From the beginning, God has had a vision for your life. But there’s something that has moved in and tried to hijack that vision. And if we can’t remove this thing that has sought to usurp God’s intention for us, our lives will remain less than what God destined them for.

I’m talking about shame and I believe this could be one of those hallmark teaching series for us here at Epic. If shame were to move out, it would have massive implications for your life with God, your closest relationships, your life in this community, and even your vocation.

Shame isn’t so easy to define, but we all know what it feels like.‍

“Shame is the deep sense that you are unacceptable because of something you did, something done to you, or something associated with you.” Edward T. Welch, Shame Interrupted‍

It feels and sounds like this: I am not enough. There is something wrong with me. I can never show my face. I hope they never find out who I really am. I don’t matter. I don’t belong. I don’t have what it takes. How could I have ever done something so stupid?

Shame makes us feel humiliated, worthless, and less than human. And it robs us of so much. 

If we’re going to talk about how to move shame out of our lives, then I think the perfect place to begin this series is with what I’m calling today’s message – “When Shame Moved In”. God creates the world and then he creates the first human, Adam. God declares that it isn’t good for humans to be alone, so He creates Eve. And then we read this:‍

Genesis 2:25  Adam and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame.‍

Why make this declaration? Why tell us that they were completely exposed but without shame? Because this is the vision. I know it’s hard to imagine. But the vision God had for us is that we could be completely vulnerable in His presence and in the presence of each other. I know that seems impossible and the thought of it terrifies us greatly, but this was his vision and I believe it still is.‍

Can you imagine being fully known, but not in a way that makes you cringe?‍

Though shame has become as common as breathing, this was never the plan.‍

Genesis 3:1-13 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 woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’”

“You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.

Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the LORD God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the LORD God among the trees of the garden. But the LORD God called to the man, “Where are you?” He answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.” And he said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?” The man said, “The woman you put here with me – she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.” Then the LORD God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”‍

In theology, this moment is known as The Fall or Original Sin. This is our story. This is how shame moved into all of our lives. 

The serpent is crafty. His aim is to entice, deceive, and then accuse…because he knows that human beings who are riddled with shame cannot live out God’s vision for life, relationships, community, and vocation. ‍

Shame always has to do with the invasion of other voices in our lives. ‍

We see it in how Satan tempts Adam and Eve in this moment. And he tries to do the exact same thing with Jesus during those 40 days in the wilderness, before Jesus begins his public ministry. Notice how he does this. To Adam and Eve he says, “Did God really say?” And when he tempts Jesus, he tries to get Jesus to prove himself rather than to trust the voice of His Heavenly Father.

How does Jesus respond? “It is written, it is written, it is written.” This is why I have to be grounded in Scripture. This is why you have to be grounded in Scripture, in what God has said. I want to tell you one of my greatest concerns for us as a church. ‍

We don’t know and trust what God has said.‍

I want to do a better job of grounding us in the Scripture. This has been so eye opening as people in our community come to me or Lindsey or Will and ask for us to speak out on certain topics or make different decisions. And they either don’t know or don’t care what God has said about that topic. If Jesus needed to know what God has said in order to live out God’s vision – we must do the same.

Adam and Eve give in to this temptation. “Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked.” They feel exposed in a way they had never experienced before. To say it another way, for the first time in human history, shame entered our story. And it’s been doing damage ever since. There are three responses we see from these original humans and they’re actually the same ways we respond to shame today.‍

Shame causes us to cover ourselves.‍

Up until this moment, there had been no separation between them and God. We can infer from verse 8 that it was quite common for God to walk among them and for them to be in his presence – without a care in this world. But not now. They feel exposed and they instinctively know that a covering has to be made. And they fully assumed that it was up to them to make their own covering. So they sewed fig leaves together.‍

What are you doing to cover your shame?‍

Success. Busyness. Sexual Immorality. Too much drinking. Maybe you’ve simply created a public persona that isn’t anywhere close to your authentic self. ‍

Shame causes us to hide.‍

God asks a question to them that I think He is constantly asking us:‍

“Where are you?” – God‍

God isn’t confused about their location. God is giving them an opportunity to be honest about where they are and why they are where they are.

“I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.” I knew you were near. I knew something was wrong with me. And the thought now of being my true self in your presence? That thought scares me to death. Can you relate to this?‍

“Hiding is the natural response to shame.” Curt Thompson, The Soul of Shame‍

Here are some ways you might be hiding:

-You’re hiding behind a religious life, but you don’t dare try to actually build intimacy with Jesus.

-You’re hiding by never staying long at a job or in a dating relationship or in the same city…because you are terrified of others getting to know the real you.

-Some of you are hiding by living your life in isolation, which is destroying your life.‍

Shame causes us to blame God and each other.‍

God asks, “Who told you that you were naked? Did you do what I commanded you not to do?” God gives them what could have been a gift. He gives them an opportunity to own what they have done and beg for his mercy to restore them to the fellowship they used to enjoy with Him. But no. The man said, “The woman you put here with me.” In just the first part of this sentence, Adam has blamed both Eve and God. The woman YOU put here with me.‍

Who are you blaming in your life? Is there anything you need to take responsibility and ownership for?‍

There are other humans who are responsible for our shame. We will cover this kind of shame in our series, but it’s not what I’m talking about today.

Now I want you to take your vulnerability to a new place. Don’t dismiss this question…answer it honestly. ‍

What are you blaming God for?‍

There are two ways we tend to respond to shame. Shame causes us to keep our distance from God and other people. Or in trying to reject the feeling of shame in our lives, we pretend like our sin is no big deal. I want us to choose a different response that will help us step back into God’s original vision. And it’s here in verse 21:‍

Genesis 3:21 The LORD God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them.‍

This is the vision when it comes to how we deal with our shame. We admit it. We stop trying to make coverings for ourselves. We come out of our hiding. We stop blaming God and others. And we humbly allow God to clothe us.‍

Hebrews 9:14 How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!‍

Have you exhausted yourself by trying to provide your own covering? There’s a better covering and it’s not on you to provide it. Jesus has gone to great lengths to cover your shame. Let him do that for you today.‍

Jesus, you know the damage that shame has done in my life. I’ve sought to hide, blame, and cover myself. But today I’m going to step out in vulnerability and expose myself in your presence. I’m going to let you see my true self and then I’m going to let you cover all of me.

epicsf.com/baptism‍

Prayer experience: Step into his presence. Imagine yourself being fully known and yet fully loved. Picture Him covering you.

We’re starting a new small group that begins meeting the week of April 18 on this topic of shame. Let me encourage you to get into one of these by going to ‍

epicsf.com/newgroup