I REJECT DISGRACE

Dr. D. K. Olukoya

Psalm 16:10 "For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption."

WHAT IS A DISGRACE?

It is made up of two words: ‘dis’ and ‘gracia’. ‘Dis’ means out of and ‘gracia’ means grace. So, the word disgrace means out of grace. Or rightly put in our modern English, it means loss of honor, loss of respect, loss of good name. It can also mean to bring shame upon a person. The word shame in the Bible has so many aspects to it. Shame can come as an offence or as a consciousness of sin to someone who has done something wrong and has been discovered. Shame can come as a result of pride or when the reputation of a person has been injured. So, the result of being disgraced is shame. Shame also can come from God. In order to reprove sin, God can allow shame to come upon a person.

Many years ago, a man of God went to a village to hold a crusade and as his usual practice , he went to pray on their source of water. As he got to the small river in the village, with a gentle smile, he said to the people who had gathered and were clapping and singing, “Well, I want to pray on this water now. If you know that you are not clean, please don’t drink out of it.” He said this twice, prayed on the water and everybody started drinking. There was a woman there who happened to be respectable in the church. In fact, she was called “Mother in the church.” First of all, she stood at the back and did not want to drink. But later, she changed her mind, being a popular person in the church, because she felt that people would begin to wonder why she, of all persons would not drink out of the water that a father in the Lord had prayed on. That was her mistake. She drank and immediately, somersaulted, and in the process her clothes were flown open and people could see that she had a male organ and a female organ as well. Everybody fled in terror and the man of God smiled again and said, “But I warned that anyone who was not clean should not drink.” God put her to shame.

SOURCES OF SHAME

The Bible makes us to understand that shame can come from God, it can come from satan, and can also come from man. Shame can come from false satanic judgment. The devil can judge a person and declare him guilty even when he is not, in order to put him to shame. Unless this kind of thing is properly dealt with, it can bring a person down. At this juncture, I would like you to say, “I reject disgrace, in the name of Jesus.”

Jeremiah 3: 24 says, “For shame hath devoured the labour of our fathers from our youth; their flocks and their herds, their sons and their daughters.” So, shame can devour the labour of a person. This powerful emotion called shame is a great weapon in the hand of the enemy and he likes to use it on people and places. The terrible thing about it is that it hits people from the inside and destroys them internally. It could eat away the strength of the confidence of a person. It can disable and amputate a person completely and make him ineffective in the service of the Lord. To be mighty in faith and in the Holy Spirit, you must confront the spirit of shame and defeat it.

DIFFERENT KINDS OF SHAME

1. Guilty shame: This happens when a person violates the law of decency and he is embarrassed.

2. Social shame: When a person is embarrassed because he has made a social blunder.

3. Innocent shame: This happens when a person is accused of an offence he is not guilty of. When somebody’s character is damaged without justification.

4. Familiar shame: The feeling of shame because of the behaviour of one’s family.

5. Public shame: This is embarrassment because of physical or social blunder.

6. Shame of discrimination: When a person feels mentally, socially or ethnically inferior to other persons.

7. Shame of inadequacy: That is when somebody feels inadequate.

The shame that comes from God can be handled with God. When you repent, the Lord will forgive you and will remove the shame from you. But the one that the enemy plans must be confronted and dealt with. Proverbs 3: 35 says, “The wise shall inherit glory but shame shall be the promotion of fools.” So foolish living and actions that are not prudent will bring disgrace. Proverbs 10: 5 says, “He that gathereth in summer is a wise son: but he that sleepeth in a harvest is a son that causeth shame.” Sleeping during the time of physical or spiritual harvest will bring disgrace. When others are struggling, and you just sit down and take no action, it means you are inviting disgrace upon your life. Proverbs 11: 2 says, “When pride cometh, then cometh shame: but with the lonely is wisdom.” The Bible says that pride brings shame. Proverbs 16: 18 says, “Pride goeth before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall.” Proverbs 13: 18 says, “Poverty and shame shall be to him that refuseth instruction, but he that regarded reproof shall be honoured.” Refusing instruction will bring disgrace. Proverbs 18:13 says, “He that answereth a matter before he heareth it, it is folly and shame unto him.” That is speaking before you listen and think.” A ‘know it all spirit’ will bring shame. Proverbs 29: 15 says, “The rod and reproof give wisdom but a child left to himself bringeth his mother to shame.” So, parents who allow their children to rear themselves, who shirk their responsibilities as fathers and mothers, are courting shame.

Let’s look at the first instance of disgrace in the Bible. Genesis 3: 9 - 10: “And the Lord God called unto Adam and said unto him, Where art thou? And he said I heard thy voice in the garden and I was afraid because I was naked and I hid myself.” Shame and nakedness are accompanied by fear. So, shame is a spirit on its own and an embodiment of some other powerful agents. As you are reading this message, does something in your life frigthen you? Is there something you are afraid that it may be discovered? Because Adam was afraid, he hid himself. Do you avoid certain issues because you are afraid of being discovered? Or may be the spirit of shame is whispering to your ears that you are a failure? Those spirits that say, “Well, don’t let anybody see you and find out about this one, just cover it up,” are the spirits of shame.

Many times, failure to get ahead financially can be traced back to the sins of one’s forefathers. A curse on a family can produce an inheritance of shame. Alcoholics are people heavily loaded with shame. Sometimes, by the time the spirit of disgrace and shame is sent upon a person, other things like alcoholism and confusion will set in. Eventually, the victim ends up messing himself up in the street. A girl was put in the family way. The father woke her up one morning and asked her who put her in the family way and she said, “Joshua.” “Where does Joshua live?” her father asked. She told him and he asked her to take him there. They went to the house of Joshua and Joshua came out smoking Indian hemp. He asked the father and the daughter what they wanted and the father said, “This girl said that you were the one who got her pregnant. He removed the Indian hemp, looked at the man’s face and said, “I hope you are not mad?” He further said to the old man, “I don’t know this girl. I have not seen her anywhere. If you don’t clear out from this place, I will use cutlass on you.” The man and his daughter went away in shame. He kept on asking the girl if she was sure she did anything with the man called Joshua. The girl told him there was another man too who had an affair with her. They went to his house and knocked at the door. He came out and asked them what they wanted. The father asked him if he was the one that put his daughter in the family way. The man looked at him and said, “Daddy, this your daughter has no home training. It is true that I was involved but I know about four others.” He turned to the girl and said, “Is it true?” The girl could not talk. She told the father that there was still another one living somewhere. But by now the father was totally ashamed. The girl was used to bring shame upon that family.

The spirit of shame can stop a person from becoming a victorious soldier. Perhaps as you are reading this now, there is something in your past which is continually troubling you and you feel that if you expose it, it will totally demolish your world. You have to seek deliverance from the spirit of shame.

Because shame is an extremely strong spiritual weapon, our enemies use it against us. But we can decide to use that same weapon of shame against the enemy. Psalm 109: 29 says, “Let mine adversaries be clothed with shame, and let them cover themselves with their own confusion as with a mantle.” Here, the psalmist is using the same weapon of shame against the enemy. Psalm 35: 4 says, “Let them be confounded and put to shame that seek after my soul, let them be turned back and brought to confusion that devise my hurt.” Again, the psalmist is using the weapon of shame to fight the enemy. Psalm 31: 17 says, “Let me not be ashamed, O Lord for I have called upon thee, let the wicked be ashamed and let them be silent in the grave.” Again, the same weapon against the enemy. There are so many other passages like that.

Shame promotes frustration that is why the enemy uses it. And when shame is backed up with a curse, it can bring dishonour, confusion and poverty. That is why parents should not say to their children, “Shame on you.” It is a powerful curse never to be issued on young children. If you have seen the demon of shame before, you will not ask it to come on anybody apart from your spiritual enemies.

WHAT IS THE PROVISION OF JESUS FOR DISGRACE?

In the substitutionary death of Jesus, our curses, poverty and shame came upon Him. Isaiah 50: 6 says, “I gave my back to the smiters, and my cheeks to them that plucked off the hair: I hid not my face from shame and spitting.” So, Jesus had already borne shame for us that is why we can react to it. Let us look at the example of one man in the Bible that the enemy tried to disgrace. Acts 28:1 says, “And when they were escaped, they knew that the Island was called Melita. (Paul was already in the ship with other prisoners and the captain of the ship who was a Roman solider. He had told them before they travelled that, “Sir, I perceive that this journey will be very hazardous, not only for our luggage, but for our lives also.” But they took him for a common prisoner and did not listen to him. They ran into a storm in the midst of the sea and problems started. For two weeks, they could not eat. They threw all their luggage into the sea.
After two weeks, Paul stood up and said, “Men and brethren, I told you this before it happened. Now you can see for yourselves. However, the angel of the Lord whom I serve, stood by me tonight and said none of us shall perish. Take food and eat.” They still could not eat. Then he broke it and started to eat in their presence. Then the prisoner became the controller of the ship. They eventually got into this Island called Melita. But by the time they got there, their ship was broken to pieces. They escaped to the Island on planks of wood, after spending days and days on the sea). Verse 2 says, “And the barbarous people showed us no little kindness, for they kindled a fire and received us every one, because of the present rain, and because of the cold. And when Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks and laid them on the fire, there came a viper out of the heat, and fastened on his hand. And when the barbarians saw the venomous beast hang on his hand, they said among themselves, No doubt this man is a murderer, whom, though he hath escaped the sea, yet vengeance suffereth not to live. (They knew that they were prisoners and were surprised that in spite of all the suffering they had gone through on the sea, a viper still attacked him. So, they concluded that he must have been an evil person). And he shook off the beast into the fire, and felt no harm. (You too shall shake off the viper of disgrace, in Jesus’ name. Those vipers were so bad and terrible that they fed on scorpions. They knew that anybody who was bitten by them would soon swell up and die). Howbeit, they looked when he should have swollen, or fallen down dead suddenly: but after they had looked a great while, and saw no harm come to him, they changed their minds, and said that he was a god.” In the same quarters were possessions of the chief man of the Island whose name was Publius; who received us, and lodged us three days courteously. And it came to pass, that the father of Publius lay sick of a fever and of a bloody flux: to whom Paul entered in, and prayed, and laid his hands on him, and healed him. So when this was done, other also, which had diseases in the island, came, and were healed. Who also honoured us with many honours; and when we departed, they laded us with such things as were necessary.”

THE HIDDEN VIPER OF THE ENEMY

Look at what satan planned at the end of the book of the Acts of the apostles against apostle Paul. He planted defeat and death for him. He planned to terminate and disgrace Paul. How can it be said that a viper killed the man who raised the dead. The devil has a hidden viper of disgrace within the woods to bite the believer. Satan could hide his viper as you go about your daily duty. There was a viper in the life of Gehazi. Although, he was studying to be a prophet, a viper was lying down there until Naaman came. Naaman thought that prophet Elisha would come out and pray some fire prayers on him. But Elisha did not come out. He just said his servant should tell him to go to the River Jordan and dip himself there seven times and he shall be made whole. He went though hesitantly and dropped his leprosy in Jordan. Beloved, we must be very careful. The spirit of leprosy that left Naaman stayed in the waters waiting for the next candidate. Please pray this prayer point: “I will not carry any evil luggage, in Jesus’ name.” The Bible makes it very clear that there are arrows that are flying about, and destruction and pestilence that are walking around. There are accidents waiting to happen all over the place. (I will not be a part of it, in Jesus’ name). Naaman offered some gifts to Elisha but he refused to accept them. But immediately the viper of disgrace in the life of Gehazi came out and he collected the gifts secretly from Naaman. When he came back, he tried to deceive the prophet, but the prophet said, “Did I not follow you in the spirit when you went outside. Is this the time to receive gifts?” Meaning that there is time to receive gifts and a time to reject them. Why did God not want Elisha to receive that gift? It was because the Syrians were idol worshippers and everything they brought to the land of Israel was polluted stuff. Gehazi went for it and the prophet said to him, “Well, since you have done this, instead of getting the double portion that I got from my master Elijah, the leprosy of Naaman shall cleave unto you.” And unfortunately he did not stop there, he also said “And unto your offspring.” So, it is possible that most of the lepers we see now are descendants of Gehazi. The prosperity of Naaman gave rise to the leprosy of Gehazi. We must be very careful. Gehazi’s viper came out and put him in trouble. When the viper of disgrace is inside the life of a Christian, he will become history while he is still living.

A sister came to me crying saying, “I don’t know, whenever I am struggling to grow in the Lord, a certain man would come and mess everything up.” I said to her, “No. It is not the man messing you up, you have a viper disgracing you.” Beloved, maybe your own is the viper of arrogance, pride, or strife, hidden inside of you. Many have fallen and never rose again and the devil came to their funeral ceremony and sang. One of the best prophets that God has ever sent to Nigeria was a victim of the viper. When you talk about prophetic anointing, it is difficult to find an equal of that fellow. He was so good that if you brought a mad man before him, and his problem was demonic, this prophet would tell you what area of the body haboured the evil materials troubling him and before your eyes, he would call them out, collect and throw them away. They would appear physically and instantly the mad man would be jumping up and rejoicing. He exhibited the power of God anywhere he went. But he had a viper which was women. Eventually, he was completely messed up. When he died, there was no pastor at his burial. It was viper of disgrace. There was also a certain woman whose husband was a very powerful Evangelist. Before they commenced a crusade, she would lead praise worship and miracles would be happening even before the man of God came on stage. All of a sudden, this woman started sleeping with their landlord who was an Alhaji. Before you knew it, she travelled to Mecca. The viper of disgrace in her life had come to the surface. No wonder the Bible says, “Let him that thinketh he stand, take heed lest he falls.” What a bad testimony for people to say that Brother so, so and so who was on fire for God before is now smoking and drinking. What a bad testimony to say that Sister so, so and so was on fire for God once, but fell into sin and ran away with another person’s husband. That is why the following prayer point is a very important one. It says, “My enemies will not write the last chapter of my life, in the name of Jesus.” Our olden days fathers in the Lord used to ask us to pray in those days that God should make us wiser than the devil, because the man you are wiser than cannot deceive you.

The devil carefully selected the audience before whom he wanted to disgrace Paul. Paul’s captors were there, the Roman soldiers, other prisoners like himself and the Barbarians of the island of Melita, and Dr. Luke who followed him were all there. Those he had prepared to demonstrate the power of God to were also there. It is amazing sometimes how satan plans the places and the kind of people before whom he wants to disgrace the people of God. He plotted to disgrace Samson before the same Philistines whom God had used him to disgrace. Unfortunately he succeeded. The Barbarians at the Island of Melita had concluded that Paul was a murderer. That was the kind of testimony satan wanted to write about Paul. But the satanic audience became the same audience before whom satan was disgraced. The devil now lost the Island altogether to Paul and to God. The viper of disgrace lost the battle and Paul overcame. Satan may assemble the worst of men to disgrace the child of God. But certainly, God knows how to turn the game of the devil against him. The viper of disgrace must lose the battle and the satanic audience must glorify God, in Jesus’ name.

We have to shake off the evil viper. The weapon of disgrace the enemy planned against Paul eventually became the doom of the enemy. The same sword of Goliath was used to cut off the head of Goliath. The Red Sea that was supposed to disgrace the Israelites was the same Red Sea that disgraced the Egyptians. The weapon of disgrace fashioned against you by your enemies shall disgrace them, in the name of Jesus.

WAY OUT

Once the weapon of shame is being used against you, all you need do is to repent, confess your own sins, break the curse and seek deliverance. If somebody decides to remove you from what you are doing to feed yourself, and you have not done anything wrong, you can react to it. The enemy is always seeking to disgrace God’s people. He disgraced Adam and Eve. He caused them to be driven out of the garden. He disgraced Cain and a curse was put on him. He disgraced Reuben and Reuben lost his inheritance. He disgraced Moses and he could not enter the Promised land. He almost disgraced Joseph but he was able to escape. He disgraced Saul and completely disgraced Samson who died with his enemies. But the promise of God for us is in Romans 9: 33 which says, “As it is written, I lay in Zion a stumbling stone and a rock of offence: and whomsoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.”

PRAYER POINTS

1. Every viper of the enemy, come out by fire, in the name of Jesus.
2. O God, arise and let every weapon of the enemy backfire, in the name of Jesus.
3. Every door leading to my blessing, open, in the name of Jesus.
4. O God, manifest your power before every power challenging You in my life, in the name of Jesus.
5. You the bulldozer from heaven, make a way for me by fire, in the name of Jesus.
6. Oh God, I know that you are my God, show it, in the name of Jesus.
7. Let all those who come against me in one way, flee in seven ways, in Jesus’ name.
8. You vulture of death, die, in the name of Jesus.
9. Every distant and immediate enemy, receive double frustration, in Jesus’ name.