Let God Redeem Your Story Part 1 #2

The young are sexually abused. Psychological scars are left may never be you.

One common experience is brief, that knowing sadness. It's always just below the surface. Stay with us from the Moody Church in Chicago. This is when with Dr. Erwin Luzerne who is teaching obsessed make it across the finish line vasculature where living in perilous times times when pedophilia is running rampant among elites in the media are young people are certainly in great danger. Absolutely our young people are danger. Dave is a matter of fact even 20 or 30 years ago I could've never dreamed that our society would be descending into depravity as it is doing. My heart is so heavy.

And that's why believe so deeply in this series of messages because I also believe that God is able to heal, to heal the inside to heal the soul, as David says he restores my soul.

If you find this series of messages a blessing and I hope that you will. I would encourage you to make sure that you contact us because we'd like to give it to you as a resource for a gift of any amount you can go to RTW offer.com RTW offer.com or you can call us at 1-888-218-9337 and perhaps I have mentioned this before but call someone on the phone. Encourage them to listen to because I believe that it will be of great help in a world that clearly has lost its way and now let us listen to God's word and trust it to bring healing to many hearts. Oftentimes David will will a complaint to God. I mean, very honestly, he'll just let it all hang out God, where are you I need you.

Things are so bad why don't you show up for me he'll just pour out his soul and and he'll just lay it all out and at the end of the Psalm. He says nevertheless I will still hope in the same where in the world is come from my friend. Brief does two things. First of all, it reminds us that there are some scars that will never be taken away permanently until we get to heaven. Brief reminds us of that and that's why we cry over what has been done can't be undone. But there's something else that brief does and that is it gives us hope and if there is no way for you to really express your grief and to pour out your soul before God. Read the book of Lamentations. Lamentations is a book that was written by Jeremiah. It is filled with tears over the destruction of Jerusalem.

I wish I had time this morning to take you there to show you how all of it is his innards are spelled out there in his tears. Nothing wrong with grieving the loss you lose an arm you grieve, you lose your child and you grave grieve over what could have been. Don't be afraid of grief.

Jesus wept at the tomb of Lazarus, third, and this is absolutely crucial course everything that I'm saying today is crucial.

But third you must understand grace. You must understand grace. Now I'm going to speak to those of you who were abused. This is your tendency, your tendency is to so focus on the sins of others that you overlook your own and no matter how your sins might be pointed out your continually saying yeah but I didn't do that and so your focus is on somebody else's sin. At this point I'm talking about your own because we are all sinners and if you have been sinning against others because you been sinned against you and I have a lot to forget I have a lot that God has to forgive and I suspect that you do to.

But when it comes to forgiveness people make one huge mistake.

What is the major mistake when it comes to forget it is thinking that they have to become worthy of it. If I could just be worthy of it and and tell God well you know I'm bad but I'm not as bad as so-and-so, if I could just do that may be, then I'd experience you come to God like that and you'll continue your obsessions because that's not the basis of forgiveness.

The interesting thing is that in the New Testament. Forgiveness is totally a free gift independent of your performance. That is when grace is totally undeserved. It is the kind of gift that God gives to us and that's our calling card when we want to knock on the door of heaven.

When you get onto a plane. The stewardess doesn't say will now you are you worthy to fly. Have you had a good day.

Have you had your devotions today is not the stewardess is interested in.

The flight attendants of today what they want to know is the ticket is your authenticity and God says you have Jesus who died in your place, and that is the answer to your neurosis and your guilt. Whether you are a an abuser or abused. The answer is the same Jesus died for her rent. This sinners. That's the answer. In fact, the Bible says very clearly that we are justified by his blood, we are redeemed by his blood, and then don't you like this. Revelation chapter 1 verse seven now and to him who who washed us from our sins in his own blood traveling gift you come to God exactly as you are.

Luther was absolutely right when he said oh Jesus, I am by sin, thou art my righteousness.

Once you understand that Jesus died in your place if you were abused as a child, even if you felt guilty because you participated in the way in which you did the answer is the same for you. It's the same for all of us because there is only one way to be freed for ever. And that is to accept the work that Jesus did and receive it by faith and by grace you know what I've been praying for you this week. I've been praying that you will feel the forgiveness, God, to the very depths of your being, so that you don't have to live in that purgatory of despair, wondering where you live with God that you will feel it deeply. And as for those of you who are abusers you two can receive that grace. So I'm going to have more to say to you in the next message and the next message in this series is about a woman whose story was not redeemed whose story was not redeemed by the way this title. I wish I could take credit for it was given to me. Rebecca and I were having lunch with a couple that Gannon organization for those who are abused and she said we just help people to let God redeemed their story and I said what what a fantastic title.

This is let God redeem your story. And so, next time we'll talk about somebody who didn't let God redeem her story and what we can learn about our own story being redeem. You've got to understand grace God's reach is as far as sin reaches, and where sin abounds. Grace abounds more and you sin and God can he pump grace to cover it and you must grab that or you will never have this settled assurance I stand in the presence of God forgiven and that great and I great stand in the presence of God. Next is a little bit more difficult. You must now practice forgiveness.

Now that you've understood it. Now you gotta practice it. I wish I could say that your abuser is going to come to you and Seo would you forgive me for the terrible things I've done that doesn't happen very often as we shall see. Next time. Abusers justify, rationalize, deny. So what are you going to do. That's my question. You going to hang onto your desire for revenge. Are you going to say to yourself I am owed justice. My friend always remember that being willing to give up your revenge and your anger is not in any way and minimizing of the sin that is been given to you and happen to you. The Bible just simply tells us to committed to God.

Vengeance is mine. God says, I will repay, says the Lord. And so what you need to do is you really need to get rid of that and getting rid of it. You know, someone has said that holding onto your revenge is something like you drinking poison and then you are expected your abuser to die what is not going to be affected by the fact that you are thinking poison he or she is not to be affected by that you will be. I know that forgiveness is both an act in a process, it is not something you just say what you know I casually forgive yeah yeah you say that as an act and then you begin to live it out.

And when it comes back, you affirm its forgiveness.

You say I'm not going to keep revisiting this and going back to this because I have forgiven God knows and in the process. The healing continues, but do not live with bitterness, but all bitterness and wrath and anger, and evil speaking, be put away from you. The apostle Paul says and be tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake.

For gave you your abuser will probably not ask for it, but you need to be free and give it to God and poured out at the foot of the cross.

So we have to practice forgiveness. Next we have to rewrite, rewrite your story. There's a woman who wrote a book about this. She use the Beatitudes to rewrite her story now. Let me give you some information here that's transforming all the information. Actually that I'm giving to you today is transforming. But what you need to do is to reprogram your mind. Your mind that just plays the same tape over and over and over again if you ever had the edited tape recorder or the old records. They were the one there was a groove in them and they just used to play the same lines over and over and over again. You young people just to explain that there was a time when people actually use records. I know that dates may, but I remember it, and that's being played in your mind over and over again the vengeance the anger, the justification for your behavior. It is all very being played. You need to reprogram your mind and you do it through the washing of water through the word so that you are reading the Psalms you are memorizing Scripture you are saying to yourself, I will no longer be defined by what happened to me I will be defined because I belong to Jesus. I belong to a new family. I have a father in heaven who understands and who has compassion and I will believe that over some of you that's difficult to believe, but God has his purposes in all things, as to what happened to you and that I am going to begin to think of myself and have my mind renewed by the word of God so that I begin to think in front thoughts and be reprogram word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of the soul and spirit in the joints and marrow, is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart by it. We are healed by it. We are instructed by it.

We are given hope you're languishing today because of your past and you are not reading the word of God and cleansing your mind and meditating and memorizing on things that are positive and help will and that help you to understand who you really are in Christ. No wonder you continue in your neurosis. No wonder you do that because your mind needs to be renewed. Do that for six weeks to months. Three months and you'll begin to notice a remarkable difference and you know what the people that you live with will even notice the difference because when we are changed. Remember, we impact others. By that change. Finally, there is more that could be said you have to establish healthy relationships is a you have to establish healthy relationships because you know you do need a safe place, a place where you can trust.

Again, a place where you can feel again and that's what you need. You really do.

And you know those of you who are battling specifically evil spirits because of what is happened to you, and there's this whole struggle within you of evil in and there's a presence there. Let me remind you that evil has been decisively faded.

Thanks to Jesus for disarming who disarmed all principalities and powers and made a show of them openly triumphing over the minute saying here's the victory I love this illustration the serpent has been taken and just imagine as serve as serpent and you and your taking the heel of your boot and you're just taking his his head.

And you're just grinding it like that into the gravel. That's what Jesus did when he died on the cross. If you think you have to be bound. Your believing a lie. Jesus, one that victory for you to were not asking you to do the impossible. Here we are asking you to simply believe the impossible, and God will do it.

God will do it.

People need to be validated.

I wrote two books actually it's more than that, but I wrote one entitled Dori the girl nobody love Dori Van Stone came into our lives. She became a close friend.

I wrote up her story. When I wrote up that story. She had not told me that she was sexually abused in the orphanage in California should only told me about all the abuse in the foster homes. She couldn't handle that.

Yet when we wrote the second book, no place to cry.

She confessed to me what happened in the orphanage. I turned away and had to get out my handkerchief and took off my glasses because I couldn't stop the tears that were beginning to drip onto my cheeks. I forgot about that. After all I was doing a book with her and so that was just part of the discussion. Years later, years later, she said you know the fact that you felt so deeply and those tears help me just a little bit more on my journey toward wholeness because somebody validated what happened to her and took it seriously and I'm not saying for a moment that I was able to feel what she felt as a child I could visualize it, but I didn't have that kind of a childhood.

I went to bed without crying at night.

She did virtually every night. And so what we need to do is to validate people that here's what were going to do in a few moments. I'm going to give an invitation. As I mentioned, and we are going to ask you to come here and I'm good to be standing up here and I want to shake hands with everybody who comes down today and I don't know whether or not it's going to be a lot of people are. A few people are no people pay. It's all up to God. This isn't our business.

It's God's business whatever he wants to do that but we want to be available to do and then noticed some members of the pastoral staff and Mary Whelchel. They're going to be up here with me and they're going to direct all those that come into a counseling room behind me and if Morcom we have more prayer partners elders for the men and deaconesses for the ladies, and I'm going to invite them to come as well. Depending on the response that we see today because I have no idea how this is going to turn out. And then afterwords immediately after I'd been shaking hands and giving some instruction as we sing the last song I'm going to be walking off into the counseling room give you a few more suggestions of how to come to God and then open it up just for you to pray yet to talk to God, and you can just pray for as long as you want to pray.

Though I will be ending it shortly after giving you enough time depending on how we sense the spirit working and then before you leave. I want you to talk to a prayer partner, the prayer partners do not have any wisdom to impart to you except encouragement.

They are there primarily to simply validate you to hear as much of your story as you are willing to tell them bits and pieces as much as you are willing to share or as little as you are willing to share or none there there though for you because what they want to do is to individually pray for you. We want everybody who comes forward to have been prayed for. But before we sing together. I one more story and that is the story of Samantha. Samantha is 45 years old. She is an expert musician beautiful but having a whole lot of difficulties in relationships sexually confused fact is that Samantha was abused by her father, emotionally, totally shut down.

This basically a robot counselor, said Samantha. I need to help you to get in touch with your feelings because after all, you know, you do have feelings and the counselor got her to find a picture when Samantha was three years old and the counselor said this was before the abuse began.

She said yes. The abuse began when she was about five he said, write a poem regarding you there is a three-year-old. This is what Samantha wrote who will cry for this little girl who will quiet her tears of pain who will reach for this little girl who will shelter her from the rain. Please won't you hold me and just let me cry say words of comfort and white my sad eyes. Please don't you play or just spend some time as being with me would be very fine. I hear words of anger and I try to hide, but the words are so cutting and they hurt deep inside I long for attention and for someone to care. I feel like that's bad so I hide in despair. I've learned to be strong, but I feel very weak old Lord help me find the wholeness I seek. I don't pretend today to say that all that you have to do is come forward for many of you, it's beginning for others of you who are on your journey.

It's a it's another step toward wholeness that I pray for the wholeness that you will see a ready let's pray let's sing all be here. Pastor Hudson is going to close the service today because I want to be with those who come forward and I will give instructions of others have to come forward. Father take these brief words and do with them as you will, but we pray that captive shall be free today and that this terrible sin will not only be forgiven but there might be healing in people's souls. We pray these things in Jesus blessed name.

Amen this is Pastor Luther my comment about coming forward.

By the way, is that when this message was preached here at Moody church. I encouraged people who needed prayer who needed instruction to come forward after the message and I need to tell you that many people responded sexual abuse.

Abuse of various kinds is ubiquitous. It is found almost everywhere.

Let me ask you a question with this series of messages continue to be a blessing to you.

You could listen to the messages again and again. We believe that these messages would be a wonderful resource for you, for your family and for your friends for a gift of any amount they can be yours, these messages simply go to RTW offer.com that's RTW offer.com or call us at 1-888-218-9337. Remember the title of this series. Let God redeem your story and I trust that you and I will allow God to redeem our story as we have instruction from God's word because God is the great healer of the soul. If you want the messages. Remember for a gift of any amount RTW offer.com RTW offer.com or call us at 1-888-218-9337 and thanks in advance for your contributions because that enables us to get these messages to more than 20 different countries of the world. We sure hope to hear from you RTW offer.com or call us at 1-888-218-9337 thanks in advance for your partnership in our ministry. You can write to us running to when 1635 N. LaSalle Boulevard Chicago, IL 60614 to understand why people become sexual abusers.

We need to understand why dysfunctional families tomorrow had an Old Testament family scandalized by abuse and the awful damage that resulted running to win is all about helping you understand God's roadmap for your race of life running to win is sponsored by the Moody church