Every Man Will be Bound

“…Let the will of the Lord be done” Acts 21:12-14

Some may argue that the goal of a martyr is to die. I would argue that the goal of a martyr is to live. In a martyrs case it is their life lived for Christ that often proves itself through their willingness to die for Him. Our focus should not be on dying for Christ, it should be on living for Christ. Let’s look at Paul as an example of this.

Paul knew whatever awaited Him in Jerusalem, be it affliction, imprisonment, death or life, for Him to flee the will of the Lord would have been death, even if it meant saving his life, and to ferociously pursue the will of the Lord would have been life, even if it meant losing his life. For Paul this was not a matter of physical life or death, he had already settled that, “I do not account me life of any value nor as precious to myself” (Acts 20:24a), this was a matter of living out the life the Lord had willed for him, “if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God” (Acts 20:24b).

This becomes really simple when we boil it down to this one application. Is your physical life more important than the will of the Lord? When our focus is on the physical, we are held back by real things, our emotions, wants, desires and fears. When our focus is on saving our life, tending to our physical needs, be it emotional, relational, financial we often get tangled in the cares of this world. When our focus is on the will of the Lord, there is an amazing freedom we find from ourselves and this world as we deny our emotions, our wants and our will.

One might ask, how Paul could have felt free in the will of the Lord when he said himself he was “constrained by the Spirit?” (Acts 20:22). That word constrained literally meaning to be bound in. The Christian life is a paradox. It is a supernatural thing that a man who is bound can have so much freedom. When we think we are free, living our lives as we please, satisfying our desires and meeting our every need we become bound, we become slaves to our passions. In this life you will be bound. Either bound in self, which leads to a deeper bondage, a deeper darkness, or bound in the Spirit, which leads to new found freedom and life.

Let us be like Paul and not like the disciples in our text. For they were persuading Paul to choose the course that would save his life, not the course that would set him free. Paul would not be persuaded and it is interesting to note what eventually happens. “And since he would not be persuaded, we ceased and said “Let the will of the Lord be done.” Their fight was never against Paul, their fight had always been against the Lords will for Paul. We can be those who fight the will of the Lord, always persuading, or we can be those who give up the fight and cease before the Lord. Every man will be bound. The question today is what are you bound in?

Pastor Watching

“Men of Israel, why do you wonder at this, or why do you stare at us, as though by our own power or piety we have made him walk?” (Acts 3:12)

Here I see an exhortation for modern day Christianity. This is for the people of the church. The question we need to be asking ourselves is; Why are we staring at our Pastor’s? As if they are the origin for some move of God. At the origin of every move of God is Jesus. At the center of the church is Jesus, but for some that center stage is occupied by another. It’s never been about the man God is using it has always been about God who is using man. Here is where the problem lies.

We are too quick to give credit where it does not belong. He is such a great communicator, he is so relevant, he is so hip, and all of these things may be so, but may they not be counted as why God is using them. This limits our view of God, thinking He is only in the business of using “the charismatic” to accomplish His work. Believer, it is not by their own power or piety that dead men are coming to life, it is by the gospel, the power unto salvation (Romans 1:16). They may share the gospel better than we can, but they don’t have a better gospel than we do.

So let us not wonder, let us not stare. Unless our wondering and staring is at Jesus. For often times the work God does through man is wondrous, it is worthy of a stare, but He is the only one worthy of receiving it. God’s ministers are to be esteemed highly and respected, but may we never forget, they too are but men with a nature just like ours (James 5:17).

Break Every Chain

“…bound with chains as a criminal. But the word of God is not bound.” (2 Timothy 2:9b)

I wonder how many times I have let the circumstances that bind me, bind the word of God at the same time? We can be bound in all sorts of ways. Paul was physically bound, in chains and in prison. This is a binding that came from the external. What are some of the externals that bind us in this life?

For some this binding is money. Money keeps them down, not only that, it keeps God from being God. We can so easily feel walled and limited by our own resources that we put those same walls up around the word of God. Maybe God is calling you out, but financially you are bound, you see no way for provision. So what happens? We limit, or bind, God from being God. We say now is not a good time, maybe when finances are better, then God can use me. No! “The word of God is not bound.”

For others this binding is in relationships. For those who are single, we can get stuck in our singleness. For those who are married, we can get stuck in our marriage. The single man or women says, if only I were married, then I could move on. The married man or women says, if only I were single, then I could move on. This keeps us from growing. I have seen the binding effect that singleness has on the word of God. Instead of holding onto God’s promises, we slowly let go of them. Leaving us wondering, does He really know what’s best for us? Thoughts of not waiting till marriage can cross our mind, thoughts of not waiting through marriage can as well. Does He really know what’s best for us? Of course He does, but let’s be honest, singleness and marriage can be binding to our view of God's promises.

For some, their binding is not external rather it is internal. This is the man who is imprisoned, or bound by self. This type of binding almost always binds the word of God. The man who looks at himself as worthless, becomes bound by doubt. This keeps him or her from fully believing the word of God. On one hand we read that God says we are valued in His eyes, yet that truth fails to break through our doubts, thus binding the word of God. The man who looks at himself as worth more than he really is, becomes bound by deception. A false sense of self-worth keeps us from seeing our need for the full counsel of God’s word, thus binding the word of God.

So what category do I personally fall into? Outside of the married man, on any given day I am prone to fall into anyone of these categories. The chains Paul found himself bound in could not be avoided, we have no control over lives circumstances. But what we do have control over is not letting them control us, rather letting the word of God control us. Easier said than done, but let’s remember, the word of God breaks every chain, for “the word of God is not bound.”

Living as Kings Kids

“But when they measure themselves by one another and compare themselves with one another, they are without understanding.” (2 Corinthians 10:12b)

We live in a culture that is in a constant state of comparison. I have to believe that this state has crept into the church. I will now affirm that statement with personal testimony. Knowing that my calling is teaching, I often find myself listening to a sermon for comparison purposes not contextual matters. Usually one of two conclusions are drawn; I could have done a better job or they did a better job than I could have. This invokes one of two emotions, pride or jealously. To that end I reiterate our verse at hand, those who “compare themselves with one another, they are without understanding.”

            On the playing field comparison is a way of life. ESPN knows that’s what the people want, they want to know who the best is. How do we find the best? We put a line down the middle of the screen; player A on the left and player B on the right. This split screen thinking is engrained in how we view one another. We are constantly comparing ourselves to one another. This isn’t healthy and often results in sinful thinking.

             As Christians we are on a different playing field, one where we are all equal at the cross. The cross slays everyman, exposes him for who and what he really is. A sinner, fallen short of the glory of God. When one lives on this playing field pride and jealousy cannot creep in. How often do we take our eyes off of Jesus and fix them onto one another? We need to correct our gaze.

The same cross that slays us also set us free to live as Kings Kids. Comparison is paralyzing, the Cross is freeing. You are fearfully and wonderfully made, unique and beautiful in His eyes. The Cross has affirmed our worth. We have been set free from living in a constant state of comparison, and freed to live as children of the King. You will never become the man or women God created you to be by comparing yourself to others. Stop looking to your neighbor and start looking to your Creator, He has an Ephesians 2:10 designed solely for you, now walk in it!

Not my Mess...Or is it?

So being affectionately desirous of you, we were ready to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own selves, because you had become very dear to us 

(1 Thessalonians 2:8)

There is a saying out there that goes something like this; “Everyone likes to make babies, but few like to take care of them.” This saying holds true today amongst many evangelical churches, who love making converts but have neglected the very call to make disciples. Paul would write against this kind of “baby-making” Christianity, his very life and ministry stood opposed to this kind of methodology.

We are a culture with more health precautions then ever before, we even have inventions like hand sanitizer so that we can stay clean on the go. Making disciples does not work that way, we cannot run into a dirty situation, share the gospel, then apply our spiritual hand sanitizer and walk away, free from any aftermath the gospel might have just had on its recipient.

If there is one thing I am learning in my short time of being a disciple it is that ministry is messy. Making disciples requires one to get dirty with other peoples problems. It requires a willingness not only to share the gospel of God but also our own selves. To share the gospel and yourself looks like living out the message you just preached. How can we share about a God who so loved the world that He came down and gave of himself, and then not do the same? The gospel is more then a message, it is a life poured out, and those who share it must be willing to pour themselves out on behalf of it.

I believe; help my unbelief

Mark 9:14-29

“I believe; help my unbelief” 

      No doubt a remarkable verse. One might argue this verse as the central theme of our text and perhaps a central focal point of the Christian life. This twofold confession is one that has moved me from reading to meditating. On one hand we have a statement of belief. On the other hand, from the same mouth, in the same sentence, we have a confession of unbelief. I think now is when we are suppose to ask, “is that even possible?” “Can somebody believe and not believe at the same time?” As literal as this confession is, I think it holds deeper meaning for the born again reader. My hope is in a few short paragraphs to unveil some of that meaning.

      The underlying matter in the text at hand is the battle to believe. I have often asked myself; “Am I believing?” and “What does it mean to believe?” As Christians, eternal life is accessed by our believing. There is one link, one way to eternal life, and that is to believe. Believe in what? “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life” (John 3:36). Believing is a central component to our faith. Maybe the question we must ask ourselves is not; Am I believing?…but How am I believing?

      Here we have the disciples of Jesus, who by now had been following Him for some time. As they would witness miracle after miracle it would be impossible for them not to believe. The problem with this kind of sideline belief is it had created a mentality of spectator rather then a reality of participator. They were quick to defend their faith (vs14), but apparently not able to act on it (vs18). As Jesus came on the scene in verse 14 they were arguing with the scribes. The text does not tell us what they were arguing about so we will leave it at that.

      What I do know is that it is easy to defend the faith when the defense requires nothing of us. It isnt until our belief demands action that true colors begin to shine. It is in the moment we are found "not able" that our unbelief manifests. It says when they saw Jesus they were “greatly amazed and ran up to him.” It is interesting to note how they later came, the text tells us, “privately” to Jesus. Why the change in approach?

      They would watch Jesus heal this boy because of the belief of a dad in the crowd. Not because this man was a disciple or a follower, but because he believed. How did he believe? "Immediately the father of the child cried out and said, ‘I believe; help my unbelief.’" I see three things in the way this man believed; honor, honesty and humility. This is not  a do these three things and have life message. This is simply an outworking of genuine belief in the life of a man that was desperate for a miracle.

      Honor was shown as “immediately the father of the child cried out.” We honor the Lord in our belief when we hear His word and immediately respond in a manner worthy. Honesty was shown by way of confession, “help my unbelief.” The Lord is looking for us to be honest about where we are so that He can get us where He wants us to be. Humility was shown as he cried out “help.” The problem is not within the confession of unbelief. For doubt will arise. The problem is are we willing to admit the unbelief. In that moment we must be honest and humbly ask Jesus to help us. “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”

      Believer, what obstacle stands before you and Jesus this day? Fear not, nor be dismayed. The remedy consists of one thing, a simple thing. A thing all men are capable of doing. It is not prejudice to ethnicity nor education. It does not require of you a prerequisite. No title or tool will be necessary, only that you believe. That is the link! You must believe!  That is do you believe? I ask you how are you believing? Have you come before the Lord and honored His word. Believing in it and esteeming it higher then life’s current troubles. Have you been honest about your current condition; Doubt? Worry? Fear? Bitterness? Anger? Pride? Lust? Would you be willing to reach out for a touch today? To cry out to your Savior with a sincere heart…“help!” 

      Let us now remember what the Lord said himself: 

"this kind cannot be driven out by anything but prayer."

The Real Deal

Philippians 2:8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross (ESV)

To be found in human form can in and of itself be an altogether humiliating thing. Now when we think of the birth of Jesus, we think nativity scene. We think glorious things; a glowing child, washed clean, clothed in baby gap with a stylish comb over, laying gracefully in a tempurpedic crib. Before we buy into the pathetic reenactment of our day, lets look to the real happenings of that day via the Scriptures. “And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manager, because there was no place for them in the inn” (Luke 2:7).

Last time I checked, when a child comes out of its mothers womb, he is a bloody mess. One must assume this to be true of this day as well. A bloody mess, assumedly cleaned then wrapped in swaddling cloths; which literally just meant strips of cloth. More degrading then this He was laid in a manager. This does not mean a crib for babies rather a crib for eating. Our Savior upon His birth, found in human form, bloody, wrapped in strips of cloth was then to be laid in a feeding trough, a place most commonly known to the foul mouth of an animal. His place of birth did not look like your local neighborhood Macys. Nor was it accompanied with the sweet smell of hot cider and gingerbread cookies, while soothing tunes of “may your days be merry” play in the background. This was the real deal, smelly, dark and musty, the lowest of lows, the place our Savior was born.

This verse in Luke ends in saying there was no place for Him in the inn. This would not only be an underlying theme throughout the rest of His lowly life, but it is the theme of every generation. People want nothing to do with Jesus and therefore have said there is no place for Him in their life. Today we have gone so far as to ban Him from whole countries, our educational systems, our media sources and even the pledge of our own Nation. His birth would mark a humiliating trend that will continue on until the day of his second coming.

Enough of His birth, let us talk a little bit of His death. When I say a little, I mean just that. I am convinced there a parts of the upcoming events we will never grasp. Crowned in thorns, spat upon, mocked, clubbed, beaten, no longer possessing human semblance or form of mankind, it was then He bore His own cross. Now on the subject of the cross. A death more humiliating then most. Hung for all to see though not guilty. The mystery of it all, is though he bore physical pains unbearable to most, he bore the wrath of God. “That is he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”

That God would will for His Gospel to be written in human form, to me is that God would will an intimate relationship. For we do not have a lofty High Priest, rather we have a lowly High Priest. One who is able to sympathize with our weaknesses, that we may look to Him, a very present help in a time of need.