I hope everyone hear would say that they really want to grow up. But understand this, God Our heavenly Father desires to see us grow up much more than any of us desire growth.
And that’s why He has given us so many tools to help us grow.

Question…Have you made some spiritual progress this year! (selah)
Are you a growing Christian? I’m NOT asking, “Do you want to Grow”…but, are you a Growing Christian? (hands)

Though it is hard to put any tangible numbers down on growth, the fact is…deep down you will know the answer.
ARE YOU A GROWING CHRISTIAN?

Speaking of Growing up and Mothers day…let me share a few things my Mom taught me, that helped me to grow…
She taught me RELIGION.
"You'd better pray that comes out of the carpet."
She taught me TIME TRAVEL.
"If you don't straighten up, I'll knock you into next week!"
She taught me FORESIGHT.
"Put on clean underwear, in case you're in an accident."
She taught me IRONY.
"Keep crying, and I'll give you something to cry about."
She taught me about CONTORTIONISM.
"Will you look at that dirt on the back of your neck!"
She taught me about the WEATHER.
"This room of yours looks like a tornado went through it."
She taught me about ANTICIPATION.
"You’re really going to get it when your Dad gets home!"
She taught me HUMOR. "When that lawn mower cuts off your toes, don't come running to me."
She taught me about JUSTICE.
"I hope when you have kids, they turn out just like you".

I’ve made a file on my flash-drive called Face-book quotes.
Almost everyday there are some words of wisdom from my FBF’s …and many of them trigger a sermon in my mind, like a couple of weeks ago on the 4 points about “INSECURITY”. Get a CD.

Last week Pastor Beth did part 2 with “SHAME ON YOU. NO. SHAME ON HIM.” She revealed the vicious cycle of Shame, Fear and Control…with it’s root in abandonment…Get a CD.

Today’s message was inspired by another FB quote that is simple, yet a very profound truth.
To produce light, something must be burned. (2X)
Oil in the lamp. Wood in the fireplace.
Coal or natural gas to produce electricity.
The sun to light the day. This is a form of death… to give light.

Before we vote … let me describe what Revival looks like.
Christians are excited and hungry for more of Jesus.
There’s an expectation when the Church gathers together.
There is a Holy reverence for God and His Word.
There are soul’s getting saved from their sin.
There’s healing and signs and wonders…
God is being exalted!...and the Church is growing.

Now…lets vote, “How many want to see Revival at E.C. ?

“Shame on you” No! Shame on Him

I’ve entitled this message “Shame on You?”
No, Shame on Him. This morning is going to be part 2 of Pastor Rick’s sermon on insecurity.

God wants to see us, His people, free of strongholds in our lives so that He can love on us completely. Because of strongholds in our lives, (a house of thoughts sympathetic towards evil), we put up walls between Him and others.

Beth Moore has a perfect picture of strongholds in her book “Breaking Free.” It shows a room with thoughts written all over the walls. These thoughts are what I call “Ungodly Beliefs” (thoughts contrary to God’s Word.)

My goal today is to uncover the stronghold of shame. Along with Shame, we are going to look at two other strongholds that work together with shame, they are Fear and Control. These three strongholds work together to choke out our true identity. We’re going to look at: what the Origin of shame is and it’s root, how does it come into our lives. What does shame look like. And lastly, what is the solution to breaking out of this stronghold and walking once again in God’s true identity, freedom, and for us to be the person God has intended us to be.

A couple of weeks ago on Face Book, Glen Burris (our Pres.) posted this…Insecurity: ...leaves us miserable
...creates a false perception of reality
...focuses too much on self
...does not honor God's view of your worth

So, with each of these four points, I thought it would be good to do a Biblical study on insecurity and hopefully expose it for what it really is…and more important… what it does.

In 1970, I was in Greece stationed on a remote tour on an A.F. base called Tanagra. It was 40 miles north of Athens, Greece. There were only about 80 U.S.A.F. on this detachment, and most of them were Security Police like me, but we did have one cook.

He was kind of an intellectual and we talked about philosophy and everything else under the sun, and one day he showed me a book he bought called Psycho-Cybernetics by Maxwell Maltz.

The book was published in 1960 but it really became popular in the 70’s. The author claimed that 95% of Americans have some sense of insecurity.