Wiregrass Church
We are guilty, but not condemned. Our guilt can remind us of something, but not define us.
What would you do if you knew you could get away with it?
Our hearts are exposed.
We're not encouraged to monitor what's going on in our hearts.
Matthew 15:17 NIV
Matthew 15:18 NIV
Matthew 15:19-20 NIV
Out of character….
We should heed Solomon's advice.
Proverbs 4:23 NIV
What's in your heart will spill out on those closest to you.
Guarding our hearts involves cleaning toxins out as well as keeping them out.
GUILT
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The emotion associates with acknowledging we’ve done something wrong
We retreat to the narrative that we have created that allows us to carry our guilt without it overwhelming us.
GUILT
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Denying it or being defined by it empowers it.
When guilt throws us off-balance in our relationships, especially the relationships most important to us, guilt becomes the boss of us.
GUILT
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Debt
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Debtor
Every time you do something wrong to another person, you take something from them. | But when we take something from them, we owe them.
“I owe her an apology.”
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“I don't know how I can make it up to them.”
We don't experience guilt as debt. We experience guilt as a...
Weight
Weight
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“I just feel like a weight has been lifted off of me."
Guilt || Anger
The problem with anger is that anger leaks.
Guilt || Anger
You didn’t live up to your own expectations.
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Now, nobody else can live up to your expectations.
Guilty people rarely ever make the connection between their guilt and their anger.
Their failures disappear into the recesses of their hearts, while everybody else's failures are plain to see.
To face … and to embrace (guilt) leaves us with no recourse (and) leaves us standing...
Condemned.
The past wasn’t designed to be left behind.
You do not have to be defined by your past and neither do you have to spend this season of your life denying your past.
Therefore, there is now no condemnation...
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Romans 8:1 (NIV)
There is a space where the actual past is neither forgotten nor condemning.
Romans 8:1 NIV
Romans 8:2 NIV
Romans 8:3 NIV
At the cross, Jesus took exactly precisely what you actually deserved on himself. | He took on himself the condemnation associated with your sin.
Divine condemnation
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Self-condemnation
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All condemnation
You are guilty…
You are guilty, but not condemned.
You are guilty, but not condemned.
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When I see you, I don’t see that!
Romans 8:3-4 NIV
God has restored you to a guiltless relationship with Him in spite of your actual guilt.
Guilty, but not condemned.
Guilty, but not condemned.
1 – You forfeit the right to condemn yourself because you are not yours to condemn.
Guilty, but not condemned.
2 – Your guilt will remind you, but not define you.
Your worst moment ever becomes a pivot point for you, not to condemn yourself, but to look up in gratitude for God.
Guilty, but not condemned.
3 – You forfeit the right to condemn others because that would make you a hypocrite.
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Size folks up and right them off.
When you get this, you are perfectly positioned to love the unlovable. You are perfectly positioned to forgive the unforgivable.
Guilty, but not condemned.
4 – You are free to make restitution without expectations and without excuses.
Your new covenant marching orders is to love as you have been loved.
Is somebody waiting for you to make the first move?
Jesus humbled himself for you and now you're free to humble yourself for others.
We fear the consequences of confession more than the consequences of concealment.
My past will remind me; it will not define me.
My past will remind me; it will not define me.
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Guilt, you are not the boss of me.
Only in Christ, can I stand guilty but NOT condemned.
