Do Not Enter: How to Resist Temptation’s Lure sermon video audio notes. Are there areas of your life where you have hung a Do Not Enter sign? There are two areas where we hang the Do Not Enter sign. (1) You might talk about the area of your wounds and scars but refuse to allow anyone in to help. It’s off limits – ‘DO NOT ENTER!’ (2) You refuse to talk about it because of shame. You don’t want anyone to know your hidden secret(s), so you are never healed.
HEALED WITHOUT SCARS
By Pastor Delbert Young
Do Not Enter: How to Resist Temptation’s Lure
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Do Not Enter: How to Resist Temptation’s Lure
Scriptures: Daniel 3:26-28, Isaiah 53:5, Proverbs 13:12, Proverbs 4:23, John 8:32,
Emotional wounds that are never truly healed result in emotional scarring. We seldom realize the effects of the emotional scars from our yesterdays are often alive and well in our todays. For example, if we were abused as a child, the scars of that abuse may show up as distrust of others in our today. If you suffered a divorce, the scars of that abandonment may undermine your marriage today. There is emotional aftermath – scars – from wounds.
We do not possess the ability to handle the future if our hearts are full of the past. The Lord never intended his children to go through life in bondage to wounds and scars. We remember the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the fiery furnace.
Daniel 3:26-28 Nebuchadnezzar then approached the opening of the blazing furnace and shouted, “Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out! Come here!” So Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego came out of the fire, and the satraps, prefects, governors and royal advisers crowded around them. They saw that THE FIRE HAD NOT HARMED THEIR BODIES, NOR WAS A HAIR OF THEIR HEADS SINGED; THEIR ROBES WERE NOT SCORCHED, AND THERE WAS NO SMELL OF FIRE ON THEM.
Nebuchadnezzar intended the fiery furnace experience to terminate the existence of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. At the very least, the negative experience should have scarred them physically and emotionally. Instead, they came out with not even the smell of fire on them. There was no evidence of that negative experience on or in them even though they went through the fury of it.
Have you ever found yourself in a “fiery furnace” of a negative experience? That’s a ridiculous question. We have all been in the furnace many times. From childhood, we experience fiery furnaces. I am asking how you have come out of life’s furnaces. Most of us go out burned, wounded, and scarred. Some of us are burned and scarred beyond recognition. Our true identities are altered or distorted. The trauma of life’s negative experiences, such as having poor parenting, child abuse, broken homes, divorce, unfulfilled expectations in others, soured relationships, missed opportunities, betrayal, etc., all have a profound effect on each of us.
Let’s not forget the scarring that sin, making horrible decisions, failure, and shame cause. Sometimes, we throw ourselves in the fiery furnace. It all adds up to altering our hearts and souls.
You have heard the adage, Time heals all wounds. Those wounded in the early years of life find that time does not heal all wounds. Instead, the scar tissue within often grows around a vital organ, the heart, and creates many significant problems. Time alone is powerless to heal all our wounds of life. A person wounded early in life often finds, late in life, the wounds continue to hurt but now have complications caused by the scar tissue. We grow older to face adult challenges and problems with unresolved issues sabotaging relationships and opportunities.
If you simply take a look, you will find common threads between yesterday’s brokenness and wounds and today’s difficulties.
They have altered your identity. Our attempts to heal ourselves always result in excess as we attempt to compensate for our lack. We will have excess in relationships, sexual immorality, excessive spending, overeating, drugs, alcohol, anger, etc.
When wounded, we retreat to a safe place within ourselves, hoping to heal. However, despite our most valiant attempts, we never really heal on our own. Eventually, we scar over and then attempt to hide the scar. We wear our masks and makeup of success and confidence while battling inwardly with the pain from the past.
The results of fiery furnaces will rob us of important parts of our lives, such as genuine love, peace, trust, and health. We attempt to present a good, normal life but secretly inwardly limp from the pain of unresolved hurts and intense pains. Hardly a day goes by without it tormenting us or causing us to hobble along.
We develop a relationship with the wound, scar, and grief inside. It somehow comforts us and becomes an understanding friend to which we cling. It becomes a way of life, a constant companion, and it seems to understand.
Though we made it through the fire, the intense scarring can mark us for life.
Even a Christ Follower can be heavily scarred for life from abuse, rejection, betrayal, hopelessness, and severe disappointments. We receive prayer, hear forgiveness sermons, go through classes, and jump through all the hoops, yet find the pain, wounds, and scars remain. Does God not have the power to heal us from past wounds? What about the future? I know there will be more furnaces. Can he not deliver me from them? Will the pain ever go away? Can God do anything about my wounds? Yes. Yes, he can, and even better, yes, he has.
Isaiah 53:5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the CHASTISEMENT OF OUR PEACE was upon him; and WITH HIS STRIPES WE ARE HEALED.
Jesus did not only go to the cross to provide a way for forgiveness of our sins – transgressions and iniquities. He experienced chastisement, or punishment, for us to have peace now. The very purpose of the wounds/stripes placed on his back is to heal physical sickness, heal our wounds, and remove the scars in our lives now. God is not only concerned about your going to heaven when you die. He is equally concerned about your feelings and wholeness today.
He does not want us to be stuck in a hostile emotional place for the remainder of our lives. The Lord has plans and a purpose for you, but you will never fulfill your purpose if you remain stuck in your past because of wounds and scars.
Many believe in the existence of God, but stop there. Many believe in the God who wants to save your soul from hell, but stop there. I want you to believe in the God who not only exists and is concerned about your eternity but also made way for you to be HEALDED WITHOUT SCARS.
DO NOT ENTER.
Are there areas of your life where you have hung a “Do Not Enter” sign? There are two areas we hang the “DO NOT ENTER” sign. (1) You might talk about the area of your wounds and scars but refuse to allow anyone in there. You can’t trust anyone to enter for fear of being wounded and hurt again. It’s off limits – “DO NOT ENTER!”
(2) You refuse to talk about your “DO NOT ENTER” area because of shame. You don’t want anyone to know your hidden secret(s), so you are never healed. Also, you don’t realize you have the secret because of wounds and scars from your past, and you will go the rest of your life with that bondage.
I want to tell you that you can receive help and healing. God will transform the injustice you experienced into something beautiful. Though you have hidden within yourself and wear a mask, God can heal you and unmask the wonderful person he created, revealing your true identity. He will not shame you or disgrace you if you allow him in. The real you can live. You can come out of the furnace unscarred without even the smell of smoke on you and then walk in your true purpose and God’s whole life for you.
My prayer and purpose for our series is that each of us will find the courage to open the dusty “Do Not Enter” box of our pasts over the next few weeks.
Then, in the privacy of our thoughts, acknowledge our wounds and scars and allow Jesus to heal us. How many will go with me on this journey? What’s the first step?
REALIZE WHAT YOUR WOUNDS HAVE DONE AND ARE DOING TO YOU
As we travel our road of life, we fill our lives with a combination of successes, failures, disappointments, and guarded hope. I say guarded hope because the combination of success, failures, and disappointments can limit, postpone, or defer hope.
Proverbs 13:12 HOPE DEFERRED MAKES THE HEART SICK, but when dreams come true, there is life and joy.
Our hearts become sick when we can’t hope in the present because of broken dreams, wounds, and scars. We become hopeless. As these wounds and scars layer up, the sicker the heart becomes.
Have you ever had a time in your life of hopelessness? Something happened that really hurt you, and you just felt so disappointed. That negative experience profoundly affects your life, and no one is immune to it. As a physically sick heart profoundly affects a person physically in every area of life, becoming the demanding driver of that life, an emotionally ill/scarred heart profoundly affects a person. That sick heart is now the demanding driver creating the blueprint and roadmap for the hopeless present and for the hopeless future.
Proverbs 4:23 Above all else, guard your heart, for it affects EVERYTHING YOU DO.
The KJV says the issues of life come out of it. Every relationship, every decision, every reaction, every emotion, even your eating habits—EVERYTHING YOU DO is affected by the wounds and scars in your heart. They hinder a person from holding a decent job, maintaining his or her finances, and developing true friendships. They cause depression and more hopelessness, physical sickness, anger, and addictions—EVERYTHING YOU DO.
Words in life carry special meanings and come with a long list of expectations. Words like father, mother, pastor, friend, husband, and wife, when spoken, should immediately bring healing, comfort, and hope. However, when these do not live up to the expectations, they bring the deepest wounds instead of healing and hope. Many, if not all, of our deepest wounds include previously mentioned words. Most likely, they did not intentionally set out to injure. What’s more, they lacked the necessary tools to accomplish what the word implies.
For example, a young girl gives up a baby for adoption not because she hates the baby. What’s to hate? She usually does it because she does not have the tools to be a parent. Yet, that baby later through life must deal with a heart filled with rejection from the ultimate level – the parents did not want him or her. Every relationship the person experiences, even with God, will be blueprinted by that ultimate rejection. “Who will reject me next?” When it happens, and it will (the devil will make sure), another wound and scar are layered.
The devil will use these things to destroy you, stop you, and move you away from God.
We put up the sign “DO NOT ENTER,” which includes God. We build walls around us to keep everyone out, including God, not realizing the wall is a wall of bondage from which we can never escape, not a wall of protection. The Lord knows this is what the devil does, so…
John 8:32 And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.
Jesus was talking about bondage even to the children of God. Jesus said to know the truth, not read the truth, or hear the truth. The wounds and scars of our pasts clog our truth-processing filters. What I mean is we read the word and hear the word of God, but nothing changes in our lives. Why is that? The reason is everything filters through our wounds and scars. Truth becomes what our wounds and scars allow us to filter through. Truth becomes relative to experience, not God’s word, so we do not know the truth. We will unclog our filters, deal with our wounds and scars, and allow Jesus, through his word, to set us free.
To be HEALED WITHOUT SCARS, we must realize that wounds and scars are an “inescapable fiery furnace” part of life. It happens to every one of us. The problem comes when the pains of our past control how we live today. Until we realize what it has DONE – affected everything, is DOING – affects everything, and will continue to influence everything, we will never learn the need for healing. We will continue to blame everything on the devil, continue to hurt, and never experience the full life God intended.
Altar ministry:
What scars are you bearing? What pains, disappointments, shame, and rejections are you enduring? Over these next weeks, the Lord will provide you with a ladder, which will step-by-step assist you in climbing out of your valley. The first step is realizing your past wounds and scars profoundly affect your present and future. They have stopped or bogged down your life and changed your identity. Also, they have forced you to wear a mask, build a prison wall, and put up the “DO NOT ENTER” sign. They have clogged your filters and blocked God’s truth from freeing you.
The pain can go away. The scars can be removed. Your true identity can be reclaimed. The Bible promises if we come to Jesus as Lord and Savior, we can experience a new life as a new creature. Being HEALED WITHOUT SCARS is a massive part of that promise. God does not save us to live in bondage. Do you want your life back?
I want you to do something for me. One of the biggest hindrances to being healed is not being able to see beyond your present circumstances. I want you to imagine the infinite realm of possibility. Imagine the unlimited possibilities if your wounds and scars had never happened. If there were no wounds or scars, how would your life be?
Also, if that horrible thing had never happened, if that person had not hurt, rejected, or betrayed you, how would life be? Furthermore, if everything had worked perfectly, how would you feel today? Imagine. That is how God wants to HEAL YOU WITHOUT SCARS – rest and peace and joy. No pain or loneliness, no bitterness or hate, the presence of God making all things new just for you.
How many will admit your past has affected your present and will affect your future if you do not receive healing?
For those of you who have gotten away from God or never received Jesus as Lord and Savior, it is likely because of traumas from negative experiences. You built a wall and won’t even let God in. That is precisely what the devil wants. You will live the remainder of your life in bondage, for only Jesus can heal and set you free. Let’s take that big first step and allow him to come into your heart and begin to heal and free you.
One more thing: we all have loved ones who need HEALED WITHOUT SCARS. Will you lift their names and ask the Lord to help them attend church?
Do Not Enter: How to Resist Temptation’s Lure
Do Not Enter: How to Resist Temptation’s Lure
Other Related Sermons:
Healed Without Scars sermon series
First Church Of Nebuchadnezzar
Cultivated Wounds – sermon video audio notes
Wounds and Faith – sermon video audio notes
Wounded Warrior audio video notes
Also see:
David G. Evans, Healed Without Scars, p.18