Eliminate the darkness and hate through a message of hope

We as believers in Christ have received Christ as our Savior because of the Good news of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

The reason we have accepted Jesus as our Savior is because Jesus who was sinless went to the cross. Scripture tells us that though He (meaning Jesus) knew no sin, he became sin. He became the Lamb of God who has taken away the sin of this world.

Jesus bore our sin and by his grace we are forgiven. Three days after his death Jesus came back to life demonstrating that He is the Resurrection and the Life.

Jesus at that moment defeated death, hell and the grave. He casts our sin as far as the east is from the west. We are now to no longer live in sin or the shame it causes.

It was King David who said, “I have set the Lord God before me, for he is at my right hand and I will not be shaken.”

I have always wondered why so many believers live in the shame of their past.

If God has healed and has forgiven us from our past why do we live in shame? The answer is that we cannot truly fathom how deep and wide the love of Christ is for us. We do not understand completely what the grace of God is.

Sure, we know the definition of it. Grace is the unmerited favor of God’s love. Though we didn’t deserve salvation or the right to be forgiven, God forgave us anyway. We didn’t deserve it and we can’t earn it.

Freely Jesus gave of himself, freely we have received the gift of grace. We can’t walk in freedom if we are continually living in shame and guilt of our past. We must freely walk in grace. We need to rejoice and be thankful for his love for us. However, we must also be dispensers of the grace of God to others.

Jesus said, freely you have received so freely give. We can’t live in shame of the past and walk passionately in the love of Christ that clearly has an effect on the lives of others.

I never thought I would see the day when the movie “The Lion King” would become a movie depicting the characters as real animals and not just a cartoon. Though time has not allowed me the ability to see the new movie, my daughters’ have been to see it.

I preached a message entitled “The Lion King” close to 20 years ago based off a scene from the cartoon movie. My church family will be hearing this message in a few weeks, however in this article I will give you a sneak peak.

A Lion cub by the name of Simba has left “Pride Rock.” He has fled after the death of his father in shame and guilt because he has been convinced by his Uncle Scar that Simba alone is responsible for the death of his father, Mufasa.

Simba flees and begins a new life. He meets up with two interesting characters who become friends but these two convince him that he can no longer eat meat and he lives a carefree life as a vegetarian lion. ( I am trying to not be that guy that spoils the movie for everybody. Don’t you just hate that guy?)

There comes a time in the movie when Simba’s past catches up with him. Someone from the pride discovers that he is alive. This causes Simba to run away again and when he does he meets a comical baboon-type character who becomes a spiritual mentor to Simba.

His name is Rafiki. Rafiki knows who Simba is and he knows that Simba is running from his past. There is a scene where Rafiki confronts Simba and calls him a Baboon. Simba responds back with, “I think someone is confused.” Rafiki fires back, “I am not the one who is confused, you don’t even know who you are. You are Mufasa’s boy!”

I will stop here with the movie illustration, however the church’s dilemma is no different from Simba’s. We are wandering aimlessly around while having an identity crisis, living in the shame of our past. Meanwhile, our homeland has been filled with confusion and hate.

So church in America let me remind you who you are, You are “Jehovah’s boy.” You are “Jehovah’s Girl!”

You were not designed for political rhetoric, you are a child of the One True King! You are co-heirs with Christ according to his word! You are the “head” and not the “tail” God himself has declared it.

Not only are we as God’s Children not supposed to walk in the shame of our past, the local church is the only agency on earth that has the ability and the responsibility to break the curses of shame and fear off the life of others.

Why? We have been commissioned to bring God’s good news! Jesus paid a debt you could not pay. You have been forgiven so do not walk in your sin and shame any longer.

The message you have freely received you must freely give because God’s message is the ultimate message of hope. He loves you with an everlasting love.

Church it is time to take your place in the Kings courts. For you are a child of the King of all kings and the Lord of all lords.

Take your rightful place and work to eliminate the darkness of hate by living out the ultimate message of hope. You have been and commissioned to walk in the light as Jesus himself is in the light. Our communities need us to because Jesus is the Light of the World.

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Dave Truncone is the pastor of First Assembly of God Church in Van Buren. He and his wife, Heidi, have been married 26 years. They have two daughters, Hannah, 20, and Abigail, 16. They have lived in Van Buren for eight years.

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Editor’s Note: This is a regular series featuring area religious leaders writing about faith, family and community. To participate or suggest a church, contact us at news@darnews.com or 573-785-1414. The views expressed here are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of the DAR.