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We'll call this volunteer Susan. Okay? So this will be Susan for today's exercise. And
so this is just hypothetical because I love Susan, so it's hard for me to say these words.
But she's just going to play along about how a woman might respond in her everyday life.
So let's say a woman gets up in the morning and as she's putting on her jeans, she notices
that they're a little tight around the middle. And so instead of saying, "Oh, wow. My pants
are getting a little bit tight. I might want to get a new size." You know what she says?
"I'm so fat. I'm so fat." And then she heads downstairs, and she's looking for that paper
that she needs, and she can't find it. And rather than saying, "Oh, I wonder where it
could be," do you know what she says? "I'm so disorganized. I'm such a failure. I never
do anything right." As she's looking through some magazines to think maybe that paper is
in there, she's noticing the beautiful women in their bikinis. How do these women have
babies and then they're in a bikini like 4 weeks later? And do you know what she says?
"I'm not enough. I'm not enough. My ex husband was right. I don't look like those women.
There's nothing good about me. I'm not enough." She goes in the mirror and kinda checks her
hair before she's getting ready to head out the door. She sees those gray hairs and those
wrinkles that are creeping up, and she says, "I'm getting old. Nobody's ever gonna want
me. I'm destined to be a single woman forever." And then she takes a quick peek at her checking
account to see if she has some money before she heads to the store, and the funds are
not as she had hoped, and she says, "I'm bankrupt! I'm bankrupt. I'm gonna lose everything. This
is a disaster." Now, she grabs her coat, and she puts on a covering. As she heads to the
grocery store, wouldn't you know it's one of those days that she runs into so many women
that she knows, right? And they say, "Susan, how are you? You look so good. How you doin'?"
And you know how she responds? "I'm good! I'm good. Everything's good. She looks good
on the outside, doesn't she? But is she good? Is this the full, abundant life that Christ
has for her? No. But she looks good. She looks good, doesn't she? Can anyone relate to a
situation like this? Susan, we're not going to leave you like this forever, but why don't
you go ahead and have a seat, because let's take a look to see what God would have for
His dearly-loved daughters that wear coverings like that. Because there's good news. There's
good news. Jesus has the perfect personal remedy. So let's flip back to Revelation 3:18,
where Jesus says to his dearly loved church members, who are living with covers, He says,
in Revelation 3:18, "I counsel you to buy from Me white clothes to wear so that you
can cover your shameful nakedness." That word 'white' here means light, bright, brilliant,
radiant. One resource says a white garment as the sign of innocence and purity of the
soul. Now, most scholars think that what Christ is talking about here is the righteousness
of Christ. And I realize that's a pretty big concept. So in your participant's guide this
week, we'll have the chance to unpack that a bit more. But for our purposes today, when
you hear 'righteousness of Christ', the words that I want you to think of are completely
pure, forgiven, without guilt before God. Listen to the powerful words of 2 Corinthians
5:21. It says, "God made Him, who had no sin, to be sin for us, so that in Him we might
become the righteousness of God." In other words, God put all of our sin, all of our
shortcomings, all of our negative self talk on Christ, who never did anything wrong, so
that we could be in right relationship with God.
I love 1 John 1:9. In fact, I think I'm gonna have you turn there, 1 John 1:9. It's one
of my favorite all-time verses. 1 John 1:9, just a few books to the left from where we
are in Revelation. And John writes, "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just
and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness." Did you catch that?
All. Circle that word 'all'. All unrighteousness. You confess it; he purifies it. If you confess
it, He will purify it. We could go through that list that I mentioned in the beginning,
the addiction, the abuse, the abortion, the affair, the bankruptcy, the bullying, the
credit-card debt, the divorce, the eating disorder. You name it; He purifies it. All
unrighteousness. All. We don't have to live covered because Jesus Christ has covered it
all for us. We don't have to live covered by shame any longer. As Christ's dearly-loved
daughter, we don't have to live covered up with facades and false labels, because of
Christ the sin has been paid for, and we can live free. So let's have Susan come back up.
And in case you're here today and you're thinking, "You know what though? But I... That is some
nice self-talk, but you don't know what I did, Cindy. You don't know." You're right
I don't. I don't know. But you know what? He does. Remember in the beginning? He knows.
He has intimate knowledge of the situation. He knows. He forgives, and He loves. He knows,
and he forgives, and He loves. So whatever you have done or whatever has been done to
you, He knows; He forgives, and He loves. So let's take this black covering off you
because you don't have to wear that anymore, Susan. And instead let's say Susan wakes up
in the morning, and she says, "You know what? I don't wanna live that way any longer. I
wanna live with a full, passionate purposeful, red-hot faith." And instead in the morning,
when she wakes up and those pants are a little bit tight and she wants to say, "Fat," to
herself, she's going to say, "Wait a minute. Did God really say...? No! No. He says that
I'm wonderfully and fearfully made. I will not wear that nametag today." And when she
can't find the paper that she wants, and she wants to feel like a failure, she's going
to say, "Wait a minute. I am accepted in Christ. I am complete in Him. I don't have to wear
these nametags anymore." And when she looks at the magazine and she feels like, "Oh, I'm
not enough," she says, "Wait a minute. Did God really say...? No! that's not how my Heavenly
Father speaks to me." And when she sees that nametag about not wanted, she thinks, "That's
garbage. I have purpose. I have breath. I still have purpose. I am valuable, useful,
beautiful to God. I will go out and make a difference on my trade route today." And when
she sees that word 'bankrupt', what are you gonna do, Susan? Absolutely. Absolutely. My
God is my provider, and He will provide for all of my needs. Maybe not all of my wants,
but my Daddy will take care of me. And this time, Susan, when you head out, are you gonna
pick up that black covering? No! She's gonna wear a new covering, the beautiful, radiant,
white righteousness of Christ. And when people see her and they say, "Susan, how you doin'?
How ya' doin'?" This time she's gonna declare, stomp her foot if she has to, "I'm good. I'm
good because He is good. I'm good. Everything is good."
Would you help me thank Susan?