Finisher (Part 1)
God is a finisher and He wants you to finish!
-He instituted His purposes from the foundation of the world.
-He is constantly at work bringing all things to pass on the basis of His will.
-He declared in the book of Revelation that His plan will be completed.
Jesus had a passion to finish what God gave Him to do. This fervor transcended even His natural desires, enabling Him to proclaim in John 4:34, "My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work." Finishing was what motivated Jesus and kept Him going in the difficult times. His final words on the cross in John 19:30 were, "It is finished."
Victory over the enemy comes through finishing, not just beginning or trying. When they put the first nail in Christ's hand He might have said, "That's it...I'm out of here!" and called for the angels to deliver Him. But Jesus knew if He did this He would not fulfill God's purpose. It was when He finished the sacrifice on Calvary that the rewards of salvation, healing, and deliverance became realities.
God determined before you were born what He wants to accomplish in your life. The Bible declares that you are God's workmanship "created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them" in Ephesians 2:10. God ordained the path you are to walk, but the enemy comes through the guilt of your past circumstances, failures, and sins to declare that you will not be able to finish your course.
The Bible describes four attributes of a finisher that will empower you to fulfill your destiny. These are identified in 1 Peter 5:5-10:
"Likewise, you younger people, submit yourselves to your elders. Yes, all of you be submissive to one another, and be clothed with humility, for God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble. Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you. Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world. But may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you."
Monday, August 27, 2018
Finisher (Part 2)
Finisher (Part 2)
Total commitment to God as Lord of your life is the first attribute of a finisher. You must humble yourself before God.
-A sinful tax collector named Zacchaeus was willing to make this commitment and submit to God in Luke 19:1-9. However, the rich young ruler was not in Mark 10:17-22.
The Apostle Paul compares this commitment to crucifixion, explaining:
"I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me." (Galatians 2:20)
Acknowledging Jesus as Lord of your life requires:
-A total change of heart, purpose, perspective, and priorities.
-Exchanging life in this world for life in Jesus and the riches of this world for the treasures of heaven.
The first mark of a person who has the "spirit of a finisher" is this quality of submission to God the Father and the lordship of Jesus Christ.
Secondly, your ability to finish is enhanced by submission to the covering of a local church. Peter exhorts in 1 Peter 5:5 to "submit yourself to your elders" and the Amplified Version further identifies "elders" as the ministers and spiritual leaders of the church.
It is in the church, where two or more are gathered in His name, that Jesus is present to work signs and wonders and where you will find comfort and help in times of crisis. There, you will find fellowship with other believers who have put the guilt of their past behind them and are moving on to fulfill God's purposes for their lives
Total commitment to God as Lord of your life is the first attribute of a finisher. You must humble yourself before God.
-A sinful tax collector named Zacchaeus was willing to make this commitment and submit to God in Luke 19:1-9. However, the rich young ruler was not in Mark 10:17-22.
The Apostle Paul compares this commitment to crucifixion, explaining:
"I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me." (Galatians 2:20)
Acknowledging Jesus as Lord of your life requires:
-A total change of heart, purpose, perspective, and priorities.
-Exchanging life in this world for life in Jesus and the riches of this world for the treasures of heaven.
The first mark of a person who has the "spirit of a finisher" is this quality of submission to God the Father and the lordship of Jesus Christ.
Secondly, your ability to finish is enhanced by submission to the covering of a local church. Peter exhorts in 1 Peter 5:5 to "submit yourself to your elders" and the Amplified Version further identifies "elders" as the ministers and spiritual leaders of the church.
It is in the church, where two or more are gathered in His name, that Jesus is present to work signs and wonders and where you will find comfort and help in times of crisis. There, you will find fellowship with other believers who have put the guilt of their past behind them and are moving on to fulfill God's purposes for their lives
Thursday, August 16, 2018
Silencing The Accuser (Part 4)
Silencing The Accuser (Part 4)
The first lie of the accuser is doubt. The second lie of the accuser concerns your destiny. If you stand victoriously against these first two attacks, Satan markets his third accusation, denunciation, which means criticizing and condemning. He wants to make you an accuser instead of an intercessor. He wants you to impose guilt on others by criticism and condemnation.
It is true that there are plenty of failures around to target with our denunciations. There are many believers and great leaders who have lied, deceived, and committed immorality. This was true in Bible times also for the Scriptures detail several "great men of God" who experienced tremendous spiritual defeat:
-Moses was a murderer who fled into exile to escape Pharaoh, yet called of God to deliver the Israelites from Egyptian bondage.
-David committed adultery with Bathsheba and murdered Uriah, yet this man is called a "man after God's heart."
-Jonah was commissioned by God to evangelize the city of Ninevah, he deliberately headed the other direction. Yet God restored him and he preached the greatest revival in history and the whole city repented.
-Peter denied the Lord, turned his back on his calling, and returned to his previous lifestyle. Yet this man became one of the greatest leaders in the early church.
Many denominations today would never welcome these men back into the church fellowship. The spirit of accusation says to these people:
-"You committed adultery. You cannot return to leadership."
-"You took another man's life. This disqualifies you for Christian service."
-"You turned your back on God's call. You are a deserter and not worthy to be a minister."
Medical science used to declare about cripples, "If they are lame, let them stay lame. Don't waste time trying to rehabilitate them." The problem with that approach was that eventually the cripple's limbs began to atrophy.
Too often this has been the attitude of the church. We make offenders withdraw and their "limbs" become atrophied. Yes, there should be a time of rehabilitation, but there should also be the opportunity to be used of God again. We should be like Peter and John at the temple gate saying to those who are spiritually and emotionally crippled by shame, "Rise up and walk!" The Scripture says in Hebrews 12:12, 13:
"Therefore strengthen the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees, and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be dislocated, but rather be healed."
We should strengthen those who are feeble and whose hands are weak in the battle. We should make paths for the feet of these errant ones, humbled and repentant yet still bound by shame. We should encourage them to rise up and walk again!
After the incident with Bathsheba and Uriah, King David sought and received forgiveness. He cried out to God:
Psalms 51:7-12 "Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow...Hide Your face from my sins, And blot out all my iniquities. Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me away from Your presence, And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, And uphold me by Your generous Spirit."
After David acknowledged his sinand repented, he received a new passion for God. Immediately he began to minister to others:
Psalm 51:13 "Then I will teach transgressors Your ways, And sinners shall be converted to You."
David said "then", but when was “then”? Immediately after he was forgiven and restored. It was "then" that he began to teach sinners and they were converted to God.
We often brand offenders with the "scarlet letter," so to speak, and they are marked for life, but the Apostle Paul details how we should deal with repentant, fallen believers:
Galatians 6:1 "Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted."
When believers fall we are to restore them. The word "restore" in the original Greek means "setting of a broken bone." Restoration does not mean glossing over the sin, treating it lightly, or pretending it did not happen. Instead, like a doctor dealing with a broken bone, you deal directly with the injury. Amputation is not the solution for a broken bone!
The first lie of the accuser is doubt. The second lie of the accuser concerns your destiny. If you stand victoriously against these first two attacks, Satan markets his third accusation, denunciation, which means criticizing and condemning. He wants to make you an accuser instead of an intercessor. He wants you to impose guilt on others by criticism and condemnation.
It is true that there are plenty of failures around to target with our denunciations. There are many believers and great leaders who have lied, deceived, and committed immorality. This was true in Bible times also for the Scriptures detail several "great men of God" who experienced tremendous spiritual defeat:
-Moses was a murderer who fled into exile to escape Pharaoh, yet called of God to deliver the Israelites from Egyptian bondage.
-David committed adultery with Bathsheba and murdered Uriah, yet this man is called a "man after God's heart."
-Jonah was commissioned by God to evangelize the city of Ninevah, he deliberately headed the other direction. Yet God restored him and he preached the greatest revival in history and the whole city repented.
-Peter denied the Lord, turned his back on his calling, and returned to his previous lifestyle. Yet this man became one of the greatest leaders in the early church.
Many denominations today would never welcome these men back into the church fellowship. The spirit of accusation says to these people:
-"You committed adultery. You cannot return to leadership."
-"You took another man's life. This disqualifies you for Christian service."
-"You turned your back on God's call. You are a deserter and not worthy to be a minister."
Medical science used to declare about cripples, "If they are lame, let them stay lame. Don't waste time trying to rehabilitate them." The problem with that approach was that eventually the cripple's limbs began to atrophy.
Too often this has been the attitude of the church. We make offenders withdraw and their "limbs" become atrophied. Yes, there should be a time of rehabilitation, but there should also be the opportunity to be used of God again. We should be like Peter and John at the temple gate saying to those who are spiritually and emotionally crippled by shame, "Rise up and walk!" The Scripture says in Hebrews 12:12, 13:
"Therefore strengthen the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees, and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be dislocated, but rather be healed."
We should strengthen those who are feeble and whose hands are weak in the battle. We should make paths for the feet of these errant ones, humbled and repentant yet still bound by shame. We should encourage them to rise up and walk again!
After the incident with Bathsheba and Uriah, King David sought and received forgiveness. He cried out to God:
Psalms 51:7-12 "Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow...Hide Your face from my sins, And blot out all my iniquities. Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me away from Your presence, And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, And uphold me by Your generous Spirit."
After David acknowledged his sinand repented, he received a new passion for God. Immediately he began to minister to others:
Psalm 51:13 "Then I will teach transgressors Your ways, And sinners shall be converted to You."
David said "then", but when was “then”? Immediately after he was forgiven and restored. It was "then" that he began to teach sinners and they were converted to God.
We often brand offenders with the "scarlet letter," so to speak, and they are marked for life, but the Apostle Paul details how we should deal with repentant, fallen believers:
Galatians 6:1 "Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted."
When believers fall we are to restore them. The word "restore" in the original Greek means "setting of a broken bone." Restoration does not mean glossing over the sin, treating it lightly, or pretending it did not happen. Instead, like a doctor dealing with a broken bone, you deal directly with the injury. Amputation is not the solution for a broken bone!
Silencing The Accuser (Part 3)
Silencing The Accuser (Part 3)
The second lie propagated by the accuser concerns your destiny. Satan says, "You won't be able to reach your full potential. You will not be able to complete God's plan for you. You will fall short of your destiny." He will always bring up your failures, the times you've fallen short of reaching your goals, and the areas where your confidence in your God-given abilities are questionable. These all stem from shame-based thinking that limits your destiny. Breaking free from these things brings the revelation that "God ain't thru with us yet!"
Paul wrote in Ephesians 2:10:
"We are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them."
God has already determined what He wants to accomplish in and through you. This was decided before you were born. God ordained the path you are to walk for His glory. Yet the enemy comes through your circumstances, your failures, your age, and your doubt to declare that you will not be able to fulfill your destiny.
But one day Moses' soul was ignited by words spoken from a burning bush. God said in Exodus 3:10:
"Come now, therefore, and I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring my people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt."
Moses had listened to the accuser for too many years. He had a whole list of excuses prepared:
-"Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and deliver Israel?"
-"What shall I say to them?"
-"Suppose they say, `The Lord has not appeared to you.' Then what will I do?"
-"You know I am not eloquent, but slow of speech and tongue."
However, God answered Moses and said:
Exodus 4:11, 12 "...Who has made man's mouth? Or who makes the mute, the deaf, the seeing, or the blind? Have not I, the Lord? Now therefore, go, and I will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall say."
God knows your abilities and He knows your disabilities. He is the One who created and called you and He is the One who will empower you, in spite of your weaknesses, to fulfill your destiny. Don't let the accuser talk you out of it!
The second lie propagated by the accuser concerns your destiny. Satan says, "You won't be able to reach your full potential. You will not be able to complete God's plan for you. You will fall short of your destiny." He will always bring up your failures, the times you've fallen short of reaching your goals, and the areas where your confidence in your God-given abilities are questionable. These all stem from shame-based thinking that limits your destiny. Breaking free from these things brings the revelation that "God ain't thru with us yet!"
Paul wrote in Ephesians 2:10:
"We are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them."
God has already determined what He wants to accomplish in and through you. This was decided before you were born. God ordained the path you are to walk for His glory. Yet the enemy comes through your circumstances, your failures, your age, and your doubt to declare that you will not be able to fulfill your destiny.
-The accuser says, "You are too young and immature":
Mary was a teen-ager when God chose her to mother His Son Jesus. David was 17 or younger when he faced Goliath and most of the great revivals in the history of the church were birthed through children or young people.
-The accuser says, "You are too old. You missed your destiny."
Moses undoubtedly battled these lies of the accuser. Supernaturally preserved by God at birth and having received the finest education possible, Moses was commissioned to deliver Israel from slavery. But Moses killed an Egyptian in anger and fled to the wilderness for refuge from Pharaoh's judgment. There he remained for 40 years. Day after day the accuser taunted, "You missed your destiny. You can't return to Egypt, for Pharaoh will kill you. You are getting too old. It just won't happen."
But one day Moses' soul was ignited by words spoken from a burning bush. God said in Exodus 3:10:
"Come now, therefore, and I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring my people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt."
Moses had listened to the accuser for too many years. He had a whole list of excuses prepared:
-"Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and deliver Israel?"
-"What shall I say to them?"
-"Suppose they say, `The Lord has not appeared to you.' Then what will I do?"
-"You know I am not eloquent, but slow of speech and tongue."
However, God answered Moses and said:
Exodus 4:11, 12 "...Who has made man's mouth? Or who makes the mute, the deaf, the seeing, or the blind? Have not I, the Lord? Now therefore, go, and I will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall say."
God knows your abilities and He knows your disabilities. He is the One who created and called you and He is the One who will empower you, in spite of your weaknesses, to fulfill your destiny. Don't let the accuser talk you out of it!
Silencing The Accuser (Part 2)
Silencing The Accuser (Part 2)
Doubt is a satanic strategy that dates back to man's original sin. Satan's first temptation centered on creating uncertainty when he said to Eve three things:
-"Has God indeed said?"
-You will not surely die."
-"If you eat of this fruit, you will be like God."
Eve should have said to Satan, "I am already like God. I am created in His image." But the accuser sowed seeds of doubt and all of mankind reaped a bitter harvest.
-"If you are a child of God, then why doesn't He help you?"
-"If God loves you, then you wouldn't have this problem."
-"There is no way you will make Heaven. You just aren't good enough."
Jesus stands against every accusation of doubt and proclaims, "You are my child. I am a present help in time of need. You are loved. If you serve Me, then your eternal destiny is assured!" God looks at you through the shed blood of Jesus Christ and says, "You have all the rights to the inheritance of My Son. You are My child and Heaven is your eternal home."
The Bible declares you are assured acceptance by God through the blood of Jesus:
Hebrew 10"22, 23 "Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil
conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful."
When the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses your conscience, your acceptance by God is assured.
The Apostle John repeatedly uses the phrase "that you may know" in his epistles, finally concluding with this explanation:
1 John 5:13 "These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God."
The accuser uses your past life to perpetuate doubt. When you break the shackles of sins, you will no longer be defeated by them because their power will be rendered impotent in your life. You will be assured of your salvation, your acceptance by God, and your eternal future.
Doubt is a satanic strategy that dates back to man's original sin. Satan's first temptation centered on creating uncertainty when he said to Eve three things:
-"Has God indeed said?"
-You will not surely die."
-"If you eat of this fruit, you will be like God."
Eve should have said to Satan, "I am already like God. I am created in His image." But the accuser sowed seeds of doubt and all of mankind reaped a bitter harvest.
Satan employed a similar strategy in the temptation of Christ. Immediately after His baptism with its powerful manifestations of the Holy Spirit and God's audible voice, Jesus faced the wilderness temptation. Each of Satan's attacks centered on doubt as he questioned three times, "If you are the Son of God." Right up to the time when Jesus died the accuser continued this strategy through those observing His agony who said:
Matthew 27:40 "If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross."
Satan will also bring similar accusations against you:
-"If you are a child of God, then why doesn't He help you?"
-"If God loves you, then you wouldn't have this problem."
-"There is no way you will make Heaven. You just aren't good enough."
Jesus stands against every accusation of doubt and proclaims, "You are my child. I am a present help in time of need. You are loved. If you serve Me, then your eternal destiny is assured!" God looks at you through the shed blood of Jesus Christ and says, "You have all the rights to the inheritance of My Son. You are My child and Heaven is your eternal home."
The Bible declares you are assured acceptance by God through the blood of Jesus:
Hebrew 10"22, 23 "Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil
conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful."
When the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses your conscience, your acceptance by God is assured.
The Apostle John repeatedly uses the phrase "that you may know" in his epistles, finally concluding with this explanation:
1 John 5:13 "These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God."
The accuser uses your past life to perpetuate doubt. When you break the shackles of sins, you will no longer be defeated by them because their power will be rendered impotent in your life. You will be assured of your salvation, your acceptance by God, and your eternal future.
Silencing The Accuser (Part 1)
Silencing The Accuser (Part 1)
These two forces are constantly operative in the universe and you will conform to the spirit of either one or the other in your personal relationships, your attitude toward others, and by the words of your mouth. One writer said:
"In actual fact, we are all, not by turns but at the same time, accused and accusers, condemners and condemned...the persecuted became persecutors. We are accusers because we are accused, and accused because we are accusers."
Jesus silenced the voice of the accuser when He died on the cross because He bore the sin and shame of the whole world. When you accept Christ's sacrifice for your sin and shame, you no longer stand accused. The only way the spirit of accusation operates now is when you allow Satan to malign you or use you to malign others through unforgiving words, feelings, and actions, which often are a cover-up for shame. One pastor preached recently in a message:
"Although we try to disguise our judgments as `constructive criticism' or `Christian concern', our hidden attitude may be very different. By focusing on the faults of others, we can manage to avoid looking at ourselves. Sometimes we're even guilty of the very acts we criticize in others."
Our accuser, Satan, constantly perpetuates three major lies, which doubt, destiny, and denunciation. Thankfully God gives us a way to silence our accuser through His Word. Praise God, we can shut the devil up!
There are two forces at work in the universe which are operative both in Heaven and here on earth. One is that of Satan, an "accuser of the brethren," who continually accuses God's people, seeking their destruction according to Revelation 12:10. The other force is that of the intercessor Jesus Christ who intercedes in behalf of our deliverance.
These two forces are constantly operative in the universe and you will conform to the spirit of either one or the other in your personal relationships, your attitude toward others, and by the words of your mouth. One writer said:
"In actual fact, we are all, not by turns but at the same time, accused and accusers, condemners and condemned...the persecuted became persecutors. We are accusers because we are accused, and accused because we are accusers."
Jesus silenced the voice of the accuser when He died on the cross because He bore the sin and shame of the whole world. When you accept Christ's sacrifice for your sin and shame, you no longer stand accused. The only way the spirit of accusation operates now is when you allow Satan to malign you or use you to malign others through unforgiving words, feelings, and actions, which often are a cover-up for shame. One pastor preached recently in a message:
"Although we try to disguise our judgments as `constructive criticism' or `Christian concern', our hidden attitude may be very different. By focusing on the faults of others, we can manage to avoid looking at ourselves. Sometimes we're even guilty of the very acts we criticize in others."
-The spirit of accusation says "You have a right to be mad. Look what they did to you!"
-The spirit of intercession, however, responds as Jesus did when He hung on the cross.
Jesus had every right to accuse those around Him, for He knew their sins and He was suffering terrible agony at their hands. Jesus chose to intercede in their behalf, however, praying, "Father, forgive them."
Christ continually demonstrated the spirit of intercession.
-To the woman caught in adultery, He said, "Where are your accusers? Go your way and sin no more."
-He aligned Himself with an unpopular tax collector named Zacheus, dined at the home of a Pharisee, and intervened when the disciples wanted to call judgment down through fire from heaven.
-When Satan planned to sift Peter "as wheat," Jesus interceded in his behalf.
Our accuser, Satan, constantly perpetuates three major lies, which doubt, destiny, and denunciation. Thankfully God gives us a way to silence our accuser through His Word. Praise God, we can shut the devil up!
Shame, Shame, Shame (Part 9)
Shame, Shame, Shame (Part 9)
After you acknowledge your shame, act against it, and address it, ask God to give you a passion for Him once again. The only way you will get out from under shame's dominion is through a renewed, intimate relationship with God.
When Jesus was led away to be crucified, all of His disciples turned and fled, including Peter who subsequently denied Christ three times. After Peter repented, Jesus asked him three times with increasing levels of intensity, "Do you love me?" Peter responded each time, "You know I love you, Lord!" Then Jesus commissioned him, "Feed my sheep."
To paraphrase, Jesus said to Peter, "You failed me, but you have repented and are forgiven. Now all you need to qualify you to feed my sheep is an intimate relationship with me." The new, vital union Peter developed with Jesus enabled him to become one of the greatest leaders in the early church, a man so anointed of God that the mere shadow of his body resulted in miracles of healing according to Acts 5:15.
-When Paul was delivered from his inherited shame, his impassioned cry was "That I might know him in the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of his suffering."
-When the woman caught in adultery broke her shackles of imposed shame, she received a passion for God that enabled her to live a new life.
-After institutional shame was shattered in Rahab's life, she developed such a passionate relationship with God that she was included in the hall of faith in Hebrews chapter 11.
Many people let the shame of their sins and failures prevent them from fulfilling their God-given destiny. Often, denominational regulations propagate this when we refuse
to restore leaders to ministry after they fall into sin. But we serve the God of a second chance.
"You, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses, having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross."
Let Jesus have your shame. It's not ever going to do you good!
After you acknowledge your shame, act against it, and address it, ask God to give you a passion for Him once again. The only way you will get out from under shame's dominion is through a renewed, intimate relationship with God.
When Jesus was led away to be crucified, all of His disciples turned and fled, including Peter who subsequently denied Christ three times. After Peter repented, Jesus asked him three times with increasing levels of intensity, "Do you love me?" Peter responded each time, "You know I love you, Lord!" Then Jesus commissioned him, "Feed my sheep."
To paraphrase, Jesus said to Peter, "You failed me, but you have repented and are forgiven. Now all you need to qualify you to feed my sheep is an intimate relationship with me." The new, vital union Peter developed with Jesus enabled him to become one of the greatest leaders in the early church, a man so anointed of God that the mere shadow of his body resulted in miracles of healing according to Acts 5:15.
-When Paul was delivered from his inherited shame, his impassioned cry was "That I might know him in the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of his suffering."
-When David was forgiven of his individual shame, David prayed in Psalm 51:
"Do not cast me away from Your presence, And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation...Open my lips, And my mouth shall show forth Your praise."
-When the woman caught in adultery broke her shackles of imposed shame, she received a passion for God that enabled her to live a new life.
-After institutional shame was shattered in Rahab's life, she developed such a passionate relationship with God that she was included in the hall of faith in Hebrews chapter 11.
Many people let the shame of their sins and failures prevent them from fulfilling their God-given destiny. Often, denominational regulations propagate this when we refuse
to restore leaders to ministry after they fall into sin. But we serve the God of a second chance.
Individuals have a choice. They can be hostages to the shame of their past or refuse to let shame control and dictate their future. When you break the shackles of shame, you come to the realization that what Paul wrote to the people in Colossians 2:13, 14 is true:
"You, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses, having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross."
Let Jesus have your shame. It's not ever going to do you good!
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