and how God is blessing you…
That’s how life is lived right now.
Reality Check
But isn’t it also true that it’s also in that little window where you somehow pretend to be somebody that you’re not sometimes? Where you post something, but it’s not exactly how you feel about who you are? You may go on vacation but really that vacation that you’re posting online—just like that Tiktok video, for instance, that you’ve been following, you see that vacation in Bahamas, and you’re so envious…
I want you to know that before that post even made it on the wall of that person, that was edited, cropped, filtered, processed a bunch of times—before it even made it to that wall…
That’s why it’s social media, right?
How many of you know I’m preaching the truth? That’s how life is lived.
Social media has given people the control to curate the content that they would put out—so much so that they’ll show you only what they want you to see—in that little picture window.
Now, put this in contrast with this: There are lots of windows in the house.
But the only way to get through the house is what?
Through a door.
Now, put that window in contrast with the door. A door will show you what windows will never show. Because, you know, in that little picture window you see the little updates of your friends, or your relatives, or your classmates— and you get so envious about everything that they post online. But sometimes, the reason they post that is they’re feeling a bit insecure.
And they’re so good—we have gotten so good at hiding behind picture windows. But in the meantime, when you open the door, that’s where you really see what the life of that person truly is.
And you know, sometimes, people post on social media, that picture window, how on Sunday, they’re praising God, and Hallelujah, and Thank You, Jesus…
But then when you actually get to and walk through their door, you see that on Monday, they’re cursing their wife. On Tuesday, they’re shouting, “Shut up and go to Hell!” – to their kids. And then on Wednesday, they’re doing something that you’ll never see on social media…
There’s a difference between that little picture window –where everything is perfect—and the door.
The Locked Door
Now, some of you, I know, you’ve gotten so good at closing the door on people that you show only a bit of your life to people. But every now and then, you probably will allow people to enter through that door—especially when you learn how to trust people.
But even then, you will always keep one room locked—where you will keep all your deepest, darkest secrets because you are so afraid and ashamed that if people would ever find out what you did in 1995, they probably will not sit beside you here in church.
Or, some of you might be afraid and ashamed that if your boss would ever find out what you did last week, you will never get promoted. There’s that fear of shame – and so you keep it locked in, so nobody would ever find out.
But you know who knows about all that? The Lord knows all about that.
And sometimes, you’re so ashamed to tell it to the Lord…
So, you don’t go to Confession because there’s that fear that the priest might judge you. Or the priest might condemn you because once upon a time you went through a Confession and somebody condemned you. Somebody made you feel bad.
I want you to know that God will never make you feel like that. God will never quit on you. God will never say that He hates you. Because God loves you.
What Shame Does
Because of shame, we allow people to see only through the picture window and we never actually let them through the door. But you know what’s so deceptive about shame? What is so problematic about shame is this: it manifests in different ways.
Like, I know, shame can manifest through anger. Anger. You’re angry at a guy because the person said something about you. But really, you’re not angry at that person because e said something about you. You’re actually ashamed because he called you out on the truth.
Or, maybe there’s another person here who is ashamed because of fear. You don’t want to be with certain people because they made fun of you in the past.
But you don’t really know that you got ashamed now and you’ve been carrying it in your heart, and in your mind, so now, it’s shame that’s been planted in you.
One of the most common manifestations of shame is this: It’s called insecurity. One quick story:
True story. Many, many years ago, back when I was still single, young, and handsome—now I’m just handsome—that’s the only thing God left behind for me, so please pray for me… Anyway, I was dating this girl in college. I was supposed to fetch her. We were supposed to meet up in a little café in our university. Back in those days, somewhere around the 1ate 1990s– just in case you’re judging what my age is—cellphones were already invented. But technology wasn’t that advanced yet.
So, I called her, but she was not answering—her phone just kept on ringing. I called her again, and the phone just kept on ringing. Then, five minutes before I got to the venue, I saw that she was there, sitting at one of the tables outside the café and I noticed she was on her phone but it didn’t really occur to me who she was talking to… So, I called her again, still no answer. And then, she went into the café.
I followed her, and I told her, “I’ve been calling you but you weren’t picking up. What’s wrong?”
And she said, just candidly, “Oh, my phone was on silent mode, I couldn’t hear you.”
Real Talk: The Root of Insecurity
Something just didn’t feel right. Because some of you might not know this: During the ‘90s, cellphones didn’t have that
Call-Waiting yet (the icon that lights up notifying that there’s someone calling you— yes, waiting for you to answer).
So, my question to my friend was:
“You were on your phone but I could hear the phone was ringing. It should had been giving me a busy tone.”
By this time, she was already laughing.
And she said, “May I be honest? I wasn’t actually speaking to anybody. I was pretending to be on the phone—because I was insecure. I was afraid that if people found out I was alone, they might judge me.”
Question: How many of you had ever done that? Raise your hand. Come on, come on. Real talk. Can you just elbow the person beside you, “Admit it.”
No? You’d never done that? Pretended?
Or maybe – just to get into an event, you pretended to be somebody else.
Maybe, at one point, you pretended to have all of these things (to make the impression) that you got your life together.
That’s another way to look at that. Sometimes, you pretend to be someone – but you’re not really that kind of person.
I want you to know that deep inside, insecurity is really rooted in shame.
And there are a lot of stories connected to that.
Another story: I had a friend who doesn’t like hanging out with people. And she would walk away from friends and relatives — once their conversation shifted towards the topic of marriage. This person is single.
Why? Because she’s so insecure, because her relationships had never gone to the next level (marriage).
I have another friend – he really never likes hanging out with successful people. I know some of you like rubbing elbows with successful people because you learn from them. But this person hates hanging around with successful people because he feels like compared to their accomplishments, he has so little achievements. phone was ringing. It should had been giving me a busy tone.”
By this time, she was already laughing.
And she said, “May I be honest? I wasn’t actually speaking to anybody. I was pretending to be on the phone—because I was insecure. I was afraid that if people found out I was alone, they might judge me.”
Question: How many of you had ever done that? Raise your hand. Come on, come on. Real talk. Can you just elbow the person beside you, “Admit it.”
No? You’d never done that? Pretended?
Or maybe – just to get into an event, you pretended to be somebody else.
Maybe, at one point, you pretended to have all of these things (to make the impression) that you got your life together.
That’s another way to look at that. Sometimes, you pretend to be someone – but you’re not really that kind of person.
I want you to know that deep inside, insecurity is really rooted in shame.
And there are a lot of stories connected to that.
Another story: I had a friend who doesn’t like hanging out with people. And she would walk away from friends and relatives — once their conversation shifted towards the topic of marriage. This person is single.
Why? Because she’s so insecure, because her relationships had never gone to the next level (marriage).
I have another friend – he really never likes hanging out with successful people. I know some of you like rubbing elbows with successful people because you learn from them. But this person hates hanging around with successful people because he feels like compared to their accomplishments, he has so little achievements.
The Tool of the Enemy
By the way, I think it would be unfair for me to share the story about that girl I was dating without sharing the context—
She told me afterwards that the reason she was so insecure was once upon a time, prior to us dating, she dated another guy. They were going to a dinner date. The problem was, the guy was late. And he was late not just for 10, 15 minutes. She waited for two hours, and he didn’t even show up. The problem was not that he actually was late, or that he didn’t show up. The problem was she already ordered dinner—but she didn’t have money.
So, imagine: When she realized the guy was not coming, she had to call up her dad, who lived 45 minutes away, to come fetch her and to pay for the bill. That was the most embarrassing moment of her life. And you know what? That created a sense of shame in her. So, every time she’s alone eating by herself, she just has to pretend that she is with somebody—talking with the person on her phone. She doesn’t like going to the cinemas alone…
Because there’s shame– and the reason I’m saying this is sometimes, you’re not aware that when you’re angry, or afraid, or insecure, deep inside, that feeling is rooted in a shame that you experienced when you were young.
Maybe, somebody made fun of you, and called you fat, and you’ve been carrying that ever since, and now, every time people are talking about weight loss– you know you have a struggle in losing weight—now you feel like you’re ashamed. It’s really in here inside you– and that’s where the enemy will attack you.
Shame. That’s the tool of the enemy.
Now, how do we conquer shame? We’re going to take a walk around the life of Rahab. And I’m not going to be the one to do it with you. And I pray that God will use this message to speak, to minster, and to create a shift inside you.
Everybody, clap your hands and say, “Amen.”
Please welcome my very, very good friend, Doc Didoy Lubaton. Come on, clap your hands for Didoy.
DIDOY LUBATON:
Be honest with me: How many here have felt shame in their life?
Not just embarrassment, right? But really shameful that, “I cannot face people. I cannot look straight at the person’s eyes.”
Shame because, “I gave my word and yet I wasn’t able to fulfill my part of the agreement, of the commitment.”
I’m so happy we are in this Community because we are in a room full of people who make mistakes. And yet, we still stand. And yet, we can still love.
I’m going to give you:
Sovereignty means it is His territory.
It is God’s territory. Let’s read how Rahab reacted to the spies when they came to her house:
So, there’s a precedent. There’s a story that goes before tales of great happening. That’s what she heard. Heard. Just heard, not seen, not witnessed.
But what she said was very good: This is God’s territory.
She said: “I know the Lord has given you this land.”
There was no opposition. How could a pagan woman decide that and declare that? It must had been steadfast faith. It must had been an experience.
Rahab Heard and Believed
How could a person declare God’s sovereignty on the land?
Even if just a week before, Rahab just overheard some women talking about it—that the Israelite army defeated two powerful kings. She said:
What faith she has! She did it, she declared it, she welcomed the two spies— even if she had not seen what was ahead. Even if she had not seen it herself.
Again, Rahab heard about the stories of the God of the Israelites. And she did not see firsthand evidence of Him. She did not have any confirmation, proof. She did not verify if it was fake news or not. She just believed. She decided to believe.
And guys, faith. I’ll talk about faith. Hint: This is one way to conquer shame.
You listen to God’s Word and put your faith in Him.
In Hebrews 11, faith is described as this:
We are hoping for it, we do not see it yet– but in faith we know, we declare: “It is the Lord moving in my life.”
Jesus said in Matthew 17:20:
Declare God’s sovereignty in your life. Declare this is God’s territory. Believe in the Lord today and your faith will move mountains for you.
My Declaration
When I was 13 years old, I made that personal declaration: “Lord, my life is Your territory. Do as You will.”
I was single, I was tall, dark, and popular… Just playing with you. Ha-ha.
When I was single, I said, “Lord, use my singlehood for Your glory.”
And I never stopped since.
When I fell in love, committed, fell on my knees, and said, “Lord, I want to be married. My marriage life is Yours. This is Your territory. I don’t know what lies ahead. I don’t know the heartaches, what will happen. I don’t know if You’re going to provide for us. But my hope and my assurance are Yours. I believe in You.”
And when we got married, it was beautiful. God provided. And when we had children—two kids—I said, “Lord, my children are Yours. We need You to lead us. We need You to provide for us.”
It has been still an ongoing faith journey:
Believe, declare, “Lord, my business is in Your sovereignty.”
As a doctor, I can help as many as I can. But there are patients I cannot really help further (The ailments) are beyond my expertise, beyond what I can do. This is beyond my territory but I know each patient is in God’s territory.
So, believe, believe, have faith. Declare God’s sovereignty.
The second step to conquer shame is to draw in God’s messengers in your life.
If you want to deal with shame, face the shame straightforward.
You know, the night the spies arrived, it was business as usual for Rahab. She was still a prostitute.
The Bible does not mention anything about
Rahab’s past, etcetera. We are left to think about it, we are left to just assume… But I would imagine that Rahab would had been so shocked that two spies knocked on her door. Foreigners.
She said – in the passage—that they were afraid of them. Two spies, foreigners, battle-tested guys knocked on her door.
And you’re a prostitute. How would you feel?
But you know what she did? Instead of rejecting them, she let them in.
There must had been something different about that knock on the door. There must had been something different when she saw them, when she felt their presence. Little did she know that God was doing something in her life. Little did she know that small opening of the door, it would open her life to the goodness and greatness of God. The Presence of God. Not just the spies. But it’s the Presence of God coming into her life.
Guys, do you dream of something familiar? You have been stuck in your shame—shameful past, shameful situation, shameful personality, if you will.
But God comes knocking at your door. God sends messengers to your life— speaking hope, speaking goodness, speaking love to you.
Rahab didn’t know how to get out of being a prostitute. She didn’t know how to get out of her situation day in and day out. She would still live in that ugly shame—until God knocked on her door. She drew in the messengers of God.
God came to her because she wouldn’t go to Him. She was a pagan. She didn’t believe. She didn’t know.
I want you to know:
Let that be your take-home message today.
Who’s There?
If you, in your shame, cannot go to the Lord: “No, Lord, I cannot go to Confession. It’s Fr. Bob McConaghy (in the Confessional box). I’m gonna go bleed.” “Lord, it’s too shameful. It’s too heavy to bear. Lord…”
What you want to do is just open the door of your heart and let God in. Oftentimes, God will even use people for this.
Rahab—what did she do? Nothing much. She did not attend a seminar. She did not do sacrifice. At the start, she just opened her door and let God in.
Today, God is knocking on your door. Will you let Him in? Will you get the door opened? How wide do you open it for God to come in?
God is so powerful that when you sincerely allow Him to work in your life, He can make change in you instantly and permanently. When you open your door to God, and you experience God, you’ll never be the same again.
And one thing: Think about those spies. Imagine big burly soldiers as spies knocking on Rahab’s door. They could had been scary. But, they were unlike the other men who went through the door of Rahab’s life.
The spies went in and they did not have anything else. They did not abuse her.
They did not take advantage of her. They could have.
They were welcomed in. They did what they had to do in terms of their military strategy. And then they were the only ones who came in through Rahab’s door and did not come out through that door. They went to the other side. And they came out through a window.
Most of Rahab’s clients came in through her door. Had fun, apparently. Then came out the same door. Taking a piece of herself. A piece of her purity with them.
How do you know? How do you distinguish that it is God’s messenger who is knocking on your life? It is God’s message that is said by your brother sister, family, friend, co-Feaster, or officemate? How do you know that they are the messengers that God has sent to you?
Well, No. 1: They’re not takers. They will not take advantage of you. They come into your life not to receive, they come into your life to give. Every other person who has come and gone through your life usually takes something from you—away from you even.
But guys, only Jesus goes into your life and gives you more than taking more.
So, receive, draw in God’s messengers and ultimately God’s message today.
Receive the Lord today.
I hope that you open the door. And let Him in.
You want to deal with shame?
You want to recover and face shame, and not live in shame? You’ve got to
Display the Lord’s Goodness.
I’ll deal it from the Word of God, from Joshua 2:19-20:
Let me explain:
During ancient times, the way that the prostitutes would advertise their business was they would hang a red or scarlet rope in front of their house, in front of their door and say, “Come in. I’m open.”
Red rope. Red light district. That was in the ancient times.
So, Rahab hang a scarlet rope on her door every day. And this way, she was symbolizing her shame, her sin, her—you may argue—her profession.
And before the spies left, they instructed her to hang the scarlet rope outside her window—not on her door.
The Scarlet Rope
The goal of the Israelites was to get inside the city of Jericho, to conquer the city. The spies were there to plan ahead, to strategize (to scout what’s inside the city).
Look at this: There was a scarlet rope on the door to show that the prostitute was open for business.
And the spies said, “You put that scarlet rope on the window.” If you’ll notice, Rahab’s house was outside the wall of the city.
I want you to imagine with me: Who would be passing by… who would be the ones interested to pass by the street where you’ll see a door with a red rope hanging on it?
But the spies said use that scarlet rope, hang it by the window. And if it’s going to be outside the wall, everybody would see that that is our scarlet rope.
Do you see it?
That’s how God works. The scarlet rope was going to be seen by the entire city. It was going to be seen by the whole world.
And check out how God works in very amazing ways. What was once a symbol—the red, scarlet rope—of personal shame, became a symbol of salvation for the entire, the whole nation.
Shame… and Salvation
Did it change?
Did the scarlet rope change? It was still the scarlet rope.
But God can use it differently and hang it around in a different way.
And instead of showing your shame, it will show your salvation.
God can use your shame and transform it into a symbol of salvation for the world to see.
Just like Audee, I have my past. I still have my present. And I am a sinful person. Like you. And welcome home. This is a house full of sinners. Trying to follow God. In our own, simple ways.
But I kid you not. Even our shamefulness—God uses to heal others. Even in our weakness, God becomes strong so that this inspires other people.
Let me recap:
Three Steps To Conquer Shame:
Declare God’s Sovereignty Draw in God’s Messengers Display the Lord’s Goodness.
Rahab. Rahab’s life is an inspiration. Rahab. How many of you it’s your first time to hear about Rahab? Raise your hand.
Fantastic. I love The Feast. We get to really dwell with the Bible.
Rahab’s life. Rahab was an inspiration. But you know, that wasn’t always the case. Once upon a time, society saw her as unclean, sinful, shameful, undeserving sinner. That could had been her sad story.
We, sometimes, are viewed by the world like Rahab. Sinful, unclean, shameful.
And yet Rahab’s life made a powerful impact…
Hall of Faith
Actually, if you go thousands of years later – I’m not kidding—if you look into the Word from Hebrews 11, you’ll see great examples of faith.
This is the Bible chapter that shows the Hall of Fame—the Hall of Heroes of Faith:
It was faith. It was Rahab’s faith to open the door. It was with faith to welcome them in—even it appeared to be dangerous. Even if it was unfamiliar.
Even if it showed her shame.
Faith. Just like all the heroes mentioned. Just like Rahab. It saved her family.
It saved her life. It meant the welcoming, that opening of the door saved the entire nation of Israel. Because one person opened her door.
Maybe you will be used by the Lord– despite your shame. And in your openness, healing would flow in your family. Abundance– you will be the one who will open the door to your generation, to your clan. That there will be no more poverty. No more negativity. No more hurting. And these will be replaced with blessings, healing, abundance.
Guys, don’t underestimate the power of your faith. It was the most extreme example that the display of God’s love for us was shown. God had faith in us. And He gave us His only Son. He knew He would suffer. He would die. For the love of us.
But in God’s hands, in God’s love, it doesn’t end in death. There is always new life. There’s always a Garden that we will go home to.
Not Yet Over
Your story? It is not yet over.
God’s story in your life is not yet over.
So, today, let us applaud God.
And I want you to declare the goodness of God.
As we come into Worship, I want you to say: “Lord, I am ready to open the door. Lord, come, change my life. Transform my life. Save me. Save my family. Despite my shame, salvation is in my life– in our Community, in our country!”
Lift your voice, lift your heart to Him! Your whole heart! Your life! Let’s pray together:
We believe. Our hope and our assurance are in you Lord. Our hands raised towards You. These are us, showing our faith. Grace is holding us now. You’re lifting us up. Your love is making us whole again. Your Word is healing us. You are Life to us. In our brokenness, You build us up again. You write beautiful stories.
And You’re not done with us yet. Our story is not over yet because it is Your story in our life. We love You God. We are Yours yesterday, today, and forever. You are God and there is no other. In Jesus’ Name. Amen!
