Ambassadors in Chains
By Pastor Dan Kennedy
© April 30, 2017
Paul was imprisoned several times in his life.
In each of those imprisonments he reached out to those who surrounded him…
- Paul reached out with the Gospel to the jailer who kept him in prison (Acts 16:23-34);
- Paul reached out with the Gospel to the soldiers who guarded him in his prison cell (Phil. 1:12-14).
- Paul reached out with the Gospel to the king who listened to his appeal and had power to release him (King Agrippa – Acts 26);
- Paul reached out with the Gospel to the prisoners who were imprisoned with him (Onesimus – Philemon 10);
- Paul reached out to spiritually encourage and instruct the churches to whom Paul had initially introduced the Gospel of Christ (the Prison Epistles: Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, Philemon; and later, in his second imprisonment by Rome, 2 Timothy, to the one Paul was mentoring to be a pastor of the churches).
Paul, while in prison – often severely physically limited, and sometimes chained to a guard, used these occasions as opportunities to accomplish what he believed God had commissioned him to do.
Sometimes we may feel “imprisoned” by various dimensions and circumstantial aspects of life in which we find ourselves.
Can God empower us to effectively serve Him even when we seem inhibited or severely “bound” one way or another?
Can God use us for His Glory even through the weakest frailties and uncertainties of life?
What are some ways that a person can become imprisoned?
· Imprisoned with Physical, Social or Mental Limitations
· Imprisoned by various Emotional Issues
· Imprisoned by Spiritual Dimensions
· Imprisoned by Circumstantial or Financial Restraints
· Imprisoned by Critical Health Concerns
· Imprisoned by the growing Weakness and Inabilities due to Age
· Imprisoned by any number of other Issues, or relationships that can Restrict or Restrain us!
Colossians 4:2–6, 18
2 Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. 3 And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. 4 Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should. 5 Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. 6 Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.
18 I, Paul, write this greeting in my own hand. Remember my chains. Grace be with you.
Ephesians 6:17–20
17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.
19 Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, 20 for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.
Others who have been “Imprisoned” By Life’s Circumstances; but, Used by God
Fanny Crosby (March 24, 1820 – February 12, 1915)
· Blind from shortly after birth
· She was one of the most prolific hymnists in history
· Wrote more than 8,000 hymns and gospel songs
· More than 100 million copies published
· Some publishers were hesitant to have so many hymns by one person in their hymnals, so Crosby used nearly 200 different pseudonyms during her career
· Wrote more than 1,000 secular poems
· Published four books of poetry
· Published two best-selling autobiographies
· Co-wrote popular secular songs
· Wrote at least five cantatas on Biblical and patriotic themes[1]
“Man with no arms and legs” – Nick Vujicic:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nknzSWDcUgA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e0oRBKbRYnY
“It is Well with my Soul”:
Horatio Spafford (October 20, 1828, Troy, New York – October 16, 1888, Jerusalem)
· A successful lawyer and businessman in Chicago.
· A lovely family — a wife, Anna, and five children.
· Suffered the death of his young son from pneumonia.
· That same year, much of their business was lost in the great Chicago fire.
· On Nov. 21, 1873, the French ocean liner, Ville du Havre was crossing the Atlantic from the U.S. to Europe with 313 passengers on board, including Anna his wife, Annie, Margaret Lee, Bessie and Tanetta.
· Mr. Spafford was delayed on business concerning zoning problems following the Great Chicago Fire, he was to join his family in Europe a short time later from another voyage.
· The Ville du Harve collided with a powerful, iron-hulled Scottish ship, the Loch Earn.
· Anna prayed with their daughters that God would spare them if that could be His will, or to make them willing to endure whatever awaited them.
· Within approximately 12 minutes, the Ville du Havre slipped beneath the dark waters of the Atlantic, carrying with it 226 of the passengers including the four Spafford children.
· A sailor, rowing a small boat over the spot where the ship went down, spotted Anna floating on a piece of the wreckage. He pulled her into the boat and they were picked up by another large vessel which, nine days later, landed them in Cardiff, Wales.
· From Wales Anna wired her husband a message which began, “Saved alone, what shall I do?”
· Another of the ship’s survivors, Pastor Weiss, later recalled Anna saying, “God gave me four daughters. Now they have been taken from me. Someday I will understand why.”
· Mr. Spafford booked passage on the next available ship and left to join his grieving wife.
· With the ship about four days out, the captain called Spafford to his cabin and told him they were over the place where his children went down.
· According to Bertha Spafford Vester, a daughter born after the tragedy, Spafford wrote “It Is Well With My Soul” while on this journey.
· Anna gave birth to three more children, one of which died at age four with dreaded pneumonia. In August 1881, the Spaffords moved to Jerusalem. Mr. Spafford died and is buried in that city.[2]
It is Well with My Soul
By Horatio Spafford
1. When peace, like a river, attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, Thou has taught me to say,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.
(Chorus)
It is well, with my soul,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.
2. Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come,
Let this blest assurance control,
That Christ has regarded my helpless estate,
And hath shed His own Blood for my soul.
(chorus)
3. My sin, oh, the bliss of this glorious thought!
My sin, not in part but the whole,
Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more,
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!
(chorus)
4. For me, be it Christ, be it Christ hence to live:
If Jordan above me shall roll,
No pain shall be mine, for in death as in life
Thou wilt whisper Thy peace to my soul.
(chorus)
5. But, Lord, ’tis for Thee, for Thy coming we wait,
The sky, not the grave, is our goal;
Oh, trump of the angel! Oh, voice of the Lord!
Blessed hope, blessed rest of my soul!
(chorus)
6. And Lord, haste the day when the faith shall be sight,
The clouds be rolled back as a scroll;
The trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend,
Even so, it is well with my soul.
(chorus)
Corrie Ten Boom (April 15, 1892 – April 15, 1983)
“The ten Boom family were Dutch Christians who helped many Jews escape the Nazi Holocaust of WWII. When their home was raided after an informant tipped off the Nazis of their activities, the entire family was imprisoned. Corrie and her sister were sent to a notorious Nazi concentration camp. At the age of 59, Corrie was miraculously released from prison just days after her sister had died there. God brought incredible beauty and healing through her difficult experiences, and her words still have great relevance and impact in our world today. She authored a number of books and was most famously known for The Hiding Place, the incredible story of her life. The title refers to the secret place where the family hid countless Jewish people needing help in their home, and is based on this scripture, “You are my hiding place and my shield; I hope in your word” (Psalm 119:114). Certain themes run through her greatest quotes over and over again – truths we need reminding of in all we face today – Forgive, Love, Trust God, Don’t Worry, Pray.” [3]
Quotes from Corrie Ten Boom
"You can never learn that Christ is all you need, until Christ is all you have."
“Do you know what hurts so very much? It's love. Love is the strongest force in the world, and when it is blocked that means pain. There are two things we can do when this happens. We can kill that love so that it stops hurting. But then of course part of us dies, too. Or we can ask God to open up another route for that love to travel.”
"Love is larger than the walls which shut it in."
“Even as the angry vengeful thoughts boiled through me, I saw the sin of them. Jesus Christ had died for this man; was I going to ask for more? Lord Jesus, I prayed, forgive me and help me to forgive him....Jesus, I cannot forgive him. Give me your forgiveness....And so I discovered that it is not on our forgiveness any more than on our goodness that the world's healing hinges, but on his. When he tells us to love our enemies, he gives along with the command, the love itself.”
“If the devil cannot make us bad, he will make us busy.”
“You will find it is necessary to let things go, simply for the reason that they are too heavy.”
“Hold everything in your hands lightly, otherwise it hurts when God pries your fingers open.”
“Forgiveness is an act of the will, and the will can function regardless of the temperature of the heart.”
“In darkness God’s truth shines most clear.”
“What wings are to a bird and sails to a ship, so is prayer to the soul.”
“With Jesus, even in our darkest moments the best remains and the very best is yet to be…”
“If you look at the world, you’ll be distressed. If you look within, you’ll be depressed. But if you look at Christ, you’ll be at rest.”
“There is no pit so deep, that God’s love is not deeper still.”
"If God sends us on stony paths, he provides strong shoes."
"Faith sees the invisible, believes the unbelievable, and receives the impossible."
“Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God.”
“Trying to do the Lord’s work in your own strength is the most confusing, exhausting, and tedious of all work. But when you are filled with the Holy Spirit, then the ministry of Jesus just flows out of you.”
“Worry does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow. It empties today of its strength.”
“Worry is a cycle of inefficient thoughts whirling around a center of fear.”
“Now, I know in my experience that Jesus’ light is stronger than the biggest darkness.”
“Any concern too small to be turned into a prayer is too small to be made into a burden.”[4]
Paul’s “Thorn in the Flesh”
2 Corinthians 12:7–10
7 To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. 8 Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. 9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. 10 That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
Paul’s Final Thoughts of Encouragement
Colossians 4:2–6
Commitment to Prayer
2 Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.
Ask for Prayer/Pray for Others: that the Light of the Gospel of Christ will shine effectively…no matter what the “chains.”
3 And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. 4 Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should.
Wisdom in Actions
· 5 Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders;
Take Opportunities
· make the most of every opportunity.
Gracious and Seasoned Conversation
· 6 Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.
Conclusion – Like Paul, we too can be Ambassadors for Christ in Chains
All of us have limitations – “chains.” Each of us can feel our limitations in a different way. Sometimes our limitations may seem overpowering, as if we can accomplish nothing for God as long as we are so entangled.
Satan, with his powerful demonic host, as God’s enemy (and ours), has spent centuries attacking especially God’s People with discouragement, guilt, depression and sinful cravings, etc., as well as attacking all individuals in every society since the beginning of Creation, for their eternal destruction – adding supernatural pressure to mankind’s depravity and the world’s allures.
God, on the other hand, has provided a way to escape, through Jesus’ all-powerful Name, His redeeming Blood, and through the power and transformation of His Holy Spirit.
As with Paul, believers in Christ have been endowed with the opportunities, amid our “chains,” to accomplish what God has called us to do in this world. We too can be Ambassadors for Christ in Chains!
[1] http://www.christianitytoday.com/history/people/poets/fanny-crosby.html; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fanny_Crosby
[2] http://staugustine.com/living/religion/2014-10-16/story-behind-song-it-well-my-soul; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/It_Is_Well_with_My_Soul
[4] Ibid.