Pastor Wayne Cordeiro & Pastor Jesse Tagura
August 16, 2020 - W2033

"I'm Tired of Hiding"

What to Do? Draw Me Close!

Pastor Wayne Cordeiro & Pastor Jesse Tagura

August 15 & 16, 2020 

[Video]

PASTOR WAYNE: Welcome, New Hope--Anywhere and Everywhere!  Are you confident in God’s word and what He has written?  Are you firm and committed or are you ambivalent or persuadable?  That difference can keep you strong--or it will make you vulnerable! God gave Adam and Eve one command in Genesis 2:16-17 NIV: "¹⁶ And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; ¹⁷ but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.”

In Genesis 3 verse 1, we learn the devil's tactic of getting people to disobey God:  "Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden.'"?

The devil knew what was written but he questions, did He really mean that?  Satan will cause you to consider the option that God may not have really meant what He said; that it could actually be right and good for you, and you should be thinking differently!

The result: "When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food...and desirable for gaining wisdom, she took...and ate it; and also gave it to her husband who was with her, and he ate it.”

It starts with consideration.  Think of it as an option.  Man is smarter now, more advanced than the archaic God of the past.  If you abandon His ways, you’ll be better off--richer and more popular! It’s up to you.

[End Video]

PASTOR JESSE: Hey, New Hope family! I hope you're doing well, but if you're in need of a little hope because your soul is a little weary; your heart is anxious; and you're struggling with the problem of shame (as Adam and Eve did when they disobeyed God). I'm believing that God has something for you today as we discuss how shame affects us and how we can solve the problem of shame, as we continue in the book of Genesis, where Pastor Wayne left off. 

Genesis 3:6-11 ESV says: "⁶ So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate.⁷ Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths. ⁸ And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden.⁹ But the Lord God called to the man and said to him, “Where are you?” ¹⁰ And he said, “I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself.” ¹¹ He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?”

What's interesting is that Adam and Eve had limitless freedoms, and only one rule: Don't eat of that tree right there. Do anything else--tame the giraffes, name all the other animals, anything you want--have fun, just don't eat of that tree! They had just one rule, and Adam and Eve broke the one rule! What's the response to their disobedience? They realize they are naked; they run and hide from God in their guilt and shame 

I want to share a funny story: Growing up, one of the things my siblings and I would do was to go to the park with two hills near our house.  My mom would remind us of one rule: "Don't slide down the steep hill. Slide down the smaller one, it’s much safer."  We would hear that and say, “Yes, Mom.”  And for years we would only go to the smaller hill.  

Fast forward, I’m 19 years old and Shauni and I are leading the Ignite Team.  We decided to have a leadership gathering at my house and we planned some activities at the park.  As we were walking there, I saw the steeper hill and said to myself, you know what, I think I’m old enough and wise enough to go down the steeper hill--we’re gonna have fun today!

So, what did I do?  We took the entire team up the steeper hill and I decided to slide down.  As I got to the bottom of the hill, I had one of the most brilliant ideas I’ve ever had--I need to find a way to go faster!  So, I got a boogie board and ran and slid down head-first! But before I did, Shauni said, “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”  I turn around and said, “Ah, you don’t know how to have fun.”

It doesn’t end well for me.  I go down the hill, and realize I'm going way too fast!  My natural response was to stick out my had to slow down and as I do, I feel a cut on my hand! At the bottom of the hill I look at my feet and they’re bloody and my hand was cut deep and shaking. I am at the bottom of the hill looking up at the team.  I was so humiliated and had no idea what to do so I went home.  I didn’t tell anyone what happened, but I told my parents who took me to ER.   

After I got stitched up and got back home, I distinctly remember the shame that I felt that night.  I was embarrassed and humiliated!  I let everyone down.  And because I knew I messed up, I ran and hid from the people around me. 

We find it interesting that Adam and Eve hid from God because they knew they did something wrong.  When God steps on the scene and says, “Adam, where are you?”  Adam and Eve in their fear answer, “We heard you coming, and we were afraid because we were naked, so we hid ourselves.”  God asked, ‘Adam, who told you that you were naked?” 

God didn’t need an answer to His question--He was making a divine statement to Adam that someone messed with you and changed your thinking, and you don’t see yourself the same way.  Someone or something got in the way.

Can you imagine God in this moment thinking...Adam, you didn't know this, but you've always been naked! Since the beginning, you've never had clothes on, and it's funny that you're just realizing this.  

Instead of walking with Him in the cool of the day, their natural response now is to run away, and we begin to see the nature of shame become evident in our lives.

1. SHAME CREATES A DIVISION BETWEEN GOD AND HIS CREATION 

The natural response to shame is seclusion--we hide!  We feel we don’t want to be vulnerable anymore.  We want to hide who we are. There is a cosmic fracture between humanity, our Creator, and our community. We were once vulnerable and pure, now we’re running into isolation in fear that something has changed!  Adam and Eve are fearful.  They know that in God’s presence, their shame reveals how broken they are.

It’s the same today.  When it comes to shame, we hide in different ways: We desire to be loved and accepted; so, we hide behind our good deeds, accomplishments, or sense of moralism.  We are afraid of our insecurities, so we hide behind power and wealth; status and a good job, or secure income. We hide our fear of rejection behind gossip and slander; we put others down.  We are grownups hiding from God and each other.  That’s what shame does to us to this very day. 

I love what Pastor Wayne says:  "Some people grow old, but they never grow up."  Because of shame, we never deal with our guilt, so we are really good at hiding. Think back to nostalgic moments when you played hide-and-seek.  Remember when you found a really good spot and the seeker couldn’t find you?  You are excited and have an adrenaline rush.  After a certain amount of time, the adrenaline fades when no one has found you; you are tired of hiding and come out saying, "Here I am.  You couldn’t find me!"  I love how Pastor Paul Brown says, “We get so tired of hiding to the point we just can’t wait to be found!”

I believe we have the same problem today.  We never step out of our hiding places because we feel we will be humiliated, punished, or hurt; so, we keep hiding, avoiding others, and running.  Most people run from God in their shame.

Remember the story of the woman caught in adultery?  She was caught and thrown out of her hiding place right in front of Jesus; she was waiting to be stoned to death by religious leaders.  I love what Jesus says: “Let the one who has not sinned, cast the first stone.” Since Jesus had never sinned, He could have thrown the first stone if He wanted to.  Yet, the only person qualified to lawfully distribute punishment that day was the only one who offered mercy and covered her!  

2. DEAL WITH YOUR GUILT AND SHAME

I’d like to encourage you to let God find you!  When God finds you, He’ll cover you!  We need to allow God to meet us with His grace and compassion.  I can promise you that when we believe there will be punishment and shame, God will meet us with abundant grace! 

There is nothing more liberating than giving your worst to God.  When the woman at the well who had six different husbands is met in her humiliation by Jesus, she tells the crowd, “Come, see the man who knows everything I ever did.” She is rejoicing in her exposure because the Jesus she met brought healing instead of shame.  This may have been the first time in her life that she met someone who lifted her up and covered her! 

What do we do with our shame?  What’s the antidote? 

a. We must stop hiding in our shame and allow God to find us in His grace.

b. Seek transparency within the community of faith.

For some of you, the thought of others knowing about your shame is scary because you may have been hurt; and, instead of finding healing, you were trampled over! But God has placed people in the community of faith to be part of the healing process.  Don’t let past fears prevent you from your future healing! 

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:

1.  What are some things that you consider are hidden in your life?

2.  Are there times that you feel as though you are lost and waiting to be found?

3.  Describe something that was humiliating to you. What happened when you brought it into the open?

4.  Who in your community of faith are you able to be accountable with?