WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:11.740 Before Corrie comes to bring God's word to us, I'm going to invite Anne Norrie, one of our congregation, to come and to read the scriptures to us from Luke 7, verses 36 to 50. 00:00:11.740 --> 00:00:41.719 Amen. 00:00:41.740 --> 00:00:53.320 When the man who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, if this man were a prophet, he would have known who and what sort of woman this was, touching him, for she is a sinner. 00:00:54.520 --> 00:00:59.660 And Jesus answering said to him, Simon, I have something to say to you. 00:01:00.420 --> 00:01:02.859 And he answered, say it, teacher. 00:01:04.140 --> 00:01:06.980 A certain money lender had two debtors. 00:01:07.620 --> 00:01:10.520 One owed 500 denarii and the other 50. 00:01:10.519 --> 00:01:14.179 When they could not pay, he canceled the debt of both. 00:01:15.119 --> 00:01:17.219 Now which of them will love him more? 00:01:18.799 --> 00:01:23.539 Simon answered, the one, I suppose, for whom he canceled the larger debt. 00:01:23.540 --> 00:01:27.500 And he said to him, you have judged rightly. 00:01:27.500 --> 00:01:33.659 Then turning toward the woman, he said to Simon, do you see this woman? 00:01:34.659 --> 00:01:36.239 I entered your house. 00:01:36.420 --> 00:01:42.519 You gave me no water for my feet, but she has wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. 00:01:42.519 --> 00:01:48.379 You gave me no kiss, but from the time I came in, she has not ceased to kiss my feet. 00:01:49.119 --> 00:01:54.859 You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with ointment. 00:01:54.859 --> 00:02:03.039 Therefore, I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much. 00:02:03.939 --> 00:02:07.319 But he who is forgiven little, loves little. 00:02:08.199 --> 00:02:11.460 And he said to her, your sins are forgiven. 00:02:12.740 --> 00:02:18.680 Then those who were at table with him began to say among themselves, who is this and who even forgives sins? 00:02:18.680 --> 00:02:22.520 And he said to the woman, your faith has saved you. 00:02:22.879 --> 00:02:23.700 Go in peace. 00:02:24.300 --> 00:02:24.659 Amen. 00:02:30.219 --> 00:02:33.920 Today we turn towards the Christmas season. 00:02:34.460 --> 00:02:39.219 And Advent is the word that's normally used throughout church history to talk about that. 00:02:39.360 --> 00:02:45.819 Advent comes from a Latin word, Adventus, which is just a word used in the Latin translation of the Bible lots of times. 00:02:46.260 --> 00:02:47.280 And it means arrival. 00:02:47.280 --> 00:02:48.580 So the word Advent means arrival. 00:02:49.000 --> 00:02:55.599 And so all that it means is the season where we particularly think about the arrival of Jesus, the baby. 00:02:55.980 --> 00:03:02.219 So all in the Old Testament, you have these prophecies like Isaiah 9 of the coming of a Redeemer, a baby. 00:03:03.080 --> 00:03:05.640 And we read one of those in the call to worship David did. 00:03:05.760 --> 00:03:08.740 Isaiah 9, for unto us a child is born. 00:03:09.319 --> 00:03:16.480 And in the beginning of Isaiah 9, it talks about how the people in that time were walking in darkness and despair and grief 00:03:16.479 --> 00:03:17.979 because of their exile. 00:03:17.979 --> 00:03:23.199 And then for unto us a child is born, a son will be given, a baby. 00:03:23.199 --> 00:03:26.639 And his name will be Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God. 00:03:26.639 --> 00:03:34.439 And this next four weeks, we're going to look at a series called Wonderful Counselor that takes that name, 00:03:35.239 --> 00:03:40.779 the name of the one who is to come, the baby, and says he's Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God. 00:03:41.119 --> 00:03:45.259 Now, wonderful there is the classic sense of the word wonderful. 00:03:45.259 --> 00:03:47.859 So something that actually makes you full of wonder. 00:03:48.000 --> 00:03:50.280 You look and say, you look in awe. 00:03:51.079 --> 00:03:52.679 You look in an unexpected way. 00:03:53.239 --> 00:03:53.599 Wonderful. 00:03:54.259 --> 00:03:57.639 And then Counselor is a person who comes into your life to bring wisdom 00:03:57.639 --> 00:04:01.819 and to talk to you about who you are and what you're walking through to bring wisdom, 00:04:02.060 --> 00:04:02.959 the treasures of wisdom. 00:04:02.960 --> 00:04:10.500 The Old Testament says Jesus Christ, the one who was to come, the baby, the Redeemer, is Wonderful Counselor. 00:04:11.920 --> 00:04:13.740 We all need counselors in our lives. 00:04:13.840 --> 00:04:14.379 We need friends. 00:04:14.580 --> 00:04:20.639 We need biblical counselors in our lives to talk to us about what's going on in the bottom of our souls. 00:04:21.300 --> 00:04:24.340 But the Bible says there is no counselor like Jesus. 00:04:25.060 --> 00:04:30.160 And so one of the questions of this series, the question of the series, maybe just as simple, simply this. 00:04:30.160 --> 00:04:32.939 Do you go to Jesus Christ for counseling? 00:04:33.180 --> 00:04:34.480 And the Bible says you should. 00:04:35.360 --> 00:04:42.900 And Jesus comes into the world to treat all of who you are, your psyche, your heart, your intellect, your will, your emotions, 00:04:43.440 --> 00:04:46.600 to be your Redeemer and to transform you from the inside out. 00:04:46.680 --> 00:04:52.440 So Jesus comes to treat the inner self, the self at the bottom, the who that you really are. 00:04:53.360 --> 00:04:54.440 He's a Wonderful Counselor. 00:04:54.680 --> 00:04:58.700 He's a Wonderful Counselor because he is Mighty God. 00:04:58.699 --> 00:05:01.420 And there's no Counselor like Mighty God. 00:05:02.199 --> 00:05:04.620 And so last year we did this as well. 00:05:04.680 --> 00:05:11.019 If you were here in December, we looked at four negative emotions that Jesus treats in the Gospels. 00:05:11.740 --> 00:05:14.699 Loneliness, anxiety, boredom, and sadness. 00:05:15.399 --> 00:05:18.819 This year we come back to see four more negative emotions. 00:05:19.000 --> 00:05:20.680 There's nothing like the Christmas season. 00:05:21.019 --> 00:05:24.319 Nothing about the Christmas season more than saying let's talk about negative emotions. 00:05:24.319 --> 00:05:27.719 But Christmas really is a time of sadness for lots of people. 00:05:28.699 --> 00:05:31.959 And in the midst of joy there's also a lot of grief and a lot of pain. 00:05:32.040 --> 00:05:33.579 And we see that all throughout the Gospels. 00:05:33.659 --> 00:05:36.899 And today we begin the first, and that's shame. 00:05:36.899 --> 00:05:42.239 Now Jesus encountered a lot of people that carried a lot of shame in his time. 00:05:42.239 --> 00:05:46.019 The woman at the well, shame because of her adultery. 00:05:46.479 --> 00:05:49.159 The woman who was bleeding in public for so many years. 00:05:49.819 --> 00:05:51.099 Men with leprosy. 00:05:51.459 --> 00:05:53.779 Zacchaeus, the wee man who was shamed. 00:05:53.879 --> 00:05:54.779 Not because he was wee. 00:05:54.899 --> 00:05:55.120 No. 00:05:56.219 --> 00:05:56.759 Come on. 00:05:59.060 --> 00:06:00.779 But because he's a tax collector. 00:06:00.939 --> 00:06:01.379 That's why. 00:06:01.379 --> 00:06:05.939 Peter who betrayed Jesus and carried the shame of that. 00:06:06.879 --> 00:06:07.740 And then this woman. 00:06:07.819 --> 00:06:10.219 This woman of the city that Anne just read about for us. 00:06:10.420 --> 00:06:11.980 So what is shame, number one. 00:06:12.139 --> 00:06:15.199 Secondly, the final healing of shame. 00:06:15.959 --> 00:06:20.659 And then thirdly, the ongoing path of healing shame in our lives. 00:06:20.740 --> 00:06:21.980 So first, what is shame? 00:06:22.740 --> 00:06:28.899 Now it's hard to define, but this passage moves us toward a definition as we look at the story. 00:06:28.899 --> 00:06:33.899 In verse 36, there's a Pharisee who invites Jesus into his home. 00:06:33.979 --> 00:06:34.699 His name is Simon. 00:06:34.839 --> 00:06:35.479 We learn later. 00:06:36.339 --> 00:06:38.019 And he's a religious leader. 00:06:38.819 --> 00:06:40.060 He's a lot like Nicodemus. 00:06:40.099 --> 00:06:44.719 He must be because he's open to having Jesus in, to conversing with him. 00:06:44.979 --> 00:06:46.979 He's not just pushing Jesus away. 00:06:47.739 --> 00:06:52.799 And that's probably because in this chapter, just before, Jesus had raised a boy from the dead. 00:06:53.279 --> 00:06:54.419 And everybody saw it. 00:06:54.620 --> 00:06:58.120 And everybody said, what kind of a prophet is this man? 00:06:58.120 --> 00:07:02.360 And later in this passage, Simon says, what kind of a prophet? 00:07:02.439 --> 00:07:03.720 He refers to Jesus as a prophet. 00:07:03.860 --> 00:07:06.620 You see, he's investigating Jesus. 00:07:06.899 --> 00:07:07.740 He's open to that. 00:07:08.139 --> 00:07:10.780 He's willing to investigate, is this really a great prophet? 00:07:10.899 --> 00:07:11.980 So he comes into his home. 00:07:13.060 --> 00:07:18.780 And then verse 37 comes and says, behold, Luke's signaling, behold. 00:07:19.259 --> 00:07:21.439 And it's a statement of awkwardness. 00:07:21.500 --> 00:07:24.120 He's saying there's about to be something very awkward happening. 00:07:24.120 --> 00:07:25.939 And that's this woman. 00:07:26.139 --> 00:07:29.040 She comes and she stands at Jesus's feet. 00:07:29.120 --> 00:07:32.379 The reason for that is because he was reclined at table. 00:07:32.560 --> 00:07:37.459 And so in the first century, you would come to a dinner table and you would lay on your side. 00:07:37.680 --> 00:07:43.280 So you'd be on a small couch or a pillow and you would put your feet behind you and put your elbow on the table. 00:07:43.780 --> 00:07:44.420 We don't do that. 00:07:44.519 --> 00:07:45.519 We're not allowed to do that anymore. 00:07:45.759 --> 00:07:47.800 But so Jesus's feet were behind him. 00:07:47.959 --> 00:07:49.519 So they weren't under tucked underneath. 00:07:49.519 --> 00:07:53.000 So a woman could come and stand at his feet at the table. 00:07:53.079 --> 00:07:53.740 She does that. 00:07:54.180 --> 00:07:58.279 And then we learn she is, quote, a woman of the city, a sinner. 00:07:59.240 --> 00:08:04.579 And a woman of the city, a sinner is code language in the Bible for a prostitute. 00:08:05.419 --> 00:08:07.279 And everyone in the room knows that. 00:08:07.759 --> 00:08:11.099 In Roman law, prostitution was not technically illegal. 00:08:11.100 --> 00:08:20.420 But in Jewish law that had developed in the intertestamental period, because they were occupied by Rome, they couldn't say it was illegal. 00:08:21.080 --> 00:08:25.320 But a woman or a man involved in this wouldn't be allowed to be married. 00:08:26.520 --> 00:08:29.740 And they would, of course, be in the lowest rung on the social ladder. 00:08:30.320 --> 00:08:31.520 And obviously she was. 00:08:31.580 --> 00:08:32.060 So she comes in. 00:08:32.120 --> 00:08:36.440 We know that she's experiencing shame because it says she comes in weeping. 00:08:36.440 --> 00:08:40.840 So she's carrying the weight of the shame of her status in public. 00:08:41.100 --> 00:08:46.300 She walks into a group of men and notice that she has no name in the passage. 00:08:46.440 --> 00:08:47.260 She is nameless. 00:08:48.320 --> 00:08:50.380 Because to everyone in this room, she is nameless. 00:08:51.880 --> 00:08:59.720 And immediately what happens is the internal shame that she feels then becomes objective shame, external shame. 00:09:00.200 --> 00:09:05.760 And, of course, what we see here that Simon says, and I'll probably have to say that several times, Simon says, 00:09:05.759 --> 00:09:07.399 So we'll just get that out now. 00:09:08.879 --> 00:09:12.879 What Simon says is probably something she heard so often. 00:09:12.980 --> 00:09:13.720 And what does Simon say? 00:09:14.419 --> 00:09:15.059 He says, 00:09:15.819 --> 00:09:20.639 If this man were a prophet, he would know what sort of woman that is. 00:09:21.600 --> 00:09:29.539 So immediately what happens in this area is that he heaps objective shame, external shame, upon her in that setting. 00:09:30.240 --> 00:09:32.519 And the shame is not just intended for her. 00:09:32.620 --> 00:09:33.539 Who is it intended for? 00:09:34.179 --> 00:09:35.340 The prophet, Jesus. 00:09:35.980 --> 00:09:40.680 You know, he's saying if he really were who he says he is, he would not associate with her. 00:09:40.820 --> 00:09:42.000 Therefore, he should be shamed. 00:09:42.420 --> 00:09:43.980 And he should be ashamed. 00:09:44.580 --> 00:09:50.440 And so Simon the Pharisee is heaping shame upon both the woman of the city and Jesus at the very same time. 00:09:50.440 --> 00:09:53.320 Now, this is a prestigious dinner. 00:09:53.320 --> 00:09:57.360 A great religious leader invites this great prophet in. 00:09:57.460 --> 00:09:58.580 There's men around the table. 00:09:59.340 --> 00:10:02.420 And the behold says this has become incredibly awkward. 00:10:02.419 --> 00:10:07.839 And what we see, obviously, is that Simon wants to shoo her away like a dog. 00:10:07.899 --> 00:10:22.159 And this is where we learn how Jesus Christ, the wonderful counselor, deals with both people who are struggling with shame and people who heap shame externally and objectively. 00:10:22.159 --> 00:10:24.500 And this is what happens. 00:10:24.500 --> 00:10:26.379 In verse 40, he tells a parable. 00:10:27.059 --> 00:10:31.199 And he turns to Simon and he says, Simon, I have something to say to you. 00:10:31.299 --> 00:10:37.000 Now, when Jesus turns and says, I have something to say to you, you need to start shaking in your boots. 00:10:37.000 --> 00:10:39.379 And that's Simon's in trouble. 00:10:40.379 --> 00:10:42.200 And he tells him a parable. 00:10:42.440 --> 00:10:50.740 And the parable is about a man, a moneylender, who gives two people money, one owing 500 denarii, one 50. 00:10:51.179 --> 00:10:58.620 That's in the first century Greco-Roman context, about 20 months worth of wage and two months worth of wage. 00:10:59.519 --> 00:11:03.039 And so he says, the moneylender forgives both of them outright, the debt. 00:11:03.960 --> 00:11:06.980 Simon, who do you think loved the lender more? 00:11:07.559 --> 00:11:12.019 And Simon says, of course, the one who owed 20 months of salary, not two months. 00:11:12.580 --> 00:11:13.759 And he said, Simon, you're correct. 00:11:13.820 --> 00:11:14.840 Now, what is he saying the point? 00:11:15.740 --> 00:11:23.019 He's trying to get Simon to realize, awaken to the fact that, Simon, you, like her, are in debt as well. 00:11:23.980 --> 00:11:28.360 You bear debt or guilt and therefore also shame in your life. 00:11:28.500 --> 00:11:29.480 You just don't see it. 00:11:30.860 --> 00:11:34.539 And she has 500 denarii against her, but you've got 50. 00:11:34.539 --> 00:11:37.399 And before the moneylender, you're both debtors. 00:11:37.839 --> 00:11:39.339 And you've got to wake up. 00:11:39.340 --> 00:11:46.080 And the difference in the two here is that Simon invites Jesus into the house wanting to investigate Jesus, 00:11:47.160 --> 00:11:54.639 wanting to put him in the dock like Simon's the judge and say, let me take an intellectual approach at this 00:11:54.639 --> 00:12:02.980 and say, is this really a prophet like he says he is, where this woman comes in the total opposite way towards Jesus. 00:12:03.240 --> 00:12:04.279 And she's weeping. 00:12:04.279 --> 00:12:10.240 You know, she, the woman, this woman of the city comes weeping at the feet of the great physician. 00:12:10.419 --> 00:12:11.679 She comes looking for a redeemer. 00:12:11.839 --> 00:12:13.839 She comes looking for a better groom. 00:12:15.319 --> 00:12:18.659 And Simon comes intellectually curious, but no more. 00:12:18.919 --> 00:12:19.720 Keeps him at a distance. 00:12:20.179 --> 00:12:22.779 She's transformed and he's not. 00:12:22.779 --> 00:12:30.199 And he's trying to get Simon to see you are in the same position as she is, bearing guilt and shame in your life. 00:12:30.959 --> 00:12:32.600 Now, here's what we learn about the wonderful counselor. 00:12:33.679 --> 00:12:39.799 The wonderful counselor, Jesus Christ, is the most compassionate and understanding person in the entire universe. 00:12:40.959 --> 00:12:43.860 And he's meek here with the broken. 00:12:44.139 --> 00:12:45.860 He's gentle with the bruised. 00:12:45.860 --> 00:12:56.580 He's meek and lowly, gentle and humble with the woman who's coming, bearing public and very great shame because she's coming with need. 00:12:57.379 --> 00:12:59.700 And so he's very soft with her. 00:13:00.940 --> 00:13:07.720 And to the man who then turns to heap shame upon her, he is very, he is severe and he is strong. 00:13:07.720 --> 00:13:16.080 And he won't tolerate shame being heaped upon a person who comes to him with guilt and need in their life. 00:13:16.160 --> 00:13:19.360 Knowing that, knowing that, having their neediness come before him. 00:13:20.080 --> 00:13:26.320 You see, he's strong with those who would weaponize shame to throw stones at a person who's coming looking for help. 00:13:27.220 --> 00:13:29.360 And he is so gentle here with the lowly. 00:13:30.320 --> 00:13:33.860 Now, that brings us to ask, what is shame? 00:13:33.860 --> 00:13:37.300 And I think if you look at all the details, there's no definition here. 00:13:37.399 --> 00:13:39.159 But if you look at the details, it emerges. 00:13:39.879 --> 00:13:47.560 And we've just got to simply imagine that this woman has lived her life thinking of words like inadequacy, 00:13:48.759 --> 00:13:57.100 worthlessness, unlovable, never enough, an underlying sense, steady day by day, 00:13:57.100 --> 00:14:03.580 of being a failure, a failure, a failure in relationships, a failure in all of our lives. 00:14:03.700 --> 00:14:08.279 It would have shame a failure, a sense of inadequacy and failure in relationships and work, 00:14:08.720 --> 00:14:11.080 in being human and meeting expectations. 00:14:11.540 --> 00:14:17.680 And it's a spectrum that can spiral and spiral and spiral until we start to say things like, 00:14:17.680 --> 00:14:20.820 if anyone knew me, they would never love me. 00:14:21.160 --> 00:14:22.899 And that's the growing sense of shame. 00:14:22.980 --> 00:14:24.080 Now, she bore this. 00:14:24.080 --> 00:14:28.680 Carl Thompson, one great writer, he's a Christian psychologist, 00:14:29.080 --> 00:14:31.520 he talks about the human shame attendant. 00:14:32.320 --> 00:14:36.980 I think what he means by that is there's a shame concierge in everybody's soul. 00:14:37.100 --> 00:14:42.240 And the shame concierge is always whispering in the bottom, in our hearts, in our ears, 00:14:42.320 --> 00:14:46.060 in the ears of our hearts, words like worthless, inadequate, unlovable, 00:14:46.660 --> 00:14:50.280 and really in a small, simple way, just asking the question all the time, 00:14:50.360 --> 00:14:52.020 putting the question back into your soul, 00:14:52.019 --> 00:14:53.399 what do they think of me? 00:14:54.100 --> 00:14:57.199 Every space you walk into, every relationship you have, 00:14:57.480 --> 00:15:00.100 the shame concierge says, what do they think of me? 00:15:01.079 --> 00:15:03.139 And so here's a definition from one counselor. 00:15:03.299 --> 00:15:03.819 He writes this, 00:15:03.899 --> 00:15:09.079 shame is the deep sense that you are unacceptable because of something you did, 00:15:09.960 --> 00:15:13.919 something done to you, or something associated with you. 00:15:13.919 --> 00:15:19.740 It begins with feelings of embarrassment, humiliation, and leads to, in our modern age, 00:15:19.879 --> 00:15:22.299 cancellation, a deep sense of inadequacy. 00:15:23.579 --> 00:15:27.179 Second, the final healing of shame. 00:15:27.259 --> 00:15:28.419 And that word final is very important. 00:15:28.819 --> 00:15:35.419 Now, the parable that Jesus tells Simon and the woman here is about debt. 00:15:35.419 --> 00:15:41.500 He says 500 denarii, one person owes, 50 denarii, the other person owes. 00:15:42.079 --> 00:15:44.659 And they both have debt before a money lender. 00:15:45.199 --> 00:15:50.199 Here, debt before the money lender is obviously, allegorically, debt before God, 00:15:50.360 --> 00:15:51.819 debt before the Son of God. 00:15:52.559 --> 00:15:57.699 And that means that debt here is standing in the place of guilt, the concept of guilt. 00:15:57.700 --> 00:16:02.720 So he's pointing out that both of you in your lives have the problem of guilt. 00:16:03.800 --> 00:16:06.320 Guilt is not first a feeling. 00:16:07.080 --> 00:16:08.700 Guilt is a fact in the Bible. 00:16:08.840 --> 00:16:12.240 So in the Bible, unlike the modern world, guilt is not something we first feel. 00:16:12.620 --> 00:16:13.940 It's first a status. 00:16:14.220 --> 00:16:16.620 And so guilt is a status of debt. 00:16:17.620 --> 00:16:20.280 Debt to the money lender, debt to the law giver. 00:16:20.360 --> 00:16:25.440 In other words, guilt is objective, forensic, legal standing. 00:16:25.440 --> 00:16:30.180 It is a standing where we say, I am not right with the judge. 00:16:30.320 --> 00:16:30.880 That's guilt. 00:16:31.120 --> 00:16:32.160 It's outside of us. 00:16:32.220 --> 00:16:32.700 It's objective. 00:16:32.900 --> 00:16:35.500 It's a way we stand in relation to God. 00:16:36.180 --> 00:16:40.800 Then when we experience guilt in our lives because of things we do wrong to God and others, 00:16:40.980 --> 00:16:41.880 what happens? 00:16:41.960 --> 00:16:43.620 We then start to feel that. 00:16:44.560 --> 00:16:50.720 So if you've ever felt your conscience pricking you and telling you there's something wrong here, 00:16:50.720 --> 00:16:56.440 the feeling that you have with the debt, with guilt, that is shame. 00:16:57.259 --> 00:16:58.500 Guilt is first objective. 00:16:58.639 --> 00:16:59.040 It's forensic. 00:16:59.220 --> 00:16:59.580 It's legal. 00:16:59.680 --> 00:17:00.379 It's outside of you. 00:17:00.920 --> 00:17:02.920 It's not being in right standing. 00:17:03.379 --> 00:17:05.900 Shame is the feeling that arises from that guilt. 00:17:06.539 --> 00:17:08.440 And that is what we call good shame. 00:17:09.120 --> 00:17:14.019 In contemporary culture, when asked, what do I do with my sense of shame? 00:17:14.019 --> 00:17:18.500 Sometimes the answer is you've got to grow your self-esteem. 00:17:19.339 --> 00:17:20.559 You've got to think positively. 00:17:20.940 --> 00:17:24.079 You've got to know that the desires that you have in your life are not bad desires. 00:17:24.500 --> 00:17:26.700 The things that you do do not make you a bad person. 00:17:27.579 --> 00:17:30.819 And so self-esteem or shamelessness is all around in our culture. 00:17:30.920 --> 00:17:31.980 The Bible doesn't do that. 00:17:32.519 --> 00:17:34.740 Instead, the Bible does something that's far more true. 00:17:34.879 --> 00:17:38.480 And that's say that there really is something called good shame. 00:17:38.480 --> 00:17:45.160 That when we bear guilt, the feeling that arises in us of wrongdoing, shame is something we need. 00:17:45.519 --> 00:17:50.420 If you don't have good shame in your life, that's when things really go off the rails. 00:17:51.279 --> 00:17:52.279 No sense of shame. 00:17:52.940 --> 00:17:54.920 No sense of ever doing anything wrong. 00:17:55.700 --> 00:17:56.880 There is such a thing as good shame. 00:17:57.299 --> 00:18:04.200 But at the same time, what we're seeing here in this passage is bad shame being heaped onto this woman. 00:18:04.880 --> 00:18:05.680 And what is that? 00:18:05.740 --> 00:18:06.240 What's the difference? 00:18:06.240 --> 00:18:08.799 Good shame says, I know I'm a sinner. 00:18:08.980 --> 00:18:11.240 I know I'm in debt to God and other people. 00:18:11.359 --> 00:18:12.380 I know I've done wrong. 00:18:12.960 --> 00:18:19.359 But bad shame is this spiral that goes beyond debt that begins to say, it's not just that I'm a sinner. 00:18:19.500 --> 00:18:21.120 It's that I am a mistake. 00:18:22.539 --> 00:18:23.960 I do not have value. 00:18:24.680 --> 00:18:26.099 I cannot be loved. 00:18:27.099 --> 00:18:29.400 If anybody really knew me, they wouldn't love me. 00:18:29.400 --> 00:18:46.880 And so bad shame is this spiraling spectrum that goes down, down, down until one of the ways you know that you're struggling with bad shame is when you have this feeling that if the people closest to you knew you more, they would start to dissociate. 00:18:46.880 --> 00:18:53.220 And so a person that's really experiencing the spiral of bad shame never feels safe with anybody. 00:18:53.660 --> 00:18:59.600 And so bad shame, for that reason, tends to cause us to dissociate, to pull back from people, to hide. 00:18:59.599 --> 00:19:04.139 People who feel a lot of shame tend to disconnect. 00:19:05.259 --> 00:19:15.480 And if you think about Genesis 3, Adam and Eve, the very first sin, it said that they sinned, they realized they were naked, and they were ashamed. 00:19:15.619 --> 00:19:19.699 And so the very first move they made was to hide and to disconnect and disassociate. 00:19:19.779 --> 00:19:21.919 That's what shame tends to do. 00:19:21.920 --> 00:19:27.000 So let me give you a thesis for this sermon, and it's really simply this. 00:19:28.320 --> 00:19:33.580 There is a good shame, and it's associated directly with objective guilt in our lives. 00:19:34.220 --> 00:19:39.160 Because we bear guilt before God and others, we feel that, and that's good shame. 00:19:40.000 --> 00:19:50.320 And there is a horrific bad shame that says that even when the guilt has been dealt with, you still continue to tell yourself you're a mistake, you're not lovable, 00:19:50.319 --> 00:19:52.980 you don't have value, you're inadequate, you're worthless. 00:19:53.579 --> 00:19:55.740 And that's the spiraling sense of bad shame. 00:19:56.759 --> 00:19:57.899 Now, is there healing? 00:19:59.579 --> 00:20:01.119 Can there be healing from this? 00:20:01.819 --> 00:20:04.460 Every single person in this room has a shame concierge. 00:20:05.759 --> 00:20:12.419 And in big ways and small ways is always telling you in some way that relationship, that person never thinks, 00:20:12.679 --> 00:20:14.279 I'm never going to be enough for them. 00:20:15.819 --> 00:20:16.659 Everybody has that. 00:20:16.700 --> 00:20:17.299 Is there healing? 00:20:17.299 --> 00:20:20.819 And look at, boy, here's what Jesus does. 00:20:21.700 --> 00:20:24.839 In this passage, Simon the Pharisee says, 00:20:25.220 --> 00:20:26.899 Do you know what sort of woman this is? 00:20:26.940 --> 00:20:28.940 And then in verse 39, Jesus says, 00:20:29.180 --> 00:20:31.279 This woman, this woman, look at her. 00:20:31.799 --> 00:20:35.200 In other words, this woman becomes a model for what to do with your shame. 00:20:36.000 --> 00:20:38.119 This woman of the city, nameless woman. 00:20:38.980 --> 00:20:41.000 She becomes a model, and this is what she does. 00:20:41.419 --> 00:20:43.240 She comes to Jesus weeping. 00:20:43.240 --> 00:20:50.500 She comes to Jesus letting her hair down, wiping and kissing his feet with her tears and oil. 00:20:51.380 --> 00:20:54.900 And that simply shows us that she becomes vulnerable. 00:20:54.980 --> 00:20:55.700 What do you do with your shame? 00:20:55.880 --> 00:21:00.240 You've got to come to Jesus, the Son of God, the wonderful counselor, with vulnerability. 00:21:00.240 --> 00:21:08.559 With a sense, a real sense of good guilt, good shame, because of real guilt in your life. 00:21:08.559 --> 00:21:14.720 And there's something so striking here that as modern people we don't see at first, and this is what it is. 00:21:15.000 --> 00:21:22.299 When she comes to Jesus, she takes off an alabaster jar, which alabaster is a type of stone, 00:21:22.579 --> 00:21:27.419 and she breaks it, and these wouldn't have had a hole in them. 00:21:27.539 --> 00:21:28.240 There's no pouring. 00:21:28.599 --> 00:21:32.960 She breaks the stone, and then she anoints his feet with her tears and with the oil. 00:21:32.960 --> 00:21:34.380 Well, why? 00:21:34.819 --> 00:21:39.220 Boy, because we're modern people, we don't see what it was like in the first century. 00:21:39.319 --> 00:21:46.400 But in the first century, wearing an alabaster jar around your neck was something that prostitutes did regularly. 00:21:47.000 --> 00:21:47.900 This was perfume. 00:21:48.620 --> 00:21:50.299 It was a way of attracting people. 00:21:51.240 --> 00:21:55.000 And in the first century, women in the city do not let their hair down. 00:21:55.000 --> 00:22:01.940 And the women that did let their hair down in the first century were signaling their role in society. 00:22:03.099 --> 00:22:04.000 And what does she do? 00:22:04.099 --> 00:22:09.980 She takes the very instruments that were commonly used to signal prostitution, 00:22:10.559 --> 00:22:15.160 and she uses them to anoint and kiss the feet of Jesus Christ. 00:22:15.240 --> 00:22:16.000 And you see what she's doing? 00:22:16.460 --> 00:22:17.640 She's not trying to hide. 00:22:18.559 --> 00:22:24.460 She's coming bearing the public shame, the guilt that she's incurred from her life. 00:22:24.460 --> 00:22:26.660 And she's saying, I give it away to him. 00:22:28.420 --> 00:22:31.960 She's actually taking the very instruments that were used in the lifestyle that she lived, 00:22:32.200 --> 00:22:34.759 and she's saying, I'm not hiding anything. 00:22:34.920 --> 00:22:36.400 I have a good sense of shame. 00:22:36.500 --> 00:22:37.240 I know who I am. 00:22:37.299 --> 00:22:38.019 I know what I've done. 00:22:38.539 --> 00:22:42.120 People have heaped other things on top of me, but I give it all away to Jesus today. 00:22:43.039 --> 00:22:47.019 And Jesus looks up, and he honors her for that. 00:22:47.019 --> 00:22:56.940 And so, boy, it's so striking in this passage how Simon had invited Jesus in because Simon is intellectually curious. 00:22:57.759 --> 00:23:00.460 I'm not sure what I think about this man Jesus. 00:23:01.240 --> 00:23:09.000 She comes in giving away her entire history to Jesus and saying, take my guilt and my shame. 00:23:09.000 --> 00:23:10.740 I need a physician. 00:23:10.900 --> 00:23:11.940 I need my redeemer. 00:23:12.140 --> 00:23:13.240 I need my true groom. 00:23:14.079 --> 00:23:21.019 And then Jesus says to Simon in verse 44 to 46, Simon, this woman, the woman of the city came, 00:23:21.099 --> 00:23:22.619 and she anointed my feet with her tears. 00:23:23.079 --> 00:23:24.480 You didn't, I came to your home. 00:23:24.559 --> 00:23:25.640 You didn't anoint my head. 00:23:25.720 --> 00:23:27.299 You didn't greet me with a kiss. 00:23:27.359 --> 00:23:28.500 You didn't wash my feet. 00:23:29.440 --> 00:23:30.480 But she did. 00:23:31.440 --> 00:23:32.759 And what is Jesus saying? 00:23:32.819 --> 00:23:34.359 He's saying, look at this woman, Simon. 00:23:34.359 --> 00:23:37.019 You need to be doing what she did. 00:23:38.019 --> 00:23:41.819 You need to realize that you have debt, guilt, and shame in your life. 00:23:41.859 --> 00:23:43.819 You need to come and kiss the feet of the master. 00:23:44.139 --> 00:23:50.619 In other words, the difference in a transformed life where your guilt and shame can be truly dealt with 00:23:50.619 --> 00:23:55.859 is that transition where you stop coming to Jesus just out of intellectual curiosity. 00:23:55.859 --> 00:24:04.839 And you actually come to him with utter vulnerability saying, I have guilt and shame, and I need you to take it away from me. 00:24:06.019 --> 00:24:07.879 And so Jesus looks and says, go in peace. 00:24:08.279 --> 00:24:09.219 Your sins are forgiven. 00:24:10.500 --> 00:24:18.199 You can't heal shame finally and forever without coming to receive forgiveness from Jesus Christ. 00:24:18.200 --> 00:24:25.440 The only way to heal shame finally forever is to come and receive forgiveness from Jesus. 00:24:25.640 --> 00:24:25.700 Why? 00:24:25.779 --> 00:24:35.200 Because when objective guilt is dealt with, the shame that is real, that's associated with that guilt, is also dealt with. 00:24:36.559 --> 00:24:42.920 If your debt is paid, if your debt is forgiven and cleansed, then your shame has also been dismissed. 00:24:42.920 --> 00:24:48.660 Therefore, thirdly, the ongoing work of healing shame. 00:24:48.720 --> 00:24:58.640 Now listen, I know that in my role here as a pastor, from conversations that I have with people quite often, 00:24:59.240 --> 00:25:06.279 it is so common and normal to believe in Jesus and to follow Jesus and to continue to struggle with shame. 00:25:07.300 --> 00:25:11.960 So many of us can say, my debt is paid, it's paid in full. 00:25:11.960 --> 00:25:16.660 Therefore, the shame that's associated with real guilt has been dismissed. 00:25:17.779 --> 00:25:27.740 And yet, to struggle for the rest of our lives with lingering shame, lingering inadequacy, lingering sense of worthlessness, of being unlovable. 00:25:28.840 --> 00:25:31.579 And we've got to imagine that in the story of this woman. 00:25:33.000 --> 00:25:34.160 Can you think about it? 00:25:34.160 --> 00:25:42.960 The woman of the city, you know, we don't read anything more about her, but at the very end, at the very end of the story, 00:25:43.300 --> 00:25:48.800 she would have gone out of Simon the Pharisee's house and she would have gone to live the life that she was known for. 00:25:49.920 --> 00:25:51.220 Redeemed, forgiven, changed. 00:25:51.540 --> 00:25:55.860 But when she walked out of the room, everybody would have still seen her the same way. 00:25:55.859 --> 00:26:00.159 You know, it's not as if all of a sudden everybody in the city celebrated this story. 00:26:00.939 --> 00:26:05.399 No, everybody in the city would have seen her and said, that is the woman of the city. 00:26:05.979 --> 00:26:07.339 That is the nameless woman. 00:26:08.379 --> 00:26:11.559 And what she would have had to do, I would imagine, over and over again, 00:26:11.619 --> 00:26:17.599 is she would have had to really focus the eyes of her heart back onto Jesus over and over again 00:26:17.599 --> 00:26:22.679 and meditate over and over again on what he said to her and how he approached her. 00:26:26.480 --> 00:26:35.079 Christian friends in the room, we have to squelch the shame concierge in our hearts every single day 00:26:35.079 --> 00:26:37.719 by doing something so simple yet so profound. 00:26:38.339 --> 00:26:45.279 And that's coming back again to the Redeemer and letting Him tell you once more what He thinks about you. 00:26:45.279 --> 00:26:53.039 The biggest pathway of healing shame in our lives is coming over and over and over again 00:26:53.039 --> 00:26:58.180 and realizing that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the wonderful Counselor, says, 00:26:59.119 --> 00:27:00.460 I honor you. 00:27:01.519 --> 00:27:04.200 No matter what you've done, no matter what you did to him or her, 00:27:04.720 --> 00:27:08.160 no matter what this pattern that's going on in your life today, right now, 00:27:08.899 --> 00:27:11.519 where the shame attendant keeps coming back up, 00:27:11.519 --> 00:27:17.799 the best way to fight that is to come over and over again and hear the Redeemer say, 00:27:18.279 --> 00:27:20.599 I love you, I value you, I honor you. 00:27:21.299 --> 00:27:24.599 So this woman of the city came to honor Jesus. 00:27:24.740 --> 00:27:25.879 He turned around and He honors her. 00:27:25.940 --> 00:27:29.660 Now let me show you one way that that happens in the passage as we finish. 00:27:31.960 --> 00:27:36.420 In verse 47, Jesus says to Simon, 00:27:36.420 --> 00:27:42.340 And therefore, in verse 50, Jesus pronounces, 00:27:42.460 --> 00:27:43.300 Your sins are forgiven. 00:27:44.180 --> 00:27:44.920 Go in peace. 00:27:46.060 --> 00:27:48.779 And that means that because she came to Jesus with her need, 00:27:49.180 --> 00:27:50.960 Jesus forgave her and He sent her away with peace. 00:27:51.019 --> 00:27:52.240 Peace is really what we want, right? 00:27:52.700 --> 00:27:53.740 In the midst of shame. 00:27:54.140 --> 00:27:56.600 And the way He talks about it, though, He says, 00:27:56.860 --> 00:27:58.060 She loved much. 00:27:58.080 --> 00:27:58.380 Why? 00:27:58.460 --> 00:27:59.180 What is He talking about? 00:27:59.180 --> 00:28:03.560 He's talking about the parable and He's saying she owed so much debt, 00:28:05.140 --> 00:28:06.740 internal shame and public shame, 00:28:07.400 --> 00:28:09.700 that when she was forgiven every bit of it, 00:28:10.080 --> 00:28:11.660 she was enabled to love much. 00:28:11.740 --> 00:28:12.080 Love who? 00:28:12.259 --> 00:28:14.380 And He's talking about the lender, God Himself. 00:28:15.140 --> 00:28:17.600 She owed so much that when God forgave her, 00:28:17.640 --> 00:28:18.600 when Jesus forgave her, 00:28:18.799 --> 00:28:22.500 He's saying she was able to turn around and love her God so much more, 00:28:22.880 --> 00:28:24.700 so much more than Simon could see in this moment. 00:28:24.700 --> 00:28:27.039 Now, what is the secret? 00:28:27.279 --> 00:28:29.440 What is the secret of lingering shame? 00:28:29.980 --> 00:28:32.140 It's, what are we being drawn back to? 00:28:32.299 --> 00:28:33.039 She loved much. 00:28:33.100 --> 00:28:33.519 What did she love? 00:28:33.580 --> 00:28:34.519 She said, in other words, 00:28:34.819 --> 00:28:36.319 the more she saw her need, 00:28:36.799 --> 00:28:38.100 the more she saw her need, 00:28:38.440 --> 00:28:41.640 the more she realized how much God loved her. 00:28:43.059 --> 00:28:44.460 And it's something so simple, 00:28:44.620 --> 00:28:46.500 but it's saying that every single day, 00:28:46.580 --> 00:28:47.279 over and over again, 00:28:47.299 --> 00:28:47.940 you've got to say, 00:28:48.299 --> 00:28:49.340 I look at my need, 00:28:49.400 --> 00:28:50.319 I look at who I am. 00:28:50.420 --> 00:28:50.940 Not ignoring, 00:28:51.019 --> 00:28:52.299 not saying self-esteem. 00:28:52.299 --> 00:28:53.720 No, instead saying, 00:28:53.720 --> 00:28:54.799 I know my guilt, 00:28:54.860 --> 00:28:56.700 I know my debts that I have before God and others. 00:28:57.079 --> 00:28:58.839 Yet, Jesus Christ has said, 00:28:59.140 --> 00:28:59.920 your debt is paid, 00:29:00.160 --> 00:29:01.339 therefore your shame is dismissed. 00:29:02.120 --> 00:29:03.400 So, Jesus says, 00:29:03.620 --> 00:29:04.339 I honor you, 00:29:04.539 --> 00:29:05.440 I love you, 00:29:05.640 --> 00:29:06.740 I value you. 00:29:08.120 --> 00:29:09.120 Over and over again, 00:29:09.299 --> 00:29:09.799 meditation. 00:29:10.700 --> 00:29:12.120 Therefore, she could love much. 00:29:12.180 --> 00:29:13.600 And what we're being told here is, 00:29:14.579 --> 00:29:18.220 because she knew she was loved so much by her Redeemer, 00:29:18.559 --> 00:29:21.500 she was enabled to go and love other people so much. 00:29:21.500 --> 00:29:23.680 There was, 00:29:23.839 --> 00:29:24.799 I was reading this week, 00:29:25.880 --> 00:29:26.579 a story, 00:29:26.740 --> 00:29:28.619 I was reading a couple texts about shame this week, 00:29:28.680 --> 00:29:30.880 and one of the psychologists I was reading, 00:29:30.940 --> 00:29:31.759 a Christian man, 00:29:32.000 --> 00:29:33.440 told a story from his childhood. 00:29:36.819 --> 00:29:38.960 When we realize how much we've been loved, 00:29:39.079 --> 00:29:41.200 it enables us to love the one who's forgiven us, 00:29:41.220 --> 00:29:42.480 and then go love other people well. 00:29:42.579 --> 00:29:45.299 But when we take the shame in our lives, 00:29:45.319 --> 00:29:46.200 and we suppress it, 00:29:46.220 --> 00:29:47.099 and we push it down, 00:29:47.099 --> 00:29:48.679 it tends to come out. 00:29:49.819 --> 00:29:52.459 It tends to become incarnated some way. 00:29:53.439 --> 00:29:54.619 And this man tells the story, 00:29:55.319 --> 00:29:56.659 when he was a child of, 00:29:57.119 --> 00:29:57.879 a teenager really, 00:29:58.000 --> 00:29:58.899 of playing basketball. 00:29:59.659 --> 00:30:03.099 I know basketball is a growing sport in our country now here, 00:30:03.399 --> 00:30:06.699 so many of us may have not had basketball experience in our lives, 00:30:06.799 --> 00:30:09.359 but I think you can relate nevertheless. 00:30:09.359 --> 00:30:09.599 Nevertheless, 00:30:10.359 --> 00:30:12.439 he made the team. 00:30:12.859 --> 00:30:13.899 The team was very good, 00:30:14.259 --> 00:30:16.479 but he set the bench the whole season, 00:30:16.740 --> 00:30:17.099 basically. 00:30:18.079 --> 00:30:18.899 And the coach, 00:30:19.119 --> 00:30:21.259 the coach's son was the all-star player, 00:30:21.699 --> 00:30:22.819 superstar basketball player, 00:30:23.019 --> 00:30:24.719 and he carried the team, 00:30:24.819 --> 00:30:25.919 and he scored all the points, 00:30:26.099 --> 00:30:29.000 and they had come all the way to the championship game. 00:30:29.979 --> 00:30:32.919 And the coach's son had carried the team up to the point, 00:30:33.019 --> 00:30:33.819 this one point in the game, 00:30:34.119 --> 00:30:35.039 but then all of a sudden, 00:30:35.279 --> 00:30:36.759 he missed a layup. 00:30:36.839 --> 00:30:40.159 And a layup in basketball is one of the easiest shots. 00:30:40.339 --> 00:30:40.919 It's routine. 00:30:41.099 --> 00:30:41.740 It's so simple. 00:30:42.419 --> 00:30:43.919 But this superstar basketball player, 00:30:43.980 --> 00:30:44.759 he misses the layup, 00:30:44.779 --> 00:30:45.240 and the coach, 00:30:45.599 --> 00:30:46.099 his dad, 00:30:46.419 --> 00:30:47.179 calls a timeout, 00:30:47.779 --> 00:30:49.200 and he gathers the team over, 00:30:50.119 --> 00:30:50.619 and he, 00:30:50.859 --> 00:30:51.059 you know, 00:30:51.139 --> 00:30:51.980 you can't hear what he's saying, 00:30:52.039 --> 00:30:53.419 but everybody in the whole arena is watching, 00:30:53.579 --> 00:30:55.240 and he's got his head down face to face. 00:30:55.519 --> 00:30:56.319 And then all of a sudden, 00:30:56.379 --> 00:30:57.119 and this is many, 00:30:57.119 --> 00:30:57.980 many decades ago, 00:30:58.159 --> 00:31:00.519 in a very different time of culture, 00:31:00.519 --> 00:31:03.980 the dad slapped the boy across the face, 00:31:04.119 --> 00:31:05.799 and then he sent him back out to play. 00:31:06.220 --> 00:31:06.480 And, you know, 00:31:06.500 --> 00:31:07.700 the boy comes out with his head down. 00:31:08.599 --> 00:31:08.960 Now, look, 00:31:09.000 --> 00:31:09.639 they won the game. 00:31:09.819 --> 00:31:10.639 They won the championship. 00:31:10.940 --> 00:31:11.660 After the game, 00:31:11.920 --> 00:31:13.420 they're all gathered around the trophy. 00:31:13.680 --> 00:31:14.480 Everybody's in the huddle. 00:31:14.599 --> 00:31:16.019 Everybody's got their hands on the trophy. 00:31:16.519 --> 00:31:18.539 And this man telling the story, 00:31:18.779 --> 00:31:21.019 who sat the bench his whole time, 00:31:21.500 --> 00:31:21.879 he said, 00:31:21.960 --> 00:31:23.000 I was with the team, 00:31:23.000 --> 00:31:24.759 and I had my hand on the trophy. 00:31:26.339 --> 00:31:27.559 And what happened? 00:31:27.700 --> 00:31:27.819 Boy, 00:31:27.900 --> 00:31:28.639 you can predict this. 00:31:28.640 --> 00:31:29.680 The boy, 00:31:29.800 --> 00:31:30.460 the superstar, 00:31:30.700 --> 00:31:33.100 who had been shamed publicly by his dad, 00:31:33.920 --> 00:31:34.759 turned and did what? 00:31:34.980 --> 00:31:37.920 He pushed the bench warmer out of the circle 00:31:37.920 --> 00:31:38.300 and said, 00:31:38.600 --> 00:31:39.440 don't touch the trophy. 00:31:39.680 --> 00:31:40.000 You didn't, 00:31:40.400 --> 00:31:40.960 you set the bench, 00:31:40.980 --> 00:31:42.000 you've never contributed. 00:31:42.680 --> 00:31:44.540 You don't deserve to be here with us. 00:31:45.200 --> 00:31:45.440 Now, 00:31:46.160 --> 00:31:47.500 you want to grab the boy, 00:31:47.800 --> 00:31:47.940 you know, 00:31:47.980 --> 00:31:48.940 you want to get on to him, 00:31:49.140 --> 00:31:49.920 but far more, 00:31:50.780 --> 00:31:51.259 you want to go, 00:31:51.259 --> 00:31:51.759 you want to go, 00:31:52.120 --> 00:31:53.840 you want Jesus to go talk to the dad. 00:31:54.920 --> 00:31:55.320 Right? 00:31:55.920 --> 00:31:56.280 Why? 00:31:56.899 --> 00:31:59.799 Because people who experience shame 00:31:59.799 --> 00:32:02.500 have to get rid of that, 00:32:02.639 --> 00:32:04.440 and they go and shame often others. 00:32:04.579 --> 00:32:04.680 You see, 00:32:04.720 --> 00:32:05.240 we do two things. 00:32:05.299 --> 00:32:07.139 We either take our shame and we hide, 00:32:07.200 --> 00:32:07.740 we disconnect, 00:32:08.399 --> 00:32:09.899 because we don't want to be known 00:32:09.899 --> 00:32:11.879 in case we might be shamed more. 00:32:12.660 --> 00:32:13.059 Or, 00:32:13.220 --> 00:32:15.299 we tend to give that shame to other people. 00:32:15.399 --> 00:32:15.839 The shamed, 00:32:16.059 --> 00:32:16.799 often shame. 00:32:17.299 --> 00:32:18.299 But this woman, 00:32:18.299 --> 00:32:19.359 the loved, 00:32:20.680 --> 00:32:22.779 turn and love much. 00:32:23.519 --> 00:32:23.700 You see, 00:32:23.759 --> 00:32:24.019 the shame, 00:32:24.119 --> 00:32:24.299 shame, 00:32:24.379 --> 00:32:24.779 but the loved, 00:32:24.859 --> 00:32:25.139 love. 00:32:26.759 --> 00:32:27.740 And that's the cycle. 00:32:27.819 --> 00:32:27.919 So, 00:32:28.039 --> 00:32:30.279 what's the cycle of breaking shame in your life? 00:32:30.460 --> 00:32:32.919 It's to come to the one who says, 00:32:33.119 --> 00:32:36.859 I love you and value you so much that what? 00:32:37.599 --> 00:32:38.039 Christmas, 00:32:38.940 --> 00:32:40.019 in the Christmas baby, 00:32:40.460 --> 00:32:42.579 we see that a wiggly little, 00:32:42.839 --> 00:32:45.700 the son of God became a wiggly little baby. 00:32:45.700 --> 00:32:47.059 This was our theme last year. 00:32:48.139 --> 00:32:49.879 In order to get close to you, 00:32:50.019 --> 00:32:51.559 because he wants to say, 00:32:51.859 --> 00:32:53.639 he loves you and he values you. 00:32:53.640 --> 00:32:54.280 And where do you see that? 00:32:54.320 --> 00:32:55.780 You've got to look at the cross today. 00:32:57.080 --> 00:32:59.020 And you've got to see that Jesus Christ, 00:32:59.100 --> 00:33:00.480 how does the New Testament talk about it? 00:33:00.520 --> 00:33:01.520 Hebrews 12 and 13. 00:33:02.000 --> 00:33:05.340 He went to the cross and he bore your shame. 00:33:06.340 --> 00:33:07.720 He was disgraced, 00:33:07.780 --> 00:33:09.100 is the language of Hebrews 13. 00:33:09.200 --> 00:33:09.740 He was naked. 00:33:09.840 --> 00:33:10.660 He was spit upon. 00:33:11.460 --> 00:33:11.759 Why? 00:33:11.880 --> 00:33:14.480 Because the objective guilt that he carried, 00:33:14.480 --> 00:33:15.160 your guilt, 00:33:15.720 --> 00:33:18.340 also led to objective shame that he carried. 00:33:18.640 --> 00:33:19.780 You see how they're closely together? 00:33:19.779 --> 00:33:20.779 So therefore, 00:33:20.779 --> 00:33:23.740 if Jesus Christ really has borne your guilt at the cross, 00:33:23.879 --> 00:33:25.799 he's also therefore dismissed your shame. 00:33:27.319 --> 00:33:30.240 Jesus Christ breaks the cycle of guilt and shame 00:33:30.240 --> 00:33:32.859 so that the shamed can stop shaming. 00:33:32.980 --> 00:33:33.700 They can be loved. 00:33:34.619 --> 00:33:36.500 And we can love much in return. 00:33:36.599 --> 00:33:37.259 Look at this woman. 00:33:37.359 --> 00:33:38.160 That's what Jesus says. 00:33:38.220 --> 00:33:38.720 Verse 39. 00:33:39.200 --> 00:33:39.859 This woman, 00:33:40.079 --> 00:33:40.500 look at her. 00:33:40.539 --> 00:33:41.079 She's a model. 00:33:41.759 --> 00:33:44.420 Bring your guilt and your shame to the feet of Jesus. 00:33:44.599 --> 00:33:45.339 Kiss his feet. 00:33:45.339 --> 00:33:48.000 And look at the redeemer, 00:33:48.459 --> 00:33:49.099 the physician, 00:33:49.240 --> 00:33:50.639 the true groom who says, 00:33:50.980 --> 00:33:51.559 I love you. 00:33:51.679 --> 00:33:52.459 You're valued. 00:33:52.879 --> 00:33:55.359 When everybody else in every room you walk into, 00:33:55.439 --> 00:33:55.819 you think, 00:33:55.980 --> 00:33:57.359 what are they saying about me? 00:33:57.399 --> 00:33:58.879 You've got to turn and say to yourself, 00:33:59.199 --> 00:34:00.899 the wonderful counselor says, 00:34:01.059 --> 00:34:02.019 I love you. 00:34:03.240 --> 00:34:04.039 I honor you. 00:34:04.079 --> 00:34:04.679 I value you. 00:34:04.799 --> 00:34:06.480 And he showed us that in his cross. 00:34:07.639 --> 00:34:08.279 Let us pray. 00:34:08.400 --> 00:34:08.579 Father, 00:34:09.579 --> 00:34:11.340 break the cycle of shame today. 00:34:11.639 --> 00:34:14.960 Some of us come struggling so much with shame in our lives. 00:34:14.960 --> 00:34:17.039 We think we are worthless, 00:34:17.280 --> 00:34:17.880 valueless, 00:34:18.539 --> 00:34:19.780 some in big ways, 00:34:19.840 --> 00:34:20.679 some in small ways. 00:34:20.780 --> 00:34:24.940 We thank you that King Jesus says exactly the opposite in the cross. 00:34:25.900 --> 00:34:26.340 Lord, 00:34:26.380 --> 00:34:27.240 we look to you today, 00:34:27.460 --> 00:34:30.539 your love for us displayed in that old rugged cross. 00:34:30.539 --> 00:34:34.500 And we ask that you would destroy the shame concierge, 00:34:34.599 --> 00:34:35.480 the shame in our heart, 00:34:35.539 --> 00:34:36.260 the objective shame, 00:34:36.360 --> 00:34:37.500 the internal shame, 00:34:37.960 --> 00:34:39.300 because you've taken our guilt. 00:34:40.119 --> 00:34:40.500 So Lord, 00:34:40.579 --> 00:34:41.900 give us good shame where we need it, 00:34:41.960 --> 00:34:44.179 but bring us right back to your mercy. 00:34:44.179 --> 00:34:45.940 Cast away the bad shame. 00:34:46.139 --> 00:34:48.579 I pray for some individuals today in this room, 00:34:48.699 --> 00:34:48.799 Lord, 00:34:48.839 --> 00:34:49.579 I don't know who they are, 00:34:49.639 --> 00:34:50.500 but you do, 00:34:50.679 --> 00:34:51.399 that are really, 00:34:51.639 --> 00:34:54.779 really under the weight of shame. 00:34:56.079 --> 00:34:57.980 So meet with them right now as we sing. 00:34:58.279 --> 00:34:59.500 We pray that in Jesus' name. 00:34:59.980 --> 00:35:00.299 Amen. 00:35:00.299 --> 00:35:00.419 Amen. 00:35:00.419 --> 00:35:00.480 Amen. 00:35:00.480 --> 00:35:00.500 Amen. 00:35:00.500 --> 00:35:00.500 00:35:00.500 --> 00:35:00.500 00:35:00.500 --> 00:35:00.500 00:35:00.500 --> 00:35:00.500 00:35:00.500 --> 00:35:00.500 00:35:00.500 --> 00:35:00.500 00:35:00.500 --> 00:35:02.500 Amen. 00:35:02.500 --> 00:35:02.500 00:35:02.500 --> 00:35:02.500 00:35:02.500 --> 00:35:02.500