The Word of God is not Chained

While sitting in chains in a Roman prison cell, the apostle Paul wrote a letter to his good friend

Timothy. Despite his circumstances- Paul wrote words of encouragement- reminded him what

was important: “remember Jesus Christ”- that though he was tortured, wrongly accused, shamed,

May I remind you also this morning- that when you are experiencing hardships and

discouragement, remember Jesus and the power of the resurrection. The word of God is not

chained- but is able to do more than we could ever hope or imagine. Pray.

Janie and I were blessed to have Don Shunkwiler a good friend of ours and his wife Lisa stay

with us over the weekend. They had been invited to Waldorf’s Homecoming to receive Waldorf’s

Distinguished Alumni Service Award.

Back up some 40 some years. Don and I became good friends while working together at

Riverside Bible Camp. And after our time at Riverside, God called us in different directions. Don

enlisted in the Navy and rose in rank to command three battleships in combat zones in the

Persian Gulf and later worked at the Pentagon. He retired three years ago and is now the director

“The word of God is living and active, sharper than any two edged sword, piercing to the

division of soul and spirit, of joints and marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the

heart.” To do that, it certainly is not chained- but sometimes we limit ourselves by dwelling on

circumstances instead of the promises of God’s word.

I have talked before how elephant trainers in India will chain a baby elephant to a stake. At first

it will fight the chains- but with no success and ultimately will resign to living the life of a

captive. Even when the elephant grows up and could easily pull the stake out- it doesn’t try

anymore.

The same can hold true with our faith. Even we may know with our minds that Christ has set us

free from the power of our past sins, sometimes we live as if we haven’t been. We need to

believe God’s word. We need to believe Him with a heart of faith. Ironically, it is often the

everyday trials that we let hold us more tightly in its grip than the major trials- because when we

are up against the wall with no strength of our own-with nowhere to turn but to Jesus- that is

when we surrender our control and are set free from all that would hold us captive.

timid in it’s stand for the truth and is dwindling in numbers. But in countries where Christians

One day, God called Moses to lead the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt to the Promised Land.

But Moses tried to make excuses saying that he wasn’t good at speaking. How many times have

you and I made excuses to God- tried to rationalize our way out of not doing what God is asking

us to do- But if God has called you to do something- who are we to question him? It is not our

own strength that will do it after all- it is God’s. A hammer in it’s self is only capable of lying on

the table. But placed in the hands of a strong, skilled carpenter, it can be used to build many

things.

In the Old Testament Lesson this morning, it talks of a young girl who had been carried far away

in a raid from her home in Israel to Syria where she was made a slave to the wife of Naaman, a

high ranking general in the Syrian army. Think about it- a young girl taken from family and

friends to a foreign land and forced to be a slave. Most people would become depressed and

without hope- but when the opportunity arose to tell her captives about God’s power to heal- she

evil personified by Hitler and Nazism and was hanged mere hours before the end of the war. But

like Paul, prison could not stop him from being a witness while in prison. To the frustration of

the authorities,- guards who had contact with him became Christians because of his witness- and

the only way he could be stopped was to put him in isolation. People can put us in chains, even

In the gospel this morning, ten lepers approached Jesus, crying out- “Jesus, master- have mercy

on us.” They were outcasts- and isolated from family and friends. Everywhere they went, they

had to warn people of their presence so that people could avoid contact with them. Even though

they were not in iron chains, their life as a leper kept them in bondage. Then one day, they met

Jesus- the very word of God made flesh. They no doubt had heard of Him and His ability to heal,

and with nothing to lose but leprosy itself, they cried out to Jesus to have mercy.

“Go show yourselves to the high priest” Jesus told them. Why would Jesus tell them to do that?

Because even if they were healed, without the high priest giving them a clean bill of health,

society would not recognize them as being healed. A clean bill of health would mean they could

have their life back and live once more like everyone else. To their credit- they went- and on

their way they realized they were healed. All ten were healed that day- but only one returned to

Our greatest witness to the power of the gospel is when it is shared from a thankful heart- simply

let the lion out and he will take care of himself.

Speaking through the prophet Isaiah, God said: “For as the rain and the snow come down from

heaven, and return not thither but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to

the sower and bread to the eater, so shall my word be that goes forth from my mouth; it shall not

return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and prosper in the thing for

which I sent it.”

So when the world turns a deaf ear to our arguments- simply proclaim the gospel unashamedly

and it will do it’s own work of convicting and healing and saving and transforming lives. When

the world tries to limit or stop us from speaking- when we are persecuted for our faith- remember

Jesus Christ- raised from the dead- for the word of God is not chained.

name, Amen.