Gregory Dickow - Freedom from Shame
Well, I'm Gregory Dickow, and are you ready to receive the power to change today? I know you are. And I want to ask you a simple question. How much do you think you're worth? Well, if you tuned in last week, you already know you're worth more than all the silver and all the gold in this world, all the natural resources of this world, Jesus said in Mark, Chapter eight, verse thirty six. What shall a man profit for? Gain the whole world and lose his soul, the whole world, Jesus said. In other words, he's saying, you're worth more than this entire world. I know you can look at yourself sometimes and only see your past and see your mistakes and see where you've been and in the mistakes you've made, the shortcomings you have.
But Jesus doesn't look at you that way. He sees who you really are and you're in him and he sees your future and he sees your purpose. You don't have to live in shame anymore. Today we're going to break that thing off of you forever. You're much more than your past, your mistakes, your looks, your finances, your weight, your height, your color, your skin, your race, your more than all of that, your more than your guilt, your shame or your fear. You are more. And you're going to walk in God's purpose for your life because you discover who you really are and how much true worth and value that you have. Check this out and you'll never be the same again.
Open your Bibles with me to Ephesians Chapter one. Ephesians, chapter one, verse 11 and verse 12, I want to talk to you about discovering your true worth and purpose. Last week, we began to talk about your true worth, discovering your true worth. But today I want to talk about discovering a true worth and purpose I really talked about. Fourth, I started to talk about four things that will cause you to discover your true worth and purpose. I only got through one of them and that was understanding your value, understanding your value. And we need to understand the value of your soul is what is how we put it, understanding the value of your soul, how many know your soul is worth more than anything in this world? Jesus said in Mark Chapter eight, verse thirty seven. What does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul?
So in other words, if you gain the whole world and forfeited your soul, you'd still be at a deficit because your soul is worth more than the whole world adds. That's why Jesus said it, he said. What would it profit a man to gain the whole world and lose his soul? Because if he had the whole world, that's not nearly as valuable as his soul. Your soul has so much more value than the whole world. In fact, if I were to tell you about your soul, if we went through how valuable your soul is, I might as well just tell you a couple of things. Your soul is so valuable. What is a man's soul worth? Well, in in Matthew, chapter ten, verse twenty nine. He says your soul is worth more than the sparrows and God cares for each one of them.
In Matthew, chapter 12, verse 10 through 13. He says your soul is worth much more than a sheep and yet your heavenly father shepherds them and takes care of them. Your soul is worth more than any animal on this Earth. It's worth more than the combined wealth of this world. According to Matthew six verse twenty four through twenty three. Twenty six. Your soul is worth more than the combined wealth of this world. You add up all the wealth of this world and your soul is worth more than that. You add up all the wealth, all the silver and all the gold, all of what is precious to this earth and precious for commodities and trading and buying in this world doesn't even compare to how precious and valuable your soul is, the Bible says.
And 1st Peter, chapter one, verse 18 and 19, that God did not redeem you with silver and gold, silver and gold parishes eventually. But he redeemed you with the precious blood of his son. You weren't bought with something that money can buy. You were bought by the blood of Jesus. Now, if that doesn't awaken you to your sense of worth and your sense of value, you have to understand how precious the blood of Jesus is. The blood of Jesus is so precious and so powerful that the blood of animals had to be shed every year in the Old Testament for people sins to be atoned for every year, the high priest had to come to the end of the temple and go into the holy place and kill an animal and take the blood and sprinkle the blood as the atonement, as a covering for mankind sin once a year.
Let me tell you how precious and powerful the blood of Jesus is that he only had to shed his blood once for all eternity, and everybody's sins were paid for instantly. The moment Jesus blood was shed, everybody's sickness was paid for instantly. When Jesus blood was shed and everybody's curse. Every curse that has ever existed in your life and your family in the earth, every curse was broken instantly. The day that Jesus died on the cross in his blood is so precious that every sin, every sickness, every curse, every disease, every fear was broken, was paid for, was redeemed so that you could walk in victory.
And you say, well, if all of it was paid for two thousand years ago, why aren't I experiencing it today? Well, one reason is, is because of a lack of knowledge. We were very ignorant about the blood of Jesus. Religion has told us, well, he forgives you for now, but you never know. You know, you can't. His blood isn't powerful enough to heal you. His blood is in power, powerful enough to deliver you from that addiction. His blood isn't powerful enough. And those all that kind of preaching is a lie because it's not based in scripture. The Bible says that he who the sun sets free is free. Indeed, there's nothing that the son of God does not free you. From now, you may stay in prison, but even Paul and Silas, as they were praising God, the prison doors opened and the chains came off of their hands and feet.
That's Jesus. That's the sun setting them free. And even though he set them free, they stayed in the prison. And I'm not saying that was good or bad. I'm just saying as a picture in our life, the chains could be off of your hands and the prison doors could be opened in your life, but you're still in the prison and you don't even realize it. There was this there was this rare tiger that was that was brought over from India to an American zoo, but the habitat for his home was not prepared in time and the construction of it was not ready by the time he got over here. And while he was flying over here, he was put in this cage where he could just pace back and forth. It was like 30 feet by 30 feet, and he would just pace back and forth in this cage.
And because the habitat was not finished, he ended up they had to keep him in the cage even when he got to America and he saw this tiger, this rare tiger stayed in this cage at the zoo because its habitat was not complete. And all that he did all day was he could pace back and forth, paced back and forth. They couldn't let him out because his habitat wasn't complete. It was dangerous to let him out. They kept him in that cage and he just kept going back and forth and he just kept going back and forth and he just kept going back and forth. And he kept looking at those the cage around him. He kept looking at the bars around him and he just kept going back and forth and he just kept going back and forth.
And guess what happened? The construction got delayed a little longer and it was about two or three months or four months later that the construction was finally complete. And yet he had gotten used to walking around in that cage and seeing those bars around that around that cage, all those months just going back and forth and back and forth. So when they lowered the cage, finally when the habitat was complete, they lowered the cage into his habitat, a beautiful habitat, rivers and lady tigers and all sorts of beautiful things, you know, understand what I'm saying. Right. They lowered the cage into that habitat and lifted the doors out from each side, and as soon as they lifted the cage out from around him, guess what he did? He just kept walking back and forth 30 feet by 30 feet. He just kept walking as if he was in that cage. Why? Because even though he was free on the outside, he was still imprisoned in his mind.
On the inside, he still had he had developed the mental image of bondage. And so he remained in bondage even though he was free. And that is a picture of so many believers today. Even though Jesus has set us free, we still have a mental image from our past, a mental image of a cage around us because of how we look a cage around us, because of how we grew up, a cage around us, because of what our addiction was, a cage around us, because of how how how we saw ourselves defeated and how we saw ourselves limited and we saw ourselves sick. And maybe you grew up with sickness and your parents were sick, or maybe your parents and grandparents were alcoholics.
And so you became one or they were they had heart disease. So it got passed down to you. And you just you just keep on keep walking around your cage with heart disease, even though Jesus Christ, the son of God, died for that disease, even though you keep saying, well, this is just my habit, I don't know, I'm just human, just my nature. I just fall in this area. I just have this problem with lust or pornography. You might have had a problem with lust and pornography, but Jesus set you free from that. And our job as believers is to discover our freedom, not to obtain it, not to pay for. It's our debts are paid. The price is already paid. Our job is to discover what Jesus did for us and who he made us to be so that we would realize the freedom that we can now walk in, that you are no longer that addicted person you were.
But you're not that anymore. You're no longer that sick person that is going to carry that disease from generation to generation. You were that person, but you're not that person anymore. You're no longer that person that has that that sense of depression that just carries around with you, carry around with everywhere you go. You had that depression, but Jesus has taken it away and bore your grief and carried away your pain. And by yours, by his stripes, you're healed. You're no longer under the curse. You're no you were under the curse, but you're no longer under that curse. You were in sin, but you're no longer in sin. You were defeated, but you're no longer defeated. You were conquered, but you're no longer you're no longer conquered. You're more than a conqueror. And the discovery of who you are, the discovery of your identity is what powers you into God's purpose for your life.
If you lack purpose in your life, it's not because you're not creative. It's not because you're lazy. It's not because God's been holding out on you. It's not because you haven't searched hard enough. If you lack purpose or reason for living in your life today, if you lack that confidence, that man, I know why I'm here. I know why I'm on this earth. If you lack that, it's not because you're doing something wrong. The reason, if you lack purpose is because you don't know who you are in Christ. You see, when you know you're blessed, it's easy to be a blessing. It's hard to be a blessing. Oh, I don't know if I can give that, because if I give that, I'm going to lose it. If I give that, I'm not going to get it would have God doesn't do this. But when you know who you are, I'm blessed. And it's easy to be a blessing. When you know who you are healed, it's easy to offer healing when you know who you are. I'm the righteousness of God. It's easy to offer grace and mercy to people. You see, when you know who you are doing flows naturally from knowing who you are.
So this is why I want you in the Scripture. Ephesians chapter one, verse 11, Ephesians chapter one, verse 11. And I want to read this to you. Well, in the new King James Bible, it says in him also we have obtained an inheritance being predestined according to the purpose of him, who works all things according to according to his power and his counsel of his will. And but and as great a verse as that is in any translation, let me read it to you in the message translation. And I apologize once again, I can't put it on the screen for you right now, but if you have a message Bible, you can look at it. But you'll remember this because because it's really easy to remember Ephesians chapter one, verse 11 in the message translation. It says this. It's in Christ that we find out who we are and what we are living for.
So let me ask you something, if you knew who you were and what you were living for, don't you think life would be happier? Don't you think life would be funner? Don't you think life would be easier to make decisions? Because, listen, if I know who I am and what I'm living for, when a choice is presented in front of me that does not affirm or confirm who I am and does not help me to live more for what I'm living for, then I will choose not to accept that thing in my life. In other words, it's easy to get rid of distractions and it's easy to get rid of of of interferences that will try to get in the way and prevent me from walking in my purpose or what I am here for. So he said it's in Christ that we find out who we are and what we're living for. It's in Christ that we find out who we are and what we're living for. It's in Christ that we find out what we are, who we are and what what we're living for. The simple stuff. Right.
And then look with the next verse says, I'll read you verse 12 of Ephesians one in the message translation, it says, Long before we first heard of Christ, long before we first heard of Christ and got our hopes up, he had his eye on us. He had designs on us for glorious living, who's ready for some glorious living? He said before long before we first heard of Christ and got our hopes up. He had his eye on us. He had designs on us for glorious living. Part of the overall purpose. He is working out in everything and everyone.
You see why our faith does not need to be in ourselves. Our faith needs to be in God. Our faith is in him that he picked me before the world began, he knew me before the world began. He loved me before the world began. He chose me before the world began. And listen, when did you screw up? You didn't screw up before the world began, you screwed up after you were born, right? You didn't screw up by being born, I got good news for you, you didn't screw up by being born and your parents didn't screw up by you being born. You're not an accident. God went to great lengths to make sure you were born. It doesn't matter how you got here, it doesn't matter who you got here through, it doesn't matter when you were born.
What matters is God made sure that you got into this earth because he designed you. With his purpose in mind, with his destiny in mind, with his design in mind, and so when we all screw up is when we grow up, as we're growing up, we make bad decisions, we grow up and we make bad decisions after that. When we make bad decisions because of our fears, we make bad decisions because of our worries. We make bad decisions because of our desires or our laws. We make bad decisions because we were not taught well. Maybe our parents don't know how to raise us. We make bad decisions because we just we're human. We make mistakes. But see, every bad thing you've ever done, this is what you need do. This is what will encourage you.
Every negative thing that you've ever done, every bad thing we take and we look at our lives and we say, oh, look at what I did there. That disqualifies me. And man, I really screwed up there when I ended up in prison. That disqualifies me. And I really screwed up there where I ended up divorce and that disqualifies me. And I really screwed up there where I did those drugs. That really disqualifies me. And I really messed up there where I cheated or committed adultery or did this or did that.
And I'm not encouraging anybody to go out and do those things. But because most of us have already done some of those things or all of them yesterday. But the but the point is the point is, is that God, knowing that he's the he knows the beginning from the end, God knew that you would do those things. But yet still. Chose you? He's still. Picked you, he still destines you because he wanted you to know your destiny is not determined by never making a mistake in this life, your destiny is determined by God. Your discovery of who you are will result in your destiny. You will end up taking your rightful place as the person you were created to be when you know what your rightful place is. But most people don't know their rightful place, therefore, they never take their rightful place. But once you know your rightful place, you end up taking your rightful place.
And the best way, as silly as what I'm about to describe as silly of an illustration is I'm about to describe maybe as corny or as old of an illustration I'm about to describe. It is a very accurate and effective description. Even though it's fiction, it couldn't be more true and it couldn't be closer to the truth. But if you ever say and this is all in the Bible and it's in a movie that emerged from it called The Lion King, anybody ever heard of The Lion King? In The Lion King, young Simba, the son of Move Faster, Move Fast, is the king of the of Pride Rock, right. And Simba is his child. Simba is his young lion. And the young Simba runs away from home after the death of his father. Move fast.
Remember, he thought it was his fault that his father died and begins to associate. Once he runs away, he begins to associate with with lower creatures in the animal kingdom who teach him to two things. They teach him to eat slimy things. And they teach him to live a life of pleasure, seeking irresponsibility, eat slimy things and live a life of pleasure seeking irresponsibility. Sounds like when you send your kids to college a little bit, doesn't it eat slimy things and live a life of seeking pleasure and irresponsible living? Right. But so so here he's living like that.
But in a moment of truth, the monkey Rafiki remember him? Rafiki comes in, clobbers him over the head with his staff. And in that moment, Simba gets a vision. He sees a vision of his father saying, Simba, you have forgotten who you are. So you have forgotten me, remember? Come on, it's all in the Bible. Look. Look inside yourself, Simba. You you are more than what you have become. You must take your place in the circle of luck. He says you are more than what you have become.
I got news for you today. Good news for you. Every one of you, every one of you watching, every one of you that's in here, you are more than what you've become. I don't care what you become. You might have become a mess. You might have become a rich person. You might have become a successful person. You might have become a failure. You might have become an addict. You might have become a a loser. You might have become an adulterer. You I don't know what you've become, but I got news for you are more than what you become. Whatever you have become and whatever you walked in here with, you are more than that. You're bigger than that. You're greater than that. And my job is not to tell you stop doing this and stop doing that and stop doing this. My job is to awaken you to know who you are.