Monsters Inside of Me - Fear

 

It was quiet, really quiet. As I opened my eyes from my nap, something just seemed off. I couldn’t tell what was off, but the quiet was unnerving. I called out, but no one responded. Slowly, I removed the covers and dangled my feet over the edge of the bed, and called out again. Still nothing.

What would your response be? 

Fear took over in the unfamiliar air. Why wasn’t anyone responding? Where was everyone?  What could have happened that would take the people I love and trusted away from me? 

I ran through the house searching room by room and found no one. Tears and fears began filling my eyes and mind. I continued to call out, but to no avail. The only explanation my 8 year old mind could arrive at was that the rapture happened and I was left behind. 

Earlier that week, my parents hosted a Bible study on the book of Revelation. I had listened carefully and gathered some understanding, at least enough to realize you didn’t want to be left behind.

By this point I had made it to the back of the house and was crying in the breezeway when my mom entered through the back door. She asked me why I was crying and I told her I thought the rapture happened and I was left behind. She explained that they were outside doing yard work while I was napping. 

Naps are great! Bible studies are great! Incomplete information, not so much. Waking up a little disoriented, not seeing or hearing the familiar, and scary stories led my mind to fear. 

Fear is a monster inside of us that we cannot allow to rule our lives. Fear is an emotional response that can protect us or destroy us. We do live in a scary world and there is a lot to be afraid of if we dwell on it. However, we serve a big God who has given us promises to overcome. 

Whether we experience fear, which is the emotional response to a real threat, or anxiety, which is dwelling on potential danger, we all have things we are afraid of. What are some of the things you are afraid of? 

When we are afraid or anxious, we will typically respond in one of three ways: fight, flight or freeze. 

If our response is to fight, we might get angry or upset, we might use harsh words or even get physical, which doesn’t solve anything and could make it worse. If we respond in flight, we may just try to run away from our fears but never deal with it. If we freeze, like a deer in a headlight, the dangerous may happen to us and leave us feeling helpless and vulnerable. 

Fear and anxiety rob us of the peace of God that He promises to us. This monster inside of us is so pernicious that God wants us to fight against it. So much so that the Bible contains over 300 sentiments to not being afraid, to not fear. God says it so much because it is something we need reminded of continually.

So how do we overcome fears and anxiety?

(Before I answer that, I do feel the need to address mental health issues. Sometimes fears, worries and anxiety can grip us and become affect us on deeper levels. It’s important to recognize mental illness, just like physical illness, and seek help. There is no shame in identifying a need to seek help for mental struggles. If you are struggling with these issues, please talk to me or someone who can guide you through it to God.) 

Two Steps to Overcome Fear

1. Understand the root of your fear

2. Understand who Jesus is

We live in a scary world, and there are a lot of uncertainties out there. But the monster inside of us is the type of fear that consumes us. We want to look at the source, what’s creating that little monster? 

Root Fears:

• Fear of our past: past mistakes and past wounds often hold us back from moving forward or taking risks.

• Fear of failure: what if something goes wrong? The potential of disappointment hinders you from trying new things or growing, and the fear keeps consuming more.

• Fear of others: rejection and isolation are two areas that plague our minds. What if they find this out about me, would they exclude me? If I open up they might make fun of me? We all want to be accepted and part of a community, nobody wants to be an outcast or be alone. 

• Fear of the future: this one is tough because it’s a fear based on potential. What school am I going to go to? What career path should I choose? Who should I date/marry? What if I make the wrong decision? These unknowns become so big that they can overwhelm us.

When these fears control us, they prevent us from moving forward and experiencing the abundant life Jesus has promised us (John 10:10). When you understand the root of your fears or anxieties, you can begin to bring those fears to Jesus.

Which brings us to the second step of overcoming our fears: Understanding who Jesus is.

John 14:1

“Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me.”

Let me rephrase that, “rather than being afraid, fearful or anxious, trust me.” In order to trust in Jesus, you need to know who He is, what He has done and what He promises to you. 

Let’s look at a case study with Jesus and His disciples in Mark 4:35-41.

How many of you like thunderstorms? I love them, when I am in a safe place and can  admire them from a shelter. But being in a small boat on the open sea in the middle of a storm seems terrifying. Some of the disciples were career fishermen, accustomed to being on the sea in all kinds of situations, and they were fearful for their lives too. 

In the midst of the storm, they thought they were going to die, and Jesus was sleeping on a cushion. How could He be sleeping when we are in trouble?

It’s similar to our fears when we think God is absent. Why are you listening to our prayers? Notice Jesus wasn’t absent, He was in the boat with them. When they woke Him, He ordered the storm to “Be Still!” and it was, just like that!

 “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?” Jesus asked His disciples. It’s as if He were saying to them, “don’t you know who I am? Haven’t you seen what I can do? Why don’t you trust me?”

That’s when the disciples ask a key question, “who is this man that even the wind and the sea obey Him?” 

This is a key question to answer. Who is Jesus to you? Do you believe in the Jesus of the Bible? The Son of God? Do you believe that He loves you and paid for your sin on the cross? Do you believe He died and rose again, conquering sin and death? 

Answering these questions gives us the foundation for gaining a proper perspective of our fears. 

We can read this story and say “those disciples were silly being so afraid since Jesus was right there with them.” However, all throughout the Bible Jesus says He is with us as well.

Let’s look at a brief sampling: 

Joshua 1:8–9

8 This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. 9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.” 

According to this passage, confidence comes from knowing God’s Word, spending time in it, obeying it and believing it that God is with you where you go. Don’t miss that point though, you need to be in God’s Word and obedient to it if you want to experience the peace and confidence of God. 

Hebrews 13:5–6

5 Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” 6 So we can confidently say, “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?” 

Notice the connection of obedience and confidence. I wanted you to see this link of letting go of the love of money and confidence in Jesus. Money can be used as a crutch or a cheap imitation of confidence in this life, but it can and will enslave us. Rather than trusting in worldly riches, we are to find confidence in the presence of Jesus. 

Isaiah 41:10, 13

I have chosen you…10 fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

13 For I, the LORD your God, hold your right hand; it is I who say to you, “Fear not, I am the one who helps you.” 

Here we are promised to be wrapped in the love of God. Jesus is with us, over us (I am your God), in us (strengthen), beside us (hold your hand), and under us (uphold). If you are a believer in Jesus Christ, you have no need to fear because He’s got you!

You see, when you understand the basis for your fears, and you understand who Jesus really is, your fears don’t stand a chance!

Fear of the past? Jesus died on the cross knowing all the horrible things you have thought, said or did. On your darkest day, Jesus saw you, loved you and died for you. 

Fear of failure? Jesus doesn’t look at success the way this world does. He calls you to be faithful to Him and promises to do the work in and through you (Phil 1:6; Eph 2:10).

Fear of others? Jesus welcomes you just as you are. He is “the friend that sticks closer than a brother” (Prov 18:24).

Fear of isolation? Jesus will never leave you (Heb 13:5-6). 

Fear of the future? Jesus has a plan and purpose for your life, nothing surprises Him (Jer 29:10; Ps 139:16). 

True Understanding of Jesus Conquers Fear

Jesus, the Son of God, is our Savior and our Redeemer. It is because of who He is that we can overcome our fears.

Romans 8:37–39

37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. 

Living as “more than a conqueror” means that we do not allow fears and anxiety to stop us, but instead we surrender them to Jesus daily.

Philippians 4:6–7

6 do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. 

And the promise that follows is that the peace of God will guard our hearts. Can you imagine replacing fear with peace? Anxieties with the calmness that comes from God? 

Can you imagine sleeping peacefully knowing God’s got this? Jesus slept peacefully on the boat in the middle of the storm because He had confidence in the Father. That’s the type of confidence we can have in Jesus. 

Isaiah 26:3

You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you. 

When I was little, I was afraid that my parents left me in the rapture and that I was all alone. I didn’t have all the information and I rushed to a conclusion based on my fears. But with knowledge came confidence and hope. 

Knowledge of Jesus gives us confidence and hope in life. 

The Monster in HD (Heart’s Desire)

 

I’m pretty good with navigation. If I’ve ever driven somewhere, there’s a pretty good chance I can get back there by memory. If I mess up once, I typically learn my lesson and will remember the next time.

There is one place, that always seemed to mess me up, the Capper’s old house in Firestone Park. Every year, Deb and Travis would host the youth group for the    OSU v _ichigan game and for a Christmas party. Every time I drive over, I felt like I knew where I was going, but would turn the wrong way Firestone Blvd every time. Each time I would feel good about my decision, only to be wrong. 

The lesson in this story is that just because we feel like we are going the right way, doesn’t mean we are going the right way. You may feel like you’ve got it under control, but reality might be different.

What We Feel Isn’t Always Real

I felt like I was making the correct turn, but I wasn’t. About a block away from the intersection I would realize it, turn around and head the rest of the way to the party. No big deal when I was alone, but often I had people in the car with me and had to laugh off my mistake. 

In life, we may feel good about a decision or an emotion only to find out that our perception wasn’t real. No big deal on a wrong turn, but basing decisions on wrong feelings in other areas can really cause problems. 

The Monster Inside of us we are talking about this week is a Monster in HD, or in our Heart’s Desire. Our heart’s desires can be good and the can be bad. Since we are talking about monsters, we are focusing on the wrong, or inappropriate desires. 

Ever since the Fall in Genesis 3, humanity has had a monster rising up from deep within that desires to see and experience the forbidden. This heart’s desire gives birth to envy and selfish ambition, which seeks to promote self and feelings above all else. This is deep within all over our hearts and it shapes the decisions that we make. 

Caution: Proverbs 16:25

There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death.

What we feel, isn’t always real is a way to remind ourselves that we can feel like we are heading the right way, but it is a way to destruction. Nobody ever starts with, “I want to head down the way to death.” No, it starts with self-delusion that the way we feel about something is good and it makes us happy.

It’s the pursuit of being happy that often leads, us one step at a time, down the path of destruction. We begin to trust our feelings and continue to pursue it, when the Proverbs is telling us to be cautious about the way that we think is right. 

It’s really hard to battle this Monster in HD, because so much of this world is calling out to it. We feed this monster so much. We listen to advice from others that encourages us to give in to this monster. 

Have you ever heard this advice: “just follow your heart”? 

Here are a few quotes, read them and decide if you agree/disagree? Why or why not? Good advice? Bad advice? 

“Don't follow in my footsteps; follow your heart.” Mawra Hocane, actress 

“Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma - which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition.” Steve Jobs

“The trick is to follow your heart and do what feels right.” Mat Kearney

“So let your heart be your compass when you’re lost.” Anonymous

“There are no rules. Just follow your heart.” Robin Williams

“Your own heart never lies. Ask, what is the right action for this moment? Follow your deepest truth.” Brandon Bays

When we say “follow our heart”, what we’re really saying is let our feelings guide our decisions.

If you’ve ever been given that advice, just follow your heart, you should know that it’s the same truth as what we just described, that what we feel isn’t always what is real. Just because you feel like something is the best choice or best course of action, doesn’t mean it really is.

The problem with letting our feelings guide our decisions is that “feelings are fickle,” by which I mean they change quickly and are often off base. The monster in HD is tricky, it’s persuasive and seems innocent, but is really deadly. Several of these quotes sound good, but lead us away from the truth. 

Truth - Lean not on your own understanding

Proverbs 3:5–6

Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.

In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. 

The Biblical command to “lean not on your own understanding” is in direct opposition to the world’s mantra of “follow your heart.” Why? The heart is the seat of emotions and desires. It was created good and pure, but sin entered the world and broke it. Rather than being a pure source of direction, it is corrupted and sick. 

Jeremiah 17:9

The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?

The Monster in HD is a slippery one. Deceit is a form of lies. Satan is called the “father of lies.” There is a part of our heart that desires the lies and doubts the goodness of God. The Monster in HD is that voice that is beckoning you to do things your way, fulfill your desires no matter the cost, and believe that God won’t fulfill His promises. 

The Bible is warning you that you cannot trust your heart, but you can trust in God. Proverbs 3:5 says “trust in the Lord with all your heart…” Don’t trust your heart, trust in God. To trust with all of our heart is to trust Him with our desires. 

Application - you can’t trust your heart

“I deserve this” or “it’s not hurting anyone” or “if it makes you happy, do it” or “it doesn’t matter,” “God wants you to be happy,” are the lines the Monster in HD speaks to you. 

Yes, God does want you to be happy, but not the way your heart will take you. God is far more concerned about your holiness than your happiness. You see, pursing holiness will remove all the things from your life that truly make you unhappy and will lead you into a joyful life. How do we do this? 

Don’t follow your heart, lead your heart to Jesus.

Your heart is more than the monster in HD. It desires so much because it was wired for the eternal (Ecclesiastes 3:11). St Augustine said we have a “God shaped hole inside of us.” His point is that our hearts will never truly be content with anything other than Jesus Christ.

God created you to be in a relationship with Him. That’s your purpose, that’s where you will find true meaning and value. Everything else in this life will fall short. Sin disrupted that relationship. God sent Jesus Christ to provide a way to reconcile by living a perfect life and being the perfect sacrifice for our sins on the cross. His resurrection made it possible for us to find forgiveness, freedom and harmony with our Creator. 

Jesus calls us to come to Him, to trust Him and to love Him above all else (Matt 11:28-30; John 14:1; Matthew 22:37-40). We are to “love Him with all of our heart.” This means training our heart to long for and desire Jesus above all else. Everything the Monster in HD is tempting us with is a cheap imitation of the good things we can have in Jesus. 

Colossians 3:1–3

If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 

If you are a believer in Jesus Christ, you need to seek Him above all else. You need to take time to read the Bible, to pray, to spend time with other Christians, and continually look for ways to keep the Monster in HD at bay by loving Jesus more and more. 

The amazing thing about Jesus, is even when we listen to the Monster in HD, all we need to do is do what I did on my way to the Cappers. After making a wrong turn, I turned around and went the right way. That’s called repentance. 

If you’ve been following the Monster in HD down the deadly path, would you stop tonight? Would you tell Jesus you know you are wrong and headed the wrong way? Would you turn to Him and tell Him you want to follow Him instead? He is waiting for you and He will forgive you (1 John 1:9). 

Monsters Inside of Me - Anger

 

“Emotions make excellent servants, but tyrannical masters.” – John Seymour

I recently heard this quote and thought it made terrific sense. When we are in control of our emotions we have freedom, but when we are slave to our emotional responses, we are out of control, and then we have little monsters inside of us.

We are talking about The Monsters Inside of Me in our current series. Last week we talked about the monster of “self-delusion,” the monster that gets us to suppress our struggles and pretend that everything is ok. 

The beautiful thing about the Gospel, is that it is ok for us to admit that we are not okay, but Jesus loves us too much to let us stay that way. That’s why we need this series, to see the monsters for what they are and acknowledge them so we can find healing from them.

This week we are going to look at the monster of “anger.” 

How has anger affected your life? 

If I pause for a moment, I can think of several stories where my anger was demonstrated in an inappropriate way. 

Proverbs 14:29

Whoever is slow to anger has great understanding, but he who has a hasty temper exalts folly. 

Wisdom has a higher goal than getting even, and unfortunately, far too often in our anger, we seek to get even.

There was the time, in 6th grade, that I felt an injustice was done to me by a kid cutting the line in front of me for tether ball. My anger flared up, I spoke in anger, followed by physical force shoving him to the ground. It happened to be a muddy day and he slipped and landed hard on his arm. He cried and went to the teacher. I spent some time in the principal’s office for my failure to control my anger. 

There was the time on the playground where someone tried to take my basketball. My anger flared. I punched him. Immediately I felt guilty, so I said “God loves you!” then I grabbed my ball and ran home. Instead of telling my parents that I lost my cool and hit someone, I told them that I got the chance to tell someone about God’s love. 

I could keep going, but I won’t bore you with more of my humiliating moments. The simple truth was that I was an enslaved to my anger. I actually thought it was cool and powerful to be angry. I remember my stone cold stare that I would get when I was mad, sometimes riding home in dead silence. I wanted to be tough and powerful.

But I didn’t realize that I was allowing an emotional response to become my master. Rather than learning to control my anger, I was giving in to emotional outbreaks which would later cause divisions with friends and create embarrassment to me.

Anger is a normal human emotional response. It’s not always bad and it’s not always good. It’s an emotion that we need to bring into subjection to the Gospel and not allow it to control us. God’s word is not silent about anger.

James 1:19–21

Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God.  Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.

I was not slow to anger in these stories. In my youth, I was quick to get angry, but God’s Word says that we should be slow to anger. Why?

Why do we get angry? We feel an injustice of some kind, something doesn’t go our way, or someone disappoints us. We think we want righteousness, but what we really want is our own way. It is our selfishness and pride that causes us to be quick to anger.

God says “man’s anger does not produce the righteousness of God.” Therefore we should be suspect of our own anger. Don’t trust your angry response, rather we are to receive the teachings of God’s word in meekness. 

I had a pattern of angry outburst from an early age into college. Thank the Lord I had the privilege of going to Word of Life Bible Institute where I was immersed in the Word of God and surrounded by godly friends. Even in this bubble, I had a foolish response where I lost my cool on the volleyball court. 

Leaving the field house, I felt like an idiot and was filled with shame by my response. I began to pray and ask God to change my heart. I decided to take a break from my normal routine and spend time in prayer and studying God’s Word on anger and peace. I was so convicted that I needed to change that I was willing to give up the sport I loved.

Today, I praise God for I know that He has transformed my heart and has given me wisdom through His Word and His Spirit to overcome this monster inside of me. Not that I am perfect, but I am not what I was.

Having found victory in this area, I desire others to know how to control and overcome their anger as well. However, each person is different and their emotional responses are rooted in their life experiences. 

Some of us hold onto a deeper level of anger that only pops up in rare moments.

Some of us have valid reasons for being angry.

It’s ok to not be ok, but God loves you too much to let you stay that way - just as true with anger. Some of us in here have been dealt bad hands in our life, and your anger is fully understandable. But God has more for you than to just live in anger. Even in the worst of circumstances, God’s grace can bring healing and victory to you.

Anger doesn’t have to control us, we choose to let it. When we allow anger to reign in our life we affect others around us. Anger separates friendships and relationships. People don’t want to be around an angry person. Anger causes you to hold on to offenses and desire to get even, but blinds you to the big picture. 

But God offers a different way!

Ephesians 4:26–27

Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil. 

God calls us to no sin in our anger, lest we give a foothold in our lives to the devil. When we respond in unchecked anger and allow our emotions to get the best of us, we sin. We act like the devil. We don’t deal with our anger in a godly way.

Anger itself is not a sin, for God Himself is angry at sin and has provided a way for you to find forgiveness and healing from your anger.

“You can’t understand God’s love if you don’t understand his anger.” David Powlison, JBC Vol. 14, 1 (Fall 1995), 41.

Understanding God’s anger inevitably leads us to the cross where God’s justice and mercy meet in perfect, soul-wrenching, Christ-crushing, sin-forgiving, life-giving harmony. The anger of God against our sinful anger was mercifully diverted from us onto His beloved Son. As a result, God preserved and promoted both His justice and humanity’s forgiveness through the cross. – (Jonathan Dodson, Anger: The Image of Satan)

In the cross, God has offered us His forgiveness and demonstrated the remedy for anger – forgiveness. God chooses not to be angry with us because of what Jesus did for us. 

You too can learn to conquer anger through forgiveness. Forgiveness is letting go and surrendering the issue to God. It is seeing that God has already paid for the injustice at the cross and you do not need to hold on to your wrath.

Some issues are simple. When that boy cut in front of me for tether ball, I should have let go of “my right” to be the next person and forgave him for the injustice. He wouldn’t have had a sprained arm and I wouldn’t of had to go to the principal’s office. 

Some issues are much more difficult and will take time, prayer and surrender to the Word of God. Good News, you don’t have to figure it out alone, the Holy Spirit will empower you if you sincerely want to change. You can have victory over the anger monster inside of you!

The Monsters Inside of Me: Self-Delusion

If I were to show up at your house, unannounced, to do an inspection on how clean is your bedroom, would you be embarrassed with how messy it is or content with how clean it is? How often do you clean your room? Are you the thorough cleaner or the stuffer?

I hated cleaning my room when I was a kid…who am I fooling, I still hating cleaning my room. I can remember a Saturday morning where I didn’t want to clean my room, but I knew I wouldn’t be able to go outside and play until it was done. I devised a great plan, lets shove everything in the closet and shut the door. Everything will look clean super quickly. 

This is my song:

Well, when mom came in to inspect she was impressed, until she opened the closet doors and everything fell out. Did I clean my room? No, I just suppressed the mess in the closet.

My planned backfired. I bought into my self-delusion that my room was clean. The remedy was pointed out by my mom and not only did my room get cleaned, my closet did too.

Anyone here like that when it comes to cleaning your room? You just hide stuff and have to find new hiding places?

Tonight, we’re starting a new series for the month of October called “The Monsters Inside of Me,” and the reality that we can ignore, that oftentimes we are our own worst enemy. There are emotions and attitudes that we can harbor internally that, if we don’t tame them, they can destroy us. Things like anger, fear, worry, these things can consume our thoughts, dictate our decisions, and prevent us from walking in the way that God wants us to walk.

It may be easy to pretend you have a clean room when everything is just shoved in the closet, but it is dangerous to pretend life is good when you have these things shoved into a dark corner of your soul. This leads us to the Monster we will talk about tonight, self-delusion. 

Self-delusion is choosing to believe a lie rather than reality. I believed my room was clean, but reality was the filth was just pushed aside. I deluded myself by suppressing the truth and presenting a lie as true. 

We are prone to do this with our life. We put on a smile and say we are “fine,” but in reality we have a whole lot of junk that we are hiding inside. Some of us hide doubt. Some of us hide faith. Some of us hide hurts, some hide wounds. Some hide rage, some hide mistakes. Some hide shortcomings or weaknesses. Some hide pain. 

We believe the lie that people will reject us if they know the truth. We believe God will condemn us if we admit the truth. We believe the self-delusion that God doesn’t already know and that we can handle this junk on our own.

Part of our problem is the secular worldview that is permeates our culture from classrooms, counselors, and media. It’s the teaching that you should “live your truth.” This teaching actually is encouraging you to believe and live out your self-delusion. 

Here is a typical encouragement of the day by author and entrepreneur Kamal Ravikant, “It begins by looking inside ourselves, because when it rises from within, we have no choice but to express it, to live it. That is when magic happens: fulfillment, happiness, relationships and success.”

How hopeless is that? “Look inside ourselves” to find what? Fulfillment? Happiness? Relationships? Success? From inside ourselves? 

God’s word says this: Jeremiah 17:9
The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?

If I look within myself, I will be looking at the Monsters Inside of Me and trying to find answers from them. What is true is that those hidden monsters will lie to me, deceive me and cause me to look for happiness and joy in things that will only leave me empty and full of shame. 

This is a pattern God’s Word warns us about: Romans 1:18
For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. 

It is the unrighteous tendency to suppress the truth (self-delusion) to live their own way, or “live out their truth.” But God wants us to “live in the truth.” 

Let’s turn to Psalm 139 to be reminded of the truth of God, take a few moments to read it. 

This Psalm opens with the statement that God has already “searched me and known me!” Can I put it this way, “God you have already opened the closet doors of my room and found my mess. You have seen my futile attempts and you know my self-delusions!” 

Verses 1-6 plainly put that God knows our thoughts, our patterns and our words before we say them.
Verses 7-12 tell us that we cannot run from God or hide from God. We cannot conceal our monsters from Him, so why do we try?
Verses 13-16 tell us how God views us, that we were made by Him. He was intimately involved in the formation of our body, souls and spirit. He knows us better than we know ourselves, and He knows the number of our days.
Verses 17-22 show how David’s reflection on God resulted in worship and a desire to purge the world of anything that is against the purity of God. 
Verses 23-24 concludes with a prayer for God to continue to search him and reveal anything that might disrupt his relationship with God. 

In this brief summary, I want you to see that you don’t have to hide these monsters from God. He already knows it. Praying this prayer is not an invitation for judgment, but an invitation for freedom. 

Skit Guys on Psalm 139:

Muck, Guck and Yuck (from the video) can be easily cleaned out of our bedroom closet, but we cannot clean it out of our hearts on our own. That’s what Jesus came to do for us, to provide a way for our sins and shame to be paid for and cleaned out of our life. 
Don’t allow the sin of self-delusion to prevent you from the life God has created you for. If you stop hiding the monsters and confess them, God will forgive you and cleanse you from them (1 John 1:9). 

In Christ, there is no reason to feel condemned because Jesus took care of the problem (Romans 8:1). The enemy wants you to believe God will give up on you, but nothing can separate you from God’s love (Romans 8:38-39). 

This first monster of self-delusion is what leads us to shoving the rest of the monsters we will talk about in the closet of our hearts. It is time to open those closet doors and let the light of Christ shine in and bring healing to your heart. 

Don’t look inside for fulfillment, happiness, relationships and success, look to Jesus for the remedy. What you find will be the fulfillment your soul is craving, a reason to not only be happy but joyful, a relationship that will never let you down and a the path for a truly successful life in God’s eyes. 

My shortcut in cleaning my room led to more work in the end. Don’t allow the lies of the enemy to lead you into self-delusion that suppresses the truth and pushes those monsters deeper into your heart’s closet. Open the doors, learn to confess and talk about those monsters with someone who can show you what God’s Word says and the hope we have in Jesus.