Key Life Network

Steve Brown: Guilt, shame, fear, regret, let's talk about it on Key Life.

Guest (Male): Key Life exists to communicate that the deepest message of Jesus and the Bible is the radical grace of God to sinners and sufferers. Because life's hard for everyone, grace is for all of us. Our host is seminary professor and author Steve Brown.

Steve Brown: Thank you, Matthew. We're going to be doing something different for the next few weeks and I'll explain that to you as we go along during this broadcast.

By the way, I hope you had a great weekend and I hope that your pastor's sermon was as good as my pastor's sermon.

What we're going to do on this broadcast and for the next few weeks is we're going to look at themes that are not very positive, but are dealt with with grace and with truth.

We're going to talk about guilt and shame and regret and fear. And I'm going to fix it. And if you believe that, you'll believe anything. Let's pray and then we'll get down. Father, we come into your presence so aware that this is a safe place, a place where we're loved if nobody else does, a place where we're always forgiven if nobody else does, a place where you take care of the regrets even if nobody else does.

Father, we praise you and we worship you, not for just what you've done, but for who you are. You are sovereign, you're omnipotent, omnipresent, omniscient, good and kind and wise and patient and faithful. Help us to remember that and to run to you always.

Father, we pray for the one who teaches on this broadcast. Forgive him his sins, because they're many, we would see Jesus and him only. And we pray in Jesus' name. Amen.

Okay, let me tell you what the plan is. Over the next few weeks, we're going to be dealing with a book that I wrote and one with which I am almost finished.

And during these weeks, I'm going to solicit your comments. As you listen to this, if it's helpful, let me know. If it's not. Generally, I do my books after they're published and then spend some time on the broadcast and it's too late.

But this time, I'm going to share with you what I'm working on, what I'm putting together. And if you have comments, I will appreciate those comments.

You say, well, what is the book about? Well, the title is not settled yet. One of the titles is The Liberating Power of Truth Exposing Lies, Breaking Chains, and Moving Mountains.

And that didn't work. So we tried Grace Still Works, Good News for Your Fear, Guilt, Shame and Regret.

And then we've talked about other possible titles, The Liberating Power of Grace and Truth, Exposing the Lies of Fear, Guilt, Shame and Regret. The Liberating Power of Grace and Truth, Good News about Your Fear, Guilt, Shame and Regret, Moving Mountains of Fear, Guilt, Shame and Regret. And that'll let you know where we've been going with this.

Now, there are a number of chapters and let me kind of give you an overview and then tomorrow we'll get down.

In the first chapter, we're going to talk about lies in general and why we believe them and what they're about.

And then we're going to talk about lies that enchant us, lies that cheat us, lies that define us, lies that confuse us, lies that defraud us, lies that exalt us, the lies that test us, the lies that discourage us, the lies that manipulate us. God told me to tell you, the lies that neutralize us, the lies that disempower us, the lies that testify, that terrify us, the lies that separate us, and then the big lie.

And you go, woah. I know. But I've been thinking about this a long time and so that's the direction we're going to go in.

You know, some things are universal, like human sin, failure, stupidity. And because they are, guilt and shame and regret and fear are also universal.

And in the book I'm working on, about those destructive mountains and prison chains, guilt, shame, regret and fear, they can't be fixed absolutely until we get home.

The truth is that guilt, shame, fear and regret really can't be fixed. The Bible's doctrine of the Fall says that two people who we never met messed it up for the rest of us.

Now, that, I don't know about you, but that never seemed fair to me, but nobody ever asked me or gave me a vote.

It is what it is. However, the same Bible that speaks to the Fall also speaks of the amazing ways God ameliorates the problem.

It promises that there will be no guilt and shame and fear and regret someday. Until then, there's a lot of good news about the false narratives that we have accepted and sometimes believed.

The good news is always the truth. The problem is when those lying dragons are slain, their tails still swish.

It's important and appropriate that someone who writes books about any painful issue first confesses their own struggle.

If an author hasn't been there and done that, at least to one degree or another, that author shouldn't write about it. And if they do, you shouldn't read it.

I'll be as honest as I can be as we go through this series, as honest as I can be without losing my job. I still struggle with the lies and the destructive narratives. Frankly, I thought I would be a lot better by now, or at least more than I have. It just didn't happen.

The truth is that I'm a pastor and my sins aren't popcorn sins. I've been shamed and have shamed others a lot.

I have a string of regrets you wouldn't believe. And I'm often scared spitless.

But, listen up. With all that being said, I'm still here.

Not only am I still here, albeit bloodied and wounded, but I'm an old survivor who survived with a fair amount of joy and freedom and success.

And I want to share with you not how to sing Kumbaya while walking off in the sunset together, but how I and so many others have survived learning to rejoice in that survival.

That is, in case you're wondering, called sanctification. Sanctification biblically is a very slow process. Sometimes so slow that it doesn't even feel like sanctification at all.

Nevertheless, that process has been happening in my life and the lives of many others for a very long time. It has happened in ways that have surprised me and might surprise you.

And I want to tell you about it, how it happened, why it happened, and why it is so very important.

Now, if you are listening to this broadcast and like everyone else struggle with guilt, shame, fear, and regret, it's my prayer that you'll find what I'm going to teach helpful.

If so, it will be helpful because it deals mostly with the sources of those problems, the false narratives that we have come to believe.

The lies that somebody told us and we decided were true, the nonsense that we have bought into and called it the Christian faith, the silly things that aren't true that somebody told us was true.

So, that's the direction we're going to go in, and it's going to be a fun journey. And it is my hope that we will enjoy this journey together. You think about that. Amen.

Guest (Male): Thank you, Steve. And as you just heard, we are now into a brand new series based on Steve's brand new book. How new? So new it's not even finished yet. So, do join us on this journey and let us know what you think. As Steve said, your feedback can have a real impact on the final product.

Well, you know about the Trinity, but did you know the enemy has one too? No, the devil's Trinity isn't drinking, smoking, and cussing. It's shame, fear, and guilt. Steve says they still sometimes get him.

But in a message that he gave at the Billy Graham Training Center, Steve explains that there's an answer to these persistent challenges. We put that entire talk on a CD that we would love to send to you for free. Listen, if you ever struggle with shame, fear, or guilt, this one is for you. So call us right now at 1-800 Key Life. That's 1-800-539-5433.

You can also email Steve at keylife.org to order that CD, or to mail your request, go to keylife.org/contact to find our mailing addresses for the US and Canada.

Again, just ask for the CD called The Devil's Trinity.

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