2001 Larry Huntsperger Peninsula Bible Fellowship

©2003 Larry Huntsperger Peninsula Bible Fellowship

11/30/03

The Prisoner Of The Lord

Ephesians 4:1

11/30/03 The Prisoner Of The Lord

We have just completed round one

of what, in the U.S., we call the “Holiday Season”.

From Thanksgiving through New Years

millions of people in our country

shift into a sort of mental survival mode

in which they just try to cope with life as best they can until the storm passes.

I certainly don’t mean for that to sound Scroogeish,

nor do I go around at this time of year bellowing “Bah! Humbug!”

to those who wish me a Merry Christmas.

But I’ve been far too close

to far too many people I love

for far too many holiday seasons

not to realize that this time of year brings with it a special kind of mental warfare.

I can still remember the first time in my adult life

that I became consciously aware

of the added potential for pain that comes with this time of year.

It was during my third trip to Trinidad.

I must have been about 25 years old at the time.

A missionary family working in the St. Anne’s Valley

asked me to fill in for them during their year furlough back in the States.

I’d been on the Island about three months,

working with a group of five or six new Christians,

all of them in their late teens.

We’d formed strong friendships with one another,

and when Christmas came,

almost on impulse,

I found some small, inexpensive Bible atlases for each of them,

wrapped them up,

and gave them each one for Christmas.

The response I received was one I could never have anticipated.

My two closest friends in the group just held the little wrapped packages for several minutes before opening them.

Then they told me

that what I’d just given them

was the only gift they’d received from anyone that Christmas.

For many of my island friends

Christmas was not a time of happiness and warmth and family,

it was a time of loneliness,

and pain.

It helped me to better understand one of the Christmas traditions

that was so common in the lives of my fiends on the island

in the years prior to their entrance into the family of God.

The section of the Island I live in

was covered with a rugged tropical mountain range.

Many of the people lived on the sides of those mountains,

with little trails leading from house to house on up the steep sides.

When Christmas came around each year

close friends would gather together in groups,

hike up to the highest house on the side of their mountain,

and begin their celebration.

Each house would have one bottle of rum waiting.

The group would pass the bottle around until it was empty,

and then move down to the next house

where another bottle waited for them.

The goal was to see who could make it to the valley below

without passing out

or rolling down the mountainside.

It wasn’t a particularly original way of handling their holiday pain,

but it was effective.

There are, of course, many in our culture

who attempt to handle the pain in the same way,

while others select more subtle approaches,

hiding under a frantic schedule

and a mountain of Christmas presents

rather than drowning the pain in a sea of rum.

But the goal is still the same,

finding someplace to hide from the hurt.

A year or two ago

we took a Sunday morning

to talk about the way in which the Holiday Season

doesn’t really create any new feelings within us.

It simply serves as a sort of cultural amplifying system

that dramatically intensifies the feelings and attitudes that are already present within us.

If good things are happening between us and those around us during the holidays,

then the cultural backdrop of Christmas music and holiday lights

just intensifies those good feelings.

If hard things are happening between us and those around us

then the backdrop of the holidays

simply magnifies the pain, or the frustration, or the loneliness.

Now, I bring all of this up this morning,

because I noticed something last week

as I was reading Paul’s statement in Ephesians 4:1

that I think can be of tremendous value to us.

There is a very common misconception

that most of us carry around with us for most of our lives,

a misconception that tells us

it is, at least in part,

our circumstances that determine our potential for happiness and fulfillment in life.

But there is more to it than just that.

We also view our circumstances as being those events that are thrust upon us,

events over which we have no control,

and yet events that have the power to control us.

And, for those of us who are Christians,

this misconception doesn’t stop there.

For, I have noticed that, even though we would never put it into words,

it’s quite common for us

to view those circumstances in our lives that we don’t like

as being things that are not only out of our control,

but, at least at some degree, out of God’s control as well,

things that somehow slipped by Him when He wasn’t watching,

or things that have come upon us

because Satan won out at some point in this cosmic battle raging around us

and we reaped the results.

But I noticed something this past week

as I was reading Paul’s words to us in Ephesians 4:1,

something that I had never seen before,

something that made me realize once again

how frequently my basic attitudes toward life

are so far away from the truth.

Before I take us back to that verse

I need to remind us of some things we saw

during the first few weeks of our study of Ephesians.

This letter

is one of several letters written by Paul

that are commonly referred to as the prison Epistles.

They are called that

because they were written by Paul

during the several years in which he was imprisoned in Rome,

waiting for his trial before Caesar for treason against the Roman Empire,

a trial that, if he was found guilty,

would end with his execution.

Paul makes only two direct references to his imprisonment in Ephesians.

The first one is found in Ephesians 4:1,

and we’ll come back to it in a few minutes,

and the second is found in the final few verses of the letter when he writes,

EPH 6:19-20 ...and pray on my behalf, that utterance may be given to me in the opening of my mouth, to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in proclaiming it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.

In those verses

he identifies himself as “an ambassador in chains”,

referring, of course, to the physical chains of his imprisonment.

But there is something happening throughout this Epistle,

something of tremendous significance,

that grows out of both what Paul says

and what he does not say about the circumstances of his life.

And it isn’t just that he doesn’t complain about his imprisonment.

It isn’t that he simply puts a good face on it

and tries to make the best of it.

Part of what I want us to see here

is that Paul doesn’t even view his imprisonment

as being an enemy to the life of Christ within him,

or an evil that must be attacked and defeated

before he can know true freedom in Christ

and effectiveness in his Christian life.

Did you notice what Paul asked his readers to pray for at the end of this letter?

He asked for boldness in His speech

so that he would not shy away from saying all that God wanted him to say in his current situation.

OK, now put yourself into Paul’s circumstances.

You’ve been sitting in prison for months,

maybe for several years.

You know that a trial awaits you

that could easily result in your execution.

What are you going to put on your prayer list

when you get a letter out to your fellow Christians?

I know what would be on my list,

and it would not be tucked away four sentences before the end of my letter.

“PRAY THAT GOD WILL GET ME OUT OF HERE!!!!

Come on, folks! Let’s storm the gates of heaven.

Clearly God doesn’t fully understand what’s going on here.

Call your friends.

Call your enemies.

Put this request on the internet,

send it to every Christian you know,

and put a little deal at the bottom promising that God will bless them

if they send it to ten other people who will pray.”

Paul, on the other hand,

doesn’t even seem to view his chains

as being a hindrance or an enemy to be defeated.

In fact,

do you know what he said just before he offered this prayer request that he speak boldly?

Listen to this!

EPH 6:11-12 Put on the full armor of God, that you may be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.

“For our struggle is not against flesh and blood...”????

Get a grip, Paul!

Who stands at the door with a spear in his hand?

Who has held you captive for all these months?

Who will pass the sentence on you at the end of your trial?

And yet his message to us is clear.

The enemies that have the ability to attack and defeat him

do not come from his physical circumstances,

they come from those forces that have the ability to attack and defeat him in spirit.

And Paul’s message to us in this whole area doesn’t stop there.

It isn’t just that he doesn’t see his circumstances as being the enemy,

it’s that he actually sees his circumstances

as being carefully selected for him by God Himself.

And to show you why I say that,

let me take us back now

to that first verse of Ephesians 4

and share with you the phrase that hit me so hard.

This verse contains the first reference Paul makes to his imprisonment in the book of Ephesians.

And listen to what he says.

EPH 4:1 I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, entreat you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called...

He identifies himself as the prisoner of the Lord.

Logically Paul should have said, “I, therefore, the prisoner of Rome...”

Wasn’t it Rome that held the keys to his cell?

Wasn’t it Rome that placed the shackles on his wrists?

Now, I know what we normally do with this phrase.

We spiritualize it.

We tell ourselves that Paul is simply telling us

that he has been imprisoned in the love of his Lord,

or that he has been chained by God to his apostolic calling.

But I think we do that

because it allows us to avoid the obvious truth he’s communicating to us.

I think we spiritualize it

because the implications of his referring to his actual imprisonment

are simply incompatible

with the belief systems we bring with us into our walk with the King.

The problem, of course,

is that, if Paul’s imprisonment is of the Lord,

then it just might mean that our imprisonment might be too.

None of us are in a physical jail, of course... at least not at the moment.

But everyone of us have circumstances in our lives

that we feel imprison us

and rob us of the freedom we feel we should have,

the freedom that would allow us to be so much more effective in our walk with the King.

If I could just get out of Alaska...

If I could just get past this pregnancy...

If I could just get these kids in school...

If I could just get these kids out of the house...for good...

If I could just increase my income...

If I could just get rid of that person in my life...

If I could just overcome this illness...

If I was just younger...

If I was just older...

If I could just change this circumstance in my life,

then victory,

and fulfillment,

and happiness would be mine.

Now please don’t misunderstand me.

Paul was not fatalistic in his outlook on life.

Certainly he aggressively made every choice within his power

to create for himself

what he believed to be the best possible situation for himself as God’s child.

If his jailor would have flung open the door to that cell and told Paul he was free,

Paul would not have remained inside his prison proclaiming,

“NO! This imprisonment is of the Lord and I must stay here.”

But what we’re talking about here

are those circumstances in life

that are beyond our control to alter,

those circumstances that we cannot change by righteous choice.

It is at those points that we then hear Paul saying,

I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord...

Do you know what that is?

That is God’s alternative

to the victim mentality.

That is Paul proclaiming

that, not only is he not a victim of his circumstances,

but, in truth, every circumstance in his life

has been carefully screened by God Himself

and all of them can and will be used by God

to accomplish the work God is seeking to do both in him and through him.

I bring this up at this time of the year

because I believe we are especially vulnerable

to an increased victim mentality during the holidays,

and it is that victim mentality

that has the power to dramatically intensify our pain.

If only I had my family...

If only I didn’t have my family...

If only I didn’t have this job...

If only I did have that job...

If only I could change this circumstance or that circumstance in my life...

And if we can recognize and follow

the pattern being modeled for us by Paul,

we can make major progress in transforming victimization into victory.

And let me share with you the three things I see Paul doing

that brings him his sense of victory over his circumstances.

First of all,

he recognizes the hand of God

and the love of God in the circumstances surrounding his life.

That’s not a very good way of saying what I want to say here.

Let put it this way.

Paul stopped arguing with God

about the life circumstances God had selected for him at that point in his life.

Now how do I know that?

I know it because he calls himself the prisoner of the Lord

and he doesn’t follow that statement

with fervent pleas for God’s deliverance from his situation.

He’s saying, “My Lord has allowed me to be here,

and I will trust his judgment in this

knowing His every action toward me is motivated by His love for me.”

And that, of course,

is the exact opposite of the trapped, helpless, victim mentality

that our flesh loves to wallow in.

“This is all wrong, Lord!

This is not where I should be.

This is not what should have happened to me,

and I am going to find a way out, any way out,

and someone is going to have to pay!”

Have you ever fought with God

over the circumstances He has selected for your life?

Are you fighting with Him now?

How’s the battle going?

How do you feel as you attempt to plot your jailbreak?

Can you sense the presence of His Spirit bathing you in peace,

or does it feel more like you’ve picked up a burden you were never designed to carry?

Does it drain you of energy

and force you to ignore the presence of your Lord?

I spent the first ten years as pastor of this church

convinced that God had errored in His placement of me.

Oh, what He’d given me here was fine on a temporary, transitional basis,

but it certainly wasn’t where I really belonged.

I told you last week that our Lord frequently selects His slower learners

for positions of leadership within His family

so that those they teach can have greater hope.

If the Lord can get through to that guy up front,

then there is certainly hope for you.

For more than a decade I respectfully pointed out to the Lord His error

and looked for some way out.

I will never forget the day I finally acknowledged and accepted the truth -

the truth that it was His love for me that placed me here,

and one of the greatest expressions of His kindness I would ever know.

I remember the day so well

because I went into the room in our home

that I had been using as my office

and I ripped out the closet.

Since the day we built the house

there had been a closet in my office.

It was there so that

when we moved, (which we were certainly going to do very soon), we could sell the house quickly

because potential buyers would see it was really a bedroom and be more likely to buy.

And the most amazing thing happened inside me

when I finally accepted what my Lord had so clearly given me.

My heart suddenly opened up to the people God had given me to serve

in a way I’d never experienced before.

Do you feel like you’re in prison right now?

Have you pleaded with your Lord for some way out and found He’s silent?

Have you decided to take things into your own hands,

plotting your own jailbreak, no matter what the cost?

If your determination to escape has become a heavy burden to you

and your God seems distant,

and your spirit can find no peace,

let me offer an alternative.

Thank Him for the prison cell He’s selected for you,

and thank Him for His love that placed you there.

We’re out of time,

so I’ll just briefly mention the two other things I see Paul doing

that turns his victimization into victory.

The second thing he does

is to speak the truth to others.

Of course that’s what he’s doing with this letter to the Ephesians,

and with the other letters he wrote during his imprisonment.

He won’t have us write any Epistles, of course,

but He has placed around us

a number of people who need to hear the truth.

They need to hear the truth about God’s faithfulness,

about His love for them,

about His ability to heal, and to forgive.

And the best way you’ll ever have of communicating those truths

is by you reaching out in love to them,

showing them kindness,

showing them forgiveness and grace and compassion.

We don’t have time to dwell on it now,

but I want you to hear the next thing Paul says to us

after calling us to walk in a manner worthy of our calling in Ephesians 4:1.

The next thing he says is,

EPH 4:2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing forbearance to one another in love...

Do you feel overwhelmed by the holidays?

Do you want some way to easy the stress?

Someone near you needs your love,

and your encouragement,

and your kindness,

and you will be amazed at what happens inside you

when you take your eyes off your own pain long enough to reach out to their need.

And then, finally, I see Paul recognizing

that it is never our circumstances that have the power to defeat us,

it is only our attitude toward those circumstances.

I think that is a big part of what he’s trying to tell us

when he says,

EPH 6:12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.

It isn’t our physical surroundings that have the power to destroy us.

It is those forces that seek to corrupt our trust in our Lord’s love for us

and in His adequacy for us

that can play such havoc in our lives.