As the dawning of the day moves us from darkness to light. So will the entrance of God's word lighten up your life. Stay tuned for the teaching ministry of Charlotte Father as she presents this life with bringing to light ministries. Today is your day for victory in Jesus.
Good day to you and I'm so glad that you have tuned into our program bringing to light. I'm very excited about the series that we are going to begin today. We certainly enjoyed the last one, but I felt that the Lord spoke with me to move forward in a different direction. And it's something I believe the body of Christ deals with quite often and that is guilt and condemnation and shame.
So we're going to talk about how the enemy uses that, but we're going to expose his works of deceit and we're going to change that so that we can walk boldly before our God with a confidence in what he has said we can have and do we can have and do. I'm excited about this as well. Listen to these words that Shontay is going to share with you. They are most powerful.
Amen. Hello, I'm Shontay Hoffman. There was no greater love than the love from our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ. We know in John 3 16 says for God so loved the world that he gave his only son that whoever believes in him will not perish but have everlasting life.
In verse 17 it says that God did not come to condemn the world but to come to love us and to give his life for us. We know in Romans in chapter 10 and verse 9 it says that if you confess with your mouth Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified and it is with your mouth that you confess that you are saved. God wants you to give your life to him today.
He loves you so much. And there is nothing like knowing Jesus Christ as your Lord. He will give you that peace and that joy in your heart that you need and it promises us that he will give us eternal life. And we know in Ephesians it says Ephesians chapter 2 and verse 8 for it is by grace you have been saved through faith.
And this is not from yourself it is the gift of God. It's nothing that we can do in ourself and who we are. But this is a gift that God has given to us that we can have eternal life and it's by his grace and his love. Please pray a prayer with me today and ask Jesus to be your Lord and to be your Savior.
Father we come to you in Jesus name. And Father I come and I ask you to be my Lord to be my Savior. I ask you to cleanse me and purify me from all sin. I ask you to forgive me for anything all that I have done.
And Lord I ask you to come into my heart to be my Lord and to be my Savior. In Jesus holy name, amen. We'll praise the Lord. We know in verse 13 of Romans 9 it says, Call upon the Lord and you will be saved.
So as you have called upon the Lord today, I believe that you have received Jesus and you have been saved and that you will receive the Spirit. Thank you. Well praise the Lord. Please call or write to us and let us know what God has done for you today.
Thank you. Well praise the Lord. The name of this series is who walk not after the flesh? Who walk not after the flesh?
Obviously all of us live in bodies made up of flesh. But you know it's not just the body. We know there is a spirit soul. Yes and body.
The spirit man as we have taught before is the one who receives our Jesus as Lord into our lives. that becomes a new creation created in Christ Jesus. The Bible says all things having passed away and behold, all things have become new. So the Spirit Man is where the Holy Spirit dwells in the believer.
So then we also have the Soul-ish-ram, the mind, the wheel, the intellect. You know what we talk about being born again or I was just saved or the Lord Jesus has just coming to my heart, that is referencing the Spirit Man. But when we talk about the body, we have the same body, of course the body and new process of time can age, obviously we have this newborn baby and it begins to grow and the flesh changes. But you know the flesh is not that that is born again.
It is not the mind that is born again. But the Scripture says having your mind renewed to the Word of God. So it's almost like the mind being connected yes to the body, but the mind connected to the Spirit. And we have a choice in the matter.
Will we follow after the Holy Spirit who lives inside of us to allow the Spirit Man to rule in our lives, making decisions, places that we go in things that we do? It is very important that we as Christians subdue the flesh. Now the flesh can line up obviously with the Spirit Man and do that that God is saying and that that would be pleasing in his sight. But at the same time, sometimes our flesh wants to do those things that are contrary with the character of our God and contrary to the Word of God.
So in those moments we have to make a decision. Am I going to rule my flesh? Am I going to allow my spirit man as a child of God to rule my flesh? Well obviously the enemy wants to come in and he wants to ensnare us.
Sometimes it's a temptation, sometimes it's a distraction. Sometimes it's something that just tries to wear us out, to wear up on our minds. It could be something that is like a burden or something that troubles us and our personal lives, our individual lives or in our family. Something that may be going on in our church or on the job that we work or in the school that we attend.
The enemy is notorious for that and the Bible said don't be ignorant of Satan's devices, his strategies and his deceits. If the Bible says don't be ignorant, then we don't have to be ignorant. And the one way that we don't have to be ignorant is to be a student of the Word of God. When you read in scripture, you will be able to take the truth of God's Word and judge what may be placed in front of you to follow after.
But you know there again, it may look right, it may feel right and people around you may say, this is right. But if it is contrary to the Word of God, then you have to make a decision. I am not walking after what's coming through if you will the flesh, but I'm gonna walk after the Spirit, the Holy Spirit. So the Spirit of God is speaking.
He is speaking to every child of God. But are we listening? Have we trained our ears to hear what the Spirit would say? As I began to think along these truths, I began to think about what are some of Satan's biggest weapons that he uses against the body of Christ.
And I believe that it's condemnation. I believe that it can be grief, it can be guilt, it can be shame. There are many things the enemy can use. And I believe that these things that I've mentioned, sometimes it's more subtle than the things that we look at in the world.
You know, you take a child that is born into a Christian family and they're taken to church and they learn principles of right and wrong. So when wrong comes before them, they may not know the very book in the Bible, the chapter and the verse, but they know that that particular thing is not right. Now others may not have been raised in a Christian home, but when they accept Jesus, they have the Holy Spirit within them. And there's something that brings, and here is a word that we've always used, but it's the word conviction.
They have a conviction about something that is placed before them. So they may get counsel, they may go and talk to a brother and sister in the Lord to find out, is this really something that I should not be doing any longer? Is this something that I need to resist? Is this something that I need to turn away from in my life?
Since now I am a believer, I'm a child of God. So they can get counsel, but you know again, no matter whether you've been raised in the church or have not, there is something that's very subtle. And I think most Christians would say, yes, there are times that I have to deal with that very thing. But you never experienced a win that you may be just doing your own thing and maybe doing something even in the church.
And all it wants this sense of condemnation comes. You know, I feel condemned because I did this particular thing last week. I might have repented of it a hundred times, but I'm still living in condemnation. How about the guilt of that?
I feel so guilty that, you know, I don't know how God could ever use me. How about shame? Sometimes shame can come from recent events, but sometimes shame comes from the events of our past that we can live with literally a sense of shame in everything we do. And then if somebody says something derogatory to us and it even is similar to something in my past, guess what it does?
It can not only bring the emotion of the minute, but it can bring all of the emotions from the past that I feel a sense of being paralyzed or overwhelmed with the shame, the guilt and the condemnation. Satan is never going to come to you and point out your qualities or your giftings from the Lord. He's never going to come and try to encourage you. He's going to try to come and be the accuser that he is and accuse you of all the things you don't do, right?
That nobody likes you. So and so didn't speak to you. There must be something wrong with you. Who do you think you are to say that you would help in this particular thing or to witness to this person over here?
The enemy wants to say you're nothing but a hypocrite. Well, let me tell you the hypocrite is the devil. He is a liar and he is the father of lies. And I want to say to you, church, you're going to have to shake yourself out of those emotions and feelings because if you do not, you're going to get stuck in the flesh.
It's going to hinder you from walking in the spirit. A lot of people had the attitude, well, you know, God would do this glorious thing through my pastor or that evangelist that I see on my TV screen, but he would certainly never do those things through me. Well, you see already, we have a sense of it could be low self-esteem, it could be again, the condemnation, the guilt and the shame, it could be any of those things. So what happens is the enemy is allowed to hinder us and from what God has for us.
I do believe there are times that the Lord will begin to reveal things to us and show us. But you know, it's almost like immediately, well, I know that I can do that. You know, there's all this stuff that could happen. They probably wouldn't listen to me.
I'm probably not smart enough and I certainly don't have the education that I need. And so what we do is we hinder what God wants to do in and through our lives. So with that foundation of what we're looking at today, I'm trusting that it is stirred something in you that you will lean in to what we're going to see in scripture, that those things that the enemy is doing is not going to hinder you in your walk with God. So let's think about it.
What is guilt? We mentioned that one. Well, the word guilt, it can be a noun and it can be a verb. But the noun literally means a painful feeling of humiliation or distress caused by the consciousness of wrong or foolish behavior.
Guilt, you know, I don't know about you, but my mother could just come and look at me and she'd say, did you do so and so? Well, you know, I'm not one of those that would lie because I knew that it would be a really extreme discipline. But you know, she does look at my face. She knew I was guilty and I would be guilty because I had done something wrong.
But if she would ask me and I wasn't guilty, I would be quick to say, oh no. And she could tell by looking at my expression that I had not done the thing that she was questioning me about. So there are times that we deal with guilt. You know, sometimes I'm very open and transparent.
But you know, God is working on all of us. I don't care how young or how old we are. God is still working on us. I'm still on his potter's wheel and he's still working on my vessel and in my life.
But I know just recently, I was with a friend and I had taken her for a birthday lunch. So we come out of the restaurant and there was a woman. Her clothes was tattered. She had a look of despair on her face and she started to wear this one immediately that she was wanting money.
And I looked at her and I didn't want to deal with it. I didn't want to stop. I didn't want to pause in the moment. And so I just looked at her and I told my friend was getting the car and I ignored her.
Well, you know, ironic enough, later in the day, I went to another restaurant to meet somebody. It was just more just talking. But I was going in. Actually, I was going into the restaurant and I saw a woman.
It was strange to me because she didn't walk the sidewalk. She was coming through the grassy area to get to the front door of the building. I didn't think a whole lot about it. When I started in, I heard this voice saying, ma'am, ma'am, I knew it was her.
And I also knew that she was taking that route so she could pull me to the side and ask for money. I didn't acknowledge her. You said, oh, Charlie, you're a terrible person. Maybe I am, but I appreciated it.
I can assure you. And I make my way right into the door. I get inside and my heart condemns me. You know what I'm talking about today?
My heart began to condemn me that I had not done the right thing. You see, it wasn't God that condemned me. But I knew in my spirit man, where the spirit of God lives, that I had not treated mankind with respect. I don't care how the dressed.
I don't care what their motive is. I don't care if they're wanting money or what their reasoning is for that money. The idea that came to my heart is you disrespected a human being that I died for. My goodness, my heart was broken.
As soon as I could, I ran out those doors and I tried to find that woman. I looked everywhere for her. And you know what came to me? Do we entertain angels unaware?
I'm thinking, oh God, have you sent an angel to me? And I rejected what you wanted to do in my life and through my life. And I repented and I have to admit with you, I had to deal with that a while. You know, I know that God, as soon as we confess something is seen, he forgives us.
Immediately he forgives his blood, washes it away. But I think the hardest part is to forgive ourselves. When we don't operate, as we know he would have us to, I'll admit in the moment, I didn't feel that I was doing wrong, but it's when the spirit of God began to convict me about what I had said and the way I had acted with these two different individuals in just a few hours apart. I want to say this to you today.
You know, when you come to Jesus and you're a repenting of a sin, you may feel so badly about it that it's hard for you to get over it. I think sometimes when we wound somebody, maybe we didn't even intend to, but we didn't say something correctly or we were harsh in our mannerism. You know, we can say, Jesus forgive me, but it's gonna be so important that we make it right with that individual and I've had to do that. But you know, I don't want on my part to have anything that would displease my father and to hinder me in my walk with him.
You know, sometimes it's a daily judgment of ourselves. Lord, if there is any wicked way in me, reveal it to me, oh God, and I will repent and I will turn away from that that displeases you or turn to what you are saying to me. What's the Bible saying first John, one verse nine? We're told to confess our sins to Jesus and he's faithful and he's just to forgive us and to cleanse us, notice the word from all unrighteousness, not just part, but all.
So when I came to the Lord with those things that I had done, neglecting to respect another human being, I confessed that and I called it sin to Jesus and I said, Lord, I know that you forgive me, help me to forgive myself because you see, that is the area where the guilt, the condemnation and the shame can move in. And I started with those emotions and we're talking last week that this happened with me. But some people live a life of guilt and shame and condemnation, their whole lives is based upon that. So guess what?
The enemy is allowed to hinder them. If what I am talking to you about today is something that you deal with, then it may very well be that you can come to Jesus, you can confess it as sin, yes, asking him to forgive you and knowing he will and then saying this idea, Lord, help me to forgive myself and I can move forward. But there are some things that are, I call them strongholds, strongholds in individuals lives that the enemy has reinforced if he will, the guilt and the shame and the condemnation. And that again can be just simply him speaking into our thought line, it can be him speaking through people that knew us maybe back in our past, when we were sinners, when we were walking in ungodliness and darkness, it may very well be those things that keeps us in the bondage of the guilt, the shame and the condemnation.
But you know that is not God's will for you. Don't stay in the prison house of those things. What do I do Charlotte? I've been dealing with this.
Yes, my whole life. I want to encourage you to go to somebody. It may be a Christian counselor. It may be that your leadership is in a position.
I know sometimes our leadership can be so busy, but somebody that knows the word, somebody that you know has integrity, someone that knows the word of God, that you can tell them your story. That's something I do two days a week and I can hear some horrific things in those two days. But many people are of in bondage to things of their past and it weighs on them and it leaves them feeling low or insignificant or not important or dirty. And this is what brings own the feelings again of condemnation, guilt and shame.
And that hinders their whole walk before God. Besides robbing them of the peace that the Lord has for them. Yes, find somebody that you can talk to about those events and then allow God to bring his healing power to you, to minister to you what you have need of. I said with the things of the past, if we don't deal with them, it's like walking around with a ball and chain around our ankle that we're always trying to fight against the weights to keep us from moving forward.
And being who God's called us to be. It's just recently I had a lady and a lot of her brothers, you know, bound with addiction to alcohol, she was raised in that. She was saying, you know, I hated the alcohol. My mom and dad was in drugs and alcohol and I hated all of it.
She said, so I never participated. And I asked her, I said, have you ever had any counsel? Oh, never, never. And she was dealing with some huge issues right now.
And I said, well, you know, first of all, you was suppressed a lot of your past and you've never felt the liberty or had the opportunity to share those events with other people. I have so many people that have been gone through abuse. You know, whether it's verbally, physically, the sexual abuse that is so rampant in our land today. And they will suppress those things because of the shame and the guilt and the condemnation that a company is that when it wasn't even their fault.
This is a strategy of Satan and demons to hold people in a place where they are not effective in the kingdom of God. But I want to say to you today, the revival that is coming. I need you, child of God. I need everyone that calls himself a Christian to be filled with the Spirit of God, to minister the influx of those that are going to come into the kingdom in these last days.
It's high time that we awaken from our sleep and our slumber and that we're about our father's business. So I encourage you, don't stay in that place of the guilt, the shame, the condemnation. Find somebody that you can bear your heart to, how many times in my counseling, when we would have this opportunity to bear a heart, my assuring them that what they said to me was held in the strictest of confidence. And I would never be there to bring condemnation to them or shame or guilt.
But that would be the work of the enemy that he has done for so long. But it's time that they recognize Satan as a liar. And he's a father of lies. And that they have authority over the works of darkness.
I want to say this before we go off the air today. There are those that are part of the occult. But God is calling you out of the occult. You're seeing that the occult is full of darkness.
But I want you to know that our God is the God who is called late and light dispels the darkness. But let me add this, everyone that I've dealt with in this arena, it is because those people bring condemnation, shame and guilt. If they walk away from demonic work, I want you to know there is no darkness that is stronger than the Almighty God. And you have the authority to resist him and be free in the name of Jesus.
What a joy it's been to minister with you today. We've got some good truths that we want to share with you in the future. So please tune in next time in here the glorious things that God wants to say to you about the condemnation, guilt and shame. And then when you can't take a moment, right to us, all what a joy it is to know that you have heard the program and that God ministered to you in a special way.
So thank you so much for those things. It is a blessing. Well, the Lord willing, we'll be back next time until then, may God bless you and I love you. I love you all.
Hello, I'm Shontay Hoffman. Are you in an area in your life where you need a healing or a touch from the Lord? God wants to touch your body or to just even touch you emotionally and give you his peace that passes all understanding. We know that the Bible gives us many promises of God's healing power.
In Isaiah 53 and verse four, it says, surely he had born our griefs and carried our sorrows. Yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. 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. I believe that God wants to touch you today in a mighty way. We believe in God's word and in his promises.
And I feel that we can just hold fast to his promises every day and to speak his word. I know that when my little boy was sick, that I just spoke the word over him and I said, Micah, you will live and not die. And you will declare the words to the Lord. And I know that the word says that Jesus, he sent his word.
And Jesus is the word. God sent his word to heal all of us from our sicknesses and diseases. Can I pray with you today that God will touch your body? Wherever you are, the promise says that he will bring us peace.
And it says that God, he bore the grief and the sorrow that you may have today, that God wants to touch you mentally, physically, spiritually and every way. Let's pray. Father, we just come to you, Lord, in the precious name of Jesus. And Father, I thank you for my brother and my sister today.
Father, wherever they are, God, you know their need. And Father, I'm asking of you to touch their bodies. Lord, administer peace, enjoy and shrink to their hearts today. Father, I thank you for our healing and their bodies that we can just hold fast to your promises that by Jesus drops we are healed and we are whole.
And Father, we thank you for your healing in my brother and sister today. Father, just touch their bodies by your power and by your might. And Father, we thank you for it that they are healed and they are whole in Jesus' holy name. Amen.
We'll praise God. Please write to us their call and let us know what God has done for you today. And I'm believing and I stand fast in prayer for your healing and from a touch from the Lord. Amen.